DAVENPORT, Florida — One of the biggest question marks heading into the U.S. Men’s National Team camp this month was where would Gregg Berhalter deploy Tyler Adams? Berhalter wasted no time providing an answer, and will play the RB Leipzig standout at a position he believes suits Adams very well.
Berhalter will play Adams at right back for the upcoming USMNT friendlies against Ecuador and Chile. That may sound odd at first glance, but not when you factor in the role of the position in Berhalter’s system, a role that operates as a defensive midfielder at times and gives the player who fills the position plenty of responsibility.
“Tyler we want to use as a right back, and we want to use him as a right back who comes inside and stays wide,” Berhalter said on Monday. “We think there’s advantages to gain in wide areas of the field and we think he can do it.
“We see him pulling away in central midfield sometimes for Red Bull, getting on the ball and being able to penetrate on the ball,” Berhalter said. “We’re going to take a look at him in that position in this camp.”
With Adams lining up as a starter at right back, Berhalter also revealed that he will be deploying long-time USMNT right back DeAndre Yedlin in a wide midfield role.
“We’re not going to ask him to do things he’s not comfortable with,” Berhalter said of Yedlin. “We’ll adapt to him to a certain extent. I’m watching all of his games and what I see with him is a tremendous ability to build momentum from behind with his speed, to take advantage of underlaps or inner-lap situations. He has a good cross, and he’s primarily used in wide positions. I can say that he’ll be primarily used in wide positions here as well”
Berhalter has made it clear that the positional deployments he will implement in the March friendlies aren’t necessarily going to be set in stone, but rather personnel fits he wants to see in his system.
“This is the beginning phases,” Berhalter said. “We want to test it and we want to see how it looks and we want to see how (Adams) adapts, and what he gives our team overall.
“I think if we have, when you’re looking at the profile of a Michael Bradley or a Wil Trapp, a very controlling player, and you have the dynamic guy next to him in Tyler, who can come inside and still be influential from that position, we think it’s exciting and we want to take a look at it,” Berhalter said. “It may not work exactly how we have planned, and we have to adapt. In theory it’s something worth trying.”
The USMNT faces Ecuador on Thursday at Orlando City Stadium.
Its less about the system and tactics and more about the fact that on different occasions, Michael Bradley walked/jogged and then had a no-remorse shitty attitude and he continues to get his way/be involved to the point that once again better players at the time, have to be moved elsewhere. why not reward Lima in the RWB role for all ‘praise” he got by the same media sheep back in January.
Trapp and Zardes are just personally connected to Berhalter, so expect them to be always involved due to the crew days together.
It’s amazing we are on the 4th different coach and Michael Bradley still gets his way as a starter.
The Pulisic, Mckennie, Adams center midfield trio is without a doubt the best and most talented group we’ve ever had at the same age in center midfield. We shouldn’t be Ffing around with out golden generation MF to get one or both garbage MLS hacks on the field with them. These three could be dominant for a decade but we need to not f it up with Trapp or MB ruining the tempo and passing rhythm.
With Adams and Mckennie there is no need to waste a spot on field with Trapp use that spot on another wing, attacker or defender. Why is Trapp even being considered given our CM talent. Why? Why? Why?
When I read this I laughed. What’s most funny is our new coach thinks Zaire’s is his best striker and thinks Adams best fits his hybrid Rb/dm role. He also thinks Trapp is indispensable. Why? Why? Why?
I still am cautiously optimistic about the new style and tactics but I disagree and am dismayed at who GB ranks his player pool. I hope this is just a one off window but I fear we are seeing the development of his core group and his personal favorites developing and that scares me to death if GB actually thinks Trapp/MB or Zardes belongs anywhere near this roster.
I will wait to see it on the field before I judge but it’s concerning. Not sold on Pulisic in the middle as his best trait seems to be cutting in on defenders from wide and picking out forwards.
Kroos or Kimmich ?? are not moved to another position to make space for other less talented German players, Pogba or Kante ?? are not move to LB or RB to accommodate other less talented french players, Ronaldo has the speed, talent, vision and skills to be an excellent midfielder for Portugal ??, but his best position is up top. You play players in their BEST position…..better to have a few players on the team HOT in their positions than things moved around and have the whole team lukewarm (almost cold) collectively .
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Our core midfield should be made up of Pulisic / Mckennie / Adams. NO OTHER PLAYER is currently on they level in that area. Play your BEST players in the position that they are the BEST in. Simple
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It’s not about just getting rid of Bradley and Trapp (they can ride pine for all I care)……it’s that they do not have the talent or skill set to orchestrate the attack / defense for the USMNT to complete with the top teams in the world (especially when we already have players complete and excelling with the best in the world in those spots)
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–XXX—————-PULISIC————-YEDLIN—
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————MCKENNIE———ADAMS—————
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–XXX———-XXX————-XXX————XXX
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So it is ok to play McKennie out of his best position?
hahahahaha ? ? ?
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Weston McKennie
main position is Central midfielder, alternate positions Defensive midfielder and Attack midfielder (so he is the perfect player to be along side Tyler Adams to aid in the attack!!!!)
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Tyler Adams
main position is Defensive midfielder, alternate positions Left back and right back
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see how that would work smoothly???
The team that controls the midfield almost always controls the game. So, I agree that you should not move one of your best players from the midfield to some bastardized RB/winger position. .
Which is why you add the 6th player to the midfield. The problem under Arena and Klinsmann wasn’t talent. We had more talent than the rest of the region minus Mexico. It was completely conceding the midfield. We spread our midfield so far that Pulisic was easily isolated when played wide and was without service when played centrally. The only time that Adams will be in the RB position is when the opponent is in the final third. The formation with 6 midfielders prevents that from happening. Adams will still have all the freedom to do what he does. He isn’t being played out of position (he say some of his first minutes with RBNY as a RB) he is just being given an extra responsibility. If we can’t ask our 2nd or 3rd best player to do one thing more maybe he’s not as good as some think. If you look at Berhalter’s quotes he’s saying they are going to try it and adapt to how it works. If it doesn’t work they aren’t going to keep doing it for the next 3 years.
“The only time that Adams will be in the RB position is when the opponent is in the final third”……Johnnyrazor, which means 75% of the time, with Bradley or Trapp playing in a midfield that cannot hold on to the ball or contribute on offense
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“The formation with 6 midfielders prevents that from happening.”…..you are correct again Johnnyrazor, if that midfield contained even Darlington Nagbe, Cristian Roldan, Kevin Acosta, Russell Canouse, Joe Corona, Sean Davis or James Sand (www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7–VCHTGYI) I’d be open minded enough to see what happens………Not lazy Bradley that relies on other players to pick up his slack or Trapp who is slow and lacks ball control, let alone able to dictate the pace of the game
Kimmich at Bayern and RBL has 37% at RB, 27% CM, 25% at DM
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For Germany
DM: 4 11%
CB: 8 21%
RB: 18 47%
RM:6 16%
CM:2 5%
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So yes good players still get moved around in other places.
They might be moved around but they are not moved around to make room for LESS TALENTED PLAYERS. So what is your argument again…..you are really off lately hahaha ? ? ?
Brilliant just what I would have done. Adams is actually playing two positions right back and midfield tucking in right behind Yedlin. As someone pointed out he has the wheels to run all day. Lima did it well I expect Adams to do it better. Plus Yedlin is fast enough to help cover any defensive breakdowns that may occur.
Give the coach a chance he has done okay so far. Would have made some different choices for my squad but it’s GB ‘s team, can’t wait for the matches.
A couple of tutorial videos to help those of you who think somehow that the Berhalter system encourages bunkering, lack of chances, spread out midfields, Adams stuck 80 yards from goal, etc. The idea is really the opposite. It provides space and passing angles to control possession and when possession is lost it provides a numerical advantage to quickly win back possession. Not only does it lead to an increase in possession but an increase of possession in the opponents half. Berhalter doesn’t have the talent that Guardiola has obviously but Costa Rica isn’t Liverpool either. Detractors have really made this all about we have to get Bradley off the field. Berhalter has made this about how can we change the US style of play not just for the next three years but that could be used for the next 15-20 years.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMrgYvl0of0
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ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pko4JV-A4jw
Well I guess if he’s going to use this system then Pulisic will be move to middle (false 9).
Johnnyrazor……Love the video man, awesome tutorial about the style of play you are trying to debate but Barcelona had the skill, ball control and talent to pull that system of play off, so does Man City but we do not, especially with Bradley and Trapp anywhere on the field. Secondly, Pep believed in versatility and that players need to be able to play EFFECTIVELY in different areas of the pitch that’s why he makes players learn other position so if one person is out of position during an attack other players would know how to cover in case of a counter but that takes skill, talent, vision and ability..…..
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Yes Adams can do something like that, so can Yedlin, so can McKennie, so can Pulisic……but if you are to REMOVE a player from a position they excel in, the player replacing him needs to be almost of EQUAL talent but Bradley and Trapp do not have the skill, talent, defensive capability or make-up speed to play in a system where positions overlap……and are struggling in those positions as is. They are not even the best at CM IN MLS so why would you even think about trying to have them cover other positions or trust them to overlap for the NATIONAL TEAM???
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We don’t have the tools in the tool box for that particular task or strategy.
Exactly right Pep has always had more tools in the toolbox, which is why his teams have won La Liga, Bundesliga, EPL, and Champions League. This style isn’t likely to win in Qatar, but the goal should be to move beyond the concede possession and counter mentality that the US has always played with.
“……but the goal should be to move beyond the concede possession and counter mentality that the US has always played with”….exactly right!!!!!! 100%!!!! Couldn’t agree with you more Johnnyrazor.
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…… but we cannot solve our problems with the same kind of thinking that created them in the first place and that “SAME OL’ SAME OL'” THINKING is having Michael Bradley or a Bradley-like player as our central midfielder. Didn’t work with the original and it’s not going to work with a less talented replica.
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A McKennie / Adams core has the attack-minded spark and defensive capability we need on the National team
All due respect but JK took the USMNT as far out of the mold as I have seen and what did that get us? I could understand trying to train 10 year olds to play a different way. And then spend 10-15 years developing. And then adapt the NT to them. But skip ahead to senior level you have the pool you have and fighting your own roster is stupid. The roster either supports a system or not. Senior team is not the place for missionary work. We just missed a world cup, can we quit pretending we are some world power that can routinely risk missing qualification to make the snobs happy with our playing style? Either we have the players for the style, or not, and if not, play what the talent suits. IMO we are somewhat short on midfield playmakers and talent. We have a pile of jack of all trades 8s, construction projects, and then I thought we had Adams as the 6. But I guess we think we’re smarter than that.
Imperative, you make many of the points I was going to make. This is why JK wanted to revamp our youth system and have all our youth national teams play the same style. He realized that this was a long term project, but in the meantime you can’t put square pegs into round holes. I think with JK the multiple positions was more about being able to cover in case of injury since our player pool was shallow when it came to quality. We are still not there where we can implement the Guardiola style, but we are closer. Note that the Guardiola style has been used on teams that were already top CL teams. It remains to be seen if it will work on mid-table teams or lesser teams. We now have the quality midfield and 3 decent qualities in the back line, but are still lacking in the ability to have players interchange on the fly without leaving gaps and holes. I’m willing to see if Berhalter’s approach works in CONCACAF. I suspect it will with teams other than Mexico and CR, but I also suspect it may not work with those teams or other teams in the top 20 in the world. I think we should be ready to play more conventionally when it is necessary.
Meh, I think soccer is more complicated than people give it. If you go back and look c. 2002, we were getting results against good teams in friendlies, and then made the final 8 at the world cup. This team is a lot more technical than back then but relative to the pack we have fallen off. At least one thing for people to consider is that being the 3rd best technical team in the region is not as useful as the best organized team and group of athletes. We seem to be ceding historical strengths in favor of pursuing a softer, technical team, and thus risk being neither the elite regional athletic unit (perhaps Panama) nor the best technical team (CR or Mexico). I also think if you watch continental as opposed to English soccer, the teams play hard both ways and there is not this quasi-Clockwork Orange stereotype division of either “pretty” or “organized.” The Germans, Italians, and other good teams manage both.
If they want to be the best technical team in the region, go start with kids and work on it for 2 decades. Otherwise what I am looking at is a team that for about the past year lost nearly every single game on which team possessed more. We do not have a bunch of Pulisics and Sargents, we instead have a lot of hybrid “two way” 8s who are neither great with the ball nor great on defense. Now, this generation has time to grow, and I am not writing them off. But the problem I see is that an effective division of labor between, say, Reyna and Mastro, each skilled in their end of the field, became mediocre Nagbe, who is ok at both ends but nothing special. You wanna get better, IMO, go back to building technicians and speed guys going one way, and man marking machines the other. At some point for reasons I cannot divine the development template became mediocre 2 way mids and backs who are composed and can win a header, but who can’t mark to save their lives.
Lets say this works? Does that mean it is our best line up? No it means it could have been better.
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(It aint Working btw…and Trapp being named captain every game is really going to get under layers skin)
He hasn’t been captain the last three matches.
Classic hahaha..? ? ?
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“Central midfielders are players whose role is divided roughly equally between attack and defense and to dominate the play around the center of the pitch”.
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So let me get this straight….. you take a player skilled / talented enough to displace more senior players for the starting midfield role at Leipzig, that has the wheels and endurance to EFFECTIVELY cover the middle of the field, a player who’s coach (of a Bundesliga team) Rangnick, stated that Leipzig is averaging three points a game with Adams in the midfield, who is currently playing better than ALMOST everyone in our player pool at CM………..and for some outrageous reason, move him to only the right side of the field….so two players, WHO ARE BARELY GOOD ENOUGH FOR MLS, can start in his place???? here we go again ?
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…… Klinsmann learned the hard way with Bradley in the midfield (nothing seem to work), Arena’s career ended just as quickly as it started with a lazy Bradley midfield …..now a Trap and/or Bradley midfield is going to destroy Berhalter’s too.
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What are we to expect???
Zero attack from the USMNT
Defend until you break mentality
Player’s looking lost and out of place
and of course, Ecuador having a blast haha ? ? ?
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GO USA!!!!!
Exactly, and your 3 man back line turns into a 5 man back line and u have no possession going forward and that leave the striker and CP with nobody getting them the ball. Bradley is just going to pass it backwards and make long balls all game that get broken up. This will not work with this group of players. God forbid we play players out of position cuz that isn’t frowned upon. Some of these call ups are a joke
Please, Bizzy you watched the two prior Berhalter matches, where was Lima playing? He is high and central for most of both matches. Here’s your quote “Playing Nick Lima, a RB as a RIGHT central midfielder?”
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Watch the two earlier matches, place Adams for Lima, McKennie for Roldan, and Pulisic for Mihailovic (even Yedlin for Baird) and tell me that you aren’t a little excited. Yes, Ecuador and Chile should be much better than Panama and Costa Rica, but with the US improvements, it should be a wash.
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Klinsmann beat Ecuador 1-0 and 2-1 in the Summer of 2016, and was 2-1-1 overall against Ecuador, the US is 2-4-4 against Ecuador when managed by anyone not named Klinsmann. The more you know!
Johnnyrazor, Johnnyrazor, Johnnyrazor……..It just shows you are clueless…. What does their score AGAINST ECUADOR have to do with anything? How is his score now…..hahahaha ? ? ?? Big picture……Klinsmann lost his job because US Soccer decided to move on from him because they though he wasn’t getting the job done….and who was in his midfield 98% of the time that couldn’t play like a top midfielder??? Arena showed up and lost his job as fast as he got it….who did he decide to stick with in his midfield 99.9% of the time??? hahahaha…..I love the way you just throw stats out there.
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Secondly, I’m impressed you quoted me correctly…… Lima did play EXCEPTIONALLY well at RB, was able to cut in and play high up the field, has the speed and endurance to keep up with the pace of the game, as well as fulfill his duties at RB……so why not leave him there, have a Bundesliga quality midfielder WITH SPEED AS WELL, that can change the game on a tilt for a team like Leipzig as CM, move your experienced and versatile EPL RB / RM WITH HIS SPEED to the wing and maximize your attacking potential?? NOPE, NOPE, NOPE…..what does make sense is Bradley and/or Trapp are going to be as regulars as the kits they put on, so much so we have to FIND PLAYERS THAT PLAY LIKE BRADLEY (with half the talent and no real exposure) to always be in the center of the field and given the mantle to orchestrate tempo /style of play of the team hahahahahaha? ? ?.
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I guess what does make sense is…..lets drop Lima from the team’s starting line-up, put one of our best CM in that spot and bring in jogging MB and Wil Trapp in the mix, (who CURRENTLY don’t even amount to half the skill / Talent level of lets say a Darlington Nagbe), two players that are slow, lack ANY real or SPECIAL SKILL and have them dictate the pace of the game in the middle…..Hmmmm, confine one of our best players we have to the right side of the field, drop the player that was MOTM in that position, just to make accommodation for a player with his best days far behind him at 31 and another midfielder that is ONLY good enough to play in MLS (and not even the best in that position in the league)???? Wow, not even our opponents can screw up our team like we do hahahahahaha ? ? ?
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With Tyler Adams, Weston Mckennie and Christin Pulisic in the USMNT player pool, that midfield is taken….every other player unless you prove yourself in an equal or higher level should be trying to make the bench….not to mention midfielders that can ONLY CUT IT IN MLS.
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GOOOOOOO UUUSSSAAAA!!!!!!
Instead of whining about the real fans who stand up to nonsense soccer politics, start complaining about yourselves as for the last 15 years Michael Bradley continues to get his way and other players always have to move elsewhere.
——————-Zardes———————
———-Pulisic——————————-
Arriola—————-McKennie—–Yedlin
————Bradley-Adams—————–
—-Long—-Brooks—Miazga————-
—————-Horvath———————–
Oh, look its a 3-5-2! Adams is DM, Yedlin is RWB, Pulisic is CAM, what people are really complaining about is they wanted Bradley to be odd man out. So Berhalter finds a way to play McKennie, Adams, Pulisic, and Yedlin in roles that best fit their skill sets but because he doesn’t call it the name they like the world is about to end.
“OH LOOK….WHY IS BRADLEY EVEN ON THE FIELD????”
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Hahahaha ???
Because Bradley for his faults (and in 2019 there are many) is better than Lovitz or Villafana or whomever else someone wants to try to squeeze into the LB role. It is much like the old FJ at LB discussion, it is not was FJ a better RM than Bedoya, it was, was Bedoya at RM better than Castillo or Beasley at LB. Robinson when healthy last summer and fall showed huge flaws, which aren’t going to be corrected in a Nat team camp, especially after his lengthy injury. It is a new discussion come May if he stays healthy and shows improvement. Just as who plays the #6 role should be discussed in May if Bradley returns to 2017 form. Playing Bradley at the dual 6 allows McKennie to play his preferred 8/10 role, and will allow McKennie and Adams to be locking down the opposition in our half of the field forcing turnovers in dangerous locations instead of in our defensive third. Those turnovers will give Pulisic the ball with Zardes occupying the CBs, while the speed of Arriola and Yedlin hold the FBs, followed by McKennie and Adams making their patented late runs into the box. Canouse and Sands will have plenty of time to show they can do Bradley’s job better but at least for this week it is Bradley or Trapp’s job to lose.
Ok who are you and where is Johnnyrazor!!!!! Wow
“Because Bradley for his faults (and in 2019 there are many) is better than Lovitz or Villafana or whomever else someone wants to try to squeeze into the LB role”….hahahahahaha…WHAT????? So Michael Bradley plays LB now…..hahahahahaha ? ? ?. HOW DOES BRADLEY get away with this sh!t?????
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“It is much like the old FJ at LB discussion, it is not was FJ a better RM than Bedoya, it was, was Bedoya at RM better than Castillo or Beasley at LB”…..Johnnyrazor, WWWHHHAAATTTT IS UP WITH YOU TODAY???? ?
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You are talking like it’s their position to lose when they shouldn’t even be on the field hahahahahaha ? ? ?.
Exactly. This formation morphs from d to o. Adams tucks in and Yedlin stays wide. Yedlin is best out there able to run the flank, I think this might have a good shot. It can really shut down the middle of the field, something we really lacked against trinadad. It’s a friendly people, let the man play with this and I think everyone who is bitching may be thronging something different after two games.
Let’s give few games and judge. If he’s a good coach, he would adapt after few games and admit this ain’t working.
Just line up and play a 3-2-4-1 or a 3-6-1 and call it what it is. Stop trying to out philosophize us all
agreed. Except the idea is it’s a 3-2-4-1 in attack and a 4-1-4-1 in defense. I’m cautiously optimistic about this. After years of being terrible at LB we just decided to discontinue the position. Hope the take away is Adams can excel in this role, not that his midfield possession and press abilities are wasted out of position.
Most of all it’s nice to see a manager really over thinking, applying some critical thinking to the tactics for once.
I have no problems with GB rearranging the pieces a bit to get the kind of performance he wants. I am more worried about the in attention to LB which was clearly a weak point for the US, and the relatively shallow goal-scorer pool and average quality of those players. The weakness in those parts of the file give the opponents a fairly easy path to goal and little to fear from the attack. Sure Pulisic can dribble and occupy a couple defenders, but it is not clear we have a forward who can capitalize on the chances that can create.
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Where to play McKennie is a conundrum. He looked decent at right mid vs Leipzig and was one of 2 players who actually made things happen for Schalke. He has played all over the field for Schalke, but he does look much more comfortable wide on the right near midfield, not so much as a forward. It might be that he would do well wide on the left, but that is one place I haven’t seen him deployed for Schalke. It would certainly help the US left-side defense (but probably not cure it).
I think we’ll see Long or Ream as the LB since as Adams rotates it creates a 3man back line so you don’t need a traditional LB which works since we don’t have one. With Pulisic, McKennie, Adams, Bradley in midfield and Arriola, Yedlin, and Zardes up high the pressure we will be able to apply to win back possession should be pretty good.
I figured the whining would be strong in the comments section and I wasn’t disappointed. Here’s a thought… How about seeing how Berhalter’s system works (in less than meaningful friendlies at that) before proclaiming it all a disaster? Oh who am I kidding? U.S. fans are incapable of doing that.
I am guessing you are a U.S. fan and incapable of having a thought?
Take a stand.I
Here is my stand…Quit trying to force Trapp into a lineup he doesn’t belong in and that goes double for Bradley.
So what you are saying is you don’t care about results as long as Trapp or Bradley aren’t playing?
Apparently, Quit Whining is just going to keep whining as long as Trapp and Bradley are on the field. His temper tantrums are adorable.
Yeah the whining is beyond tiresome, especially when it seems that ALOT of fans are echoes of one another and are incapable of having a logical original thought but then have the audacity to say “take a stand”, a stand against what? How about stop being “get-wits” and blaming us not being good enough on SUM, we just weren’t good enough fellas, move on from the excuses!
This conceptual player deployment is troublesome to say the least. We’ve got Adams who plays the # 6 roll for a team who’s positioned to be in the Champions League next season being looked at as the Right Back so that a couple Average MLS CDMs can be the “very controlling player”.
We’ve got a RB in Yedlin who isn’t very good at maintaining possession or intricate interplay being deployed as a Winger.
Add these scary decisions to the inclusion of players like Omar, Lovitz, and the host of middle of the road strikers and we’ve got the makings of a disaster. At this rate I’m expecting that we’re going to be overrun down the flanks and be unable to find outlets to release pressure.
When I read AT at RB and Yedlin at RW, the very first thing that came to mind was, I guess GB wants to make sure he has a position for Bradley and/or Trapp!
The sad thing is that Adams will still give his all like the true professional he is…….for a coach that is setting him up for absolute failure. Its just disappointing
Things that would have been nice to try out last fall…alas…
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Am I the only one who doesn’t mind the idea? Who’s to say this won’t deploy the guys at hand in their best spot? Lineups are all about how things fit together. It’s not really possible to keep every guy you have in the same role they play for their club team at the international level when you’re a middling soccer country. We ain’t Spain, for instance. And for all the Twitter handwringing hasn’t Yedlin been playing more of a winger role lately for Newcastle?
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Guys, it’s not fun being in a fanbase that wants everything to fail just so they can say they were right. This team is going to lose games under Berhalter. Let’s not make every one a referendum on the whole USSF set-up. That got nauseating real quickly.
Im not sure if you watch Bundesliga, but if you did you will see how dominant and stellar Tyler Adams is at center-mid. Tyler dictates the pace, cleans ups errors, shoots down passing lanes, dishes dimes; center-mid is his best position. There is a reason why every time RB Leipzig has had Tyler start they won and the one time they didn’t, they had a horrible start (admitted by his coach).
Will Trapp has his ceiling and its MLS, Bradley is in the last years he will be too old for when the world cup comes around.
Greg is starting to do exactly what Jurgen was doing with Bradley, and playing him out of position as a number 10 and attempt to be creative. Horrible.
The midfield needs to consist of Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, and Sebastian LLeget. Theres no room for Trapp or Bradley.
Weston is a beast at Schalke playing in the midfield Higher up, dishing dimes, holding up play for the strikers, taking shots on goals. He’s exceptional.
Yedlin is playing right wingback at Newcastle but hes a defender not a midfielder, again this would be really out of position for him.
The issue here is not about about not understanding that we will lose games, but why we lose games, and putting players out of position and losing is why we don’t wont people like Greg and Jurgen.
Berhalter did not nor does he plan to play Bradley as a 10 (with the pressure and the desire to immediately win back possession he didn’t have to stay as deep as he did under Arena or Klinsmann who had him play between the CBs as a 6). Pulisic is his 10, Mckennie is his 8 and Bradley/Trapp is a dual 6 with Tyler when we have possession with Adams sliding back outside when we are under attack down that flank. I’m not sure you’ve watched Newcastle of late because Yedlin has been playing as a midfielder. Here is the biggest difference though. Klinsmann could see where skill sets could work in different positions but he was unable to communicate what he wanted players to do there. Hence his put your influence on the game mantra without any real tactical guidance. Berhalter knows exactly how he wants each player to play and what to do if the other team does this or this. He also has an understanding of how to change his formation during a match something that Klinsmann and Arena struggled mightily with.
We ain’t Spain you write. In fact, Spain won a world cup by basically playing 6 midfielders and no strikers. A good coach adapts to the players he has and doesn’t try to shoehorn them into a pre-conceived ideal. I’m willing to give this a chance, but it seems to me that you are taking a position, RB, where we have experienced players who play at the highest level (McKennie has also played RB a time or two at Schalke) and screwing around with it. It seems to me that if you’re going to mess with anything, it should be LB where we don’t have a lot of strength and you do something to mask that weakness. We’ll see.
What do we have a lot of CMs, what don’t we have LBs. So what Berhalter is done is found a system that allows us to play without a true LB, get more CMs on the field, and play our most athletic player Yedlin in the spot he has played in the EPL for the second half of the season. Why isn’t Yedlin playing RB? Because he’s not a very good RB. Look at Lima’s heat map from the January friendlies, it lines up almost exactly with Adams heat maps from RBL.
Yup- my fears are being realized. Berhalter will play Tyler Adams, a starting center mid for a top 5 Bundesliga side, out of position at Right Back in order to accomodate Michael Bradley and/or Will Trapp. Also, we we have a skilled, versatile outside back/midfielder also playing on a top 5 Bundesliga team, who Berhalter feels doesn’t make the cut for a callup (Fabjo). I could go on about other players/callups, but I think the important point here is what these statements by Berhalter say about how he rates the players in the pool.
Dude I feel you! I watch the Bundesliga every weekend and I dont see how Greg can not understand that Tyler is a beast in center-mid. Tyler is playing for a very talented team and league!
What you are saying is you have no confidence in our best players because you want two of the most dynamic players in Adams and McKennie directly in front of the backline to protect them and Yedlin nice and deep were his speed can cover for any mistakes. All this leaving our best player Pulisic isolated 30 yards from the rest of the midfield and easily doubled and tripled so he can be hacked down repeatedly. Or you could use Berhalters system which puts all three able to play off one another with Yedlin keeping the FB occupied with his speed on the wing.
No, that’s not what he’s saying. I used to respect your opinions, but you have become such a cheerleader for Berhalter it’s embarrassing. I’m willing to give Berhalter a chance, but some of his decisions so far are real head scratchers.
Gary, I’m not a cheerleader, I’ve just seen what he can do. I saw him take his squad into Atlanta and knock off your guy Tata despite having one maybe two players that would even make ATL’s 18. I saw him the next year take out Rooney and MLS’s hottest side the second half of last season again despite not having the payroll that Ben Olson had. Berhalter can flat out manage. By the way according to transfermkt McKennie has played 2 professional matches at RB (0 wins 1 draw and a loss, 0-7 scoreline), Adams has played 5 professional matches at RB (4 wins 1 draw score 13-5, Tyler with 2 goals).
I am not saying that Berhalter should necessarily change his system… Just play Adams at the role of hat he has assigned to Bradley/Trapp. He is the best player we have to do that certainly in the medium/long term and arguably right now, no matter how mind melded Berhalter is with MB and Trapp.
I actually kinda like the idea…in theory. Let’s see how it holds up.
Players that come from deeper-lying positions can do more damage because the other team is always late picking them up. I was always a coach who liked to attack in waves and having strong players at wingback who were looking to come up, get on the ball, drive, and combine was a good way of doing that.
Also, I’ve just never been super-sold on Yedlin as a pure defender. He’s gotten better, sure, but his best attribute by a bunch is his ability to get on the ball and get down the wing at speed and it seemed like the more disciplined he got the more that trait went away.
I kinda like this idea because it means Adams will be coming from deeper and putting another player into the attack and it looses Yedlin to do what he does best. Acid test will be if there are too many defensive breakdowns in the process.