As a Union fan, I'm very impressed with our new GM. He seems like a better evaluator of talent than the last guy.
this thread had a good run. wtf is us soccer doing? adding a new layer of bureaucracy without clarifying anything and leaving the usmnt adrift when el tri is actively trying to poach our best young dual nationals.
lose to mexico in the Gold Cup and they give you a promotion. https://sbisoccer.com/2019/08/earni...e=smg&utm_medium=wasabi&utm_content=home-hero
I don't have the energy or the interest to figure out what the purpose of all this is, but I can only assume it's more BS from the federation. How does an organization like this have so much money yet so little responsibility to function effectively?
Folks, let's try to avoid using the terminology of the dark ages to express disappointment. For example, I just had to delete the r word.
This is welcome news. Not that I think Earnie will do such a good job based on his previous experience and what he talks about implementing, but with this promotion actually he has power to influence the way the entire Fed is set up from youth up. No more talking about a culture and meal prepping for the USMNT, he actually has authority to make changes. Whether or not he is good at this role, we shall see. I don't think he really is someone Id want at that position when there are much more capable minds out there to become Sporting Director, but its a step in the right direction as far as Fed set up. To answer your question though, it is because there is really zero oversight or care about what happens outside of a small subset of the fan base who deals with a lot of the BS that is the fed. So no real change has to come because no one really who is in power cares enough to make it happen.
He's also no longer the GM. The women's side hired Kate Markgraf the men's side will hire a new GM and Earnie is over both of them and the whole soccer side of the program. So ... who do people want as the men's GM?
We'll see. He's in charge of making all the different levels do similar things and it will take time to see how that works out. We've always argued about having a national style and now that some may (I emphasize may) be doing that everyone's dumping on him. You all could seriously be right but none of this is ever something instant and I think you all know that. Just look at how many of the U20's are with pretty good well known clubs. That's the right path and hopefully the U17's are on that same path. I think the women are in future trouble but if gets their GM bought in to easing out of their style and advancing to what the younger men are doing with similar training and their new GM both sides may become more similar and integrated. Wonder if coaches will move between boys and girls age teams?
I just don't really know enough about what people in these positions are supposed to do to feel too strongly about Stewart's promotion one way or another. From the outside, it seems like the only thing Stewart was clearly responsibly for as GM was hiring Berhalter. When a new GM comes in, what's he going to do? Wait around for Berhalter to suck badly enough to give him the axe? I like the idea of having an overarching director to oversee all the teams--men, women, and youth, but didn't Klinsmann have something like that role too? I'm not sure if anything changed for having him doing that.
if the GM's job is to help select players for the coach....(which I think player selection is a weakness of GB's)....then who would be the best GM from a "roster construction" angle? Maybe some MLS GM's? Lagerway? Bocanegra? Thorrington? Who has the best "eye for talent"? and in an international context not just a domestic sense? who knows enough about all of the leagues and how they compare to know who should an shouldn't be getting caps/callups?? Is that even part of the GM's job? What are the job duties of the GM as far as the USMNT is concerned?
Here's what Stewart was working on as GM: https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2018/06/job-description-what-will-the-new-mnt-gm-work-on --Creating the environment—both day-to-day and long-term—for the Head Coach and the Men’s National Team to succeed; --Ensuring that U.S. Soccer’s Style of Play, Team Tactical Principles, and Key Qualities are being implemented within the Men’s National Team; --Creating a player profile for each position on the field based on the Style of Play, Team Tactical Principles, and Key Qualities; --Working with the Head Coach to create positional depth charts based on the player profile, accounting for player’s current and potential ability to compete at the highest levels in the world; --Evaluating and monitoring players coming up through the Youth National Team programs and ensuring that the best talent is identified and cultivated; and, --Communicating and working with the Sport Development Departments to drive technical alignment and integration, including Coaching Education, Player Development, High Performance, Talent Identification and Youth National Teams.
Unlikely based on the previous Araujo discussion (where he was disappointed not to have been in communication with anyone from the US). Maybe that will be part of his new gig? After Couva I assumed my whole "I won't watch any of the Old Lions again" schtick. I haven't watched a full 90 since (and only a bit of the Sarachan friendlies). But the more I hear from the new Fed leadership, the more I think the disappearance of the Old Lions might not even bring me back. Not sure I can support such an awful organization.
I could care less about organizations, Front offices and owners. I only care for the players and the team. No way I'm letting any bureaucrats stop me from watching and enjoying soccer.
Generally agree, except the organization in this case is the one making the consistently awful decisions that are frequently opposite of putting the best team on the field...
Not sure he did anything. No one knows what the GM role included, the responsibilities. Everything is one big mystery. Makes USSF look even more shady and incompetent. Who is the next "GM?" It will probably be a former men's national team player. Doesn't exactly narrow it down. Probably has to be a "yes man." Unnecessary bureaucracy. Has Gregg's brother replaced Flynn yet?
My question would be - "How do the responsibilities of the entirely newly-created role of 'Sporting Director' differ from the General Manager's?" The only explanation given is that the Sporting Director "will oversee U.S. Soccer’s entire Sports Performance Department, including the men’s and women’s senior and youth National Team programs. He will also oversee all other Sports Performance departments, including Talent Identification, High Performance and Analytics." This baffles me because first off: We have Talent Identification, High Performance, and Analytics departments? And second, couldn't these responsibilities have been sufficiently covered under the previous leadership structure? Why create the extra layer? I have four wildly speculative theories on this. 1) Cordeiro, Flynn, and the rest of the executive discovered that they were increasingly bored of the whole "soccer" thing, while Earnie was finding all this "work" that he had to do as a General Manager to be tedious. So, they created this position both to lighten the amount of day-to-day work Earnie would be responsible for, freeing him up for more corporate golf trips and corporate dinners, and also to further insulate the executives from having to deal with "soccer". 2) Earnie wanted more control over the youth teams, but they couldn't do that without unseating Tab Ramos, who only remained because he was assured he'd maintain his Technical Director role over youth development. So Earnie gets conveniently elevated above Tab's head, with oversight over both the senior and youth teams - and as a practicality, Earnie will continue General Manager duties in the interim while the "search" goes on for years and years. 3) They needed to hire a WNT GM after it sitting vacant for over a year, and it would be good publicity to bring in a USWNT alum like Markgraf and parade her around as a sign of how much they cared. But Kate would definitely stand up for the USWNT and equal pay and other issues. So they created a position of immediate superiority over her to overrule anything she does that opposes the USSF and make sure she toes the party line. 4) Craziest theory - they already have someone who they want to bring on board, and they needed to create a position for him, so they give Earnie a promotion and vacate the GM spot. They make a show of searching for the right candidate and then just pick the guy they wanted. I say this is the craziest and least likely explanation, because it would imply the USSF has the capability for forward planning and moving quickly. In this scenario, the GM spot is filled quickly, with Berhalter's wife or someone, before the end of the year (which is quick by USSF standards).
Assessment thread? Uhhhhmmm F? You had one real job in your made up fake job, giving someone else a job. Took forever to interview two shitty candidates that speak English and select the worst one. Or he gets an A for his real job, doing other interests bidding; going to press conferences to pretend this whole fiasco wasn’t rigged from the beginning and to mumble inane platitudes and excuses for not conducting any coaching search at all. This whole ridiculous saga is an orgy of incompetence.