I don't mean to be dismissive, but how good a player like Gooch was when he was 16 is irrelevant at this point. Players don't progress linearly, and Gooch has improved tremendously over the last 5 years. I also don't get the idea that Gooch somehow has a low ceiling. He's one of the best US players at crossing the ball at any level right now, has good dribbling skills for a winger, and was measured by Opta (One of the top sports data companies in the world that is employed by many teams across various sports) as one of the quickest players in the entire premier league this season. He's not limited by anything.
I don't mind Gooch and think he can be a future MNT pool player and contributor, but would not pick him long-term over the likes of Pulisic, Carleton, Tillman, Shashoua (and a few others younger) who have been consistently top prospects to this point, and who in my opinion have a very high career ceiling. Gooch looks pretty good in a vacuum but, in my opinion, less so when forced to choose between him and certain others. I'd bring 50 players to a World Cup if I could, but some very tough cuts are going to be made for future MNT rosters given the increasingly talented crops of young players.
Bit of a head scratcher. FJ back to LB? still viable at 34? Olosunde in midfield? I'm not even sure he makes the team at RB, his usual position. Tillman, I buy. Puli, CCV, and Yedlin as well. GZ if he reaches his potential. I think with the others there are better options but not a bad line-up.
Projecting 9 years into the future is largely an exercise in futility. I could tell Dempsey was going to be a starter in 2 WC's and was on the verge of the next WC's XI in his rookie year but he was in his 20's and I had seen him play hundreds of minutes against men. At the time I also expected Szetela and Gaven to be on the roster in 2 WC's, that wasn't exactly a fringe opinion either. I think people should make projections based on probabilities. The biggest single component is a player's individual quality. The largest creators of uncertainty are a lack of first team experience and age. Spot minutes are different than long runs in the lineup. The level of play also matters when weighing the performance (how well that player does relative to peers and historical points of comparison).
Josh Sargent starting to get some international attention: http://www.marca.com/futbol/estados-unidos/2017/05/24/5925fa97e5fdea272f8b464e.html
Check out @3four3's Tweet: Do you understand that even if the U17s/U20s won the World Cup, it would mean nothing with respect to doing what's right in the US?— 3four3 (@3four3) May 23, 2017
Unless there is Pro/Rel Gary doesn't see any improvement. Period. He's blinded for some reason. Would love to know why he is so butt hurt.
From what I've seen he is also selling a product in his 3four3 coaching. So he needs people to believe that everything the US soccer fed is doing is "the wrong way" and only the way he teaches things is the right way.
That's one way. Another way is to just say we teach the game the right way. There is a growing improvement to our coaching nation wide and we're leading the way.
This is something the Matt Doyle crowd will have a really tough time with. They think anyone who's American and starts and scores a time or two in MLS has suffered a great injustice not to be called in. They are wrong. These are the people who mention folks like Tommy McNamara for a callup. And that should never, ever happen. Similarly, they lobbied Willll Trap into a couple when there is absolutely no reason since he sucks nuts. Lots of fans will need to learn to adjust their expectations of what "deserves a look". Hitting a couple of crackers and assists over a month won't do it. Nor should it.
First of all, you spelled his name wrong. Second of all, thats not true. And third of all, Doyle dislikes him as much as anyone. Lets not make this into MLS, MLS media, Europe, Europe media. There are plenty of claims for players playing in all different types of leagues who don't actually deserve NT call ups. I could rattle off the names of players playing in LigaMX or Europe who've been mentioned many times, yet don't come close to deserving a call up.
Holy shit the people in his replies are delusional. Sure most prospects don't pan out but that's true in any sport. Kleiban is off base or perhaps just saying what he needs to say to keep the gravy train rolling. We could have worse results but if we do things his way he wouldn't be saying anything to the effect of the system needing an overhaul. His replies are the definition of a circlejerk.
Very true. But I guess I consume more MLS related media, so I see a lot of it. oops, did I? Agree to disagree. Damn, I hate when I agree with him.
What hurts me most is that I agree with him that significant structural and personnel changes need to happen. In some senses they are. As many people do he can't recognize things that have improved and what still needs to be fixed without Pro/Rel. He's a one trick pony making snarky remarks without detail. He takes a cheap shot on twitter and I sit there trying to figure out what he means by it.
I was also thinking the value of targeting duel nationals will start to diminish as we grow our domestic player pool.
I get what you mean, but I hope we always go after dual nationals who are good enough to play for us. Why not? At the full squad level, I just want to win.
Dual Nationals will always be a part of the USMNT. Its apart of being an American and having an immigrant population. What will happen is the level of the 'dual national' will just increase. Any American who can help our team will always be welcomed by coach, team, and fans alike.