US Men's National Team

[Sammy3469]

1 minute ago, Ramsay Hunt Experience said:

I listened to the Chelsea game on the radio. Very little that Chelsea created came from anything but the Chillwell/Pulisic combination on the left. 
 

Part of me wonders if CP is really that much better on the left or if Cihillwell is just a more reliable partner than James. 

It was Azulpulca today, but the point stands.  The RB position is sort of bad for them and doesn't get as advanced as Chillwell.  When you couple that with a MF who tends to want to hold. the ball (one of Kante, Kova, or Jorginho) the right side ends up being static and highly predictable.  Mount hasn't been great on the left either, but he can at least form the triangles with Chillwell/CP.  When Havertz came on he gave them some dynasticism in the MF, so maybe if he gets back into the rotation, some of this will go away.  

But if you are going to play a 4-3-3; you need both those outside backs to be good and they aren't right now.  This is a team that needed Swag and Dest. 

[NewlyRetired]

This is kind of the dark cloud in the middle of our silver lining but it is hard not to notice that Chelsea, Juventus, Dortmund, Barcelona and Boavista are all under performing so far this year.

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Hell, Arsenal are fighting relegation and Balogun hasn’t even declared yet. 

[NewlyRetired]

On 12/27/2020 at 9:55 PM, Ted Lange as your Bartender said:

This would annoy me as McKenzie is objectively a better player than Aaronson.  I get the position difference, but anything less than $5M would feel like a sell low imo

Big Bad MLS

@BigBadMLS

Mark McKenzie rumor floating around about him potentially moving to Genk ISNT is a rumor it’s true. According to my sources Genk came in with an acceptable bid excess of 5 million. Don’t be surprised if it’s done soon these things happen fast. Big move for the #Doop homegrown

Edited December 29, 2020 by NewlyRetired

[El Floppo]

14 hours ago, Ted Lange as your Bartender said:

Belgian side Genk is reportedly targeting #USMNT and #DOOP defender Mark McKenzie as a possible January reinforcement.

https://twitter.com/sbisoccer/status/1343673650961129473?s=10

Better than Celtic?

[gianmarco]

1 hour ago, El Floppo said:

Better than Celtic?

First division Belgium definitely > First division Scotland

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

1 hour ago, gianmarco said:

First division Belgium definitely > First division Scotland

Plus Genk seems to be a contender for Europe like Celtic, though maybe not always Champions League

[McBokonon]

1 hour ago, Ted Lange as your Bartender said:

Plus Genk seems to be a contender for Europe like Celtic, though maybe not always Champions League

Sounds like this is done. And Genk is only 4 points from first with a game in hand. #### BRUGGE. GO GENK! GENK! GENK!

Edited December 29, 2020 by McBokonon

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

30 minutes ago, McBokonon said:

Sounds like this is done. And Genk is only 4 points from first with a game in hand. #### BRUGGE. GO GENT! GENT! GENT!

https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/1343954985181212677?s=10

The Union will indeed sell centerback Mark McKenzie to Belgian club KRC Genk, multiple sources tell The Inquirer. I don’t have the financials yet, but I understand the deal is done.

Edited December 29, 2020 by Ted Lange as your Bartender

[gianmarco]

1 minute ago, Ted Lange as your Bartender said:

https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/1343954985181212677?s=10

The Union will indeed sell centerback Mark McKenzie to Belgian club KRC Genk, multiple sources tell The Inquirer. I don’t have the financials yet, but I understand the deal is done.

Love it.  Good enough team and good enough league to get good experience as long as he can get PT.

[gianmarco]

Btw, that means we'll have Yanks on 3 of the top 4 teams in the top Belgian league as well.

[NewlyRetired]

31 minutes ago, Ted Lange as your Bartender said:

https://twitter.com/thegoalkeeper/status/1343954985181212677?s=10

The Union will indeed sell centerback Mark McKenzie to Belgian club KRC Genk, multiple sources tell The Inquirer. I don’t have the financials yet, but I understand the deal is done.

it is being reported by everyone now.  Still not official but this seems as close to done as we could hope.

The Reynolds situation however appears more fluid with some reporting the deal to Juve is complete and others saying nothing is set yet.

[NewlyRetired]

24 minutes ago, gianmarco said:

Btw, that means we'll have Yanks on 3 of the top 4 teams in the top Belgian league as well.

Horvath won't be for long though.  He was officially placed on the Belgium transfer list to hope to move him in January.

https://www.voetbalnieuws.be/news/571805/club-brugge-zet-twee-vaste-krachten-op-transferlijst

[NewlyRetired]

Roger Gonzalez

@RGonzalezCBS

Turkish club Trabzonspor have made an offer to DeAndre Yedlin to sign the Newcastle defender on a free transfer, sources tell CBS Sports. They have offered him his terms. Trying to land him in Jan., though Newcastle would have to release him.

[NewlyRetired]

This sounds made up to me, but it has a US mens team player involved so I pass on

=======================================

 

Last Word On Spurs

@LastWordOnSpurs

[@CalcioMercatoIT] | Tottenham Hotspur are now keen on the signing of midfielder Weston McKennie after seriously impressing on loan at Juventus. Spurs are looking for a ‘solution’ to replace Dele Alli, and McKennie could be this player.

[NewlyRetired]

It is going to be really nice to see 3 young US players all move this winter in Aaronson, McKenzie and Reynolds.

To quote my good friend Mando, "This is the way"

[NewlyRetired]

Dest starts again for Barca today.

[NewlyRetired]

Twellman gets more things right than most.

=======================

Taylor Twellman

@TaylorTwellman

Bryan Reynolds of @FCDallas will bring in a little more than $10m (including incentives) from @juventusfcen who will send him out on loan from what I’m hearing. Big day for the young player and another one for @DanHuntFCD and his franchise.

[NewlyRetired]

So now we will see if Philly can replicate what Dallas did when they replaced Cannon with Reynolds.

It won't be easy to replace both McKenzie and Aaronson with young US players but if they can, they will immediately get some useful CCL minutes next year (games which are super tough and have all the Concacaffyness needed to gain some experience for the international play).

[McBokonon]

12 minutes ago, NewlyRetired said:

Roger Gonzalez

@RGonzalezCBS

Turkish club Trabzonspor have made an offer to DeAndre Yedlin to sign the Newcastle defender on a free transfer, sources tell CBS Sports. They have offered him his terms. Trying to land him in Jan., though Newcastle would have to release him.

He actually looked pretty good against Man City, minus one horrible cross. Sucks to get nothing for him but he clearly needs to move on.

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

13 minutes ago, NewlyRetired said:

So now we will see if Philly can replicate what Dallas did when they replaced Cannon with Reynolds.

It won't be easy to replace both McKenzie and Aaronson with young US players but if they can, they will immediately get some useful CCL minutes next year (games which are super tough and have all the Concacaffyness needed to gain some experience for the international play).

They don’t appear to have a ready-made replacement at CB in the Academy yet.  Brendan Craig can play CB but he’s super young and probably not physically ready for MLS yet much less CCL.  I would expect Glesnes and Elliott to start and Ernst to sign CB depth from overseas.

At the 10, ideally you want Paxten Aaronson to take over long-term plus continued improvement from Anthony Fontana.  They also have Jack DeVries who got some minutes last year in the mix.  Union fans always clamor for a DP striker or 10, we’ll see if they take some of the $12-$15M transfer kitty and invest it in the first team.

 

[NewlyRetired]

excellent numbers!!

=======================

Tom Bogert

@tombogert

More on Mark McKenzie: The Philadelphia Union will receive a fee in the region of $6 million plus a sell-on % and add-ons from KRC Genk, source tells http://MLSsoccer.com.

[NewlyRetired]

I don't know what the sell on % is but if McKenzie hits, Genk has a very good history of moving players to bigger clubs.  The wonderful Kalidou Koulibaly came through Genk at the same position I believe before moving to Napoli.

Edited December 29, 2020 by NewlyRetired

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

Just now, NewlyRetired said:

I don't know what the sell on % is but if McKenzie hits, Genk has a very good history of moving players to bigger clubs.

Indeed:

RE: Mark McKenzie, here are some of the guys who played at Genk and went on to bigger European teams:

Christian Benteke
Didier Zokora
Wilfred Ndidi
Kalidou Koulibaly
Kevin De Bruyne
Thibaut Courtois
Ruslan Malinovskyi
Leon Bailey
Timothy Castagne

 

[El Floppo]

Dest not exactly shining brightly in the first half vs Eibar. but that's a pretty dysfunctional looking Barca team in general.

oops... he was subbed out at the half for Dembele.

I'd guess equal parts performance and tactical based. he was super sloppy, and the team is in need of anything moving forward into attack for the last 45.

[The Z Machine]

9 minutes ago, El Floppo said:

Dest not exactly shining brightly in the first half vs Eibar. but that's a pretty dysfunctional looking Barca team in general.

oops... he was subbed out at the half for Dembele.

I'd guess equal parts performance and tactical based. he was super sloppy, and the team is in need of anything moving forward into attack for the last 45.

Coming Einar!  Nick a point at Camp Nou.

[El Floppo]

1 minute ago, The Z Machine said:

Coming Einar!  Nick a point at Camp Nou.

or all 3.

Eibar 1- Barca 0

[Desert_Power]

2 minutes ago, El Floppo said:

Dest not exactly shining brightly in the first half vs Eibar. but that's a pretty dysfunctional looking Barca team in general.

oops... he was subbed out at the half for Dembele.

I'd guess equal parts performance and tactical based. he was super sloppy, and the team is in need of anything moving forward into attack for the last 45.

Another game where he was deployed more as a winger, but didn't look good at anything today. The worst game for him at Barcelona I've seen. (although far from the only problem)

[El Floppo]

Just now, Desert_Power said:

Another game where he was deployed more as a winger, but didn't look good at anything today. The worst game for him at Barcelona I've seen. (although far from the only problem)

the team looks completely directionless- on either side of the ball. understandable on D, with sooo many injuries. but it's odd to see the offense look so aimless.

but yeah- Dest was not good. hopefully not a long term problem for minutes- he's been good when I've seen him and they're still battling injuries to guys that could replace him (I think?).

[Desert_Power]

6 minutes ago, El Floppo said:

the team looks completely directionless- on either side of the ball. understandable on D, with sooo many injuries. but it's odd to see the offense look so aimless.

but yeah- Dest was not good. hopefully not a long term problem for minutes- he's been good when I've seen him and they're still battling injuries to guys that could replace him (I think?).

Sergi Roberto is still hurt and he is the only other RB really. If they play a 3-5-2, like today, the only options wide are more attacking players like Dembele/Trincao.

The whole system is a bit of a mess, but this is the type of game that Frenke De Jong has to be able to make a bigger impact on. 

 

[Desert_Power]

As an aside, my pink Barcelona Dest jersey came in the mail yesterday as a xmas gift from the parents. It looks awesome.

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

7 hours ago, gianmarco said:

First division Belgium definitely > First division Scotland

Though possible Celtic and Rangers > First Division Belgium

[encaitar]

16 minutes ago, Dinsy Ejotuz said:

Though possible Celtic and Rangers > First Division Belgium

Very likely.  However, if we're sending a defender to one of those teams I'd prefer to send him to a league where he'll actually have to defend.

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

7 minutes ago, encaitar said:

Very likely.  However, if we're sending a defender to one of those teams I'd prefer to send him to a league where he'll actually have to defend.

Random (sorry @El Floppo), but in case you all haven't kept up with the SPL this year...

Steve Gerrard's Rangers are burying Celtic, have given up 5 goals in 20 league games, and won their UEFA Cup group.  Much to my surprise he's done a fantastic job and the D there is basically a brick wall.

[McBokonon]

47 minutes ago, Dinsy Ejotuz said:

Though possible Celtic and Rangers > First Division Belgium

On a side note, Old Firm is watchable on ESPN+ this Saturday at 7:30am Eastern. 

[NewlyRetired]

This is interesting.....I have no idea what type of advice GGG gives here......There might even be a conflict of interest.  There may be some times when the club situation and the national team situation are not always aligned

===============================

3rd Degree

@3rdDegreeNet

My source says Reynolds has been in touch with Gregg Berhalter to get the USMNT coach's take on where he should go... so USMNT is looped in and following along.

[NewlyRetired]

44 minutes ago, encaitar said:

Very likely.  However, if we're sending a defender to one of those teams I'd prefer to send him to a league where he'll actually have to defend.

yeah, that is the crux of it for me.  

Then again I have to acknowledge that arguably the best center back in the world, VVD, played at Celtic for 2 seasons.

[McBokonon]

2 minutes ago, NewlyRetired said:

This is interesting.....I have no idea what type of advice GGG gives here......There might even be a conflict of interest.  There may be some times when the club situation and the national team situation are not always aligned

===============================

3rd Degree

@3rdDegreeNet

My source says Reynolds has been in touch with Gregg Berhalter to get the USMNT coach's take on where he should go... so USMNT is looped in and following along.

If I was a kid or hell even now, I'd reach out for advice. But it can't be a bad sign that a budding star trusts and respects Berhalter enough to seek his direction. 

[NewlyRetired]

1 hour ago, McBokonon said:

If I was a kid or hell even now, I'd reach out for advice. But it can't be a bad sign that a budding star trusts and respects Berhalter enough to seek his direction. 

It also continues to point to a level of competence and functionality at the federation level that seemed unachievable towards the end of JK's reign.  These kids seem to really want to be a part of what is happening.

I have no idea how much, if any GGG is adding to the process but it is clear he is not hurting it either.

If GGG lands one of Musah/Balogun and helps a super young team qualify for 2022, it is going to rank really high for me on single cycle coaching stints.

[NewlyRetired]

OK it is has been almost a full week since I tried a new lineup/formation so it's time to scribble on the back of the napkin again.

This time I am going to close my eyes, and believe that the recent surge from Weah is the real deal and he keeps this level.   If that statement holds true, it opens up some different thoughts since we would not need Gio to play on the wing any more.

My favorite all time formation is one that no longer exists in the modern game, but all formations tend to be cyclical in nature so this may work even it is no longer prevalent in the modern game.

4-4-2 Diamond midfield, with a true #10 at the point of the diamond

............................................... 

..............................Steffen

Dest............X....................Brooks................Robinson

..............................Adams

.....Weston...........................................Musah

................................Reyna

.......Weah..........................................Pulisic

==================================

* I won't quibble if some one wants to call this a false nine set up.

* Weah and Pulisic would be undersized strikers but with their well above average athleticism and foot skills, I think they would drive teams nuts, pulling defenders all out of shape.  Clearly there is no target striker in this set up so hold up play is not going to be on the table and we will have to build an attack on the ground, but with the skill level all over the field, they should be able to achieve that style.  Watching the McKenzie highlights again really makes my mouth water in regards to this point.  Having 3 players like Adams, Brooks and McKenzie all be able to make a mid length, line breaking pass means that no team can just remove the one distributor of the ball.

* I like that this keeps the strong triangle of Weston, Musah and Adams together.  If Musah does not join the party, Owen looks like he might be a decent fit here.  Weston and Musah both are good enough two way players that they will help break down bunkers and also provide a strong defense against the better teams.

* The X will likely be a battle royal between Miazga, McKenzie, Long, and Richards, may the best man win.   Having multiple choices here is good since Brooks has a shaky injury history for the US.

Edited December 30, 2020 by NewlyRetired

[Desert_Power]

1 hour ago, NewlyRetired said:

OK it is has been almost a full week since I tried a new lineup/formation so time to scribble on the back of the napkin again.

This time I am going to close my eyes, and believe that the recent surge from Weah is the real deal and he keeps this level.   If that statement holds true, it opens up some different thoughts since we would not need Gio to play on the wing any more.

My favorite all time formation is one that no longer exists in the modern game, but all formations tend to by cyclical in nature so this may work even it is no longer prevalent in the modern game.

4-4-2 Diamond midfield, with a true #10 at the point of the diamond

............................................... 

..............................Steffen

Dest............X....................Brooks................Robinson

..............................Adams

.....Weston...........................................Musah

................................Reyna

.......Weah..........................................Pulisic

==================================

* I won't quibble if some one wants to call this a false nine set up.

 

I love the diamond/false 9 type of setup like this for a lot of reasons. I do think that you need a player that can occupy the #9 space at times and I just don't see one there. Reminds me a bit of when Spain tried it with Cesc, ends up a 4-6-0

Edited December 30, 2020 by Desert_Power

[El Floppo]

3 hours ago, NewlyRetired said:

4 hours ago, encaitar said:

Very likely.  However, if we're sending a defender to one of those teams I'd prefer to send him to a league where he'll actually have to defend.

yeah, that is the crux of it for me.  

Then again I have to acknowledge that arguably the best center back in the world, VVD, played at Celtic for 2 seasons

SPL seems a good spot to learn the roll your sleeves up bare knuckled approach to defending. I've always thought of it as a decent place for CBs, holding MFs and target forwards to cut their teeth.

But agreed- aside from the top two, maybe not as deep a league as Belgium.

[BassNBrew]

2 hours ago, NewlyRetired said:

OK it is has been almost a full week since I tried a new lineup/formation so it's time to scribble on the back of the napkin again.

This time I am going to close my eyes, and believe that the recent surge from Weah is the real deal and he keeps this level.   If that statement holds true, it opens up some different thoughts since we would not need Gio to play on the wing any more.

My favorite all time formation is one that no longer exists in the modern game, but all formations tend to be cyclical in nature so this may work even it is no longer prevalent in the modern game.

4-4-2 Diamond midfield, with a true #10 at the point of the diamond

............................................... 

..............................Steffen

Dest............X....................Brooks................Robinson

..............................Adams

.....Weston...........................................Musah

................................Reyna

.......Weah..........................................Pulisic

==================================

* I won't quibble if some one wants to call this a false nine set up.

* Weah and Pulisic would be undersized strikers but with their well above average athleticism and foot skills, I think they would drive teams nuts, pulling defenders all out of shape.  Clearly there is no target striker in this set up so hold up play is not going to be on the table and we will have to build an attack on the ground, but with the skill level all over the field, they should be able to achieve that style.  Watching the McKenzie highlights again really makes my mouth water in regards to this point.  Having 3 players like Adams, Brooks and McKenzie all be able to make a mid length, line breaking pass means that no team can just remove the one distributor of the ball.

* I like that this keeps the strong triangle of Weston, Musah and Adams together.  If Musah does not join the party, Owen looks like he might be a decent fit here.  Weston and Musah both are good enough two way players that they will help break down bunkers and also provide a strong defense against the better teams.

* The X will likely be a battle royal between Miazga, McKenzie, Long, and Richards, may the best man win.   Having multiple choices here is good since Brooks has a shaky injury history for the US.

X - That seems a little far back to play Zardes.

[NewlyRetired]

OneGoal

@OneGoalUS

Christian Pulisic (22) on his last few games “I had a very tough couple of months coming back and forth from injuries. In the last couple of games, I’m starting to feel like myself again and my confidence is getting higher so I’m feeling good.” [CFC]

[NewlyRetired]

I keep forgetting about Joe Scally when thinking of the kids moving to Europe.  He turns 18 tomorrow and will officially join Gladbach.

[NewlyRetired]

I saw an interesting take on Twitter that makes me wonder about 2022.  We are around 2 years from the WC.

Look at how much has changed since 2018ish.

Dest was in the second division in Holland.  Gio and Musah were still in the academy.  Adams and Steffen were in MLS, as well as Richards who was yet to play a minute.  Pulisic and Weston were both with German clubs.  

It makes you wonder how much could be different 2 years from now that would make us rethink things in terms of the lineup?  It feels like the lineup today almost chooses itself when every one is healthy but the likelihood of todays obvious lineup being the same as late 2022's lineup is probably small.

[NewlyRetired]

Seems like a crazy game in Spain for Musah today.  He started the game on the bench.

He came on as a sub in the middle of 3 red cards in a 6 minute time frame.   Valencia lost 2-1 as they gave up a goal when down to 9 men late.  Musah played the last 15 minutes.

[McBokonon]

Yedlin’s in the starting 11 for Newcastle again. He’s looked good recently, hopefully it continues. Helluva thing to basically disappear and then suddenly start against Man City and Liverpool.

[NewlyRetired]

9 minutes ago, McBokonon said:

Yedlin’s in the starting 11 for Newcastle again. He’s looked good recently, hopefully it continues. Helluva thing to basically disappear and then suddenly start against Man City and Liverpool.

has it been injury related that open up the playing time or was the previous RB struggling?

[NewlyRetired]

Damn are we close to stacked at RB (at least relative to our normal depth).  I don't even rate Yedlin that much and the guy has over a 100 games in the EPL...

The most stacked any position I could remember was Friedel, Keller and Meola all playing at the same time together at keeper.  There is a chance RB could surpass this if Reynolds hits.