Here’s the counter to that: “you only play well when being sung to” is more of the issue.
USMNT Talk
- Thread starter MyBoyVilla
- Start date
It wasn't the score. The team had no energy from the first minute. You were there. The crowd was amped at the start of the game. It was much more dynamic than I've ever felt at Yankee Stadium. The team came out flat anyway. Their only chance was on what should have been a penalty but wasn't called, but it was not like they were controlling the game to that point. After CR's first goal I thought the crowd tried to add some energy and the team did not respond. Same at the start of the second half.
Bottom line, if the team fought and just couldn't convert chances and the crowd goes silent because of the score, that's on the crowd. This was not that. This was on the team. You can expect a crowd to cheer and sing when losing, but not when the team looks like it just flew 18 hours and can barely stumble around.
None of them, literally none of them.
Even with a pro foreign player selection bias, a coach still plays the best team he has available. If any of the native born American players were good enough they would have been on the team.
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/u-s--...due-to--lost-generation-205243565-soccer.html 2014
https://www.socceramerica.com/publi...23s-another-lost-generation-probably-not.html 2016
There was simply a generation of players, who are now between the ages of 22-30 who simply weren't good enough.
Here's what I think happened, the Bradly and Donovan generation was actually a golden generation for the US. They came out and played genuinely high level soccer coming from a basically non existent development system, or a system that was at best pay to play and of much lower quality than overseas.
The current crop of players in their prime are basically the average high end of what that shitshow of a youth development system is capable of producing. And now with a lot of the 16-18 year old we are seeing what happens when the USSF manages to get professional clubs to institute a European style development system; lots of good players and a few great ones.
The 2018 World Cup cycle will probably be the USMNT's most talent deprived for the foreseeable and unforeseeable future. That's simply due to the fact that we are transitioning between a probable golden generation and the systematized development plan of the future.
The whole conversation about the energy in the stadium is completely reactionary. Team plays like crap at RBA fans get quiet and all of a sudden it's not a good place to play. Now the team goes to Orlando blows out Panama, gives the fans a ton the cheer about and Orlando is an amazing venue. I'd be willing to bet you swap the performances and the fan reaction is about the same regardless of location.
They need to figure out drainage on that field in Orlando, it looks super soggy at all times. Also someone threw a beer a Jozy after the PK so it wasn't an all USA crowd, although based on how the Orlando fans behave when NYCFC plays there maybe that's how they celebrate.
They need to figure out drainage on that field in Orlando, it looks super soggy at all times. Also someone threw a beer a Jozy after the PK so it wasn't an all USA crowd, although based on how the Orlando fans behave when NYCFC plays there maybe that's how they celebrate.
I just don’t see a European style development system. There are still pay-to-play (some) and non-residency (almost all) MLS academies and the teams spend so much time playing against crap pay-to-play clubs. And most of the best U20s weren’t even developed by MLS academies - if they played MLS at all, they were poached at 13+.
Your first sentence is contradictory - if there is selection bias, by definition he’s not fielding the best team possible. Guys like McCarty, Feilhaber, Klestjan (although not born in that gap period) are examples of players that the bias impacted.
My first sentence was poorly written, not contradictory.
How it should read, Even with a pro foreign player selection bias, a native player that is better enough than a foreign born player will be selected anyway. We had and have a very wide and shallow selection pool, there are few players of any real quality, but many players that are of roughly the same skill level. In my estimation the difference between selecting foreign only or native only players is marginal at best because there is fundamentally little to no difference in quality.
What I was referencing in the European model of development are kids like our own James Sands and Gio Reyna. On a global or absolute scale I frankly don't rate the u20 team, the U18, u17 and u16, who are mostly MLS products are where our future generation of good vibes are presently working up to full team ability.
I’d say there was selection bias against Feilhaber because his attitude was reportedly always shit. He was the best creative player in the CM position, and he let everybody know it and pouted when not selected; while not wrong with his estimation of his abilities, he was cancerous.
Klestjan got more than his fair share of chances and was absolute garbage when on the MNT - he played so wimpy and couldn’t win a tackle to save his life. His RB play was a 180 degree contrast and made people wonder what the deal was - essentially he needed to be relieved of all defensive responsibilities and that will never happen.
McCarty was always in the youth NT picture but never made the jump when he should have because Dallas started playing him at Right Back for a bit and he was viewed as too slow. He then couldn’t shine when traded to DC and the first few years at RB before they turned themselves around. Once he started to excel with RB he was behind too many others, including Beckerman, but now Beckerman is out to pasture and it’s obvious that RB was more McCarty than Klestjan by multiple factors. Shit, it pains me to say it, but Dax looked really good last night and was a nice compliment to Bradley. Albeit, he came in when Panama was already cooked, but he marshaled the middle really effectively, challenged high as support to the forwards, and had a few great throughballs to release players. I don’t think he’s a starter, but he’s a good, calming player to bring in to anchor the middle.
So that’s a long winded way of saying none of the three examples had foreign/domestic bias used against them.
Many things have been described as "Peak Concacaf", but does anything really top this video?
Almost, to make it complete some players from a crappy Concacaf squad with no chance of making the world cup needed to come out and start relentlessly kicking the guys as they walked through the water.
I’m in shock — I totally took this game in Trinidad for granted thinking there’s no way the USMNT wouldn’t get at least a point and discounting any chance there may be of Honduras and Panama upsetting Mexico and Costa Rica on the same night. Fuck me and fuck Bruce Arena, Sunil Gulati, et al.
Obviously the US is boycotting the world cup due to Russia's meddling in the elections.
Arena should resign before touching down on US soil. He should also pay for the inflight Wi-Fi and send an email to Klinnsman apologizing for being a douche to him from the sidelines before taking over and driving the bus off the cliff.
I wonder if this will make the us sports media take soccer more or less seriously. Like will we get the 2 page nytimes/Washington post editorial on how it went wrong or will it just be a blurb next to coverage on the MLB playoffs? Hopefully the former, more likely the latter.
I tuned into SportsCenter immediately after the final whistle. Taylor Twellman had an immediate reaction. This was on ESPN NEWS. They at 11 PM, SportsCenter went to ESPN 2. It was the talking point for the first 10 minutes. Taylor was front and center talking about it. They got Bob Ley on the phone too who has been broadcasting soccer since the 80s. Maybe there will be clips tomorrow but on the national sports media cycle, NFL Week 6 starts on Thursday, the NBA season is kicking off, it's the MLB playoffs. American soccer will be lost in this country for the next 5 years.
Nike will lose jersey sales. FOX will lose ratings. Advertisers will pull out. We're in critical condition right now.
This is still largely a niche sport in this country. It's a mix of fans who love the game and kids who pay to play. And that's a combination that doesn't work.
The sad thing is that 12 year old kids aren't watching Christian Pulisic play in the World Cup.
I remember my first day of real soccer camp was during World Cup 94.
That won't happen for this generation. It's a shame.
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