We failed to qualify, so yeah, we're pretty desperate. Green is a reasonable candidate for the general pool. No one is claiming he needs to be a starter or needs to be in the 23.
I tend to agree that the parent(s) being US servicemen is irrelevant except for the fact that it makes them American. I believe any American should be able to play for the national team. Nobody loses the rights that go with being an American by moving to another country. Why should anyone be denied the privilege of representing their country? I'll try to rephrase your question: "Should we base eligibility for the US national team on citizenship only or should we have a quota system for players that have not been raised or developed in our country?" My answer is that we have no choice. It would be wrong to prevent citizens the opportunity to play for the US based solely upon their place if upbringing. Would it be right to maintain a quota system for Texans? Of course this argument is very similar to the idea of affirmative action which has been extremely controversial over the years. (slight understatement?) I believe that there is nothing wrong with using the relative numbers as a gauge of the health of our development system and it is ok to be disappointed that our development system is not producing enough domestic talent to keep pace with the expected percentage of the US national team members. The solution, however, is to improve the system at home.
I’d agree, but those who are suggesting we shouldn’t include these players are implicitly applying a scale to American a person is. If I was going to waste my time on such a debate, I’d put serviceman very high on the list.
Anyone who doesn't look like he's giving 100% shouldn't be allowed to play for the NT, whether dual or not, regardless of whether he's the best player in Real Madrid or Bayern. The moment you have a guy half-arsing it, and he keeps getting called, morale goes to the crapper. Lacking individual technical gifts, the USA has always depended on top notch morale.
The German turnaround came after the DFB forced the Bundesliga to invest more in youth development, among other things. The Fed should regulate MLS and other leagues to the benefit of soccer as a whole. Having a stable professional league is a bare necessity of a healthy soccer culture. Having a stable multi-league structure is even better.
I agree with you but i tend to feel that a person should stand on their own merits. Not on the merits of their parents. That line of thinking would apply to any servicemen but not to their children (in my opinion).
The USSF is a private organization, not a branch of the US Government. It's not really accurate to call the kind of collaboration that was being suggested between USSF and MLS as Communist.
I guess Arena would consider this player "not American"? Maybe it is just a case of 'there are players in MLS who play his position"? Monterrey’s Jonathan Gonzalez: U.S. didn't contact me about November call-up #eltrieng #ligamxeng... https://t.co/AvZP2WwOCh— Tom Marshall (@mexicoworldcup) January 2, 2018
Well.................Arena wasn't the coach for that friendly. The USSF doesn't have a president (just a lame duck), technical director, full-time USMNT coach, or U23 coach. There is no strategy here other than the interim coach decided to call up McKennie, Adams, Acosta, etc. instead for that November friendly. I don't think there's more to read into it than that. And if they had called him up for that friendly (which they obviously should have), he'd still be eligible to make a one-time switch to Mexico. He's provisionally cap-tied to the USMNT after appearing in the U20 CONCACAF Championships for the US in 2017. At which he was our youngest field player. I know there's a group panic-session going on right now about Gonzalez' status. However, the only thing we can do is hope he's committed to our program. If he's willing to switch because we didn't call him up for a meaningless friendly, then that's not commitment.
With Jona dos Antros "retiring," the Mexicans are starting to look at their young midfield alternatives. Also, there's the lure of always making the World Cup. On the other hand, Jonathan seems 100% committed to the USA, regardless of the calls of "Judas" he gets over there.
Not anymore, Gonzalez declared for Mexico. Who could blame him, given the shambles the USMNT is in right now? USSF is a mess. The MNT is a mess. Our scouting is a mess. Our youth development is a mess. The only thing that isn't a total mess is the WNT. That's just how bad things are right now. I don't see it getting any better for decades, since our leadership is just so horrible.
It'll get better within a cycle, and these chicken-little posts will be a thing of the past. FFS, we aren't at the World Cup. There's nowhere to go but up!
Chicken little? How is it "chicken little" to see a program in total disarray and shambles lead by morons who don't think there's a problem? If you see any signs of improvement from USSF in the foreseeable future, then you're obviously more perceptive than me, because I'm surely not seeing them.
First, because nothing suggests that the US is in rough shape "for decades". Second, because we're currently at such a rock bottom that simply qualifying for the next World Cup would be "improvement". Just last cycle, Mexico finished with fewer points. They lucked out, and got the opportunity to face NZ for their WC future. We did not. But otherwise, they were asking the same questions of their federation. How could they squander so much talent? How could they mismanage their players so much? They were tired of constant managerial turnover, partidos moleros, etc. And yet, in 4 years they're back on top of CONCACAF. Are we Mexico? No. But if Mexico is any indication, it's that things can change drastically from one cycle to the next. Hell, we just went from top to bottom, no reason not to think we'll go from the cellar back up to somewhere near the top. Doesn't mean that I want the same old suits in charge. Doesn't mean that I want an MLS moron at the head, or that I buy Garber's snake oil. But I'm not going to freak out about anything until something substantial happens. Who's the next President? What will the President do? Who's going to be the "CEO" person that people have been talking about? Who's the next USMNT manager, and what is he going to be doing to identify the best players, not just the most-experienced? In the face of those questions, which need answering, 18-year-old Jonathan Gonzalez choosing Mexico is barely a blip on the radar. A non-factor, like Jesse Gonzalez was a couple of months ago. But it's a free country. Freak out about whatever you want. I'm not going to stop you.
Mexico is not really the ideal measuring tape, there's a reason why they never manage a fifth game in WCs. BUT last qualifying campaign Chepo de la Torre was indeed squandering talent. That's a key difference with us. I think we're facing the most talentless bunch we've had in a long time, Pulisic excepted.
Look at that cupcake roster and then tell me we don't have a serious problem. That roster could not qualify for a WC and represents the best being developed within our borders. We didn't make the WC and our response is to again call in Zardes. It took Pulisic putting the team on his back to even finish 5th in the region. That's exactly what that roster looks like, if not worse.
That roster doesn't have to qualify for a World Cup. Its a group of fringe players that the US staff is taking a look at & giving an opportunity to. People have gone waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of whack with their negativity. Upsets and losses happen in sports. People have completely forgotten that in the calendar year 2017 the US played 19 games. We only lost 2 of them. We won the Gold Cup. Our U20s won the CONCACAF U20 Championship and went to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Our U17s lost the U17 CONCACAF Championship on penalties (after beating Mexico in the group stage) and went to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Yes, missing out on the World Cup hurts. And the USSF is indeed in disarray. And yes, losing Jonathan Gonzalez (who most people hadn't heard of until July of this past summer) hurts. But there's a lot to be excited about with the US program right now, particularly with the talent we have at the youth levels. Who belongs on the USMNT right now? We're going to spend the next two years casting a really wide net for talent. Anybody is the answer. There will be ups and downs. Wins and losses. Instead of just flipping out with negativity, its time for people to embrace the building process. Maybe missing out on the World Cup will be viewed as just the kick in the butt that the program needed.
Mexico is extremely analogous. They were at the top of CONCACAF, and then fell off. Their fall from grace is almost identical, and occurs in the exact same region. The only difference is the fact that Mexico, with fewer Hex points, was able to play in a World Cup.
We don't have a serious problem. This is a January Camp Cupcake, with ONE game. In 2018. Without a coach. Without a USSF President. Is it evidence that MLS is not providing the USMNT with much (if any) quality? Sure. Does it mean much? No.
Jond said, "Look at that cupcake roster and then tell me we don't have a serious problem.". So I told him we don't have a serious problem. Because a Camp Cupcake roster 5 years from Qatar, and 2 years from competitive play, means jack shit. Where are all the good Americans playing? Europe. Where are 95 percent of the best prospects playing? Europe. Which players get called to Camp Cupcake? Domestic. Save it for the election of MLS/SUM stooge Carter. Or the appointment of an MLS lifer like Vermes as the coach.
In Europe, we have one guy who plays at the QF WC level (Pulisic), two who may get there (JAB & McKennie), and a bunch of guys most countries aspiring to make the R16 wouldn't call. We're in dire straits. BTW, we don't have a single decent striker anywhere.
We have never had very many high-quality players. At any point. Where would Donovan have rated? R16/QF level? Dempsey, maybe R16, Howard R16/QF. After that...??? In 2010, with CD/LD/TH all at the peak of their powers, we had Robbie-freaking-Findley at Striker. We've got lots of players bypassing MLS, which is good. And we've got 5 years to get a team together, which is great. We're in month 3 right now. It's not going to sort out that quickly.