Non-MLS players earned 89% of the minutes for the US at the World Cup. What a sinister anti-Europe conspiracy! Worst of all is Jordan Morris for taking exactly 3 minutes of playing time from Gio Reyna. This must be stopped. The US should return to the glory days of the 2014 World Cup with well over 57%-66% of the minutes going to MLS players (depending on how Jermaine Jones is counted).
With this particular delusion, I think there's another element. It's faux-sophistication. They have only a rudimentary understanding (I deliberately used the word understanding rather than knowledge, etc.) of the soccer world. They're tuned in to that level of understanding where Europe is Good and MLS is Bad. But they can't go any deeper. They can't evaluate anything on a case by case basis because they don't really understand the sport. They can't watch a game and judge the play and the players. But for some reason they get some kind of internal validation by going along with the faux-sophisticated crowd and post the kind of nonsense we see here. The proof, IMO, that they don't understand the sport is that there's never nuance. For me, based on the eye test, Scally > Moore. But like (I think it was) you wrote, there are other factors. Maybe Gregg looked at how many starters would be age eligible for the Olympics and thought, nah, Scally is one kid too many. Coaching a team is NOT about decisions per se, it's about choices. That's not quite the same thing. It's obvious that most of the anti-MLSer bitching fits into one of two categories: marginal players who didn't really impact anything that matter because their minutes came early in the cycle, or their minutes were very limited, OR, simple complaints about MLSers without naming an alternative.
if people on here are sincerely and unabettedly thinking the way they do, it explains everything of why the us still hasnt evolved beyond what it did in the 1990s....i find it hard to believe but I guess it is possible 1994 - 2nd round exit 2022 - 2nd round exit berhalter ball is 1990s USMNT redux with possession people like you @superdave and all of the other wackos on this forum.....represent a collective LOSER MENTALITY that permeates this sport in the US to its core. Lets bench our best player and villify him for being upset!! that'll show him who's boss!!!! you and your ilk will find a million different ways to accept mediocrity and celebrate it..... fair enough if this is the way you guys think.....without being sponsored or paid.....I was grasping at straws in an attempt to understand the inanity....... its still quite sad. and weird. Until people like you arent around anymore the USMNT will always suck. ALWAYS.
I sort of agree with the premise of the thread insofar as I don't think the MLS guys were very effective at the WC other than Zimmerman. Everyone else felt like a downgrade on whomever they replaced when they came on. That said: 1) Who counts as an "MLS guy" is somewhat hard to define. Does Moore count as an MLS guy because he went to Nashville 3-4 months before the WC after spending all of his career in Spain prior to that? Does Turner count as a Euro guy because he went to Arsenal 3-4 months before the WC after spending all of his career in MLS prior to that? 2) The distinction I saw was more one between our guys who play in the top 5 leagues and guys who don't, which makes sense. I didn't think Wright was particularly good either. CCV was ok, but not as good as Ream. Sargent was our best forward, but he was clearly a level or two below our best attackers/midfielders, and he's played most of career in the EPL and Bundesliga. So, I think the lesson is the obvious one: EPL, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1 > MLS, Turkey, Scotland, the Championship, Segunda Liga, etc. So, we'll probably (hopefully) have more and more of our team coming from the top leagues going forward, but there will be some late bloomers like Zimmerman coming from MLS who make contributions, or maybe some guys in the Dempsey, Jones, Bradley situation who go back to MLS at the end of their prime but still can contribute to the national team.
zimmerman cost the team a lot and was the worst player for the usmnt in terms of pregressive passing...he didnt show well....no offers from abroad will be coming for him. he had no business being there, imo. nice face....bun brothers marketing ploy. etc CCV was better in qatar. turner DEVELOPED a ground game in a few months at Arsenal! he was good enough in his MLS form to be the number 1 ..... credit to MLS...but GK is a special case......imo.....league doesnt really matter much for that position....for example allison the brazilian GK came to MLS as WC prep. turners coaching at Arsenal definitely helped him, though!! a lot!!! moore had fallen out of favor in 2nd league....and being back in MLS was apparently enough time for him to lose whatever skills he had in spain.....he was dreadeful in qatar. yes there will be hopefully ALL players from top leagues in any future WC...and NO late blooming MLSers...bc they simply wont be good enough. even standout MLSers usually take a while to adjust to the higher level when they transfer to europe. its not about the DNA of the MLSers its about the environment and what it does to their level. with scores of americans in top leagues....keeping MLS on the USMNT will not only not make sense....it will be anti-competitive...as it was in qatar.
This game did a lot for the reputation of MLS players. We really pulled up to Panama away like this…😭People are still advocating for Berhalter In after this MASSIVE red flag 🚩🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/9cWSE9LzPU— Gregg Beerholder 🍺 (@MLShater) February 1, 2023
We are just fans, bro. We are observers, not actors. PS…thanks for proving my point about lack of understanding revealed by lack of nuance. We objectively don’t suck.
you fail to realize how important the culture is in terms of impacting the actions of the actors, though. and that sites like this ARE THE CULTURE and you must have missed the netherlands game...that was an embarassment (par for the course) mostly on berhalter
Super Douch Bag, can you explain to little people what Berhalter's system was and how he implemented it over four years? What were the key choices he made? How did each step build on that process? I'd love for you to help me be able to go deeper into understanding and evaluating the game on a case by case basis. Id especially like help understanding all those times that an inferior MLS player was played over and over again in front of a clearly superior player.
Those 11% were really painful. If only we would have kept their minutes to level all cycle instead of giving roughly half the minutes to those jabronies. If only I had the sophistication of these wise MLS fans I could have thought Zimmerman and Ferreira were our best CB and forward. If only we could have understood that CONCACAF is about as close to the WC as the NFL. Man Bun 1 cost us greatly at the WC and Ferreira was a true embarrassment.
Thank you! You couldn't possibly be basing this on your observation of his recent play. So you're basing it on the club he plays for. That's my point...your faction doesn't understand the sport well enough to evaluate how a player plays, but you're perfectly capable of noticing the club he's signed to.
Berhalter's first choice CB from January 2019 to October 2022. Note how useful his ever important recovery speed is. On what planet is THIS pass from Aaron Long even close to national team quality? #USMNT pic.twitter.com/8vhh4siV4J— USMNTrev (@Eyesandvibes) January 29, 2023
Call it what you want, but dude sucked with the ball at his feet when he played in the American first division. Also, crap in the air. Cost us points against Panama. Yep, it was old Gyasi Zardes who put in their game winner while Turner was lost on his line.
Talent!!! You guys never talk about it. Why don't you break down Brooks, Zimmerman, and Long? Help us understand why one has the talent to play in leagues that top WC players do, but the other two are best for us while they wouldn't make it at that level.
Yes, the best source for analysis is from the twitter account MLSHater6969getiti'mreferringtooralsex @adam tash , if Turner developed his foot skills in a few months at Arsenal, why isn't Lletget legit because of his much longer time in Yurp?
As to your first paragraph, yes I can. As to your second paragraph, please list the inferior MLS players vs. superior players.
Well ******** it then, we should have started Eddie Pope and Chris Richards then, since it's all about talent. One is an old man now and the other was injured? Who gives a shit? TALENT!!! PS...at that moment in time, there was no evidence that John Brooks could play in a top level league. Because he wasn't. Playing.