USMNT - The Pochettino era

[carolinablue232]

I don’t know, the play is lethargic and Poch is saying it’s a mental thing. What I see is risk averse passing, nothing through the middle, safe (and toothless) outside. That’s tactical.

He also has his ideas and how he wants to play, and is shoe horning players into positions they are not comfortable with. That’s what I would expect from a club manager, where he proves that they players don’t fit his system and then goes out and buys ones that do.

Unfortunately that’s not possible in international soccer where the managers need to be tactically flexible. He’s either going to learn this, or continue to play Pulisic through the middle and go out in the group stages next year.

And yes there is a real lack of talent in key areas, striker and CB the most glaring. It makes me despondent watching a 37 year old Ream being legitimately one of the first names on the sheet. And Chris Richards is just a mistake waiting to happen (and often does).

There’s a lack of talent in some spots but we’ve been there before and arguably this group is still our most “talented.” That lack of talent was partly made up for in the past by guys who weren’t technical but would just give it everything they had. Think Jay Demerit for example. This group doesn't have or show anything similar. We have no identity.

 

[Toffeeslam]

Just something slightly off topic, I noticed the crowds at the SoFi stadium was very sparse considering it was a home match against Canada.

I wonder if FIFA are concerned about crowd sizes in the US with the border policy likely to deter lots of visitors to the US for the World Cup.

PR disaster for all involved if you get empty stadiums for WC matches

 

[Rook]

We are trash. Agree with the sentiment that the players are both:

A. Overrated and
B. Uninterested

There’s no fight. No edge. No pride. Just lazy soccer and a flight back to Europe. Poch has a big job to balance playing the guys at the “big clubs,” and finding the hunger that those guys seem to lack. I refuse to believe this is the best we have to offer. Panama and Canada both outplayed and out worked our boys. Something had to give between now and next summer.

We are falling into the Mexico trap. As in we are probably more suited to develop a more direct counterattacking style only its impossible to play counter because its too hard to give the ball away to national teams like Haiti and Honduras.

So we play shi$$y-taka, and can't score even w/ all the possession because there isn't enough solid goal scorers.

 

[Drico]

Just something slightly off topic, I noticed the crowds at the SoFi stadium was very sparse considering it was a home match against Canada.

I wonder if FIFA are concerned about crowd sizes in the US with the border policy likely to deter lots of visitors to the US for the World Cup.

PR disaster for all involved if you get empty stadiums for WC matches

You'd love to see it...

 

[Drico]

And people wonder why they brought VAR in.

After all, what possible advantage to FIFA would VAR bring during a World Cup held in a dictatorship with a feeble host nation...

 

[Toffeeslam]

And people wonder why they brought VAR in.

After all, what possible advantage to FIFA would VAR bring during a World Cup held in a dictatorship with a feeble host nation...

You think they could rig the whole thing ?

Wouldn’t put it past trump to try

 

[Drico]

You think they could rig the whole thing ?

Wouldn’t put it past trump to try

I wouldn't like to be in their group - or opponent - put it that way.

Whereas, on their own merits as a team, you'd salivate at having them.

 

[Drico]

You think they could rig the whole thing ?

Wouldn’t put it past trump to try

To be fair, the US soccer lads are usually un-American types. I doubt Trump could bring himself to supporting them when he realises most of them went to college.

 

[mmmmsnouts]

I bet there is some complacency too being a host nation, I mean with the 48 team field they could have just gone through the motions and still qualified but they don’t even have to do that