How are we feeling about the number of forward options that are better than Zardes... I'm too tired to go back and find my five dozen comments criticizing Gregg's roster selections from the last two windows for not bringing in a target forward like Pefok or Dike when there are unlimited roster sizes and literally zero reason not to do so (aside from Gregg's pathetic excuse that he can't train with 30 players), because they don't fit his system... because obviously under Gregg's system we couldn't possibly ever be in need of a late goal! Oh wait it happened both times, oops. Dictionary definition of hubris....
Well, Dike is injured. But Pefok should have been on this roster, and the last one. Stupidity reigns.
Update after 2 of 3 games... So far we have had: -Steffen out with injury from the start -Yedlin late to arrive -Zimmerman out for game 2 with injury (hamstring) -Weah out for game 2 because Canada had a problem with his Covid shots -Adams leaving game 2 with injury (hamstring) out for game 3 -Richards leaving game 2 with injury (foot) out for game 3 So that's 4 injuries already and we still have a possibly single digits to negative degrees Fahrenheit game to go! Berhalter says Adams looks like hamstring strain, Richards has a foot injury. He added that Walker Zimmerman was held out of game as precaution due to a slight hamstring injury. #usmnt— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) January 30, 2022 So of the four big concerns from when the roster was announced... 1. only calling in 28 players instead of 30+ 2. all three games in conditions that could exacerbate injuries 3. no target forward (Pefok, Dike, etc.) option on the roster 4. 4 RBs and only 1 LB on the roster (Lennon over Scally/Vines/Bello)...only #4 has turned out to not be a problem 2/3 of the way through (knock on wood).
lennon was sent home prior to yesterdays match with an injury of some sort, if you want an unabridged list...
I totally forgot about Lennon, probably because he should never have been there in the first place... So 2/3 of the way through the window that's 5 injuries (Steffen, Zimmerman, Lennon, Adams, Richards) with 4 of those likely not available for the final game (assuming all but Zimmerman)... that takes the 28 man roster to 24, which means Gregg probably brings in... Jackson friggin Yueill
The thing is not so much that MLS wants to market Sebastian Lletget, National Teamer! It's that they don't want the burden of "USMNT - no MLS players." And this might be the first time in the cycle where an actual best 23 might not have any MLS players on it. GK: Steffen, Horvath, Turner D: Dest, ARob, Scally, Brooks, Richards, Palmer-Brown, CCV, Ream M: MMA, de La Torre, Busio AM/W: Pulisic, Weah, Aaronson, Konrad, Tillman/Sonora FW: Sargent, Pefok, Pepi
Let's take a tour through the roster management here with the benefit of hindsight: NO YEDLIN: Look, it was always obvious that taking four right backs was the height of lunacy. So it's unsurprising that the apparent fourth-stringer never actually played. Who could've guessed. Strictly from a management perspective, it underscores how lucky we are that Jedi is a dray horse and able to take the load. It also has important implications for the future. If you're going to never play a guy, should it be a veteran (who likely will play no significant positive role in the future) or, uh, Joe Scally? (Who can back up A. Robinson and also learn some stuff). DE LA TORRE: LDLT did, I thought, a solid job against Honduras -- given the opponent, it's difficult to draw any positive conclusions, only to say that if Luca were good, he'd play like this against a crummy team. That said, you might say the start was itself a positive sign: this was a do-or-die match and Berhalter trusted him to play. But then you'd have to think deeper about the logic at play here. Apparently De la Torre was good enough to entrust with a match that could've turned out to be Couva Pt. II, but not so good to play a single minute in either of the previous games -- both of which could've used a player of his skillset. Logic! with Gregg Berhalter.
That's funny. I think of it a different way. He played him at home, against the only team that wasn't going to apply midfield pressure. And also against the worst team. Seems like a good way to ease him in, and a good way to avoid some of the potential issues he may have against better opponents. I enjoyed Luca's ability to make the quick, smart, easy pass, but I think people are way underestimating the competition and home/away gap versus Canada and Honduras. I can remember about four times Musah ran down a counterattack from a Canadian player that Luca would have never gotten to. Like, not even close. Perhaps he could have helped versus El Salvador? Maybe, but Canada. I think there would have been more issues than benefits. So yeah, I think the logic is actually pretty solid.
Honduras also have fast players. The trick is to not get into a situation where you have to win a foot race.
Canada has a lot more team speed, and would counter in numbers, meaning you need your midfield to run back. We also played our fullbacks back to cover. My point is really that I'm not ready to call Berhalter a moron for not playing de la Torre against the #1 team in the hex on the road because he had a fine game against BY FAR the worst team in the hex, at home, after that team had been eliminated. And also, was literally freezing to death. Competition matters. Lletget was good in Honduras, and actually contributed to goals there. Is Berhalter a moron for not recognizing that? Competition matters.
I mean, if that's the logic, I think it massively flawed. The game was a must, must win. A tie or worse a loss would've been disastrous -- Couva II, like I said above. If Gregg were sacrificing even the slightest chance of winning, then he's not very bright.
Musah had played two games, and not spectacularly well. Luca is set up to perform well against a Honduras. From a total window planning or a simply in the moment planning, I'm not sure what is so wrong about this? You'd never rotate? You'd never play players according to who the opponent is? Is this really "massively flawed?" I think it is just kind of ridiculous that no matter the decision and outcome, fans find a need to pretend that the coach is a complete and utter moron and they are geniuses despite a massive gulf in information. Coach plays player in type of game player is likely to succeed and does not play him in more difficult setting that doesn't play to strengths. Not only that, Coach seemed to recognize the right game to put rotation in in the window. USMNT fanbase -- IDIOT!
Not what I'm claiming. I'm claiming in a match that is must not lose you play your very best lineup, no questions asked.
But there's context to that -- especially with three games in seven days. Whether it is fatigue or simply stylistic differences, it's not like the decision can be lifted from a Best XI thread. Luca may have been the best option for the Honduras match -- with a fatigued and not great Musah, whose defensive advantage isn't needed against Honduras while Luca's quick movement of the ball would be more welcome against a bunker. That doesn't make Luca a better option for the Canada match. Or even El Salvador. Certainly not to the point that Berhalter is an idiot for it.
We don’t know what we don’t know, and this might have been more about Musah not feeling 100% to go than about, this was a good opportunity to play DLT. Poster are confusing DLT as a competitor of Lletget instead of a competitor for Musah, Acosta (when he’s played as an #8), and Busio. Lletget is in competition with Weston.
I think we have to start looking at these players in a more nuances way, instead of who is best and worse. The Nats is basically an all-star team. Each player brings strengths and weaknesses to the table to be used. I doubt there’s any player GB puts on the roster that he doesn’t believe in. And each one has scenarios that best fit that player. For instance many where calling for a Dike or Pefok inclusion for a specific scenario where we needed a big, strong forward. DLT is no different.
Yeah, it wasn't always this way, but I think it is rounding more as: Shuttler: Musah / de la Torre / Busio Box to Box: Weston / Roldan / Acosta / Lletget Destroyer: Adams / Acosta When we shifted to the MMA midfield, Lletget started to become less relevant, because he's basically the more offensive part of the MMA. When that role was closer to the original 8/10, he made more sense. He's not a dynamic playmaker, but he fills the offensive role of a box to box really well. But not the defense. Going to the Liverpool style of midfield has generated a change in what we're looking for. The Shuttler / Hub role hasn't really found an ideal player or backup. Musah is the strongest defensively and on the dribble. De la Torre is the best combo of dribbling and passing, but his defense is a question. Busio probably is the more creative passer, but falls behind the others in the other categories. I'm sure we could see Acosta play over there, or Roldan or even Lletget, but it wouldn't be a preference, I don't think. Roldan has moved up the depth chart based on club play but also simply that we don't actually have a second real box to box in the (called in) pool after Weston. De la Torre could probably moonlight but the defense is not there. That's why a Pomykal, Tessman, Booth taking a step forward has a shot at Qatar IMO.
Yep. If we were insistent on playing our top lineup in the Must Win games we should have punted the Canada game, frankly. Once we didn't do that, our best lineup versus Honduras needed to take into account not only style (in any case) but also fatigue.