USA goalkeeper discussion thread - Episode IV: A New Hope

Ah that would make sense and I completely forgot about his tenure in Colorado (and that’s actually fairly impressive if it’s just his time in Colorado at the end of his career).

But I do still think 15 years ago Matt Turner is much more capable of sticking at the EPL level and being a regular starter.

 

There's always been quite a bit of turnover between youth squad and the guys who end up being senior keepers. There's turnover between the U17s to the U20s to the U23s and then to the seniors. Nothing seems less of an indicator of future success than the U17 goalkeepers.

Even Howard wasn't the U23 Olympic starter in his cycle until Adin Brown got hurt.

Steffen was legitimately the best U20 keeper I'd seen since Howard. And let's be honest, he played in the Bundesliga. Heck, was signed by Manchester City for a reason. And played enough with City to win a Premier League winners medal. So actually......................in terms of accomplishments, he is one of the best since Howard. We can argue about his performance for Dusseldforf in the Bundesliga until the cows come home. How many keepers have we had start in top 5 leagues since?

Just as a point of evidence: The two keepers with Steffen on the 2015 U20 World Cup squad were Thomas Olsen and Jeff Caldwell. Caldwell stopped playing in 2022 after a season with the Northern Colorado Hailstorm of USL League One and Olsen stopped playing in 2022 after a season with the Colorado Switchbacks.

If one wants to analyze our current keeping problems, then can look at several successive U20 cycles that were very week at keeper. We knew it at the time. It wasn't a surprise. Steffen was the hope. We knew the 2017 was weak too (Marcinkowski, Klinsmann, and Brady Scott). We thought 2019 was a little stronger, but didn't turn out to be. (David Ochoa was the hope. Ouch. Also CJ Dos Santos and Brady Scott again) So..............................................

So actually, Steffen was USYNT keeper of that generation that developed into.................something. Hard to admit, but actually true. Matt Turner was out of the blue.

 

We don't go home early if we have a decent keeper at the Copa America. Every single goal scored against us in the tournament was savable. These weren't goals like say, the equalizer against Canada in WCQ where the keeper is just left out to dry. All 3 goals were savable. When you consider that he gave up 5 goals against Colombia a week or so earlier, that he gave up some weak goals to T&T and another savable one against Jamaica (though the primary fault is multiple defenders on the play). Suffice it to say, he's just been okay to below average for much of the past 20 months, culminating in a terrible performance at Copa America where he was caught out repeatedly by craptacular Panama, and then could not push away an offsides goal Uruguay put in for their winner.

I am not w/the idea that he's donezo. I am with the idea that he's currently just not a good goalie, period. I don't think he's this bad, you simply can't put together the numbers he did '17-'21 and be fundamentally bad, that's a HUGE sample size over the years of great play. The bad play has coincided with a lack of playing time and a fixation on the playing it out the back horse ----. Could he rediscover his old form? Maybe, so I'm not writing him off, but I am more than willing to argue that he has no locked in right to start, like say, Jedi does at LB, or Pulisic has in the 11. He's just one of many goalies, none of them great, some of them prospects, others vets, most mediocre currently. Unless/until he starts producing on the regular, gets himself a starting gig and doesn't suck, he shouldn't be locked in as anything. He probably will be for a while yet, but if he isn't in a better situation by '25, well, he's probably gonna lose the job, period, for lack of playing time.

 

Adam Delplace

Adam Delplace, born in 2006, is a promising young goalkeeper currently making strides in the youth ranks of Ligue 1's RC Lens.

The French-American goalkeeper has recently marked a significant milestone by making his first appearance on the bench for RC Lens' first team this… pic.twitter.com/K9LbYfeQUT

— USMNT Report 🇺🇸🇹🇷 (@USMNTReport) September 5, 2024

For anyone who thinks Diego Kochen is too young

Turks and Caicos 🇹🇨 are starting a 14-year old, 6'4" goalkeeper today.

👀👀👀

(via @Curacaofootbal1)

— The International Window (@windowintlpod) September 4, 2024

 

Completely agree. He was never going to be a Howard/Friedel/Keller tier GK, but a GK with his skillset, strengths and weaknesses a decade or 2 ago is a Hahnemann/Guzan level keeper IMO.

Which wouldn't have been a starter for us at the time (as Hahnemann never was and Guzan was only in brief stretches when Howard was well past his prime), but good enough to get some caps and make tournament rosters.

 

Kochen's U.S. callup is being tracked in the Peruvian press. A couple of articles here claim he was offered to represent Peru at youth level a few months ago but rejected the chance:

https://www.eldiez.com.pe/seleccion...rtero-de-barcelona-convocado-por-usa-noticia/
https://www.infobae.com/peru/deport...convocado-por-estados-unidos-para-fecha-fifa/

 

This.

I think that Turner should be lauded for taking his character, his maturity, his professionalism, and his determination to create himself the career that he has. In this game, he's a self-made man, and what could be more "American" than that? [FFS, I can think of a few USMNT "perma-starters" who could stand to have some of Turner's character and drive to succeed.]

That said, it isn't "just" his lack of foot skills that holds him back, there are other aspects as well that make him an incomplete player for the EPL or international levels.


I also find the Guzan comparison telling, in that he started to show he was on the decline around the same age that Turner is today. And that was in a different era, but then Guzan had a better club career than Turner has had hereto fore. And while its not likely that Turner is "washed," it can't also be ruled out, because we've seen GK lose their level at Turner's age before.

 

Meh, the Peru possibility is remote, IMO.

Peru can neither offer the opportunities, nor the cash to recruit Kochen. [Unlike many/most European national teams, USMNT players keep their payments for international appearances, where many players in sides in Europe donate their game checks.]


While Peru are in a more competitive Confed than the US, they're also relative minnows in CONMEBOL.


The real competitor for Kochen's international career is Spain, IMO.

 

With nearly all of our guys earning seven figures a year, I'm sure soon they'll start donating their NT fees.

 

They already did to the women. Well not all of it but WC earnings they split.

 

I doubt it.

I always assume that professional athletes are pieces of shyte, unless proven otherwise.


That said, getting actually PAID to play international soccer is a recruiting tool that many UEFA and CONMEBOL sides can't match. Either, due to a traditipn of donation, or that their national sides simply don't pay.

And now, we're seeing the real origins of this so-called "golden generation" is that USSF has simply done better to recruit duals.

 

Mistake here by both Pines and Slonina, leading to a goal against 🙃 pic.twitter.com/GRrlAi8150

— 🇺🇸USMNTvsHaters (@USMNTvsHaters) September 7, 2024

 

Slonina

Mistake here by both Pines and Slonina, leading to a goal against 🙃 pic.twitter.com/GRrlAi8150

— 🇺🇸USMNTvsHaters (@USMNTvsHaters) September 7, 2024

 

That was Slonina's second mistake leading to a goal and we're not even a month into the season. He made one a few weeks ago against Northampton (see below) which seems to have gone under the radar here at BS. Today was the first chance I've had to watch him this season and in my opinion he looks like he's got a long way to go before he's a serious option for the national team.

💪Character and bravery
👏A first Cobblers goal from Jack Baldwin earned us an excellent point on the road today
Thank you to goal sponsor @SHELLPLANT1 #ShoeArmy 👞 pic.twitter.com/apxIrm32sw

— Northampton Town (@ntfc) August 24, 2024

 

I don't think they can block a call up during the international window. I watch the first 10 mins of this game. What the announcers said is at League 1 level if 1 of the 2 teams has at least 3 players called up they have to postpone the game. Each team had 2 players called up. So in theory if Sloninia was called up they would have had to reschedule the game.

 

Schulte gets the start today!!

 

These are mistakes that you'd expect from 20 years old kid. Against Northampton he totally lost the ball in the sun, and the second is more Pines than him. What doesn't mean that he should be called to the MNT games. Neither should be Kochen, but I guess that's just "come and meet the guys" type of a call.

 

Don’t know much about Schulte other than that I have never seen that last name before

 

He showed the same weakness in the Olympics. Really really slow to get to the ground.

 

Yeah they would not have been able to block the call up. But the game would have been played either way had he been called up so they want him there if they can get it.

 

How many goals would Turner have given up today? Shculte was terrific.

 

Schulte looked like he may be something to work with. Made some really good saves and was let down be his defense. At least we tried a new option. I'm curious if he'll get the next game too.

 

Schulte wasn’t bad. And for the time being if you want an alternative to Turner it’s him or Freese until the younger guys are ready.