USMNT Thread Part VIII

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

What kind of response were you expecting when you say that Argentina is looking at him?

Literally just passing information. Imagine I had that reaction any time an argentina player was linked to an MLS team? What I usually do is express my outrage that mls teams can now poach prospects then I weigh my opinion on the player if I have one. What I don’t do is scream there’s no chance he goes every other post.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Until they actual play competitive and win against quality nations, there is really no reason in being hopeful.

 

[bluesfan94]

Until they actual play competitive and win against quality nations, there is really no reason in being hopeful.

I mean, let's start with qualifying for the WC. Beating Costa Rica is a good start at least

 

[bleedblue1223]

I mean, let's start with qualifying for the WC. Beating Costa Rica is a good start at least

Right. We are beaten down so much, where qualifying for the WC is now an accomplishment. I probably should've qualified my statement with quality CONCACAF nations or nations that are more on our level that we think we should be at. That's really what I meant to say.

I'm in no way implying that we shouldn't be hopeful until we are competitive with Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Belgium, Germany, etc. That will almost always be unrealistic.

 

[John Price]

Wahl covered the USWNT and USMNT for many years for SI. Unceremoniously sacked in these times.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Wahl is terrible. A complete hack. I don't wish for people to lose their jobs, so I'm not happy about this, but he doesn't deserve a good reputation. He's notorious for not being too critical because he wants to retain his sources. I could understand that if you are Adam Schefter, but he doesn't even report that much news. He's a shill for certain soccer establishments in this country.

 

[kingsboy11]

He won't be unemployed for very long. Can easily see the Athletic or ESPN picking him up quickly.

 

[John Price]

Wahl is terrible. A complete hack. I don't wish for people to lose their jobs, so I'm not happy about this, but he doesn't deserve a good reputation. He's notorious for not being too critical because he wants to retain his sources. I could understand that if you are Adam Schefter, but he doesn't even report that much news. He's a shill for certain soccer establishments in this country.

Wahl is one of the best soccer reporters in the country. He has a woke reputation of late but still is a great follow on social media.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Wahl is one of the best soccer reporters in the country. He has a woke reputation of late but still is a great follow on social media.

He’s too close with members of the national team. He didn’t want to call out his friends on that team when they didn’t qualify for the World Cup.

This problem isn’t exclusive to him. A lot of media members don’t want to call out their friends, but as a fan, I don’t respect it.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

 

[kingsboy11]

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

I'm not defending the employer. I still don't think he comes off well here, and I don't think he comes off well in general.

 

[HajdukSplit]

Woke Wahl was making 350K and has a wife/partner who is a doctor and CNN correspondent, he will be fine I personally thought he was ok when not reporting on MLS or US soccer which he was a shill of. His segments on FS1s CL coverage was basically a puff piece for MLS

 

[DoyleG]

Wahl is terrible. A complete hack. I don't wish for people to lose their jobs, so I'm not happy about this, but he doesn't deserve a good reputation. He's notorious for not being too critical because he wants to retain his sources. I could understand that if you are Adam Schefter, but he doesn't even report that much news. He's a shill for certain soccer establishments in this country.

Agree. He's been pretty much a soapbox guy for the past several years. He banned me on Twitter because I was "challenging" his intellect on football.

This was all before he began to slag his employer in public about getting a pay cut while still being one of the higher paid writers on staff at SI.

The landscape has changed with not just The Athletic coming in, but the emergence of the SB Nation blogs that cover soccer.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

First assist for Reyna in his first start. Beautiful one touch pass to put Dortmund on the board.

 

[John Price]

 

[kingsboy11]

Probably my favorite soccer memory was watching this game and jumping on top of my dad screaming at the top of our lungs after the goal. I'm not sure there will another moment that will eclipse this for a while.

 

[John Price]

 

[kingsboy11]

Looks pretty close. I think I'd have Carter-Vickers ahead of EPB at the moment. I'd like Weah to be where De la Fuente is, but with his injury issues I agree with it. I'd also swap Mckennie and Adams

 

[ecemleafs]

CB is all potential at this point, but the other positions are filled with guys that actually have proven something and have very high potential. morris is 25 and in a real match hed obviously be in their over de la fuente. weah should be on this list as well over de la fuente.

 

[KingLB]

I actual am not sure if Reyna can play the right, but if so that would open up Aronson or Pomykol play the 10.

I’d also switch Adams and Mckennie.

EPB and Richards both need to find good homes next season.

Sargent needs to take the next step next season or I start getting really worried. Weah as well, though I don’t rate him near as high as others.

 

[bleedblue1223]

CB is a clear weak spot. Finding LB and RB to fit with a lower quality squad has been difficult, so the back 4 in general will continue to be a challenge. Dest still needs a squad around him that allows him to be more attacking, and we don't have that, and we aren't capable of playing that style. Attackers need to be more than just Pulisic and potential or useless vets. We need multiple hits on either a CAM, ST, or other winger.

Steffen needs actual starter minutes somewhere. I'm not thrilled with him at City.

A U-25 squad with a good future should not have as many question marks as we have.

 

[John Price]

 

[bleedblue1223]

I go with neither. In any given year, the top 10 will be comprised of these countries: Brazil, France, Spain, Germany, England, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Argentina, etc. South American countries like Uruguay and Colombia will always be around there, as will some European countries depending on their generations like Belgium, Croatia, Switzerland, etc. Hell, Mexico is significantly ahead of us and they aren't knocking on the door of being a top 10 national team.

Top 10 isn't just about the handful at the top, it's the depth, so if the key players miss time, the squad is still competitive and in some cases, still a top squad.

And we've had players that were capable of playing at big Euro clubs before too. Howard, Donovan, Dempsey, and Bradley all had that ability. I would say Pulisic is on track to be the best out of them too, but we can't really say that about the others just yet. Calling this a golden generation doesn't really understand what a golden generation is. It's not an overwhelming amount of talent and they haven't won at the national level yet.

Sure, the potential is there, but it seems so many media and fans want to just anoint the USMNT and the players and just announce that we have arrived as opposed to actually letting the results speak for themselves.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I see no problem with suggesting we are on track towards becoming top 10 with some consistency. That tweet doesn't say it's going to happen in the next year or two. There really aren't ten countries out there that have better U23 players than we do. Whether that amounts to being top 10 in the world in 5, 10, 15 years is another question.