what is the actual definition of a limited role? are we talking limited minutes or are we talking about the Ole Gunnar Solksjaer role of Super Sub? Massive difference IMO
US Men's National Team Discussion
- Thread starter TheReligion
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What is his other nationality?
he's played for both England and the US
That's man management for you....
"Your role will be coming off the bench. While I cannot promise the minutes or particular situations, we need you to be ready and make an impact. We all believe in you and the difference you will make when called upon. Show it everyday and every training. Any major injuries will see you and others competing for more minutes, so be ready."
Or
"Hey Gio, you're playing as few minutes as possible all things equal. See you out in training and all the best. Say hi to your dad for me."
"Your role will be coming off the bench. While I cannot promise the minutes or particular situations, we need you to be ready and make an impact. We all believe in you and the difference you will make when called upon. Show it everyday and every training. Any major injuries will see you and others competing for more minutes, so be ready."
Or
"Hey Gio, you're playing as few minutes as possible all things equal. See you out in training and all the best. Say hi to your dad for me."
Excellent post and I've always thought the NFL is unwatchable due to the commercials.
I think the MLS should have their weekend games right after the PL games end. So 3 pm or 12 pm games on Saturday. 1 pm Sunday games.
As a huge PL fan I can't watch a 7 pm kickoff of Toronto fc. I'm all footied out at that point. However I would tune in if it started in the early afternoon.
Also, you don't have to compete with the other sports that usually start around 7 pm.
look...i don't think you get to the position and level that GB has gotten to without being able to handle have a difficult conversation with a player and just letting them know they won't be in the starting XI but need to be prepared to make a contribution when asked upon
And to be fair...outside of the CF situation with subbing(Wales) and selection, GB pretty much got the selection process spot on. Weah, Pulisic, MMA, Ream, Robinson and Dest were all very good.
All playing time conversations are difficult to some level, but the thing is...Berhalter will continue to hold back the players and national team because he's not good enough, relative to the talent that is finally coming through.
He doesn't have the experience of managing good players and players who have European club experience, which includes tactics, training methods, man management, expectation, pressure, and just overall respect as a manager.
There's a way to frame delicate conversations and breaking down then building players back up.
The selection process was thin to begin with in the forward ranks and while I don't disagree on overall selection, it's about the bigger picture. The players are going to continue to improve and challenge themselves at club level, which should translate into national team improvement...but at the manager level, that's a huge question mark. Every single thing has to be analyzed and scrutinized about the manager position moving forward for the next 4 years. If the US is trying to put their best foot forward knowing they are guaranteed group stage qualification, then Berhalter is never going to be the best (reasonable) choice.
For me I'm more ticked off we only get gio shunted wide right and never at the 10.
The only way that is happening is with a different manager, as GB doesn't play with a 10. It actually brings up a conundrum for whoever takes over. Unless we play a midfield diamond (and my god, do we not remember the days of Bob Bradley's midfield Bermuda triangle...er diamond???) who is going to be dropped? Adams is essential, Musah might be the best of the three (especially in 4 years) and Mckennie was fantastic in Qatar.
the MMA midfield has shown repeatedly they can struggle creatively, so at some point you drop one. Struggling to score overall is nothing new for Gregg's teams, so it is more of a problem he has in general. There really arent many midfields in the world where you can just run out the same 3 guys regardless of the opponents, there are just too many different scenarios where you will have to attack in different ways.
I don't disagree, I am just very interested in seeing how this is approached. I guess it depends on the style of play; if you need a ball carrier you go with Musah, if you want more passing and late runs into the box you go with Weston. In any case, I am looking forward to a manager who can make it tick.
forgive me for saying this....but i think the US made the right hire at the right time for this USMNT when they brought in GB. Simply for this reason, he was used to working with younger players due to his hiring back in Columbus almost a decade ago when MLS was REALLY geared towards young players and their development. I believe that is why, after the 2018 failure, he went with the youth movement and getting these guys into the senior program as quickly as he could to prepare for the 22 World Cup. He did his job successfully IMO.
Fast Forward to the next 4 years.....Now this is about the growth of the program which is where this conversation ultimately changes path. US shouldn't and can't rush to make a decision because there really isn't a rush to do so. Nothing is going to happen within the programs for the next 3-4 months so take your time and vet EVERY candidate possible. Greg brought thru the youth and they are well embedded but now it's time to find someone with more experience, a bit more nous and a bit more astute.
We've seen thru the WC that teams play the same tactical shape, no one has really had a massive surprise in terms of tactics.....so it's the in game management that really separates the level of managers at the international level. Coming in with a proper game plan and having the ability to tweak it during a match when necessary. That IMO is where GB was left missing and a more experienced manager would be able to take is to the next level as a country. You saw it for the most part against Wales and quite honestly you saw it against the Dutch in their 352.
Simple example....our outside backs should have had no other defensive responsibility in the defensive third than to track the dutch wing backs. However there seemed to be a disconnect between the Weah/Pulisic and their fullbacks about who was tracking the wing backs. That should have been sorted in the team shape during training bc you knew they would play 352.
You look at two of the goals and the fullbacks were tucked in so far trying to help the CB's that they were watching the ball and lost track of the wing back. No need. Depay and Gapko weren't going to beat Zimmerman and Ream in the air so that took that piece of defending out of the equation. Sure, narrow up a bit to watch for the back post cross but still have an eye on the ball and an eye on the wing back to track his movement. That should have been drilled in them in a simple 5v5+2 simple exercise leading into the match.
Fast Forward to the next 4 years.....Now this is about the growth of the program which is where this conversation ultimately changes path. US shouldn't and can't rush to make a decision because there really isn't a rush to do so. Nothing is going to happen within the programs for the next 3-4 months so take your time and vet EVERY candidate possible. Greg brought thru the youth and they are well embedded but now it's time to find someone with more experience, a bit more nous and a bit more astute.
We've seen thru the WC that teams play the same tactical shape, no one has really had a massive surprise in terms of tactics.....so it's the in game management that really separates the level of managers at the international level. Coming in with a proper game plan and having the ability to tweak it during a match when necessary. That IMO is where GB was left missing and a more experienced manager would be able to take is to the next level as a country. You saw it for the most part against Wales and quite honestly you saw it against the Dutch in their 352.
Simple example....our outside backs should have had no other defensive responsibility in the defensive third than to track the dutch wing backs. However there seemed to be a disconnect between the Weah/Pulisic and their fullbacks about who was tracking the wing backs. That should have been sorted in the team shape during training bc you knew they would play 352.
You look at two of the goals and the fullbacks were tucked in so far trying to help the CB's that they were watching the ball and lost track of the wing back. No need. Depay and Gapko weren't going to beat Zimmerman and Ream in the air so that took that piece of defending out of the equation. Sure, narrow up a bit to watch for the back post cross but still have an eye on the ball and an eye on the wing back to track his movement. That should have been drilled in them in a simple 5v5+2 simple exercise leading into the match.
I disagree...kind of.... with the first paragraph. I took a look at that 2014 Crew roster (his second season and I figured the one he had the most influence in shaping) and only one guy (Trapp) who made over 20 combined appearances (MLS/US Open Cup starts and subs) was under 24. He played some younger guys later in his tenure, but only Steffen was an American, so it's not like he was plugged into and promoting the development of US national team players. Also, Sarachan had begun the purge of the elder players and integration of the young guys (Weston, CCV, and Adams had their first caps under him against Portugal) and any incoming coach would have been insane to reverse that process. Besides all of that, the nature of his hiring (the complete sham of a "process" and nepotism) gave him a very short string. I do give him credit for his recruitment of dual nats (Dest, Musah especially) and for helping this team meld together. What is annoying as hell though was his actual game management. I will never get that first half against Honduras during WCQ out of my head. Ever. That was the lowest point in my mind, maybe even lower than Couva.
The US needs to move on, and even if they did not want to after the WC I think the last few days have cemented that need.
that honduras game was an abomination to the sport. So incredibly lucky that honduras just capitulated in that second half
i think we can all agree that he's taken this group as far as he can and it's time to find a new manager
This is the truest sentence ever written....and the reason we will all be drinking in a month when he is renewed to 2026.
. Drinking a massive bottle Jameson....screaming at the news article then ocming in here and bitching about it for a few days. then it'll die down until the first camp comes and we will start bitching about it again when we see his player poolThat basically describes my life since WCQ began 2 years ago, just replace he Jameson with either 4 Roses or Dewars.
damn prick has us drinking the hard stuff in abundance to deal with it
Monkey Shoulder.
But I'll ask this - and it holds true for most national teams and potential managers - What better tactician/man manager will you find that wouldn't rather be at a club, fighting every year for multiple honors and bringing in whatever talent he's able to afford? And a national team manager job is different from a club job. You don't have enough time to implement complex, team chemistry-dependent formations and tactics, because you get them for two weeks every few months, most of which are spent in qualifying or cup competitions. You're bringing in players from multiple systems with minimal time to get them working together.
When GB came in he spoke about his “system” and how the players would need to fit in. This system was decently complicated and would have seen Adams as a RB who would play midfield when in possession and the remaining 3 of the back 4 (Ream was the “LB”) sliding into a back 3. It also put a ton of emphasis on a DLP (Trapp for a whole year) who could spray passes from very deep. It was complicated and we struggled. It also saw him using plenty of MLS guys (especially Crew players) who he could work with during the January 2019 camp (Trapp, Zardes, Ariola, Lima, Morris, Lovitz, Steffen, etc.) or who the Crew guys who already knew the tactics. He eventually scrapped it for a more basic system that he could implement easier, but we still struggled mightily during qualifying. Part of that was the youth of the team and the lack of senior leadership from the “lost generation”, part was a lack of coaching acumen to set us up competently, and a whole bunch was a complete lack of in game management.
To Gregg’s credit he did a decent job in the WC group games in improving his team set ups at the start of the game, but his abysmal in game management was on display throughout the cup. I think this gets to your point. What the US needs is not some tactical mastermind, but instead a coach who can place his best players in positions to make a difference while nullifying the opposing teams best players, and they need to be able to keep this going throughout the game, not just at kickoff.
I don’t know who that person is. I really don’t think it’s Marsch. His style has not changed at any of his stops and I think it would be a disaster at the international level. I do think we need to look outside the American pool, and especially the MLS pool for this. Long gone are the days of the USMNT manager needing to have his finger on the pulse of MLS. The best young players leave early, often before their first cap, and anyone still in the league is fringe at best.
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Sorry if I missed it but why did the US coach want to limit Reyna's playing time in the first place ?
Because he is a total no mark who should be nowhere near such a big job ? Berkalter or whatever his name is I mean anyway.
no one honestly knows the exact reason other than it appears like he felt Pulisic and Weah were the better options along with Aaronson
It's stupid though isn't it ?
Depends I guess. Weah rally was our best attacking threat, when healthy, during qualifying so it would not be abnormal to keep him in the starting lineup. Pulisic, for all the drama, is still our talisman, so he's not getting dropped. I think it came down to GB not really trusting/using a true #10 in his lineups and Reyna's likely lack of fitness after coming back from an injury.
To keep Weah in the starting lineup and saying outright to Reyna that he won't feature much are 2 very different things.
Agreed, which makes me believe the truth is somewhere in between the Berhalter and Reyna takes on whatever was said in that meeting.
definitely something went on behind the scenes with them leading up to the world cup that played a factor in Reyna being told what he was.....could hvae been his performance against Japan in the final warm up match or leading into the games in training. Entitlement plays a huge role with the ego of these kids now.
Weah was outstanding in the qualifiers and quite honestly was arguably our best forward in the World Cup despite the hype surrounding Pulisic.
Reyna got butt hurt, guaranteed and i'm sure his attitude and body language was shit.
Oof, that game against Japan was brutal. The whole team was bad and the lack of width (no Pulisic or Weah) was a huge issue. It also should have been a giant flashing neon warning that Fereira was not going to work against quality international teams.
Because:
1. Reyna has injury issues, especially with the US and needs to still be protected. Even Dortmund were bringing him back slowly. That caused him to lose ground on familiarity with the team.
2. Weah and Pulisic helped get you this far while Reyna missed a bunch of qualifiers. Go with the duo who are performing for you.
3. Reyna and Pulisic are similar players: dribblers with a bit of a selfish streak. You need Weah (a direct attacking wide player) to balance you out.
4. Reyna isn't defensive and the US needed to be careful. Weah offers you more tracking back, and you weren't going to drop Captain America Pulisic.
5. Reyna seems to prefer middle positions. There it was him v. Musah, and (again) Musah had earned his starting role, and showed he works really well with McKinnie and Adams, your two guaranteed starters.
Ultimately, his challenge was the team moved on without him and he had limited time with the team. His last chance to earn a starting role was the scrimmage he completely bombed to the point that the coach almost sent him home (unprecedented). From what I read he literally just pouted and walked around instead of playing the game.
I'm far from an expert on US football, but I believe with young team and expanding league that you have, Marcelo Bielsa would be great appointment. Apparently Uruguay is interested too, but USA could be bigger challenge and I think you have more potential than Uruguay at the moment.
I wouldn't go as far as saying that he would revolutionize US football, but he'd give you a lot of pride and good moments, I'm sure of it.
I'd love to Bielsa to take over the national team....problem is he can't speak english
Yeah, but he can speak it to some degree at least, he's managed Leeds for 4 years or so.
A decent number of our players speak spanish (Musah, Pepi, Fereira, DLT to name a few I know that do) and our YNT's are full of spanish speakers. Not sure the style fits our personnel though.
i know we have plenty of spanish speaking players and even more in the pipeline but all those guys speak english....my thing is the difficulty in dealing with a translator and that interaction with the coach gets a bit lost when there is a language barrier....I think for the development aspect though he would be brilliant
https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-...ic-violence-incident-sources?linkId=196016905
A desperate attempt to make soccer more popular?
A desperate attempt to make soccer more popular?
So do we all need to apologize to Wynalda?? That makes me feel sad and gross inside.
Seriously though, the timeline of this will make all the difference. If they Reyna's were doing this, and it was soley in response to their son being told he would not play much, it looks (and is!!) horrible for them. If Berhalter benched Reyna in response to the Reyna parents (no indication Gio was involved) then it looks bad on all of the adults in the room. Whatever the case, the Reyna's, if this happened, are horrible.
Seriously though, the timeline of this will make all the difference. If they Reyna's were doing this, and it was soley in response to their son being told he would not play much, it looks (and is!!) horrible for them. If Berhalter benched Reyna in response to the Reyna parents (no indication Gio was involved) then it looks bad on all of the adults in the room. Whatever the case, the Reyna's, if this happened, are horrible.