I promise I’m not trying to be argumentative, but nothing you said gives me any comfort. You are right that Busio probably won’t be at the gold cup, but his inclusion on the provisional list means that he might be, while buck’s exclusion guarantees that he won’t be. A simple decision that was inexplicably screwed up. and January camp will include friendlies against crappy competition. It’s really not of much value. This gold cup will be against the a teams (or close to it) of countries like Jamaica and Mexico. A slight step down from the Copa America, which is pretty much exactly how you’d want to introduce young guys. In-season windows don’t offer that opportunity, and the Copa is not the time to experiment. That time is this summer. and the interim coach only makes it more egregious, imo. The easiest way to please fans is to give the backup qb a shot. And the best way to help the new manager is to give him recent film on a lot of new players. I know I’m beating a dead horse by repeating myself, but the Copa is the big rehearsal for the World Cup, and it’s only about 12 months away. There isn’t much time to introduce new players, but our best chances to develop the depth we need is for the 2001-2005 guys to take big steps over the next few years. The national team coach isn’t responsible for making a player succeed at their club, but he absolutely needs to be trying to predict who will be our best depth options in 2024 and 2026, and do his best to integrate those guys into the team.
So obviously we'll see a 4-2-3-1 with Adams out right? The starting lineup pretty much writes itself, the only question is do we start Balogun right away or go with Pepi for the familiarity. Not sure if they will start Chris Richards but they should. Also I'm sure Sonora is the Reyna backup but I'm assuming they will figure out he's not up to the level, and I prefer Booth as a midfielder.
I'm going to wait and see who is on the Gold Cup roster. I'm also not as certain that if a player succeeds at the club level they won't get called in, period. We are relatively early in the cycle. I think there's a good chance Cowell in on the roster. While I'd love to see Paredes and Paxten, I also don't think it is terrible they are with their club in camp. It's really Buck, McGlynn and Gutierrez that I am disappointed about. But while you may be Senior Team or bust; USSF isn't. They want to perform well at the U20 WC. And putting the U20s into play means more spaces for more people across the GC and Nations League, as BJ noted in the presser. So let's see the Gold Cup roster. If it is when Mihailovic gets a chance, I'll feel better about Gutierrez. If it's someone not very good, I won't.
Two thoughts: Once we have a coach, I suspect we will have a longer than usual MLS camp or multiple in non-FIFA windows in the winter where we can see a few more guys. The younger crew can be brought in en masse, more like a traditional cupcake with a big roster. We're always going to want some level of veteran support of guys who are in the core and can help impart the culture and expectations, especially with first timers. They don't need to be old player; they simply need to be leaders who know and agree with the standards and culture. I too hope the Gold Cup is a bit more prospective, but I would never want a group of unblooded MLSers and random fringe Euros, regardless of talent. I don't think that's a good standard for introduction, and I don't think it is a good evaluation atmosphere. TBH, I am not annoyed with the strategy so much as a couple of specific evaluations I think they are missing on.
Yes, but even if he doesn't get called, I bet being on the list means more to Buck or Gutierrez. I wouldn't even necessarily take off Busio. There's gotta be a few names on there we're never going to see again in any situation.
Walker's coming back from injury and Richards hasn't played in months, so both could be a bit rusty. I feel like a lot of folks here are about seeing guys. I think the US sets up to win Nations League. We're not going to play someone to get them time.
Right, but I think one of those two rusty guys starts alongside Miles Robinson. I would prefer Richards. Not to see him, to win Nations League.
If Paredes and/or Paxton plays regular Bliga minutes next year and contributes they will be called in and used. Anyone really doubt that? Anyone? As for Buck? We have seen the first fan flash point of the cycle!!!! I love the kid. Seen him live twice and like him a lot. That being said I‘m not that concerned. A lot of work to do also. Still eligible for the U20. Unless it’s a blatantly obvious top talent right now getting panties in a twist is silly. As I said elsewhere, if this bothers you it‘s only gonna get worse and worse in the near future. Maybe some Xanax might be in order for some. Enjoy the ride or live in fear,.
I'm fine with either. I'm just seeing a lot of the fanbase act like a good month at Palace is a clear choice over someone who has been a pretty strong rock for the US for an extended period of time. I like Richards; he hasn't been as consistent for us as people make out.
I mean I would have put both Buck and Gutierrez on there ahead of Busio myself. But I also think it’s not worth getting worked up over either.
I was very happy with the way he played for Palace when he got his opportunities. Looks ready for that level IMO. And yeah... his history in the BL should not be ignored. When healthy he is still the US CB w/ the highest ceiling.
Do we read anything into the fact that the list is an alphabetical listing for the first 52 names and then the final 8 are tacked onto the end in semi-random order??? Celentano, Pulisic, Slonina, Trusty, Weah, Wiley, Balogun, Wynder
Mark McKenzie is not happy Mark McKenzie’s IG Story after the USMNT released their Nations League training camp roster earlier. 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/IVDbiwwxVn— USMNT Otaku 🇺🇸 (@USMNTOtaku) June 2, 2023
So BJ said on his press conference the goal for these two tournaments (and also included the u 20 world cup as well) is to get as many players in the pool in knockout game situations. Take that as you will. Also the roster and comments made in the PC makes me think we may see a similar 352/343 hybrid that Varas has used with the the u 20s
GK: Turner (NL), Johnson (NL), Slonina, Callender (NL), Celentano. FB: Scally (NL), Yedlin, Moore, Gomez, Jones, Reynolds, Lennon, Tolkin, Wiley, Fossey, CB: M. Robinson (NL), Long, McKenzie, Miazga, Trusty (NL), Palmer-Brown, Brooks, Sands, Neal, Wynder. CM: McKennie (NL), Musah (NL), LDLT (NL), Acosta, Cardoso (NL), A. Morris, C. Roldan, Parks, Pomykal, Gressel, T. Tillman, Yueill, Tessman. AM/Wing: Pulisic (NL), Weah (NL), Reyna (NL), B. Aaronson (NL), Booth (NL), Arriola, Zendejas (NL), Sonora (NL), Mihailovic, Cowell, Ledezma, Boyd, CF: Balogun (NL), Ferreira, Pepi (NL), J. Morris, Pefok, Vazquez, Wright, Ebobisse, Hoppe. I think that is everyone on GC prelim. Some positional designations can certainly be quibbled with. I could see a few guys being on both squads. I think we can scrap together a pretty good side.
The October friendly camp with Germany and Ghana (which should be managed by our new manager-to-be-named) will be an important and telling one as to the new manager's initial read on our pool and how we plan to play, at least from the outset, and that's where I believe we'll see our Copa America side begin to take form. That's where it will start, and then we'll begin to adjust to the realities of the pool and our play and the results, and we'll recalibrate our reads on the situation from there. There will also be a September window and a November window for Nations League, but as those are competitive matches I expect there will be fewer wholesale changes from what we've been doing late last cycle and in the interim.
Worth noting that Cohen isn't on the preliminary squad for The Gold Cup, which makes his inclusion a bit more surprising
I’d be pissed too to have post-injury Zimmerman and Chris Richards ahead of me. Mark did more than enough to break into these too CB spots for Nations League and Gold Cup.
Good eye! Pepi, EPB, Musah and Cowell are mixed into the list out of alphabetical order (though in the ballpark of where they belong). When I first looked at the list I was trying to figure out how it was organized. Now that you've made the suggestion, it seems like maybe all of those players not in alphabetical order were later additions to the roster. You could make an argument for why each of them would have been late additions, but that's probably too much fishing for an answer.