Sure, but I don’t think that Morris or Roldan were the reason that we didn’t win either of those games. Wales for instance was mostly about not taking advantage of our transition opportunities and Zimmerman making a bad mistake. I don’t think Roldan or Morris were really the issues against England either. The position I would have been most interest in different guys would have been at striker. More broadly the issues at the World Cup for me were 1) not being more clinical in transition, 2) being poor at set pieces, and 3) no depth in the midfield or at outside back. I think if we’re a bit better in transition against Wales and Iran those games are a bit easier and we can take our foot off the gas a bit. And maybe we aren’t so exhausted against the Netherlands.
No, if they beat Wales, they still would have still finished 2nd on goal differential, unless you're talking an absolutely blasting, that's somehow achieved thru fringe roster decisions. Beating England was always a tall task. And whoever was chosen would have needed to start a game in the group stages to save the legs of our starters, namely in cm & fb. Dead legs would have been an issue against Senegal, in the oft-chance we'd somehow have faced them instead. You need to drop this crusade against the Morris selection. He played 15 minutes, if you count stoppage time. Half the time we were just trying to hold a result v. Wales. You can't articulate he did anything wrong. And by some per minute metrics he was the most efficient player we had in the tournament, in what was again, a tiny sample either way. It goes to show how petty this campaign is. Would you have been satisfied if Reyna (or Tillman) came in during the 88th minute against Wales? Somehow I don't think you would either. Bringing Sargent & Reyna on in the earlier 80's against England didn't even do anything, even though we had more impetus to score v. defend. So why the fixation on Morris. He's such a bizarre lightning rod.
I could have seen Tillman as a late game attacker so he could have had the sub minutes that Gio and.Morris got in the group stage. Malik's new coach, appointed November 28, is talking about teaching him to be an 8 and how it was risky to send him out against Ross County as an 8.
I don't get x man's abhorrence of anything Morris. I would have played Morris instead of Ferreira. I think most of our fans got used to watching our young guys play and forgot totally that there's some older guys who just know much more about where to be in big games.
Morris subbing in at the 88th minute has broken brains. I clocked about 5 minutes of ball being in play during his stint. I don't know why people pretend that Gio would have worked magic in the same five minutes. He was terrible when he came on centrally against the Dutch until Haji pushed him wide.
People like arguing about the fringes of the roster. For the Iran game in particular, our entire starting XI was Europe-based. And people obsess about the performance of the MLS guys. Why? I don't know. Jesus Ferreira played one half. Roldan never played. Morris played 15 minutes. Acosta played 40 minutes. Shaq Moore played 20 minutes. Yedlin played 31 minutes. Sean Johnson didn't play. The list goes on. These were the fringes of the roster. [Zimmerman was a regular, and I think he was fine other than the bad moment against Bale.] Would I have picked or played some of these guys? No. Some of them I would have. I don't know, for instance, who the alternative to Acosta was in Europe. But they weren't the reason we didn't advance past the round of 16. If you watch the Wales game............................we didn't fail to win that game because Morris was the substitute. I don't really know what the obsession is with it. He was a late sub brought on to try to exploit tired Welsh legs on the counterattack. That's not Reyna anyway.
He had a some donkey touches and really bad turnovers. I was actually laughing on the rewatch because people talked like he put on a masterclass.
I think Tillman's surge really did come post World Cup. And he's still very much learning how to play the 8 position. I think if you had him on in the World Cup he's a player who could have done something very good unexpectedly, but also was probably more liable to have sort of lapse (just because of his inexperience). I still would have brought him because the only situation you throw him on is when you're down late in a game and have to take chances anyways.
yes, I believe that you have made your evaluation clear. I’m not trying to take your opinion away from you in my household two of the three people watching were experienced players eho saw what he was trying to do out there and immediately wondered why he hadn’t been playing. So it’s a big wide wonderful world of variety out there. You get to be in it and have your own opinion. Bully for you.
Well in fairness with 50/50 Ball you don't know if it's his own bad opinions or ones he got from some secret Scuffed podcast episode that doesn't actually exist...
Just when they finally got the playoffs right, MLS had to go and tinker with it.... 9 teams out of 14-15 is a joke, and no one wants three games. New notebook from me + @PaulTenorio:✔️MLS still tracking towards best-of-3 format to begin playoffs, considering 9 teams per conf.✔️USSF looking to build training center; Atlanta, Cary, N.C. in consideration✔️USMNT aiming for friendlies vs. ARG, BRA https://t.co/M5df5aMQiS— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) February 6, 2023
. Clipped all of Gio Reyna's touches v Netherlands. After the game i thought he was poor. After re-watching, I don't think he was good but I've picked up a few things. https://t.co/2S8AHhiFsJ#FIFAWorldCup #USMNT #USAvNED-gio at the 9 was bad, he was more effective at— Aaron Kelly (@amkelly802) December 4, 2022 Found this with all the touches.
Nice extension for your Jack McGlynn! Highly-rated US youth international Jack McGlynn has signed a contract extension with the Philadelphia Union through 2025 with team options through 2027.McGlynn, 19, will be a crucial part of the United States squad at the U20 World Cup in May. Will be in Europe one day. pic.twitter.com/pZSu8m6zod— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) February 7, 2023
Is it just me or does Diego Luna look a lot more fit? Big year this for Diego Luna. Really hope he balls out. https://t.co/mJqyZGhAhe— Kranks (@dis_possessed) February 6, 2023
He does. I don't think the physical stuff will ever be a plus, but dropping the weight will be a huge benefit and is a great sign of his work ethic.
I forgot just how much he was coming back to get the ball. He does that a lot, and it makes us even less dangerous. Frustrating.
I really like Diego Luna. Not so much for his play (I have hardly watched him) but because of his attitude and personality. He's loose yet focused. He seems very mature. He'll be wearing a captain's armband one day.
Timothy Tillman, older brother of #USMNT forward Malik Tillman, is in California and expected to sign with defending MLS Cup champion LAFC, multiple sources tell @FOXSoccer.— Doug McIntyre (@ByDougMcIntyre) February 9, 2023
Luna struggled with RSL during last season. His passing was atrocious. And he was unable to get past his man. Hopefully, the weight loss will help to improve his play.
Would be a big get for Dolo. I was puzzled that he had not been picked up by a BuLi squad when Furth got relegated last season.
Smetzer needs to get out of there. That Morris contract .... that'll get a manager fired. Hard to bench a guy that you're paying DP money to for the next 5 years.