All discussed articles are provided above.

akm91 said:

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Unthought Known said:

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Agreed. But the academy system IS getting bette. And a lot, not all of young players are following he precedent set by Pulisic, McKinney, Carter-Vickers, Sargent, etc and getting to Europe instead of college.

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Big issue is that currently the youngsters that come up from academies are not getting much playing time in MLS. There are clubs that buck the trend but most clubs don't play the young players.

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This is a huge problem. The MLS is currently serving as a very effective vehicle to raise the level of play for Non-Mexico, Non-America CONCACAF nations.

Mexico doesn't care, because Liga MX is strong enough to field quality Mexican NT sides indefinitely... but we need to address this problem somehow.

I come down somewhere in between the US Soccer is fine (Lalas) and burn it all down (random angry internet person). I do think we had that underperforming "Lost Generation" of players whose failure exacerbated some of the problems we saw with the senior team this qualification cycle. (There's a good chicken or egg argument to be had there though on whether the players made the structures look faulty or the faulty structures failed to prepare the players adequately.) I also think there some structural improvements that USSF and MLS need to make to continue to improve upon the groundwork that's already been laid. I do agree with Lalas on a couple of things - mainly that the state of soccer in the US isn't the wasteland many would have us believe. The sport is relatively new here compared to other nations we compete with, there's a ton more competition for athletes here than in other nations due to bigger, higher-paying professional sports; our university athletics system is a fairly unique challenge to be worked with.

Here's my main gripes/issues/fixes:

Access to coaching education under USSF is still too damn expensive and not very accessible. Fix: stop trying to turn a profit with your coaching education programs, increase the oversight to make sure your instructors aren't playing politics with the course candidates/clubs

USSF and MLS both need to work to grow the game and increase the talent funneling into the sport. Grass-roots initiatives from both organizations are doing some of this already, but further investment in fields, programs, coaching development and even school teams should be a priority.

Pay for play isn't going away, but clubs need to increase the access to academy-prep programs for poorer players. (Academy programs are technically free for players, but there's still a lot of cost there and it can be a deterrent for a lot of families.) Fix: set aside a great portion of money for scholarships or even attempt to cajole clubs into making a certain minimum percentage of their upper-level teams scholarships players. MLS could also do more to encourage teams to play their youngsters, but increased partnerships with lower-tiered pro teams could also address this issue too.

Lastly, USSF needs to negotiate with the Euros to clear the way for our youth players to be able to play there without dual citizenship before they turn 18. There are ways around some of the current rules, but our domestic leagues don't currently train and groom young players to the same degree as those abroad.

akm91 said:

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Unthought Known said:

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Agreed. But the academy system IS getting bette. And a lot, not all of young players are following he precedent set by Pulisic, McKinney, Carter-Vickers, Sargent, etc and getting to Europe instead of college.

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Big issue is that currently the youngsters that come up from academies are not getting much playing time in MLS. There are clubs that buck the trend but most clubs don't play the young players.

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Yep. And the funny part is there is no champions league or regulation.

Ugh, we're being hoodwinked by USSF.

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In terms of hiring and firing the senior national team manager, Romeijn stated that the GM would research potential candidates, help compile a short list, and be an important part of the interview process, but that the ultimate decision would lie with the USSF Board of Directors.

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So basically nothing really changed. They just added an additional step in the process.

Same old story

jeffk said:

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Access to coaching education under USSF is still too damn expensive and not very accessible. Fix: stop trying to turn a profit with your coaching education programs, increase the oversight to make sure your instructors aren't playing politics with the course candidates/clubs.

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Jeff, you don't understand. We're shaking the couch cushions for money over here at USSF HQ.

It's not like we're sitting on a 100M warchest.

gig them said:

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akm91 said:

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Unthought Known said:

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Agreed. But the academy system IS getting bette. And a lot, not all of young players are following he precedent set by Pulisic, McKinney, Carter-Vickers, Sargent, etc and getting to Europe instead of college.

---

Big issue is that currently the youngsters that come up from academies are not getting much playing time in MLS. There are clubs that buck the trend but most clubs don't play the young players.

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This is a huge problem. The MLS is currently serving as a very effective vehicle to raise the level of play for Non-Mexico, Non-America CONCACAF nations.

Mexico doesn't care, because Liga MX is strong enough to field quality Mexican NT sides indefinitely... but we need to address this problem somehow.

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This x1000. The MLS was supposed to raise the quality of American soccer, but all we did was create the best central American League that money could buy. In the early days of the league, every team had American "stars", but now the best player is rarely domestic.

Take the dynamo for example: their original stars were Ching, Holden, Cameron, DeRo ( ok, he is Canadian, but that seems rather benign). These days it's 2 Hondurans...

The tight salary structure of the MLS made this inevitable. In the search for cheap talent, we found great bargins in panama, hondurus, Jamaica, etc...

Another problem is that Americans don't like to watch anything but the "best". Most casual fans would prefer the team win instead of focusing on US development. This is absolutely not true in places like Germany or Mexico where fans will demand more domestic players.

Random side note: The only MLS city that actually has Americans as the main stars happens to be in Toronto...wtf.

AG@RICE said:

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gig them said:

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akm91 said:

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Unthought Known said:

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Agreed. But the academy system IS getting bette. And a lot, not all of young players are following he precedent set by Pulisic, McKinney, Carter-Vickers, Sargent, etc and getting to Europe instead of college.

---

Big issue is that currently the youngsters that come up from academies are not getting much playing time in MLS. There are clubs that buck the trend but most clubs don't play the young players.

---

This is a huge problem. The MLS is currently serving as a very effective vehicle to raise the level of play for Non-Mexico, Non-America CONCACAF nations.

Mexico doesn't care, because Liga MX is strong enough to field quality Mexican NT sides indefinitely... but we need to address this problem somehow.

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This x1000. The MLS was supposed to raise the quality of American soccer, but all we did was create the best central American League that money could buy. In the early days of the league, every team had American "stars", but now the best player is rarely domestic.

Take the dynamo for example: their original stars were Ching, Holden, Cameron, DeRo ( ok, he is Canadian, but that seems rather benign). These days it's 2 Hondurans...

The tight salary structure of the MLS made this inevitable. In the search for cheap talent, we found great bargins in panama, hondurus, Jamaica, etc...

Another problem is that Americans don't like to watch anything but the "best". Most casual fans would prefer the team win instead of focusing on US development. This is absolutely not true in places like Germany or Mexico where fans will demand more domestic players.

Random side note: The only MLS city that actually has Americans as the main stars happens to be in Toronto...wtf.

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Kellen Acosta in Dallas?

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Random side note: The only MLS city that actually has Americans as the main stars happens to be in Toronto...wtf.

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Kinda funny that most of the stars of the big clubs aren't from the country the club is based in.

Real Madrid - Portugal
Barcelona - Argentina
Bayern - Poland
Man City - Belgium
Man U - Spain (De Gea)?/France (Pogba)?
Liverpool - Egypt
Chelsea - Belgium
PSG - Brazil

Exception seems to be
Tottenham - Kane
Many Italian clubs
Many German clubs

akm91 said:

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Unthought Known said:

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2 countries made the quarters in the U17 and U20 World Cup.

Hazard to guess which 2 countries?

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The challenge for US players, in the past at least, is bridging the gap from the youth team into meaningful professional minutes. That's where the US has huge disadvantage in terms of youth players being able to gain access to the European soccer landscape.

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Is there something that can be done regarding work permits or passports for our youth players? It seems unfair that they are just not allowed to play in England or Europe until they turn 18, and even then there are obstacles to overcome.

Luckily some of our top players had access to dual citizenship or grandparents from Europe.

akm91 said:

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Quote:

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Random side note: The only MLS city that actually has Americans as the main stars happens to be in Toronto...wtf.

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Kinda funny that most of the stars of the big clubs aren't from the country the club is based in.

Real Madrid - Portugal
Barcelona - Argentina
Bayern - Poland
Man City - Belgium
Man U - Spain (De Gea)?/France (Pogba)?
Liverpool - Egypt
Chelsea - Belgium
PSG - Brazil

Exception seems to be
Tottenham - Kane
Many Italian clubs
Many German clubs

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You left off arsenal...

Good read on Earnie Stewart's background.

http://www.americansoccernow.com/articles/stewart-s-resume-highlights-bold-decision-with-emphasis-on-culture-and-chemistry

akm91 said:

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Ugh, we're being hoodwinked by USSF.

Quote:

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In terms of hiring and firing the senior national team manager, Romeijn stated that the GM would research potential candidates, help compile a short list, and be an important part of the interview process, but that the ultimate decision would lie with the USSF Board of Directors.

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So basically nothing really changed. They just added an additional step in the process.

Same old story

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The hiring of a coach would be a very small part of the GM's job. Do you think the Board of Directors would go against the recommendation of the GM in hiring a coach? If so they should begin a new search process for a GM the next day.

I am on a local school board, we hire a superintendent (the GM) and have ultimate hiring authority for all principals/AD/Directors below the Supt. If we don't go with the Supt.'s recommendations as far as principal hires, letting the Supt bring in those principals that will support the Supt's vision, then the Supt will know he/she has lost the confidence of the board, and will begin polishing up the resume that day.

https://uproxx.com/sports/united-states-soccer-young-players-to-watch-christian-pulisic/4/

Throw in the fact the GM does not have control over the youth program as well, this just seem to indicate business as usual for most of the critical flaws in US Soccer.

The responsibilities listed in the article seem to overlap the duties of the USMNT head coach quite a bit.

It seems to be set up to fail.

The article you linked was from May 29. Let's wait and see what Stewart's actual job description is before we label it set up for failure.

Here is an article from today discussing Stewart's goals and objectives:

http://soc.cr/pmPD30kok3E

PatAg said:

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https://www.theringer.com/2018/6/5/17428184/2018-world-cup-us-soccer-inside-story-jurgen-klinsmann-sunil-gulati-bruce-arena

great article

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Just finished reading that. I feel sick. The only positive from this is knowing we probably would have embarrassed ourselves at this world cup had we made it.

So, my daughter's ex teammates older brother is on the FC Dallas U13 team.
Watch some of these videos, and tell me we don't have talent in the youth ranks.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=FC+dallas+u13

We have talented kids. I'm convinced the youth coaching situation in the US is ****ed beyond repair. At State Cup a couple of weeks ago I watched game after game of high level players coached by screamers and yellers who want to joy stick players every single moment in the game. And the worst offenders were the U11/12 coaches. Just non stop screaming at players to go here or be there or worse yet screaming "Johnny you are in the wrong place!" And these were coaches from supposed high level clubs. And then these jokers get to screaming at each other and have to be separated.

Really? I see very little of that beyond the rec leagues.

Maybe you see that in high school.

Most of the yelling I hear is after a play giving advice, and the yelling is so they'll hear it.

Aston94 said:

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Here is an article from today discussing Stewart's goals and objectives:

http://soc.cr/pmPD30kok3E

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No doubt you're familiar with some of the leading candidates in MLS. The likes of Peter Vermes, Greg Vanney, Jesse Marsch and Gregg Berhalter.

What're y'alls thoughts?

I don't follow MLS, so I don't know much about these guys coaching. But I do like Berhalters international experience, which is greater than the others.

Club U11/12/13 is the worst. Especially at larger clubs. These are coached by younger coaches who want to move up to older ages. So you have to be recognized and win at all costs. They emphasize winning over player development. Closest I came to dismissing coaches at State was 2 U11 guys. Older ages they sit on the bench or chair and watch and make quiet comments or encouraging comments.

Players are a different story. Players hit their peak assholiness around U15. That's where I get the peak volume of dissent.

I've experienced a lot more in-game dickish behavior from club coaches than at HS games. Has to do mainly with accountability or lack thereof in my opinion.

You may get more joysticking from the non-experienced HS coach, but the real bad behavior is more prevalent with the club level coaches.

This comes back to my thoughts about USSF and their licensing and education system. Currently, coaching licensing through the Fed is aimed at the career club guys. Pricing and availability and exclusivity all work against your average school or rec or even non-career club coach working up the chain. A lack of education at the grassroots level is a real hindrance to the growth of the game across the nation and I think it's something US Soccer needs to continue to address (they have made a little progress in this area the past couple of years with replacing their introductory level course with an online equivalent, but the cost is still too high for their subsequent courses).

If USSF really wants to improve the youth development program, in my opinion they need to:

1. Provide no cost, high level instruction to all coaches at the club and rec level. Make available free instructional certifications for coaches and go out to the masses and educate.

2. Provide a scholarship for one low-income player for every select team, and require all select teams provide one low-income scholarship player on their own, so each team would have two full rides available for low income players.

You aren't going to change our system for a long time, but at least these two steps would get better coaching out there and give kids whose parents cannot afford the $2000-5000 per year for higher level play an opportunity to compete.

mathguy86 said:

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Club U11/12/13 is the worst. Especially at larger clubs. These are coached by younger coaches who want to move up to older ages. So you have to be recognized and win at all costs. They emphasize winning over player development. Closest I came to dismissing coaches at State was 2 U11 guys. Older ages they sit on the bench or chair and watch and make quiet comments or encouraging comments.

Players are a different story. Players hit their peak assholiness around U15. That's where I get the peak volume of dissent.

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This is one of the big root causes of it all, imo. Need to be paying our youth coaches a LOT more, so we can get quality coaches at a critical age range.

Apparently France is gonna be putting their 1st team on the field.

PatAg said:

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Apparently France is gonna be putting their 1st team on the field.

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Good. Hopefully the team just goes for it.

jeffk said:

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Good luck boys

How do you say "trial by fire" in French?

Should be fun to see what your young guys, not even all of our best young guns, can do against a world cup favorite.

PatAg said:

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Apparently France is gonna be putting their 1st team on the field.

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Why wouldn't they. They need to be sharp going into a World Cup in which they are one of the favorites. Putting 5 in the back and inviting pressure is probably not gonna work today