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Stewart: Berhalter’s job isn’t on the line in Nations League

ORLANDO — Gregg Berhalter’s tenure as U.S. Men’s National Team coach has had its share of disappointing results, but as far as USMNT general manager Earnie Stewart is concerned, Berhalter is a coach making progress, not one in danger of losing his job.

“We’re looking at the future, so when I evaluate Gregg and the coaching staff, from what I’ve seen today, I’m a pleased man,” Stewart said. “An individual result is not going to change that. It’s just not.

“I’m pleased with the progress, but obviously when you don’t win games there’s a certain pressure that comes with that and we all understand,” Stewart said. ” That’s part of our business, but that’s also something that our player, and our staff and ourselves, we all need to get through and keep to doing what we have to do.”

Berhalter has come under increasing scrutiny after a series of worrisome results, from the consecutive pre-Gold Cup losses to Jamaica and Venezuela, to the recent losses to Mexico and Canada.

“When you look at these individual results of the Canada away game, no we weren’t happy. We weren’t happy at all. That’s really simple, and we have now a moment to rectify that as well. This Friday is about that. I’m not going to call it revenge or anything like that, but we need to perform on Friday, and as I’ve seen now over the last couple of days that we’ve been in camp I think we’re in really good shape to do that as well.”

The USMNT’s recent results have led to a sense among U.S. fans that the program isn’t making progress under Berhalter. Stewart disagrees, pointing to incremental improvements individual players are making as they adapt to Berhalter’s complicated possession-based system.

“Yes, results are a very important part, except once again I think in the trajectory that we have right now, and where we’re going to, and what I’ve been seeing from a consistency and continuity standpoint,” Stewart said. “I think those results, and once again I think Gold Cup was a very good example of what that will look like, so I have no fear at all that we’re not going to qualify for the World Cup. I’m very, very confident about that.

“But we’re also going to go play away against really, really big teams,” Stewart added. “What does that say? This is all, for me, the bigger picture. What do we want to achieve in 2022? Once you go away and play bigger teams in away games there’s certain risks that you take with that. For that view down the road, I think that’s going to be a key for us to get results and in the end in 2026 become a world champion because that’s what we all dream of.”

Comments

  1. I think that if we look bad AGAIN then the pressure should be to remove Ernie. Get somebody else in there the will fire GB. He is not calling in the best people and will never change. He has to go

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  2. Condescending to the nth degree is telling the last few people watching this team that what they’ve seen with their own eyes over several games isn’t real. The team has degraded and many players that struggled mightily v Canada went on to fine form with their clubs.

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  3. For those who have read Catch -22, this is like Yossarian’s medal. In that case what happened was that Yossarian, the main character, royally screwed up and, as the lead bombardier led his flight of planes the wrong way so they missed the target. As a result, they had to go around, go through heavy flak again in order to bomb the target. So, his commanding officer was going to court martial him when his deputy pointed out that would make the commanding officer look bad since he had let Yossarian be the lead bombardier. So, they gave him a medal instead. I knew this was going to happen. To fire Berhalter so early would be admitting that they made a big mistake hiring him in the first place. So, of course Stewart is going to say everything is just fine, nothing to see here. I predicted this some time ago. The old boys network is circling the wagons to protect themselves from attacking fire. As I wrote about 3 days ago, I have concluded that that there needs to be a major shake-up at USSF and both Berhalters and Stewart need to be replaced. When someone challenged me, I suggested Lagerway of Seattle as a good replacement for Stewart and Bob Bradley for Berhalter as coach. I’m sure there are others who can do a better job than those there now.

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    • I like watching Stu, Edu, Howard, Nash, & Kate Abdo’s shows. Remember, Stu is part of the contingent of players, who voted for the status quo!! The former players, including Bocanegra, voted for Cordeiro. The GM & coach are former USMNT players, if any former player is critical of the direction of the USMNT, they contradict how they voted. They are complicit!! Stu isn’t a whistleblower. He voted for this!!

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      • I know he did, but sometimes you need that for insider to turn whistleblower to clean things up. He could turn on them.

    • Good share. If you keep reading down the thread, a few people challenge Stu considerably on his role/influence on the election and power structure…. Stu actually responds in a few cases. Some interesting comments.

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  4. the part that’s just out to lunch here is that while an individual “mexico” result may not mean much, we haven’t lost to “canada” that bad in decades, and that is a canary in the coalmine when it happens. we don’t lost to teams like that in games that count. when we did it was the 80s.

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  5. what amuses me is if we were going to turn into system obsessed kool aid drinkers we could pick a system somewhat close to what the pool can play, and by someone other than the dutch who have never won a world cup. it’s giggle inducing we sell out on a concept like it will win the world cup when the home country never won one with it. how about imitating france? germany? italy? or is this about elevating “pretty” over “winning?” i prefer Ws. and i didn’t think by 2010 we were that ugly anyway.

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  6. basically proof we are run by the kool aid drinkers now. next question is what is our timeframe for success and have we secretly decided 2022 is disposable in service of claims that it will be fixed for 2026.

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    • Somewhere in the Grant Wahl interview with Don Garber concerning MLS/SUMs interaction with USSF Garber tells us that the marketing rights deal between SUM and USSF ends sometime in either 2021 or 22. Wall asks Garber if the previous two rights deals involved open bidding and Garber says no. I believe it’s ‘imperatIve’ that the upcoming marketing rights process have an open and public bidding process at a minimum but longer term I have another idea. That is, I believe outsourcing the marketing rights is now unnecessary given the growth of the past two decades since this relationship with SUM formed. USSF should have the scope and revenue stream to hire its own lawyers and business folks to manage its rights deals around the world. Thus making USSF independent of SUMs money once again.

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  7. Remember though in this last gold cup it was noticeable that these smaller island countries have been growing by having order in there defense and fighting phisically. Couracao was a revelation haiti played solid and Jamaica has been more and more difficult for everyone in the region. So people who say that some teams are pitiful or not that good don’t know what they are talking about. Add in the tactics of these teams of defending their half and pressing up top and it becomes hard for any talented team. The fact of the matter is Greg is not cut out and Stewart was clearly not the right hire iterviewed 2 MLS coaches and no top international coaches were interviewed.Stewart is looking to put out fires but it’s catching up to him in the fact that he has been asked if we fail to beat canada will berhalter be fired. He will or someone will have to make that your fired call soon.

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    • Yes, the small CONCACAF countries are getting better. But don’t overdo it. When they play a major team out side the region they get creamed. Before the 2018 WC Costa Rica, which is much better than those teams, played Belgium and they packed it in tight in the middle. Belgium beat them 4-1 and it wasn’t even that close. Even with a packed in middle, Belgium still was able to get through their back line with clever moves, dribbling and give and gos.

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  8. Bocanegra would have been a better technical director or hiring manager for us soccer look at what he had begun doing with Atlanta united. Ernie Stewart wasn’t even captain or played in more clubs across Europe like bocanegra. How could people defend ernie with his gross incopetence and delussion like berhalter. It seems like cordeiro is just a puppet and all below have the power.

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  9. Basically he just said…, “it’s okay that we lost to Canada, Jamaica, Mexico twice and others.” Then doubles down and says he’s confident in qualifying. Guys, qualifying was never something we worried about since 1990 it’s been decades since failed qualification was eve on the table. It happened in 2017 and based on the need for Earnie to declare how supremely confident he is it’s probably on the table again, feigning overconfidence is actually the opposite of confidence.

    Earnie’s co-signing this hot garbage. He’s already negligent for our absolute joke of a coaching search. He’s just proving to everyone he’s just a pawn for Jay and Greg.

    Ruining his legacy along with GB, Boca and Holden too for their part in the election.

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    • Also… How all that ‘confidence’ work out last time. It’s time for this organization to stop ignoring the obvious while declaring its ‘confidence’. Not buying it.

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    • Joe Dirt thanks for keeping your foot on Stewarts neck. Losing to those Concacaf teams is pitiful and their is no excuse for it. Agree completely Joe Dirt, the blindness in the confederation is ridiculous.

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    • Yup. I’d also observe that Stewart seems to have an infuriating arrogance about his role. His interviews are infrequent, inauthentic, and too-often dismissive of legitimate questions.For an organization w a long-term reputation for non-transparency, he and his colleagues seem totally uninterested in changing that perception.

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    • you realize that if world cup qualifying hadn’t been distorted by this “rankings” stuff we would be in serious danger in a semi round right now? that bought us time we have not earned that we are apparently not going to use to get better for the hex. because corruption (stubbornness) + corruption (coaching hire) > corruption (quali format)

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      • That’s dead right IV. Many forget that even with a very good group of players we were under-the-gun early in the 2014 qualifying cycle. Actually ended up in a must-win game vs Guatemala after barely salvaging a result in Antigua & Barbuda. Stewart has behaved like we are on a free roll w his sense of timing. Our best hope is that Berhalter turns it around, cos Earnie won’t consider other options it before we are in a deep hole in the hex

  10. Will someone from the media please ask Ernie the following 2 questions:
    1) What specific progress have you seen that makes you believe in the future of this team, system, & coach?
    2) At what point is Berhaulter going to be held accountable?

    If Ernie can’t provide a honest answer to these 2 questions than Berhaulter should be fired immediately….and Ernie should be on the hot seat from USSF.

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    • “at what point” gets into the timeframe question and whether 2022 has been sacrificed. if we are ok burning another world cup on trying to change how we play, then he could have years to eff around with it, with little accountability because it’s a “project.”

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  11. What progress Ernie? We lost to friggin Canada and will probably lose again. Maybe your job should be on the line IF you continue to support that food Beerholder. I am totally disgusted and want to see SOMETHING to cheer for and that is not the Columbus Crew in NAT uniforms. Wake the fuk up and smell the coffee. We are SINKING and its your fault for picking a bad coach

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  12. Pathetic the buddy system is clear. “Berhalters complicated system” “I have seen progress in individual performance” from who? Every player at the national team level has looked worse and it’s not because of the complicated cap system. I hope he is bluffing and berhalters job is on the line. “We will qualify for the world cup I’m confident in that”. I still have major doubts losing a few games at home and losing away in tough environments with crazy fans in honduras mexico panama we could miss another world cup with berhalter I am not exagerating here. Fire him if we don’t make it to the nation’s league final there is no excuse the talent was there but will be missing with pulissic. Bocanegra we needed you at us soccer but you choose success with Atlanta and they choose stewart who has not accomplished much as a general manager not even at the union.

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    • Agreed, Remember how ‘confident’ everyone at USSF was prior to Couva? How’d that work out? Fake confidence is nothing, it’s just sticking your head in the sand.

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    • Oh and it was Boca who stonewalled Kyle Martino and swung the athletes council to Corderio according to Martino’s open letter to fans after the election. Basically he calls out Bocanegra for not supporting change and rounding up the votes in the athletes council for Cordero while blocking any conversation Martino tried to make to the athletes directly. Boca’s no savior.

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  13. Consistency and continuity? If you consistently continue to be garbage, you should not play/coach any more. Consistency and continuity are good buzz words if you’re winning. If you’re losing, I don’t want to see either consistency or continuity.

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    • yeah, to me the telling sign was when we rostered the same people who just lost to canada……to play canada again. almost textbook insanity.

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  14. Maybe Ernie’s job should be on the line? He clearly never conducted a real search for the USMNT coach and instead just waited for the 2018 MLS season to end so he could appoint his buddy.

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    • Yep, agreed. This why we should want a group of outsiders with little or no connection to the current USSF or MLS power structure. This means people who can freely operate and be independent of any influence the current corrupt structure can use to pressure them. We need outsider eyes and ways of doing things to clean this mess up otherwise it’s just BA 4.0,5.0,6.0, etc.

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      • For me this is the best possible idea (and should’ve happened immediately after the 2017 debacle). This organization needs a top-to-bottom audit. No stones unturned. The USSF has plenty of money to bring in a first class consulting company and really get after their organizational dysfunction. Management is just too arrogant.

  15. Not good. Nothing on the field has indicated positive Trajectory. I believe realism is what we need to gain some buy in to the USMNT and this kind of talk is off putting.

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  16. Instead of painting a Rossy picture would’ve been better if he had just been quiet or would’ve been better to say we’re still going through an adjustment process but if you ask me is the men’s team passing the eye test from a progress standpoint I would definitely say no. I’m already Losing interest in the team another loss to Canada will pretty much put a nail in the coffin. Hate to say it but I’d rather have Sunil back. Hell Jurgen failed But not at this level. These big games Ernie talks of let’s hope there’s something in Europe or at least South America otherwise not sure what big he’s talking about.

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