This is well stated. That being said, nobody(!) is saying that there is only one way. There is a preferred way but no one is saying that if you don't follow it you're out. MLS has provided the USMNT with great depth and we're going to need that for the interminable future. A lot of the Suyuntuy-style teeth knashing seems less to me about trying to make it abroad than knowing when it's time to return back home (cough, Hyndman, cough) and players should perhaps pull that trigger sooner than they do.
Russell Canouse who is only 23, has been the best US DM in MLS in 2018 by any reasonable measure. The fact that we never saw him is worthy of a conspiracy theory. He should feature prominently at the January camp unless there really is a Wil Trapp protection policy in effect!
I believe Almeyda has an out of SJ contract if offered the Mexico or Argentina job - USA wasn't mentioned.
Berhalter's media tour has been so impressive. Our fed sucks, but damn Gregg has a great personality. Klinsmann was often way too vague, and Bruce was so smug. Gregg seems to be honest, transparent, and super detail oriented. Win now or else tho.
There was a good TSS podcast with a few journalists saying that Berhalter enjoys explaining the ideas behind his tactical decisions. Might be the first time we have ever had a truly media-friendly manager. We shall see though... we haven’t lost under him yet
No sense in over-analyzing. Whether he gets U.S. players from MLS or abroad, let's see what Gregg Berhalter can do. I'm hoping to enjoy the ride.
All I want is to qualify for the World Cup. Winning the Gold Cup would be nice, but the stupid circumstances with the hire of this coach has left him only a few months to prepare for that. I just don’t think it’s realistic for anyone to expect us to advance very far in the World Cup if we do get there. 4 years from now, we may have some solid 21-24 year olds, but there won’t be much help from the 25+ part of the pool. Even if we get out of the group stage, a trip to the quarterfinals should be a welcome surprise and not an expectation. Winning on the road in lawless CONCACAF to qualify seems like it should be the goal, first and foremost. Especially when you consider where we are now.
4231 is declining. 433 isn't as popular as most would think.442 is still very popular. 352 is making a comeback in Serie A and Bundesliga. EPL and La Liga are very similar. Serie A is on its own. pic.twitter.com/VG9cIoJ8kK— Cheuk Hei Ho (@Tacticsplatform) December 9, 2018 4-2-3-1 is in decline... isn’t that what Berhalter primarily had Columbus playing? Not ideal for our pool in any case... This is very true.
A few months? He has over half a year for that, and Mexico are still yet to appoint a coach. And let's face it, it's not like it would have come as a total surprise to him that he got the US job. He should have time to prepare for the Gold Cup. Over half the teams haven't even qualified for it yet
It is true that Gregg used 4-2-3-1 with the Crew but that is because he had a 10 in Higuain. The US does not have a natural 10. He is not dependent on the 4-2-3-1. All I am sure they will all be extremely prepared and there will be a plan.
Is 6 months a long time? He has 6 or 7 games, and in at least 2 of those games he will have almost most of his starters missing. Plus, tbh, I don’t really care that much about the Gold Cup. As long as he has the team ready for WCQs
At the World Cup we will win nothing. We should prioritize the trophy we can win (Gold Cup) as it's an opportunity to go the Confed Cup, which we could also potentially win.
It's a neat graph with on analysis of prior seasons, but something that makes me question it is that a lot of times formations can vary based on the flow of the match, it can be subjective and therefore unpredictable. At times, formations can look deceiving. For example when a 4-2-3-1 can easily look like a 4-3-3 when you have midfielders that push a bit higher up for the sake of pressing. A 4-3-1-2 can look like a 4-4-2. A 3-5-2 can look a lot like a 5-3-2 and therefore seems kind of redundant. It makes it harder to get precise data. Unless of course its based solely on how the team sets up before the start of the match. On the other hand, if it's based on the players average position of the game, then by all means this is quite an impressive graph.
Classical formations are almost obsolete these days. New ideas often enter Europe through Spain (thanks to the South American influence, too) and if you watch La Liga, you're going to see that asymmetrical formations are all the rage now, beyond the usual shifts during attack or defense (i.e., a 4-2-3-1 can morph into a 4-2-1-3 in attack, like Gremio did in the last Libertadores, and into a 4-5-1 in defense, like when you're trying to keep a lead). The other thing I notice this year in South America (hence likely to cross the ocean by next fall) is the 4-3-3 with CM/AMs who can act as strikers --we're used to seeing the width given by the fullbacks or the wingers, but in that formation it is given by the wide forwards, who are ready to track back when needed. Meanwhile it's the lateral guys in the central 3 who come to support the striker. It's a very dynamic formation, that calls for continuous rhythm-switching and a very smart point striker who knows when to leave a path for the midfielders pushing forward. In Boca, that was Benedetto, with Perez and Nandez as the two guys coming from midfield.
Not sure if you are advocating for this by your post, but this has been going on for ages. the soccer world will rotate formations and strategies where one becomes the new thing, and the former becomes "obsolete." Its nonsense, as they end up eventually rotating back to the original, and the cycle repeats itself. This is why chasing the latest and greatest is a fools errand, and is usually an attempt to chase some elusive edge. Its especially stupid in our case where we dont have the level of player that can adapt to such switches the way other countries do. Playing out of the back is the newest obsession, but if it doesnt play to your players strengths then dont fall into the trap of feeling compelled to go that route.
Sticking to the Berhalter theme... the January selections should give us a hint as to where he's going with the player pool. I'm really looking forward to see this play out.
I'm just remarking on how little use the graphs that only map the starting formations have. Also, it's the club game. A completely different animal, where the coach can buy players to fit his system. For NTs, it goes the other way around: you fit your ideas to what you have. But, to make the point, the 4-3-3 is going to be popular next year, if the trend of Europe following South America in what is "hip" continues (a trend started with the tiki-taka).
We have a dearth of wingers and severe limitations with our fullbacks. The 4-3-2-1 would provide us for width, with the likes of Yedlin/Antonee bombing forward in their more natural wingback roles.* Of course that'd need for two guys in the line of three to cover for their forays into enemy soil. Something like: --------------------------Horvath---------------------------- ----------------Miazga-----------Besler?------------------ -------------------Trapp--------Adams-------------------- Yedlin------------------McKennie---------------Robinson -------------Pulisic------------------Nagbe?--------------- ---------------------------Sargent?--------------------------- In attack, and the typical Xmas tree in defense. May be worth a try. --- * More than a traditional wingback, those two would have the "carrilero" role, that quintessential high-stamina, high-speed pest who covers the whole band from defense to attack.
JK much like Beerholder came in saying 'we want to posses the ball , we want to play on the ground we want to have attacking flair' after 10 minutes JK decided: good God these guys are awful, let's go with a 3 dm set up in Jamaica. He was roundly panned for it. I love this formation with one Big Butt: you need a guy like Zidane in the hole who can do it all : Hold up back to goal, create through passing, dribble, and score. In our pool only Sargent can do those but it's a heck of a thing: when Sargent ask the coach, how shall I play, coach tells him, just go out and play like Zidane.
GB ace in the hole is that this group of players are younger and play way better than the group JK assembled.
Do you think so? I think he will be selecting from 33% of the quality players, maybe less. I think if he calls in 25 guys, for instance, less than 10 are really in contention for a full strength 23 now, with possibly 1-2 starters.
Bingo. We'll get a much better idea of his selection process in March for the next international window.