re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
Arena has resigned. What took so long?
Arena has resigned. What took so long?
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re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
Gulati is having a conference call.
He will not be resigning. Will make the decision whether or not to run again in the coming weeks.Comment
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re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
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Jermaine makes a lot of great points.
If you don't want to watch the whole thing....here are some key quotes....
“I have much respect for this kid (Pulisic). He’s the Wonderboy for us and he makes stuff happen in games but we have other guys too like Kellyn, Yedlin is already over there, Brooks is over there, Wood is over there. …Jordan Morris he was already but he decided to come play for Seattle. If you want to make the next step in your career, you have to go over there.”
“(Pulisic) decided with his family to go the hardest way, and he made it so I respect that but I want to see more kids hungry like that and don’t pull just the other way. ‘I go and play MLS and never want to go over to Europe’ and hope maybe an MLS coach comes and prefers for MLS players. That’s not right. If you want to make the next step, what every fan is hoping, you have to be a coach to be straight. It hurts sometimes. It hurts MLS … but sometimes you have to talk the truth, and you need more players in the tough leagues.
“When Bob Bradley was the coach, how many players played in MLS? Most of the players came from Europe. You learn to get personality. You learn to get strong as a person.”
“It’s the fault of the whole system that players are not ready yet. If you take 25-year-old player in MLS and compare them to a 19-year-old player in Europe, the Europe player is farther in his brain and that’s not a good sign.”
“Jurgen (Klinsmann) called me to please call Jordan Morris. I talked with him and I asked him, ‘I know that Werder Bremen really wants you and you can play there. You can go farther.’ And he said, ‘You know what? I wanna go home. My dad is a doctor in Seattle and my mom that bought me and my girlfriend a dog and all that stuff.’ I was like, really? Why you go the easy way. That’s the point. That’s what I wanted to say.”
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My take on MLS. The original purpose of MLS was to act as a feeder system for the USMNT. And at first, it worked out great. Over the last several years, MLS has turned into a feeder system for other CONCACAF nations as well. It's lifted the play of several of these other nations. American players need to go Europe if given the opportunity unless American clubs get really serious about youth development.
But why would they when MLS dips into their transfer market profits. MLS clubs don't have the incentive to develop a kid and sell them to a European power because MLS gets a cut of the fee.Last edited by jasontoddwhitt; 10-14-2017, 09:19 AM.Comment
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re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
That is so telling. Such a suburban mindset. Some of these players could use some adversity in their lives. If you can call going to Europe to play soccer "adversity." It is if your dad is a doctor and you had everything you wanted when you were a kid. Good ole pay-to-play. Soccer may as well be equestrian polo.Comment
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re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
While soccer has grown quite a bit in the last 40 years in the US it is still the #4 choice. The big money and therefore the best athletes will always choose football basketball and baseball to play. You can't make the big money here and how many kids get top quality coaching to be able to play over in Europe when the time comes?Comment
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re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
There is also a lot more to life for some people than going to Europe and becoming the best American soccer player of all time. If a guy can make a solid living in the United States playing for his hometown team and staying close to home, good for him. I can't say which decision I'd make, and I certainly don't fault him for making the decision to stay close to home. It's not my place to tell him what to do with his life.
I'm all for our top young talents going to Europe and getting minutes in some of the toughest leagues in the world, but people are being a little too tough on MLS. The same "blah" MLS players beat the brakes off a Panama team that's much better than T&T. And 9 times out of 10, any XI we put together would beat or at least earn a draw with that T&T team. It just didn't happen because we gave a half-*** effort. Sure, I didn't agree with the complete squad that was picked for these qualifiers. But the talent wasn't the issue last Tuesday. The passion and desire was the issue.
Our best player for a decade pretty much played his entire career in MLS, and the league is far better overall now than it was then. It's not the best option for all of our players to play, but it's the best option for some. Those other CONCACAF teams who whip us from time to time have plenty of MLS players on their rosters too.Comment
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re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
I disagree Thrash.
Just because teams like Costa Rica have MLS players doesn’t mean that should be what we aspire to. Mexico should be our aspirations, and they rarely field MLS level players.
That lacking passion and desire is sort of what Jones is talking about. Nobody is talking down on Morris for choosing a certain life for himself, but if that’s his attitude towards the sport then we should be looking for other options. The same “blah” MLS players that trashed Panama would get equally trashed by any decent European or South American team, because we no longer have that steely mentality to fall back on.
Also Landon is a terrible example because he is the exception, literally the only one. Actually if you look back, we have a long history before Pulisic of young players playing in Europe walking into the starting 11. John Brooks was our best CB at 20, 20 (19?) year old Michael Bradley was our best center mid at the 2010 World Cup, pre-car accident Charlie Davies at 20 years old was the best striker we’d seen in a US shirt. Aside from that, all of our best players have always been in Europe. Howard, Bocanegra, Cherundolo, Edu before he moved back to the MLS.
It shouldn’t be controversial or triggering to say that the MLS is still not at an acceptable level for a country that should be striving for something bigger than just making it out of the group stage.Comment
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re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
We've announced a friendly with Portugal for November. Wonder who's going to coach the team.
I want Rongen for the lolz.Comment
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re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
That's just the way it is and is going to be though whether we like it or not. There's no way soccer gets any higher than 4th in this country during my lifetime, and this most recent setback won't help.
There's a difference between being hopeful and realistic. I had this long reply typed out, but I don't feel like arguing today. Haha
I'd happily trade places with Costa Rica right now. Whether that's being negative or just realistic is a debate for another day. I love watching soccer (and enjoy coaching it), but it is what it is right now in this country.Comment
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re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
The U17's absolutely stomped on Paraguay in their Round of 16 match at the U17 World Cup earlier today.
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re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
What a goal by George Weah's kid.
Didn't realize he's on PSG's books.Comment
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re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
My only issue with trading places with Costa Rica is that we've already been there before. In fact. it wasn't that long ago that we had legitimately jumped ahead of Mexico.
Part of the issue is that that group of "blah" MLS players is part of a generational gap in talent. You have the Landon and Dempsey age group, and then you have the 21 and under age group that is currently producing some great quality players, but in between has been a real disappointment.
Personally I don't think "it is what it is", simply because we haven't explored all our options yet. If we had been giving some of these young guys a chance, and not been so blatantly biased towards MLS players, and things STILL weren't working; then I will happily agree with you that it just is what it is.
Thing is though, we aren't doing that. I've said many times, there are young dudes and teenagers currently performing at a higher level than the MLS players we are bringing, not to mention the MLS players aren't even young guys for the future. Pontius, McCarty and Bedoya are all 30. Hyndman is 21 and already played in both the Championship and SPL, McKennie is older and has more starts for Schalke than Pulisic did for Dortmund when he first debuted. Matt Miazga was a top 3 CB in the MLS at 19, then moved to Chelsea and plays regularly for Vitesse, and has been passed up in favor of MLS CBs who are not as good as he is. I mean, we've got young hungry players like Miazga and CCV and we are still fielding a clearly past it Gonzalez and Matt freaking Hedges? Why give random guys like Pontius and Kelyn Rowe game time and not try Josh Perez. Why are we taking three 30+ year old goalkeepers to every game instead of blooding in someone like Horvath? Don't want to fill the team up with kids? Danny Williams was an important starter for years with Reading, and is currently starting for Huddersfield, surely he would be a better choice than McCarty and Bedoya? We played Zusi as a right back instead of an in-form Chandler. Lichaj isn't necessarily world class, but he does captain a Championship side and can play LB better than any other option we have, which would allow Johnson to actually play as a winger for a change.
Point is, there are plenty of other options we simply aren't exploring, in favor of Gulati and Garber's joint mission to prove the MLS is a top league while ignoring more than half our European-based players.
I'm not going to just accept that this is as good as it gets right now, until we actually explore the rest of our options.Comment
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re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread
Landon is a weird case because he played his first 6 years as a senior player at Bayer Leverkusen, and spent much of his MLS career going back to Europe every few years. And people still criticized him for taking the easy road by playing in the MLS. Now when guys sign these designated player contracts that aren't going anywhere. Landon was actually pretty daring by comparison.Comment
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