2026 MLS Flavors of the Week

Dag!

 

Agreed. Berhalter is a lightweight and, while he's a fighter, he still gets knocked off the ball too easily. But, yeah, Berhalter's ability to make magic so consistently on free kicks is a big value (he's also got a fantastic long-range shooting ability, like McGlynn). McGlynn is just not a good enough athlete to compete at the highest levels.

 

Im sorry but Berhalter over McGlynn is absurd. Im not bringing someone with the hope of scoring a set piece. Set piece goals are already rare and the lack of on the field ability is a much bigger risk than the possible reward.

 

I read that 30% of goals come from set pieces. Not rare at all. One out of three or four goals coming from set pieces is huge in a low scoring sport.
And I’m sorry but saying that choosing Berhalter over McGlynn is absurd, is what is absurd. Maybe McGlynn is better and maybe he isn’t, but it’s no rout. Berhalter was MLS best XI last season!

 

Ill take Berhalter over McGlynn because of his set piece delivery.

 

At the 2018 World Cup, 43% of the goals came from set pieces. If one is saying that set pieces aren't important at World Cups, then I don't know what they're watching.

15 of the teams at that World Cup scored at least 50% of their goals on set pieces.

That number went down at the 2022 World Cup, but who knows what'll happen this time?

Do people not watch the Premier League?
The Premier League and set pieces: A 34-year relationship that shows no sign of slowing down - The Athletic

We on these boards lamented and lamented and lamented the USMNT's impotence on set pieces.

Yes! They're critically impoartant.

Berhalter isn't just set pieces anyway. If folks actually watch MLS, they'd know that.

 

Are you a bot? Do you actually watch soccer? Cause set pieces are highly important for goal scoring as others have pointed out. Don't make factually incorrect points to try and make your case for taking McGlynn over Berhalter.

 

Set piece goals are about 1/3rd of goals in most leagues and a bit more prevalent in international play. In the 2018 World Cup, they comprised ~40% of goals scored.

There’s a lot of issue with playing Berhalter solely for his set piece play, as there’s a lot to the game aside from that, and other players can be effective, if not quite as good.

But set piece goals are not rare and actually tend to be more common in tournaments like the World Cup, where teams have little offensive cohesion and teams play for low scores and upsets.

Even in club play, Arsenal just basically won the EPL on the back of some quesitonably physical set piece play over the course of the season. To the point that the league is looking at whether they should adapt the rules.

 

The thing about Berhalter is that he is STILL improving.

In 2025 he had a career year with 4 goals and 12 assists.
In 2026, after only 11 games, he is at 4 goals and 7 assists.

 

Not that he was going, but he made my list of "too soon" guys like Gozo that I thought should be under consideration.

That makes it what?
Agyemang
Cardoso
and mega longshot Tsakiris all out for the WC, anyone else for sure I'm not remembering so far?

 

What makes it even better is that we basically only have two guys that can handle corners reliably that are ahead of Pulisic's god awful set pieces for us: Reyna and Berhalter, so that makes what he does well, even more valuable, since it keeps Pulisic the heck away from corners when he's on the field.

 

I'm not talking about set piece goals, I'm talking about Corners and Set Pieces sent into the box. They result in goals far more often than 30 yard howitzers from distance.

 

I imagine either he just meant free kick goals Messi style, or maybe he's had a stroke watching us blow corner after corner and set piece after set piece the past seven or eight years and has forgotten a lot of goals are scored that way (honestly, I think he was just imagining I meant direct free kicks into the net from Berhalter, which is absolutely NOT what I meant, at least I hope so anyway).

 

The thing about McGlynn is that he is STILL improving........

McGlynn is very adept at set pieces as well. Where he lacks is defensive recovery, and prowess. Was it any wonder that when the Union traded him last season their defense suddenly improved to the best in the league?

 

McGlynn may be overall a better set piece taker.

Berhalter may assist more goals off corners in MLS but that may come down to Brian White being better in the box than anyone playing for Houston. McGlynn seems better and more accurate on direct free kicks.

 

There's a reason why I didn't respond to the other comments.

 

All told, our MLS players are mostly getting better every season. That's a huge plus for the program. Figuring out who is actually best today will be a difficult but rewarding job.

 

Time will 100% prove me right on this one. I look at berhalter being selected over McGlynn as a similar gap to when Brad Davis was selected over Landon Donovan. Not to say McGlynn is Landon’s level but the notion a set piece specialist is being picked over the better field player who is agurably say isn’t that much better than McGlynn at set pieces.

 

Yeah, I see him more as a kid who should emulate Busio.

 

Well darn.

But this is the right time for it. He won’t miss very many games compared to surgery any other time of the year besides just after the end of the season.

 

Could be, but the games start in a month. Who’s been better the last 18 months? Berhalter, right?
I don’t know, I just take umbrage with your use of the word ‘absurd’. There is no basis for that whatsoever, other than your feels.

I appreciate the response anyhow.

 

I think it’s reasonable to argue about Berhalter versus McGlynn but it’s nothing close to Brad Davis versus Landon Donovan.