MNT's 2021 | Page 11 | The Boneyard

MNT's 2021

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I'd like to see a Dike-Siebatchio strike tandem and play some holdup ball up top. If they can lay off to streaking Pulisic/Dest/Yedlin or turn and go to goal we may have a chance of chewing clock in the attacking third. Those two guys are massive and in international ball athleticism goes a long way
 
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Nothing improves until the back line improves.

You wonder why Pulisic dosn't get more touches? The back line can't get the ball to the midfield. How the hell is Pulisic suppose to get the ball? And people get mad at Dest when it's almost impossible for him to do what he does best because because Ream can't protect his back.

Improve the back line and every will move in the right direction.
Yedlin made himself a lot more available than Dest did. Dest was playing wingback but didn’t help Ream at all. He had a bad game. He’s had some very good games for us. But in this game he needed to put more effort on the defensive side and simply didn’t.
 
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Mckennie is great on headers in the Serie A, he’s just a beast in the air in general. I agree with everything you said though. Maybe Busio can be that 8 for us, hope to see in the Gold cup.

Busio? He’s great but the idiots at US Soccer didn’t even call him up for Olympic Qualifying. The whole organization is rotten with incompetence.
 
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Busio? He’s great but the idiots at US Soccer didn’t even call him up for Olympic Qualifying. The whole organization is rotten with incompetence.
Kreis’ whole roster was a *show, they took like 5 #6’s and no creative mids. That roster was bad. But i’m looking forward to seeing LDLT, Busio, Pomykal, etc for the gold cup.
 

HuskyHawk

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Mexico didn't impress me much and they were so much more dangerous than us. If GGG rolls this 11 out against the Dutch or equivalent second-tier Euro team or an aggressive pressing South American squad, we're looking at 5-0 at half.

Glaring holes I see:
  • For the big clubs our young guys play for, none are true focal points on offense. And those that impact the game (Pulisic) are surrounded by superior talent.
  • How many runs did Yedlin make up the flank where the ball never got to him, was passed too late or not on target? 2? 3? Why should he bust it 40-60 yards again if he's not rewarded?
  • Does McKennie elevate for 2 headers against back lines that run 6'2-6'4? Probably not.
  • Selection. Ream is not athletic enough. McKenzie was either too scared or simply had a horrible night. Acosta isn't good enough but got by. At least GGG didn't roll out Yuell.
  • Formation & style: Why are we asking these two above to work the ball out of the back like they're Kompany, Stones and van Dijk? And we don't have a deep-lying midfielder to hit diagonal balls/small connections either. Makes zero sense.
  • We don't have a real 8 or 10. McKennie and Adams play as destroyers for their clubs but are not relied upon to be facilitators. Yet we still try to play Barcelona ball with our nerve-inducing, lumbering back 3

This the tactical question I asked. Everybody knows we are attempting to play a Barcelona possession style, while not having the players to do it. So everybody presses us and ends up dominating possession. I just don't get it.

I'm trying to figure out the roles if this is what we're going to be. There is nobody in the back or defensive midfield who is turning defense into offense right now. Our propensity to pass back at the slightest pressure means the opposition rarely has to really worry about a counter-attack. There was one really good ball played forward by Reyna to Weah, long diagonal left to right. I was hoping to see more of that.
 
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This the tactical question I asked. Everybody knows we are attempting to play a Barcelona possession style, while not having the players to do it. So everybody presses us and ends up dominating possession. I just don't get it.

I'm trying to figure out the roles if this is what we're going to be. There is nobody in the back or defensive midfield who is turning defense into offense right now. Our propensity to pass back at the slightest pressure means the opposition rarely has to really worry about a counter-attack. There was one really good ball played forward by Reyna to Weah, long diagonal left to right. I was hoping to see more of that.
Brooks can play some very good long balls when he has time. But our defense and midfield had barely any time on the ball yesterday. Probably because Mexico realized our first touch is miles off theirs. Tecatito is amazing on the ball. Pulisic usually is but his touch left him yesterday. Dest as well.
 

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Brooks can play some very good long balls when he has time. But our defense and midfield had barely any time on the ball yesterday. Probably because Mexico realized our first touch is miles off theirs. Tecatito is amazing on the ball. Pulisic usually is but his touch left him yesterday. Dest as well.

Sure. I think even Ream can play long balls. It seems that they are being coached not to do so. Even the keeper rarely takes a goal kick and instead distributes to the CBs to build from the back. They just aren't good at it.

The positives for me is that we have a depth of talent we haven't had in a long time, if ever and we have time to figure it out. I don't know that Gregg will figure it out, but like all coaches he needs to adapt to the guys he has not the guys he wants to have.
 

Waquoit

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Kreis’ whole roster was a *show, they took like 5 #6’s and no creative mids. That roster was bad. But i’m looking forward to seeing LDLT, Busio, Pomykal, etc for the gold cup.
Has that guy been fired yet?
 

SubbaBub

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GGG needs to be fired solely based on the idiotic way he started with a 5-2-3 with Ream as the third back only to immediately switch to a 4-3-3 (the correct formation for this talent pool) with Ream as a LFB. It that was the plan...fired. it that was the reaction to the early goal...fired.

Speaking of the goal, the CBs and GK sucked ass on that and throughout the first half and well into the 2nd. They can thank VAR and Mexico's lack of execution for not being down 3 or 4 goals. Brooks is a specimen and can pass but makes way too many giveaways. McKenzie was a complete disaster. The entire backline was for that matter, and for that Steffen shares the blame. Organization is his job.

As for 2nd half, subbing off Dest and keeping Ream on....fired. Steffan was a tough break but it worked out. All thr more reason he should not be handed the job. I'll prefer whoever is playing and in form until a true #1 emerges.

The midfield looks pretty solid. I'll take any combo of Adams, Mckennie, and Acosta plus some of the younger guys in the mix as reserves or depending on formation and who plays up top as part of a 4-4-2. Playing 5-3-2 or 5-2-3 means we have surplus of subpar players on the field in our worst position group. Adding more bad CB's isn't a good move.

Up top, CP and Reyna are locks. Write it down. I think they're better with a true 9, but we need to find one. Sargent is the most likely, but he needs to produce more than an few clever chances. He needs to finish. There are at least 2 or 3 guys behind him that deserve a look and I don't mean Zardes or Altidore.

I'm also willing to live with some combination of Dest, Yedlin, and Robinson at FB. Maybe someone else will show, but I doubt it.

We have lot of young on the ball talent at midfield and forward, they need a coach to help them optimize it because we will be giving up a lot of goals.
 
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The entire backline was for that matter, and for that Steffen shares the blame. Organization is his job.
Maybe the scheme is too complex for guys not used to playing together. Regardless of individual performance, the starting back 4 yesterday play in Europe and we should be able to patch something coherent together
 
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GGG needs to be fired solely based on the idiotic way he started with a 5-2-3 with Ream as the third back only to immediately switch to a 4-3-3 (the correct formation for this talent pool) with Ream as a LFB. It that was the plan...fired. it that was the reaction to the early goal...fired.

Speaking of the goal, the CBs and GK sucked ass on that and throughout the first half and well into the 2nd. They can thank VAR and Mexico's lack of execution for not being down 3 or 4 goals. Brooks is a specimen and can pass but makes way too many giveaways. McKenzie was a complete disaster. The entire backline was for that matter, and for that Steffen shares the blame. Organization is his job.

As for 2nd half, subbing off Dest and keeping Ream on....fired. Steffan was a tough break but it worked out. All thr more reason he should not be handed the job. I'll prefer whoever is playing and in form until a true #1 emerges.

The midfield looks pretty solid. I'll take any combo of Adams, Mckennie, and Acosta plus some of the younger guys in the mix as reserves or depending on formation and who plays up top as part of a 4-4-2. Playing 5-3-2 or 5-2-3 means we have surplus of subpar players on the field in our worst position group. Adding more bad CB's isn't a good move.

Up top, CP and Reyna are locks. Write it down. I think they're better with a true 9, but we need to find one. Sargent is the most likely, but he needs to produce more than an few clever chances. He needs to finish. There are at least 2 or 3 guys behind him that deserve a look and I don't mean Zardes or Altidore.

I'm also willing to live with some combination of Dest, Yedlin, and Robinson at FB. Maybe someone else will show, but I doubt it.

We have lot of young on the ball talent at midfield and forward, they need a coach to help them optimize it because we will be giving up a lot of goals.
Can’t play Acosta, McKennie and Adams together imo, need a creative 8. Wouldn’t mind slipping Gio into that role honestly.
 

SubbaBub

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Guess everything you say is right. I shall bow to the king.

He's right here. They lose big without Horvath coming up huge. Mckennie had a good 2nd half and was strong in extra time, but c'mon. Horvath made two really good saves other than the PK, made several other solid ones. He also controlled the defense and looked calm doing it.
 

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Maybe the scheme is too complex for guys not used to playing together. Regardless of individual performance, the starting back 4 yesterday play in Europe and we should be able to patch something coherent together

Tim Ream at LB is irrecoverable. McKenzie's and to a lesser extent Brooks given the ball away like that 30 yds from your own goal is inexcusable. The took one step up from horrible in the 2nd half. A better Mexico team would have buried at least 2 more.

Brooks is in the CB mix, even at the head of the list, by default. He's solid but makes too many mistakes with the ball. That he might be the best option is scary. If I trusted the coach, I'd say try to find the best pairs to play together, but GGG is having a hard time identifying the right single players to put in the lineup.

FB is still open but I'm a lot more comfortable with the speed of Yedlin, Dest, Robinson, and even Acosta out there. If a Musah or someone else can fill Acosta's role in midfield, I might even be inclined to start him at LB and let Dest start at RB. Those two with Yedlin and Robinson as reserves is as solid as the US has been in those position in my lifetime.

The battle for center forward is going to be tough. Weah looked pretty good in a short amount of time. Sargent is helping to create chances but not scoring. We need at least a half a goal per game put of the position. Siebatcheu has shown some early talent, Dike will get a shot and I like what I've seen from Gioacchini in the cupcake matches. I don't need to see Morris ever again. We need one of these guys or someone else to emerge by 2026, so we have time to develop this position.
 

SubbaBub

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This the tactical question I asked. Everybody knows we are attempting to play a Barcelona possession style, while not having the players to do it. So everybody presses us and ends up dominating possession. I just don't get it.

I'm trying to figure out the roles if this is what we're going to be. There is nobody in the back or defensive midfield who is turning defense into offense right now. Our propensity to pass back at the slightest pressure means the opposition rarely has to really worry about a counter-attack. There was one really good ball played forward by Reyna to Weah, long diagonal left to right. I was hoping to see more of that.


We.should be playing Liverpool's style given our attacking and midfield players. Our backline is a weakness but other than them getting better there is no tactical formation that doesn't make us worse than letting them play a straight up back 4. The only thing you can do is use the speed at FB to cover more of the outside and pack the 2 CBs close together in the middle of the field. With an Adams or Adams/Acosta type in front of them
 
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Mexico didn't impress me much and they were so much more dangerous than us. If GGG rolls this 11 out against the Dutch or equivalent second-tier Euro team or an aggressive pressing South American squad, we're looking at 5-0 at half.

Glaring holes I see:
  • For the big clubs our young guys play for, none are true focal points on offense. And those that impact the game (Pulisic) are surrounded by superior talent.
  • How many runs did Yedlin make up the flank where the ball never got to him, was passed too late or not on target? 2? 3? Why should he bust it 40-60 yards again if he's not rewarded?
  • Does McKennie elevate for 2 headers against back lines that run 6'2-6'4? Probably not.
  • Selection. Ream is not athletic enough. McKenzie was either too scared or simply had a horrible night. Acosta isn't good enough but got by. At least GGG didn't roll out Yuell.
  • Formation & style: Why are we asking these two above to work the ball out of the back like they're Kompany, Stones and van Dijk? And we don't have a deep-lying midfielder to hit diagonal balls/small connections either. Makes zero sense.
  • We don't have a real 8 or 10. McKennie and Adams play as destroyers for their clubs but are not relied upon to be facilitators. Yet we still try to play Barcelona ball with our nerve-inducing, lumbering back 3
McKennie was a facilitator for Juve all year. He was involved in making a lot of plays. I think McKennie really is this good.

The problem with McKenzie is that he is pretty brutal technically. Does not have the skillset. He is very sound though marking and not losing his man, which I can appreciate it. Positioning is superb. An old time type of CB. He needs to play more no nonsense than trying to get fancy, because he doesn't have technique.
 
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He's right here. They lose big without Horvath coming up huge. Mckennie had a good 2nd half and was strong in extra time, but c'mon. Horvath made two really good saves other than the PK, made several other solid ones. He also controlled the defense and looked calm doing it.
Horvath had a 10 rating from a few of the places I read, McKennie had a 9. McKennie played 130+ minutes though. Just a matter of opinion I have him as our best overall player.
 
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McKennie was a facilitator for Juve all year. He was involved in making a lot of plays. I think McKennie really is this good.

The problem with McKenzie is that he is pretty brutal technically. Does not have the skillset. He is very sound though marking and not losing his man, which I can appreciate it. Positioning is superb. An old time type of CB. He needs to play more no nonsense than trying to get fancy, because he doesn't have technique.
Richards is the starter next to Brooks no doubt.
 
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Horvath had a 10 rating from a few of the places I read, McKennie had a 9. McKennie played 130+ minutes though. Just a matter of opinion I have him as our best overall player.

He stopped a PK. I don’t care if he played for 10 seconds.
 
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Sure. I think even Ream can play long balls. It seems that they are being coached not to do so. Even the keeper rarely takes a goal kick and instead distributes to the CBs to build from the back. They just aren't good at it.

The positives for me is that we have a depth of talent we haven't had in a long time, if ever and we have time to figure it out. I don't know that Gregg will figure it out, but like all coaches he needs to adapt to the guys he has not the guys he wants to have.

He’s not going to do that. He’s designed a system that specifically plays to our weaknesses.
 
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He’s not going to do that. He’s designed a system that specifically plays to our weaknesses.
And ignores our greatest strength. This is like Argentina all over again.
 

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