2017 Roster Discussion

Scotland is a natural landing spot/proving ground for MLS guys. Puts you on a better radar for the better European leagues.

I do agree that Scotland isn't better than MLS.
Isn't better is an understatement. After Celtic, who would probably be the best team in MLS, only Rangers and Aberdeen could compete for a playoff spot. Don't think that's even controversial. Some dire football played there.

Only reason to go there is if you don't have access to a work permit and want to try to earn one. Not applicable to BAJ.
 
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Pardon the stupid question, but earn a work permit for where?
Idea being you're more closely scouted. Understand it isn't a direct path to England.

But in the past, Mo Edu was able to parlay his rangers move to England. Of course, I'm underweighting the same point I think I made to you a while back, and that being that permits are harder and harder to come by. LFC still has Allan stuck in Germany. And he's Brazilian. They used to rubber stamp Brazilians.
 
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Idea being you're more closely scouted. Understand it isn't a direct path to England.

But in the past, Mo Edu was able to parlay his rangers move to England. Of course, I'm underweighting the same point I think I made to you a while back, and that being that permits are harder and harder to come by. LFC still has Allan stuck in Germany. And he's Brazilian. They used to rubber stamp Brazilians.

Ah right, like earning your stripes. I thought you meant a literal work permit. I was thinking about how the work permit rules are the same in Scotland as England, hence my confusion.
 
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If accurate, think we'd get SJ back a little early.
No news in those tweets. He's just guessing that maybe he would get *ko round* addition since he didn't get this one, presumably in part because the paperwork hasn't cleared. But it likely would anyway by group stage.

Gonzalez isn't on the same plane as Johnson right now. Johnson clearly the best of the 3 called in + Gonzalesz.
 
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Anyone called up at this stage is going to miss next 2 games minimum. That's home vs. Minnesota (6/29) and at Vancouver (7/5). Then, there are 2 weeks off.

If a player's team advances, and he isn't switched out after the group stage, they would miss
- quarterfinals, vs Toronto (7/19) & probably vs. Chicago (7/22)
- semifinals, vs. Chicago (7/22)
- finals, maybe at Toronto (7/30)*

* - finals are Wednesday (7/26), so player could make it, but might need to rest.

Clearly, one thing to hope for is that Bradley and Altidore get called in for the knockout rounds, and that Dax stays on.
 
Anyone called up at this stage is going to miss next 2 games minimum. That's home vs. Minnesota (6/29) and at Vancouver (7/5). Then, there are 2 weeks off.

If a player's team advances, and he isn't switched out after the group stage, they would miss
- quarterfinals, vs Toronto (7/19) & probably vs. Chicago (7/22)
- semifinals, vs. Chicago (7/22)
- finals, maybe at Toronto (7/30)*

* - finals are Wednesday (7/26), so player could make it, but might need to rest.

Clearly, one thing to hope for is that Bradley and Altidore get called in for the knockout rounds, and that Dax stays on.
The good thing for us regarding rest, is Sean John is much less likely to need it considering his position and the fact that at the moment, we're really unsure how much PT he will actually get.
 
Anyone called up at this stage is going to miss next 2 games minimum. That's home vs. Minnesota (6/29) and at Vancouver (7/5). Then, there are 2 weeks off.

If a player's team advances, and he isn't switched out after the group stage, they would miss
- quarterfinals, vs Toronto (7/19) & probably vs. Chicago (7/22)
- semifinals, vs. Chicago (7/22)
- finals, maybe at Toronto (7/30)*

* - finals are Wednesday (7/26), so player could make it, but might need to rest.

Clearly, one thing to hope for is that Bradley and Altidore get called in for the knockout rounds, and that Dax stays on.
Hey, no Third-Place game! I was about to note that making it to the semi-finals means as much availability as the finals because even if you lose there's a 3rd place game, but then I decided to check and apparently they did away with it. Just as well. It's of dubious meit for really major tournaments. For this it is more than an afterthought. I remember watching the US play in the third place game in 2015, against Panama, and losing on kicks, and there was nobody there and nobody cared and why did I bother. And this way more players come home a week early.
 
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No news in those tweets. He's just guessing that maybe he would get *ko round* addition since he didn't get this one, presumably in part because the paperwork hasn't cleared. But it likely would anyway by group stage.

Gonzalez isn't on the same plane as Johnson right now. Johnson clearly the best of the 3 called in + Gonzalesz.

You think Johnson is better than Hamid? I think Hamid gets a bad wrap cuz D.C. Is shit. I think he is better than Guzan but Guzan's experience will likely prevail sadly.
 
Hamid is the most talented shot stopper in the American pool.

He's probably also the most prone to mistakes.
 
If I had to guess, I would think Johnson doesn't play and gets replaced for the second half of the tournament by Howard or Gonzalez (if he gets his FIFA approval). Hope I am wrong, as we need to prepare the next generation. It is not clear which guys are leading that pack. I think Johnson should be in the mix and might be the guy, so hopefully he gets his shot.
 
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You think Johnson is better than Hamid? I think Hamid gets a bad wrap cuz D.C. Is shit. I think he is better than Guzan but Guzan's experience will likely prevail sadly.
Everyone thought Johnson was shit the last few years playing fro shitty Chicago. Johnson's number's from xGA are not good this year either. I personally think he's decent, has been improving with the feet, has stopped some that were great, and has also let a few in that I thought he could have done better on.

That's probably a pretty decent definition of most goalkeepers. Defense stops goals, if you have a clear shot, most of the time its not stoppable.
 
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I posted this on SeanJohn's player page, but it makes sense here too.

That's how Johnson got his one start in the Gold Cup 4 years ago, a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica. We had clinched advancement in the prior game. Johnson got the nod over Rimando, who otherwise started the whole tournament. Hamid was the other keeper. Some interesting tidbits in the article quoted below.

By the way, this was the tournament in which Donovan was playing as he worked his way back into Klinsmann's good graces. Donovan went nuts and dominated everything. Other players included Stu Holden in midfield, backed up by Mix Diskerud, who cap tied himself to the USA in the group stage, and Brek Shea, who we will face while Johnson is away.

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U.S. MNT Goalkeeper SEAN JOHNSON:On getting the start in goal:“It felt good to be back out there. Anytime you can represent your country it’s a special thing. To go out there and get a result, and a shutout, was fantastic. The guys in front of me did an amazing job and made my job easier, and we were able to come away with the result.”

On winning Group C:“That was our objective coming in. We wanted to make sure we got three points in every game of the first part of this tournament and we were able to execute.”

On the save that led to the counter and goal:“It was just a corner that was floated back post and I was able to get across. I think the guy did well to reach back and get a head on it, and I was able to get a fingertip on it, push it off the bar. Luckily it turned into a break for us. It was huge to come away with a goal and be able to close the game out from that point.”

On how he saw the goal and sequence unfold:“I was watching it all develop. It was special from my position to see the transition. We talk about being quick in transition to get out to Landon, and Landon to play a ball first across to Brek. Fantastic play by us and we were able to attack on the counter and come away with the goal.”

On the difficulty of playing against Costa Rica:“It was the toughest game of the group so far, as a test personally and as a team. We knew it was going to be tough. We had to fight and grind, but not every win is going to be pretty. You have to grind out sometimes, and we were able to fight tonight. The guys really battled, and credit to the guys in front of me who did a fantastic job and we were able to come away with a result.”

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2014/03/17/12/53/130716-mntvcrc-quotes

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2014/03/17/12/58/130716-mnt-vs-crc-match-report

Some good stuff in the video below. Even a Rodney Wallace sighting. The decisive sequence starts at 3:35 and is worth a look.

 
You think Johnson is better than Hamid? I think Hamid gets a bad wrap cuz D.C. Is shit. I think he is better than Guzan but Guzan's experience will likely prevail sadly.
I wouldn't have said this a year ago, but I do think SJ is a better keeper right now, by a margin enough that a casual fan (okay, rabid fan) such as myself can notice. Hamid can make the more spectacular save, but I think he's a less tactically astute player and his positioning is Slosh-y at times (way too often for me). He's also Sloshed a few already this year.

I think SJ has grown so much with the change to NYC. Hamid would do himself a favor to get the hell out of D.C. He just looks disinterested to me and he hasn't improved a single iota in like 5 years.