My point is that there's nothing the USSF president can do about [the USMNT missing the world cup] directly. Even the best countries in the world go through cycles where they have stronger groups of players or weaker groups of players.
Right now the USMNT is mediocre because the Jozy Altidore generation is mediocre at best. There's not much either the coaches or the federation can do to improve but to wait for the Pulisic generation.
First of all, the USSF President can put us on a better path or a worse path. Can make us feel optimism for the future. And he or she also appoints the coaches and management of the team, who can be chosen wisely or poorly.
Secondly, the Pulisic generation is already here, nobody's "waiting for it", and we've already pissed away a quarter of it. That's why you've seen so many people do the message-board equivalent of pounding the table in frustration, in the weeks following the T&T loss. He and his fellow age-mates breaking through at big-boy teams had given us hope for the future growth of the sport, and a serious of tragicomic overreactions and mismanagement worthy of Montgomery Burns have snatched that hope back from us. I do not understand your equanimity.
Of course UEFA is stronger, but Italy and the Netherlands are also much stronger than the USMNT. (Even if American nationalists don't want to admit it.) Italy is to Denmark as the USA is to Honduras.
Well, I was referring more to the qualification process- much easier to get out of the Hex.
I don't think you're acknowledging the truth here, Moly, in your continued statements comparing the US's situation to any other country. The WCQ structure is designed to give the USA a cakewalk to the WCF because of what it means for TV revenue. It is designed to give UEFA and CONMEBOL far fewer bids than they collectively deserve on team strength, because UEFA lacks both the sheer voting numbers as well as the bribery skills of CAF and AFC. Any comparison of the US to a UEFA or CONMEBOL qualification situation cannot ignore this and be taken seriously.
Nobody can realistically assert that we should be consistently winning knockout-round games in the WCF - we're a few cycles away from having those ambitions. But likewise it's ridiculous to assert that it's anything but shameful to fail to qualify given the format we're handed.
The discussion is specifically that the USA should never fail to qualify for the World Cup simply by virtue of its population and interest in the sport. My point is they are far better than us even accounting for the competition and still missed the World Cup.
Yes, because they have a much harder qualification process, by design, which screws teams that deserve to qualify in favor of far worse teams in other confederations. Again, the comparison is apples and oranges.
I will admit that am probably harping on this too much. I am just so sick of the jingoism and insane knee jerk reactions in American soccer and the hope that the next move (be it firing Jurgen Klinsmann, dumping Michael Bradley from the national team, forcing MLS to adopt pro/rel, etc) will enable the USA to win the World Cup.
I don't see anybody flogging jingoism or "insane knee-jerk reactions" here. Again, you've been the one bringing these strawmen to the table. Could you please start quoting actual people saying these things you're responding to, before labeling us all implicitly as having said jingoistic things, or that we're "one step away from being Brazil or Germany", or that certain moves "will enable the USA to win the world cup", or what-have-you? Because from where I sit you're putting words in imaginary people's mouths so that you can make...
someone, I guess... eat them. And it's really distracting from an otherwise engaging conversation.
It's perfectly appropriate for US fans to be discussing the national team's manager, its lineups, and the domestic league. When it comes to selecting the next USSF president, it's perfectly appropriate to be focusing on what sorts of foundational moves will put us on the right road towards realizing our potential. I really don't see how that's a controversial notion in any way.