I always find it amazing how many people on this list know for certain that they are the best judges of soccer talent and how that talent might fit into an effective team. In any case the argument that the national team is a place for developing talent is just wrong. It is a place to test a select few who the coaching staff think might have what it takes to make the team better. It is not a place to make changes for the sake of change or because some fans might want them.
–
There are a couple approaches that haved worked in MLS: 1) Start with a philosophy on how you want the team to play and be brutal getting rid of players that don’t fit that mold well enough and replacing them. Think of the 2018 NY Red Bulls. 2) Start with a few very talented players, figure out how they could make each other better and then add other very good players who also help make everyone better. Think 2018, 2019 LAFC, or maybe Atlanta.
–
Of course what I outlined is a bit of a simplification but I think it is a way to think about things. The NY Red Bulls shed their captains and arguably some of their better players to get a more aggressive team that was also skillful and won the 2018 Supporters shield. LAFC has added very good players to positions that help the stars succeed and those stars help the rest of the team (I think the jury is still out on whether the addition of Rodriguez really helped the team get better, but he is very good.)
Berhalter explained his statement from last week that USMNT doesn’t develop players. He said that the USMNT doesn’t take a player who isn’t ready for the NT and turn them into one. Their just isn’t enough time together. What they do do is take a guy who is NT caliber and try to make them better. So all the calls for blooding youngsters who are on reserve teams in Europe isn’t going to happen. I know lots will say “well Klinsmann played this guy or that guy” well 3G isn’t Klinsmann. You do wonder about guys like Nendez, Gloster, and Ledesma who are on U23 teams but they play in a regular division primarily against professionals. Keri’s talked in an interview with ASN that he had talked up Aaronson to Gregg after last camp and then Gregg too a bigger interest leading to the call up, so if Kreis were to say back one of those guys would it make a difference?
our last three games are one tie and two losses, all playing at home. what objective basis is there for continuity??? we are basically afraid of the unknown, of taking risks, not objectively putting out the best team giving us the best chance. if that was the goal a team under any other coach would be churning the roster if but because that set of players didn’t get it done 3 games running.
you can’t put out the best possible roster when so many of those “best” players are continuosly injured. Altidore, Yedlin, Adams, Brooks(even Weah)have all been injured for months, and even though Yedlin has just come back and has started one game he still can’t be expected to show his top form. I don’t know who people think are missing right now that would make a world of difference for the team, actually the only player i can come up with that would be an upgrade is Nagbe, who we all know by now has turned down the last few call ups for what he says is for rest and family time!
Against the #12 and #5 teams in the World we didn’t win! The two Mexico matches were on American soil but we all no you’re feigning outrage both stadiums were at best 75% pro Mexico.
the crazy thing these “concerns” should not even be FACTORS when it comes to the USMNT PLAYER SELECTIONS this year
Altidore has not dominated his area of expertise in this league, yet he keeps on being the “go to guy” for the USMNT, which continue to suck because we cannot get goals…..and at the end of the day we ALL continue to wonder where did the wheels fall off. well, THEY HAVE BEEN ON JACK STANDS FROM THE BEGINNING hahahaha?
–
PLAYER STATISTICS- Whoscored
–
Goal Ranking –
7……………………Chris Wondolowski – San Jose, 36, AM(CR),FW
9……………………C.J. Sapong – Chicago, 30, AM(LR),FW
10………………….Gyasi Zardes – Columbus, 28, M(LR),FW
20………………….Jeremy Ebobisse – Portland, 22, AM(L),FW
21………………….Jozy Altidore – Toronto, 29, FW ?
29…………………. Jordan Morris – Seattle FC, 24, AM(LR), FW
Jozy is ranked 21 by “whoscored” and 19 by “MLS STATS”. 19th in a league inferior to even Liga MX, Dominated by Players like Vela (Mexico), Zlatan (Retired from Swedish National team), and Martinez (Venezuela national team ranked 26th in the world, 5 spots behind the USMNT). He can’t even beat a player like Chris Wondolowski (retiree) or Gyazi Zardes (2 left feet) for TOP AMERICAN STRIKER IN MLS and yet he is the GO TO GUY for the national team? hahahaha?, absolute insanity
–
Assists
31…………………….Jordan Morris – Seattle Sounders FC, 24, AM(LR),FW
39…………………….Edgar Castillo – NE, 32, D(L),M(L) ?
43…………………….Jozy Altidore – Toronto FC, 29, FW ?
44…………………….Marco Delgado – Toronto FC, 24, D(LR),M(CR)
48…………………….Sebastian Lletget – LA Galaxy, 27, M(CLR)
54…………………….Darlington Nagbe – Atlanta United, 29, M(CLR)
–
How about on defense? How many of our Defensive midfielders / Centerbacks / Leftbacks / Rightbacks actually ranked top 10 IN MLS this year….the “go to” league for GB and US soccer.?
DEFENSE
Tackles: Tackles per game
5………………………….Edgar Castillo – New England Revolution, 32, D(L),M(L)?
6………………………….Sean Davis – NY Red Bulls, 26, M(CR)?
7………………………….Joe Corona – Galaxy, 29, DMC
11………………………..Auston Trusty – Philadelphia, 21, D(C) ?
13………………………..Russell Canouse – DC United, 24, D(R),DMC ?
20………………………..Raymon Gaddis – Philadelphia Union, 29, D(LR)
29………………………..Jorge Villafaña – Portland Timbers, 30, D(L),M(L)
30…………………………Paxton Pomykal – FC Dallas, 19, AM(C)
31…………………………Frankie Amaya – FC Cincinnati, 19, AM(C)
39……………………….. Marco Delgado – Toronto FC, 24, D(LR),M(CR)
–
Not a lot there, maybe outfield blocks??
Blocks: Outfielder Block Per Game
2…………………………….Nick Hagglund – FC Cincinnati, 27, D(CR) ?
9.…………………………..Auston Trusty – Philadelphia Union, 21, D(C) ?
10………………………….Steven Birnbaum – DC United, 28, D(C) ?
11…………………………..Daniel Steres – LA Galaxy, 28, D(C) ?
14…………………………..Jalil Anibaba – NE, 30, D(CLR) ?
17…………………………..Russell Canouse – DC United, 24, D(R),DMC?
20…………………………..Matt Hedges – FC Dallas, 29, D(C)?
21…………………………..Ike Opara – Minnesota United, 30, D(C)?
24…………………………..Miles Robinson – Atlanta United, 22, D(C)?
27…………………………..Aaron Long – New York Red Bulls, 26, D(C?
–
Poor. Ok, perhaps clearances (getting the ball out of a dangerous situation) ?
Clear: Clearances per game
4……………………………….Steven Birnbaum – DC United, 28, D(C)?
5……………………………….Aaron Long – New York Red Bulls, 26, D(C)?
6……………………………….Ike Opara – Minnesota United, 30, D(C) ?
8……………………………….Nick Hagglund – FC Cincinnati, 27, D(CR)?
11……………………………..Justen Glad – Real Salt Lake, 22, D(C)
17……………………………..Andrew Farrell – NE, 27, D(CR)
23……………………………..Matt Hedges – FC Dallas, 29, D(C?
24……………………………..Auston Trusty – Philadelphia Union, 21, D(C)
26……………………………. Daniel Steres – LA Galaxy, 28, D(C
31……………………………. Miles Robinson – Atlanta United, 22, D(C)?
–
hahahaha ? sad, so maybe interceptions this season
Inter: Interceptions per game
1………………………………….Keegan Rosenberry – Colorado Rapids, 25, D(R)
9.…………………………………Ike Opara – Minnesota United, 30, D(C) ?
18…………………………………Sean Davis – New York Red Bulls, 26, M(CR)
22…………………………………Miles Robinson – Atlanta United, 22, D(C)?
24…………………………………Donny Toia – Real Salt Lake, 27, D(LR)
27…………………………………Jalil Anibaba – NE, 30, D(CLR)?
29…………………………………Ryan Hollingshead – FC Dallas, 28, D(LR),M(LR)
30……………………………… ..Wil Trapp – Columbus Crew, 26, DMC
32……………………………….. Russell Canouse – DC United, 24, D(R),DMC?
34…………………………………Edgar Castillo – New England, 32, D(L),M(L?
–
Look at the names that keep on coming up?. How are we suppose to play solid defensively when we have people playing for the national team THAT DON’T RANK IN THE TOP 10 AMONG AMERICAN PLAYERS IN MLS in respective fields. If you think they are too old or not relevant or are pass their prime….. then the sad thing is they are better than whoever is not on the list this season. Food for thought ?
While I admire your passion, your previous comments make it impossible to actually delve into this mess of a comment. I’m sure that whatever you’ve said here is also based on misconceptions and ineptitude. Thank you for your passion.
Mal,
I have to admit, until today I didn’t know what delve and ineptitude meant. lol, thanks Bud
the setup is:
where you rank in MLS………..Name of player
–
Hence the lower the number (on the left the better)
You spent a lot of time to tell us what we already know the best players in MLS aren’t American, but that doesn’t prove that any American not in MLS is better. Altidore’s number when averaged per 90 minutes are in the top 5 in the league that highlights two things he’s effective but injured a lot. NT players also miss games because MLS plays thru breaks so that effects numbers too. Just a couple weeks ago someone told me Nagbe was our best player but to look at your stats he’s terrible so maybe a few basic stats don’t tell the whole story.
the current attitude is to rely heavily on current metrics to the exclusion of either past metrics or future prospects. as a result we are going with the oldest forwards in the pool because they are established club players currently scoring some goals. wood, who is a more appropriate age for this cycle, is excluded for form (he has track record but not current). soto and sargent are then sandbagged for being unknowns at the start of their careers. the net effect is we will spend too many years on players at the back end of their careers or who aren’t very good, until wood recovers or the kids officially prove their worth, ie, we will burn their youthful years in the process. ditto bradley. we would rather go with “reliable” scrubs who couldn’t make russia than take the risks associated with trying new things, because there is no metric to stick on the kids, and wood is a reclamation project. who cares where the potential upside is, let’s go with older, “proven,” and frustrating. we are only prolonging the transition out of last cycle.
and why are we doing this? “to win.” funny but if that is the goal why not try doing it for a change. for a team that sandbags its youth to try and squeeze out wins from veterans we don’t actually get much hardware anymore. we basically omit that the status quo bears a “risk” as well: more of the same crap. against that i would rather take a risk that has both downside AND upside any day. we aren’t beating Mexico with the same team and ideas. you have to change something.
Johnnyrazor,
Yes, I stand by Nagbe being our best CM in MLS lol. He actually makes the list in key areas: Pass completion percentage, ability to dribble (then pass accurately) and able to assist playing as a Central Midfielder
–
PS%: Pass success percentage (accurate passing!!!!)
2………….Darlington Nagbe – ATL, 29, M(CLR) – #1 US player
6………….Sebastian Lletget – LA Galaxy, 27, M(CLR)
8…………..Lee Nguyen – Los Angeles FC, 33, M(CLR),FW
9…………..Michael Bradley – Toronto FC, 32, D(C),M(C)
14…………Tommy Thompson – Earthquakes, 24, D(R),M(CLR
–
Drb: Dribbles per game (ability to get out of trouble)
29…………Darlington Nagbe – ATL, 29, M(CLR #1 US player
34…………Tommy Thompson – Earthquakes, 24, D(R),M(CLR)
35………..Sebastián Saucedo – Real Salt Lake, 22, AM(L)
42………..Ryan Hollingshead – FC Dallas, 28, D(LR),M(LR)
43………..Juan Agudelo – New England , 26, M(CLR),FW
–
Assists
31…………………….Jordan Morris – Seattle Sounders FC, 24, AM(LR),FW
39…………………….Edgar Castillo – NE, 32, D(L),M(L) ?
43…………………….Jozy Altidore – Toronto FC, 29, FW ?
44…………………….Marco Delgado – Toronto FC, 24, D(LR),M(CR)
48…………………….Sebastian Lletget – LA Galaxy, 27, M(CLR)
54…………………….Darlington Nagbe – Atlanta United, 29, M(CLR) #6 playing centrally
–
So, as I was saying, he is better than the options we have on the National team…….and I don’t have to prove that players in higher level leagues, playing and fighting for a spot on a team, day in day out, are better than MLS players whose stats speak for themselves
the youth players are not being “sandbagged” as you put it, but more that they aren’t making inroads at their clubs. Soto has yet to get any minutes for Hannover, but yet you want him called in, and this goes for other younger options domestically and abroad. If you look across the globe at other national teams they aren’t playing kids toiling in reserve teams or lower divisions of top leagues, they are running out many first choice players and some younger players who are actually playing with their clubs first team, especially considering many NT’s are having to go through euro and nations league qualifying matches.
On top of that, Olympic Q is around the corner so it behooves many of our younger pplayers to be in that team to not only qualify for the Olympics but build continuity together at that level, while also learning more of Greg’s system while there which will ease the transition when they start to get call ups
Even if Altidore is available- it is imperative we get develop other options pronto because over many years now, Altidore has proven himself to be permanently questionable with muscle/soft tissue injuries.
we don’t think past tomorrow anymore. many teams would handle it as you suggest. even if they thought zardes satisfactory, he would be set aside to let 2nd and 2rd and 4th options be tested. ditto steffen, pulisic, and others. that way if they get hurt, as you suggest, you are prepared (and we already had steffen skip games hurt this year). but we are so focused on winning the next game on the schedule we don’t look down the line or at the big picture. thus our lineups tend to favor obvious names being run into the ground, or the same people we called last time even if we didn’t get the result. conservatism for the sake of conservatism, bolstered by some unproven notion that running out the same A team as last time is necessary to give us our best chance to win — even if we haven’t won since june with them.
the senior team is not for developing players, club level and the youth nt are more geared towards that, so this idea that players should be called in so we can develop depth is going about it all the wrong way. Many of these player people want to see just aren’t ready for that level or they’d do what Dest has and would be playing consistently with their first team. There are still too many players having to settle for loans, with reserve teams or injured and not playing. That is not getting the senior team better, so while it seems to be popular to diminish MLS, what can’t be overlooked is that playing in our domestic league week in and out far outweighs playing in lower european leagues, reserve teams or not playing at all. The WC is under 4 years away, so with that in mind there is time to allow the players showing promise to develop and still be on track to contribute to the senior team hopefully next year or the year after, with an eye towards replacing holdovers who are now getting minutes with the senior team
Not in any way suggesting they should be developed from the ground up on the senior team (although that seems to be happening with other sub-par players at the moment) I do suggest forwards other than Jozy should be the priority in getting time, developing rapport and a role on the team.
I always find it amazing how many people on this list know for certain that they are the best judges of soccer talent and how that talent might fit into an effective team. In any case the argument that the national team is a place for developing talent is just wrong. It is a place to test a select few who the coaching staff think might have what it takes to make the team better. It is not a place to make changes for the sake of change or because some fans might want them.
–
There are a couple approaches that haved worked in MLS: 1) Start with a philosophy on how you want the team to play and be brutal getting rid of players that don’t fit that mold well enough and replacing them. Think of the 2018 NY Red Bulls. 2) Start with a few very talented players, figure out how they could make each other better and then add other very good players who also help make everyone better. Think 2018, 2019 LAFC, or maybe Atlanta.
–
Of course what I outlined is a bit of a simplification but I think it is a way to think about things. The NY Red Bulls shed their captains and arguably some of their better players to get a more aggressive team that was also skillful and won the 2018 Supporters shield. LAFC has added very good players to positions that help the stars succeed and those stars help the rest of the team (I think the jury is still out on whether the addition of Rodriguez really helped the team get better, but he is very good.)
Berhalter explained his statement from last week that USMNT doesn’t develop players. He said that the USMNT doesn’t take a player who isn’t ready for the NT and turn them into one. Their just isn’t enough time together. What they do do is take a guy who is NT caliber and try to make them better. So all the calls for blooding youngsters who are on reserve teams in Europe isn’t going to happen. I know lots will say “well Klinsmann played this guy or that guy” well 3G isn’t Klinsmann. You do wonder about guys like Nendez, Gloster, and Ledesma who are on U23 teams but they play in a regular division primarily against professionals. Keri’s talked in an interview with ASN that he had talked up Aaronson to Gregg after last camp and then Gregg too a bigger interest leading to the call up, so if Kreis were to say back one of those guys would it make a difference?
Autocorrect Nendez=Mendez, Keri’s=Kreis
I love the attitude around this group, “well he has done it before, so we will go with him again, possibly for both games” ?
our last three games are one tie and two losses, all playing at home. what objective basis is there for continuity??? we are basically afraid of the unknown, of taking risks, not objectively putting out the best team giving us the best chance. if that was the goal a team under any other coach would be churning the roster if but because that set of players didn’t get it done 3 games running.
you can’t put out the best possible roster when so many of those “best” players are continuosly injured. Altidore, Yedlin, Adams, Brooks(even Weah)have all been injured for months, and even though Yedlin has just come back and has started one game he still can’t be expected to show his top form. I don’t know who people think are missing right now that would make a world of difference for the team, actually the only player i can come up with that would be an upgrade is Nagbe, who we all know by now has turned down the last few call ups for what he says is for rest and family time!
Against the #12 and #5 teams in the World we didn’t win! The two Mexico matches were on American soil but we all no you’re feigning outrage both stadiums were at best 75% pro Mexico.
the crazy thing these “concerns” should not even be FACTORS when it comes to the USMNT PLAYER SELECTIONS this year
Altidore has not dominated his area of expertise in this league, yet he keeps on being the “go to guy” for the USMNT, which continue to suck because we cannot get goals…..and at the end of the day we ALL continue to wonder where did the wheels fall off. well, THEY HAVE BEEN ON JACK STANDS FROM THE BEGINNING hahahaha?
–
PLAYER STATISTICS- Whoscored
–
Goal Ranking –
7……………………Chris Wondolowski – San Jose, 36, AM(CR),FW
9……………………C.J. Sapong – Chicago, 30, AM(LR),FW
10………………….Gyasi Zardes – Columbus, 28, M(LR),FW
20………………….Jeremy Ebobisse – Portland, 22, AM(L),FW
21………………….Jozy Altidore – Toronto, 29, FW ?
29…………………. Jordan Morris – Seattle FC, 24, AM(LR), FW
Jozy is ranked 21 by “whoscored” and 19 by “MLS STATS”. 19th in a league inferior to even Liga MX, Dominated by Players like Vela (Mexico), Zlatan (Retired from Swedish National team), and Martinez (Venezuela national team ranked 26th in the world, 5 spots behind the USMNT). He can’t even beat a player like Chris Wondolowski (retiree) or Gyazi Zardes (2 left feet) for TOP AMERICAN STRIKER IN MLS and yet he is the GO TO GUY for the national team? hahahaha?, absolute insanity
–
Assists
31…………………….Jordan Morris – Seattle Sounders FC, 24, AM(LR),FW
39…………………….Edgar Castillo – NE, 32, D(L),M(L) ?
43…………………….Jozy Altidore – Toronto FC, 29, FW ?
44…………………….Marco Delgado – Toronto FC, 24, D(LR),M(CR)
48…………………….Sebastian Lletget – LA Galaxy, 27, M(CLR)
54…………………….Darlington Nagbe – Atlanta United, 29, M(CLR)
–
How about on defense? How many of our Defensive midfielders / Centerbacks / Leftbacks / Rightbacks actually ranked top 10 IN MLS this year….the “go to” league for GB and US soccer.?
DEFENSE
Tackles: Tackles per game
5………………………….Edgar Castillo – New England Revolution, 32, D(L),M(L)?
6………………………….Sean Davis – NY Red Bulls, 26, M(CR)?
7………………………….Joe Corona – Galaxy, 29, DMC
11………………………..Auston Trusty – Philadelphia, 21, D(C) ?
13………………………..Russell Canouse – DC United, 24, D(R),DMC ?
20………………………..Raymon Gaddis – Philadelphia Union, 29, D(LR)
29………………………..Jorge Villafaña – Portland Timbers, 30, D(L),M(L)
30…………………………Paxton Pomykal – FC Dallas, 19, AM(C)
31…………………………Frankie Amaya – FC Cincinnati, 19, AM(C)
39……………………….. Marco Delgado – Toronto FC, 24, D(LR),M(CR)
–
Not a lot there, maybe outfield blocks??
Blocks: Outfielder Block Per Game
2…………………………….Nick Hagglund – FC Cincinnati, 27, D(CR) ?
9.…………………………..Auston Trusty – Philadelphia Union, 21, D(C) ?
10………………………….Steven Birnbaum – DC United, 28, D(C) ?
11…………………………..Daniel Steres – LA Galaxy, 28, D(C) ?
14…………………………..Jalil Anibaba – NE, 30, D(CLR) ?
17…………………………..Russell Canouse – DC United, 24, D(R),DMC?
20…………………………..Matt Hedges – FC Dallas, 29, D(C)?
21…………………………..Ike Opara – Minnesota United, 30, D(C)?
24…………………………..Miles Robinson – Atlanta United, 22, D(C)?
27…………………………..Aaron Long – New York Red Bulls, 26, D(C?
–
Poor. Ok, perhaps clearances (getting the ball out of a dangerous situation) ?
Clear: Clearances per game
4……………………………….Steven Birnbaum – DC United, 28, D(C)?
5……………………………….Aaron Long – New York Red Bulls, 26, D(C)?
6……………………………….Ike Opara – Minnesota United, 30, D(C) ?
8……………………………….Nick Hagglund – FC Cincinnati, 27, D(CR)?
11……………………………..Justen Glad – Real Salt Lake, 22, D(C)
17……………………………..Andrew Farrell – NE, 27, D(CR)
23……………………………..Matt Hedges – FC Dallas, 29, D(C?
24……………………………..Auston Trusty – Philadelphia Union, 21, D(C)
26……………………………. Daniel Steres – LA Galaxy, 28, D(C
31……………………………. Miles Robinson – Atlanta United, 22, D(C)?
–
hahahaha ? sad, so maybe interceptions this season
Inter: Interceptions per game
1………………………………….Keegan Rosenberry – Colorado Rapids, 25, D(R)
9.…………………………………Ike Opara – Minnesota United, 30, D(C) ?
18…………………………………Sean Davis – New York Red Bulls, 26, M(CR)
22…………………………………Miles Robinson – Atlanta United, 22, D(C)?
24…………………………………Donny Toia – Real Salt Lake, 27, D(LR)
27…………………………………Jalil Anibaba – NE, 30, D(CLR)?
29…………………………………Ryan Hollingshead – FC Dallas, 28, D(LR),M(LR)
30……………………………… ..Wil Trapp – Columbus Crew, 26, DMC
32……………………………….. Russell Canouse – DC United, 24, D(R),DMC?
34…………………………………Edgar Castillo – New England, 32, D(L),M(L?
–
Look at the names that keep on coming up?. How are we suppose to play solid defensively when we have people playing for the national team THAT DON’T RANK IN THE TOP 10 AMONG AMERICAN PLAYERS IN MLS in respective fields. If you think they are too old or not relevant or are pass their prime….. then the sad thing is they are better than whoever is not on the list this season. Food for thought ?
While I admire your passion, your previous comments make it impossible to actually delve into this mess of a comment. I’m sure that whatever you’ve said here is also based on misconceptions and ineptitude. Thank you for your passion.
Mal,
I have to admit, until today I didn’t know what delve and ineptitude meant. lol, thanks Bud
the setup is:
where you rank in MLS………..Name of player
–
Hence the lower the number (on the left the better)
You spent a lot of time to tell us what we already know the best players in MLS aren’t American, but that doesn’t prove that any American not in MLS is better. Altidore’s number when averaged per 90 minutes are in the top 5 in the league that highlights two things he’s effective but injured a lot. NT players also miss games because MLS plays thru breaks so that effects numbers too. Just a couple weeks ago someone told me Nagbe was our best player but to look at your stats he’s terrible so maybe a few basic stats don’t tell the whole story.
the current attitude is to rely heavily on current metrics to the exclusion of either past metrics or future prospects. as a result we are going with the oldest forwards in the pool because they are established club players currently scoring some goals. wood, who is a more appropriate age for this cycle, is excluded for form (he has track record but not current). soto and sargent are then sandbagged for being unknowns at the start of their careers. the net effect is we will spend too many years on players at the back end of their careers or who aren’t very good, until wood recovers or the kids officially prove their worth, ie, we will burn their youthful years in the process. ditto bradley. we would rather go with “reliable” scrubs who couldn’t make russia than take the risks associated with trying new things, because there is no metric to stick on the kids, and wood is a reclamation project. who cares where the potential upside is, let’s go with older, “proven,” and frustrating. we are only prolonging the transition out of last cycle.
and why are we doing this? “to win.” funny but if that is the goal why not try doing it for a change. for a team that sandbags its youth to try and squeeze out wins from veterans we don’t actually get much hardware anymore. we basically omit that the status quo bears a “risk” as well: more of the same crap. against that i would rather take a risk that has both downside AND upside any day. we aren’t beating Mexico with the same team and ideas. you have to change something.
Johnnyrazor,
Yes, I stand by Nagbe being our best CM in MLS lol. He actually makes the list in key areas: Pass completion percentage, ability to dribble (then pass accurately) and able to assist playing as a Central Midfielder
–
PS%: Pass success percentage (accurate passing!!!!)
2………….Darlington Nagbe – ATL, 29, M(CLR) – #1 US player
6………….Sebastian Lletget – LA Galaxy, 27, M(CLR)
8…………..Lee Nguyen – Los Angeles FC, 33, M(CLR),FW
9…………..Michael Bradley – Toronto FC, 32, D(C),M(C)
14…………Tommy Thompson – Earthquakes, 24, D(R),M(CLR
–
Drb: Dribbles per game (ability to get out of trouble)
29…………Darlington Nagbe – ATL, 29, M(CLR #1 US player
34…………Tommy Thompson – Earthquakes, 24, D(R),M(CLR)
35………..Sebastián Saucedo – Real Salt Lake, 22, AM(L)
42………..Ryan Hollingshead – FC Dallas, 28, D(LR),M(LR)
43………..Juan Agudelo – New England , 26, M(CLR),FW
–
Assists
31…………………….Jordan Morris – Seattle Sounders FC, 24, AM(LR),FW
39…………………….Edgar Castillo – NE, 32, D(L),M(L) ?
43…………………….Jozy Altidore – Toronto FC, 29, FW ?
44…………………….Marco Delgado – Toronto FC, 24, D(LR),M(CR)
48…………………….Sebastian Lletget – LA Galaxy, 27, M(CLR)
54…………………….Darlington Nagbe – Atlanta United, 29, M(CLR) #6 playing centrally
–
So, as I was saying, he is better than the options we have on the National team…….and I don’t have to prove that players in higher level leagues, playing and fighting for a spot on a team, day in day out, are better than MLS players whose stats speak for themselves
the youth players are not being “sandbagged” as you put it, but more that they aren’t making inroads at their clubs. Soto has yet to get any minutes for Hannover, but yet you want him called in, and this goes for other younger options domestically and abroad. If you look across the globe at other national teams they aren’t playing kids toiling in reserve teams or lower divisions of top leagues, they are running out many first choice players and some younger players who are actually playing with their clubs first team, especially considering many NT’s are having to go through euro and nations league qualifying matches.
On top of that, Olympic Q is around the corner so it behooves many of our younger pplayers to be in that team to not only qualify for the Olympics but build continuity together at that level, while also learning more of Greg’s system while there which will ease the transition when they start to get call ups
Even if Altidore is available- it is imperative we get develop other options pronto because over many years now, Altidore has proven himself to be permanently questionable with muscle/soft tissue injuries.
we don’t think past tomorrow anymore. many teams would handle it as you suggest. even if they thought zardes satisfactory, he would be set aside to let 2nd and 2rd and 4th options be tested. ditto steffen, pulisic, and others. that way if they get hurt, as you suggest, you are prepared (and we already had steffen skip games hurt this year). but we are so focused on winning the next game on the schedule we don’t look down the line or at the big picture. thus our lineups tend to favor obvious names being run into the ground, or the same people we called last time even if we didn’t get the result. conservatism for the sake of conservatism, bolstered by some unproven notion that running out the same A team as last time is necessary to give us our best chance to win — even if we haven’t won since june with them.
the senior team is not for developing players, club level and the youth nt are more geared towards that, so this idea that players should be called in so we can develop depth is going about it all the wrong way. Many of these player people want to see just aren’t ready for that level or they’d do what Dest has and would be playing consistently with their first team. There are still too many players having to settle for loans, with reserve teams or injured and not playing. That is not getting the senior team better, so while it seems to be popular to diminish MLS, what can’t be overlooked is that playing in our domestic league week in and out far outweighs playing in lower european leagues, reserve teams or not playing at all. The WC is under 4 years away, so with that in mind there is time to allow the players showing promise to develop and still be on track to contribute to the senior team hopefully next year or the year after, with an eye towards replacing holdovers who are now getting minutes with the senior team
Not in any way suggesting they should be developed from the ground up on the senior team (although that seems to be happening with other sub-par players at the moment) I do suggest forwards other than Jozy should be the priority in getting time, developing rapport and a role on the team.