Indiana Vassilev comes on for Blaine Ferri.
I've only seen the Ghana game and this one, but Ferri hasn't been too impressive in CM.
I've only seen the Ghana game and this one, but Ferri hasn't been too impressive in CM.
Wynalda speaks:Wynalda is running.
This is a really dumb take.In his hopes to turn revitalize soccer in the U.S., Wynalda said "changing the culture is the key." To that end, he said he believes changing MLS to the FIFA calendar used in Europe -- generally August-May -- from the current March-December slate would be "extremely beneficial."
This is a reasonable take.As for introducing a system of promotion and relegation, Wynalda said: "At this point, at this juncture, all I can tell you is yes, I'm a firm believer in promotion/relegation. Does it fit within our structure right now? No. These are conversations that need to be had."
Has promotion/relegation ever been implemented in a franchise model?This is a reasonable take.
I don't know. Maybe the J. League, but I'm hazy on the details of their ownership system.Has promotion/relegation ever been implemented in a franchise model?
Are you saying bad idea, or more just irrelevant/unimportant? I thought the point about MLS Cup counter-scheduling against other American sports in May vs. December made sense. What, if any, is the downside (other than having to play January games in Boston, Seattle, etc) of switching?
I'm saying it's a bad idea.Are you saying bad idea, or more just irrelevant/unimportant? I thought the point about MLS Cup counter-scheduling against other American sports in May vs. December made sense. What, if any, is the downside (other than having to play January games in Boston, Seattle, etc) of switching?
Sarachan is a particularly uninspired choice, but it sounds like it might just be for one game and he happens to already be on the payroll.U.S. MNT assistant coach Dave Sarachan and the remainder of the current technical staff will guide the MNT for the final match of 2017, a friendly against third-ranked Portugal on Nov. 14 in Leiria.
Geography is a problem. The countries we're comparing ourselves to are physically about the size of Pennysylvania or Alabama. MLS works because it's on the scale of other US leagues, but the travel is difficult and expensive. It would be hard to justify the travel for second-tier or lower leagues. Even England divides its lower tiers into geography.On the winter calendar - maybe the retractable roof could come into play here. Most euro-style stadiums are all canopy and feel like big rooms - a fully covered roof isn’t all that different. Advances in groundskeeping make grass or hybrid fields feasible in these situations. Obviously many newer MLS stadia wouldn’t work with this model. But if it was a 15-year plan, spurred in part by the 2026 World Cup... you’d think capacity increases for key markets would dictate new stadia anyhow. Atlanta, not Philly, should be the ideal going forward.
I am for closed pro/rel a la J-League. Pro, for all intents and purposes, is already happening. Seattle, Portland, Minnesota, soon Cincy, etc. - good markets and clubs force themselves into the league. It’s the threat of Rel, currently nonexistent, that we’re missing. I do think some kind of reasonable closed system that included pro/rel would be better for fans and player development.
Brewster scored another hat trick in England's 3-1 win over Brazil.Brewster converts it for the hat trick, which was the last kick of the game. 4-1 FT.
This has not been a good year for people who might theoretically have a large wager with their English brother-in-law regarding whether the U.S. will win a major international tournament before England.Brewster scored another hat trick in England's 3-1 win over Brazil.
England won the U20 World Cup earlier this year and is now in the final of the U17s. In UEFA play, they were semifinalists in the U21s, won the U19s, and were finalists at the U17s.
I guess England is good at player development now?
So like Portland and Seattle?Remember, they do it in England but London also has the sort of climate where they shit their pants when it snows more than an inch.
Even though I remember itching to move to 11v11 ASAP as a kid, I understand now that getting as much time on the ball as possible is best for development. It seems the Belgians took that to its logical extreme. The other thing that stands out is that these kids just get a ton of practice time. More than what I guess kids in the US get.If we showed the clubs the figures of young boys and girls playing at under-eight and under-nine, and they touched the ball twice in half an hour, no one can say that it’s good.
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One of the findings in the university research was that there was far too much emphasis on winning and not enough on development. There was also evidence to support the federation’s theory that 2v2, 5v5 and 8v8 were the best small-sided games to encourage children to practise the skills – dribbling and diagonal passing – that were central to their philosophy of playing 4-3-3.
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With eight Topsport schools dotted around a small country, the players selected are able to commute from home, the corollary being that they are free to train with their clubs four times a week in the evening.
All of which meant that the selected players were receiving twice as much coaching as they did before. As for the success rate, seven of the World Cup squad – Thibaut Courtois, Dries Mertens, Kevin de Bruyne, Mousa Dembélé, Steven Defour, Axel Witsel and Nacer Chadli – came through a system that many of Belgium’s leading clubs have now replicated by collaborating with local schools to increase contact time with their own players.
I caved on the definition of "major". Covers WC, Euro, Copa America, Confed (this was 5 years ago when that was still a going concern). Tough to argue with a straight face that the U.S.-Mexico Invitational is a major international tournament.Uh... There's only 3 things we can even possibly win (4 if you count guest participation at Copa America), and we won one of them this year. And one of the others seems likely to go away (Confed Cup). When's the last time England won its confederation championship? Or even made the Final?
Skeptical. He reportedly makes £11m a season at Shanghai. What kind of salary is he looking for here? Or does he see the US job as a plausible stepping stone back to Europe?I heard a rumor that Andre Villas-Boas put out feelers to the USSF. Hardly imminent or close even if true. Thoughts?
England won the final today, 5-2 over Spain. This team was a buzzsaw.Brewster scored another hat trick in England's 3-1 win over Brazil.
England won the U20 World Cup earlier this year and is now in the final of the U17s. In UEFA play, they were semifinalists in the U21s, won the U19s, and were finalists at the U17s.
I guess England is good at player development now?
Creating a TD position should be a must. Moving the budget from $100m to $500m in 10 years? Not sure where all that money is coming from or going to.Referencing his successful corporate background, Cordeiro said that he believes the federation needs think of itself more as a business than a governing body, and suggested he would aim to increase its budget from around $100 million annually to something closer to $500 million by 2027. As critical though, Cordeiro said, is the idea that there should be a true separation between the business and technical sides of the federation: The president, Cordeiro said, should not be intimately involved, say, in hiring national team coaches.
That should be the purview of a technical director or general manager -- a position Cordeiro said he would create.
He's rolling in celebrity endorsements!Looks like Kyle Martino changed his mind and will run for USSF president
Villafaña is at a club eliminated from making the Liguilla so his season is basically done. Gonzalez is an important part of a contender so he has a lot left. Since this wouldn't tie him anyway no reason to bring him.Here's Sarachan's 21 for Portugal:
https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2017/11/07/14/39/20171107-news-mnt-sarachan-calls-21-players-for-friendly-against-third-ranked-portugal
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas; 0/0), Bill Hamid (Midtjylland/DEN; 3/0), Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge/BEL; 1/0)
DEFENDERS (7): John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 32/3), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Sheffield United/ENG; 0/0), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 13/1), Matt Miazga (Vitesse/NED; 3/1), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 26/1), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna/MEX; 14/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United/ENG; 48/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; 16/1), Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls; 0/0), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union; 65/2), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland/ENG; 2/0), Weston McKennie (Schalke/GER; 0/0), Kelyn Rowe (New England Revolution; 3/1), Danny Williams (Huddersfield Town/ENG; 22/2)
FORWARDS (4): Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution; 26/3), Dom Dwyer (Orlando City SC; 3/2), C.J. Sapong (Philadelphia Union; 2/0), Josh Sargent (St. Louis Scott Gallagher; 0/0)
I would have liked to see Jonathan Gonzalez, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with this group. I can understand not wanting to bring over any North American players whose seasons are still ongoing, but Villafaña was selected. Pulisic has earned the time off.
I also just found out Santos Laguna and Monterrey play each other during the FIFA window on Thursday in a makeup game originally postponed due to weather, so Gonzalez and Villafaña would both have to miss a match if selected. As your mentioned, the makeup game is far more important to Monterrey.Villafaña is at a club eliminated from making the Liguilla so his season is basically done. Gonzalez is an important part of a contender so he has a lot left. Since this wouldn't tie him anyway no reason to bring him.
It probably helps, in getting all those Europe-based players, that the match is being held in Europe next Tuesday rather than the US. Bill Hamid from Denmark, John Brooks healthy again, CCV...Some of those names should've been worked in even earlier - I would've taken an inexperienced Miazga or even CCV over Omar Fucking Gonzalez. Very excited to see McKennie and Sargent.
Pulisic has had a heavier workload than those guys, and you need some vets especially when looking for the future back line. Cameron missed the weekend game with a concussion so unavailable.It probably helps, in getting all those Europe-based players, that the match is being held in Europe next Tuesday rather than the US. Bill Hamid from Denmark, John Brooks healthy again, CCV...
It's a bit strange to me that they took some no-doubt first-teamers who aren't being evaluated for fit (Yedlin in particular, but also Brooks if healthy), but not Pulisic. Maybe they can't bear the thought of seeing him take the field again for the US and be reminded that he won't be at the WCF.
Also slightly surprised they left Cameron off. Sure, he's 32, but for my money he's still our second-best player, and worst case is a great tutor / backstop for the next cycle. I mean, Ream and Bedoya are 30 - this isn't a purely try-out-the-youth roster - and neither have ever been the player that Cameron still is.
Monterrey also has a very important top-of-the-table derby game against Tigres four days after the US-Portugal game.I also just found out Santos Laguna and Monterrey play each other during the FIFA window on Thursday in a makeup game originally postponed due to weather, so Gonzalez and Villafaña would both have to miss a match if selected. As your mentioned, the makeup game is far more important to Monterrey.
It's helpful to have a few veterans around when you are bringing in so many young and inexperienced players, even though the 2018 Failure USMNT is not the best role model for showing the kids how it's done. You also don't want the kids to embarrass themselves, which can happen if you run too many experiments with too many unproven players all at once. Give young players a taste of what the pace of the game at this level is like without throwing them immediately to the wolves.It probably helps, in getting all those Europe-based players, that the match is being held in Europe next Tuesday rather than the US. Bill Hamid from Denmark, John Brooks healthy again, CCV...
It's a bit strange to me that they took some no-doubt first-teamers who aren't being evaluated for fit (Yedlin in particular, but also Brooks if healthy), but not Pulisic. Maybe they can't bear the thought of seeing him take the field again for the US and be reminded that he won't be at the WCF.
Also slightly surprised they left Cameron off. Sure, he's 32, but for my money he's still our second-best player, and worst case is a great tutor / backstop for the next cycle. I mean, Ream and Bedoya are 30 - this isn't a purely try-out-the-youth roster - and neither have ever been the player that Cameron still is.
The story was a nice read, especially after it mentioned that he lived in the football mekka. But when I checked his wiki entry, I realized he started his career with my amateur clubs archrival. Hm...can´t like that very much.This is a really enjoyable read about Weston McKennie.
But even Marsch knows the days Adams will wear a Red Bulls jersey are now limited.
“I think we can all agree that he’s not going to be here for his whole career,” Marsch said. “Then it’ll just be a matter of trying to [get] together with Tyler and his family... to figure out what are the next steps and what’s best with Tyler’s overall development. If you talk to Tyler I think he’d say all the right things, but he’s an ambitious kid and he should be. It won’t be an easy offseason to figure out what the next steps are, but we’ll do it in a way that we think honors Tyler, his family and our club.”