I thought Berhalter was going to work out well. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but he's had what 15-18 games at the helm and they are awful.
I have a good friend who came up the scouting ranks at KC. He loves Vermes and his attention to detail (any detail). My friend has always thought he'd be an ideal US coach b/c of his control issues/attention to detail; but that he'd never be hired b/c US Soccer wouldn't want to do the things that Vermes would demand they do to "do it right". During this last hiring cycle, I thought I read someplace that Vermes put together quite a detailed proposal for how he'd run US Soccer if given the job. I have no idea if he'd be good for the job.
I've wanted Ramos. I love the way his teams play. I know folks complained/questioned him about some of his selections and at times his tactics/decisions. But, I don't think anyone knows our upcoming players better and besides what coach isn't questioned on some items. I think, Tab, for the most part, relates to the players well and they respect him. I think he'd be the perfect fit.
Vermes was very critical of US Soccer after talking to them. You don't need to read between the lines much to believe he thinks the organization is directionless.
Here is a snippet from an interview he did:
SOCCER AMERICA: You recently discussed with U.S. Soccer its openings for a general manager and head coach, and decided instead to extend your contract with SKC until 2023. During those discussions with USSF what did you learn or glean regarding what it intends to do in the future?
PETER VERMES: I wish I could. I don’t know. I don’t have any idea of what those steps are.
SA: So how can a search be conducted if the federation doesn’t seem to know what it is looking for or what it wants to do?
VERMES: Honestly, it’s hard for me to answer that question. I’m really serious. They want a coach and a GM but I don’t know what their plans are beyond that. I really don’t know.
SA: What do you think should be done?
VERMES: I truly want us to take advantage. We can talk about what happened but to me it’s irrelevant at this point. I want to see what the plan is going forward. If our only objective is to qualify for the World Cup, I don’t even know why we’re in this. We should be doing so much more. We need to create a complete system from the grassroots up, and I think the responsibility for the leadership should be U.S. Soccer.
We have to be much more specific about who we are and what our model of play is, what our culture is when you go to the national team. I look at it as a gift. There are moments in life when you’re given a chance to hit the reset button and this is one of those moments.
SA: How does that process start?
VERMES: I don’t know the answer because I’m not there. What I want to hear and you want to hear and we all want to hear is, what is the plan? What are we doing? I would agree that you don’t have to blow the whole thing up and start all over again. But you do have to realize there have been some major failures and you have to evaluate it and come up with a plan. And to come up with a plan you have to have a goal. I want to know what the goal is.
The goal has to be something more than to qualify for the World Cup. There’s different goals. I’m a big believer in that to build a team you need a model of play. In all sports, all teams want to win. Why do some teams win? They have a way to play and they use certain players and build their team in a certain way. There’s a reason they are consistently competitive.
If you don’t have a way to play, I’m gonna tell you the only way you’ll get results is because you were lucky that day everybody was on form. But when you know how to play, results are a byproduct of knowing what you’re doing, what your model of play is. We need to get to place where we have a plan on the field, a plan off the field, a plan for recruiting players, a plan for identifying players.
I just want to hear what the goals are and what’s the plan to reach those goals.
I posted this last year but it is making the rounds again today. Listen when watching but with headphones on if in work. I some how feel better after realizing how true this was right down to Pulisic crying...
