USA goalkeeper discussion thread - Episode IV: A New Hope

Or Varas should be given even more shit.

 

Fair enough, I can admit that I, like Mikey Varas, should not be coaching the USMNT

 

Unmentioned issue of most of our keepers is a total lack of arrogance. Turner, Schulte, Horvath all such nice guys, from what I've seen from Freeze he isn't much better. That's a problem, especially with weak CBs. Keller, Friedel, Howard, Guzan would start harassing CBs and DMs non stop after the first 5 minutes of Canada game.

 

No problem calling up Kochen. In fact I like it. But giving a keeper 10 minutes is just dumb. Not even enough time to settle in. Not like a field player and if you don't see the difference I don't know what to tell you.

 

The point isn't to give him enough time to settle in, the point is to get him a cap.
Obviously he's not going to start for the US at the moment because he's a kid who plays in like the third division, so you start Turner or Schulte or whoever.
It's the final minutes of just about the most meaningless friendly possible, against New Zealand before the real coach takes over, who the hell cares about it beyond that....

As someone said in another thread:

 

I completely disagree with you on the first goal. The ball went between the defenders legs. As a keeper you don't cover the space that the defender has. It was unfortunate, but in no way Schulte's fault. Yes, he almost got caught leaning on the Larin shot later, but he was leaning for good reason. Shaffelburg (I believe) was steaming to the penalty spot and he was trying to give himself a chance if Larin looked up and passed it. He made a great save. That is in addition to making an earlier great save on David's left-footed volley from close range. Which is in addition to another stop he made off Larin on a scrum in front of the net. Schulte had a very good day. Full stop.

 

This is where I disagree with you, my friend. Varas has apparently said that the reason Schulte got this start is because he showed best in practice. If that is the case, and Schulte did not shit the bed in the actual game, you stick with him in the 2nd game of the window. Next window, the new coach can evaluate the practices as Varas did in THIS window, and make his own decision. But just swapping Schulte out for this 2nd game so that everyone gets a lollipop is not the way that this process should work. Sticking with Schulte tells the other keepers that how you perform in practice matters, when there is an open competition. Just my opinion.

 

I agree. Gotta find the starter before worrying about the backup. There’s nothing to be gained playing Turner or Horvath.
But Poch will come in and make his own determinations so it probably doesn’t matter in the end.

 

I suspect we're going to see massive rotation in this game, and the keeper will be one of them.

My honest opinion. I don't think we had three guys travel all the way from Europe to sit in Cincinnati behind a keeper from Columbus.

 

I don't have a problem with any of that. My objective is that the options get chances going forward so we're not stuck on Turner in particular, while he sits, but also so we actually transition to the right group of 3 before WC '26, and the right order of the 3. If Schulte earned this with performance, fine, I like that more than sticking with Turner. But I definitely want Kochen, and Gaga to get opportunities unless Schulte just kills it again against NZ (he should) and in future windows too.

 

I thought Schulte did well and hope he gets another chance. My big fear with him is that he's at that stage where he's likely to transfer abroad and it will be really important for him to make a good decision when he signs. He goes the Turner and Gaga route of signing for the biggest name and fattest paycheck and he's likely to end up on the bench and not playing anywhere before 2026. I saw Keller talking earlier about how Turner made a mistake signing with Arsenal and I agree with what he said. That it is hard to begrudge a guy getting paid because at the end of the day, players need to pay the bills, but that it really needs to be a balance of getting paid well somewhere you are going to actually play. I'd be happy to see him go to a lesser team that will play him regularly and let him climb the ladder, start for a couple years somewhere OK, then more up to a good team, do well for a year or two, then look for a top club. That's the sort of pathway most top players have. You have a very small number of superstars who sign for big clubs and kill it immediately. The rest need to play regularly and get better before they reach that point.

 

Great, Cap him. Give him a half against New Zealand in a meaningless friendly. Giving him 10 minutes purely for a CAP tie reaks IMO.

 

friendly never cap ties

 

Yeah, I wasn't thrilled with those rumors that popped up over the summer that some of the big EPL teams were looking at Schulte. Steffen was our starter, was doing ok, went to Man City as a backup, and his career tanked. Turner was our starter, was doing ok, went to Arsenal as a backup, and his career tanked. Let's break the cycle.

 

Yeah, Im not sure what that's about. We'd have to play him in a Gold Cup or Copa America, I guess Nations League counts (does it?), but yeah, friendlies, playing him would only just provide the underlining that we were serious, but it wouldn't commit a thing in terms of his career, that would take Tournament mins, and/or possibly Nations League (again, not sure if that counts).

 

I had this thought recently too. And applied it to Gaga as well.

 

Well, Schulte gets paid $160k by Columbus. Right?

Last I saw, he hadn't signed a new contract.
In fact, I think I saw a rumor that they were "far apart" in the negotiations.

So, like Turner......................going to a big Euro club as a backup will still be life changing money if it happens.

 

If he plays in a single Nations League game, the friendlies count toward his four game total I believe (since he’s under 21). Gold Cup is an automatic cap tie and Copa America I think is unclear. World Cup is also automatic cap tie.

 

There was an Arsenal rumor floating around but I hope if he goes somewhere it’s where he has the chance to actually be the starter.

 

A shame Schulte doesn't have access to an EU work permit. Hopefully he continues strong performances and picks up some caps over the next 6 months.

 

I consider Turner's work for the USMNT, through the WC of 2022, as solid and honorable. We could rely on him for steady competence as a keeper. But his move to Europe, and sitting on the bench for most of the time, although certainly well paid, has not only stalled his progressed it has killed his confidence... and a keeper who plays full of doubt is no longer one you can rely upon.
I believe Turner needs to prioritize playing over pay, or his time with the USMNT has come to an end.
I think Horvath, for example, is not as capable in the net as Turner--but he has chosen to prioritize playing, and so he still has that chance to prove himself. Matt, how can you prove yourself if you never put yourself in a position to be allowed to prove yourself??
I also believe that we need to be actively encouraging other keepers to step up. Be they Schulte, or Brady, or Kochen, anyone really who is willing to aim for it.

 

Its just the way world soccer is going right now.

Big Euro clubs in only a few places hording talent and then passing it around on loan.
Chelsea has 8 or 9 keepers with youth or senior international caps.
We've seen Forest just signing keepers and keepers and then just figuring out later what to do with them. There's so much at stake that a club like Forest doesn't have time to give a player a run in the team to overcome anything. There's no such thing as development time at these clubs.

So yes, we'd love for a keeper like Schulte to go to a secondary league first. But those teams aren't spending money. Columbus is probably already offering a higher salary package than a keeper like Schulte would get in those leagues. Maybe. MLS doesn't tend to pay huge salaries to keepers. They save money at that position and spend the big bucks elsewhere. Ethan Horvath makes ~$800k at Cardiff. That would make him one of the highest paid MLS keepers.

The Top 25 Highest-Paid MLS Goalkeepers in 2024 (frontofficesports.com)

According to capology, Matt Turner makes about 2 million to be a backup Premier League keepers. So if you offered that to Schulte today, he might take it. He's not within the 25 highest paid keepers in MLS right now.

 

I saw no point in playing Turner last night. He's either going to get back into a playing situation where we can see how that goes down the line or he rides the bench for a lot longer and we need to plan on life without him. Nothing he could do in a one-off game at this point to change anything relevant while getting others opportunities could actually provide some benefits.

Also, if Schulte goes to Arsenal, I'd write him off for 2026 as well because just at the time he needs to improve and play more against better competition, he'd be resigning himself to at least a year of sitting on the bench less than 2 years out from the cup. Raya is not going anywhere and will be the starter at Arsenal through 2026. If Schulte wants the money, fine. But, he'd be trading money now for the chance to take on a role for the national team and build a longer term career. His choice to make and I can't say I wouldn't take millions and run. But it would suck for the US heading to 2026.

 

In Turner's case, I think it was just that Arsenal were in fact the only team that was willing to meet New England's valuation of him, given his importance to the club's success at the time. If I recall, no one else really came close, and New England weren't even really expecting that anyone would until Arsenal came along. Turner said it was the first and only bid he heard about, so I can imagine that he might have believed that could have been his one and only shot at Europe.

 

Its a tough situation right now.

Even Premier League spending was way down in this window. Even then, that was only driven by a couple of clubs.
Why was Premier League transfer spending way down this summer? - ESPN

If Columbus wants the kind of fee that NE got for Turner ($7 million plus add-ons)...............who is paying it in 2024? Its probably a very short list of clubs that are spending that kind of money on a keeper who isn't proven at a high level. The teams we've seen connected to him are those kinds of clubs. Big clubs where he'll likely be in either a Matt Turner situation or a Gabriel Slonina situationship.

It seems like Schulte is going to go the Miles Robinson route.
Let his contract expire and go explore options in Europe as a free agent.
He may still come back, but we'll see. Maybe he'll sign a long-term extension tomorrow.