The only real thing I take out of that is: Even if Pochettino delivers a fantastic WC performance, he isn't signing a new contract with the USSF. WC26 is it. His longer term ambitions are back in club soccer. ...............................and that's fine. I do think it imapct his squad selections. He's not calling up young players for the future that may not be ready to contribute at WC26.
The only people who would ever view the USMNT as their dream job will be Americans and only a subset of that. Which means we will always be making a choice between that and coach quality until the US coaching ranks begin to catch up to the rest of the world. I'm not anti-US coaches at all, but where you lack dream job level of commitment, you do gain outside perspective and a much stronger resume on both the player and coaching side. The USWNT was Emma Hayes' dream job because she got her start in the US and grew up with them as icons when her country couldn't give two shits about women's sports and actively suppressed them. That's not going to happen again.
Certainly not the same, though? If Dave Roberts had said that after he was done with his Dodgers contract, that he'd love to coach the US in the World Baseball Classic ... well, would anyone be mad? Most Dodgers fans I know rightfully think Dave holds the team back anyway, but that's a whole nother thing.
Why do you keep bringing up Dave Roberts? We're talking about soccer, not the insular world of MLB. A better analogy would be Tuchel stating before the '26 WC that his dream is to return to managing in the Bundesliga. Would England fans be upset?
Huh? I brought up Dave Roberts once because someone else did. And I basically was making the same point you are.
This appointment always seemed like........... "Hey Poch. You don't have a job and a sour taste in your mouth after being fired by Chelsea. Do you want 6 million to coach the USMNT to a guaranteed World Cup place? Its less than a 2 year commitment." This never seemed like a long term plan for the USSF or Pochettino. So yes, Pochettino has ambitions to coach somewhere after his stint with the USMNT. Is that some sort of surprise?
Yeah, and that’s gonna be the USMNT’s problem for the indefinite future. If we’re excited about saying “elite,” we’ll have to hire managers who are on their way to becoming elite one day or who were elite but are ready to slow down a bit to coach international soccer.
Did you read the article? Because the article explains that the tactical advice was opponent specific.
Maybe, but to me it’s a lot more likely that for him and the Fed this is a deal for this cycle only. Neither side has any intention of Poch being our coach a year from now. So he took a few seconds in an interview to remind Prem level owners that he’ll be available for next season. I don’t see the big deal.
Yeah, the Dodgers are the richest team in baseball. Hell, they might have the most income of any sports team in the world, what with a 162 game schedule. That Padres-Dodgers analogy doesn’t work for me at all.
"I hate the Premier League" or "I have no intention of ever coaching there again" would have been odd answers.
Why is it frustrating? This is the reality of international soccer. It seems like what's frustrating is that reality does not match fantasy.
It was the first one to come to mind. Substitute any teams you want. FROM THE PERSEPCTIVE OF A FAN OF TEAM A, if their coach says he is thinking about coaching team B, that is not a great moment. It doesn't matter how explainable or rational it is for the coach to in fact want to move on to team B. For a fan of the Nats, it kinda sucks that we hired a manager that wants to coach elsewhere next year. Sure, it's reality; but it still is frustrating to me. And while it might theoretically be worth it to get an "eite" mercenary manager. I would err towards the committed manager above the "elite" manager if the venn diagram doesn't intersect because commitment is more reliable. This is certainly true when the "elite" manager is not producing elite results. Maybe he will at the WC? Hey, I learned from Rush's Phillip Henslowe that maybe it will all be well, even if it's a mystery how.
I assume you are talking about me. It is not a surprise. That's kind of the point. I wish he had never been hired and the entirely predictable concern that his focus would be split is the reality. I think I can be frustrated that the USSF hired a Nats manager who has patent desires to manage elsewhere without being divorced from reality. I am not saying anyone else has to be frustrated with me, but it's not crazy.
It's not crazy, but certainly you understand the trade-offs, right? There isn't going to be a non-American that won't frustrate you. Is there an American coach who wouldn't frustrate you in other ways? I don't think you were happy with Berhalter, right? And he was about as gung ho about the job as anyone could be. I'm not sure someone could put in more effort. And he's one of the better American coaches out there. The question becomes, how much of a priority should this dream job level of commitment be for the job?
Yes, plenty of tradeoffs to consider. No doubt it is a challenge to find the best balance. I am not sure that the only answer is an American, but that would likely be the majority of the pool. Wherever they are from, I would hope that commitment to the job is undeniable -- so for me that would be the top priority. Berhalter met that criteria for sure. And I think it made the team better overall. But he had some limitations, mostly the sluggish patterns when in possession, that I would have hoped could be improved on without losing the commitment. Maybe that's a tough ask, but it doesn't seem impossible or fantasy-level. I mean, this is why this is all in the "Fire Poch" thread, not the "Poch is the Best" thread. Maybe someone on here wants to start that one and I will react to those apologias!
When did Poch say the experimentation would end, how many months ago how many windows ago? Missing a lot of guys (for different reasons) who will be massive parts of the WC roster if healthy. RichardsJediWesPuli WeahTillmanStill missing:JohnnyMusahBanksWe finally get to see:GioScallyZawadzki… JK 😂Still seeing a lot of mid guys… https://t.co/KnYsH54ntR— USMNT_STAN (@StanUsmnt) November 6, 2025 The last USMNT 🇺🇸 roster of 2025, 2 more camps before the 2026 World Cup and we are still experimenting. Which is concerning. But hey, welcome back Gio Reyna and Joe Scally! https://t.co/rXfV2FZm6u— Tactical Manager (@ManagerTactical) November 6, 2025 This is honestly just a waste of a camp. It’s the second to last window before the World Cup and it’s being wasted with a roster full of mediocre players who shouldn’t be near the team. Some of it is because of injuries but there’s still no reason to call up guys like Zawadzki. https://t.co/f4EkqXTcRd— American Ultras Talk (@usmntaut) November 6, 2025 Poch gonna leave someone off the World Cup roster because their club got a new manager— scuffed (@scuffedpod) November 6, 2025 Poch says Gio is in camp less to "perform on the pitch" than for the coaches to see him and get to know him.— scuffed (@scuffedpod) November 6, 2025 As far as the general sentiment from USMNT fans, some people are complaining about the 11 MLS players, or Sean Zawadski specifically, some about Reyna being back when he hasn't done anything in forever, others about the omission of guys like Noahkai Banks, etc. Maybe some of the criticisms are even contradictory (that would be because different people want different things the fanbase is not some monolith), but the bottom line is the fanbase is in the doldrums with very little time left before the World Cup we've dreamed of hosting for decades. Not ideal. Blame whatever or whoever you want but the bottom line is, this is not the level of enthusiasm US Soccer was expecting to generate going into the World Cup when they hired Poch and paid him a ton of money.
I'd very much like to get the sense that someone at soccer house is worried enough about this not to just assume it will all be fine. It's not Poch, and that's probably not his main job, but he's not helping. It's a long time to June in terms of what might build excitement, but it sure seems to be the case that the mojo is missing as of now.
Yeah the problem is much bigger than Poch, but he is a big part of it. And the face of it. The casual fans don't see Parlow Cone and Batson and Crocker (who hired him and deleted his Twitter when things went south) and other decision makers. But he's also the one being paid $6 million a year. And (presumably) picking the rosters. The man with the plan. The brilliant coaching mind with the vision of how this is all going to work going into the biggest opportunity / moment in US Soccer history.
Like say...................Noahkai Banks to this camp. Ben Cremaschi is another that had a really strong U20 World Cup. Diego Kochen for a backup GK opportunity. These players have a lot of potential and high ceilings. But that's not of interest. Poch isn't worried about post WC26. He won't be here. That's part of the deal when you hire a coach like this.
I think the lack of qualifying has dulled the edge of the team and the fan base. It’s like a long waiting game, the only drama is manufactured. Speaking only for myself, Copa America tainted international soccer in our half of the world for me. Not just the USA’s listless performance, but the whole thing seemed cynical and anti-beautiful game, from tactics to referees.