The view you guys have of our Euro based players is so weird. Weah has helped the team immensely se he has been back in. Here are a couple of examples. I think it w as s just our last game that he was responsible for the winner. You got any tape of Arriola doing anything positive at all for the usmnt? Timothy Weah vs Jamaicapic.twitter.com/KoNdD0sWnu— Sanjiv (@USMNTvideos) October 8, 2021
We'll just agree to disagree. If a coach isn't planning on using a player (Scally for example) then leaving him home to play club matches may well be better for that player.
We defintely could have used him, Dest got hurt and we were forced to play Shaq Moore. If GGG rates Shaq over Scally then he's even dumber than the moron I call him.
Generic post to save time for the GB support brigade. You’re welcome. “If we worry he won’t do the right thing we should stop because he will do the right thing. If he doesnt do the right thing it’s because there must have been a good reason.”
This is nonsense. Sands has played multiple spots. Busio got burn as both a 6 and an 8. Too weak for 6, though. Dest has played both sides and some in MF. A lot of guys have played FB/WB. Zardes was at WM for hot minute there. If he moves guys around, BS whines about guys not in their "natural positions."
For club: Zardes has 5 goals in his last 4 games, with 2 braces. And has won MLS player of the week twice. Hoppe is rooted to the bench. Like I said, not close. For country: Hoppe has yet to start a single match at striker. Not one. They played a comparable # of minutes at Gold Cup. Where 3G tried to give the job to Dike, but he is not ready yet. Ditto Hoppe. If he establishes himself as a regular player at club, and starts an actual game at CF for the Nats, then we'll talk. But for now, IT IS NOT EVEN CLOSE.
Maybe I'm the only one but I think we really see what Weah brings opposite a healthy Pulisic. I can just imagine Pulisic bursting upfield and instead of no one staying with him there is Weah stride for stride providing an outlet for an easy tap in. And vice versa. Would mean Reyna not there or in midfield where oh yeah he passes to fast forwards into space like Haaland. One day our wish will come true and all of our players will be healthy at the same time. BTW, I think that's a Mexi killer lineup right out of the Donovan / Beasley days.
Do people not realize that several of the subs in the Panama game were to protect/maximize the Costa Rica game? When things seem like pre-planned subs to protect minutes, they probably are.
Not the only one. I'm not the absolute highest person on Weah here as he still has some weaknesses, but I think there's a ton of value to a hardworking, vertical, direct focused winger opposite a playmaker like Pulisic. To the point that I'm good with Reyna moving to midfield as much to get some variation in skillset up top in Weah as I am particularly because I think Reyna will be that much more effective further back. Dude works on D, makes good runs behind the defense, scares a lot of team with his speed, and has the skillset to put it together sometimes. He's still erratic on that last point, and I'm not sure he's got that pure instinctual tactical sense that you'd want, but he's a very talented guy who brings us a certain style that we need on a team of dribblers. He's behind Pulisic, Reyna, Aaronson for me, and if Morris comes back strong, there will be an interesting battle there. But otherwise, I expect him to seize a spot for Qatar. That said, it's just not a big deal that we didn't want to play an oft-injured Weah 270 minutes over the last window.
Which is why I'm baffled that so many people seem to be acting like they were in the moment decisions. He was totally willing to sacrifice the Panama game to ensure his best shot at Costa Rica. Once you realize that, the decisions make a lot more sense.
You do realize that scoring goals in La Liga is just a little bit tougher than scoring goals in MLS league games?
If I remember correctly, he was injured for both of the last two Mexico games (NL and GC). Obviously his exclusion says nothing one way or the other regarding his place in Berhalter's depth chart.
I agree. The problem with the subbing wasn't as much the subbing but the starting lineup. If he had started some different players and or those that did start had played better that problem vanishes. For instance.... I believe that much or most of what is positive about Arriola depends upon workrate and energy. He ran his a$$ off against Jamaica and it without proper rest time, I felt he was a poor choice for Panama. I like Hoppe better than Arriola anyway, but especially when taking into account fatigue, I think he is the better choice. I don't really have a problem with Acosta, he has shown quality as a defensive destroyer defense that I think Berhalter wanted on the road but there was still room for a Busio or a LDLT (or even both). Musah, I think, had a mostly good game (actually all 3 games) but if Berhalter wanted to give him a rest vs. Panama than he could have a midfield of Busio, LDLT, Acosta and Roldan or if he starts Musah it could be Busio, LDLT, Acosta and Musah. Of course it is easy to say that the starting lineup played poorly, so it was wrong (I think there is little doubt that some improvements could have been made), but that fails to account for preparation. The players (many of them imo) uderperformed. When that happens, the question "why?" has to be asked. Was it injury, fatigue, lack of proper prep from coach, lack of proper player prep/focus, lack of experience, overconfidence, etc?