General Soccer Thread

[thrill]

He's weak tactically. He constantly plays players out of position. He contradicts himself constantly. He allows his ego to affect his player selections to the detriment of the team. He doesn't have a good grasp of the player pool. He sets himself up as the star of the team. He plays mind games with players without a coherent end game. He's like a dumb Phil Jackson. He [expletive] with the player, tears them down and then doesn't know how to build them up.

Perfect example is the recent comments about Jozy Altidore's playing time at Sunderland. Jozy isn't getting played. Klinsmann wants him to move to a new team this January. He's also made it very clear a move to MLS would be unacceptable. Well, if MLS teams are the only teams that call or are the only teams willing to pay him, I don't know, 2-3 million a year, why on earth should Jozy sign with whatever garbage second-division English team or Eredivisie team wants him but wouldn't pay that salary? Especially when he could sign in the US, be comfortable, be a star, get playing time and live in New York?

He's got a ton of criticism for everybody but offers no alternative to help them get to where he thinks they should be. He's delusional about the psyche, talent level and socioeconomic goals of the American player. He wants America to be Europe and have their century plus history of developing players, and he thinks just talking about it is going to make it happen.

Give me a guy like Bob Bradley or Bruce Arena who picked the best 23 players every time, put them in their best positions on the field to succeed and then goes out there and manages the game. I don't want my manager trying to initiate a top-down restructuring of the sport on a national level while managing the team. I especially don't want him doing it if he exhibits a lack of understanding of why or how things the way they are now.

[MrSaigon]

Pretty funny that he takes Wondo to Brazil while continuing to expletive all over MLS. If Wondo was never supposed to play, it just makes him look worse.

[thrill]

I have a ton of thoughts on the Jurgen and Garber nonsense. All of them here: http://www.northsidebaseball.com/forum/ ... tart=18800

I am wolf stansson over there if you care to read. Some good dialog in that thread about it.

[go birds]

I have a ton of thoughts on the Jurgen and Garber nonsense. All of them here: http://www.northsidebaseball.com/forum/ ... tart=18800

I am wolf stansson over there if you care to read. Some good dialog in that thread about it.

Who would you prefer over Jurgen? I mean, ive only really been hardcore following USMNT since he took over and the team _appears_ to be headed in the right direction.

I understand the criticism, but you don't think some of his motives are warranted? Or at least theres a method to his madness?

[MrSaigon]

I'm not an expert on the USMNT, but I do watch the big games--and I know a lot more about the players and movements now that I follow MLS pretty closely. To me it seems like we've been 'moving in the right direction' since Japan/Korea. I guess we're doing well in that we could have regressed, but it seems like we've been in relatively the same place for a while. I do know enough to know he's a dick, but I didn't know there was a JK OUT movement (I mean, if there is).

[thrill]

I have a ton of thoughts on the Jurgen and Garber nonsense. All of them here: http://www.northsidebaseball.com/forum/ ... tart=18800

I am wolf stansson over there if you care to read. Some good dialog in that thread about it.

Who would you prefer over Jurgen? I mean, ive only really been hardcore following USMNT since he took over and the team _appears_ to be headed in the right direction.

I understand the criticism, but you don't think some of his motives are warranted? Or at least theres a method to his madness?

There's a method to his madness, sure. A lot of what he says is true, sure. There are some good things he's doing, sure.

My issue is that he's not the best person to fix these problems and he goes about it wrong. There was never a real managerial search because his boss has had a crush on him since 2006 and just handed him more money and more power than any other coach, ever the second he said yes. There are American coaches who would be better like Jason Kreis and I'm sure there would have been foreign options willing to take on the challenge like Guus Hiddink. I don't know though because there was never a legit search.

My other issue is the media narrative that we're moving in the right direction. Are we? We've been better. We've had more talent. But there's this narrative that Jurgen is breaking new ground. He's not.

[Fat Strat]

My other issue is the media narrative that we're moving in the right direction. Are we? We've been better. We've had more talent. But there's this narrative that Jurgen is breaking new ground. He's not.

I don't know about that. IMO, we're playing better looking soccer and getting better results than at any point that I remember in our recent history. And that's despite the fact that we have had (a little) more talent at places on the field in the past. Ball movement, control, finishing, athleticism, depth... all those things are better now than any USMNT I've seen in the past. These Klinsman teams can score the ball. When in our past did we have a USMNT that could consistently put the ball in the back of the net? And we haven't lost the things that made American soccer what it was in the past -- set pieces, defense, and goaltending. I also think the results speak for themselves. You had a great performance in the WC, both on the field and with ratings/awareness. Before that we ripped through qualifying without a hiccup and I think CONCACAF demonstrated in the WC that it's no pushover region.

Not to mention the development system that we have in place now and these crazy athletic young players we keep turning up.

It seems like Jurgen and US Soccer is breaking new ground. Now, who gets credit for that is certainly open for debate, because it does seem like all the credit goes to Klinnsman.


BTW, I don't really have any disagreement with you when it comes to Klinnsman's comments regarding MLS and his insistence on giving his opinion (strongly) on where the USMNT players are supposed to be playing. That's not my area at all, but it does seem like the man can't keep his trap shut about it.

[thrill]

Fair points. Another thing I come back to: Julian Green, John Brooks, Aron Johansson and potentially Gedion Zelalem probably don't answer when Bob Bradley calls, so there's that. He can recruit. We'll see how much that ends up meaning down the road.

[MrSaigon]

Things might get pretty shenanigansy this MLS offseason. The Chivas dissolution dispersal draft, to take place over a closed conference call, will have its order determined by an also closed draw. Chances Dan Kennedy is in Seattle and Cubo (who won't be part of he draft) is with the Galaxy? Unless everything's being set up for the new NY team. Wouldn't be surprised if many teams around the league have to take one for the Yankees/Man City.

[slide_into_first]

Wisconsin women beat Iowa 1-0 to win the B1G soccer tournament. Go, Badgers!