Top Stories

Video: Jermaine Jones discusses USMNT in 15-minute rant

 

Comments

  1. In short, it sounds like from now on the USMNT manager should always select & start a slew of Americans competing in Europe’s top leagues? Regardless if their getting minutes or not. It sounds like what JJ is saying is that just being there battling positions them better than USMNT MLS starters.

    Then again FabJo, Cameron, Ream, who else from Europe basically stunk it up v CR 9/1.

    Reply
  2. Jermaine is spot on. The sense of entitlement in the US soccer program is galling. At this point I want the concacaf reduced from 4 to 3 teams. Make them really earn the right to be in the world cup.

    Reply
  3. LOL about Morris’ dog too.

    I mean WTF. You could play in the Bundesliga and see what journey that might take you on or stay at home with the new puppy you mom and dad bought you.

    One of the most experienced players in US Soccer with the most Champions League minutes of any US player personally calls you to talk to you about playing overseas in Germany and you tell him about your new puppy instead of asking him a million questions about the lay of the land in the top leagues he’s played in. Kinda says it all. I can just imagine what was going thru JJ mind having to listen to Morris’ mention his new puppy.

    To put it in corporate terms. A higher up legend in the organization personally calls you to discuss your future and new opportunities and instead of soaking up all you can of his experience and knowledge you waste it by telling him about you new puppy and you can’t leave your puppy.

    Reply
    • In JMo’s defense its his life to do what he pleases with it. If the girl, the family the dog etc are his priority then thats absolutely fine for him to choose that path.
      Turning down the Germany opportunity says plenty about his ambitions as a soccer player though and that can’t be ignored from a national team perspective.
      People’s decisions usually reveal their priorities, and he prioritized the comfortable life as American soccer player in Seattle who lives close to his fam over the Euroepean path that could propel his career even further. Again, thats his decision to make, and I can’t say I blame him for it.
      The problem is that ‘easy button’ option is becoming the go to option for many national teamers. They’re being offerered big salaries and guaranteed starting places to come back to their home country. Its an enticing offer to anyone I would think. The results so far have been that other than LD no one has excelled as a player since making the move back home that I can think of.

      Reply
  4. JJ was a beast in 2014 WC. Still remember that goal like yesterday. He also has the most Champions League minutes of any other national team player. He is a legend and we should be listening to what a player with his experience has to say.

    Basically he’s saying MLS is not challenging enough and doesn’t push players hard enough to become as good as they can be. He also saying MLS is too comfortable for US players and spots are automatic with no one pushing them because basically teams have no depth.

    Calling for a manager outside of the MLS network is also him saying that we need a manager with outside ideas and tactics. He called out MLS coaches in his way a few times saying things like players not having the spacial awareness and tactical awareness of younger players in Europe, that’s on the coaching of course.

    Glad he had the stones to speak out and hope we get more vets speaking too.

    Reply
  5. more of a ramble than a rant, but good for him moving the conversation along. (side note: i would love to have a job where i could get buzzed before starting; would really improve my day.)

    don’t really agree with much, though. we’ve had plenty of players going over to europe and just getting lost there; not sure that really an improvement over actually getting competitive minutes on the field in mls.

    and then the fact that we were losing to teams who have players in *lesser* leagues than mls.

    the jordan morris callout was interesting; wonder if jordan will respond.

    Reply
    • Maybe that’s the point – certain leagues aren’t lesser than MLS? I think it’s understood MLS is definitively weaker than Liga MX, also not as good as Costa Rica’s top professional league. Maybe MLS is just a slightly better yet much richer league than Honduras and Panama’s too professional leagues? The difference being those players must claw to just even get a much lower wage.

      Reply
  6. MLS isn’t the problem – it’s given young talented American players a platform to express their potential and develop. Jones hits the nail on the head: the problem is with the US players who aren’t tough enough and choose the easy and comfortable road (overpaid in MLS with a garanteed starter spot vs battling it out in Europe…) Altidore, Bradley and the others that come back early to MLS just lose their edge. It’s so obvious. MLS is a nice way to develop talent to ship off to the best leagues in the world in Europe, not a place to develop to the next level. Also ageee with comments on coach – need a foreign coach with vast and proven experience in champions league etc… to reset things. When I think Arena left FJ off the squad, didn’t plat Cameron, picks a McCarthy vs say a Williams, Zusi and RB but no Chandler in squad, it’s just a crazy thing no one else in the worls can comprehend. By the way, with JJ in midfield we don’t lose in T&T.

    Reply
  7. Jones is partially correct, its the day to day competition for a spot on the starting 11 on Sunday. MLS has been great for soccer in the US, it just does not yet have the capability of creating that day to day fight for your starting spot for the best players. We all saw the TnT game, there was no fight in our guys, they were beaten to every ball by a bunch of players auditioning for a job.

    Reply
  8. Rant?!
    I’m not sure the author understands the meaning of the word.
    Seemed like a cogent, rational and necessary statement from someone with knowledge of the subject.

    Reply
  9. Of coarse it’d be great if these guys were in Europe but the hard truth is they just aren’t good enough. Jozy scored 1 premier league goal in a entire season. Bradley was lucky to get 10 minutes off the bench at Roma after bouncing club to club. Dempsey was a great US player but he is 34 now. Guys like Brek Shea, Lleget and Agudelo went to Europe and it just didn’t work out.

    Does MLS give these guys too soft of a landing? Yes but that’s probably come to an end anyway because National team players aren’t going to be marketable with out playing in a World Cup. So Bradley, Bedoya and Jozy can live it up now I suppose, but those days are done.

    Reply
    • I’d say the problem wasn’t that some of these guys weren’t good enough to play in Europe, it was they weren’t good enough to play in The Premier League, yet that’s where they pushed their chips all in..
      Bedoya is a perfect example of someone that did it right. He got to a point at each level that as soon as he was pretty competitive he moved on to a more challenging place. The result was that he squeezed every ounce of production out of an otherwise average player with an above average desire to compete. When he maxed out he came home and got paid. On the flipside, an example like Besler pushed himself to Nat Team starter, and stayed in MLS for a paycheck, and 2 years later he was a part time starter in KC till this year.
      A lot of those guys probably overshot and went straight to the Premier League on the basis of one or two good seasons when they probably could have gone elsewhere.
      Llegett an example of the opposite, looked awesome his first 6-9 months after returning to the Galaxy, then regressed. So even though he wasn’t playing at West Ham, he was competing day in ands day out…..came back to MLS and regressed

      Reply
    • Agreed. MLS is not a competitive environment for players. They do not develop here or stay sharp. The old core of the usmnt came to mls and lost their edge. Bradley, Altidore, Dempsey, etc. players like Jordan Morris use mls as a crutch because they don’t want to be uncomfortable.

      Jones is right.

      Its time for payers to set their eyes on the top level rather than settling for lazy mls.

      Also, fans need to quit buying the hype and garbage that mls is selling.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to J.Thomas Cancel reply