Conspiracy theory? No. These are just relationships in play in the way they are in most industries. Some argue these relationships are too cozy. Others don't care. Still others don't think anything in particular is wrong.
all i can tell you is i was super-excited to watch the usa argentina copa america semifinal game...went to a bar in a big city with a group of argies....putrid, pathetic attempt by the usa....was in germany in 2014 ...super pumped to watch usa germany.........usa had zero shots on goal in first 90 minutes....that SUX imo.... for a country as big as the usa is...with a such a sporting culture...the relative success of the USMNT flat out sux.....yeah in absolute terms - there are a bunch of small countries that are worse....but that is immaterial. the usa has everything it needs to be elite EXCEPT leadership imo...and SUM is in charge.
Now there's a way for the US to kill off support for US Men's Soccer: show how completely out of their league they are to the entire US population on national television! I bet the howls of laughter you got from the Argentines you were with must have been terrible, though.
I think extending or renewing the agreement is a no brainer for USSF. MLS will probably double their existing contract and double USSF's media rights income in the process.
So then at what point does conflict of interest come into play for the sake of the program? who will stand-up? When will the USMNT have a transparent National team selection? The CEO of SUM is the commissioner of MLS to 2023. That same person is also on the USSF board. Are we going to pretend that Garber does not have selection power on this team? Why was Jay Berhalter on the GM hiring selection as a chief commercial deputy for a soccer decision? Earnie then hired his brother Gregg? how much longer are we going to pretend? Are we going to be ok with Bradley playing to 35 years old just so he can both a) get the caps record and/or b) be on the WC 2022 if we make it? how many more former USMNT players does Bradley have to fight with after a bit of criticism? Why did Don Garber only call Bradley and Jozy after the T& T loss, to tell them it was not their fault, even though those two lacked the most urgency of the situation? Sure its a no-brainer for them, but its disgusting for the fans who pay to support a non-profit. Any defense of this cartel are those who have a personal connection to it or make money off it.
Garber does not have to have selection power over the team: he only needs to have input in the coaching selection.
It's unfortunate that legit criticism of USMNT governance drifts into unreasonable claims and connect-the-dots nonsense.
Disprove what I wrote. Disprove that Don Garber is not the CEO of SUM and the MLS commissioner and has a seat on the USSF board. Disprove that SUM has legal power on certain USSF matters. Disprove that Jay Berhalter was not in the select decision making group for the hiring of earnie stewart who then hired his brother. Disprove it or you are here to just deny and deflect.
why so desperate to discredit factual analysis of 100% factual events. is 3+3 =6 , an unreasonable claim?
nah actually one of them is one of my best friends...and they all live in the us....theyre all cool....was just embarassing like watching shaq play an elementary schooler in bball
It's unfortunate that legit criticism of the USMNT is dismissed as unreasonable claims and connect-the-dots nonsense. There probably isn't a cabal of cackling evil admins anywhere, but the entire set up is akin to all of the US government "iron triangles".
https://www.philly.com/soccer/gregg-berhalter-jay-us-soccer-carlos-cordeiro-dan-flynn-20181205.html Here's a list of USSF board members: https://www.ussoccer.com/about/governance/board-of-directors BTW, when the USSF Board makes decisions about MLS and/or SUM Garber does not take part in those votes or discussions. Which USSF matters would these be exactly? Marketing the National Teams in the US? Then, yes, they do. The USSF has hired SUM to market the national teams, and also negotiate their media rights deals. Do we really want the USSF marketing their own teams? We';ve all seen how well the USOC is marketed, and the boatload of $$$ the USSF gets for it's USOC TV rights................oh wait....never mind. Outside of marketing and media rights what USSF matters does SUM have legal powers over?
1) So you are agreeing with me? You basically just provided proof for my point. Interesting because I said to disprove it. You also provided evidence of Jay mingling in others roles and not being penalized for it, rather promoted. 2) Prove it, that he never discusses matters with any board members on his entities before voting. 3) WE MISSED THE 2018 WC. once again we are talking about a boatload of cash to justify the SUM deal, but we MISSED the WORLD CUP. USSF loses more opportunity gains from missing the world cup and big tournaments than it makes in any future tv deal. SOCCER SHOULD BE FIRST. Not extra uneccessary profit. This is not Goldman Sachs, oh wait... it might be, our federation president hails from there. USSF should do its own marketing, the importance should be to grow the game organically from the grassroots of all towns and that's where you start. its time for USSF to take off the Diapers and stop being Garber's B*tch. The CEO of SUM is the commissioner of MLS, how could you sit here and tell me there is no bias?
You can call it conflict of interest or you can call it mutual interest. USSF have gone for an establishment choice. That was inevitable when Stewart was appointed. They've gone for a guy who has a habit of getting the best out of limited talent, which is a challenge that the US faces. As for Bradley, I don't think he should be in the team but I don't think he's being selected so that he sets any record. Maybe GB thinks he can get the best out of the player, which would be an asset to the team but I'd rather see Adams and McKennie in central midfield. As for greed, other than Flynn and Stewart's salaries, I hope most of the money will be reinvested in the game. Ticket prices suck. They should be capped at $30 until the Fed can actually fill stadiums again. England went through a similar phase in the 1980s when Wembley was a third full for England games and the media called on the FA to move games to league grounds. Conflict of interest. In which major sport in the US, or major soccer league in the world isn't there a conflict of interest? Liga MX has 57% of Fed votes. All these issues will go away if Berhalter is a success. If he fails we'll end up with Loew or Martino or the like.
The USSF is not making unnecessary profits. Hence the term "non-profit". All the accounts are out there, in the open.
what % of USMNT profits does SUM get to keep in exchange for whatever it does with the USMNT? If that # is higher than ZERO - than HELL YEAH THERE is more than a "conspiracy" Also - SUM has shown itself to be an absolutely CLUELESS entity when it comes to what happens ON THE FIELD.... 100% of every decision they make is about profits/money/greed/marketing....NOT SOCCER. might be hard to grasp for people who are products of such an uber-capitalistic society as the USA - but the dynamic of having an only economically-motivated controlling entity such as SUM so deeply and powerfully involved in the machinations of a national team (in this case the USMNT) - is certainly a hindrance to ON THE FIELD RESULTS... the dynamic is inescapable and deleterious....and always will be! decision-making is what will cause the USMNT to reach new heights OR continue to wallow in mediocrity - if the decisions being made in regards to the USMNT are being made by suits with little knowledge of and expertise in the game - is it really any wonder that the team has been stuck in a never-ending loop of suckitude? even if the decision makers were absolute experts - like they actually are in many other countries - the problem of self-interest is very real. The decision-makers in the USA are also the ones who stand to PERSONALLY PROFIT from what happens - even though the USSF is supposedly a "non-profit" (what a joke!)... beyond that - MLS has not shown it knows anything about how to be successful internationally - they get torn apart by mexican teams that get torn apart by asian and african teams in the club world cup on the reg. MLS has shown that it does not prioritize USMNT - (to its own considerable detriment, imo!) - and when it does intervene or attempt to influence the USMNT - it is only to get more of its MLSers into the USMNT - results be-damned. MLS wants USA players in MLS - FOR MARKETING PURPOSES - results be-damned- it wanted - until very recently to get as many USMNT players in MLS as possible RESULTS BE DAMNED - which indeed did DAMN RESULTS.... MLS/SUM would benefit SO MUCH from a great USMNT....it should be one of its highest priorities, imo...... instead, when it does intervene into the world of the USMNT - it often makes things worse!!!! What isn't clear to me is whether or not this is just because MLS doesn't know what it is doing and is generally incompetent when it comes to making the USMNT better or whether its economic interests have willfully trumped USMNT success knowingly.....I think it is probably a combination of both.
The USMNT wasn't making any money from broadcasting rights before SUM. And who is it that's profiting exactly?
On the new Planet Fútbol podcast, I asked Garber about the remarks from Cordeiro and Wynalda. Here’s what Garber said when I asked if he agreed with Cordeiro that there are conflicts that need to be addressed: “I don’t,” Garber said. “It surprises me, because Carlos has been on the board for a decade. He has been part of every discussion that took place at the board regarding the SUM agreements and knows all well that anybody associated with Major League Soccer has been entirely recused from those discussions.” “They’ve been out of the room, whether that’s me, whether that was Jeff Agoos, for example, when he was working for Major League Soccer, or any other athlete that’s associated with our league. That is the federation’s policy, and, again, we’re serious people. We understand that this relationship which is so strategically important for the growth of the sport is one that needs to be beyond any question. So anybody can look at our minutes and see the fact that we’ve been 100 percent recused from those discussions.” https://www.si.com/soccer/2018/01/25/sum-soccer-united-marketing-garber-gulati-carter
All the promotion a Mexico friendly needs is fixture list. Agree that they do a pretty bad job of promoting most USMNT friendlies although the San Diego, Chattanooga and Nashville games were OK. God knows why they ever schedule fixtures in Harrison and Carson.
And we know that Garber is a beacon of integrity and his word should never be questioned. Signed, Columbus Crew fans
He claims it's minuted and published for anyone to review. I'm no fan of Garber the person and he's made a lot of mistakes including Crew to Austin and NYCFC.