I don't think that is what he assumed. I think he took who was available in January and slowly added to it. Then he revamped it for the gold cup. Then that is the base group. Now he is slowing integrating guys here and there. Then will integrate more later. I think his few is a bit more long term and continual. No player set found as a core group at anyone time is the best core group due to form, injuries, etc. So he has to plan the integration and balance syncing that with bringing in the top talent. I think he misjudged some talent and the offset the sync or chemistry would have. For example- I think Roldan was over valued by them. He can do what he just did.. Put McKennie there and pull in someone like LLeget who has that familiarity. Then pull in guys like Holmes for future use. I think that is the same reason Pomykal got called in and few minutes. Get exposure and time in the system with the players for future use. It means the latest hot in form guy can't be immediately included and Berhalter's team has to do a good job of projecting performances rather than just going off of current form. That's hard and I think they missed on some.
This is where I expect the new system to pay off. We struggled throughout history in going away and breaking down bunkered, weaker teams. The US "should" be much better at that with this system. They are more practiced, trained and in sync to do it. If they go to Cuba and beat them close to the same as they just did... it will be a nice data point (that will mostly go ignored because its Cuba).
I rank Ream better than you but mostly agree with the rest. I think the current best backline is Dest, Long, Brooks, and Ream. They each have distinct roles. I think against better teams- Ream plays more as a 3rd cb and less as a pure lb. Then we hope between now and the WC- We can upgrade those a bit. Richards (or Long going to a better league and getting better) and a guy develops to push Ream.
I do not think Yedlin is an awful back. I think he has improved his on the ball defense a lot from his younger days. And he remains a strong offensive threat on breakouts. I don't see what you see.
Canada got goals off Ream twice in two games. Canada is by far not our biggest concern. This to me, like with Yedlin's repeated GA, runs under the heading of take the obvious lessons. I want to spend my Mexico or other tough games on players who haven't already been exposed by Canada. The only plus I can see for Ream is compared to many backs lauded "going forward," his efforts show up on a stats sheet. But this wanders back to his MLS reputation which was a guy who got assists but also a couple absolute all-time howlers every year. The US last time combined a hex leading GF with 13 GA. So I want the people who ship goals gone. And IMO if we focus on defense we will find enough pure defenders we can go back and make some distinctions on their offense, but from a point of competence first. Right now we pick for offense and then seem befuddled how to deal with their defense.
To me the foolish way we handle selection mirrors the foolish way we track form. Every time it's the flavor of the month. Zardes gets back in when he scores. Then he goes another 4 games not scoring. We revert to someone else. This is like how back got handled last cycle. Instead of rotating among frustration, or being led astray by isolated performance, why not sort out which one is most consistent over multiple games?
good post except we can’t use Bradley as a sub in the center of the field - when he is in the game, we have to compensate for him defensively. Therefore, that makes him a very poor choice as a substitute - we can’t ask him to do what Yedlin and morales did which was shoring up a sagging side (which I put down to Canada changing their tactics and MOTM Morris and lletget completely running out of gas.)
Thanks. Should be more illuminated in time. Probably not against Cuba...maybe in March. Although, we could send half our team to Mexico for Olympic Qualifying. Next June maybe? Crazy how little the team plays. Although, we could see it in January with different MLS guys. If he calls in the same Cupcakers he has been trying so hard to make work this year, and runs basically the slow, short passing drill he was trying to hammer, we would get an indication.
He is a poor back lacking defensive instincts, has never scored a goal for us, and if one is rigorous, has 7 assists in 61 games -- 3 of which he actually got playing as a right mid and not a back. So you wait a long time for tangible payoff. 9 games per assist. For someone who has multiple goals allowed losing his man on the back door. And to me you net out the good with the bad. To me, his speed gets him separation but the final ball is often lacking. I'd compare him negatively with someone like Cannon on the right or Robinson on the left, who can put a ball where they mean it. To me, Yedlin is the product of club snobbery. But Dest and Cannon were both US U20s so they were seen as having similar promise. Dest makes the snobs happier as Ajax and Cannon to me is the solid veteran. Both to me are better and picking Yedlin is inertia. There was a play where Canada tried to go endline on Dest and he got down and tackled and won a goal kick. To me it should be a routine tackle but in light of the current state of things it was a laudably competent effort. He will do that, Yedlin won't. Yedlin has had chances at LB and been reminiscent of Villafana or Lovitz. Meh. Move on to the ones who play well. I'd trust Lima over him at RB so he's not even my top 3 options.
Sigh. We have not had a problem breaking down bunkered teams - these teams usually do that when playing in the US and we’ve had little historic difficulty beating them. playing at crappy fields in away countries, our opponent is less likely to bunker and prefer to play a more back and forth game. Narrow and bumpy fields serve as an equalizer and negate the better skilled team - it’s not like Mexico is immune to this either and no one thinks they’re not a possession team.
i don't see the point either. he is not some youthful athletic stopper, nor is he effective as some soccer IQ positioning type either. and then in terms of tangible assists, if the idea is that he is your bench offense, no, not really, given many 90 minute games a source has him down as 1 assist, guyana, in all of 2019. and then before that years back to ES at GC 2017. you don't sub in a guy who gets you an assist every 2 years to chase goals in an individual game. i struggle to remember some series of games he masterfully closed while starting this year. typically this year we have made a late surge when Lletget or someone else comes in. another nostalgic inertia choice that needs to go bye bye. fwiw to the extent they keep him around as a leader i don't feel like the mids come across as unusually bright and level headed for his tutelage. the thing US fans badly need to learn is if the revamped team starts winning games we get happy and start talking about the new bunch in similar reverential tones. the new names become as memorable as the old ones over time. but you have to clear out the nostalgia trove to create space for it to happen, otherwise you just get to hold back the new team pretending it might find the old spark, and watch the old guard literally fall apart on the field.
The first Canada game was crappy all the way around. The second one was a late game lax. He also helped hold Mexico to 1-0 in the final. I think he's underrated by many. I also think this system needs his passing and ball playing. It has to look at the whole player and not one sided. Even the backline. If they choose players who are only defense focused- they will always be a bunker team. My favorite clip sequence of the game- doesn't happen without him.. 1196222901000851456 is not a valid tweet id
we haven’t been a bunker team in a long long time. I can’t stand the argument that if we don’t play like Berhalter wants, it’s a bunker. Ironically, we should call it what it is is/was: a pragmatic opportunistic system whose attractiveness largely depends upon the strength of the opponent.
I don't think he's running a slow short passing drill. I think the slowness has been the players adjusting to the movement patterns. That was really the best part of Canada game for me. How smooth, fast and dynamic they movement patterns looked.
I hate this sequence. We were extremely lucky against lousy Canadians. Against any competent team Ream won't be able to release the ball if it even gets to him.
It was a good sequence. Canada pressed well overall. The only complaints I have on that sequence are 1) Mckennie's first pass is off and 2) if Llegett's touch from Morris is better then he's in on goal. Ream was really good most of the game. There's another clip that that posted on my Blog (couldn't find a way to post it here) where he shakes two pressing forwards and passes out to LLetgett for another break.
he is 32, would be 35 for qatar, slow as molasses, exploited for speed by canada. not like some spotless veteran, but instead already shipping goals a la villafana. we can do better on defense. i don't think the +/- comes out well overall in terms of risk/reward. i also think the "but this goal doesn't happen without him" argument works better if we only win 1-0. we won 4-1 at which point it's like i might rather win that 3-0 and cancel out his goal for and goal allowed he participated in, because that would be more useful as a general principle. airtight and leakproof. and IMO what usually happens is guys like this are still picked on by good teams and the GF disappear against tougher compo.
I know we blame whomever is closest when the shot is taken...and that was Ream. But Morris was man marking Vittorio and just falls asleep. He is so beaten, he is not in the TV shot to get blamed, awesome. Almost every US player had a bad moment to go with a good couple of moments and a bunch of fine moments. The team, as a whole, played better than the individual players. Which is something new in the GB era. I would think the de-emphasis on short passing and being ordered not to take space long and the aggressive defensive posture, let the players express themselves.
I am good with upgrading him. I just think he's better than what you'r alluding to and he's the best we have at lb right now. I think the best back line in the pool as of right now is Ream, Brooks, Long, and Dest. Ream also allows them to seamsless shift into the three in the back system or to the 433 system. I think that was also useful this game. I do think Berhalter thought Canada was going to come out and bunker a bit more. A tie was still the best result for them. I think they expected to be in the 3223 set up most of this game and because of guys like Ream could easily play in the 433 just as easily. We agree on most things. Probably going to have to agree to disagree on Ream. Thats cool. Good discussion regardless.
This is a huge point and one I haven't heard elsewhere- because its hard to prove until we beat someone or play above expectations in some way. But it is an AIM - that this new system will allow the team to do that. I would love to see that bare some obvious fruit next year. (Not sure how they can- but that would be a huge thing to see).
I think you have 3/4 of the names there right, give or take Cannon vs Dest. "Better than what I am alluding to?" They got their one goal Friday because his man back doored him when the header got flicked on to the back post. He and Long then struggled to contain Canada for speed in the first game where we got beat 2-0. Canada is easy stuff compared to the rest of the hex. No, to me this is more akin to how much dumb Villafana stuff do we put up with before pulling that plug before it hurts us. And then we went all the way to the last quali game and let him and Omar dig our grave. So I will resist before that even starts. "Best right now" is circular because the only other options seeing regular time are the awful Lovitz and Dest playing on the wrong side. There are several LBs to try. It is a matter of will. Saying he's the guy right now is circular. I used to play in a 3 man backfield and that's something a group of talented backs graduates to. Otherwise see Jamaica and Venezuela results. We are not ready to graduate, and a slow motion back sure wouldn't be my idea of who to turn to in a 3 man backline where each back has to cover scads of space. That's bring back Pope and Boca time. I also don't know if I like the structural/matchup margin of error of 3 men back in a 433 era. 3 men back is versus 442. Markers and a sweeper, or you can slide sideways in a zone. One man cushion for error. But 352 against 433 is man marking without a safety net. Now if we got some backs accumulated and a team shows up 442 or 451, sure. But the back is rebuilding and while a Long fan I have absolute confidence in none of them yet.
It's not about Ream, he had no time as we don't know how to pass while Canadians don't know how to press. Maxicans who are slower than Canadians would take the ball from us.
Is that Brooks-Ream-Lletget dummy to Morris as they switch positions? I think so. It's a good example of how important passing out of the back is.
let me simplify my stance. you get burned for two goals in two games we shop your replacement. we are not playing qualifying games next week. we are not at the world cup with a 23 man set roster. nor is he playing that well. incumbency in that context is crazed. i am neither restricted nor impressed. my next few games post cuba won't count. try away.
Dest was marvelous beating Canada even with a clueless partner at the 8. Now we go to Cayman Islands to play Cuba who, I heard, bunkered vs. Canada in the second game which is why the score was close in the second game after Cuba got blown away @ Canada. Enter Lima with hard right cross, decent speed, able to put in a tackle, decent shot from distance. Put Dest on the bench in one of those massage chairs, give him a nice drink with an umbrella and send pics to Ajax.