Wondo missed first, would have sent the US into the QF right at the end of regulation. A guy who had no business being in the squad let alone the match missed an open chance. In fairness, the pass did hop slightly on him probably altering the trajectory but a class forward finishes that chance more often than not.
US Men's National Team Discussion
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Wondo missed first, would have sent the US into the QF right at the end of regulation. A guy who had no business being in the squad let alone the match missed an open chance. In fairness, the pass did hop slightly on him probably altering the trajectory but a class forward finishes that chance more often than not.
I missed most of today's match with appointments, tried to watch on the phone when possible but damn buffering and the feed was already a solid minute or two behind live action.
Would a bonafide striker have scored? Where there solid scoring chances created that only needed a forward to finish?
Would a bonafide striker have scored? Where there solid scoring chances created that only needed a forward to finish?
No, had nothing to do with Sargent or Wright. The US goal came (if I remember correctly, which at this point in my beer journey is debatable) from a nice bit of Sargent holdup play. The real issue was Berhalter being clueless in the second half when Wales swapped out James for that tall fecker. He made no discernible changes to counter.
Agreed...that's on the coach to work them thru that second half and while GB is inexperienced himself as a HC, he's got to be the one who stays level headed and has to recognize when they take the foot off the gas so to speak and just try to play on the counter too early. That second half should have been broken down into 3 15minute games.
First 15 you stick to the same game plan and go for it with the same pressure.....Second 15, assuming the score is still 1-0, you bring on the fresh legs and go to more of a medium block. Make sure you stay nice n compact to frustrate Wales. Last 15 you simply look to play on the counter. Go to a double pivot 4231 and just let the front 3 attack on counters while the other 7 defend. This is a young team and learning how to see games out is a painful lesson to have to learn in a WC. To be fair, they did a decent job of it b/c Wales didn't really create any big chances bar the one set piece and unfortunate that Zimmerman lost his head in the box and didn't just move his feet.
First 15 you stick to the same game plan and go for it with the same pressure.....Second 15, assuming the score is still 1-0, you bring on the fresh legs and go to more of a medium block. Make sure you stay nice n compact to frustrate Wales. Last 15 you simply look to play on the counter. Go to a double pivot 4231 and just let the front 3 attack on counters while the other 7 defend. This is a young team and learning how to see games out is a painful lesson to have to learn in a WC. To be fair, they did a decent job of it b/c Wales didn't really create any big chances bar the one set piece and unfortunate that Zimmerman lost his head in the box and didn't just move his feet.
You’re hired. Let’s gofundme an airfare for you cuz this makes more sense than anything captain bald face has said.
Berhalter has been questioned all week why he brought Morris over Pepi. Tonight’s substitution (Morris over Reyna) was 100% Berhalter trying to prove himself correct. His ego is more important than winning. Let’s go Berhalter bros, where you at? Come tell us all why that draw was a masterclass.
I have to disagree with you on Wondo.
Every tournament squad needs a poacher for the last minute goal, Wondo was in my opinion the best poacher the US had at the time. Granted, he wasn't good enough to start games but you needed someone like him in your squad.
But. He. Missed.
We can argue if he belonged in the squad (and loads of fans were shocked he made it), and we can argue if he should have been on thr field (I remember the whole bar losing its collective shit when he came on), but we can’t argue about how fantastically shit he was when he came on.
He's an MLS legend and the highest goal scorer in the league. That tells you how poor the league has been and will continue to be. It's a feeder league and anybody worth their weight will be transferred by the league a la Almiron.
This thread has gone off the rails and is serving as a de facto USMNT World Cup Performance thread, which it shouldn't be.
A Golden Generation has to be performing or winning across multiple tournaments on the world stage for at least 2 cycles. Belgium is at the end of their cycle, but that even started around 2010 and at the very least 2014. The development of out and out strikers/CFs and a CB, plus an experienced manager is essential to a legitimate U.S. Golden Generation.
look there are two ways of thinking.....
US hired GB because he is younger, a former player and can relate with the youth movement going on inside US Soccer
OR
US Soccer should have hired a more seasoned gaffer to help mature this younger generation of American players
what i'm getting sick of though is guys on social media like Gary Kleiban always making it about race and how US Soccer has neglected minorities in particular mexican american players.
Never in my life have i met a coach who won't bring along a player b/c of the color of his skin
US hired GB because he is younger, a former player and can relate with the youth movement going on inside US Soccer
OR
US Soccer should have hired a more seasoned gaffer to help mature this younger generation of American players
what i'm getting sick of though is guys on social media like Gary Kleiban always making it about race and how US Soccer has neglected minorities in particular mexican american players.
Never in my life have i met a coach who won't bring along a player b/c of the color of his skin
So this is apparently a thing now...Resurrecting this thread as the other one should be done and dusted (or merged perhaps).
https://www.si.com/soccer/2022/12/05/gregg-berhalter-future-usmnt-manager-us-soccer-stewart
The Big Decision Facing USMNT and Its Out-of-Contract Manager
The U.S.’s World Cup ouster brings about immediate questions facing its coach and federation. Should Gregg Berhalter be brought back? And does he want to return?
https://www.si.com/soccer/2022/12/05/gregg-berhalter-future-usmnt-manager-us-soccer-stewart
The Big Decision Facing USMNT and Its Out-of-Contract Manager
The U.S.’s World Cup ouster brings about immediate questions facing its coach and federation. Should Gregg Berhalter be brought back? And does he want to return?
it's a cushy job 80% of the time and a big salary, why wouldn't he want to get an extension? it's not like clubs are going to be beating down his door to hire him
now is the perfect time to upgrade the manager with one who can take us to the next level tactically. Zero belief in USSF not doing something stupid though.
the question is WHO? You might have to look outside the US to find someone BUT that brings in the question of a manager who doesn't understand the american culture or the personnel. Jurgen was a complete failure for the federation
The guys on the Athletic podcast Allocation Disorder talked about this last week at the end of the podcast and I thought their take was interesting. Basically, that it is going to be hard to interest anyone in the job because the only "competitive" games before 2026 are going to be Gold Cup and Nations League. It is why it will be very important to get an invite to the 2024 Copa America.
true...at the same time knowing that you are hosting and qualified, you can really push the envelope iwth the friendly matches and schedule much more difficult competition. If they can get an invite to the 24 Copa America that would be fantastic from a competition standpoint.
I believe the Copa is nailed on for the US and likely Canada and Mexico taking part as well. Guessing a 16-team tournament is the final result with three additional nations added. Perhaps a couple European nations that fail to make the Euros could be invited, or CONMEBOL goes for the money nations like Saudi.
yeah idk i dont quite agree with that viewpoint. If anything i agree with the other viewpoint that it allows more tactical tweaking and time to find the right overall fit. Will be easy to schedule tough friendlies if you want them, and the big cherry on top is managing the USMNT in a home world cup. That last fact alone would be huge for most managers.
Complete failure?
Under him the US got as far this WC as they did under Klinsmann (including getting out of the group of death), went to the semis of the Copa America beating a few decent South American sides, they played many more games against higher quality teams (Gregg padded his numbers by playing easy teams over and over), beat a number of teams including Germany and Italy in friendlies and played many away (something Gregg rarely did), and seemed to kickstart the dual-citizen campaign that others have continued after him (Brooks, Johnson, and Jones were key pieces for him).
He absolutely bombed after 2014 but to say he was a disaster is wrong. He was there to disrupt the US federation and bring in higher demands both on the team and the overall system (youth teams, style, management, etc), and I think he did well.
Klinsmann was a Wondlowski missed sitter from a QF matchup against Argentina. I think his time was an overall success especially compared to the preceding dull Bradley era. Klinsmann brought something different tactically and from a philosophical view, and he wasn't afraid to tell the pro-MLS USSF to stfu. The federation should learn that retaining a manager for a second cycle is when shit goes bad, like spoiled milk.
I've said this for years, jose Mourinho is the man for America .
WTF???
Bielsa would be an intriguing prospect imo.
Jesse Marsch could well be out of a club job soon.
Could John Herdman be tempted away from Canada perhaps.
So a few options although seems like your federation would be boring and give it to Martino.
Jesse Marsch could well be out of a club job soon.
Could John Herdman be tempted away from Canada perhaps.
So a few options although seems like your federation would be boring and give it to Martino.
a big article on the ESPN front page that the player was Reyna.Apparently he wasn’t putting in the work during training sessions
My guess on this is that the Wynalda shit was somewhat on point and that Reyna downed tools (as the Brits say) when GB threw him under the bus after the Wales game. A 19 year old vs. a 50 yo, you would hope the adult would be the adult instead of a coward.
Prob reyna frustrated with gb never seemingly using him properly. Interesting timing on the story no point in it coming out now.
No surprise for me. GB is an ego monster and he was getting shit about Reyna, so of course he would throw him under the bus if this is indeed about Reyna.
No matter who the player is I would think it is not great for the manager to come out with this, especially if it is a young guy. But GB’s ego has no limits and he can not abide criticism.
@WI_Red While i agree that it seems a bit petty for GB to openly discuss it now, although to be fair he didn't say anything negative about the person or his character, just that one individual wasn't putting in the effort and other players were noticing it along with the staff.
At the end of the day, while we know most managers have egos, you're at a world cup. Reyna isn't entitled to an automatic starting spot nor is he entitled to minutes. If they set a standard for training, effort etc...the player HAS to live up to that or he doesn't play, simple as that. Shit, Santos dropped Ronaldo to the bench. there isn't a bigger example that team comes before player and his ego.
At the end of the day, while we know most managers have egos, you're at a world cup. Reyna isn't entitled to an automatic starting spot nor is he entitled to minutes. If they set a standard for training, effort etc...the player HAS to live up to that or he doesn't play, simple as that. Shit, Santos dropped Ronaldo to the bench. there isn't a bigger example that team comes before player and his ego.
conflicting reports now about the so called leadership group of players voting on it. They are essentially saying they didnt have any sort of vote on this or anything and it was all staff. Not a good look right now. If the USSF is smart this should just be final nail in coffin to just move on from GB.
I 100% agree with this. It sounds like Reyna was being difficult and so GB was absolutely 100% right to not play him. I do have a few issues though:
1. He should not have brought it up now. It is petty and can do no good. He may not have mentioned Reyna by name, but as soon as he brought this up the press would start digging and it would eventually come out (as it did). He is the leader in the room and he was dealing with a young man (who had just turned 20!) who was, allegedly, behaving like a prick. It is telling that it was not disclosed by the players but instead by the man who was supposed to be leading them.
2. If there was a vote that is a complete failure of leadership. The players should be able to express their views to the coach, but ultimately these decisions are why he is, literally, paid millions of dollars. To foist this decision on the players is abysmal leadership.
3. Lying about Reyna's injury to cover for this was bad form. He might think he was covering for Reyna, but in reality he was covering his own ass.
100% this as well. His in game management was reason enough for me to not want him renewed, but this is yet another example of his inability to lead.
See that point i fundamentally completely disagree with......i didn't play at a WC or the Full Mens National team but at a pretty high level for almost a decade. Final decisions regarding playing time, tactical stuff ultimately came down to the coach HOWEVER all discipline issues were handled by the players via a committee that the players set up at the start of each season. We set up fines for various things like from not putting away your gear, to being late for training/team appearance, to attitude in training and expectations not being met. The best teams and the tightest teams were always policed by the players in my experience.
I do however think he handled a bit part of the Reyna situation wrong but the players have to be able to trust the gaffer and when they cant, everything breaks down and it's hard to get that back. Reyna will never really fully trust him and think GB has the players best interest at heart.
In the end, it's best for the USMNT that they move in another direction.
Reyna's counter statement:
Cheeky break from NT to focus on his development?
Cheeky break from NT to focus on his development?
What an abortion this is turning out to be.
I believe the mechanics of the game will drive the rise of soccer in the US. MLS still has a long way to go, but its product is far better for casual viewing than the top sports currently in the US for one reason: commercials.
If you watch the NFL there will be probably well over an hour of commercials woven in constant breaks in the game over the course of 3 hours. It may even be half the game is commercials, honestly I have never timed or measured that. An NFL game is only 60 minutes of clock. But the stoppages pair so nicely with ad revenue that it has become an add machine.
Soccer is fundamentally different for the viewer. Many Americans hate the lack of scoring. But in return what you do get is no commercials for an entire half. That is insane in comparison to the other sports. It is a huge advantage to the sport and so it is only a matter of time before viewers pick up the habit of tuning in. Many Americans don't realize this but once they do they tend to become fans of the game.
So what MLS needs to do is advertise aggressively. Soccer in the US is basically a yuppy sport and has been culturally for a long time, at least all the way back to when I was a kid in the 70s. It is not the sport the average American kids play in the park. We play baseball, well softball nowadays, or throw a pigskin around. We don't drop a soccer ball in the numbers you see in the rest of the world. So advertise aggressively and keep building the league at some point the market share will come. Once the market share comes then they can push things like providing balls to schools and kids to get more playing.
But if I were an investor right now I'd buy a MLS team for sure. They are very cheap and the league has yet to take its place in the US among the top sports but that is coming.
If you watch the NFL there will be probably well over an hour of commercials woven in constant breaks in the game over the course of 3 hours. It may even be half the game is commercials, honestly I have never timed or measured that. An NFL game is only 60 minutes of clock. But the stoppages pair so nicely with ad revenue that it has become an add machine.
Soccer is fundamentally different for the viewer. Many Americans hate the lack of scoring. But in return what you do get is no commercials for an entire half. That is insane in comparison to the other sports. It is a huge advantage to the sport and so it is only a matter of time before viewers pick up the habit of tuning in. Many Americans don't realize this but once they do they tend to become fans of the game.
So what MLS needs to do is advertise aggressively. Soccer in the US is basically a yuppy sport and has been culturally for a long time, at least all the way back to when I was a kid in the 70s. It is not the sport the average American kids play in the park. We play baseball, well softball nowadays, or throw a pigskin around. We don't drop a soccer ball in the numbers you see in the rest of the world. So advertise aggressively and keep building the league at some point the market share will come. Once the market share comes then they can push things like providing balls to schools and kids to get more playing.
But if I were an investor right now I'd buy a MLS team for sure. They are very cheap and the league has yet to take its place in the US among the top sports but that is coming.
I don't think we disagree per se. I think leadership councils for minor to medium level issues is a great idea. I also think that for major issues the council should be able to provide honest input to the coach, but ultimately it needs to be the coach who bears the full weight of the decision. Using this case as an example, because of the vote Reyna knew that almost half the team wanted him gone. Rightly or wrongly that is going to affect him and could potentially cause issues long term. Whereas if Berhalter had made the call it would be on his shoulders. I just think that leaders, especially leaders in positions of absolute authority, need to own those big decisions.
And this is what I meant. By opening his big trap Berhalter has alienated one of his top players, and for what?
can't argue with that....the big calls have to be made by the man who's put in charge and when he's right all good and when he fuks up, he has to fall on his sword