I thought Berhalter set us up for years? The culture was supposed to be the best thing that clown did. There has never been a coach of the usmnt that has done so much damage to the program.
That's why the 10 is so important, Neech. He's the free agent who can grab the bull by the horns. I knew we were wasting way more time than we had to when I saw Tilman starting. My pregame lineup (because of all the injuries that needed updating) was a 3 man midfield with Brenden as a forward: ------------sarge--- ------brenden---puli --aiden---johnny--musah Balo was easily marked out of the game by Jesse, seeing as how it wasn't actually Jesse but Bombito who did the work. Basically Balo spent the game walking into Mike Tyson's knuckles. Sarge would have pulled Bombito out of position before shuttling the ball to onrushing attackers. Aiden would have found players with his passing, with Musah taking up a position from which he could dribble (altho that didn't go all that well tonight). Johnny + Musah isn't going to work just on the basis of Musah not having the passing that Morris has, I.o.w., I think Musah + Aiden or Johnny + Aiden might work. Right now in this artificial period of time, my midfield in the 23 is Johnny, Adams, Aiden, Musah, LDLT, Gio - how about you, Neech?
This game isn’t a referendum on anything meaningful (other than perhaps Ream is cooked and the advent of Nations League in Europe has essentially rendered most of our playing windows now useless). I get playing for the shirt, and sure all of these guys should value any minutes they get but let’s get real…where is the motivation in playing Canada and New Zealand with absolutely nothing on the line 3 weeks into a new European club season? There’s still enough talent to do well in 2026. And Pochettino’s arrival will light a well-needed fire under their asses.
Honest to God, I’m most embarrassed not by the final result but the fact that we tried to come out and play exactly the same way as we did in Copa America and expecting a different outcome. I swear, if we would have tried something different, even if it ended in the same scoreline or even worse, I wouldn’t be as upset. I’d say, I don’t like the score, but that’s something we can grow from. But what are we supposed to do with this? We don’t need any more confirmation that this exact same formation with these same exact tactics, with mostly all the same players, it’s not working!! Try something new! Jeez. We brought in 4 forwards. Why not try out a two forward formation? We are the most predictable team. We are not dynamic at all. No wonder why we are so easy to play against.
I feel like your first graf is why we play these Sep windows. Let the Lunds come out and show us they are serious. the #3 guy in the pool is an important player because, let's face it, guys are going to be injured when the big dance rock and rolls around. #3 could be #2 in a flash. My assessment on Lund was simply: Stay in shape. The margins are slim.
1 -We have established a loser culture that is showing permanence over multiple windows including 6 games with multiple embarrassing losses and a record of 1-1-4 with the only win vs. Bolivia and a humiliating 5-1 thrashing to Colombia.. 2 - Pochettino is not a done deal. The reporting today revealed that they are having trouble closing the deal. What happens if that does not work out?
He wasn't terrible in Copa America. Though I think Richards' calamities made him look more palatable. Either way, if it wasn't time to move on before, it was afterward. This was yet another wasted camp when it comes to advancement at that position & all others except for GK, maybe DM. But because Ream's one of the few players Poch knows, I suspect he'll hold on for one more day, like Wilson Phillips.
Bsky, what do you think of Emma Hayes getting the gig if Poch deal falls thru? I thought she was ideal for game we just saw v. Canada.
The thing that Johnny and Musah are missing (Gio is missing this too) is the conscious awareness to understand that they need to assert themselves on the game. I did like that Aidan came in and got directly into the game. Same for Luca.
Marsch v. Emma would have been fun. I think she has that "eye of the tiger" look that is totally missing in our usual staff. (Nelson at Trafalgar, I tell you!) b.t.w. Aaronson had a female coach when he began his upward trajectory at Union Berlin.
that's a perceptive comment. I would say that Johnny does assert himself in crowded spaces. That's where you see him turning games around, bulding advantage with interceptions, blocks, tackles, etc. Now, what I expect is that a lot will have to do with the style of the new manager when it comes to creating a depth chart in midfield. It should be fascinating.
Luca’s level is consistently higher than others. I think that he deserves a shot, and that a player like him will appeal to Pochettino because of his ability to create or exploit space with combination play and dribbling and because effort is never a question. I did like what I saw from Morris. I think hes better than Tessman.
She already has a job, but why not. Would probably be better than Berhalter and whoever else they would fall back on.
I fear that you are overstating Luca. He scored, ergo he is the answer. He has had lots of shots, and his level is mediocre. My opinion of course, but I don't see him as a starter on this side. Hell, I would pick several guys who were not in this squad over him.
He is a great defender, but doesn't have the level of on the ball ability those type of top tier clubs require of their CD's to play big minutes. His ceiling would be somewhere in the next tier of clubs.
This might not be a popular opinion here but I firmly believe that I have seen enough of Richards play for the USMNT and club ball to conclusively say he appears to be a VERY average player. His distribution is fairly limited, he lacks much positional awareness, is slow to react and he is physically slow. What am I missing?
LDLT seems like the perennial 24th man but I think he may be worth keeping on a 26 man roster. He likes to play around the centre circle and shuttle the ball into the attack. That's a weak area for us when Gio isn't healthy. Musah can't make the next pass above the circle and McKennie, acc to his coach, can't play in crowded areas. We can't count on Adams in that area because his main responsibility is coordinating central defense with cb's. I'll have to do a re-watch to figure out what went wrong between Musah and Johnny but I suspect the culprit was Tilman. Things picked up with Aiden on the pitch which I put down to his scintillating passing, not that there was anything wrong with the rest of his game.