ADVERTISEMENT

USMNT Player Pool Discussion

TU_BLA

I.T.S. Legend
Gold Member
Mar 9, 2012
27,146
12,167
113
Tulsa, OK
So Chris Richards is now featuring for Crystal Palace at a center back spot. He has had a really strong game against Man United today. He's clamped down on Rashford and had a 70 yard run to track down and tackle the ball away from Antony who got the ball on a quick counter. Crystal Palace earned a 1-1 draw with United.
 
Somebody named Anthony Hudson is "interim" MNT coach. Prolly set piece coach (Ha!) under Beer?halter. His call-up for Jan. friendlies is 90% MLS since all of our Euro guys won't be released to play in them. There are 3 or 4 interesting guys we'll get a look at such as Paxton Aaronson, Alejandro Zendejas, Gaga & Brandon Vasquez. The rest are the usual suspects or young MLS guys with zero caps.
 
Somebody named Anthony Hudson is "interim" MNT coach. Prolly set piece coach (Ha!) under Beer?halter. His call-up for Jan. friendlies is 90% MLS since all of our Euro guys won't be released to play in them. There are 3 or 4 interesting guys we'll get a look at such as Paxton Aaronson, Alejandro Zendejas, Gaga & Brandon Vasquez. The rest are the usual suspects or young MLS guys with zero caps.
It's fine...these January matches with nothing riding on them should be used to ID guys.
 
  • Like
Reactions: drboobay
So Chris Richards is now featuring for Crystal Palace at a center back spot. He has had a really strong game against Man United today. He's clamped down on Rashford and had a 70 yard run to track down and tackle the ball away from Antony who got the ball on a quick counter. Crystal Palace earned a 1-1 draw with United.
Welcome to the Chris Richards party some of us were bumping two years ago when others were flirting in the corner with CCV and EPB.
 
It's fine...these January matches with nothing riding on them should be used to ID guys.
Ummmm … yeah no.

This is an Olympic selection year. It’s maybe the one cycle when Cupcake matters. Who gets called in, can, but not in all cases, reveal who is considered the top tier of the U23 squad in terms of who goes to the Olympics and who doesn’t. And who is a favored son for the WCQ the following year. It’s also a selection camp for senior members who anchor the Olympic team. That’s probably why you see Zimmerman and Ariola on there, that plus the bonus is nice in the MLS preseason. Probably $50,000 for two weeks work and two games. Not bad on an MLS salary. So it’s a chance for the seniors to teach the next generation to get ready for the Olympics, the future to get a feel for the grind of international soccer, and some marginal players who will never figure to get their caps for overseas sales. The fun begins deciding who is who in that group. Then there is Matthew Hoppe who with the way his career is going, this call up could be an MLS audition.
 
Ummmm … yeah no.

This is an Olympic selection year. It’s maybe the one cycle when Cupcake matters. Who gets called in, can, but not in all cases, reveal who is considered the top tier of the U23 squad in terms of who goes to the Olympics and who doesn’t. And who is a favored son for the WCQ the following year. It’s also a selection camp for senior members who anchor the Olympic team. That’s probably why you see Zimmerman and Ariola on there, that plus the bonus is nice in the MLS preseason. Probably $50,000 for two weeks work and two games. Not bad on an MLS salary. So it’s a chance for the seniors to teach the next generation to get ready for the Olympics, the future to get a feel for the grind of international soccer, and some marginal players who will never figure to get their caps for overseas sales. The fun begins deciding who is who in that group. Then there is Matthew Hoppe who with the way his career is going, this call up could be an MLS audition.
Serious question, could we see guys like Musah, Dest, etc. and all the other main USMNT who are U23 in the Olympics? (Whoever will still be considered U23 whenever the Olympics hit).
 
Serious question, could we see guys like Musah, Dest, etc. and all the other main USMNT who are U23 in the Olympics? (Whoever will still be considered U23 whenever the Olympics hit).
Yes eerrr maybe. Their WC participation does not preclude their Olympic roster selection. But the Olympics is not a mandatory release competition. Messi famously was denied his request for Olympic participation years ago by Barca as an over age player. Speaking of that, each team gets 3 over age selections and it’s often, but not typically a spine of keeper, center back and 8. But we’ve got some world class prospects at each of those positions who are under. We could have seriously awesome Olympic team if the clubs cooperate and the kids want to play and the USSF doesn’t screw it up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TU_BLA
Ummmm … yeah no.

This is an Olympic selection year. It’s maybe the one cycle when Cupcake matters. Who gets called in, can, but not in all cases, reveal who is considered the top tier of the U23 squad in terms of who goes to the Olympics and who doesn’t. And who is a favored son for the WCQ the following year. It’s also a selection camp for senior members who anchor the Olympic team. That’s probably why you see Zimmerman and Ariola on there, that plus the bonus is nice in the MLS preseason. Probably $50,000 for two weeks work and two games. Not bad on an MLS salary. So it’s a chance for the seniors to teach the next generation to get ready for the Olympics, the future to get a feel for the grind of international soccer, and some marginal players who will never figure to get their caps for overseas sales. The fun begins deciding who is who in that group. Then there is Matthew Hoppe who with the way his career is going, this call up could be an MLS audition.
I don't think our seniors have any idea of how to tell the young ones how to get ready for the Olympics:)
 
  • Like
Reactions: HuffyCane
There’s a lot of coaches out there who would be a good fit. Just sayin’ ….

Damn! And Dortmund has been scuffling this season with injuries and Reyna not playing full minutes. He is clearly uber talented and needs to be on the field. In other news on other players, Chris Richards had another strong game on Saturday vs Newcastle helping CP to a 0-0 draw. Daryl Dike has been on a good run of form lately scoring in 4 out of 5 matches for West Brom. He played a full 90 last Friday vs Burnley so apparently he's back to being fully fit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HuffyCane
Damn! And Dortmund has been scuffling this season with injuries and Reyna not playing full minutes. He is clearly uber talented and needs to be on the field. In other news on other players, Chris Richards had another strong game on Saturday vs Newcastle helping CP to a 0-0 draw. Daryl Dike has been on a good run of form lately scoring in 4 out of 5 matches for West Brom. He played a full 90 last Friday vs Burnley so apparently he's back to being fully fit.
I saw Richards miss a pretty clear header on goal. I think it may have been a corner.
 
Tim Weah now getting off and on minutes at left back mostly in training, but also in a couple of games. Had a nice “assist” what ever that is.
 
I saw Richards miss a pretty clear header on goal. I think it may have been a corner.
He's a defender and he helped lockdown a Newcastle side that has scored a lot of goal in EPL this season as well as sitting 3rd in the table. Richards may have missed an open header....you know who else missed one this week...Erling Haaland who might be the hottest goal scorer on the planet right now.
 
He's a defender and he helped lockdown a Newcastle side that has scored a lot of goal in EPL this season as well as sitting 3rd in the table. Richards may have missed an open header....you know who else missed one this week...Erling Haaland who might be the hottest goal scorer on the planet right now.
Just an observation. I only watched for 5 minutes.
 
Whatever happened to Miles Robinson? He seemed to play really well when he was called up but that hasn’t happened in awhile. He’s still young, has his career stalled? Injury?
 
Very few soccer players who rupture their Achilles on turf ever fully recover. And his club plays on that turf weekly. Physically or mentally, he might be done.
 
Go watch the clip of the goal too. It is an easy, late, far post run off a corner. I watch a ton of soccer and there should be way more of these runs on set pieces but everyone wants to go crashing in and win that first ball and score off of it. This was a 2nd ball off of a partially missed header from a Dortmund player (player actually got a good touch to it but ended up it would have missed the goal had Reyna not gotten the 2nd touch to put it in).

There is so much in Reyna's game that goes unnoticed. His IQ of the situation and what is going on, the ease and fluidity with how he plays the game can easily be mistaken for laziness.
 
  • Like
Reactions: quincy101
Go watch the clip of the goal too. It is an easy, late, far post run off a corner. I watch a ton of soccer and there should be way more of these runs on set pieces but everyone wants to go crashing in and win that first ball and score off of it. This was a 2nd ball off of a partially missed header from a Dortmund player (player actually got a good touch to it but ended up it would have missed the goal had Reyna not gotten the 2nd touch to put it in).

There is so much in Reyna's game that goes unnoticed. His IQ of the situation and what is going on, the ease and fluidity with how he plays the game can easily be mistaken for laziness.
Messi walks around a lot too.

Not comparing. Just noticing.
 
Gio should soon get starts for Dortmund as he's come off the bench in these last two. I hope it's as soon as he can hack 60-65 minutes. Wes McKinnie is almost a done deal to Leeds Utd. Of course, he'll be united with a couple of his MNT buds(Adams & Aaronson). Unfortunately, if Leeds are relegated, US soccer's reputation will take a hit, at least in Europe. On the other hand, if they stay up, it will be in large part because of Yanks & enhance our rep.

Still, I'm not so sure now about Jesse Marsch taking over the MNT (and he might soon be looking for a job). There's too many Euro-based guys with a ton of experience in the mix. If it's Beer?halter again, you can forget about Gio Reyna in R,W &B.
 
Last edited:
Hope he can stay healthy.

Also coaches cannot afford to hold grudges against star players. And star players need to pair their swagger with a bit of business sense.
 
Last edited:
Gio should soon get starts for Dortmund as he's come off the bench in these last two. I hope it's as soon as he can hack 60-65 minutes. Wes McKinnie is almost a done deal to Leeds Utd. Of course, he'll be united with a couple of his MNT buds(Adams & Aaronson). Unfortunately, if Leeds are relegated, US soccer's reputation will take a hit, at least in Europe. On the other hand, if they stay up, it will be in large part because of Yanks & enhance our rep.

Still, I'm not so sure now about Jesse Marsch taking over the MNT (and he might soon be looking for a job). There's too many Euro-based guys with a ton of experience in the mix. If it's Beer?halter again, you can forget about Gio Reyna in R,W &B.
If you believe the internet, there’s internal trouble with Marsch refusing to listen to his assistants and the front office. Even if they win, it may be over.

He was loud and physical as a player, with a reputation of not always being a good teammate because he was so competitive so that would not be surprise if true.
 
Last edited:
Gio should soon get starts for Dortmund as he's come off the bench in these last two. I hope it's as soon as he can hack 60-65 minutes. Wes McKinnie is almost a done deal to Leeds Utd. Of course, he'll be united with a couple of his MNT buds(Adams & Aaronson). Unfortunately, if Leeds are relegated, US soccer's reputation will take a hit, at least in Europe. On the other hand, if they stay up, it will be in large part because of Yanks & enhance our rep.

Still, I'm not so sure now about Jesse Marsch taking over the MNT (and he might soon be looking for a job). There's too many Euro-based guys with a ton of experience in the mix. If it's Beer?halter again, you can forget about Gio Reyna in R,W &B.
1) Not sure McKennie to Leeds is a good fit for him or the team with their current style. They need more in the back that can handle the counters they're susceptible to because they play that frenetic high press. McKennie is hit or miss when it comes to tracking back and defending...when he does, he's really good at it but it is glaringly obvious where his mindset is when you notice him pouting at MF because he didn't get the ball.

2) I don't think they'll get relegated this season...and they've got way too much talent for that. Honestly they should seek out a defender on loan. United and Liverpool seem to have way too many defenders right now, finding a player on loan through the end of the season should not be terribly difficult. And if they do get relegated it's not going to be due to the play of Aaronson or Adams.

3) No on Marsch with USMNT. No to Berhalter returning as coach. The US simply can't afford for a petty squabble between the coach and a player's parents to keep one of the very best the US has off the team/field.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HuffyCane
BTW, the bulk of the U23 team lost to Serbia 2-1 last night. My takeaways, Brandon Vazquez should absolutely be given a shot to show what he can do against higher level teams when Nations League and Gold Cup come around. He looked really good last night. He's not a hold up 9, but he was extremely active making his runs into the area and supporting attack and he wasn't glued to a 5 yard strip on either side of the middle of the field. He seemed to be a bigger, faster version of Ferreira, the type who found just a little bit of space. Slonina got the start. He is what I call an IQ driven GK. Smart and analytical in seeing the field and the play in front of him. Good with his feet...way more confident with the ball at his feet than say a Zach Steffen (maybe even moreso than Turner as well). The goals against last night were a free kick from 25 yards that went through the wall (the individuals in the wall actually separated right when he struck the ball...pretty bad). 2nd was a nice buildup from Serbia where they slipped an attacker through.

Zendejas should also get a chance with the senior team for the int'l cup competitions coming up. He may be the best technical player the US has, even better than Pulisic. He created all sorts of space last night with his individual skill. He's quick too. My only knock is he needs to get stronger. He's a small guy (smaller than Pulisic and Dest it appeared). His passes lacked the necessary oomph at times to reach their intended target. And the US needs to cap him a couple more times to lock him in and not let Mexico get their hands on him (this may already be a done deal as Mexico has been fined for using him despite him already being capped for the US in a U20 tournament or something). CB by the name of Neal was impressive as well.

My son saw Serbia's lineup and said it was definitely a B or C team, but we were essentially playing a U21 team. Most players were 18, 19, 20 years old save for Pomykal, Walker-Zimmerman, and later Aaron Long came in as a replacement for Zimm and Arriola came on late as well (and almost scored a couple times).

Good building block game for this group in ID'ing players to work into the main team. I think Slonina has a chance to be the GK in 4 years. I think he's that good.
 
I thought the US' best player was a kid named Cowell. Has plenty of pace, skill on the ball, toughness and prolly should have scored once, maybe twice. Will improve in the next 3 years & end up somewhere in Europe. Definitely a keeper for 2026.

How come we only have Spanish commentary for a US team playing an Eastern European team in LA? I kind of understand it for Columbia, but Serbia in Los Angeles?
 
  • Like
Reactions: HuffyCane
I thought the US' best player was a kid named Cowell. Has plenty of pace, skill on the ball, toughness and prolly should have scored once, maybe twice. Will improve in the next 3 years & end up somewhere in Europe. Definitely a keeper for 2026.

How come we only have Spanish commentary for a US team playing an Eastern European team in LA?
I watched on HBO Max so it was in English...but the 2 announcers were dreadful. Miss Stone and Twellman on games.

Cowell was good last night. I didn't necessarily see anything I considered special out of him though, something that made me go "hmm" and think he was or could be better than our other options on the left side in 4 years. That said, a lot of the players last night played well. Morris was good, Gomez was good. Aside from Slonina, who I think is a given in the squad in 4 years, the 3 I mentioned (Neal, Zendejas, & Vazquez) are the 3 I think can immediately be part of the A-team and I'd have them replace Long, Morris, and Ferreira respectively. Unfortunately for Cowell, he'd have to supplant Pulisic Aaronson, and/or maybe De La Fuente and I don't think he's their level.
 
I thought the US' best player was a kid named Cowell. Has plenty of pace, skill on the ball, toughness and prolly should have scored once, maybe twice. Will improve in the next 3 years & end up somewhere in Europe. Definitely a keeper for 2026.

How come we only have Spanish commentary for a US team playing an Eastern European team in LA? I kind of understand it for Columbia, but Serbia in Los Angeles?
Was there a Spanish language telecast? What network ?
 
Peacock had it (& the next one) as did FUBO (& the next) on NBC's "Universo". On FUBO, they even broadcast some Turkish League games in Spanish. Weird!
 
BTW, the bulk of the U23 team lost to Serbia 2-1 last night. My takeaways, Brandon Vazquez should absolutely be given a shot to show what he can do against higher level teams when Nations League and Gold Cup come around. He looked really good last night. He's not a hold up 9, but he was extremely active making his runs into the area and supporting attack and he wasn't glued to a 5 yard strip on either side of the middle of the field. He seemed to be a bigger, faster version of Ferreira, the type who found just a little bit of space. Slonina got the start. He is what I call an IQ driven GK. Smart and analytical in seeing the field and the play in front of him. Good with his feet...way more confident with the ball at his feet than say a Zach Steffen (maybe even moreso than Turner as well). The goals against last night were a free kick from 25 yards that went through the wall (the individuals in the wall actually separated right when he struck the ball...pretty bad). 2nd was a nice buildup from Serbia where they slipped an attacker through.

Zendejas should also get a chance with the senior team for the int'l cup competitions coming up. He may be the best technical player the US has, even better than Pulisic. He created all sorts of space last night with his individual skill. He's quick too. My only knock is he needs to get stronger. He's a small guy (smaller than Pulisic and Dest it appeared). His passes lacked the necessary oomph at times to reach their intended target. And the US needs to cap him a couple more times to lock him in and not let Mexico get their hands on him (this may already be a done deal as Mexico has been fined for using him despite him already being capped for the US in a U20 tournament or something). CB by the name of Neal was impressive as well.

My son saw Serbia's lineup and said it was definitely a B or C team, but we were essentially playing a U21 team. Most players were 18, 19, 20 years old save for Pomykal, Walker-Zimmerman, and later Aaron Long came in as a replacement for Zimm and Arriola came on late as well (and almost scored a couple times).

Good building block game for this group in ID'ing players to work into the main team. I think Slonina has a chance to be the GK in 4 years. I think he's that good.
There were too many people missing from both sides to make any judgments on players except for Vasquez who has very questionable first touch and failed to dominate a very depleted Serbia. He lacks the metrics to come to the regular camps is what I was told last time around. I don’t think he has suddenly gotten faster.
 
Peacock had it (& the next one) as did FUBO (& the next) on NBC's "Universo". On FUBO, they even broadcast some Turkish League games in Spanish. Weird!
It was also on Peacock? I thought it was just HBO Max English?
 
Earnie and McBride out. Earnie is a loss. Not sure about McBride. My contacts inside the building aren’t what they used to be. We now have an unpaid volunteer with no experience in full time professional business management running US Soccer, a billion dollar business, and a caretaker coach who ran the Rapids into the ground and famously resigned/fired after a lengthy press conference where he belittled players and management to the point the press corps requested he stop.

The only way things could get worse is naming Hope Solo team bus driver and Alexi Lalas poet laureate.

We will pass under 1000 days to the next World Cup in the next month or so.
 
Last edited:
Earnie is a loss. Not sure about McBride.
I've had it the other way around, although it looks like both guys have had a bellyfull of the USSF. Stewart was up to his eyeballs in Beer?halter's hire and the 13 month delay in doing it. He might have been under orders to play it that way. That is, to give Beer?halter plenty of time to finish the season as coach of the Col. Crew as he was a lock for the job from the git go.

The chief dumpster diver, Cindy Cone Parlow, in the stinkin dumpster that is the USSF, apparently doesn't have a clue. She's certainly "woke". A social justice warrior as evidenced by the rainbow crest on the warm-up jerseys during the WC and the "investigation" of Beer?halter for some kind of "domestic abuse" by kicking the slats of his future wife 31 years ago.

It's going to be several months before we get a new coach. Don't know anything about Sportology, Inc. who will recommend people to hire as a replacement for Stewart, and that person will hire a coach, again from recommendations from Sportology. Uh Oh! When it's all said & done, we'll have one or both guys from MLS, IMO.
 
This guy runs Sportsology. He’s widely credited with resurrecting Carlo Ancelotti’s career. We will see what they come up with. TU hires the “best in the business” and we get Derrick Gragg and Frank Haith.

http://www.meetmikeforde.com/
 
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT