Interesting hypothetical. For myself, I’d be pretty disappointed if Poch hasnt already watched all or most of those matches.
that happens, constantly dealing with trolling nonsense. and as you know, it doesnt make me incorrect either. so, you know, make a point or consider shutting up? which may sound aggressive but, you know....trolling.
Well now we know who likely recommended Tillman as a replacement for this camp. Jesus Perez, the top lieutenant for the U.S. men's national team coach, was in Texas for FC Dallas vs. Vancouver Whitecaps and Austin FC vs. LAFC. Miguel D’Agostino saw games in New York and Seattle before wrapping up in Columbus, Ohio. https://www.foxsports.com/stories/s...ettino-has-grown-usmnts-world-cup-talent-base
Tim Tillman is a good player. NO problem with him as a replacement option. I still don't support the decision to leave McKennie at Juventus, but whatever.
On his podcast with Tim Howard Landon Donovan said it’s his understanding McKennie very much wanted to come to camp.
And is there any reasonable motive for us to accept what either Donovan or Howard says as having any level of truth? It seems to me that most ex-players simply say things to make money and this does seem like something that would be said for that reason.
Donovan specifically said sources close to McKennie’s camp. And they share the same agent so I’m guessing that’s his source.
That’s the kind of info that people should be building this story on. If McKennie wants to come in and Pochettino isn’t calling him in, that’s a BIG story that should be followed up on by any serious journalist.
Depends on the reasoning If it's that Poch has a good idea of how he fits into the group and believes from his time as a club coach it's better for Weston to stay with Juve right now and ensure he'll be playing regularly for the remainder of this season (and at the same time he can get a look at more of the guys fighting for a roster spot in midfield), I'm cool with that--it's awesome he's hungry to come in and play for the US but sometimes players need to be saved from themselves If it's just that Poch didn't want to call him in for whatever reason, I agree that's a much bigger story. But the first scenario is much more likely IMO
Exactly. You have a situation with more information just below the surface that an agent is out there trying to spin in a positive way for the player. There’s a story there.
There's not the story there people think is there. Poch is parochial. Paternal. We've seen 900 pieces of evidence. He talks to club coaches more than the players. He talked to Weston's coach. He thinks he should stay there to keep his role. I know this sounds insane to many of you, but it's 100% in line with what Poch has said -- club play is more important, he knows what Wes is, and Wes needs to keep his role. Wes played well and hard last window. There's no reason to manufacture drama when there isn't one. I agree Poch's communication style is a bit batshit to Americans, but this isn't really that odd in other cultures.
I can understand the players not called in that are recovering from injury. The McKennie and Juventus one makes little sense to me. Juventus released the following players in this window............ Italy: Andrea Cambiaso, Manuel Locatelli Serbia: Dušan Vlahović, Filip Kostić Turkey: Kenan Yildiz Belgium: Loïs Openda Portugal: Francisco Conceição Montenegro: Vasilije Adžić Canada: Jonathan David Kosovo: Edon Zhegrova France: Khephren Thuram So none of those players needed to remain with Juventus to train with the new coach, but Weston McKennie did? Some of those players have important games like WCQers. I get it. Italy has a crucial WCQer against Norway in this window. .............but Canada? Canada is playing friendlies against Ecuador and Venezuela. So Jonathan David can be released, but Weston McKennie needs to stay to train with the coach??? Unless there's more going on there than we know, I don't get it. I DON"T think Weston McKennie is a lock for the starting lineup of the USMNT. You'd think he'd WANT to solidify his position.
I don't think this is Juventus so much as it is Poch. Wes does have issues with coaches valuing his worth, but the difference here is that I think Pochettino simply isn't that worried about having Wes in camp. I don't think there's an issue with Wes; I think it's the opposite. I also think he's probably a bit terrified of our fitness issue overall and not all that eager to bring in any borderline cases right now -- see Richards, Chris or Pulisic, Christian. If he was going to have an issue with Wes, he'd not have been called in in October. Certainly his play in October doesn't warrant some kind of exile. People race to drama ... ... but the reality is that it's clear Poch doesn't give a shit about winning friendlies -- can we agree on that? And he just doesn't value these short practice sessions all that much. It's clear he valued the Gold Cup and the extended time, and he got thwarted there. I'll take a bet with anyone that Wes is on the World Cup roster.
I kinda don't buy it. We read what Pochettino said about this camp in his spat with Glesnes of Crystal Palace. “We have only this window to prepare for the World Cup," he added. "These are not friendly games for me when you play for the national team. It's about playing for more things, not only playing a game because you defend your flag." Is the camp important or not Mauricio? Yes, leave injured (or recovering from injury) players at home. That's not Weston McKennie. Cue the confused Pochettino GIF!!!
There's what you say and what you do. We'll see but I seriously doubt there's anything here. We went through this with Pulisic, McKennie before, etc. We go through this every window.
I actually think it could be as simple as Mauricio actually asked Juve before submitting the request and Jesse Marsch didn’t. The others make complete sense as it’s WCQ for Euro. Maybe Marsch doesn’t care what Juve has to say, and Mauricio does. Is it the right thinking? I’m not sure. But I would also assume Jonathon David has a more solidified spot than it seems McKennie ever does and playing up until the WC is important.
Agree 100%, took me awhile to come around to this fact (and I don't fully support it) but it explains a lot for me. Poch doesn't give a shit about these friendlies. He's betting on the fact that it all really starts in June '26. He's using it for some fringe guys but not about A team chemistry. Wes is 100% on the WC roster and 100% starting. So silly to think otherwise. Guarantee Wes said, hey man, is it cool if I stay back (or Poch asked Wes what he wanted).
Also think there's possibly a hedge here (whether by accident or not) that if we play against these top teams in the friendlies and get destroyed... then it was just a test for fringe guys. If we get killed with our A team then there's way more blowback.