WC Qualifiers

[meyers7]

Agree that we still control our own destiny, but in the grand scheme of things, we should never be content with a draw vs. Honduras.

Not that we played well, but an away draw in those conditions against a WC team isn't the worst thing.

Bigger problem was not winning at home.

 

[LIuconn]

Elsewhere, Chile and Argentina have a lot of work to do in CONMEBOL. What channel carries/carried those games? They're always the best

 

[meyers7]

Elsewhere, Chile and Argentina have a lot of work to do in CONMEBOL. What channel carries/carried those games? They're always the best

A lot of the CONMEBOL have been on BeIN Sports. Also some of the Spanish channels.

 

[LIuconn]

fng beIN being super premium on Charter in LA. Blows up my soccer viewing

 

[Waquoit]

fng beIN being super premium on Charter in LA. Blows up my soccer viewing

As a soccer fan, I can't do without BeIN. They have CONMEBOL, Spain, France and Italy games. As well as the occasional USA and English Championship game.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I am so thankful that I was unable to watch either match live. What an epic fail by coaches and players both. I suppose that scratching out a tie against Honduras was more like a D grade than an F. We will probably still qualify, but any positive energy we had is gone.

As I think most of us knew, Arena is not the long term answer. I blows my mind, that a country the size of the USA can't beat a team from a country the size of New Jersey, and got beat at home by a country the size of Boston. There is something very wrong about our approach to playing this game. I don't care that most of our best athletes are playing other sports, we have 200x as many quality athletes to start with.

 

[ZooCougar]

Lalas goes off on Arena and the whole national team. I hate agreeing with this guy, but he isn't wrong.

Alexi Lalas blasts U.S. national team's 'soft, tattooed millionaires' in tirade

"Bruce Arena. Jurgen Klinsmann lost at home to Mexico. You lost at home to Costa Rica. This is now all on you, not Jurgen," he continued.

 

[LIuconn]

was watching the seattle-la game when that came on. a bit surprising Lalas would go in on the Bruce/MLS machine. Need more mainstream analysts to call our players out and the coach for not integrating younger guys.

Zoo: Does this guy have a chance at Man City? Report: Erik Palmer-Brown agrees to pre-contract with Manchester City

 

[UConnDan97]

Lalas goes off on Arena and the whole national team. I hate agreeing with this guy, but he isn't wrong.

Alexi Lalas blasts U.S. national team's 'soft, tattooed millionaires' in tirade

"Bruce Arena. Jurgen Klinsmann lost at home to Mexico. You lost at home to Costa Rica. This is now all on you, not Jurgen," he continued.

I can still feel comfortable with not agreeing with Lalas on a lot of that.

First, of course it is on Arena at this point. He has to get his tactics right and his lineup right. I don't think he's done that with either one. I'm not going to get into the fact that some of these players are underdeveloped in part to Klinsmann, because I know where that conversation will get us all.

Second, on the player-by-player analysis;

Yes, I understand the frustration of wanting more from Altidore. At this point, he is what he is. Maybe I'm more frustrated with the fact that we keep going to the Altidore well, expecting sparkling water to suddenly come from it. It won't.

The "wonder boy" Pulisic doesn't merit a mention??? Alexi, the kid is the best player we have. If you aren't able to come to that conclusion, perhaps you shouldn't be doing color commentary for soccer.

Dempsey needs to become the leader??? Is that in the 25 minutes he's on the field, or should he just give a rousing halftime speech?

The problem is the guy is full of hyperbole and nonsense, to the point that when he makes a good point like the fact that Howard shouldn't be our keeper anymore, that he surrounds it with 12 pounds of crap. Maybe part of the renaissance of soccer for us could be getting better game analysis...

 

[Waquoit]

Life is too short to pay attention to Alexi Lalas, even on those rare occasions he isn't totally full of merde.

 

[ZooCougar]

I can still feel comfortable with not agreeing with Lalas on a lot of that.

First, of course it is on Arena at this point. He has to get his tactics right and his lineup right. I don't think he's done that with either one. I'm not going to get into the fact that some of these players are underdeveloped in part to Klinsmann, because I know where that conversation will get us all.

Second, on the player-by-player analysis;

Yes, I understand the frustration of wanting more from Altidore. At this point, he is what he is. Maybe I'm more frustrated with the fact that we keep going to the Altidore well, expecting sparkling water to suddenly come from it. It won't.

The "wonder boy" Pulisic doesn't merit a mention??? Alexi, the kid is the best player we have. If you aren't able to come to that conclusion, perhaps you shouldn't be doing color commentary for soccer.

Dempsey needs to become the leader??? Is that in the 25 minutes he's on the field, or should he just give a rousing halftime speech?

The problem is the guy is full of hyperbole and nonsense, to the point that when he makes a good point like the fact that Howard shouldn't be our keeper anymore, that he surrounds it with 12 pounds of crap. Maybe part of the renaissance of soccer for us could be getting better game analysis...

I agree with the overarching sentiment, but not so much on the details like you.

Might have time for a longer response later, but the player pool is a mile wide and an inch deep.

Jurgen ran into the same wall that Bradley did. Both called up more and more different players because they were never satisfied.

Arena is at that point now. All of the things he was critical of Jurgen for are the mistakes he is making now. Erratic lineups, a different formation every game? Yup. Lack of good distribution in the middle? Yup.

 

[ZooCougar]

was watching the seattle-la game when that came on. a bit surprising Lalas would go in on the Bruce/MLS machine. Need more mainstream analysts to call our players out and the coach for not integrating younger guys.

Zoo: Does this guy have a chance at Man City? Report: Erik Palmer-Brown agrees to pre-contract with Manchester City

He is likely in the same boat as Miazga. EPB is good but he wasn't better than Besler and Opara who are in my opinion the best center back pairing in MLS. But in this league because we don't have as many Cups to compete for it's hard for younger players to get minutes.

EPB has been trying to get to Europe for years. He spent last season on loan in Portugal. Before that Chelsea and Juventus were making low ball offers. Now is probably the right time to make a move.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

I actually love this. The USMNT need a kick in the backside. Lalas and his boys (Meola, Ramos, Wynalda, Harkes, etc) made the US relevant in this sport by consistently qualifying for the WC starting in 1990. They laid the foundation that ultimately became a WC quarter-finalist, a Confed Cup finalist, a top 20 team in the world.

"You are a soccer generation that has been given everything; you are a soccer generation who's on the verge of squandering everything."

Honestly, couldn't agree more. Missing out on the WC would put the development of this sport back 20 years. I still think we qualify but I don't mind the tough love here.

 

[Waquoit]

I actually love this. The USMNT need a kick in the backside. Lalas and his boys (Meola, Ramos, Wynalda, Harkes, etc) made the US relevant in this sport by consistently qualifying for the WC starting in 1990.

They were also a bunch of selfish, clubhouse lawyers by the time 1998 came around. More concerned about getting theirs than the growth of the team.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

They were also a bunch of selfish, clubhouse lawyers by the time 1998 came around. More concerned about getting theirs than the growth of the team.

Fair. I mean Harked nailed Wynalda's wife I believe. They definitely weren't perfect

 

[SubbaBub]

Lalas is trying to be the Jim Rome of US Soccer but he isn't wrong that the players are letting us down. On paper we should have plenty of options at every position save Bradley's (and even he has an aging Jones as a potential threat). The fight for the 23 and XI should be fierce. Instead we are left to wonder if anyone wants these roster spots.

Arena laid a huge egg in this last round, in call ups, tactics, and lineups but I genuinely think that JK was tuned out by the locker room. The question is, is Arena too tied to the reputations of some of his players. Only Dempsey is living up to his rep and Bruce has him coming off the bench.

 

[UConnDan97]

Only Dempsey is living up to his rep and Bruce has him coming off the bench.

This is the most maddening part for me. One of your top 2 players is on the bench for over 2/3 of the game.

You start him and get what you can out of him. You don't let him waste away on the bench while you're getting beat by the fifth best team in concacaf... absolutely maddening...

 

[CardiacAndre7]

He is likely in the same boat as Miazga. EPB is good but he wasn't better than Besler and Opara who are in my opinion the best center back pairing in MLS. But in this league because we don't have as many Cups to compete for it's hard for younger players to get minutes.

EPB has been trying to get to Europe for years. He spent last season on loan in Portugal. Before that Chelsea and Juventus were making low ball offers. Now is probably the right time to make a move.

He'll probably go on loan to one of City's partner clubs, or whatever they're called, like Twente or Girona. Good move for the kid in my opinion, gets some exposure and experience in training with top players. Similar situation as Miazga, but while EPB is less of an imposing presence, he is great with the ball at his feet, he can play holding mid to go along with CB. I don't know if he will make it at City, who's to say, but I think he has the talent to play at a mid-to-high level team in one of the top leagues for sure.

 

[meyers7]

I agree with the overarching sentiment, but not so much on the details like you.

Might have time for a longer response later, but the player pool is a mile wide and an inch deep.

Jurgen ran into the same wall that Bradley did. Both called up more and more different players because they were never satisfied.

Arena is at that point now. All of the things he was critical of Jurgen for are the mistakes he is making now. Erratic lineups, a different formation every game? Yup. Lack of good distribution in the middle? Yup.

I don't think anyone (here anyway) wants Arena as a long term solution. (I didn't even want him as a short term solution. But we most assuredly needed Klinsmann out. ) But right now his one and only job is to get the USA qualified for the WC. I imagine he'll do it, maybe just barely though. But after this WC, we really need to make some changes. And probably need to start with Gulati. And then go get a good coach.

 

[ZooCougar]

I don't think anyone (here anyway) wants Arena as a long term solution. (I didn't even want him as a short term solution. But we most assuredly needed Klinsmann out. ) But right now his one and only job is to get the USA qualified for the WC. I imagine he'll do it, maybe just barely though. But after this WC, we really need to make some changes. And probably need to start with Gulati. And then go get a good coach.

Seems to me that the USMNT has quit on another manager.

Team has been the same without Klinsmann. Might as well have stuck with the coach who was trying blow apart our weak tendencies. Bruce just enables all the worst traits of the American player.

 

[BlueMAB]

This is the most maddening part for me. One of your top 2 players is on the bench for over 2/3 of the game.

You start him and get what you can out of him. You don't let him waste away on the bench while you're getting beat by the fifth best team in concacaf... absolutely maddening...

FWIW, he started against Honduras.

 

[BlueMAB]

"Bruce Arena. Jurgen Klinsmann lost at home to Mexico. You lost at home to Costa Rica."

Did Lalas forget that Klinsmann lost to Jamaica twice (once at home in the GC semis)?
And lost to Honduras?
And also lost to Costa Rica (4-0)
And how about losing to Guate--Mala?? Ending a 20+ game unbeaten streak.

Bruce Arena may or may not be an improvement, but there's no rational argument for sticking with Klinsmann. If Arena continues to make the same mistakes, he should be fired too.

 

[meyers7]

Seems to me that the USMNT has quit on another manager.

No, they didn't play well but they haven't quit on him.

Team has been the same without Klinsmann.

No it hasn't. Not even close. They haven't gotten run off the field like they did against Costa Rica. As bad as they played against Honduras, it's not even close to the shellacking Klinsmann took from Costa Rica.

Might as well have stuck with the coach who was trying blow apart our weak tendencies.

No, NO, NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even if they would have brought in you (God forbid), Klinsmann HAD TO GO.

You can make an argument for someone different than Arena. But it's completely asinine to suggest Klinsmann should/could have stayed.

 

[LIuconn]

Jordan Morris out for the upcoming qualifiers. Fine with that, need more Bobby Wood field time anyway

 

[meyers7]

Jordan Morris out for the upcoming qualifiers. Fine with that, need more Bobby Wood field time anyway

He's nice to have to come off the bench though. (but hopefully we won't need to chase any late goals)