"The sense I get, and I talk to a lot of the players, is that there's no confidence because there's no stability." - @LandonDonovan "If you can't beat Guatemala at home....you probably shouldn't be the coach." - Landon Donovan on Jurgen/USA soccer. Thoughts on this just a few days after his 3 wins and advancing prediction?
Definitely an unreasonable comment by LD. A heroic draw tonight should be enough to earn Klinsmann a 4 year contract extension.
Maybe it's bitterness and he lacks tact. IMO he's merely saying what every US soccer fan should say/already knows.
bitterness would be taking swipes at him after 'underwhelming' six game undefeated run. Stating the obvious is what is said during a six game winless run.
Exactly. Klinsmann wants a soccer culture in this country where a player out in public might get berated in the local grocery store for recent poor performances, right? Then it needs to start with him taking his lumps.
All this nibbling around the edges....which master does Donovan still serve, US Soccer or the industry that will continue to be his livelihood? He's finding out how hard it is to be a rebel from inside the tent.
Thoughts? He believes we will win the next three matches. He believes a lack of stability impacts the team's performance. When asked what should happen to the coach if the unthinkable happens tonight, he thinks that if a coach can't beat Guat at home, you probably shouldn't be coach. For me, all reasonable positions and don't conflict with each other.
People accuse Landon of having an axe to grind, but even he soft-pedals criticism fearing backlash. How about someone coming stronger and more honest with it, saying he shouldn't get to keep his job regardless given the 2-goal l at Guatemala, the entire GC disaster (not just the Jamaica game), the CONCACAF Cup loss, and mediocrity surrounding? Klinsmann has more lives than Wile E. Coyote.
He does indeed soft-pedal the heck out of his criticism. And yet that's what passes for "invective" when it comes to US Soccer.
These statements are EXTREMELY mild, very obvious, and very obviously warranted. There is nothing controversial about this whatsoever. The bigger question is why isn't absolutely EVERYONE saying this. Our soccer pundits/media are pure lapdogs.
I've criticized some of Landon's comments in the past, but I don't see anything controversial with saying the Coach should be fired if they lose to Guatemala at home. (Effectively eliminated from the WC)
They have to be. US Soccer has revoked media credentials in the past for speaking out against things too harshly, and considering most of the soccer pundits aren't paid particularly well for the job, they sort of depend on being able to get access and keep employment. The soccer writers in this country don't have a big enough independent following to be able to take accessibility risks like that. It's sad and it's a shame but it's the truth too. Anyway, Landon is right.