Late 1980s in SA. Our high school team was really good. Won state my jurnior year. Those guys were as popular as the football team.OregonAggie said:
High school late nineties in the Dallas area. The soccer guys at my high school were involved in pretty much every party in our town so my experience was a little different.
***USMNT 2019***
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Last: 4 yr ago by PatAg
Went to Clear Lake. Honestly I have no idea how our soccer team did. Come to think of it, the locker room and training room had players from every sport but soccer. Never saw them in the training room. Not sure what they even did for injuries.
I liked hanging out with them in study hall because they all played VC (vietnamese poker).
I liked hanging out with them in study hall because they all played VC (vietnamese poker).
7nine
I do love how everyones anecdotal evidence is the reason why our MNT sucks....myself included.
Maybe we should have whomever runs the women's program run the men's?
"Fort Worth where the West begins...and Dallas is where the East peters out!"
Agnzona said:
Maybe we should have whomever runs the women's program run the men's?
No thanks
Unless they know a way to make it to where only 5-6 other countries are good at men's soccer too
Or get as many colleges to offer full scholarships for soccer as the women have.
If the women had a real professional scene to enter into, as the men do, than the college quality would greatly decrease.
I did correctly predict they would try to announce it on the sly, and let the women's team headlines cover it up. Some things never change.
Either way, just get the creative/attacking players on the field in the right spots and things should look a lot better than they did when you are putting defensive players high up field.
Either way, just get the creative/attacking players on the field in the right spots and things should look a lot better than they did when you are putting defensive players high up field.
Man, I saw 20+ new posts and thought you guys had figured out how to fix our men's program.
There are too many problems to count IMO. Starts at the very top. MLS and US Soccer are too intertwined. Berhalter got hired because his brother hired Ernie Stewart. We should have hired Tata. It was a no-brainer.
Berhalter not only has no idea what he's doing, his team selection is baffling. We have so many better players than Areola, Jozy, Bradley, Trapp, Omar Gonzales, Christian Roldan. We have guys playing in European leagues who are better than these guys, but they never get called up.
Berhalter wants to play Adams at right back and have Trapp or Bradley playing DM. That is essentially saying that a guy who is playing well for one of the best teams in the world, a guy who started in the German cup final, is your third best option at his position (defensive midfield), behind two guys who just are not good. This also puts Yedlin (a premier league player) on the bench. It's simply inexplicable.
Then you leave Sargent at home in favor of Zardes and jozy, who are both just not good players. Sargent is scoring goals in the bundesliga. Jozy hasn't scored a meaningful goal for the national team in ten years.
Where are the guys like Fabian Johnson, Alfredo Morales, Lynden Gooch, Haji Wright?
Don't even get me started on his fake tactics. The guy thinks he's Pep. The whole "hybrid" right back role is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Why not just play Adams in the middle? Do you think leaving a huge gap at right back is going to work when you play a team like Germany? Do you really have to have Bradley or Trapp on the pitch?
The whole federation needs change from top to bottom. We're too prideful. We think we can get it done with "our guys" playing in MLS. That is why you see guys like Wil Trapp and Paul areola on the team.
Fire berhalter and start over. Select your best players and don't give preference to MLS players. These things would be a huge step in the right direction.
Berhalter not only has no idea what he's doing, his team selection is baffling. We have so many better players than Areola, Jozy, Bradley, Trapp, Omar Gonzales, Christian Roldan. We have guys playing in European leagues who are better than these guys, but they never get called up.
Berhalter wants to play Adams at right back and have Trapp or Bradley playing DM. That is essentially saying that a guy who is playing well for one of the best teams in the world, a guy who started in the German cup final, is your third best option at his position (defensive midfield), behind two guys who just are not good. This also puts Yedlin (a premier league player) on the bench. It's simply inexplicable.
Then you leave Sargent at home in favor of Zardes and jozy, who are both just not good players. Sargent is scoring goals in the bundesliga. Jozy hasn't scored a meaningful goal for the national team in ten years.
Where are the guys like Fabian Johnson, Alfredo Morales, Lynden Gooch, Haji Wright?
Don't even get me started on his fake tactics. The guy thinks he's Pep. The whole "hybrid" right back role is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Why not just play Adams in the middle? Do you think leaving a huge gap at right back is going to work when you play a team like Germany? Do you really have to have Bradley or Trapp on the pitch?
The whole federation needs change from top to bottom. We're too prideful. We think we can get it done with "our guys" playing in MLS. That is why you see guys like Wil Trapp and Paul areola on the team.
Fire berhalter and start over. Select your best players and don't give preference to MLS players. These things would be a huge step in the right direction.
Well not defending Berhalter, Yedlin is injured.
But berhalter has said even with a healthy Yedlin, Adams is a right back.
mrmill3218 said:
But berhalter has said even with a healthy Yedlin, Adams is a right back.
Yikes.
You're right. He had Yedlin playing midfield.
Not impressed with him not getting the best 11 in the field.
People are criticizing the USWNT for running up the score.
Abby Wambach tweeted that no one would criticize the Men's team for running up the score.
Someone replied that our women's team should have shown mercy to Thailand and started Trapp the second half.
Abby Wambach tweeted that no one would criticize the Men's team for running up the score.
Someone replied that our women's team should have shown mercy to Thailand and started Trapp the second half.
AgGrad99 said:
People are criticizing the USWNT for running up the score.
Abby Wambach tweeted that no one would criticize the Men's team for running up the score.
Someone replied that our women's team should have shown mercy to Thailand and started Trapp the second half.
Why would she think that the me. Would be immune from that particular criticism?
ChipFTAC01 said:AgGrad99 said:
People are criticizing the USWNT for running up the score.
Abby Wambach tweeted that no one would criticize the Men's team for running up the score.
Someone replied that our women's team should have shown mercy to Thailand and started Trapp the second half.
Why would she think that the me. Would be immune from that particular criticism?
A. Anyone who criticizes them doesn't understand tournament play.
B. The men would have the same criticism by the same ignorant people.
C. Will Trapp would've given up 3 goals alone.
Yeah...she's making a really dumb claim.
I just thought the Trapp suggestion was hilarious
I just thought the Trapp suggestion was hilarious
AgGrad99 said:
Yeah...she's making a really dumb claim.
I just thought the Trapp suggestion was hilarious
I agree 100%.
Did anyone criticize Norway for scoring 12 in the u20 World Cup?
No. Because they were trying to advance.
No. Because they were trying to advance.
In other news, my daughter's team my wife and I coach got chosen to be player escorts for team entrances for both games in the Gold Cup Tuesday here at Allianz Field. No guarantee she'll be with a US player but still cool as hell. She was totally geeked out when we told her today.
Congrats!
Sargent scored 2 goals in December and hasn't scored since. Regardless of what people may think, Jozy is still the best goalscorer on the team outside of possibly Pulisic at the moment. He lead the team in goal scoring during the last WC cycle, scored a fantastic goal in the last Gold Cup final and is 3rd all time in US scoring. I absolutely want Sargent to step up and take the mantle, but he is still only 19 and raw. I do think he should be on the roster ahead of Zardes.Quote:
Then you leave Sargent at home in favor of Zardes and jozy, who are both just not good players. Sargent is scoring goals in the bundesliga. Jozy hasn't scored a meaningful goal for the national team in ten years.
Where are the guys like Fabian Johnson, Alfredo Morales, Lynden Gooch, Haji Wright?
Fabian Johnson is 31, played 7 games this past season with Borussia M. and is pretty much done at the international level.
Alfredo Morales is 29 and barely playing for his club
Would have loved to see Gooch called up and I hope he can make a move up the English ladder because Sunderland/League One isn't going to cut it.
Wright is in the same boat as Sargent where he is trying to break through into the first team at Stuttgart. He also only played a few games and scored once.
Regarding the women, the criticism is for veterans doing elaborate celebrations going up 9-0, 11-0, and so on. Not for running the score up. It's a pretty standard thing to try to frame the argument in a way that makes you not look as bad, though.
The men would get LIT UP if they pulled this crap.
The men would get LIT UP if they pulled this crap.
Damn, next week is too far. Even with Adams gone, we should expect a significant increase in play with the players being injected into the lineup. I would also expect the level of play to increase each game leading up to the final (which we should still be expecting to make imo). As the players keep getting experience playing in, and practicing within the system.
PatAg said:
Damn, next week is too far.
Considering how crappy we've looked, next week is too soon to me. This team needs months of practice!!!
wangus12 said:Sargent scored 2 goals in December and hasn't scored since. Regardless of what people may think, Jozy is still the best goalscorer on the team outside of possibly Pulisic at the moment. He lead the team in goal scoring during the last WC cycle, scored a fantastic goal in the last Gold Cup final and is 3rd all time in US scoring. I absolutely want Sargent to step up and take the mantle, but he is still only 19 and raw. I do think he should be on the roster ahead of Zardes.Quote:
Then you leave Sargent at home in favor of Zardes and jozy, who are both just not good players. Sargent is scoring goals in the bundesliga. Jozy hasn't scored a meaningful goal for the national team in ten years.
Where are the guys like Fabian Johnson, Alfredo Morales, Lynden Gooch, Haji Wright?
Fabian Johnson is 31, played 7 games this past season with Borussia M. and is pretty much done at the international level.
Alfredo Morales is 29 and barely playing for his club
Would have loved to see Gooch called up and I hope he can make a move up the English ladder because Sunderland/League One isn't going to cut it.
Wright is in the same boat as Sargent where he is trying to break through into the first team at Stuttgart. He also only played a few games and scored once.
So Fabian Johnson is too old at 31 and is "pretty much done at the international level" while Michael Bradley is 31 and still a cornerstone for the team, even though he hasn't been good since the 2010 World Cup? Also, Fabian had 15 appearances and 9 starts.
Alfredo Morales playing in the Bundesliga and two years younger isn't a better option than Bradley or Wil Trapp? Morales played consistently and had a good season.
League One doesn't cut it but okay MLS players do?
Give me guys playing in Europe any day over these MLS players. I thin it says a lot if you're playing in Europe.
What's not going to cut it is guys like Omar Gonzales, Nick Lima, Aaron Long, Daniel Lovitz, Walker Zimmerman, Michael Bradley, Christian Roldan, Wil Trapp, Jozy Altidore, Paul Arriola, Jonathan Lewis, Jordan Morris, and Gyasi Zardes. Surely we have been players than this, right? None of those guys are good.
mrmill3218 said:wangus12 said:Sargent scored 2 goals in December and hasn't scored since. Regardless of what people may think, Jozy is still the best goalscorer on the team outside of possibly Pulisic at the moment. He lead the team in goal scoring during the last WC cycle, scored a fantastic goal in the last Gold Cup final and is 3rd all time in US scoring. I absolutely want Sargent to step up and take the mantle, but he is still only 19 and raw. I do think he should be on the roster ahead of Zardes.Quote:
Then you leave Sargent at home in favor of Zardes and jozy, who are both just not good players. Sargent is scoring goals in the bundesliga. Jozy hasn't scored a meaningful goal for the national team in ten years.
Where are the guys like Fabian Johnson, Alfredo Morales, Lynden Gooch, Haji Wright?
Fabian Johnson is 31, played 7 games this past season with Borussia M. and is pretty much done at the international level.
Alfredo Morales is 29 and barely playing for his club
Would have loved to see Gooch called up and I hope he can make a move up the English ladder because Sunderland/League One isn't going to cut it.
Wright is in the same boat as Sargent where he is trying to break through into the first team at Stuttgart. He also only played a few games and scored once.
So Fabian Johnson is too old at 31 and is "pretty much done at the international level" while Michael Bradley is 31 and still a cornerstone for the team, even though he hasn't been good since the 2010 World Cup? Also, Fabian had 15 appearances and 9 starts.
Alfredo Morales playing in the Bundesliga and two years younger isn't a better option than Bradley or Wil Trapp? Morales played consistently and had a good season.
League One doesn't cut it but okay MLS players do?
Give me guys playing in Europe any day over these MLS players. I thin it says a lot if you're playing in Europe.
What's not going to cut it is guys like Omar Gonzales, Nick Lima, Aaron Long, Daniel Lovitz, Walker Zimmerman, Michael Bradley, Christian Roldan, Wil Trapp, Jozy Altidore, Paul Arriola, Jonathan Lewis, Jordan Morris, and Gyasi Zardes. Surely we have been players than this, right? None of those guys are good.
Wangus brings up good points and you just mow through them because you think every European based player deserves to play over the MLS guys. That just simply isn't the case. You actually tried to make a case for Haji Wright. HAJI WRIGHT hahahaha. Okie dokie.
This still goes back to our issue with the 4-6 years of poor development. I don't think Berhalter is a great coach but he's also been dealt a pretty bad hand. We have old guys like Jozy/Bradley/Gonzales/Johnson, young and very unproven guys like Sargent/Weah/Gooch/Wright, then a group between the ages of 23-28 that give us no one or at least no stars. The 23-28 age group should be the nucleus of our team.
Morales' playing time dropped significantly in the 2nd half of the bundesliga season and is he really better than Bradley? Adams is the answer there but coach wants to play him out of position so that doesn't even matter.
I have no problem with someone calling out Trapp because he's ass my dude but Arriola on the other hand is a decent player at a position of weakness for us - winger. He's also still young.
Also, if you pay attention you'd know that Johnson was public in saying he was probably going to retire after the 2018 internationally because he's so injury prone and Berhalter did meet with him earlier this year to discuss coming back. Him not being on the roster is probably a sign that maybe just maybe the player didn't want to take part.
I think you're right about the 4-6 years of poor development.OregonAggie said:mrmill3218 said:wangus12 said:Sargent scored 2 goals in December and hasn't scored since. Regardless of what people may think, Jozy is still the best goalscorer on the team outside of possibly Pulisic at the moment. He lead the team in goal scoring during the last WC cycle, scored a fantastic goal in the last Gold Cup final and is 3rd all time in US scoring. I absolutely want Sargent to step up and take the mantle, but he is still only 19 and raw. I do think he should be on the roster ahead of Zardes.Quote:
Then you leave Sargent at home in favor of Zardes and jozy, who are both just not good players. Sargent is scoring goals in the bundesliga. Jozy hasn't scored a meaningful goal for the national team in ten years.
Where are the guys like Fabian Johnson, Alfredo Morales, Lynden Gooch, Haji Wright?
Fabian Johnson is 31, played 7 games this past season with Borussia M. and is pretty much done at the international level.
Alfredo Morales is 29 and barely playing for his club
Would have loved to see Gooch called up and I hope he can make a move up the English ladder because Sunderland/League One isn't going to cut it.
Wright is in the same boat as Sargent where he is trying to break through into the first team at Stuttgart. He also only played a few games and scored once.
So Fabian Johnson is too old at 31 and is "pretty much done at the international level" while Michael Bradley is 31 and still a cornerstone for the team, even though he hasn't been good since the 2010 World Cup? Also, Fabian had 15 appearances and 9 starts.
Alfredo Morales playing in the Bundesliga and two years younger isn't a better option than Bradley or Wil Trapp? Morales played consistently and had a good season.
League One doesn't cut it but okay MLS players do?
Give me guys playing in Europe any day over these MLS players. I thin it says a lot if you're playing in Europe.
What's not going to cut it is guys like Omar Gonzales, Nick Lima, Aaron Long, Daniel Lovitz, Walker Zimmerman, Michael Bradley, Christian Roldan, Wil Trapp, Jozy Altidore, Paul Arriola, Jonathan Lewis, Jordan Morris, and Gyasi Zardes. Surely we have been players than this, right? None of those guys are good.
Wangus brings up good points and you just mow through them because you think every European based player deserves to play over the MLS guys. That just simply isn't the case. You actually tried to make a case for Haji Wright. HAJI WRIGHT hahahaha. Okie dokie.
This still goes back to our issue with the 4-6 years of poor development. I don't think Berhalter is a great coach but he's also been dealt a pretty bad hand. We have old guys like Jozy/Bradley/Gonzales/Johnson, young and very unproven guys like Sargent/Weah/Gooch/Wright, then a group between the ages of 23-28 that give us no one or at least no stars. The 23-28 age group should be the nucleus of our team.
Morales' playing time dropped significantly in the 2nd half of the bundesliga season and is he really better than Bradley? Adams is the answer there but coach wants to play him out of position so that doesn't even matter.
I have no problem with someone calling out Trapp because he's ass my dude but Arriola on the other hand is a decent player at a position of weakness for us - winger. He's also still young.
Also, if you pay attention you'd know that Johnson was public in saying he was probably going to retire after the 2018 internationally because he's so injury prone and Berhalter did meet with him earlier this year to discuss coming back. Him not being on the roster is probably a sign that maybe just maybe the player didn't want to take part.
Morales is absolutely better than Bradley. There is no one outside of the US (and not many people in it for that matter) that would say Bradley is better. Morales had a good season for a mid-table Bundesliga team. Bradley plays for Toronto FC. Do you think Bradley would be successful for a mid-table Bundesliga team? He wouldn't touch the pitch.
Glad we agree on Trapp, but I don't know how you can honestly say Arriola is a decent player. We have WAY better wingers available.
I will admit that I didn't know Berhalter and Johnson met but I am glad to hear they did.
And I just think that if you're playing in Europe that says something and should be taken into consideration. I think Berhalter shows preference to MLS players for some reason, and I think that's whack. Wil Trapp gets chance after chance. And Omar Gonzales being included is laughable.
Germany tells 29 year old Thomas Muller (an amazing player!) that he will no longer be selected. We continue to select old failures like Michael Bradley, etc.
My starting XI would be:
Horvarth
Fabian Johnson
John Brooks
Matt Miazga
Deandre Yedlin
Tyler Adams
Weston McKennie
Duane Holmes
Timothy Weah
Christian Pulisic
Josh Sargent
Youth and talent. Something to build on. I know some of these guys are injured, but there's just no excuse for some of Berhalter's selections.
mrmill3218 said:I think you're right about the 4-6 years of poor development.OregonAggie said:mrmill3218 said:wangus12 said:Sargent scored 2 goals in December and hasn't scored since. Regardless of what people may think, Jozy is still the best goalscorer on the team outside of possibly Pulisic at the moment. He lead the team in goal scoring during the last WC cycle, scored a fantastic goal in the last Gold Cup final and is 3rd all time in US scoring. I absolutely want Sargent to step up and take the mantle, but he is still only 19 and raw. I do think he should be on the roster ahead of Zardes.Quote:
Then you leave Sargent at home in favor of Zardes and jozy, who are both just not good players. Sargent is scoring goals in the bundesliga. Jozy hasn't scored a meaningful goal for the national team in ten years.
Where are the guys like Fabian Johnson, Alfredo Morales, Lynden Gooch, Haji Wright?
Fabian Johnson is 31, played 7 games this past season with Borussia M. and is pretty much done at the international level.
Alfredo Morales is 29 and barely playing for his club
Would have loved to see Gooch called up and I hope he can make a move up the English ladder because Sunderland/League One isn't going to cut it.
Wright is in the same boat as Sargent where he is trying to break through into the first team at Stuttgart. He also only played a few games and scored once.
So Fabian Johnson is too old at 31 and is "pretty much done at the international level" while Michael Bradley is 31 and still a cornerstone for the team, even though he hasn't been good since the 2010 World Cup? Also, Fabian had 15 appearances and 9 starts.
Alfredo Morales playing in the Bundesliga and two years younger isn't a better option than Bradley or Wil Trapp? Morales played consistently and had a good season.
League One doesn't cut it but okay MLS players do?
Give me guys playing in Europe any day over these MLS players. I thin it says a lot if you're playing in Europe.
What's not going to cut it is guys like Omar Gonzales, Nick Lima, Aaron Long, Daniel Lovitz, Walker Zimmerman, Michael Bradley, Christian Roldan, Wil Trapp, Jozy Altidore, Paul Arriola, Jonathan Lewis, Jordan Morris, and Gyasi Zardes. Surely we have been players than this, right? None of those guys are good.
Wangus brings up good points and you just mow through them because you think every European based player deserves to play over the MLS guys. That just simply isn't the case. You actually tried to make a case for Haji Wright. HAJI WRIGHT hahahaha. Okie dokie.
This still goes back to our issue with the 4-6 years of poor development. I don't think Berhalter is a great coach but he's also been dealt a pretty bad hand. We have old guys like Jozy/Bradley/Gonzales/Johnson, young and very unproven guys like Sargent/Weah/Gooch/Wright, then a group between the ages of 23-28 that give us no one or at least no stars. The 23-28 age group should be the nucleus of our team.
Morales' playing time dropped significantly in the 2nd half of the bundesliga season and is he really better than Bradley? Adams is the answer there but coach wants to play him out of position so that doesn't even matter.
I have no problem with someone calling out Trapp because he's ass my dude but Arriola on the other hand is a decent player at a position of weakness for us - winger. He's also still young.
Also, if you pay attention you'd know that Johnson was public in saying he was probably going to retire after the 2018 internationally because he's so injury prone and Berhalter did meet with him earlier this year to discuss coming back. Him not being on the roster is probably a sign that maybe just maybe the player didn't want to take part.
Morales is absolutely better than Bradley. There is no one outside of the US (and not many people in it for that matter) that would say Bradley is better. Morales had a good season for a mid-table Bundesliga team. Bradley plays for Toronto FC. Do you think Bradley would be successful for a mid-table Bundesliga team? He wouldn't touch the pitch.
Glad we agree on Trapp, but I don't know how you can honestly say Arriola is a decent player. We have WAY better wingers available.
I will admit that I didn't know Berhalter and Johnson met but I am glad to hear they did.
And I just think that if you're playing in Europe that says something and should be taken into consideration. I think Berhalter shows preference to MLS players for some reason, and I think that's whack. Wil Trapp gets chance after chance. And Omar Gonzales being included is laughable.
Germany tells 29 year old Thomas Muller (an amazing player!) that he will no longer be selected. We continue to select old failures like Michael Bradley, etc.
My starting XI would be:
Horvarth
Fabian Johnson
John Brooks
Matt Miazga
Deandre Yedlin
Tyler Adams
Weston McKennie
Duane Holmes
Timothy Weah
Christian Pulisic
Josh Sargent
Youth and talent. Something to build on. I know some of these guys are injured, but there's just no excuse for some of Berhalter's selections.
I will admit that I've only seen Morales play a couple times and he didn't stand out. I will also say that I put an onus on playing consistently but there does have to be a balance. Pulisic wasn't a consistent starter for Dortmund but he's clearly better than any player in the MLS that starts every game. He should definitely be there instead of Trapp...
With regards to the lineup you put out, I agree with most of it but Sargent isn't as good as Altidore right now. He will be in my opinion but he isn't now and we have a tournament to win, albeit a tournament that doesn't really mean much in the grand scheme. Weah isn't deserving of being there. He struggled for minutes at Celtic and was good but not great at the U20 World Cup. That's a kid that needs to find playing time at a club at whatever level but he's not a starter for us. Half the other guys are hurt as you mentioned. What you laid out is quite possibly our starting lineup world 2022 but the kids have to get there.
I like Miazga, Brooks, and Yedlin. I'm hoping that Dest or Gloster put together a great 2019-2020 and push for minutes at their club because we need a right back desperately.
Also, we'll disagree on Areiola and that's fine. He's not great by any stretch of the word but I think he's good on the ball and works hard. He wouldn't be in the mix if we had more depth or if the kids you've mentioned were more developed. I see him as a backup at the 2022 WC.
Also, comparing Muller and Germany with us isn't quite the same. Muller would be a starter on this team and Germany damn well has plenty of options all over the field where we don't.
OregonAggie said:mrmill3218 said:I think you're right about the 4-6 years of poor development.OregonAggie said:mrmill3218 said:wangus12 said:Sargent scored 2 goals in December and hasn't scored since. Regardless of what people may think, Jozy is still the best goalscorer on the team outside of possibly Pulisic at the moment. He lead the team in goal scoring during the last WC cycle, scored a fantastic goal in the last Gold Cup final and is 3rd all time in US scoring. I absolutely want Sargent to step up and take the mantle, but he is still only 19 and raw. I do think he should be on the roster ahead of Zardes.Quote:
Then you leave Sargent at home in favor of Zardes and jozy, who are both just not good players. Sargent is scoring goals in the bundesliga. Jozy hasn't scored a meaningful goal for the national team in ten years.
Where are the guys like Fabian Johnson, Alfredo Morales, Lynden Gooch, Haji Wright?
Fabian Johnson is 31, played 7 games this past season with Borussia M. and is pretty much done at the international level.
Alfredo Morales is 29 and barely playing for his club
Would have loved to see Gooch called up and I hope he can make a move up the English ladder because Sunderland/League One isn't going to cut it.
Wright is in the same boat as Sargent where he is trying to break through into the first team at Stuttgart. He also only played a few games and scored once.
So Fabian Johnson is too old at 31 and is "pretty much done at the international level" while Michael Bradley is 31 and still a cornerstone for the team, even though he hasn't been good since the 2010 World Cup? Also, Fabian had 15 appearances and 9 starts.
Alfredo Morales playing in the Bundesliga and two years younger isn't a better option than Bradley or Wil Trapp? Morales played consistently and had a good season.
League One doesn't cut it but okay MLS players do?
Give me guys playing in Europe any day over these MLS players. I thin it says a lot if you're playing in Europe.
What's not going to cut it is guys like Omar Gonzales, Nick Lima, Aaron Long, Daniel Lovitz, Walker Zimmerman, Michael Bradley, Christian Roldan, Wil Trapp, Jozy Altidore, Paul Arriola, Jonathan Lewis, Jordan Morris, and Gyasi Zardes. Surely we have been players than this, right? None of those guys are good.
Wangus brings up good points and you just mow through them because you think every European based player deserves to play over the MLS guys. That just simply isn't the case. You actually tried to make a case for Haji Wright. HAJI WRIGHT hahahaha. Okie dokie.
This still goes back to our issue with the 4-6 years of poor development. I don't think Berhalter is a great coach but he's also been dealt a pretty bad hand. We have old guys like Jozy/Bradley/Gonzales/Johnson, young and very unproven guys like Sargent/Weah/Gooch/Wright, then a group between the ages of 23-28 that give us no one or at least no stars. The 23-28 age group should be the nucleus of our team.
Morales' playing time dropped significantly in the 2nd half of the bundesliga season and is he really better than Bradley? Adams is the answer there but coach wants to play him out of position so that doesn't even matter.
I have no problem with someone calling out Trapp because he's ass my dude but Arriola on the other hand is a decent player at a position of weakness for us - winger. He's also still young.
Also, if you pay attention you'd know that Johnson was public in saying he was probably going to retire after the 2018 internationally because he's so injury prone and Berhalter did meet with him earlier this year to discuss coming back. Him not being on the roster is probably a sign that maybe just maybe the player didn't want to take part.
Morales is absolutely better than Bradley. There is no one outside of the US (and not many people in it for that matter) that would say Bradley is better. Morales had a good season for a mid-table Bundesliga team. Bradley plays for Toronto FC. Do you think Bradley would be successful for a mid-table Bundesliga team? He wouldn't touch the pitch.
Glad we agree on Trapp, but I don't know how you can honestly say Arriola is a decent player. We have WAY better wingers available.
I will admit that I didn't know Berhalter and Johnson met but I am glad to hear they did.
And I just think that if you're playing in Europe that says something and should be taken into consideration. I think Berhalter shows preference to MLS players for some reason, and I think that's whack. Wil Trapp gets chance after chance. And Omar Gonzales being included is laughable.
Germany tells 29 year old Thomas Muller (an amazing player!) that he will no longer be selected. We continue to select old failures like Michael Bradley, etc.
My starting XI would be:
Horvarth
Fabian Johnson
John Brooks
Matt Miazga
Deandre Yedlin
Tyler Adams
Weston McKennie
Duane Holmes
Timothy Weah
Christian Pulisic
Josh Sargent
Youth and talent. Something to build on. I know some of these guys are injured, but there's just no excuse for some of Berhalter's selections.
I will admit that I've only seen Morales play a couple times and he didn't stand out. I will also say that I put an onus on playing consistently but there does have to be a balance. Pulisic wasn't a consistent starter for Dortmund but he's clearly better than any player in the MLS that starts every game. He should definitely be there instead of Trapp...
With regards to the lineup you put out, I agree with most of it but Sargent isn't as good as Altidore right now. He will be in my opinion but he isn't now and we have a tournament to win, albeit a tournament that doesn't really mean much in the grand scheme. Weah isn't deserving of being there. He struggled for minutes at Celtic and was good but not great at the U20 World Cup. That's a kid that needs to find playing time at a club at whatever level but he's not a starter for us. Half the other guys are hurt as you mentioned. What you laid out is quite possibly our starting lineup world 2022 but the kids have to get there.
I like Miazga, Brooks, and Yedlin. I'm hoping that Dest or Gloster put together a great 2019-2020 and push for minutes at their club because we need a right back desperately.
Also, we'll disagree on Areiola and that's fine. He's not great by any stretch of the word but I think he's good on the ball and works hard. He wouldn't be in the mix if we had more depth or if the kids you've mentioned were more developed. I see him as a backup at the 2022 WC.
Also, comparing Muller and Germany with us isn't quite the same. Muller would be a starter on this team and Germany damn well has plenty of options all over the field where we don't.
Dest and Gloster both looked really good with the U20s.
The only good thing I've seen Arriola do is work hard, so we will have to agree to disagree.
I realize it's not completely apples to apples. I more was just trying to emphasize the overall difference in the way things are done and the spirit of the federations. Muller was a player who helped them win the WC, a player who is still very good. And they're showing him the door. We, however, have a guy like Michael Bradley, who really hasn't been good since the 2010 WC, who led the team to a fifth place finish in the hex to miss the WC. This guy we are still welcoming back with open arms, making him a starter, and probably making him the skipper. It just doesn't make sense. Obviously I realize that we don't have the talent Germany has, but I think this really speaks volumes about the way we do things compared to the best teams in the world.
Did we win the the Gold Cup in '15 with our B team and '17 with our A/B team? And we're goung to struggle winning this one with our A team?
They should not be playing anyone that won't be in their prime in 2022 and/or 2026.
They should not be playing anyone that won't be in their prime in 2022 and/or 2026.
I Am Mine said:
Did we win the the Gold Cup in '15 with our B team and '17 with our A/B team? And we're goung to struggle winning this one with our A team?
They should not be playing anyone that won't be in their prime in 2022 and/or 2026.
Agree profoundly.
Time to move on from a lot of these guys and turn over a new leaf.
Agree, we're also seeing what happens when we don't have all world keepers either....
Howard and Kelley, and Freidel we're clutch to our WC runs and CONCACAF runs since he 90s. We no longer have a starting keeping in the EPL and it shows
Howard and Kelley, and Freidel we're clutch to our WC runs and CONCACAF runs since he 90s. We no longer have a starting keeping in the EPL and it shows
Germany is starting grandpa Marco Reus (aged 30) during this qualification cycle so age isn't a factor... perhaps it has more to do with him having nearly triple the Bundesliga goals as Muller (17 vs 6), and Timo Werner being right behind at 16.
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