The trouble with the "Hamid has earned the starting spot for the NT" view is not that it is popular or unpopular, it is that it is not true. Watching him play we consistently see an inconsistent keeper. Just about every spectacular save [which he is certainly capable of] seems matched by a spectacular blunder. Hamid can be decisive, and then decisively fail to be decisive when it was time to be decisive. In one match he is rock solid, and the next soft goals pour in. He is no way near good enough for now.
I appreciate the effort, but I really think you are just very far off base here. I'd say what separates him from the other defenders is his lack of mistakes. He's not as talented as Brooks, maybe not even as talented as Cameron, but he makes so many less mistakes than both, and I think its been that way for years. I think he's not gotten his proper due because he doesn't play in Europe. For years under Klinsmann, Klinsmann played the "all Europe" all star team for the most part, and looked everywhere but MLS for players. I think we have to realize that we have many good players in MLS, and they need to be rewarded for their good play. They need to get the proper due for their performances that the ones in Europe get. Unfortunately, they didn't get that due under Klinsmann, and I think that phenomena swept across all opinion about the NT for the most part. It was looked down on that a player would play in MLS, and the coach was the main promoter of that theory. We can agree to disagree though.
Not disagreeing but if Rongen alienated hin from the team I have to ask how did he alienate him to such a degree that he didn't even want to play for USMNT without Rongen as coach. That makes me wonder how much he wanted to play for us. I was under the impression that Germany was actually his first choice but couldn't play with them due to FIFA rulings. Ultimately, I don't know the full story. My feeling is just that we shouldn't worry about begging or handing out special favors to convince players to play with us.
You may have a point. I believe it is unpopular with a significant portion of BS but maybe a better term would just be controversial. I know that Rongen has often been criticized for losing Subotic. Perhaps Rossi's loss is less controversial? I guess I'll have to try harder next time.
I get your point about JK but that doesn't mean everyone who prefers a player in Europe over an MLS one is automatically a Euro snob. Personally, I don't care who plays for the US or where they come from. I just want to win. So while I do believe that MLS is an inferior league to the top leagues in Europe, I don't believe at all that any player in Europe is automatically better for the USMNT than a domestic one. But I think you're right that we will have to agree to disagree. I don't think Besler makes fewer mistakes than either Brooks or Cameron. I also don't think he covers up as many mistakes by other people as Brooks and Cameron. But trust that my opinion is based solely on NT performance. Aren't we pretty much trying to do that very same thing right now with Timothy Tillman?
Unpopular opinion coming.................... Subotic needed thicker skin. If Rongen's rather tame comments at the time were enough to lead him away from the USMNT program, then he was looking for a reason to leave the USMNT/USYNT program. There's a lot of misinformation out there about the Rongen-Subotic relationship. A lot of myths have been perpetuated as reality. Basically, I'm tired of the abuse Rongen gets on these boards for that whole thing. The guy didn't want to play for the US. We were at best his third choice. He actually wanted to represent Germany, but FIFA denied his application to switch to Germany. So he switched to Serbia. Rongen, it should be noted, is responsible for recruiting a lot of the dual nationals currently in the squad. The importance of the dual nationals he did recruit (Brooks and company) vastly dwarfs the loss of Subotic. Just my unpopular opinion.................................
I despise Juergen Klinsmann. Now for the unpopular part. The USMNT has depended for the last 25 years on top shelf keeping and one solid midfielder. We have neither right now and that really isn't Klinsmann's fault. It will be a hell of a coaching job by Bruce if he gets us past either MEX or CR.
Well, Rongen certainly said some discouraging and false things about me. Never in my life have I heard that a high level coach publicly criticizes a player. Professional coaches do that one-on-one with the player. I find this disappointing, because a few months later after Rongen said I was not good enough for the U-20s, I played a very good season and started getting calls from various countries [U.S. included] for the full men's team. I still don't know what he saw in the other players, and what he didn't see in me. http://www.espnfc.com/story/557869
U.S. fans are too dismissive of the Gold Cup, especially since Mexico has owned us in the competition for a while now (and extended that domination to a home qualifier). Way too early to worry about an ongoing, combined CONMEBOL/CONCACAF tournament.
I think we will get worse when we neglect European players and play forever MLS players under Arena. Klinsmann was right to go Europe heavy
The butcher's bill for his tenure is an almost incomprehensible list of firsts: • First four-game home winless streak against CONCACAF opponents since 1965 • First loss to a Caribbean opponent in World Cup qualifying since 1969 • First loss to Jamaica, ever • First home loss to Jamaica, ever • First time US U-17 team missed the Youth World Cup • First loss to Guatemala since 1988 -- a Guatemala team that was the lowest-ranked squad to beat the US in the history of the FIFA Rankings • First US coach in 25 years to fail to record a single win in official competition against a Top 10 side • Worse record vs. Top 20 sides in official competition than any of his four predecessors Also sported a disparity of 14 bad losses vs. 7 good wins in a-team comps per Elo Rating change, and the Gold Cup was astonishingly bad, not only losing to Jamaica and Panama, but getting out-shot by every team in the competition except Cuba (post-defections), in spite of playing at home. Arena was one of the managers who in 8 years did not do things like this. Klinsmann set a standard where it's really tough to fall below it, in part because he shared your attitude. There was nothing right about it, and we were getting badly out-played by other team's lesser MLS'ers. It's understandable why that opinion would be so unpopular.
Aside from Pulisic I don't think there's much difference between the current Europe and MLS regulars. And even then I don't think he's ready to work miracles throughout the hex.
Klinsmann was a shit show because he had no tactical aptitude and he was always tinkering with line-ups and telling players to "express themselves" without assigning logical roles and duties. But, on balance, we are much better off for his efforts to expand and broaden the player pool. And I was among the most vocal in calling for the charlatan's head. I agree with your list of failures. But we could also make a list of successes: Wood, Morris, et al
1. Michael Bradley has been, and continues to be, the best field player for the National Team. 2. Benny Feilhaber, Lee Nguyen, Juan Agudelo and Kekuta Manneh are just part of a long list of players that fans are clamoring for that are not nearly good enough to be starting for the national team. And we will soon find out that Eric Lichaj is as well. 3. In one appearance, Jorge Villafana proved to the be the best USA left back in a decade. He should start in March and throughout qualifying. 4. Fabian Johnson will be extremely effective in the midfield for the US, creating many more goal-dangerous chances than any other player has during the time he was wrongly placed at left back. 4. Darlington Nagbe is extremely overrated. He's too slow on the ball and takes too many touches. He slows down the game, killing counter-attacks and allowing the defense to clog up passing lanes, meaning many fewer shots on goal. 5. USMNT supporters are way too concerned with the "next big thing" and thus spend their time lamenting why Matt Miazga, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Joe Gyua, and a bunch of other too-inexperienced players aren't getting caps when none of them comes close to matching the ability of the players they would replace on the roster. 6. Jozy Altidore is clearly the best striker in the US pool and the best US striker since Brian McBride. 7. If Clint Dempsey is healthy he should play every game in qualifying ahead of players like Feilhaber, Klejstan, Nagbe and Bedoya. 8. And in response to the second poster in this thread - Nick Rimando is the greatest keeper in the history of MLS and should start ahead of an injured Tim Howard and a benched Brad Guzan. None of the other keepers, including Hamid, Bingham and Horvath, come close to Rimando's ability, record of success, or leadership.
Here's mine, and as you'd expect, it's about ancient history: Referring to Paul Caligiuri's goal against Trinidad in 1989 as "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" is stupid, because the soccer world didn't give two shits about the outcome of a game between two CONCACAF minnows. Great goal, dumb nickname.
Fabian Johnson has played in midfield for the U.S. aplenty, and was not very impactful. Maybe that's why you forgot. Nagbe greatly aids counter attacks if you play him as your 8. He's very much not overrated from that position, especially against tougher opposition, because he helps you bring the ball out of the back under control and quickly for a precise counter. Here's a guy who led Portland to the title, after he had just got citizenship. Just a matter if our coaches have the balls to play him there given his offensive-minded rep. I also think his defense is underrated. I told people this about Villafana when I watched a bunch of Santos games of his last year. He was a defensive monster because of his elite awareness/fundamentals and he's adequate going forward, while helping you keep possession. I'm around the center point on the Rimando scale right now, or slightly to the right in favor. If Howard is healthy he should be between the pipes, but I think Rimando should start over an out of form, worse-handed, worse passing, and not so rangy Guzan. He's not some sort of sub-par MLS keeper at this point. The last few years he's still been near the top in expected goals saved for his teams. But so has Hamid. He's just been on less talented squads, at least until recently (when he made the playoffs and Rimando didn't), and he's physically much more talented. That said, starting Hamid in games of this magnitude and pressure when he has a lack of experience/proof at the international level, would be foolish. Time will tell if he translates and he's the hair apparent. Feilhaber was already a legit 12th man like 7 years ago, and he's improved since. Lichaj has been one of the best fullbacks in the Championship for years, where Yedlin resides. If Yedlin is better, it's not by much. And there are certain situations, like when you're playing extreme possession or bunkering, where it may behoove you to play the more technical and savvier Lichaj. Hard to argue with Manneh's ability, just needs to be more consistent. Apparently he really impressed in camp. These players may well end up viable starting options. Agudelo has the talent, but far from the track record, and clock is ticking. I think this is the crossroads year. Who is saying Nguyen is a starter? We had incorporated plenty of duals before Klinsmann was around. He took it to the next level. I don't mean that in a good way. It went considerably beyond the point of diminishing returns in terms of players who were benefiting the program. Ultimately many were just eating caps from more deserving players and Klinsi was undermining the confidence of the player who grew up in the States, which is all but a tiny percentage of them. That's bad overall for USS. We will likely rise because the player pool improved in spite of him due to the improvement of MLS and their development system, Pulisic took pressure off others at bigger clubs in Europe (we had plenty of promising players before and a solid nt rating the last 25 yrs), and Jurgen left nowhere to go but up. He will take credit however and skirt blame, because that's really his best trait as manager.