If our talent is below previous generations, who is the genius who decided that now is a good time for us to institute a tactical system that relies upon technical superiority? It’s particularly ironic to hear this from avid Berhalter supporters.
Another SMALL but unlikely change would be to play ALL of our friendlies (outside of January Camp) in Europe. Not only do we want that higher level of competition, but we want to expose MLSers to Europe and also cut down on the travel for our European based players.
well, they are doing Camp Cupcake in Qatar. The benefit only goes to the MLS players of course. Let’s see how many Scandinavian players attend and whether the same arguments about avoiding long distance travel will apply to US based players going across the pond and not only european based ones who have to travel to North America.
I think the main rebuttal is the loss of revenue. But, I would imagine that it would all even out because with home competitive matches, there will still be a number of games on American soil.
Another small change is quit playing MLS reserve games on the same day as MLS senior games. Take Brandon Vasquez just as a singular case example. He should be able to play for Atlanta United 2 on Friday night and be available for Atlanta United the next day. Ideally, I would rather see Atlanta United 2 look like this... —————-Vasquez———— Villalba———————Pereira —————-Carleton————- ——-Adams————Kratz—— Bello—————————Ambrose ———Campbell—-Metcalf——- ——————-Kann—————— bench: Moore, Bashti, Barajas, Kissedou, Kunga, Luiz Fernando, Okonkwo Instead of this... —————Okonkwo————— Kissiedou———————Clagette ——-Bashti—-Luiz Fernado——- —————Reilly——————— Benitez———————-Barajas ——Metcalf———-Tubbs———- ————-Castanheira————— and maybe have a u23 team of —————Conway————— Kanakimana—————Okonkwo —————Castro—————- ———-Reilly——Vint————- Benitez————————Clagette ———-Tubbs——Decas——- ——————-TBD—————
We don't have a Donovan or Dempsey but I don't believe this to be true. Guys like Morris or Arriola would have been starters on most versions of the USMNT.
I agree with the overall point but Pulisic is a huge talent and if he achieves anything near his ceiling, he’ll blow past Landon and Clint. my point, however, is that it’s incredibly hypocritical of Berhalter supporters to now claim that the problem is not the system/coach but rather that we have poor talent. If that’s the case, WTF is he thinking about when he picks a system that relies on technical superiority?
i dont have a set criteria for friendlies, but even if i did i dont think we are in a position to be especially married to one right now. berhalter aside we are in the midst of a generational turnover, and have wasted a lot of time (hiring berhalter). we have too much average mls talent/experience being integrated (or held over) as opposed to youth and potential, but, you know...berhalter. we would still be integrating a lot of youth/new players regardless- i dont know if the ideal of "we should be playing england and spain away" makes the most sense for us. frankly, we are at a point where playing a couple at costa rica and guatemala makes more sense than it has since the early 90s. im not sure these guys learning how to get those results isnt more important than showing them what its like in italy or sweden. we cant ignore the reality of our situation. we have a manager dead set on a style of play that (imo) doesnt fit us at all, and is just as set on using very questionable players (again, i feel). so let me restate what i said: jamaica and peru are bitch-slapping us around at home- how is portugal bending us over in lisbon going to be much better, or (more importantly) help us moving forward/long term? the one thing i think anyone not employed by the fed would agree on is we need to do ANYTHING other than these cash grab home friendlies. i just think road matches in mexico, costa rica, trinidad, ecuador, peru, colombia is about the "profile" we should be looking at currently. i think one set/window in europe would be fine for us, two would fine but all euro would counterproductive. might be good for some players, but not the team. quick aside: you mention travel- half the team has to cross the ocean regardless, so thats not a huge factor for me, thats more logistical/timing related than anything else. and a silver lining for your worries- berhalter keeps its well over 2/3 mls players so its not THAT many guys we are inconveniencing so i guess id say i agree we definitely need to get on the road, switch our focus away from as many mexico-in-texas matchups as we can squeeze onto the calendar to actually developing our team- i just dont think "lesser" quality is a huge issue. hex level concacf-comnebol seems about right to me, currently. we talk a lot about how we (had) qualified for 6 world cups in a row...well, these guys havent. not to say we shouldnt be aspirational, but we need some semblance of a foundation before we can start building.
How about too, just learn how to counter quickly and correctly? Jesus Christ, I’m so sick of US teams slowly building out of the back when in transition. if I’m the opposing team, I’m doing exactly what every team figures out against us... Press! Send numbers forward and just play the game in our defensive third. Hell, don’t worry about our counter. There will be plenty of time to regroup, and stuff the ball back down our throats.
This is probably the single biggest thing. I'm a big proponent of us trying to learn to play a positional / possession game with the ball. And I am okay with losing a friendly trying to do it. I don't think that means abandoning the counterattack. I don't get the point of that, ever. It's by far the best way to score in modern soccer, and nothing is really close. The only downside is, if it is the ONLY thing you can do, you are at the mercy of the other team's errors. But this team, when healthy, is most made to counterattack. Our CFs aren't, but players like Adams, McKennie, Weah and especially Pulisic, are a nightmare in the open field. Walking away from it is a terrible move.
exactly. It’s like a boxer who says I don’t need to learn to jab because I’m just going to knock everyone out with my hammer throw. no wonder why we look like a one armed boxer.
Ironically, it's one of the big reasons why I supported us trying to play more in possession. Because even in a game in which we are dominated, we'd still have 30% of the game where we have the ball, so let's have a real plan then. And when we are playing inferior opponents, let's not rely on tactics that don't work against bunkering teams. The best offenses in all sports are the most diverse and versatile. Gameplanning is the back and forth of the defense taking away something and the offense reacting to exploit something else. Teams that are reliant on one thing are more easily exposed. Possession/positional play should have been added to the existing arsenal, not replace it.
As far as not naming a long-term captain yet, I think the issue is that the roster is in such upheaval, the core is populated by youngsters, and the player's personalities are either submissive or jovial types. I can't think of a player with an alpha personality who would command respect from the pack in times of turmoil and fight for them against the opponent or ref if need be. If we could find that player I do think it would be a realistic small change which would be of utility. Because there are no shortage of lulls where the team lacks fire with nobody to infuse it in them on the field and they can get bullied with no advocates or recourse.
This. Also the more important small change, that would have a domino effect on other things we want to see, specifically counter attacking competently, would be having a sensible defensive strategy. I would like to see us press as a default. It suits our players and I’d love for someone to find me one example of a genuine possession team like we aspire to be, that does not press and specifically employs the half hearted, bend don’t break, passive low block defense... with two idiots up top pressing like chickens with their heads cut off. This improved against Canada and I credit it with everything positive from that game. If it continues it inherently creates the type of transition moments and counter attacks we need.