Yeah, agreed. And I think it's pretty safe to say that many (perhaps even most) fans of MLS clubs also follow soccer as a whole whether that be the men's or women's national teams, other clubs/competitions in other countries, lower level domestic play, etc. Throwing around the phrase "MLS fan" in a manner meant to denigrate and suggest there's some great wall separating someone who follows, say, DC United from the soccer world as a whole just doesn't hold up.
Flat out if you have an ideological commitment to selecting players based on who pays them instead of based on how well they play you are wrong.
Why defend only those players? Much of the criticism of Musah, ARob, Dest, Brooks, and Steffen fall into the same category. It was not that long ago that folks were defending the exclusion of Jedi because he could not pass or the exclusion of Musah in favor of Lletget because Musah could not defend.
So when Bruce Arena said about the exclusion of Danny Williams "there are players in MLS who play his position..."?
Musah has started every game he's been dressed for so what would I defend him from, fatigue? I've been saying Arob should be the LB for years, at least as far back as the Milan transfer rumor. Brooks, he doesn't need defending, as everyone thinks his exclusion is not about skills. Steffen hasn't been very good and I prefer Turner.
The top players in MLS are more than capable of playing for the USMNT and that's what I care most about. But there's a definite reinforcement to that thought when the top players start getting courted by bigger Euro clubs. We've got enough evidence now of success overseas for MLS stars to realize they were talented before Europe got them. But we see a roster for the USMNT that has a starting 11 dominated by overseas players regardless of which lineup is argued. And that's going to continue.
Talent isnot developed. Either you got it or not. What becomes of a talent however depends on (assuming the player has the character to succeed) what coaches/developers do with the player in his/her formative soccer years (age 6/7-12/13). I explicitly use this word from parenting to stress the importance to imprint in the forming brain the necesary connections indispensable in the later stages of professional development. After this formative stage you have to play competitive games to pair it with experience (learn hands on what to apply in certain situations). Talent "only" means more solutions faster disponible.
Haha.... you are still convinced you are building the culture of that MLS franchise. There have been and still are fans of MLS. MLS fans dont resemble fans of any other sports team. As a so called Galaxy fan, how would you describe that second goal that knocked you our of the open cup? That is a deep though that I can agree with.... the best place for a player is player specific. It also might be a place that isn't the most comfortable for them. The Fraulein comment is about as dumb as those 5 to 10 years ago suggesting that the pool of dual-nationals was going to evaporate. That sounds like a hypothetical so out there, that only an MLS fan could come up with it. I often wonder how you guys get along day to day in the real world. Do you guys argue/debate the same way when your MLS sensibilities aren't rattled?
I can only imagine shit I would get and names called by MLS fans if I made such a factually incorrect statement.
Well, I've only casually followed MLS to be honest because if you don't live in an MLS city, it isn't like other sports where you still get plenty of coverage. But, St. Louis gets a team next year so I guess I'll be an MLS fan then. I feel confident it will not make me forget everything I've ever known about soccer, but apparently that's a distinct possibility.
This can probably be argued both ways. It's not like MLS squads are absolutely equal; there's a spectrum of quality across the league so there are many opportunities for players to face tougher opponents where they'll be challenged to raise their individual level. In many leagues, the gap between teams is so large that teams facing relegation play negatively or without risk, which probably gives players fewer opportunity to learn skills needed to be on better, more attacking teams. You don't really see this in MLS; any team can beat another by raising their level on a given gameday.
I support the exclusion of players who are playing badly and the inclusion of players who are playing well. Jedi had some rocky times but he's been one of our best players during the second half of qualifying. Lletget started ahead of Musah in the 2021 NL games, which were scrappy affairs but the US won both. It's only happened once since and Lletget was replaced at half- time by Musah. Musah is only 19 and continues to improve. I think we can finally agree that Lletget has been found out by for a while there he was Berhalter's "go to guy".
You're right: Musah did sub into the Switzerland game for the last 29 minutes. He also remained on the bench for the NL semi- and final, for reasons that I thought had been well-established--that he wasn't ready to commit yet, and those would have been cap-tying games. And he was on the squad and did not play in two others: the qualifier in the icebox against Honduras, and the NL game 2 weeks ago against Grenada. So, 5 games in total that he was on the squad and did not start, and 18 that he did.
No, I assure you MLS supporters have totally normal sports conversations like the one happening in this thread. I can't tell you how many times I've been at a soccer match or a bar, shoulder-to-shoulder with other fans in full regalia, beers in hand, when someone chimes in "guys, remember let's not get too caught up in rooting for the team when we could be tracking how well MLS is closing the technical gap with European leagues! Anyone written any strongly-worded e-mails to Don Garber, lately?!" I would describe it as another Klinsmann failing terribly at a job he doesn't deserve in American soccer. Trying to get personal? Sorry, out of principle I only accept banter from people that actually know what it's like to support a football club, not keyboard warriors. We're just having fun here. Actually, I'm a little surprised you don't have an "Anti-MLS 11" sticky-noted to your bathroom mirror with guys like Danny Williams on it. Otherwise, literally what's the point of this conversation?
I forgot hating anything related to any Klinsmann was the most important thing to you guys. Besides his mistake anything else jump out to you on the play about your team?
I forgot about the cap-tie issue. Makes sense now that Lletget started ahead of someone who didn't want to play.
It's not about being a MLS fan, it's about correcting your wild misstatements. I think MLS fans would agree that the only MLS starter against Wales should be Zimmerman. Maybe Yedlin will get a start at some point depending on player rotation.
Hahaha.... hey, @tomásbernal , if you didn't understand me the other day, this is exactly how you guys do it on here. This idea was kicked around last year by some but pretty sure never corroborated. You have now presented it as a fact instead of pure speculation and now poor Paul thinks it is an actual fact. I suspect he will use it whenever anyone has questions about Musah/NL.
I don’t think it was a cap tie issue. Musah said in an interview shortly thereafter that he really had wanted to play in those games and Berhalter thought he wasn’t up to it fitness wise because he hadn’t played a ton at the end of the season.