Let's Talk USMNT

A blog dedicated to the everything USMNT.

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The conversation im having with my friend about this Brazil game.

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#JKout

Klinsmann is the reason soccer reporters in this country have jobs. -Under fire because he can’t accept he doesn’t understand tactits -Calls US fans and critics stupid, and that they don’t understand the game -During all of this heat, decides to play 4 centerbacks, 2 out of position, and look subpar against an okay side. Under Klinsmann we have no identity, no style, players playing out of position, players that shouldn’t even be called up, players who should be called up but aren’t, and no accountability for the plethora of mistakes and bad decisions he’s made. I used to really like Klinsmann. I was adament that if we gave him time, he could be a great leader. I was wrong and he needs to go away now. We need a tactition bad. Someone who gives us style, and knows when things won’t work, or when things will work. We need someone like Bob Bradley back. Rant over.

[andhughjackman-deactivated20151]

Not Bob Bradley. National team coaches don’t develop teams. We need to get out of that mentality. We need a coach that will play the right 11 together and motivate each player. Klingsman issue is that these players don’t have competition for their spots and are not the pro he was so they slack. Tatics in friendly games don’t matter like they do in tournaments. His choice of players though, always been an issue. Where the changes have to come from is the federation. Time to push the top level youth into a direction. Players in NYC should develop the same as in KC. That is US Pres job not national team coach.

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I didn't say anything about development. I agree that is a huge part of the future and we need to have that as a focus. HOWEVER. National team coaches DO develop teams. They choose who makes the highest level, and who stays at that level. They are the ones who find the best pairings, the best formations, and the bright spots, and they make it work, and keep working. Part of that is investing in players. Klinsmann looks like he has no idea what he is doing. It seems like random choices and stubborn selections. (Note I said stubborn. I find nothing wrong with giving players anothwr chance, but some need to be dropped in favor of better options.) On another I beleive Bradley was the tacticion AND motivator that drove this team forward. Im not saying we need to go back to him, but we need that sort of presence.

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#JKout

Klinsmann is the reason soccer reporters in this country have jobs. -Under fire because he can’t accept he doesn’t understand tactits -Calls US fans and critics stupid, and that they don’t understand the game -During all of this heat, decides to play 4 centerbacks, 2 out of position, and look subpar against an okay side. Under Klinsmann we have no identity, no style, players playing out of position, players that shouldn’t even be called up, players who should be called up but aren’t, and no accountability for the plethora of mistakes and bad decisions he’s made. I used to really like Klinsmann. I was adament that if we gave him time, he could be a great leader. I was wrong and he needs to go away now. We need a tactition bad. Someone who gives us style, and knows when things won’t work, or when things will work. We need someone like Bob Bradley back. Rant over.

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US vs Panama Post Game

Sorry for the misleading title. I don't have FS2 and I'm away this weekend so I am VERY out of the loop on this game. All I know is that the result sucked. Let's hope Jurgen gets his shit together now and we can come back strong.

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USA vs Jamaica Post Match Thoughts

Horrible. I can't think of any other word that isn't synonymous with horrible. Beckerman cost us the game, but he was aided by poor preformances by just about everyone. Dempsey and Johannsson didn't click. Gyasi had some good plays, but would promptly ruin it by doing something stupid. Brooks plays like a child. Bradley gave up the ball too much. The list KEEPS GOING. The only bright spot that I could see was Fabian Johnson. He has always been a favorite of mine because of how much he flies under the radar. He is a reliable defender and creates on the offensive side, something that we seem to take for granted because he doesn't disappoint very often. I know that a lot of the players selected were good choices on paper, but I feel that Jurgen is somehow responsible for this. He never gets it 100% right. There is always something or someone on the team that is questionable or "off" to most people. I honestly was a BIG fan of Jurgen when he was drawing in the foriegn-born Americans and creating what seemed like a powerful US side. Now, however, I feel like he has run out of ideas. There are no more "super star savior" that happens to have an American parent to make them elegible to play for us. There isn't the grace period of letting him figure it out, either. I want a powerhouse US squad that preforms at the levels we have peaked at over the past few years, but on a consistent basic. We need a tactician coach now. We have the players, and the young talents. Now we just need the mastermind to fit it all together, and I'm not sure that Jurgen is the man for that job. Also, don't call me out for overreacting to one loss. The entire Gold Cup wasn't good, paired with the post-World Cup slump; I just want to see consistency. What does everyone else think?

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USA vs Jamaica Gameday Squad Thoughts

YES. THIS IS THE SQUAD IVE WANTED ALL ALONG. Aron Johannsson and Dempsey -> Check Bradley in a holding position -> Check Pace on the wings, Bedoya and Gyasi -> Check In form center backs, Alvarado and Brooks -> Check Not to mention that Brad Evans and Fabian Johnson have been absolutely rock solid in their positions on that back line as well. Looking forward to a great game.

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Thoughts on Tomorrow

I have some nagging thoughts I want to talk about before the semifinal match between the USMNT and Jamaica tomorrow. 1.) Aron Johannsson and Dempsey NEED to start together. They have proven to be an absolutely devastating pair together, not to mention they are fun as hell to watch. 2.) We need pace on the wings. Most of the games so far that we have tried possession-oriented midfield, we haven't looked as dangerous. I understand this means Gyasi and Yedlin on the wings, and I have been critical of both for different reasons, but if they have good games, we can win handily.

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Apologies for Missing the Quarterfinal

p>Hey people, I just wanted to say sorry for not posting anything for the quarterfinal game against Cuba.

I was very busy all weekend and had no time to watch the game, let alone write about it. I promise that I’ll have something for the Semifinal against Jamaica, both before and after.

On another note, I’ve been surprised lately as to how many women have followed this blog. I don’t mean that in any sexist way, but with genuine surprise as to how many you lovely ladies take interest in the USMNT. I think it’s great that (I assume) most of you take interest in our national soccer as a whole, and not just one gender or the other.

And before you ask, yes, I whole-heartedly support the USWNT as well.

Goodnight!

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USMNT Gold Cup Roster Changes

Out: Greg Garza, Jozy Altidore, Alfredo Morales In: DeMarcus Beasley, Alan Gordon, Joe Corona I'm actually really excited about Alan Gordon coming into the squad. He has had a fantastic season so far for LA and has been super clutch. The downside is that Jozy is gone, but to be honest, he was way out of form. I just hope he is alright.

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Other Thoughts

Also, how is Aron Johannsson NOT starting yet? He has made leaps of improvement, in my opinion. He is much more aware and can pick out a pass as well as beat a defender. In fact when I watch him now, he is one of the only US players that I think can replace Dempsey when he finally calls it quits. Aron has that flair, that eye for unexpected, that only Dempsey has really had (up top of course). He does interesting things and keeps defenders guessing. In fact, I like to watch him just as much as I enjoy watching Dempsey. Hopefully he'll have a good season at AZ and will improve further, especially on the physical side of things. Dempsey brings a raw, American, I-don't-give-a-fuck, attitude to our team. He can take, and dish out a good beating as well. He doesn't flop, and he doesn't whine. (He just screams sometimes, and occasionally rips up the refs notebook). If Aron can "get tough", I can see him being a great American soccer icon. Just some late night thoughts.

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USA vs Panama Recap

WELL. I had an entire piece written to recap this game. It had even had ratings an stuff. Spoiler: Gyasi Zardes scored a 1.5/10. I talked about how this was one of the worst games of 2015, and JK needs to seriously find a group that meshes and stick with it. I also went on to say that Johannsson and Dempsey look like they have played together for years. And that I was surprised that they are just starting to see the field together now. But alas, all of that was erased when I exited without posting. It was quite good, too. One of my longer pieces, mostly because I had a lot of critizcism. I'm too lazy to rewrite it, though. Only a couple people will really read it anyways so I will widdle it down to 2 sentences; If you saw the game, you know it was bad. If you didn't see the game, it was bad. I'm out.

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USA vs Panama Squad Thoughts

Zardes is FINALLY playing striker. A round of applause for Jurgen, everyone. Bedoya is finally seeing the pitch as well, which I like to see. He is a workhorse with speed and we need both in abundance with the team selection. Wondo starts up top, and the backline is back to what got the job done against the Netherlands and Germany. So a proven squad with plenty of work rate as well. See you all after the game.

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USA vs Panama 9:30pm ET

I will be doing a Squad thoughts piece prior to the game, and a recap after. See you guys then.

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USA vs Haiti Squad Thoughts

Tim Ream, Brad Evans, Greg Garza, Graham Zusi, and Aron Johannsson all getting starts. Wow. Major changes. No Yedlin, or Bedoya. Prett crazy and honestly sort of unexpected. I understand resting guys but wow, what a change. I like it, though. Tim Ream was Bolton's player of the year, 2 years in a row. He is definitely a good centerback, and I'd like to see him compete to beat out one of the other guys like Besler or Gonzalez. This team is 100% based on posession. No Yedlin or Zardes to try pace down the wings. This is a team of precision passers, or at least posession oriented. Should be fun to watch.

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USA vs Haiti 8:30pm ET on Fox Sports 1

Unfortunately I probably wont see much, if any of this game. That means I won't have much to say about it later tonight. I may or may not post my thoughts on the squad for tonight, depending on how different it is from the last. I think Jurgen knows he needs a change to spark the team, so I expect some new faces in the starting XI. Hopefully it will be a workhorse like Bedoya; he can single handedly turn the tides of the midfield with his workrate off the ball. See you guys at gametime...maybe.

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USA vs Honduras Post Game Thoughts

Gyasi Zardes isn't a winger. Gyasi Zardes isn't a winger. Gyasi Zardes isn't a winger. He isn't fast enough, or good enough with his feet. He gets caught in possession and turns the ball over 3 out of 5 times, and the other times he passes the ball backwards. I really was a fan of him last year when he was hot for LA, but that was because he was playing striker, which I beleive is the ONLY position in which he can be good enough to play for the USMNT. Even then he has a lot of competition that is argueably more promising and already better, like Aron Johannsson. Jurgen needs to realize that as far as our pace on the wings go, we need new blood. Someone who maybe hasn't been tested yet, maybe Ethan Finlay of the Columbus Crew, who has been on fire as of late. Other than Gyasi, the US looked underwhelming at best. Dempsey was the only one who looked good on the ball, and it showed. He alone won that game for us. Well, I guess maybe set pieces won that game, but he was the reason they worked. Bradley had a subpar game, but I would pin some of that on the lack of midfield help and interchange that I think he needs to look his best, in particular, with Mix Diskerud and Alejandro Bedoya. Between them, they always seem to connect well. On our backline, I think Chandler finally won some of my respect. He played a very good defensive game, and an honest attempt when he went forward. I'm sure having Yedlin to cover for him at times made it easier, and certainly made it more secure. Yedlin going forward, however, still seems a bit trivial. He is freakin fast, we know that, but I'm not yet convinced he has the finesse to really be a good winger. He has his moments for sure, and seems to be learning the position well, but I'm not convinced that he isn't just a good wingback. I'm also not sure why Alvarado and Brooks aren't better together than they should be, but I guess it will come with time. Both individuals are proven centerbacks with their respective teams. Overall, it was a lackluster preformance, but a win nevertheless. So on to the next one.

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US vs Honduras Squad thoughts

This honestly looks like an A- squad, mostly because of the fact that despite our veterans, Alvarado and Gyasi are still in the "testing the waters" phase of their USMNT career. You could also make th case that Beckerman isn't an A+ starter. Also the Yedlin at RM/RW experiment isn't our go to option either. Should be a good game. See you guys on the other side.