USMNT Thread Part VIII

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Yeah I mean it seems unlikely as they've never shown an interest in him but I feel like if they came calling he'd probably switch.

They have shown interest at youth level.

 

[Viqsi]

They are out for club purposes, wish he would stop favoring the Columbus guys that are poor international quality... I mean Bradley is fading hard at this point, I do think he is on his way out of the picture we will see, but that seems more club related.

We will see, I am pretty meh on Berhalter already. I feel like that is a bit harsh, but if your system needs Zardes and Trapp to run, well your system isn't super impressive for me. I get that Adams will help his vision, but that is because he has international quality. I know our pool isn't where we want it to be but man I don't think much when looking at our options lately, love a couple of the young pieces but we need more depth and talent badly in my opinion.

I think of it less as it "needs those guys" and more "those guys already know it so he can focus on getting everyone else in and on board".

That and I find myself reflexively defensive over 'em because of the anti-MLS attitude among a lot of USMNT fans in general. Which I think is horribly, terrifyingly shortsighted - sure, it's not anywhere near where we want it to be yet, but ultimately we need a viable quality domestic league or else nobody worthwhile will want to play and consequentially the national team will never amount to a damn thing. (Which is why I hated Klinsmann with all the fury of a supernova and was celebrating when he got himself kicked to the curb, but I'm already going off on a tangent... ).

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I think of it less as it "needs those guys" and more "those guys already know it so he can focus on getting everyone else in and on board".

That and I find myself reflexively defensive over 'em because of the anti-MLS attitude among a lot of USMNT fans in general. Which I think is horribly, terrifyingly shortsighted - sure, it's not anywhere near where we want it to be yet, but ultimately we need a viable quality domestic league or else nobody worthwhile will want to play and consequentially the national team will never amount to a damn thing. (Which is why I hated Klinsmann with all the fury of a supernova and was celebrating when he got himself kicked to the curb, but I'm already going off on a tangent... ).

I am not complaining about Long or MLS type guys. What bothers me about Trapp and Zardes are the gaps in their game that I personally don't see as international quality as a result. I think they are included because they know the system already. That isn't to me how a national team should be selected. You are full on admitting you need to teach 20 other guys your system, so find two more talented players and continue.

Not everyone is better just by playing in Europe, though there remains some technical difference between that and a lot of our guys. Just there is a reason all we ever talk about with Trapp and Zardes are work rate and work rate and work rate. Because well skill isn't something either guy is dripping in. While that was a hallmark of some of our guys over the years and I would argue we would have been in Russia with guys that just worked hard and wore teams down that isn't really vision he is pitching either. So I am not enamored with them as favorites, you want them on the bench running drills as your low 20's option or not dressing come game night have at it. But these guys are freaking starting at times and wear captains arm bands in a few games, that is a hard no for me.

 

[Vip]

Whatever happened to Yedlin?

 

[Gecklund]

Whatever happened to Yedlin?

Doesn’t really fit Berhalter’s system as a RB and probably isn’t good enough offensively as a RW.

 

[kingsboy11]

Whatever happened to Yedlin?

Doesn’t really fit Berhalter’s system as a RB and probably isn’t good enough offensively as a RW.

Not only this, but he's been injured most of 2019 with a groin issue I think. But even when he's healthy I do agree I'm not sure he fits the system Berhalter wants to run.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He’s still injured. I agree that he doesn’t fit the system, but he’s still a useful player. We don’t have 23 players good enough yet to keep him off the NT. We can easily make room for him on a roster by shifting Adams and Dest to positions other than RB. Adams is also injured. They are all better than Lima, who is a nice depth fullback, but should not be seeing significant time at the position.

 

[Gecklund]

He’s still injured. I agree that he doesn’t fit the system, but he’s still a useful player. We don’t have 23 players good enough yet to keep him off the NT. We can easily make room for him on a roster by shifting Adams and Dest to positions other than RB. Adams is also injured. They are all better than Lima, who is a nice depth fullback, but should not be seeing significant time at the position.

I agree Lima shouldn’t be seeing significant time but he should definitely be seeing more time than Yedlin in this system.

 

[N o o d l e s]

Josh Sargent's Ridiculous Goal

 

[Vip]

Him, McKennie, Pulisic are definitely the future of our team as it stands right now.

 

[Gecklund]

Him, McKennie, Pulisic are definitely the future of our team as it stands right now.

It’s sad because those three are definitely great pieces but I don’t think we have the pieces to surround them with to compete with the best.

 

[YNWA14]

They have shown interest at youth level.

This is Dest's quote:

Sergino Dest on choosing between representing USA or Netherlands: "I haven't made a decision yet. I'll make it eventually, but the Dutch FA have yet to contact me, so we'll see. Its nice to have options."

Him being non-committal makes to seem like he's fine playing for the US but if the Netherlands make the offer he'll probably go there. Personally I don't really care as I don't see him as a top, top talent and we have plenty of fullbacks of his quality already whereas the US could use him a lot more. That said I do have a little issue with players choosing to represent other national teams when they've done all their training and lived in another country since birth (IIRC). If the Netherlands never makes an offer though I have no problem with it (I blame the KNVB for Ziyech also, because he clearly wanted to play for the Netherlands).

 

[bleedblue1223]

It’s sad because those three are definitely great pieces but I don’t think we have the pieces to surround them with to compete with the best.

If those are the 3 best pieces, then we won't have good enough high-end talent to compete with the best.

 

[Basement Cat]

Him, McKennie, Pulisic are definitely the future of our team as it stands right now.

How quickly people forget Tyler Adams. Potentially the best of the bunch outside of Puli.

 

[bleedblue1223]

How quickly people forget Tyler Adams. Potentially the best of the bunch outside of Puli.

People don't forget, and he's a good player, but we really overrate the talent of the quality players that we do have.

How much better will Pulisic actually be than Donovan or Dempsey?

Adams and McKennie compared to a prime Bradley and Jones?

Heck, even having a striker produce better than Altidore is easier said than done, and I rate Altidore pretty low.

 

[Basement Cat]

People don't forget, and he's a good player, but we really overrate the talent of the quality players that we do have.

Right and I am comparing him to the talent that we have. I think he has much more promise (i.e. ceiling) than Weston and Sargent do. His form last season btwn RBNY and RBL once he got going is better than either of those two have shown thus far.

 

[bleedblue1223]

McKennie has shown more at Schalke IMO, but those are probably my 2 and 3 behind Pulisic, it's close.

 

[YNWA14]

I'd be interested to see a neutral party's opinion on Pulisic vs. Davies vs. David. I do agree that North Americans in general, so starved for real stars in football, tend to overrate or get overexcited about any talent that does come through.

There are a few young guys in my hometown going pro right now (15 and 16 years old) that I wonder if they won't make a move to Europe when they're a little older similar to Jonathan David (sorry, this is off topic), but maybe they're just overhyped because of where we are.

 

[John Price]

 

[bleedblue1223]

Just saw an article on ESPN about Dest potentially being the next big thing in US Soccer, but even if he's not, he's proof of progress. No, no it's not. US Soccer and its infrastructure played as minimal a part as possible in his development. If Dest plays for the US and he is the next big star, all it shows is that we better hope for American soldiers to have children in Europe and stay in Europe and hope their kids develop into world class athletes where they can develop in top programs.

It's that same pat ourselves on the back mentality that resulted in 2018 WC failure.

 

[John Price]

Just saw an article on ESPN about Dest potentially being the next big thing in US Soccer, but even if he's not, he's proof of progress. No, no it's not. US Soccer and its infrastructure played as minimal a part as possible in his development. If Dest plays for the US and he is the next big star, all it shows is that we better hope for American soldiers to have children in Europe and stay in Europe and hope their kids develop into world class athletes where they can develop in top programs.

It's that same pat ourselves on the back mentality that resulted in 2018 WC failure.

link

would like to do some research into him

 

[bleedblue1223]

link

would like to do some research into him

https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-...hing-but-even-if-hes-nothes-proof-of-progress

 

[Vip]

Just saw an article on ESPN about Dest potentially being the next big thing in US Soccer, but even if he's not, he's proof of progress. No, no it's not. US Soccer and its infrastructure played as minimal a part as possible in his development. If Dest plays for the US and he is the next big star, all it shows is that we better hope for American soldiers to have children in Europe and stay in Europe and hope their kids develop into world class athletes where they can develop in top programs.

It's that same pat ourselves on the back mentality that resulted in 2018 WC failure.

Isn't this the same case with all of the Ameri-Germans we got during the Klinsmann era?

 

[Vip]

How quickly people forget Tyler Adams. Potentially the best of the bunch outside of Puli.

You must obviously be a Red Bull fan. I do forget about him but I don't mean it out of disrespect. I just havent seen or heard much about him to make an opinion honestly. Glad to hear that he's doing well though.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Isn't this the same case with all of the Ameri-Germans we got during the Klinsmann era?

Yeah, the difference is he's represented the US on the youth levels, most of the Germans did not. I don't agree with the Wambach position that those players shouldn't be included, we just shouldn't act like "we" developed him.