USMNT Talk

I also think we need to rethink the idea that we have to send our best players to play for the very top clubs in Europe. Especially the strikers. Because I think strikers develop by scoring goals, a lot of them, and carrying a team week in week out with the burden of having to score a goal at least every other game.
You rarely get that in the Premier League, Ligue 1, La Liga, Seria A or Bundesliga. The USMNT has only 2 forwards with 2 or more seasons of at least 0.50 Goals per 90: Haji Wright and Daryl Dike. Dike did it in MLS and Championship. Wright never managed it in Germany but did it in Denmark and Turkey. As a result, I trust both of those guys to score goals over Pulisic, Sargent, or Reyna for all their top league experience. Same for Taty, relative to my point earlier that he'd be a top American striker option if he could play for us. I want a guy who has scored goals consistently and had to be the guy on his team and was that guy, not someone who is one of 4-5 options, even if his team makes it to the UCL quarterfinals, and also not someone who we have to explain how his mid to bottom tier top league team doesn't create enough for him to excel.

ETA: I realize ambition means these guys will choose to go play at the highest level they can, and we can't stop them. But we shouldn't encourage it either.
Fully agreed on this. Strikers should be going to Portugal, Netherlands, Greece, Turkey, etc. leagues first and get their playing time and confidence up there. If they show that they can succeed, then move up to a top club in England, Spain, or Germany.

Puli's move to Chelsea was a leap too far.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JayH and mgarbowski
Now that pretty much everyone but Alexi agrees GGG just can’t come back. We get this fun rumor. Personally, I think he plays a boring style. But he puts his players in their best spots, can figure out how to get his best 11 on the pitch, and knows how to win/has the mentality for tournament football (even if it’s ugly). I’ll sign up for that. I’d rather be the Chechs than the Dutch & win a bunch of 1-0 matches on our way to the final. I just want to win man, I don’t care how we get there. And honestly, even the complainers won’t care either if we do.

 
Now that pretty much everyone but Alexi agrees GGG just can’t come back. We get this fun rumor. Personally, I think he plays a boring style. But he puts his players in their best spots, can figure out how to get his best 11 on the pitch, and knows how to win/has the mentality for tournament football (even if it’s ugly). I’ll sign up for that. I’d rather be the Chechs than the Dutch & win a bunch of 1-0 matches on our way to the final. I just want to win man, I don’t care how we get there. And honestly, even the complainers won’t care either if we do.

You also know Jose won't take no crap in the form of outside family intervention. The latest news from Stejskal is that the Reyna's have been pulling this lawnmower parent nonsense for years.


First, I had missed this but "Claudio Reyna admitted in a statement released earlier this month that he was texting Stewart and USMNT GM Brian McBride, another former U.S. teammate of his and Berhalter, about his frustration around Gio’s lack of playing time while in Qatar."

Even more, Stejskal confirms an earlier report by Doug McIntyre at Fox Sports that Claudio was harassing U-17 Coach Raphael Wicky in 2019 over Wicky's handling of Gio. Unless the Reyna's collectively have a lot of enemies willing to lie in concert, they appear to be a family of entitled jerks. And it's crazy because Gio really is a true talent but his family couldn't just let his career develop naturally, and it seems to have had a poor effect on him also.

Claudio took the NYCFC job, built and oversaw the Academy while his son was its top player, guided his son to sign with Dortmund, and then quit less than 5 month later. To be clear, I think the NYCFC job was separately a good fit tor Claudio's career path and family situation more generally, and he did a good job both with the Academy and first team development. But what we now have learned about his inability to let others manage his son's development colors my view of his time here. It might have been better for all involved if Claudio had not found a way to have his son's coaches directly report to him and dependent on him for job security from U13-16.
 
Last edited:
Would be great for his play to do the talking rather than his bozo parents

Why, as mgarbowski mgarbowski pointed out, we need someone (even if it’s not JM) who’s an experienced international (non-American) manager who won’t give a fuck what MLS or any parents/insiders say and will go about his business doing his darndest to put the best players on the pitch to win us matches.
 
Why, as mgarbowski mgarbowski pointed out, we need someone (even if it’s not JM) who’s an experienced international (non-American) manager who won’t give a fuck what MLS or any parents/insiders say and will go about his business doing his darndest to put the best players on the pitch to win us matches.
The further you get from his Daddy's sphere of influence the better. It's sad and unfair but my head canon, with no direct evidence, is that he was a brat in our Academy. We know that Claudio's big in US Soccer and Gio acted out there. But though his dad played in Europe he doesn't really have that much heft so Gio probably has to fit in at Dortmund.
I would have liked not to see the "I'm not listening/I shut all of you up" taunting from him in that clip. He needs to shut up himself for a while until he's past this. Just score. Celebrate. Smile, laugh, slide on the grass, whatever. The in your face stuff is not what he should be indulging in for a while.
 
Gio’s an entitled prick. Not only from everything we hear, in camp, etc., but it’s plain to see from his body language and facial expressions, on field and off.

Hopefully he can change and mature. Or maybe it doesn’t matter—but I think it does.
 
New kit leak: (looks like Cs to me)

1674606880229.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: JCMore
Looks like Weston to Leeds. With Marsch managing & American ownership. You have Tyler, Weston and Aaronson now. Maybe someone is reading my forum posts. Hope they sign some more USMNT players and they all continue to gel together. IDC if they finish mid-table every season. All this training and playing together will do wonders for the national team. Let’s get Weah & Dest over next!
 
1. Team looked like shit last night, we need a manager to take charge ASAP

2. The HBO stream kept freezing on me. They better fix that and quick.

3. There’s a press conference today w/o Ernie at 11. Wonder if they’ll have any info on the investigation.

Also this tweet pretty much says it all:

 
1. Team looked like shit last night, we need a manager to take charge ASAP

2. The HBO stream kept freezing on me. They better fix that and quick.

3. There’s a press conference today w/o Ernie at 11. Wonder if they’ll have any info on the investigation.

Also this tweet pretty much says it all:


didn't even know the game was on!

EDIT:

just watched highlights. YIKES.

and johnson didn't even get the start ? that's rough.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: adam