Hearsay, innuendo, second even third-person attribution....you need to watch more of the Perry Mason show. And from this flimsy evidence you're ready to pass judgement to say nothing of whether FJ is a good fit for this iteration of a National team?
I predict that the USMNT beats Guyana handily, and we struggle vs both Panama and TnT. That holds even with Pulisic and McKennie on board. With either Trapp or Bradley as DM, we will lose as we did in qualifiers. I won't impune GB like I did JK, which got me red-carded and tossed from BS after posting under another username for a decade, but I think we've got a real problem here. I really believe we should have had a well thought of foreign coach at the helm. It doesn't matter at all that such a coach isn't familiar with MLS or players abroad. There are always tapes (hopefully that player isn't sitting the bench) to review and camps to familiarize themselves with the potential players.
Love Perry Mason talk. Anyone else used to giggle when they realized the prosecutor was named Ham Burger?
Watching the Peru-Venezuela in Copa America. That Venezuelan keeper, the same that played against us, Faríñez, is fantastic.
The triple save was Shaolin Soccer stuff. And he's only 21, playing in Millonarios. Guy's going to Europe soon. Only reason that game is 0-0, Venezuela with 10.
Not sure how close to an A team lineup Peru had, but that was a pretty "give some guys some looks" lineup from us too that game. Woof. And of course we conceded when Yedlin, more of a first team lock than anyone else who started, lost his man defensively.
Kind of annoyed that the ESPN announcers came back after going the first give min of the game without them.
I am the one who first pointed out that specific quote and assessed it as troubling, back a week ago. The problem with NOT translating GB's statement is that I don't think that he can be telling the truth about what he is looking for. As I pointed out a week ago, how can you claim to be looking at stability and activity OVER passing at the position, and yet still manage to prioritize Bradley and Trapp over Adams? That simply doesn't make any logical sense. I guess it could turn on what you think "stability" means. Does it mean "experience"? Or does it more generally refer to soccer smarts, positional awareness and discipline, and the ability to keep turnovers down in bad spaces. Assuming it is not simply "experience," I again have to call BS on his comment. If he isn't flat out lying about what he wants, then it is even worse than I thought … because it means he is delusional.
I definitely see where you are coming from, but my gut tells me Berhalter sees Bradley as a I player who can adapt to whatever system he's put into. Bradley's role has varied somewhat throughout his career. He was much more offense oriented in Heerenveen (16 goals one season), but then again the Eredivisie is known for less than stellar defense. His role at BM in his Bundesliga days was much more disciplined, and he played it capably enough. At Chievo, they called him the "American Diesel" because of his work ethic. I think the adaptability Bradley has shown throughout his career has a lot to do with why Berhalter wants him on the squad. Just my guess. That said, I'm not sure how much diesel is left in that tank.
There’s a big difference between being on the squad (where many including me agree that’s not unreasonable) and where he is now - manning the central QB position that touches the ball the most.
The Gold Cup will tell us a few things, but it may not answer anything. After 10:00P.M. eastern tonight, let the posts begin!
Ah come on. Fun is not something I want to start at this point in my life. I think I will strive just to rise to the level of contentment. But I expect the match to be a disappointment and really only serve to increase my level of discontent. Or maybe just make me incontinent.
Appreciated this comment I read elsewhere: "if you are going to hate-watch this game...it says way more about you then anything the national team is doing."
The only reason I haven't watched every moment of the Gold Cup so far is competing games in the Copa America, and the fact that my wife will kill me if I don't moderate the amount of soccer on TV.
Excited to see McKennie and CP together in the middle. Bummer that means Arriola starts at wing but given the roster it's about those 2 for the most part. Boyd will be an interesting watch too if he starts.
McKennie’s good club form has yet to translate to the USMNT for whatever reason. It would be great if Berhalter could make that happen. He was also injured late in the season and it’s is surprising that he returned and can play in the GC.
So the answer's really no. And I'm hearing what I see when I catch him playing Schalke: he's all over the place, both in position and execution. Hope he plays a lot for us in this tourney. The midfield roles and responsibilities Berhalter's giving him are better than playing swiss army knife.