Berhalter's Positives

If we make it to the Copa championship match and look good doing it, what % of anti-GB people will be spinning anti-Gregg reasons for that?

If we don’t make it out of the group and look bad doing it, what % of pro-GB people will be making GB exculpatory excuses for that?

 

Or we could hire Terzic. We may not win, but it'll be great for our players' long-term transfer values!

 

There is no "pro-GB". It's just that the rest of us don't parrot around 24/7 that the coach is to blame for everything. Not going on a tirade is apparently being "pro-GB". But if Berhalter fails in Copa America then he should go. Would he be let go? That is the real question! If he isn't let go after he failed some of us would just accept that there are things that are out of our control. Sure, we will complain every now and then but won't go on a mission and accusing others that don't join our mission as being "pro-GB".

 

So just to clarify: you started a thread to discuss berhalter’s positives, then pivoted to accusing anyone who mentions a positive of not wanting to see the US succeed?

 

Um, wrong. But if it helps, for "pro-GB" substitute "people who dispute all or most substantive criticisms of GB, and ascribe to themselves greater knowledge of (or "realism" about) the game in the process."

 

I’m pro Berhalter in that I don’t want to see him fired right this moment. The Copa America will be the test to see if a change is needed before the World Cup.

 

Shrug. Its not being pro-Berhalter.

One can have two opinions at the same time.

1) Berhalter met expectations last cycle by righting the ship, winning the Gold cup, winning the Nations League, Qualifying for the World Cup, advancing to the round of 16 at the World Cup, etc.

2) Berhalter shouldn't have been re-hired as USMNT coach. While there were monetary reasons we perhaps couldn't hire the top-of-the-line coaches, plenty of good coaches should have been available at the price point. Its inexplicable that Crocker says they conducted an extensive search, and Berhalter remained the leading candidate. Inexplicable.

It really is possible for a rational individual to hold both opinions at the same time. Berhalter was re-hired. I want the USMNT to win. That means I must root for Berhalter to succeed. I want him to win Copa America!! I don't root for the USMNT to fail at the Copa America so Berhalter will be fired. That's stupid.

 

Unfortunately that's how soccer nowadays is. You see all these fan accounts on YouTube for certain clubs. They just want to get some clout.

 

And that surprises you given his record?

 

Positive-
He is one of the few managers in the Copa who has a real understanding of his players and their roles going into the tournament having already manged us in many Cups.

How much that actually is an advantage remains to be seen but I think it is a positive.
As they say in College football sometimes it is about the Jimmiess and Joes and not about the X's and O's so we may still have some rough times of course.

 

Kinda depends on the draw.

You look at the pots for this upcoming 2024 event. You can make good draws and bad draws from it.

I've seen people online, and high profile former USMNTers, suggest that Berhalter could be fired with a poor performance at the Copa America. I really doubt it. It would have to be really poor.

I mean, the draw could be something like USMNT, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia.

Events like this can be whacky. We can advance from that group and for some reason have to face Argentina in the quarterfinal. The #1 team in the world. Is that grounds for dismissal? No.

The last time the Copa was held in the US we got a pretty good draw, and made the semi.

 

The point is to be holding trophies.

If Berhalter wins Copa America, it would be the biggest trophy won in the history of the USMNT. So why would we be talking about any "damage" he's going. What damage? We'd be holding the trophy. We'd be trying to decide when and where a parade should be, and not worrying about "damage."

Argentines famously bitched about Scaloni. Maradona had some horribly harsh things to say about him. Wouldn't trust him to drive the bus. Then he friggin' won the World Cup and all those people had to do some soul searching and eat crow.

 

I personally do not think there's any realistic manager who could come in and be a better fit.
But as I have said many , many times I take into account factors that others do not seem to care about. Like having experience in the realm of National Team leadership rather than clubs which is almost like managing a totally different sport. With restricted time and minimal important matches between now and 2026 Berhalter is basically the best we can do. Or at least I cannot see any realistic alternative who knows our player pool and the way US soccer works who can come in and do better.

 

The delusion is strong with this one.

 

At Copa 100 in 2016 we were ranked #31. We were in a group with 2 teams ranked above us. During the tournament we played the #3 team twice and the #1 team.

#3 Colombia L0-2
#23 Costa Rica W4-0
#43 Paraguay W1-0. (Yedlin double YC at '48)
#13 Ecuador W1-0. (Jones bogus RC '52)
#1 Argentina L0-4. (minus Jones, Bedoya (led us in tackles at Copa), Wood)
#3 Colombia L0-1 (3rd place match)

 

How much experience in NT leadership did Berhalter have when we hired him?

 

His zero experience was a harbinger of the zero gain we have made under him.

 

Different context.

When he was hired he had many matches and free rein to mold the team into what he wanted to see. Learning much about his team in many tournaments and hard fought battles in Qualifying.

We do not have that luxury right now. It is too late to change things up with a new Manager.

 

Not surprising, that has been your mantra from day 1 of Berhalters tenure, See the coaching thread...

Give him time; too early to evaluate, too early to evaluate, too early to evaluate, .... then before last WC; too late to make any change in the roster, tooo late to make any change.

Now 3 years before the next WC; too late to change things up. Manager for life then?

 

I will be satisfied (and encouraged, compared to how I feel now) if we play well on both sides of the ball and beat who we are supposed to beat. That means we should win our group. Factoring in home field advantages, that sort of performance means we should advance to the semis unless we draw Argentina or Brazil before then.

If we continue to play at a level that is less than the sum of our parts offensively (as we have during most of Gregg's tenure), and lose to teams we should beat, I will continue to think we are wasting an opportunity with this generation. I don't buy the idea that GB is the best manager we could land for this WC. That seems plainly implausible given the talent and youth of the team, and the fact that we are playing at home.

 

If you fire a coach you better have an idea of who you're going to replace him with. Unless the team completely bombs out of the Copa it would be idiotic to fire the coach. You'd create chaos in the team and who the hell would want to take that on 3 years before the WC? The saying "We'd find someone." or "Anyone else would be better." are only sayings, not a plan. No reputable coach would take on the team (and leave their current job) if the previous coach is fired for some ridiculous reason.
And I'm not pro-Greg. It would be idiotic no matter who the coach is.

I think they did do a thorough search and Crocker was shocked that no one he thought would be interested in the job were interested. We keep thinking this is a "prestigious" job in the world of soccer and it just isn't. And there's zero reason for USSF to say who they reached out to and who shot us down. Do you really want to know who the foreign coachers were who weren't interested? I don't.

 

Is that something Crocker said, suggested, hinted at, ...?

 

I was looking through an old Athletic article and saw these. But I think people will be interested -- they were the priorities and skillsets for the USMNT hire.

https://imgur.com/a/pnk97Mc