The current state of our youth national teams

my brief observation of you is that you’re not critical at all - you tend towards wild optimism and actively disregard and denounce evidence contrary to your optimism. For example, I believe you were calling for Carleton to be a best XI candidate for the senior men team in 2019 regardless of the vast evidence that something wasn’t right with his progress.

All of this is fine of course but I wouldn’t look to yourself as one of the posters who critically analyzes data and then comes up with a perspective.

 

I quickly moved off of my prediction for Carleton to be projected as a starter for the national team 12-18 months in the future when it was clear that there were issues. But, hell, I'd still take him ahead of Arriola and Baird.

 

thats fine as an opinion even if I don’t share it wrt arriola.

mom pointing out that it’s not backed by critical analysis

 

Yes, it is. I've been critically analyzing Carleton and Arriola for years now.

 

cmon. One is an auto starter for an MLS playoff team and the other is a USL player who cannot make the team for another MLS playoff team

 

It's more about their ceilings for me -- especially since I was projecting out 12-18 months. Arriola's lack of technique excludes him from national team first 11 consideration, imo.

 

again, you are welcome to your opinion but it’s not based on “critical thinking” but rather your opinion on ceiling and what appears to be a preference for technical skills (Carleton) over athleticism (arriola).

 

Give me Carleton's sublime technique over Arriola's above average athleticism every time.

Arriola would definitely get the nod in "mentality" at this point, but I wouldn't count AC out yet. It would be absolutely amazing if he could make a late case for the Olympic team, so we will see how he bounces back from such a rough patch.

 

where is the critical thinking? He’s not playing for a team at approximately the same level as DCU. There’s nothing for you to critically analyze other than hopes and dreams (which you are welcome to). Again, this is about your statement that you use critical analysis to judge situations. Howecer, stating that a USL player is better than an auto starter and core player for an MLS playoff team is not based on analysis but preference. That hurts your point.

 

Can we stop talking about Carleton...it just makes me sad. Also as Uly Llanez, Gio Reyna, and Tim Weah break out in 2020 Arriola most likely will not even have a spot on the USMNT as he’s already behind Pulisic, Morris, and Boyd. The winger pool is going to be very competitive.

 

I've criticized USSF and Berhalter plenty; from our lack of effort in the Latino community, not communicating with dual nationals, playing Lovitz/Roldan, not bringing Sargent to the GC, our entire defensive gameplan -- even things I was wrong about like playing Morris over Boyd.

I've said repeatedly that the USSF is a mickey mouse organization.

Much like calling me a paid schill, saying I never criticize the Federation or Stewart/Berhalter is inaccurate.

I just think we need to acknowledge that there are times people do get things right. Rather than continually mislabelling people when you don't agree on a point.

It'd be better to have youth coaches right now. But I also think -- for better or worse (and it might be worse), player selection on youth teams is going to be selected centrally and by committee (i.e. Earnie, new GM, Gregg, and the rest of the coaches) rather than more autonomously by each of the coaches.

 

Just circling back to say that the "U.S. Soccer Federation has hired Laura Harvey as the full-time head coach of the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team."

She'll be running the Florida camp this month, trying to qualify in the Dominican Republic next month, and if successful at the U20 WC in Panama/Costa Rica in August.

[I have not seen a mention of the Chicago residency requirement.]

 

Yeah, I guess NWSL salaries are not good. Seems like a step back for Harvey but certainly a step forward for WYNT. Previous coaches have not had much of a resume.

Markgraf making Stewart look even worse.

 

I’m guessing @don Lamb will think that this is a sign of progress for the USSF and further shows that they know what they’re doing.

 

Nothing prepares you better for the U20 USMNT head coaching job than failing in MLS Colorado.

 

No, but I'm not going to get mad that they didn't hire Jose Mourinho, either. I'm also not going to get upset that it took so long to hire these coaches when there was no pressing reason to have coaches in place at the time. He could have been hired six months ago, and it wouldn't have made much of a difference.

It's the same with the Berhalter hire. All of the talking heads and hysterical fans complained that it took a year to hire a coach. Well, Berhalter has been in the position for a full year and still has the better part of the next year before a game that actually matters. Some perspective: that "lost year" was a full four years from Qatar, and Berhalter was hired before Tata was....

It's maddening how histerical people get over things that are so unimportant.

 

We are two real camps from the hex and I think it’s nuts to presume anything about Qatar given what happened last cycle, particularly given Berhalter’s insistence on repeating the worst of Arena’s mistakes.

when did you get upset last cycle - after Couva?

btw, I’m still waiting on your list of facts that show that the USSF knows what it’s doing. I provided a list of what I saw as the pros/cons are.

 

Enjoy the wait ...

 

No. The talking heads and hysterical fans didn't really complain that it took a year to hire a coach. The talking heads and hysterical fans mainly complained that it took a year to hire that coach.

Our U20 YNT job is our most high profile YNT job and this is the best they can come up with. Amazing.

 

In an interview with AO, Stewart said a coaching hire is waiting for a visa. That isn't Hudson, so expect a foreign coach in the mix somewhere.

 

I couldn’t believe my eyes after reading Hudson’s name. USSF loves the “potential” in people I guess...

 

Not even talking to Paunovich is pretty dumb. I assumed he had gone back to Europe when he wasn't even rumored for any of the USYNT vacancies. You have a guy who's already won the U-20 WC living in Chicago, and you don't even interview him? But I guess that's kinda like having a former coach of Argentina and Barcelona living and coaching in the US and not even interviewing him for the senior team...