I had thought that this WC would be Ream's end with the USMNT, but it would be really sad if he went out like that. You make some good arguments here, and I'm in two minds about it. My gut is that he should get a testimonial match and retire, and let the other CBs (as mediocre as they are) take over since there's no way Ream will be in the 2030 WC. Though it would be really nice for him to have a chance to go out on a not-so-shitty note in the 2027 Gold Cup.
I think he should at least get a sort of send off match but we should otherwise be exploring our options at center back. Because who knows if he’ll even still be playing in two years come the Copa America.
Aside from whether or not he should get a testimonial match, keeping Ream or not keeping Ream should be based upon the value he can provide to the USMNT going forward. At this point, his potential value, imo, is the knowledge and wisdom he can pass on to young cb's. Imo, his value as a teacher/mentor to the current 2nd tier cb's would be minimal. His knowledge and experience would be far more important to a 18-22yr old cb, than it would be to a 27-28 yr old cb. Considering that the 18-22yr old player will be 22-26yrs old for the next wc, Ream could provide a great deal of value but it may not be something he would be willing to do. If it requires Ream reduce his playing time and become primarily a mentor and teacher...he probably wouldn't want to do it. (just to be clear, I am not suggesting the younger cb's get actual playing time over Trusty and the others if they do not earn it...they would be invited to camps, participate in practice and get minutes if they deserve minutes.) Assuming he declines, the question becomes: "can he provide the same benefit going forward, if he plays".
Yeah I suppose no harm in having him on the roster as a backup to provide veteran leadership and what not. But I don’t think he should be getting major minutes going forward.
Excited to watch NYRB- PHI tonight. Hope to get a good look at Sullivan/Hall/Mehmeti/Pierre (maybe). Even excited to see Che and Cowell and if MB can get them going.
This Neil Pierre fellow is quite dangerous on set pieces. We saw that with Lyngby but it has translated to MLS as well. Scored and then hits the cross bar.
Whatever is determined to be the best for the team going forward….not necessarily the result of any one game in the short term. That is my opinion. I do not believe that would include giving him significant minutes but I guess there could be scenarios where that would be the case. Regardless, Ream would have to be on board with it and he might not be too happy about a planned phasing out.
I feel better about CB than I have for a while. Rihards and Trusty can play. Banks seems headed I. The fight direction, maybe. Flex with Freeman. Then the single best of the 97 young ones coming up.
I agree. This is a habit that we need to break. There are times for exceptions, yes, but we need to play with our A team or A team with variations and experiments, at least, as often as not. As almost everyone else does.
Yea Mexico takes the strongest roster to every competition but we are always playing with understrength squads in the Gold Cup. Cannot remember the last time we had our best squad at the GC. I don’t think Pulisic/McKennie have ever even played in a Gold Cup. Adams only the 1..
Pulisic and McKennie played in the 2019 Gold Cup but that’s. But what the A group has never done is won it.
There's going to be a tournament every summer. A Team guys can do Copa, NL, WCQing. B Team players can take the Gold Cup.
This is how you end up with a culture where guys don’t always take the national team seriously, play with the required intensity, etc. Maybe Pulisic and friends can take the time to win a trophy they’ve never lifted before first before we talk about them taking it off. More generally we need to win all these tournaments if we want to be in Pot 1 and be a seeded team.