As a casual soccer fan, some of you guys let me know who we have coming up through the ranks now that is going to be a player we can hang our hats on to lead the new generation of players.

10/11/2015 12:53:30 AM

We're fucked.

Seriously though, we only have a handful of teenagers I can think of - Zelalem (Arsenal), Hyndman (Fulham), Carter-Vickers (Spurs youth system) Palmer-Brown (Kansas City but Juventus has bid for him before) and Rubin (FC Utrecht in Netherlands).

There's some guys in their early 20's that could break thru - Jordan Morris (already been capped but still playing in college), bunch of MLS guys like Trapp, Serna, Gil, Pelosi and Julian Green, who may be the next Freddy Adu? Aron Johannson is still only 24 and could develop into a solid forward option if he can stay healthy.

Out of all of them, I think the best chance for a player to build around is Zelalem but he's completely unproven at a senior level. The future is kind of bleak right now, in all honesty. We're on the verge of missing our 2nd straight Olympics. We just lost the Gold Cup and we won't be at the Confederations Cup. There's a solid case to fire Klinsmann and I wouldn't even be mad at it but it's not going to fix all of our problems.

I might be missing somebody but the only players under 25 in our recent call-up - Zardes (meh), Alvarado (garbage), Yedlin (very raw), Wood (streaky). It's hard to believe Altidore is only 25 because he plays like he's 35. Dempsey is finished. Beckerman, Beasley, and Jones should all be gone before 2018. F. Johnson has been a huge disappointment after his initial good performances. Cameron/Besler could be a good CB pairing but Cam is already 30. Bradley should be around for 2018 but that's really all we got. I hate responding to Earl but Guzan is a good goalkeeper and Howard would have made zero difference on Saturday. GK is the only position I am not worried about at all because past both of them, we have Bill Hamid who is a very good GK.

[Edited on October 12, 2015 at 8:25 AM. Reason : words]

10/12/2015 8:01:17 AM

Quote :

"Howard would have made zero difference on Saturday. GK is the only position I am not worried about at all because past both of them, we have Bill Hamid who is a very good GK. "

i haven't caught up in this thread but this statement is 100% correct.

10/12/2015 8:32:57 AM

you're probably right since howard was coming off a year but world cup howard would have saved at least one of those goals no doubt.

[Edited on October 12, 2015 at 10:16 AM. Reason : guzan is very good but howard is world class]

10/12/2015 10:15:54 AM

since when was Howard ever a world class keeper? He is a good keeper and that is all he has ever been.

Also I believe everyone calling for Klinsmann's head has no case at all. The expectation for the USMNT have been raised and Klinsmann is doing the best he can if you ask me. The squad just isn't good enough and players who should be stepping up for these matches (Dempsey and Altidore) simply haven't.

It must be frustrating when the team that Mexico put out has consistent players playing at the highest levels of football in Europe while the US stars have all returned home with the MLS. Players like Dempsey, Altidore, Bradley, and Zusi should be challenging for starting spots at mid table clubs in Europe for the US to stand any chance of becoming a consistent team at the World Cup knock outs.

10/12/2015 11:06:14 AM

wazza, it's okay to not want him fired but you have to admit there's a case. We didn't look good in a single game in the Gold Cup (except Cuba but whoooo cares) and got beat by both Panama/Jamaica and neither was undeserved. Losing a game to Mexico isn't the end of the world but on the back of those 2 consecutive defeats, it doesn't look great. 2014 WC performance wasn't good either but at least we got results. You can't accept 30% possession and double digit deficits in shots/chances AND not get the results. Bunkering and countering is an okay tactic if you don't get fucking scored on and actually create a few chances. When was the last time we were impressive over the majority of a 90 minute game? Scrubby Cuba in a GC. A few friendlies earlier this year? Not good enough.

My biggest problem with him at this point is how he's not advancing the player pool like I'd hoped. He calls a few young guys here and there but for the most part, he sticks with veterans in meaningful games and those that have not produced already (why the fuck is Wondo still getting called up, for example). Against Mexico, he started 9 of 10 field players from last year's opening WC game against Ghana and it probably would've been all 10 had Bedoya not been sick. That's unacceptable to me. Sticking with the same jabronies (Bornstein) is what finished off Bradley after the 2011 GC.

[Edited on October 12, 2015 at 11:20 AM. Reason : .]

10/12/2015 11:18:09 AM

^damn after all the stuff that post reminded me about, im now leaning towards he has to go. i'd like to say give him another cycle though.

10/12/2015 11:33:05 AM

The country needs to embrace what the team is instead of this idiotic pining for them to become Barcelona overnight. The talent is not that bad, yes there is no Dempsey or Donovan on the horizon but the depth of "solid" players at the Besler level is as good as it has ever been. You can build a team capable of winning in CONCACAF and competing at the level we've done recently in the WC with the talent pool we have. However, you must have a strategy to do that. Klinsmann has none. All he has are empty promises. He's revamping the youth system - except our youth teams suck and most of the youth talent is dual nationals. We're going to play possession soccer - except we don't. We needed youth at the WC - let's start a team with an average age of 30 against Mexico. Etc

Really, most of the problems on the field are the result of retaining any national team manager for more than one cycle. Only in rare circumstances (Germany, Uruguay) is that justified imo. The one time it was for the US was Arena and even that ended in disaster. But Klinsmann makes it worse with his ridiculous ego and stupid declarations that he's going to "revamp" US soccer even though he brings nothing new to the table.

10/12/2015 12:39:07 PM

Quote :

"The expectation for the USMNT have been raised and Klinsmann is doing the best he can if you ask me."

The expectation for the USMNT has been raised by NOT firing a guy who did worse than the last guy who was fired? Really?

10/12/2015 12:41:46 PM

Right. Nobody (at this point anyway) is asking him to do anything we haven't asked Bradley, Arena, etc. of doing. He's not only falling behind Mexico but now Jamaica, Panama, Honduras, etc.

I will be surprised if he's here in 2018.

10/12/2015 1:57:52 PM

^ See this is an overreaction if you ask me. He has lost to Mexico once, lets not let one defeat blow it our of proportion. Also Bradley had a much much better squad in 2010 than Klinsmann had in 2014. Klinsmann was also in a much tougher group. I don't get this insistence that Bradley did better, in fact Bradley's teams often always got out possessed and out performed but defensively he was very solid and played a good counter attacking style that was carried by Dempsey and Donovan up front.

I have seen Klinsmann's teams play at a much higher level than the US has ever before (sure they may be friendlies but the performance has been there on certain occasions).

I agree with aimorris' points that Klinsmann didn't do us any favors playing the squad he did against Mexico. I am not going to put much weight into the Gold Cup and this one loss against Mexico. Klinsmann has shown enough to deserve to continue on as the USMNT manager till 2018 at least, we should be lucky he is here at all. So one down period isn't enough for me to justify Klinsmann being sacked.

I think Tower hits the right notes in his argument. Yes the US has depth in quantity of solid players but to be able to compete at the highest level you need that and a star. Dempsey seems to be in the twilight years and there is no Donovan to save our bacon.

The Mexico team on Saturday had Herrera, Moreno, Jimenez, Guardado, Layun and Chicha. All playing in the Champions League for their respective clubs in Europe. We didn't have one player in our roster in a CL squad. Cameron was probably our best player and unsurprisingly he plays in Europe.

Klinsmann has stated multiple times he needs his stars playing in Europe at the highest levels. I agree with him here and you can see how Mexico has advanced in the last 2 years as more of their players breakthrough at CL clubs in continental Europe.

That said, Klinsmann has spent the year after the world cup tinkering and changing his line up a lot. The World Cup qualifying campaign starts soon and I fully expect him to have addressed a lot of these issues. Its time we dump the veterans who aren't performing for players that are. Klinsmann has asked to put pressure on players and now the pressure is well and truly on. I think most of this will be forgotten by the time 2018 comes around and Klinsmann has us playing well again. All it takes is for 2 or 3 players to step up in the next 2 years in Europe and solidify their spots in the USMNT. We need Brooks, Yedlin, Zardes, and Wood to really start becoming consistent players at the club level.

10/12/2015 2:48:52 PM

It's not an overreaction, it's the truth. You said expectations have been raised and they haven't. Bradley lost a Gold Cup final to Mexico in his 2nd cycle and was canned. Klinsmann lost a GC, finishing 4th without even playing Mexico. I never said Bradley did better but he was let go for less than what's happened to Klinsmann.

I'm not arguing Klinsmann should definitely go or that he should definitely stay because I see both sides of the issue. You think these are growing pains and he'll turn it around. Most people, and I'm slowly starting to lean that way, don't see him turning this all around before WCQ and that he actually wants to drop Dempsey, Jozy, etc.

One minor thing - Your point about CL level players is valid except Fabian Johnson does play for a CL team so we do have one.

10/12/2015 3:07:09 PM

Fabian Johnson kicked off the team reportedly. Klinsmann really is making it hard to defend him if he alienates Johnson.

10/12/2015 7:57:58 PM

He's looking more and more like the coach from the wells fargo ad. Going to be hard to forget the Don ovan situation if hat trick rick doesn't get going soon...

10/12/2015 8:11:09 PM

klinsmann out


got caught in the heat of the moment

[Edited on November 13, 2015 at 7:28 PM. Reason : ]

11/13/2015 7:19:30 PM

oh we back

11/14/2015 12:02:23 PM

We beat St Vincent AND Grenadines

That should get 6 points.

11/14/2015 12:39:52 PM

Back tonight against T&T at 6:30. Rumor JK is gone if he doesn't win but we're going to see that rumor every single game until we're in the 2018 final. Every game @ T&T has been decided by a goal or less and we did lose a WCQ there in 08. They also did very well at the Gold Cup (beat Guatemala, Cuba, tied Mexico, lost to Panama in pens) and they beat Guatemala in the first game of this WCQ round.

I expect the only change to the lineup will be Howard for Guzan. I'm predicting a draw, 2-2.

11/17/2015 8:23:40 AM

11/17/2015 8:53:10 PM

well I was right about the draw. gave both offenses wayyyy too much credit.

I hope MB is just tired after a long season or something because he was so so bad tonight.

11/17/2015 9:54:17 PM

Quote :

"ANDRES CANTOR ? ?@AndresCantorGOL The Kilnsmann revolution has everyone appreciative of a 0-0 tie at Trinidad and Tobago. 8:41 PM - 17 Nov 2015 "

11/18/2015 7:33:33 AM

Shit was pretty boring but guess what? This was a standard away WCQ performance for us, no matter who is coaching. I don't see this team taking some massive leap in style and performance with Jason Kreis picking the team. Everybody that hates Klinsmann for his revolution, proactive, etc. talk needs to just get over it and deal with results.

I am appreciative of qualifying for a WC and this gets us one step closer. It's easy to say that we will always qualify with no problems but look at how close Mexico came to missing out last cycle. Don't take anything for granted.

[Edited on November 18, 2015 at 8:34 AM. Reason : .]

11/18/2015 8:33:38 AM

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/16/football/abby-wambach-uswnt-retirement-jurgen-klinsmann/index.html

12/16/2015 5:38:12 PM

fuck Abby Wambach

12/17/2015 7:08:18 PM

i think her criticism is off-base, as most nations will now take the best available players, regardless of sourcing

with that said, abby is the best striker in american soccer history, and the women's team has achieved leagues more than the men's team, so let her speak her mind

12/18/2015 5:31:36 AM

If she were hot, this would be a non-issue.

12/18/2015 7:31:31 AM

Quote :

"abby is the best striker in american soccer history, and the women's team has achieved leagues more than the men's team, so let her speak her mind"

I don't think you can "scoreboard" somebody being xenophobic/racist/wrong. Sure, free speech, say whatever you want. But as we're seeing with politics, that kind of rhetoric does real damage. Maybe somebody like Zelalem, Jones, Johnson, etc. chooses differently if this becomes a real thing. Wambach & Co. can't seriously think that's better for the USA. Maybe players are singled out after a bad performance because of their "foreign guy" status (already happening to a degree and it makes me sick).

Ignoring that, it's just lazy criticism to suggest this is a Klinsmann thing or a foreign coach thing or even a recent thing. Some of the greatest US Soccer players in history were foreign-born and they've been brought in by American coaches. Jermaine Jones, used by Wambach as an example, was given his first caps by Bob Bradley. Of all countries in the world, "foreign guys" on the US team make the most sense.

12/18/2015 8:17:32 AM

mix got his first cap from Bradley too.

I'm sure she tries to clarify that she was talking about the youth system and bringing in foreign players is stifling growth but she will still come off as foreigners taking american jobs!!!

The forget about me campaign just backfired when you say stupid stuff.

12/18/2015 8:46:32 AM

Aren't these "foreign players" American citizens?

12/18/2015 8:54:38 AM

Of course they are. That's why it's stupid.

12/18/2015 8:55:52 AM

Someone stick a dick in that beast's mouth.

12/18/2015 10:18:37 AM

Who here would take Mo for Klinsy straight up?

12/18/2015 10:25:13 AM

lol no

12/18/2015 10:31:20 AM

I know you're fully ride or die with Klinsy, but you're crazy if you don't think that would be a massive upgrade

12/18/2015 11:44:16 AM

I doubt anyone would knock the coaching chops of Mourinho, but I don't really know if it would be an upgrade. Coaching at the national level isn't the same as coaching Chelsea or Madrid, in my opinion. The US simply doesn't have the horses to run the race when it comes to international play. Our deficiencies are mostly the result of the youth system and the inability to find talent at a stupid-young-age. Our "prodigies" aren't being discovered in time like they are in more soccer-developed nations, and they're not getting as many hours on the ball by age 8 or 9. National team coaching can only make up for so much, and we typically mask our flaws by having athletes who are more conditioned and physical and who have the mental work ethic to grind it out. I simply don't see ANY coach coming in and turning us into a power until MLS academies (or some equivalent) are mining (and financially subsidizing) talent and matriculating them through the ranks.


Anyhoo, that's not why I came in to this thread. Copa America group leaders have been announced. Via the email I received:

Quote :

"The United States will be visiting Santa Clara, Calif. (June 3) to kick-off the tournament, before visiting Chicago (June 7) and Philadelphia (June 11). Argentina will head to Santa Clara (June 6), Chicago (June 10) and Seattle (June 14). Brazil will travel to Pasadena (June 4), Orlando (June 8) and Foxborough (June 12), and Mexico will play its group matches in Phoenix (June 5), Pasadena (June 9) and Houston (June 13). "

For those of you who live near a stadium: http://www.ca2016.com/

12/18/2015 1:37:22 PM

Would Mourinho be able to spend $400m on players for our team?

12/18/2015 2:05:18 PM

I'm going to Philly. I'll probably go to a game in Orlando too.

12/18/2015 7:51:55 PM

I am in for a PHILLY road trip weekend if you guys are...

12/18/2015 8:42:39 PM

so Miazga to sign for Chelsea it looks like. Hiddink says he's a squad player, as in they don't plan on loaning him out. Doubt it but that would be pretty cool if he breaks through there.

1/29/2016 9:37:58 AM

Nobody's gonna post about our last minute come-from-behind friendly win over Iceland?

2/1/2016 10:15:28 AM

sure

1. I'm tired of watching Jozy Altidore. He can score goals, sure. But it's rare that he's engaged in the attack consistently during a game. He plays like he weighs 100 lbs and his first touch usually puts him in a worse position. The effort/threat when Morris/Kiesewetter came in was immediately noticeable.

2. Speaking of - I had never seen Kiesewetter and was impressed. Hope he progresses well, along with Morris, over the next few seasons.

3. Communication/cohesion with the defense is an issue. They're easily beaten off the dribble and lose their mark regularly. This is a criticism of Klinsmann I 100% agree with. He needs to find a CB pairing and stick with it. Injuries have forced his hand and I know this was a friendly with a B team but we have the same issues with the A team.


other than that, pretty boring game imho and not much to go on to predict who will be a regular as we start WCQ's. I really like Nagbe though.

[Edited on February 1, 2016 at 10:39 AM. Reason : .]

2/1/2016 10:38:16 AM

I didn't watch the game but seems there were some positives. Did Iceland go with their starters or where they rotating? Pretty impressive nonetheless given how well Iceland have played. I still think Klinsmann is the right person going forward, I expect us to make it out of the groups again in the next world cup.

2/1/2016 11:21:10 AM

no this Iceland roster was garbage, C level players. I think only 2 were regulars from UEFA qualifying. lol Gudjohnsen started up top.

2/1/2016 11:30:33 AM

lol nvm. I still think unless youth development changes here in the US we will never have a viable team at the World Cup. Its sad because we do develop some great athletes but soccer is not about individual brilliance and the mentality towards youth development here just isn't good enough.

Given the popularity of the EPL in this country now I do hope that the interest generated leads to some big changes in development but we are talking about a timeline of 20+ years to get that far. Playing high school and then moving to college will never hold up to being recruited and trained by an established academy structure.

2/1/2016 11:45:45 AM

It would if college soccer became big. College football is much more efficient than soccer academies. Think about an Alabama vs a Barca development academy.

2/1/2016 4:51:17 PM

Over/under 1 point in Copa?

2/21/2016 8:52:34 PM

Over and EASY.

2/21/2016 11:35:26 PM

I don't think Costa Rica has ever beaten us at home in a competitive game. Paraguay isn't exactly a juggernaut - looking up and down their roster, a bunch of Mexican league players and average SA/European teams. Post-WC Colombia hasn't been amazing either. Obviously they're favorites in the group but still.

I think we should advance. Problem is, 2nd place in Group A gets Brazil.

Predicted QF matchups: Colombia-Peru(?), Brazil-USA, Mexico-Chile, Uruguay-Argentina

2/22/2016 8:16:58 AM

I just hope we get to see some big players from Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Mexico. Would make it a little more fun. With the olympics in the summer as well I imagine the bigger players will go to the Euros and Copa instead.

Oh wow. Just checked the schedule and it is right over the Euros. I was actually thinking about heading to CA to check out USA vs Colombia but I will be at the euros so can't do it. Oh well. Could have planned this better. I would hate to miss the final if the USA made it (pipe dream I know) but since it is in NJ it is a great opportunity for USA fans on the east coast to make a trip up.

[Edited on February 22, 2016 at 10:10 AM. Reason : a]

[Edited on February 22, 2016 at 10:14 AM. Reason : a]

2/22/2016 10:09:57 AM

Quote :

"I imagine the bigger players will go to the Euros"

?

2/22/2016 10:21:06 AM