Not a big time soccer guy, but after all we heard about this team being the best in quite a while and all that, this team has been an embarrassment. Should the head coach not be held responsible?

Fire his @$$!!! What an embarassment to the United States. We have one of the largest countries in the World and can't put together a soccer team to beat Ghana?!?!?!? We didn't even win a game and got blown out of the water in the first one. Unbelievable!

Give him an administrative job and bring in someone else. He played not to lose in every match and it backfired. Get a coach with some balls. I'm saying this, but I appreciate everything he's done and how much he's improved US soccer in his tenure.

I think I saw in a Nike video someplace that the US has more kids playing soccer than anywhere else in the world. You'd think that after football, basketball, and basball takes its share that we'd still have a top 10 team by default.

I too think that Arena has probably petered out. Nothing against him and really wasn't sure until this World Cup. However, I never saw the fire in the players, which to me, is a direct reflection of the coach.

Yes he should be forced upstairs. He's over served his usefulness to US Soccer on the field.
Props for his past efforts, but he's taken us as far as he can. We need a coach with balls and some fire.

I had read something before the world cup that he was probably going to step down in the coming year regardless of the outcome at the WC.

It's time for a change. Bruce has done a very good job though.

Bruce has been great for U.S. soccer, can't blame this on him.

Besides like mentioned earlier, I think he is already planning on stepping down.

He was a great coach to take us to a respectable level, but we need someone who can take us beyond. we are lacking in essential skills that no national team can succeed without.
1) ball handling and passing. how to trap and control and thread pinpoint passes through a defense, we don’t seem to know how
2) set pieces. how many times will we have a great opportunity right outside the box and send it out of bounds?
3) how to build from the back. Keller blasted the ball almost every single time he had a chance...and sent it right to the Ghana keeper who rolled it out to his midfield. fine you got a strong leg ,but lets try to keep possession once in awhile.
4) patience. we don’t keep possession in the midfield beyond 2-3 passes and then try to volley in. how about moving it around and waiting for the right opportunity, that way we control the game and pick or targets
5) finishing. Just put the D*MN ball in the net! Yes we were unlucky, but how about a bit better aim?

Yes, yes, the refs sucked and jobbed us bad on a few calls. If you ever notice though, championship teams also get bad calls against them. And win anyway. Bad calls are going to happen in every game, real teams can put it behind them, mediocre teams let it beat them and complain about it after the game.

I like Arena, he has brought us to a level never before seen in US Soccer, but it isn’t the top and I don’t think he can take us there anymore. Lets bring in a new coach, someone who coaches in Europe and has had success at a national team and European Club level and has a reputation as a teacher. Bring in some new blood. Renya, Keller, McBride (my favorite player) a few others should never play in the NT team jersey again. We have 4 years to build the next WC squad and they wont be on it. No one who wont be there in 2010 should play again. Bring in Cooper, Adu, Spector, Bradley, Eskie, Rossi (if he wants to) and others. Get Gooch in the EPL, drag Donovan kicking and screaming back to Europe, Get Howard Starting in the EPL for 4 years. Enter the Copa America and schedule European Friendlys in Europe at least 6 times a year. Use the Gold Cup and the Confederations Cup to battle test the squad for 2010.

And I know what most feel about the MLS, but it has gotten much better over the years and we needed to grow it more. More Club friendlies, DC United vs. Manchester United. Real Salt Lake vs. Real Madrid. FC Dallas vs. AC Milan. Etc.
Each MLS team should partner with a club in Europe, in the off season send the MLS teams to train at the European Clubs grounds, practice against their players. The European teams will be in the middle of their season and at a high fitness level and could significantly raise the level of play for the MLS team. Play 2-3 friendlies a year against the partner club. MLS should enter the Cope Sudamericana and take the CONCACAF Championship and World Club Champiosnhip seriously. IN the off season look for tournaments to play in, like the Peace Cup or La Manga Cup, enter them and win them.
Bring in some European stars a bit past their prime, but good enough to raise the level of play in MLS. Beckham, Ronaldo, Nedved, Zindane, etc We need a youth system like the Dutch, feeding into the MLS teams, and when the stars in MLS get good enough, send them to Europe to temper them and finish the forging of players.

Irishaggie is correct. He did his job and brought us out of the cellar. Now it is time to move on and hire another coach.

what maroon said - no FIRE. we need Twellman

who is always around the goal - and FINISHES!

Irishaggie,

Damn fine post. 100% agree on everything you said!

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We need a youth system like the Dutch, feeding into the MLS teams

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That would be great, but I don't think it would be possible. Holland is such a small country that you can feed a professional team from the youth level by making it a magnet to a 20 mile surrounding area. This would not work in America, just because of our mere size. Wish it could though.

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MLS should enter the Cope Sudamericana and take the CONCACAF Championship and World Club Champiosnhip seriously. IN the off season look for tournaments to play in, like the Peace Cup or La Manga Cup, enter them and win them.
Bring in some European stars a bit past their prime, but good enough to raise the level of play in MLS. Beckham, Ronaldo, Nedved, Zindane, etc We need a youth system like the Dutch, feeding into the MLS teams, and when the stars in MLS get good enough, send them to Europe to temper them and finish the forging of players.

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Not to derail the thread but it's not a matter of not takin CCC or Sudanerica seriously. It's a matter of those tourneys coming when our league is in off-season so essentially we get our best teams who have been out of season for 2 months playing in-form teams from Mexico, Costa Rica etc that are in the middle of their season and completely match fit.

As for the second and third parts. Several teams have started youth academies however the single entity system in MLS makes it really tricky. I don't think you'll see a true European system until single entity goes away and that's going to take some time. In addition, there is a pretty fair amount of speculation that the so-called "Beckham Rule" will be enacted for the 2007 season.

i realize that some MLS teams have acadamies, but until they reach the stage that Major Clubs in Europe have, they are just a step above city Rec Leagues. The Dutch seem to have the best system. I think MLS will get there, but it will take time.
I would very much like to see the Beckham rule, although i am a bit leery of it, what i dont want to see is MLS teams packed of aging Europe stars that use MLS as a retierment league. ONe player per team would be ok, but no more. MLS really needs to grow our American PLayers, not provide pensions for Europeans. One player could bring great teaching and learning possibilities to a team
IF MLS teams trained with their Europe partner during the off season, you would see a much better product at the international club tournaments from MLS teams. Sport is becoming a full year job anyway (in all sports) the teams that do not train hard in the off season, dont win. Imagine DC United training against Manchester Uniteds A Squad who are in the middle of the UEFA Champions League, FA Cup and EPL Title Races, for a month or 6 week before the CONCACAF Champions Cup started. I think the results would be much different from what we see now

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I think I saw in a Nike video someplace that the US has more kids playing soccer than anywhere else in the world.

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alot of kids also play tiddly winks. doesn't mean they take it seriously or that its in their top 3 favorite sports. it sure isn't what they play when they grab their friends and go to the park, field, etc.

yes, he should. he made a lot of coaching mistakes this tournament. his time has come and gone.

I propose that we replace him with Jose from the Adidas commercials. Not only is he a superior judge of talent, but he did not hesitate to sit Kaka for a wasted shot directly at the keeper. And he was right to do so--Jermaine Defoe is no goalkeeper!

Do you think Jose would run McBride alone atop a 4-5-1? I think not.

yes, thanks for 02!

We need someone with experience coaching high level teams...i.e germany coach?

arena just might not have been ready to make the jump from regular team to something bigger.

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I propose that we replace him with Jose from the Adidas commercials. Not only is he a superior judge of talent, but he did not hesitate to sit Kaka for a wasted shot directly at the keeper. And he was right to do so--Jermaine Defoe is no goalkeeper!

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Perhaps we get the fat kid who had the foresight to put Defoe as a gk. Clearly that sort of imagination is what the US is lacking.

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Perhaps we get the fat kid who had the foresight to put Defoe as a gk. Clearly that sort of imagination is what the US is lacking.

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The fat kid also made it very clear that his team would run a 4-4-2. Perhaps you're right and I have chosen the wrong guy.

Hey! No way Jose!!! Never take Kaka out..not to mention..at least his shot was ON goal!! hehehe

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propose that we replace him with Jose from the Adidas commercials. Not only is he a superior judge of talent, but he did not hesitate to sit Kaka for a wasted shot directly at the keeper. And he was right to do so--Jermaine Defoe is no goalkeeper!

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"Can I ask you a question?
What is it?
It's an interrogative form of sentence, used to test knowledge. But that's not important right now."

i didnt read any of the replies, but yes. he should step down after a performance like that with all the hype that many people (arena included) threw into the media

ahould have already been done.

Why don't we have a men's soccer program? I'm not talking club soccer, I'm talking NCAA soccer.

I have asked this before, but I don't get a logical answer, so don't use Title IX as an excuse.

I love my family...

I believe that the reason is partly because of Title IX...Title IX essentially says that no person can be excluded from benefits or activities in an educational setting that is federally assisted, based on sex...This forces schools to put more money into underfunded womens sports (I believe this is a really good thing)...but this increase of money into womens programs have to come from the programs that do not generate any money...In Texas men's soccer is not a huge draw, thats why i think it got the axe (if we ever had one).

In Texas men's soccer is not a huge draw, thats why i think it got the axe (if we ever had one).

^ You Sure?

Look at the Southern Regionals being played right now. With the Dallas Texans, Lonestars SC, Texans FC, and other clubs...Texas is certainly a national contender on the Club Level. If we give Texas players another option besides SMU, I think you could set up a pretty strong program. I'm sure I'm sure i could find a number somewhere...but quite a few high school kids play...and would be very interested in playing in college

Didn't A&M's men's club team win the NC two years ago?

Yep, A&M's team won it a couple of years ago.

I don't care if he stays or not. New blood would be nice, but Bruce isn't so bad. He's a very smart coach that's won at all levels so he probably learned something from this last World Cup outting. Besides, he knows we'll never be in a group that tough again.

Arena has to go. He served his purpose, but we really need someone new to infuse a different philosophy.

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I have seen the enemy, and it is us.

As far as the original question, yes Arena's time has expired. We need a new coach and philosophy.

The US was ranked #5 in the world going into this cup. The Czech's were #2, but had injuries. We did not.

We may have been in the group of death, but we should have dealt the death blows. Arena takes the heat for player selection, formation, and who he fielded (and when).

Next, as of July 1, there is a vertical team strategy with FC Dallas. Check out http://www.FCDallasYouth.com. I know I just wrote some big checks for my daughter. I expect other teams to follow.

There's also a vertical strategy with EPL teams in the U.S. Everton is a great example. I understand that Chelsea has reached some kind of accord with the Tornados.

Some of the best teams in the DFW area have no affiliation. There are some scary good youth teams. I mean SCARY good.

We will start to dominate on the world stage.

In the meantime, it would be nice if we could bring back some of our European players and recruit a few from Europe. Personally, I'd like to see someone go after Zidane, since he's retiring. He could play a couple of years in the MLS and definitely help the game.

Not about Arena but to slightly get off track on why we don't have NCAA soccer... one reason, TitleIX. No reason to hash that out. The second reason is that no other Big12 schools (to my knowledge) have men's soccer. There's really nobody else nearby for us to compete against, the closest school I can think of is SMU. Which means tons of travel costs just to play a regular season.

smu is the only d1 texas school with a mens program. and i think it is totally title 9.

If we continue to push out a team full of suburban robots lacking real soccor skills we will get the same treatment as we did in 2006.

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I have seen the enemy, and it is us.