USMNT thread - 2018 | Page 8 | Syracusefan.com

USMNT thread - 2018

These fans are complete tools. You see that women screaming “**** you” at Parkhurst as he’s on the side injured?

When you go to an MLS game, it's like 85% normal guys, gals, and families. 14.8% are those that go to stand and sing and chant all game and don't cause any problems, but probably look rowdy. Then there's .2% that saw Green Street Hooligans 15 years ago and decided that they have to act like complete a holes at every game.

Every fanbase has them. Orlando is probably the worst and surprisingly Philly is known as being pretty sane.
 
When you go to an MLS game, it's like 85% normal guys, gals, and families. 14.8% are those that go to stand and sing and chant all game and don't cause any problems, but probably look rowdy. Then there's .2% that saw Green Street Hooligans 15 years ago and decided that they have to act like complete a holes at every game.

Every fanbase has them. Orlando is probably the worst and surprisingly Philly is known as being pretty sane.
Haha... was that the movie with “the Chelsea grin?”

I’ve been to a few United games in Atlanta and they’ve all been amazing atmospheres but with pretty big family vibe.
 
Two worst kept secrets in US Soccer official today:

New York Red Bulls Transfer Tyler Adams to RB Leipzig

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...halter-named-us-mens-national-team-head-coach

Really happy for Adams. He's one of the few prospects I like going to clubs with UCL ambitions because I think so highly of him. I would have personally rather seen some of our recently transferred talent take an approach that is closer to what Boca/Dempsey/McBride did so well 15 years ago. Go to a club where you won't immediately be replaced by the next best talent identified that will work for your long-term development and truly invest in you.

With Berhalter, I get why fans are so mad about this. I think we are going to hear a lot of behind the scenes stuff about this hire once roles turnover at USSoccer. A few things that I'd like to know:

1 - How much input did Ernie really have on hire? Ernie has brought a 'Euro' type feel to the running a club in the MLS (I think the USMNT will benefit from the job he did in Philly), if anyone was going to move away from Berhalter, it probably would have been him, but did he really have an option to?

2 - Why the long wait? I could understand waiting for the World Cup to end to try to snag a coach moving jobs, but it didn't seem like we looked at anyone who became available after the tournament. Was it because no one wanted us? Or we didn't want anyone else? Maybe because we had elections, then the appointment of a GM, then the WC/MLS season to wait out? It's just bizarre.

3 - What did other coaches think about the US job? There are some good coaches that were at least linked to us. Are there reasons that none of them seemed to consider us? Tata, Pareja, Moyes, etc. I get that the USMNT has unique challenges, such as trying to fix a broken youth system, but does that really make it that unattractive for candidates?

I think Berhalter will be a better coach than a lot of people. We'll see a few things that I think people will really like:

1 - His 4-4-2 is going to shift to a zonal 4-3-3 press defensively. It's a little akin to the Syracuse zone. His top three will lightly pressure the ball up top trying to force it into a situation where they can throw our middies into it to force sloppy passes and turnovers.

2 - Our wingers (Weah and Pulisic) are going to have a lot of freedom to roam, change position offensively to try and throw the defense off and be asked to create by cutting inside (rather than playing to the corner and crossing) more than we have seen in the past. I think it is a system they will really like playing in.

3 - Berhalter lover aggressively using guys like Yedlin to get forward to help with the attack. We'll see him bombing up the right side of the field quite a bit, even for him, these next four years.

What I don't really like about this system for us is that at C'bus he plays a lot through Will Trapp. He doesn't let his defenders be very creative or experimental playing the ball out of the back. This may create two problems for us. 1 - I think Brooks is a great distributor of the ball and I wouldn't want to take that aspect of his game away from us. And 2 - while Trapp plays that role well enough for the Crew, I don't think we have any players ready to step into that role in a highly competitive international match. We saw McKennie, Adams, and Trapp really struggle trying to play as a pivot against England. Luckily we've got time to develop them, but I'm not sure we have the personnel yet for consistent success with that style.

Anyway, here's hoping for the best. It's hard not seeing us have a better cycle than last year. We should survive. 2026 though -- watch out. Anyone catching those Gio Reyna highlights... my goodness.
 
Two worst kept secrets in US Soccer official today:

New York Red Bulls Transfer Tyler Adams to RB Leipzig

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...halter-named-us-mens-national-team-head-coach

Really happy for Adams. He's one of the few prospects I like going to clubs with UCL ambitions because I think so highly of him. I would have personally rather seen some of our recently transferred talent take an approach that is closer to what Boca/Dempsey/McBride did so well 15 years ago. Go to a club where you won't immediately be replaced by the next best talent identified that will work for your long-term development and truly invest in you.

With Berhalter, I get why fans are so mad about this. I think we are going to hear a lot of behind the scenes stuff about this hire once roles turnover at USSoccer. A few things that I'd like to know:

1 - How much input did Ernie really have on hire? Ernie has brought a 'Euro' type feel to the running a club in the MLS (I think the USMNT will benefit from the job he did in Philly), if anyone was going to move away from Berhalter, it probably would have been him, but did he really have an option to?

2 - Why the long wait? I could understand waiting for the World Cup to end to try to snag a coach moving jobs, but it didn't seem like we looked at anyone who became available after the tournament. Was it because no one wanted us? Or we didn't want anyone else? Maybe because we had elections, then the appointment of a GM, then the WC/MLS season to wait out? It's just bizarre.

3 - What did other coaches think about the US job? There are some good coaches that were at least linked to us. Are there reasons that none of them seemed to consider us? Tata, Pareja, Moyes, etc. I get that the USMNT has unique challenges, such as trying to fix a broken youth system, but does that really make it that unattractive for candidates?

I think Berhalter will be a better coach than a lot of people. We'll see a few things that I think people will really like:

1 - His 4-4-2 is going to shift to a zonal 4-3-3 press defensively. It's a little akin to the Syracuse zone. His top three will lightly pressure the ball up top trying to force it into a situation where they can throw our middies into it to force sloppy passes and turnovers.

2 - Our wingers (Weah and Pulisic) are going to have a lot of freedom to roam, change position offensively to try and throw the defense off and be asked to create by cutting inside (rather than playing to the corner and crossing) more than we have seen in the past. I think it is a system they will really like playing in.

3 - Berhalter lover aggressively using guys like Yedlin to get forward to help with the attack. We'll see him bombing up the right side of the field quite a bit, even for him, these next four years.

What I don't really like about this system for us is that at C'bus he plays a lot through Will Trapp. He doesn't let his defenders be very creative or experimental playing the ball out of the back. This may create two problems for us. 1 - I think Brooks is a great distributor of the ball and I wouldn't want to take that aspect of his game away from us. And 2 - while Trapp plays that role well enough for the Crew, I don't think we have any players ready to step into that role in a highly competitive international match. We saw McKennie, Adams, and Trapp really struggle trying to play as a pivot against England. Luckily we've got time to develop them, but I'm not sure we have the personnel yet for consistent success with that style.

Anyway, here's hoping for the best. It's hard not seeing us have a better cycle than last year. We should survive. 2026 though -- watch out. Anyone catching those Gio Reyna highlights... my goodness.
Thanks for this. Thoughts and questions.

Love the idea of Pulisic cutting inside a la Robben but I have never been impressed with Yedlin’s crosses.

Does he have CBs at Columbus who can distribute?

Tactical acumen at the intl level is so important since styles differ so drastically from team to team.

If Berhalter can just get guys into the right positions, it will be an improvement.

Agreed on Trapp and agreed on our lack of a midfield distributor.

At the end of the day, we are still a bunch of 2 and 3 star recruits. Good enough to qualify and good enough to make some noise if we play really hard and get some breaks but not nearly talented enough to consistently challenge the big boys.

Until they fix our youth system, that won’t change.
 
Does he have CBs at Columbus who can distribute?

From what I remember, none of his defenders were very good on the ball. That may be why he relies on Trapp and Artur (a younger Brazilian) so much to collect the ball and start their offensive possessions.

He does utilize Harrison Afful -- who is one of my favorite non-American players in the MLS -- very well at right back. He's a bit like Yedlin, not quite as strong, but still unbelievably fast and a little better skilled. He's a pretty fun player to watch bombing up the right side. But Afful definitely doesn't distribute in his system.
 
USSF shambolic handling of this process does no favors to Berhalter (who could be a decent coach). I still think the MLS and USSF are both poorly run and having 5-6 promising young players in Europe doesn't equal the jump people think may happen.

I admittedly take a negative view because the decision-makers for soccer in the USA are still terrible and show time again they don't know what it truly takes. Commercial success does not equal sporting success.
 
What they need:

Promotion/Relegation in USA club soccer (FIFA standard)
Solidarity Fees for youth players (FIFA standard)
 
What they need:

Promotion/Relegation in USA club soccer (FIFA standard)
Solidarity Fees for youth players (FIFA standard)
I am sure MLS soccer is decent it is problem the A-10 to European leagues being the P5.
It will never be a P5 league but I am sure could be solid in a tournament situation.
US Soccer doesn’t get it. They just protect the status quo. Klinsmann May have been a but his ideas where how US Soccer could have grown.

Pro/Reg would only hurt lazy owners looking for the paycheck like Kraft with the revolution.
If they kept a salary cap in place but introduced pro/reg system atleast the league would be moving in the right direction even if they keep their calendar March to December.
 
The Atlanta thing to do would be go up 2-0 and lose in PK’s.

Props to United for bringing a Championship to ATL!
 
The Atlanta thing to do would be go up 2-0 and lose in PK’s.

Props to United for bringing a Championship to ATL!

I have a feeling that in 30-50 years Arthur Blank is going to be seen as a key reason that we took the step up to a consensus top-12 soccer nation. If you look for what you want in a owner in the MLS he has it all:

- Investing in young, exciting players instead of aging names to sell tickets
- Knowing his fanbase and catering to them to create an experience, rather than treating his fans solely as consumers
- Allowing someone like Bocanegra to build a Euro-style youth system (already paying dividends for the USMNT as well)
- Saving a proud tradition to help keep an MLS team in Columbus

I would just love to see him get a 50-70K soccer specific grass stadium in ATL to showcase his team.

Not a fan of the team for other reasons, but congrats to ATL. You just held an MLS Final with higher attendance than the Super Bowl -- that's pretty cool.

Only 4 months until next season kicks off.
 
Berhalter Calls 27 Players to Chula Vista For U.S. MNT's 2019 January Camp

Kind of the roster you’d expect. One player that sticks out like a sore thumb though.

Makes you wanna go hmmmmm...

Strange to pick Bradley in this squad.

Austin Trusty is really young, but I hope he’s an impact player that makes a good move over seas in a year or two. Hopefully he gets some run.
One thing I worry about with Berhalter is that he’s going to try to find a way to always have Wil Trapp on the field when McKennie and Tyler Adams are far superior midfield options.
 
One thing I worry about with Berhalter is that he’s going to try to find a way to always have Wil Trapp on the field when McKennie and Tyler Adams are far superior midfield options.

Interesting take. I don’t remember hearing or thinking that Berhalter was giving preferential treatment to a player, but it’s natural for a coach to prefer people who have brought him success before — it’s kinda the reason international coaching is so fluid.

I haven’t been following the USMNT schedule enough to figure out when we’ll have a mixed (domestic and intl) roster, but I guess that will be our first time seeing how he plays the twin pivots role.

To me, it’s pretty obvious Adams and McKennie are better all around players, but they aren’t fantastic distributors that Berhalter may be looking for in that role. I hope he drops some of that responsibility out of the midfield to Brooks out of the back, because Berhalter is going to try to find our wings going forward and brooks can hit those passes 35+ yards on the money.
 
The team is devoid of good strikers and creative 10's. Huge gap at the moment in youth dev.
 
Berhalter Calls 27 Players to Chula Vista For U.S. MNT's 2019 January Camp

Kind of the roster you’d expect. One player that sticks out like a sore thumb though.

Makes you wanna go hmmmmm...

Strange to pick Bradley in this squad.

Austin Trusty is really young, but I hope he’s an impact player that makes a good move over seas in a year or two. Hopefully he gets some run.

Very young squad...Bradley brings some experience...next most experienced guy is Zardes and he has been in and out of the team...it's not an intl day so options are limited...

One thing about Bradley...consummate professional so can serve as good role model for newer guys...
 
One thing about Bradley...consummate professional so can serve as good role model for newer guys...

He's slow as molasses these days, and his tendency to turn the ball over can be devastating if we play him in a deeper role. I don't mind him in the team, for teaching purposes to get the youngsters to work hard and adopt the right attitude, but I prefer to keep him on the bench.
 
Very young squad...Bradley brings some experience...next most experienced guy is Zardes and he has been in and out of the team...it's not an intl day so options are limited...

One thing about Bradley...consummate professional so can serve as good role model for newer guys...

I was actually hoping it may end up being his tribute game. I think it’s time for us to move on from him.
 
He's slow as molasses these days, and his tendency to turn the ball over can be devastating if we play him in a deeper role. I don't mind him in the team, for teaching purposes to get the youngsters to work hard and adopt the right attitude, but I prefer to keep him on the bench.
Agreed. I was only talking about his being in camp. It is time to turn the midfield over to younger legs...
 
I mean Bradley is at best a sub for experience or a guy who can step in for a guy suspended for yellow card accumulation.
He isn’t starting this WCQ cycle or shouldn’t in the Gold Cup.
He had a solid run from 2006-2010.
New blood is where we go.
If Berhalder expects Bradley to start he will lose more of the fanbase.

The winter camp is basically preseason conditioning for the MLS players which is fine and that is why I think Bradley is being asked to be a leader for those guys.

Bradley is worthy of a send off game when he is done but we need the youth developed. This Gold Cup is important.
 
I mean Bradley is at best a sub for experience or a guy who can step in for a guy suspended for yellow card accumulation.
He isn’t starting this WCQ cycle or shouldn’t in the Gold Cup.
He had a solid run from 2006-2010.
New blood is where we go.
If Berhalder expects Bradley to start he will lose more of the fanbase.

The winter camp is basically preseason conditioning for the MLS players which is fine and that is why I think Bradley is being asked to be a leader for those guys.

Bradley is worthy of a send off game when he is done but we need the youth developed. This Gold Cup is important.


I am a bit surprised that Altadore isn't back in the fold.
He's not that old (around 26?), but he does get hurt all the time.
 
I am a bit surprised that Altadore isn't back in the fold.
He's not that old (around 26?), but he does get hurt all the time.

Jody is still good (comparatively). His problem is he only played once or twice a month this season. He has value for this team in the next few years, if he works for it. I’m not sure if his omission is a kick in the ass or that he doesn’t really fit the profile of this January camp (outside of Bradley).
 
Merry Christmas!


Sargent is 1 guy. Obviously he's promising but mostly i'm referring to the roster they called in. Really not much quality at CF just yet coming through MLS clubs.
 

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