Rumors started after pre-season. Some experts are saying Bayern did lose the CL match on purpose so they can get demoted to the Europa League... Simply so they can knock Arsenal out of the competition again.
Aguero injured in a traffic accident in Amsterdam. Some reports suggesting he has fractured a rib which would sideline him for a few weeks.
And now Kun Aguerro out for many weeks with two broken ribs. Car accident taking taxi in Amsterdam from a concert.
I mean yea but it's not like they'll be lacking attacking options. Jesus, Sane, KDB, Sterling, Silva Sr or Jr
Not sure where to post without the old international thread around, but the US fail to reach the World Cup after 7 consecutive trips there. Federation and team seem to be in shambles. Expecting some wholesale changes, hopefully quick
Yep, since 1986.....pathetic. Ukraine is out, US is out....******** this. I guess I have to support Belgium.
Arena and Gulati aren't expecting changes. But they need to be the first to go. Utter humiliation with the amount of money we have invested into the sport. US, Holland, Ukraine, Ghana all out. C'mon Chelsea.
It is actually pathetic. It needs to be scrapped and started over from scratch. Bruce, Sunil, Garber, Bradley, Dempsey need to all be out.
A staggering achievement to finish behind Panama and Honduras with all the investments made. An absolutely complacent campaign with no leadership on the field or off. Where the us have excelled in the past by emphasizing team over individuals they've been undone, imo, from the reverse this time around. Too much reliance on pulisic (the standout of this squad but too young to bear that pressure) and a declining older guard. Quite an amazing set of results against them yesterday and a very odd call in the Panama match didn't help but on balance it's hard to say they deserved any better. 3.5 places for a relatively weak confederation should be plenty.
Spot on KDB.... $1 billion invested. Our development is the Olympics and we haven't been to the last two so we have an 8 year gap between our golden generation and the Pulisic area. Also, 3 players who played yesterday play in Europe...3! This is a major problem. This is bad, but hopefully the much needed change comes from it. We have two years to bed some of these youth players. The kid starting for Schalke, Pulisic, Yedlin, Parks, and others need to be involved in the next two years heavily. So when we get started on our next qualifying campaign in two years the kids are ready.
Frankly, players like Miazga and Carter-Vickers need to be integrated ASAP because our CB's are shit. Hyndman and Scott are two more I can think of. We have two years to replace this crap squad.
Absolutely flabbergasting that Besler is ever anywhere near the field. Is John Brooks injured? The hyper pro-MLS appointment of Arena was the dumbest knee jerk reaction there could've been. I enjoy watching the MLS, and the quality of play has absolutely improved in the past 10 years, but it is arrogance bordering on downright stupidity thinking MLS players can compete at the same level as European-based players. Think it was pretty clear Klinsmann needed to go, but there are other coaches even within MLS who would've done more for the team going forward than Bruce Arena
Brooks was injured his first game after a big money move to Wolfsburg. Frankly, this happens all the time and he was complict in this qualifying round. He played in our 2-1 loss to Mexico and the 4-0 loss to Costa Rica that got Klinnsman fired. I was fine with the Arena hire. He was a pragmatic choice that would calm nerves and usher us to the results we needed. It was less him than it was the players. If you watched the game last night or the 2-0 loss to Costa Rica or the 1-1 draw to Honduras, the players just didn't play. Maybe that is on the coach. It's probably both. We now have a wide swath of time with no important matches. Now more than ever we need new players in to see what they can do. Keep Pulisic, Yedlin, Wood. The rest can go.
And it's not like we know CCV and Miazga or Palmer Brown are the solutions. But we do know that ********ing Omar Gonzalez and Besler are not the answers. Cameron on the bench in do/die game. Dumb. Same lineup. Dumb. Playing for a tie. Dumb. Subbing in Feilhaber too late. Dumb. Not subbing out Bradley sooner. Dumb. Not yanking Jozy when he acted like a U5 player. Dumb. Playing through the middle on a shit pitch. Dumb.
I totally agree on the blooding of new players. We have a 2 year gap to find a manager and players to get experience. With all that said, this is a structural issue within our organization. The issues are many and none are easy fixes. All that said, it has to change, starting at the top. From there, we have to figure out how to improve the youth setup. And frankly, these issues are more about the gap between our U17/18 and the senior side. I want the MLS to be successful, and am happy it's improved so much. It's helped grow the game nationally, all that said, until our academy setup at each club becomes better along with scouting and management, (along the lines of Mexico, and the South American leagues) our best players have to play in Europe. The best Brazilians, Argentines, Chileans, Mexicans, etc all play in Europe. Youth wise, most develop locally but move later on. That is the same route we have to follow. There's nothing wrong with us admitting it's an average league today. It's easier for our players to get an education in Europe over completely change our setup in the meantime. I also have questions on how the MLS is setup and the organization itself. That's a question for another time though. Regardless, change needs to happen. The fact it hasn't today tells me more than anything that the structure is ********ed though. Arena needs to go. Gulati needs to go. Garber needs to go. All that needed to happen yesterday.
Nailed on Miazga, CCV, and PB. Who knows if they can cut it, but they CANNOT be worse than Omar Gonzalez. And to add, Miazga is playing in cup finals and EL qualifiers. That's better than anything we have here. He's got as much experience as anyone.
I agree with a lot of your points, but I can't agree that Arena was a fine hire. I realize it was crunch time and the situation was definitely not friendly as far as taking time to find the right hire goes, but Arena's coaching style and overly pro-MLS attitude was the last thing we needed to get the results that mattered. It could be argued that he would be a steady hand the players could trust, but our squad couldn't look less enthusiastic to be playing in WCQs since Bruce took over, especially when they weren't on home soil.
Yeah, but options are limited in the middle of a cycle. JK should have been canned long before he was and not given an extension before 2014. Options few and far between.
Yeah, that's my take also. Arena was the 'safe' choice and he opted for 'safe' players, one's he thought he knew could do the job. He was wrong, obviously, but the damage was largely done. Whilst there are better talents out there, a lot are unproven at the international level and it would have been risky indeed to blood them in the middle of a rough campaign. Hindsight says the risk would have been worth it but no-one realistically entertained the thought they would finish 5th. All told, this is a better outcome long term for the US. It will spur big changes and force the team to look further afield for fresh blood. Provided the fans can be patient there's a real chance to build something good here.
It's finally fulfill the promise of the defeat they've been flirting with for a while. City on the other hand just keep rolling on. Such a powerful attacking side.