You act like I'm defending Berhalter. I'm saying that Jozy is still a perfectly adequate US striker, and that a knee-jerk reaction to include two strikers with 300 minutes of pro experience, combined, instead of him, isn't the right move.
Honestly, that was about how I rated Berhalter. No silverware, mostly middling finishes. Roughly Moyes. You could convince yourself he would improve with talent but it turns out the team actually needs work, in which case you’ve hired a mid pack grinder coach who never had to prove he could win. There were people who put up huge point totals in MLS last year. There were people who had won MLS. There were coaches abroad with stronger CVs. I think a fairly mediocre international option could probably offer the equivalent of fired by Hammarby and mid table Columbus. Was way down my list. The next one needs to objectively show the wins already on the resume as due diligence. No more of this wish fulfillment if we build it they will come crap. Here is objectively where I took over a team and what happened. Here is the leagues and trophies I won. Here are my international coaching successes.
Take the best 23 from the U23 and U20 pool. Then let them play Jamaica and Venezuela is back-to-back friendlies. When the lose by a combined score of 4-0 GB can say I told you they we not ready for the Sr. level yet.
Whatever the @USWNT is asking for, it should triple the demands. Maybe quadruple— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) June 9, 2019
To add on to that though he was playing with many players that seemingly would be a part of our NT for many years to come. The Antonee Robinson's and Tim Weah's of our program have multiple WC's in them if they pan out.
The good: Tyler Boyd can hit a set piece (only one bad delivery today, and a few balls that probably begged a better finish), McKennie's going to compete like a guy who's been in the Champions League, and Altidore returning to this squad is good news, despite some very silly opinions to the contrary. That's really it. Berhalter's coaching the team he wants rather than the team he has, and nothing good is going to come of it.
Mowed the lawn instead of watching. Looks like I made the right decision. And finally got the lawn to the correct height after trying all spring.
This is what USSF is doing to this program. Instead of giving us reason to have hope in our side, we're tearing them down for the women, who are frankly making ridiculously disingenuous arguments that media and our own fans are repeating uncritically.
I worry at least some of this is you got a couple old Dutch players hiring each other. Concacaf is the polar opposite of defense optional. Enough of the GM BS. Big picture, we want offense, we want defense, hire a coach who specializes there, turn it over. I fear we are in the place of missionaries hiring missionaries. How about, here is how to win an international game where the other team is getting ready for Copa America. People made fun of me saying this Gold Cup was a big deal. But this is the half of the cycle people take these tournaments seriously. Everyone else but us looks more ready. I don’t buy this is some MLS conspiracy thing. I do buy that we have wandered into the opposite cul de sac vs club snobbery where it becomes all about club minutes and MLS is an easier place to start. So you punish off the team the Greens, Weahs, Woods, Sargents, and at a certain cumulative point of doing that it’s like the German free bunch Arena called for the last qualifiers. You might as well be pro MLS biased because leaving off the less busy foreign based looks just like it. I agree with the idea that the offense can be fixed by proper selection but defense is going to be an issue. And Steffen kind of seems to have flaked out at precisely the tournament the coach decides an underwhelming roster in net with no effort to challenge him.
This is great! Berhalter just isnt picking the right MLS players. How can he pick 16 of them and miss the real gems? We shouldnt blame him too much. Sarachan, Arena, and Klinsmann couldnt find the "right" ones either.
What are the chances our women's team beats the men in a scrimmage right after they win the World Cup?
67 minutes in and #USMNT d-mid Wil Trapp has 4 measurable defensive actions. pic.twitter.com/uruCiOn2un— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) June 9, 2019
Tab Ramos would be better than GGG. Hell yeah I'd go back to Klinsmann rather than watch more of Trapp and Bradley. The carcass of Ream, Lovitz, and Roldan need to be put to pasture. It's not hard to find better players. It just takes guts and an eye for the future to pick a completely different lineup aimed toward being better come league of nations time than perhaps right now. Regardless this has shown repeatedly not to work so why does he keep doing the same damn thing?
I was very pleased with my Bermuda grass this morning—came back from the brink after not watering last summer. Resilient stuff. I think our national team is full dead though.
I said this over and over again before GB was named. Ernie sold us out and it will take years to get rid of GB
Berhalter asked if a result like this makes him consider changes both tactically and with personnel. He said, “We need to be calm.” Said that he’s still getting guys to where they need to be fitness-wise. #usmnt— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) June 9, 2019 Berhalter's bringing-out Jurgen's greatest press hits, only minus the implied shade thrown at MLS...
-Shot stopping is not a big strength of Steffen's, and he was allegedly written in as a starter because he's supposed to be a better distributor than Horvath. He's had two inexcusable gaffes in distribution in back to back games. Time for Horvath to get a shot when he's healthy. -Trapp provides no defensive presence in the midfield whatsoever and he badly struggles offensively against athletic front lines that can press.
Let’s see: The system must be played independent of the best players? Why could we not have had Tata USSF leadership? This system was focused on organization? Berhalter was a defender so how does he explain that game today? Pulisic at half speed or half of the U20s would have been far better than that display today. I cannot stand Long or Miazga. Who actually was the captain (sarcasm implied) and what did he do today? Ridiculous - if it does not vastly improve over the next few games Berhalter needs to be sacked. This is ridiculous and just tired of the favorites (Steffens, Gyardes, and Trapp).
I don't get it. You are the 20th person to echo this about the LB position. A position that literally did nothing wrong the last few games and is of very little consequence in this system. It just boggles my mind, given many of the other performances, that Ream and Lovitz are getting hosed. Yeah, they aren't flashy players, but I don't know how relevant criticizing them is in the context of these matches. Not specifically calling you out but again it's just so bizarrely thrown out there by many and it's an area that is the least of our problems.
One more point That field was an embarrassment for USSF. Can we please stop playing on fields with natural grass laid over synthetic?
Zimmerman is supposedly the best CB in MLS this year. Long was the best CB last year. Gonzo was the best 4 years ago (or was it 5?). Maybe that isnt a good indicator for the USMNT. I saw many suggesting Long/Zimmerman pairing was the answer. How do people feel about that after today?