Pistol Posted September 30, 2022 Share Posted September 30, 2022 You can make a case for Turner or Steffen but the fact that GK1 has not been clearly decided with less than 2 months until the World Cup is mind boggling. The same is true for most of the rest of the roster. When you have a roster this young - which will be the youngest in the WC, I believe - you need clear, decisive leadership and well defined roles. You can't be indecisive or ambiguous. And his commitment to his "system" at the national team level is silly. Get your best players out there and strategize around them, not the other way around. Gregg's aversion to John Brooks has always been puzzling to me. Tim Ream is playing the best ball of his life, he's captaining a mid-table Premier League team, and we have a backline that's a mess. I'd find room for both Brooks and Ream, honestly. And Pefok - I'm not a Ferreira guy at all but if the coach thinks he deserves a spot, fine. Pepi doesn't right now. He's young and his mind clearly isn't right at the moment. He'll get his chances. Pefok is a finisher who's having a big season in the Bundesliga. We need finishers and a bit of steady veteran leadership. I don't want to see the well get poisoned and this be another lost cycle before 2026. We need discernible progress with this program, not another reset. Littlebill and slufanskip like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Elrond Posted September 30, 2022 Share Posted September 30, 2022 30 minutes ago, Pistol said: You can make a case for Turner or Steffen but the fact that GK1 has not been clearly decided with less than 2 months until the World Cup is mind boggling. The same is true for most of the rest of the roster. When you have a roster this young - which will be the youngest in the WC, I believe - you need clear, decisive leadership and well defined roles. You can't be indecisive or ambiguous. And his commitment to his "system" at the national team level is silly. Get your best players out there and strategize around them, not the other way around. Gregg's aversion to John Brooks has always been puzzling to me. Tim Ream is playing the best ball of his life, he's captaining a mid-table Premier League team, and we have a backline that's a mess. I'd find room for both Brooks and Ream, honestly. And Pefok - I'm not a Ferreira guy at all but if the coach thinks he deserves a spot, fine. Pepi doesn't right now. He's young and his mind clearly isn't right at the moment. He'll get his chances. Pefok is a finisher who's having a big season in the Bundesliga. We need finishers and a bit of steady veteran leadership. I don't want to see the well get poisoned and this be another lost cycle before 2026. We need discernible progress with this program, not another reset. I’m afraid it’s already another lost cycle. I would love to be proven wrong. BilliesBy40 and brianstl like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted September 30, 2022 Share Posted September 30, 2022 11 minutes ago, Lord Elrond said: I’m afraid it’s already another lost cycle. I would love to be proven wrong. Same. I felt like there was some hope of getting out of the group but the body language these last two games was bad. If Gregg has lost his young core, we're doomed. And I also hope I'm wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted September 30, 2022 Share Posted September 30, 2022 Lost cycle? We haven't even played a game in the WC. We are going to field the youngest team in the WC with almost if not every starter except our 2 CB's (and that's not for sure) and our Keeper aged 25 or younger. During this cycle we have more players playing at the highest levels in the world than we have ever had and most of them have this plus at least 2 more WC's to play in unless they get passed up. The lost cycle isn't this one, it's the last 2. I get you are probably meaning a lost WC tournament, but to me the cycle is the 4 years leading up and imo this has the potential to be the best cycle in the history of the USMNT regardless of the results in the tourney. As far as the actual tourney goes, as I said before, it's all about health. If healthy I believe we advance. If not, probably not, but that's not due to the failing of this cycle it's due to the previous 2. In the age group 26-34 which should be players in their prime, we have a keep and 1 starting caliber player. That's it. If we had 5,6,7 or more starting level players in that group we wouldn't be worried. Yes, we still need CB talent and depth, we need more LB options and a striker needs to develop or step forward. Just think every striker we are talking about is 22 or younger. It's not a lost cycle regardless of what happens in the WC tourney. BilliesBy40 likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Elrond Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 3 hours ago, slufanskip said: Lost cycle? We haven't even played a game in the WC. We are going to field the youngest team in the WC with almost if not every starter except our 2 CB's (and that's not for sure) and our Keeper aged 25 or younger. During this cycle we have more players playing at the highest levels in the world than we have ever had and most of them have this plus at least 2 more WC's to play in unless they get passed up. The lost cycle isn't this one, it's the last 2. I get you are probably meaning a lost WC tournament, but to me the cycle is the 4 years leading up and imo this has the potential to be the best cycle in the history of the USMNT regardless of the results in the tourney. As far as the actual tourney goes, as I said before, it's all about health. If healthy I believe we advance. If not, probably not, but that's not due to the failing of this cycle it's due to the previous 2. In the age group 26-34 which should be players in their prime, we have a keep and 1 starting caliber player. That's it. If we had 5,6,7 or more starting level players in that group we wouldn't be worried. Yes, we still need CB talent and depth, we need more LB options and a striker needs to develop or step forward. Just think every striker we are talking about is 22 or younger. It's not a lost cycle regardless of what happens in the WC tourney. So the listless, apathetic, disinterested performance put in by the USMNT the last two games represents a clever plan for 2026, so it’s all good? Very clever, I saw a team that looked like it had no idea and had no direction. I guess the subtitle nuances passed me by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 3 minutes ago, Lord Elrond said: So the listless, apathetic, disinterested performance put in by the USMNT the last two games represents a clever plan for 2026, so it’s all good? Very clever, I saw a team that looked like it had no idea and had no direction. I guess the subtitle nuances passed me by. Wtf. That’s some serious reading between the lines genius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Elrond Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 US vs Wales Nov 21st, I sincerely hope they show me that I am totally wrong in everything I’ve written Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierPal Posted October 1, 2022 Author Share Posted October 1, 2022 Reyna's 'muscle tightness' in the Saudia game translates to 1 to 2 weeks out. https://sbisoccer.com/2022/09/gio-reyna-sidelined-one-to-two-weeks-with-muscle-injury slufanskip likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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