I think there's something to be said for our perception of our team now vs. in the past. Now, caveat here, I'm not a decades-long fan, so this is the perspective of someone who's been following the team probably since 2009. Back when we were just some out-of-nowhere, gutty underdog, maybe we were okay with playing a defensive, gritty game. We'd soak up pressure with bruising CB's, compact formations, and excellent goalkeeping, then use lightning-fast counter-attacks to attack when possible. Certainly nothing wrong with that, it can be really exciting. And we certainly got results with that style, but we've completely gone away from that. With JK's insistence on slow, methodical build-up from the back, what we're getting is games where we're the ones being broken on the counter. We're supposed to be one of the big dogs in the region, and a rising world power, but we're not controlling games like other good teams. So what you end up with is, we're generating similar attacking numbers, and still getting scored on, but they seem a lot more boring, because the fast, exciting play is from the other team more often than not! *And just a note on Fabian, technically we didn't develop him, so I don't think he counts.*
I would note that, given the description of the "Dunnig-Kruger effect", it's hard to distinguish it from simple, ol'fashioned, stupidity.
Just like you can almost immediately tell which players will succeed, you can also almost always recognize potential talent. Miazga from day one was always going to be a winner.
This post didn't really stand the test of time. It turns out the best american coach was not good enough.
That's a great post. Man that's good stuff. Wow. Whomever wrote that must be some kind of renaissance giant, and really good in bed. IMO, it's going to take a long time to recover from the Klinsmann era. Like a decade. We've embraced all the insecurity and lack of belief, adopted the Europoseur standard, view our domestic product as intrisically flawed. Look at the lackluster crowds and the loss of some players to Mexico - it's just not a surprise. Amazing thing is, to me: When I hear Ernie Stewart's criteria for the next coach - Klinsmann of 2010 or thereabouts would still look like an amazing candidate.
USSF values the PR piece as necessary. Therefore no Spanish only or halting English speakers. Any criteria that takes Tata out of the running isxa criteria we do not need.
you really think JK made Bradley a dog $hit leader and jog artist and gave donkeydore the donkey touch of a donkey dog? You reckon he made Gonzo a human disaster zone? He turned the Liberian into a turtle?
Was the issue Klinsmann as a coach or Sunil asking Klinsmann to get our guys to play Tiki Taka? I see it more as Sunil's fault for pushing Tiki Taka so hard.
The pool itself is flawed. This is a fact. Domestic vs. European based player selection is a separate and basically insignificant issue. The coaching search should be concerned with finding the best coach available. Any criteria related to non-coaching attributes, such as PR, should be disregarded. Tata could speak Tagalog, but if he's the best coach we can get, I want him. Why does Earnie care whether the coach can give great pressers anyway? US soccer media is weak as hell, easily pleased, and never vocal with negative opinions about the establishment.
Generally agree. I think the coach should have SOME English ability but it shouldn't be a primary concern. I don't know if you just used Tata as an example or not but my concern with Tata is his lack of willingness to rotate the lineup. That is the type of thing that won't come back to haunt a national team during qualifying but will during a tournament....I think the WC qualifies as a tournament. It also makes it somewhat more difficult for players to break in once has established an initial first team. (see Andrew Calrton)
It's weak because US Soccer removes access to anyone who questions it. They just shut off all debate, which doesn't help to address the structural problems US Soccer currently has.
Agreed. To be fair, every sports organization exerts some control over it coverage (e.g if I cover the Giants, I'd better not make a bunch of articles saying Bochy is a terrible manager past his prime, regardless how true that is). But I feel like other sports media is strong/well-established enough to weather the storm of access restriction to a certain degree.
they had a chance with the election but then the twitter tin foil teddy mob hijacked it and wynalda turned trump and threatened to blow it up and start over(something that wouldn't help anyone) and the carlos was the easy winner because people got scared when the rumors of martino/wynalda pooling votes. martino would've done a great job its pretty sad at this point.
If we as fans want reform within USSF, then we must regroup for the next election. Otherwise, all we can expect is more of the same mismanagement from this federation.
Why wasn't Martino able to win? I always think he sounds pretty intelligent, and seems to have his head on straight. Yet he never really made headway, until maybe close to the end where he had a slim chance before the establishment shut the door. Can't say I followed that sh*tshow too closely, but he always was running way behind, and I thought when he took leave from NBC it was because he had a good shot.
because it was always the status quo on one side and then wynalda and teddy turned it into if you weren't a tinfoil hat guy you were status quo. He went with the trump/bernie sanders approach and it overshadowed martino and his actual good plan.
To any future old farts out there...... I played in high school in the late 70s but never saw a match on tv until the 1994 WC. I was already on the wrong side of 30 at this point. I've been doing my best to see every USMNT match I can. Yes, sometimes I feel kind of odd, being a 50+ year old fart at the bar watching the one tv in the back corner of a sports bar, wearing my '98 USA jersey, but I don't care. Don't worry about how old you are vs the players age. We all get old. If the USMNT is your passion, follow them.
So there are reports Pareja has been "seriously interviewed" for the USMNT job. Most Boring USMNT, meet Most Boring Manager.
That's when I played high school soccer. Although I did see some soccer on TV at that time. PBS used to have a program called All-Star Soccer which was England First Division. They would show a game that was edited down to one hour. They also occasionally had Soccer Made In Germany. Bundesliga. Same thing with editing. First time seeing a USMNT game was 94 cup. But yeah, I don a jersey and go to the local pub to watch. Fortunately I can find some where there are others watching. Even someone my age (57) once in a while. I hope to see a WC game in person in 2026.
i agree about miazga...was more than a little curious how he looked so good at the gold cup for Arena and then was never included again by him thereafter. It was OBVIOUS.
In that Gold Cup there were other players that made an obvious impact, and should have been allowed to continue at least through the Gold Cup, but instead Bruce got rid of them after the group round to make room for the tired ol' same ol'. In retrospect, that was the writing on the wall as to how proud and arrogant Arena had learned absolutely nothing from his failures at the end of his Galaxy reign. And the writing on the wall as to our WC campaign. Bruce Arena was our soccer equivalent of Marshal Petain. A dynamic presence in his early battles, and a pathetically retrograde and demoralizing presence in his old age.
The positive about this time in the history of the USMNT is that, by the end of it, only the true fans will be left. Everybody else will be rooting for El Tri or the Three Lions or die Mannschaft, or will just stop following the international game altogether. This period with a boring team is going to separate the wheat from the chaff.
I can deal with a terrible US team, just not the same terrible team and coach. No Sarachan, no Bradley no altidore. If it has to be bad, fine but at least a band of new losers for my entertainment.