Soccer Thread 2016-17

[bhlloy]

Nothing like having to be told by your players that your system is stupid and to change it - US has looked fine since going to 4-4-2 but once again Klinsmann gets it all wrong from the start.

[RainMaker]

Seems like the first game of the Hex is not an ideal time to test out a new formation.

[bhlloy]

Really all being an international manager involves is putting the best players on the pitch, putting them in a system that doesn't suck and then getting the hell out of the way. He fails so basically at that again and again it's an absolute miracle he has a job.

[RainMaker]

Let them play in a formation they are comfortable in and look what happens.

[RainMaker]

Well that hurts

[CrescentMoonie]

Okay, NOW can we fire Klinsmann?

[bulletsponge]

fire Klinsman!

[RainMaker]

If they don't fire Klinsmann, maybe it's best if they don't make the WC

[MrBug708]

So we have a must win game on the road in Costa Rica in only the second game of the hex

[ISiddiqui]

Well that was pretty poor. One great moment from Altidore and Wood, but the rest of it... eh...

[miami_fan]

I think you guys are being too hard on him I can empathize with Klinsmann. We can't be the only ones to download a new tactic and start a game without taking a look at the Match Preparation screen.

[PilotMan]

I had a fantastic time overall. The night before party for the Outlaws was like a packed house party in college. Lalas came in and ended up walking right next to me as he took a shot and headed up to make his speech. It was shoulder to shoulder, packed like sardines in a can.

The wind was a much, much bigger factor than anyone mentioned. It dictated much of the flow in each half. The team on the south end just couldn't get a big clearance, and goal kicks just floated.

CP is a soccer god. He might be the best player in US soccer history when he's done, he's completely deserving of the 10. He was creating so much space on the offensive end. He's nothing like we've had before, since the hype when Donovan came up.

Wood is better than Altidore. He is faster, and plays every bit as big as Jozy.

As bad as the first half was the second half was the opposite. We just couldn't find that gap into the goal, but the Mexico back line was really unsettled and hanging on for dear life. Our team lacks a player who can put it on frame at distance and open up the defense.

I didn't get to see the corner, it was just too far away, but it was brutal. Like you'd expect.

At the end of the game there were a number of plays where the ref let an obvious foul go. When diving at a guys legs, and you're the last defender doesn't get a straight red, it's fucked.

That alone would have resulted in even more pressure, and they probably don't score on the set piece.

The tifo was awesome.

A 1-1 tie would have been all well and good, but losing 2-1 was awful leaving. Most people were cool, but some really lost their cool.

There were 8,000 out of the 24,000 tickets allocated to the American Outlaws, and it showed.

And I made it on tv.

Right in the middle, Red/Blue jacket and AO stocking cap. We were about 7 rows up from the field on the south side of the stadium.

I'm glad we didn't stay to party. Partying after a loss, especially this loss, wouldn't have been fun.

[whomario]

@pilotman: Yeah, weather and wind in particular is sth that has pretty much left the public narrative, but sth that you really get a feel for when watching a game live. Sounds like a pretty cool experience overall !

As for Pulisic. Kid has a ways to go, but he´s a legitimate option for a Top 20ish team in the world already.

Speaking of him, a nice short doc from Vive Sports/Roger Bennett (of Men in Blazers). Very well done and one of very few instances he actually gets to interact with media (Dortmund does a good job setting priorities for young players in that regard), again looks to have a nice head on his shoulders.

[ISiddiqui]

PM - Nice! Sad to see it was in a loss, but sounds like quite the experience.

Of course the wind/weather was the reason US Soccer put the game in Columbus.

Hopefully a win on Tuesday... otherwise it may be time to panic.

[ISiddiqui]

MLS news is coming fast... seems like Lampard is retiring. Gerrard is rumored to be leaving LA (they likely won't renew his contract) and going to Celtic.

And apparently, Schweinsteiger is rumored to be coming to the Chicago Fire.

[Butter]

USA chance at getting a result at Costa Rica tonight?

[PilotMan]

Slim. Like 15% might be optimistic.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Slim. Like 15% might be optimistic.

15% at even a tie? If there's one thing I'll give Jurgy credit for, it's that every time I want to dig his grave they pull out a result.

It'll be interesting (as always!) to see what lineup he rolls out. Compared to our other options I love the Altidore/Wood combo with Pulisic behind it, but unless you're playing for pure counterattacks you need some more support when we go forward, and the Bradley/Jones/Bedoya combo just offers so little. But at the same time I don't love the idea of playing a Lynden Gooch considering how little chemistry he probably has with everyone else. Don't know enough about Costa Rica's speed to know if Kljestan and Zusi are options or we'd be too exposed.

[MrBug708]

Fire Jurgy

[RainMaker]

Is there no one better than Bradley and Jones? They are non-existent

[bulletsponge]

fire Klinsman~!

[RainMaker]

They won't fire him. Maybe best case scenario long term is them missing the WC and putting them in a position where they have to fire him.

[Bisbo]

wtf Gonzales? Give up on the ball, give up a goal.

[PilotMan]

Speaking of coaches. USA Today had a really nice piece on Bradley in the EPL now in today's paper.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Bisbo

wtf Gonzales? Give up on the ball, give up a goal.

That was terrible.

Do we even have any midfielders interested in playing today?

[Bisbo]

Bradley looked bad against Mexico, and worse against the Ticos. Time to find someone else.

[Bisbo]

Although I will say, he's quite good at passing the ball back to Guzan.

[RainMaker]

Why does Klinsmann like CHandler so much?

[BishopMVP]

Gross. But fwiw that's an absolutely beautiful ball by Ruiz.

Haha, wait, what? Go down 2-0 and we put Gooch on... for Pulisic?!?!?!?!?!

[bhlloy]

He has to go after this, right?

[sovereignstar v2]

Looking good!

[PilotMan]

good grief, this is worse than I expected. We're already -4 gd after 1 2/3 games?

[bob]

Make that -5

[PilotMan]

wtf is going on down there

[bhlloy]

Holy shit

[digamma]

Kiffin him.

[PilotMan]

Mental/Physical hangover from the Mexico game, coupled with playing in one of the hardest locations in CONCACAF?

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by digamma

Kiffin him.

Gulati will never do it. He's gotta go too. Team gave up after 2-0, absolute embarrassment. First time giving up 4 in a WCQ since 1968.

[ISiddiqui]

God that was embarrassing. Klinsmann needs to be fired. The team has completely given up on him, in addition to his horrible tactics.

[MrBug708]

Bruce Arena is looking quite appealing right now

[CrescentMoonie]

Even Sigi is looking good right now.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Maybe they really are just this bad.

I mean, that certainly seems within the realm of possibility at this point.

[ISiddiqui]

Well, when you have better talent than you've had in the past, it probably comes down to coaching.

[Arles]

I think it's coaching, but also the midfield creativity in tactics. Altidore looked like a center with no PG this game. They can't build through the midfield and create chances - it's all down the wings or boot and chase. So, our midfield ends up running miles and miles to defend/support and never makes the opponent tired (the opponents control the ball/chances).

New tactics and some new creative talent is needed in this lineup - it's pretty clear Klinsmann isn't interested in either.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Arles

I think it's coaching, but also the midfield creativity in tactics. Altidore looked like a center with no PG this game. They can't build through the midfield and create chances - it's all down the wings or boot and chase. So, our midfield ends up running miles and miles to defend/support and never makes the opponent tired (the opponents control the ball/chances).

New tactics and some new creative talent is needed in this lineup - it's pretty clear Klinsmann isn't interested in either.

It's the focus on Bradley and Jones always having a central MF spot under Klinsmann. We have midfield creativity. We even had it on the bench in San Jose - why Kljestan wasn't starting is beyond me. And Klinsmann basically made Nagbe so disenchanted that he refused call up.

(this isn't even mentioning how Klinsmann screwed up when barely calling up Lee Nguyen and then barely using him when he was up).

Klinsi just is not a fan of the MF playmaker for whatever reason.

[RainMaker]

Is Mix Diskerud bad? He always seemed to play well on the national team from what I remember. Kind of surprised he didn't get the call more often.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Is Mix Diskerud bad? He always seemed to play well on the national team from what I remember. Kind of surprised he didn't get the call more often.

He moved to MLS and it became too obvious that Kljestan, Benny Feilhaber, Nagbe, and Lee Nguyen were better for even Jurgy to keep calling him up.

Pablo Maurer on Twitter: "By popular request, I've updated this list. The logic behind calling Klinsmann the worst #USMNT coach in the modern era. Read it and weep: https://t.co/NWLW4qNAxl"

[PilotMan]

The talent exists within US Soccer for the team to showcase skill and demonstrate chemistry. There is a talent deficit here too, but not to the extent that we should be losing to 4-0 to Costa Rica in a game where we were never competitive.

I really hate to see guys hitting a wall by playing in the MLS, but at some point the fruit that you bear from the tree has to take some of the blame.

I forget who said it, Lampard maybe, that there's way too much running in the MLS. The overall tactical understanding, ball control and ball movement is what's killing the team. No ability to withstand pressure with good passing. Pressure shuts us down, causes turnovers, but if we had some creativity and players with better off the ball movement we could take advantage of those openings.

We get what we get, but in no way, should this team be at this level, this far into qualifying.

Klinsmann needs to at least be removed from head coaching. Let him keep his fingers in the developmental and talent scouting side, but for god sakes, get someone else in here to change direction.

[ISiddiqui]

It is somewhat difficult to see people blame MLS, when 2 of the 3 goal scorers for Costa Rica play in the MLS. One of them is actually a backup in his team (Venegas). I think you can't blame MLS when you get beat by squads mostly made up of MLS or below quality players.

Perhaps the blame to MLS is that it has made other teams in CONCACAF far better than they otherwise would be (this argument has been made more than a few times in the recent past - that MLS hasn't improved the USMNT as much as it has improved other CONCACAF sides because those players now have a stable decent league to play in)

[Arles]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I forget who said it, Lampard maybe, that there's way too much running in the MLS. The overall tactical understanding, ball control and ball movement is what's killing the team. No ability to withstand pressure with good passing. Pressure shuts us down, causes turnovers, but if we had some creativity and players with better off the ball movement we could take advantage of those openings.

This is a good point. As someone who was extremely involved with youth soccer, played in college and even amateur leagues post college - this is a huge issue in the US. Youth soccer in the US is all about "winning" - esp at the club level. There isn't a focus on ball skills, passing, tactics and teamwork. It's about your 12-year old club team beating your opponent. So, at that age, the best practice is to take your two fastest players, put them up top and try to bombard passes to them. It's all running, conditioning, boot-and-chase and so forth. In addition to the focus on only winning at lower age levels, there's also a complete lack of tactical understanding by club/HS coaches. Most of the coaches don't have an international background, so they propagate this style. It wasn't until I started playing in the SUASL in Scottsdale (has a very high international component), did I even learn European tactics and ball control. My HS coach was a baseball guy stuck coaching soccer and our college coach was a salty old Brit who believed only in conditioning.

We need to do what Iceland did and setup a good youth structure with former European coaches that focus only on skill development at the younger ages. I think it's equally as bad with women's soccer as we would destroy the world if young girls were given more tactical/skill development at the club level. We just have so much better athletes than other countries - so we can bull rush them. But, as better women athletes start playing soccer internationally, our advantage will start to decrease.