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[QUOTE="PeteCalvin, post: 5024747, member: 439"]
100%, Matt.  We were definitely sloppy up the middle in the first half.  McKennie had some terrible passes, guys couldn’t maintain control of the ball, and they weren’t talking to each other when MX was pressing up on the where passes were going.  Pulisic, Reyna and  Dest had to come through the middle and get ball moving forward.

I agree that Berhalter needs to stick with his top 15 guys and build the chemistry.  I was not a fan of him starting Scally against the Reggae Boyz, and it bit us in the ass.  He knew Dest was not available for awhile, so he could have come up with a better plan there.  I’m feeling really good about how our #9 pool is filling out.  Balogun hasn’t set the world on fire in the last 2-3 windows, but you can’t teach the instincts he has.  Haji Wright is a big body and the kind of striker we need against the big boy defenses.  Pepi is also a strong player because he can do more than just hang around in the box, so he’s almost an extra midfielder when you need it.  We need to develop more quality defensive depth and get our keepers playing more consistently at European clubs.

And you’re right on with Berhalter’s playing style, although he needs to become more tactically savvy with formations.  Berhalter ball looks so much more fluid with our top players out there.  As you said, they understand it and it’s second nature based on the clubs they’ve developed with.  When we’re clicking, we can actually string passes together and are dangerous.  If we could finish with more quality, oh boy!
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