Alert: U.S. Soccer has extended Klinsmann's contract to 2018

His benching of Bradley was either calculated to let Michael ease into dealing with the guy who pushed and pushed and pushed to get his dad fired, or stupid. Probably the former, since I must have missed when Michael Bradley was a guy who was a problem or ego driven headache. I wouldn't blame JK for being apprehensive about dealing with the son of a guy he Hugo Sanchez'd.

His benching of Altidore was similarly dumb, in that I'm not sure it did anyone any good except make JK look like a hardass. Any credit for Altidore's breakout 2012-3 goes to Verbeek, not a meatball, misguided benching because the forward who was isolated with maybe one other attacker on the field with him wasn't magically carrying the team and overcoming a massive tactical handicap. Or did you forget the lineups we trotted out there leading up to his "benching"? Jozy was scapegoated for our anemic attack that had more to do with lineups involving Danny Williams and Kyle Beckerman in them. Note Jozy's improved play for the NT coincided with us not playing 7 defensive minded or offensively-limited guys on the field along with Jozy, Clint and like one other guy.

As far as Donovan is concerned, I think JK and he have a bad relationship dating back to the situation JK put Landon in at Bayern, and similar to Bradley, tap me on the shoulder and let me know when the first time Landon Donovan acts like an ego driven headache whose bigger than the team. If its in regards to his sabbatical, I have more respect for the guy who recognizes his head isn't in the right spot and bows out so as to not hurt the team by giving less than his best, than I do the guy who holds that against him.

You've just gone full meatball on this one.

 

Well aren't you antagonistic? I've certainly got the impression that Jurgen is bigger than the players with his whole Bill Parcels BS, and it seems to be effective at least currently, regardless of your overuse of the word "meatball."

And speaking of speculation, where is the evidence that Klinsmann "Hugo Sanchez'd" Bradley anyway? Personally I thought it was a good change as the team had been in a bit of a rut after the World Cup and through the 2011 Gold Cup. A new manager can help with that.

 

Gomez looked good when he played in his place....just sayin'.

 

Bigger than the players? Huh?

Also:



JK all but held up a sign that said "Your team/federation is broken so give me what I want and I'll fix it".

(LOLZ at the idea that Dempsey, who created 3 goals in the tournament, was somehow subpar against Ghana)

Finally, I'm not being "antagonistic", its just that you're making some pretty abstract and baseless conclusions, and I'm pointing out how that narrative doesn't hold water when scrutinized. We don't have a team full of egos or distractions, and the idea that JK somehow forged this bond of unity despite the me-first attitude of some guys when he got there is right up there with the idea that we as a team were somehow lacking in the fitness department when he got here.

 

When?

 

Throw in Sigi' or Kinnear and I GUARANTEE you they don't have our team playing what we are like now, nor stick so 'close' to the supposed plan we have in place for youth.

We'd probably still be playing bunker ball aka Kinnear ball looking like the same old coaches from our past.

Remember when people argued we couldn't play a more attractive style at the NT level, and it would come after 20 years of it developing and cooking little by little at the youth level? Those same folks (you too) thought it was smarter to play what is our bread and butter (bunker ball) and exploit our players talents (speed, size, strength) and what they're used to.

That turned out to be a conclusion that was wrong. JK has our NT playing more attractive, more possession oriented, and confident out there with just a couple of years under his belt. Not teh 20+ people predicted before our NT would look like they do now.

I'd like to see a Kinnear, Schmidt do that.

 

Starting vs. Brazil on-Gomez was the best CF we had until Altidore refound his form/legs, and started finally working his butt out there.

 

How so? Against CONCACAF opposition we have been playing possession, attractive, confident soccer for a decade. In the last 6 years we've played Mexico even up as opposed to in the past. How did the 2007-11 team look un-confident as opposed to this vintage?

These are things, ideas, that aren't based in reality.

 

Work rate isn't what you look for at that spot. When did Gomez (who I love) look better than Jozy?

If the argument is that he ran around more and harder, you're right, but I fail to see how running around a lot=better.

 

I wouldn't describe it as a team full of egos, so much as a team of players who felt their jobs completely secure. That's where he's shaken things up a bit and it certainly doesn't hurt that he had a more prestigious career than anyone on the team. It's not a unity thing so much as there seems to be more competition for roster spots. Players seem to feel like they've got to earn it more than in the past, at least by my impression of the situation.

 

Here are the lineups Jozy got to play with in 2012:

You'd look like crap too if that was your supporting cast. CR7 would struggle with those teammates. It was Altidore and Dempsey, and then 20 yards of nothing, and then the morass of a midfield involving Edu, Williams, and Beckerman. Away to Jamaica, it was a Beckerman/Jones/Edu and FJ midfield giving him "service".

Note that last one is the Russia game...notice how there's actually a decent lineup with him out there? Coincidentally, that was the game people pointed to when Jozy "turned the corner" and looked better. Of course he did! He was actually put in a position to succeed!

 

He's called in the same core group of guys his whole tenure. How has he engendered more competition for spots? The CBs were always going to see turnover, and our offensive core is still Dempsey, Bradley and Altidore along with Donovan. The guys who were in a position to see their jobs secure....still have their jobs to date. Howard is still the #1. Jones and Bradley are still the #1 CM pairing. Dempsey and Altidore are still the offensive spearhead. Donovan is still the best RM they have....who got replaced that wasn't going to be replaced anyway?

What positions have had open competition? He's opened up bench spots, sure, but that's something that every coach does.

Note that you said "seem to" and "seems too". It's you projecting a narrative onto a situation.

 

I like to think it's what we've done to Germany, Bosnia, Scotland, Italy (yes we bunkered but with possession), etc. as far as a preview of WHAT he could do for us.

In the past, we've bunkered when it came to teams who were better than us on paper. And that meant clearing it to the half way line any time we had a chance to touch the ball if under pressure/attack in the back.

What we saw vs. Italy was something I never seen when we 'bunkered' under any US coach. Calm under pressure, tight passing, that led to amazing counter attacks I wasn't used to seeing the US do.

Gomez looked better once he started getting looks off the bench; he would make runs to space that Jozy when coming on as a sub wouldn't do. When Gomez and Jozy switched roles because of ineffectiveness, Jozy wasn't happy and it was showing on the field with his lack of effort. Not to mention rumors of him 'playing around' and not taking training as serious as others. I could see it. Under Bob, Altidore could do no wrong. He was an out and out starter along with Donovan and Bradley. For JK to come in and shake things up, start guys we didn't see or ever thought of as starting material, and bench those we thought were shoe ins in the 11.... didn't work for Altidore. He didn't have that CF role as his anymore and was in danger of losing it if he didn't score...which happened. Once he lost his starting role, he was like a kid who was unhappy playing off the bench...it showed.

Gomez made the most of it, scored some goals, but more importantly because of his effort in opening the backline and making dangerous runs/crosses from those runs...made goals for Dempsey and others easier. Altidore lacked that to his game at the time (for the NT).

Altidore is for me, our best forward ever now. He's gained that part of his game and is a better goal scorer from it. It's verbeek who broke him, and rebulit him. JK didn't take his crap either when he showed up to practice thinking he was the shit. I think him getting left off the NT forced him to change his NT self to what we saw already at that time for AZ. Is JK the reason why he is performing like he is for the NT? No. Verbeek is...but JK is the one who didn't take his crap when he started reverting to the Altidore prior to Verbeek. He forced the Verbeek Version to come out and play for the NT. Since then...we have had this beast who outworks all of our forwards and is a more natural talent than we have up front. Love it.

 

First, the idea that we "bunkered with possession" against Italy is wrong. We held 39% possession in that game. We had two total shots on target, and 4 total. That isn't amazing counter attacking. That's typical US against a better side away. Second, Scotland sucks. They're the Canada of UEFA. Looking great against them in the Florida heat isn't some accomplishment.

Third, everything you wrote about Altidore is the narrative that the US soccer media decided to construct. He wasn't lazy, he "couldn't do no wrong under Bob", JK didn't "shake things up" for anyone, and again, go ahead and look at those lineups he started games in, and tell me how he was supposed to do anything. JK starting guys that had no business starting wasn't some brilliant motivating force that only Jozy didn't buy into. It was stupid. It was poor player evaluation and a waste of time.

JK didn't "force" Jozy to become or do anything. He started writing lineup cards that featured good players on them instead of a pile of suck and 16 feet of center midfielders. Credit him for correcting that and putting his attackers in positions to succeed, not for some meatballish "bringing the best out of him because he didn't take his crap hurr durr".

Had the US soccer press decided to push the narrative of the "Coach who comes in talking about attacking and proactivity and such, but instead trotted out defensive-minded lineups against everyone for a year and why is that?", this wouldn't be a thing.

 

You're arguing with my eyes dude. I can just think of his sub appearences vs. Guate' and Jamaica and how bad he looked. He lacked the effort out there and it showed.

Again, I am not talking nubers, watch how Fabian J. Edu, Bradley, all played it to feet, down the middle to other players, or on the wings. Gone are the days of Gooch, Bornstein, Demerit, Boca' (who was a different player vs. Italy) who only knew to clear it when under any pressure vs. a player who was better; the first match vs. Brasil in the Conf cup is one of the prime ggames of Bunker ball that pops in my head.

 

Yes, clearly the 39% of possession we had demonstrates an amazing ability to play the ball calmly to feet and out to the wings.

Contrast that with your example of bunker ball, where we held....40% possession. Man, those guys were just booting it wherever.

http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/arc...uthafrica2009/results/match=66207/report.html

 

To each there own.

You only look at spreadsheets... I actually watch the games.

 

Sigh. All this is to say that one cannot point to any objective "thing" and say "this is because of JK and his grand vision".

There's no proof of it. There's nothing there that hasn't already been there, been a thing, or been in place. Several posters have asked for something tangible, and all we've gotten was constructed narratives, unfounded speculation, and references to performances that aren't really any different than performances past.

He's certainly been able to construct a narrative around himself that a large chunk of the fanbase has accepted as truth, so I suppose that's something.

At the end of the day, lest someone read all this and think OMGHEZHATIN....I'm very happy with his performance in 2013, and am bullish on our chances next summer, and JK deserves credit for said performances in 2013.

 

Edu can't play to feet because has 2 bricks down there.

 

It is clear nothing that YOU will accept at any rate. Especially since you disregard the record books. You can continue ranting about the glass being half empty. USSF and many here think it is half full. So carry on, you and your JK has done nothing syncophants can have your thread back.

 

Disagree. It would take me going through games and pointing out moments of brilliance from players we're not used to seeing 'brilliant' football at times...but I don't have time to make a video showing this.

It's things that easy to dig up statistics can't prove.

There's no huge 'change', besides little things we're seeing now on the field that most proably won't see statistically...but take that as you wish. If something isn't there to you, then it isn't. Can't show you unless I put in serious effort which I don't feel is worth it lol.

I could also say this is unfounded speculation, based on your opinion and what he feel.

I hope you don't think I think I am thinking "OMGHEZHATIN"... if anything I respect your opinion becasue I can see where you're coming from (as far as how you come to your conclusions).

But I agree, the man has had a great 2013 and has done awsome so far with our NT having us qualify as #1.

Remember when folks thought we were dead in the water, not even going to qualify to the WC because of JK's insane tinkering? OMGOROZCOFISCALWENOTGOIN2AWC!

 

Consistently? I'd agree with you. Had a HELL of a game vs. Italy though. God can't even take that away from him

 

Quick, athletic can break up plays. Scared if he's on ball though vs team pressing.

 

The guy can play though on his 'good days'. These days though....he's got it ROUGH if he wants to think about making it to the WC.