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US Men's National Team (11 Viewers)

That seems really fair and not at all derogatory IMO. CP's a pacy winger.

he is calling arguably the best US player of all time, a complimentary piece.

If and hopefully when Pulisic is truly a complimentary piece in the USMNT (instead of the focus of every defense we face), we are going to have an outside chance at a semi final in 2026.

The only way this happens is if Gio pops next cycle (which given his skill set, is not outrageous to hope for if he stays healthy) as well as probably at least one other player.
 
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I read his comments to mean Pulisic isn't a guy that you can run everything through. Which... I think we all agree with that? He's been pretty bad when he's on the ball a ton in the midfield.

"not the focal point" "not a Eriksen type player" "not someone who's going to find the last pass over and over"

He could have chosen his words better, but I think that's mostly spot on -- CP is a wide player and we're best when he stays wide IMO.
 
I agree. I'll go further and say that when Pulisic is on the field the other. USMNT players expect him to be the focal point and don't try to put the defense into bad spots on their own. Furthermore Pulisic's game hasn't grown much at all since joining Chrlsea with the exception of learning play right wing back with little defensive responsibility... but Dest has that spot locked up.
 
I think the author makes some good points but understand why Andy and others would object to the "complimentary piece" comment as the implication is he's not necessary to success. But really nobody should be thinking that CP will be pulling the strings like a Modric or Pirlo. I know he hasn't done it a ton and definitely not recently but even having him as a false 9 would be better than what we are putting up top.

I said it a couple days ago - we are going to end up sitting 2 of our most dynamic attackers because I don't see any way we get 3 of CP, Gio, Weah and Aaronson on the pitch together.
 
While driving doing some errands, I heard Bruce Arena on my local sports talk radio. They asked him about Turner in which he said that he should be the clear first choice. Obviously has some bias but I don't think he is wrong. He also said he fears the US team favors Steffen.

They also asked him about the poor performances of the US team this week. He said that this current cycle had the lowest mix of quality and diversity of opponents of any cycle he could remember. He said the two main causes for this were the pandemic and Nations League. His general point was that when you face the same type and quality level of teams constantly over a cycle, your tactics as a coach will tend to lean in how to best beat those teams. But he said that can all come a part quickly once the diversity and quality of the opponent changes and left it with the US has a lot of questions unanswered going into Qatar.
 
While driving doing some errands, I heard Bruce Arena on my local sports talk radio. They asked him about Turner in which he said that he should be the clear first choice. Obviously has some bias but I don't think he is wrong. He also said he fears the US team favors Steffen.

They also asked him about the poor performances of the US team this week. He said that this current cycle had the lowest mix of quality and diversity of opponents of any cycle he could remember. He said the two main causes for this were the pandemic and Nations League. His general point was that when you face the same type and quality level of teams constantly over a cycle, your tactics as a coach will tend to lean in how to best beat those teams. But he said that can all come a part quickly once the diversity and quality of the opponent changes and left it with the US has a lot of questions unanswered going into Qatar.
Arena really is the king of the slow burn. There's so much to unpack in that second paragraph.
 
While driving doing some errands, I heard Bruce Arena on my local sports talk radio. They asked him about Turner in which he said that he should be the clear first choice. Obviously has some bias but I don't think he is wrong. He also said he fears the US team favors Steffen.

They also asked him about the poor performances of the US team this week. He said that this current cycle had the lowest mix of quality and diversity of opponents of any cycle he could remember. He said the two main causes for this were the pandemic and Nations League. His general point was that when you face the same type and quality level of teams constantly over a cycle, your tactics as a coach will tend to lean in how to best beat those teams. But he said that can all come a part quickly once the diversity and quality of the opponent changes and left it with the US has a lot of questions unanswered going into Qatar.
Arena really is the king of the slow burn. There's so much to unpack in that second paragraph.

I realized I left out something he said that was quite chilling.

He said due to the pandemic, the quality of the Concacaf teams was much worse than normal and that made for an easier qualification cycle for the US. None of the hosts were knowledgeable enough to realize that even with the lower quality than normal opponents, the team still struggled to qualify.
 
He said due to the pandemic, the quality of the Concacaf teams was much worse than normal and that made for an easier qualification cycle for the US.
Why would the pandemic affect the quality of the teams - did a lot of players miss time due to having Covid?

he said the smaller Concacaf countries did not have the funds to properly train and teams were showing up to qualifying games severely underprepared (that was my take, he did not use those exact words)..

It should be noted, IMO, that some of what he says is to deflect from the fact that he did not help the team qualify last cycle and if he can throw some shade on this cycle he will.
 
He said due to the pandemic, the quality of the Concacaf teams was much worse than normal and that made for an easier qualification cycle for the US.
Why would the pandemic affect the quality of the teams - did a lot of players miss time due to having Covid?
Just the cycle of 3 games each window likely affected the quality. Teams couldn't prepare nearly as much and everyone was forced to use subs, just for resting purposes. That should favor teams like the US and Mexico that have a much deeper pool of talent.

Still, most of this is just Bruce throwing little digs in there to try and hide the fact that Berhalter qualified the youngest WC team ever because he threw out the old hats that had little talent in favor of the young guns.... pretty much the opposite that Bruce did 4 years ago that saw us missing the cut.
 
I agree. I'll go further and say that when Pulisic is on the field the other. USMNT players expect him to be the focal point and don't try to put the defense into bad spots on their own. Furthermore Pulisic's game hasn't grown much at all since joining Chrlsea with the exception of learning play right wing back with little defensive responsibility... but Dest has that spot locked up.
One of the talking heads I was listening to yesterday was saying this as well. The rest of the team passes to CP and then stands and watches and waits for him.
That leads into what I posted the other day, he dribbles to much which leads the rest to stand and watch, so he doesnt pass and dribbles more, etc, etc, etc.

Its funny, reading the "complimentary piece" and "best player" comments about CP, I had flashbacks to the articles about Pogba at United. Great player, most talented but not someone you build around. He is the icing on the cake so to speak.

I said it a couple days ago - we are going to end up sitting 2 of our most dynamic attackers because I don't see any way we get 3 of CP, Gio, Weah and Aaronson on the pitch together.
Its going to be interesting to see how GGG handles this. A stronger coach would look at the opponents and see the best way to play against them and mix and match these 4. Does he have the guts to sit CP if the plan dictated it, causing most of America takes to social media posting #GGGOUT? Or is CP an autostart? I am not sure he has the tactical acumen or intestinal fortitude for anything other than "start CP"....
 
Its going to be interesting to see how GGG handles this. A stronger coach would look at the opponents and see the best way to play against them and mix and match these 4. Does he have the guts to sit CP if the plan dictated it, causing most of America takes to social media posting #GGGOUT? Or is CP an autostart? I am not sure he has the tactical acumen or intestinal fortitude for anything other than "start CP"....

With qualifying on the line (and VERY much his job on the line), GGG benched a healthy Pulisic for 2 crucial qualifiers. Pulisic came off the bench in both games and played well.
 
Why is everybody making excuses for the poor play of this UMNT. Seems like they are very fragile and nobody wants to hurt the ego of the players prior to Qatar. I hope somebody behind closed doors told them they all sucked, the window was a disaster, and Liverpool's B Team would of handily beat them. Now here is what ails me in the state of US Soccer. We need to start the developmental program when kids are 9/10 years old. These kids should be identified based on regions parents sign a waiver and kids are sent to a regional development camp where they receive some classroom instruction (academics) and then spend most of the day on the pitch. Then at 13 a national team is established and the remaining kids will be placed in MLS Acadamies if wanted by the clubs or they will be returned home where they can then still have a High School career and possibly get a college ride. We need to be more like Europe and South America and start identifying talent at a young age.
 
Now here is what ails me in the state of US Soccer. We need to start the developmental program when kids are 9/10 years old.

In England, 12 years old is the youngest age you are allowed in a full time academy.
Is this another issue that plagues soccer in the USA because I have seen it when my son played for his travel team. Coaches told him to play a different sport during Lacrosse's off season. Kids in Europe and South America only play soccer. I really hope kids are not being told to play something other than soccer here. We need to follow the blueprint that other countries follow that produces great talent.
 
I really hope kids are not being told to play something other than soccer here.
I haven't heard of this in my area. My nephew who played on a decent (but by no means big time) travel team was getting complaints about playing basketball in addition to soccer well before high school. I have heard parents with kids in other sports say the same thing - that kids are being asked to choose a sport to focus on at an early age.
 
Looks like Chelsea is signing Nkunku today from RBL. He played wing a lot for RBL so this may cut into Pulisic sub minutes he is getting.
 
Why is everybody making excuses for the poor play of this UMNT. Seems like they are very fragile and nobody wants to hurt the ego of the players prior to Qatar. I hope somebody behind closed doors told them they all sucked, the window was a disaster, and Liverpool's B Team would of handily beat them. Now here is what ails me in the state of US Soccer. We need to start the developmental program when kids are 9/10 years old. These kids should be identified based on regions parents sign a waiver and kids are sent to a regional development camp where they receive some classroom instruction (academics) and then spend most of the day on the pitch. Then at 13 a national team is established and the remaining kids will be placed in MLS Acadamies if wanted by the clubs or they will be returned home where they can then still have a High School career and possibly get a college ride. We need to be more like Europe and South America and start identifying talent at a young age.

You can keep clamoring we need to be more like Europe and South America; it's never going to happen.

Brendon Aaronson is the poster child for how the Academy system is starting to produce talent. Is it perfect? No, but it's also just now taking hold. Let it continue to mature and see how we look in 2026.

  • MLS pre-academy starts at 8yrs old and goes until the kids start playing the full 11v11 game at 12.
  • MLS academy starts at 12; at the Union kids have their own High School they attend where they train before and after class every day.
  • MLS academies are casting a wider net into local clubs that are competing in national leagues like ECNL, EDP, etc.
    • They're attaching themselves to these clubs and siphoning off the talent as they pop up. I've personally witnessed kids from 10-16yrs old get swept away by the Union academy.
All of that funnels into the USYNT. Take a look at the U20 squad - 4 Union kids that came through their academy. That's the blueprint.
 
Why is everybody making excuses for the poor play of this UMNT. Seems like they are very fragile and nobody wants to hurt the ego of the players prior to Qatar. I hope somebody behind closed doors told them they all sucked, the window was a disaster, and Liverpool's B Team would of handily beat them. Now here is what ails me in the state of US Soccer. We need to start the developmental program when kids are 9/10 years old. These kids should be identified based on regions parents sign a waiver and kids are sent to a regional development camp where they receive some classroom instruction (academics) and then spend most of the day on the pitch. Then at 13 a national team is established and the remaining kids will be placed in MLS Acadamies if wanted by the clubs or they will be returned home where they can then still have a High School career and possibly get a college ride. We need to be more like Europe and South America and start identifying talent at a young age.

You can keep clamoring we need to be more like Europe and South America; it's never going to happen.

Brendon Aaronson is the poster child for how the Academy system is starting to produce talent. Is it perfect? No, but it's also just now taking hold. Let it continue to mature and see how we look in 2026.

  • MLS pre-academy starts at 8yrs old and goes until the kids start playing the full 11v11 game at 12.
  • MLS academy starts at 12; at the Union kids have their own High School they attend where they train before and after class every day.
  • MLS academies are casting a wider net into local clubs that are competing in national leagues like ECNL, EDP, etc.
    • They're attaching themselves to these clubs and siphoning off the talent as they pop up. I've personally witnessed kids from 10-16yrs old get swept away by the Union academy.
All of that funnels into the USYNT. Take a look at the U20 squad - 4 Union kids that came through their academy. That's the blueprint.
This is the type of system that we need to complete with Europe and South America where kids are brought up together and stay together and then go off and play for clubs and then when they return to play for National Team they already have a chemistry developed. I would love a program like this regionalized across the US. Through these academies is where our National Team would draw from.
 
Looks like Chelsea is signing Nkunku today from RBL. He played wing a lot for RBL so this may cut into Pulisic sub minutes he is getting.
Signing now for January window, right?
So after reading a few articles, this is summer 2023. And it puts Chelsea in the driver's seat but does not guarantee that Nkunku is going to Chelsea.

Basically means Pulisic has until next summer to prove his worth, which is the position he was already in.
 
Why is everybody making excuses for the poor play of this UMNT. Seems like they are very fragile and nobody wants to hurt the ego of the players prior to Qatar. I hope somebody behind closed doors told them they all sucked, the window was a disaster, and Liverpool's B Team would of handily beat them. Now here is what ails me in the state of US Soccer. We need to start the developmental program when kids are 9/10 years old. These kids should be identified based on regions parents sign a waiver and kids are sent to a regional development camp where they receive some classroom instruction (academics) and then spend most of the day on the pitch. Then at 13 a national team is established and the remaining kids will be placed in MLS Acadamies if wanted by the clubs or they will be returned home where they can then still have a High School career and possibly get a college ride. We need to be more like Europe and South America and start identifying talent at a young age.

Disagree a lot.

6 month age difference is a 5%+ difference in training and development time.

What a kid looks like at 9 strength, size, speed wise is no reflection of what they'll look like later. Matter of fact, usually the biggest kid with some skill is going to dominate these camps at this age. Also we have many more kids to look at than most of Europe. Lastly, what's so great about Europe....England can't win a game and Italy didn't even make it. I don't see a model there that is yielding a dominate program.
 
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Reyna, Richards and Robinson all did not dress due to injuries, as expected.

Pefok, Ream, Steffen, and Sargent all starting

Pulisic on bench
 
Pulisic with a nice little dribble to set up an amazing strike from Gallagher to win the game for Chelsea. Maybe he gets more than 8 minutes a game going forward?
 
Aaronson starting in the middle of the 3 in a 4-2-3-1 today. Adams starting as one of the 2 holding midfielders.

Weah dressed today, but did no sub in. Good to see him dress though as that indicates progression in his recovery.
 
Aaronson starting in the middle of the 3 in a 4-2-3-1 today. Adams starting as one of the 2 holding midfielders.
This has been Marsch's formation pretty much every game this season. Rodrigo has played as a 10 a lot but now that Sinesterra is healthy, Aaronson slid inside (he started there last game too). I expect with the red card, Aaronson will go back to right wing, Rodrigo will go to the 10, and Bamford will come in as the striker next week.
 
damn, looks like US Soccer stepped in it again. This organization just can't get out its own way. This line.....oof

=====

Yates also found the sport’s powerbrokers repeatedly failed the players by ignoring red flags and dismissing complaints. Both the NWSL and U.S. Soccer “appear to have prioritized concerns of legal exposure to litigation by coaches …. over player safety and well-being," she wrote.
 
What in the living ****..........

=======

While several allegations of abuse and misconduct have been made public in media reports, Yates’s report opens with a previously undisclosed allegation involving Christy Holly, the male former head coach for Racing Louisville FC. According to the report, Holly requested a one-on-one film session with player Erin Simon in April 2021.

“She knew what to expect,” the report states. “When she arrived, she recalls Holly opened his laptop and began the game film.”
The coach told Simon that he intended to touch her for every bad pass, according to Yates’s report, and “pushed his hands down her pants and up her shirt.”
“She tried to tightly cross her legs and push him away, laughing to avoid angering him,” the report states. “The video ended, and she left. When her teammate picked her up to drive home, Simon broke down crying.”

According to the report, the Louisville organization declined to aid investigators with any information concerning Holly’s employment, pointing to nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements signed with Holly. Louisville abruptly fired Holly on Aug. 30, 2021, but never disclosed the circumstances surrounding his dismissal. “As a result, Holly’s misconduct has remained largely unknown, including to anyone who might seek to employ him as a coach,” the report states
 
What in the living ****..........

=======

While several allegations of abuse and misconduct have been made public in media reports, Yates’s report opens with a previously undisclosed allegation involving Christy Holly, the male former head coach for Racing Louisville FC. According to the report, Holly requested a one-on-one film session with player Erin Simon in April 2021.

“She knew what to expect,” the report states. “When she arrived, she recalls Holly opened his laptop and began the game film.”
The coach told Simon that he intended to touch her for every bad pass, according to Yates’s report, and “pushed his hands down her pants and up her shirt.”
“She tried to tightly cross her legs and push him away, laughing to avoid angering him,” the report states. “The video ended, and she left. When her teammate picked her up to drive home, Simon broke down crying.”

According to the report, the Louisville organization declined to aid investigators with any information concerning Holly’s employment, pointing to nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements signed with Holly. Louisville abruptly fired Holly on Aug. 30, 2021, but never disclosed the circumstances surrounding his dismissal. “As a result, Holly’s misconduct has remained largely unknown, including to anyone who might seek to employ him as a coach,” the report states
I wish we had a angry reaction, because this makes me livid. WTF!
 
Why is everybody making excuses for the poor play of this UMNT. Seems like they are very fragile and nobody wants to hurt the ego of the players prior to Qatar. I hope somebody behind closed doors told them they all sucked, the window was a disaster, and Liverpool's B Team would of handily beat them. Now here is what ails me in the state of US Soccer. We need to start the developmental program when kids are 9/10 years old. These kids should be identified based on regions parents sign a waiver and kids are sent to a regional development camp where they receive some classroom instruction (academics) and then spend most of the day on the pitch. Then at 13 a national team is established and the remaining kids will be placed in MLS Acadamies if wanted by the clubs or they will be returned home where they can then still have a High School career and possibly get a college ride. We need to be more like Europe and South America and start identifying talent at a young age.

Disagree a lot.

6 month age difference is a 5%+ difference in training and development time.

What a kid looks like at 9 strength, size, speed wise is no reflection of what they'll look like later. Matter of fact, usually the biggest kid with some skill is going to dominate these camps at this age. Also we have many more kids to look at than most of Europe. Lastly, what's so great about Europe....England can't win a game and Italy didn't even make it. I don't see a model there that is yielding a dominate program.
I do not disagree with you at all on how kids develop from a young age to what they are like older. I have seen many kids go from short stocky and slow to tall lean and fast by time they are in high school.

England and it is difficult to lump Italy into the bucket nowadays is consist when it comes to qualification and they always have expectations to make a deep run. Discussing England and the world cup expectations is like discussing USA expectations in baseketball and baseball for International competitions and this is where I would love to see US Soccer consistently in my lifetime (not just making the tournament but consistently being a final 8 or final 4). We have the resources to get USMNT to that level but how do we bring it all together.
 
damn, looks like US Soccer stepped in it again. This organization just can't get out its own way. This line.....oof

=====

Yates also found the sport’s powerbrokers repeatedly failed the players by ignoring red flags and dismissing complaints. Both the NWSL and U.S. Soccer “appear to have prioritized concerns of legal exposure to litigation by coaches …. over player safety and well-being," she wrote.

here's the full report if anyone has the stomach for it: https://www.kslaw.com/attachments/0...Spalding_-_Full_Report_to_USSF.pdf?1664809048
 
Why is everybody making excuses for the poor play of this UMNT. Seems like they are very fragile and nobody wants to hurt the ego of the players prior to Qatar. I hope somebody behind closed doors told them they all sucked, the window was a disaster, and Liverpool's B Team would of handily beat them. Now here is what ails me in the state of US Soccer. We need to start the developmental program when kids are 9/10 years old. These kids should be identified based on regions parents sign a waiver and kids are sent to a regional development camp where they receive some classroom instruction (academics) and then spend most of the day on the pitch. Then at 13 a national team is established and the remaining kids will be placed in MLS Acadamies if wanted by the clubs or they will be returned home where they can then still have a High School career and possibly get a college ride. We need to be more like Europe and South America and start identifying talent at a young age.

Disagree a lot.

6 month age difference is a 5%+ difference in training and development time.

What a kid looks like at 9 strength, size, speed wise is no reflection of what they'll look like later. Matter of fact, usually the biggest kid with some skill is going to dominate these camps at this age. Also we have many more kids to look at than most of Europe. Lastly, what's so great about Europe....England can't win a game and Italy didn't even make it. I don't see a model there that is yielding a dominate program.
I do not disagree with you at all on how kids develop from a young age to what they are like older. I have seen many kids go from short stocky and slow to tall lean and fast by time they are in high school.

England and it is difficult to lump Italy into the bucket nowadays is consist when it comes to qualification and they always have expectations to make a deep run. Discussing England and the world cup expectations is like discussing USA expectations in baseketball and baseball for International competitions and this is where I would love to see US Soccer consistently in my lifetime (not just making the tournament but consistently being a final 8 or final 4). We have the resources to get USMNT to that level but how do we bring it all together.

Tough nut to crack...

1. We have the biggest geographic boundaries in the world.
2. We have one of the biggest population pools to draw from.
3. Football, Baseball, and Basketball siphon off kids at a higher rate than the European countries.

I don't think we can ever emulate Europe. England is packing 20 Premier academies into the space of Florida. Big difference in shipping your 9 yo kid to Tampa from St. Pete than Cape Hatteras to Charlotte.
 
How does this even happen? You're never going to get rid of bad actors, but it's 2022 -- like everyone knows what to do when you find one. The fact that no one up the ladder really did anything is just mind bogging.
This is the part I can’t past either. I don’t think right minded people would blame league or team or federation if a nut gets signed in any part of a team. But covering it up is inexcusable.
 
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