And I am not done with all Germericans, just the ones that don't really care about the USMNT.

Unthought Known said:

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Green had 2 touches he entire game and got a great goal.

Wood just doesn't have it. Not at Hamburg, not on the USMNT.

Really impressed with Adams. Hoping he goes to Germany.

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It's funny how everyone sees things differently. I think an in form Wood is one of our best players. I would imagine his scoring rate for USMNT is pretty high.

Wood is only 25, right? Coming off a bad season for club for sure, but he's got time to get back in form and contribute. I think he's a key guy on our roster for the next cycle no matter how you cut it.

H.E. Pennypacker said:

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Unthought Known said:

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Green had 2 touches he entire game and got a great goal.

Wood just doesn't have it. Not at Hamburg, not on the USMNT.

Really impressed with Adams. Hoping he goes to Germany.

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It's funny how everyone sees things differently. I think an in form Wood is one of our best players. I would imagine his scoring rate for USMNT is pretty high.

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Sorry. I meant he didn't have it with Hamburg and didn't have it yesterday. I didn't mean he won't get it back.

Usually the phrase "just doesn't have it" is meant to convey the player can't get it done at this level.

PatAg said:

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Usually the phrase "just doesn't have it" is meant to convey the player can't get it done at this level.

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He cant right now. I didn't mean that he won't get it back or is incapable.

It's not just his careless offsides and poor touches. It's his lack of playing time with Hamburg.

Pahdz said:

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Wood was one of our best players during WCQ, he's not done, just in a rut.

Was really impressed with Parker yesterday

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I hope you're right. We desperately need a reliable striker.

jeffk said:

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It's all fun and games until your only real striker pulls a hammy in the first half of the first group stage match of the WC.

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Jozy will likely never score a world cup goal in his career. Pretty crazy when you think about it

Pahdz said:

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Let me introduce you to Josh Sargent

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He's got promise but has yet to actually play 1 minute of professional ball. Let's at least see how he handles the adjustment to Bundesliga first.

Pahdz said:

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Wood was one of our best players during WCQ, he's not done, just in a rut.

Was really impressed with Parker yesterday

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He was pretty good. Not good enough though. And he's is in a huge rut.

OregonAggie said:

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akm91 said:

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Pahdz said:

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Let me introduce you to Josh Sargent

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He's got promise but has yet to actually play 1 minute of professional ball. Let's at least see how he handles the adjustment to Bundesliga first.

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Hell no. In American soccer, we anoint them as our savior as early as we can!

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Lol, so true and so funny that our savior prior to Pulisic was in camp with Josh this time around. Josh seems to be a really good kid with head on straight so likely he will do well in his career. Will he reach the heights we want him to attain? I sure hope he exceeds it!

I'm not anointing him yet, but I watched the kid play in the youth tournaments and he just seems to have a better understanding for his role and position than I've seen out of others in the US pool. Glad he's going to Germany and I think he's going to do well.

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Before leaving AZ Alkmaar at the end of 2015, Stewart displayed willingness to think outside the box when he hired Billy Beane as an advisor. As an advisor of the general manager of the Oakland Athletics in Major League Baseball, Beane was famous for implementing "moneyball" tactics designed to use analytics to uncover overlooked talent at a lower cost.

"We've had a lot of contact with Billy in the last few months" Stewart said. "His knowledge and ideas are impressive. Also Billy's soccer network is excellent. We have already noticed that Billy thinks two steps ahead in the area of innovation. That's what really connects with the ambitions of AZ."

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This was from the Ernie Stewart article. That raises soooooo many questions.

How exactly did that work? (were they trying to identify players, or metrics regarding the scheme, etc)
How and Why does Billy Beane have a soccer network? His life has been baseball.
What do the Oakland A's think of him double dipping like this?
Metrics for baseball, is VASTLY different than other sports. What are the correlations?
Why Beane? There has to be someone more experiences with soccer metrics
What were the results? What did they learn from this?
Do they still have a working relationship?

That is so odd. I'd love to sit down and pick their brain about it.

PatAg said:

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""I think it's a failure of a cycle. It obviously hurts, but I don't think it has anything to do with systems. I think it has more to do with the period that you're in. Unfortunately, we were on the bad side of that cycle, but now there's a new cycle coming along. There's a new player pool coming along. There's a lot of talent in the United States and it's something that we have to look after and make sure that they reach the highest of their potential. Being able to be there for them, facilitate them in that, is the most important job for us.""

Full quote. Feels like maybe he means cycle of players, aka the 'missing generation'?

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I like Lalas, but sometimes he misses the point. I think this is one of those times.

He's not wrong. But at some point, we have to stop relying on talent 'cycles', and start facilitating a stream of talent. It's hard to move the federation forward, and grow...if you're taking steps back, due to talent routinely.

Klinnsman, for all his faults, i think recognized this. He wanted to grow the Academies, and he wanted players playing. It does no good to make a club, if you're going to sit on the bench.

Another related question, is the issue Pulisic raised in his write-up, regarding US Players net being allowed to join a club until they're 18...whereas huge amounts of growth happens from 16-18.

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When people ask me what has been the biggest game-changer of my career when they ask me, you know, "What's the one thing that has had the biggest impact on your game so far" that isn't the easiest question to answer. I've had a lot of good fortune over the years: from supportive parents, to amazing youth academies, to incredible teammates, and on down the line.

But one thing that I'm not sure people realize, when they talk about my game, is just how lucky I've been to have a Croatian passport and just how much of a difference it's made for me.

As a result of my dual citizenship, I've been able to play in Europe, training at the Dortmund academy, since I was 16. Without it? I would have had to wait until I was 18. And for a soccer player man, ask anyone and they'll tell you those age 1618 years are everything. From a developmental perspective, it's almost like this sweet spot: It's the age where a player's growth and skill sort of intersect, in just the right way and where, with the right direction, a player can make their biggest leap in development by far.

In the U.S. system, too often the best player on an under-17 team will be treated like a "star" not having to work for the ball, being the focus of the offense at all times, etc. at a time when they should be having to fight tooth and nail for their spot. In Europe, on the other hand, the average level of ability around you is just so much higher. It's a pool of players where everyone has been "the best player," and everyone is fighting for a spot truly week in and week out. Which makes the intensity and humility that you need to bring to the field every day both from a mental and physical perspective just unlike anything that you can really experience in U.S. developmental soccer.
Without those experiences, there's simply no way that I would be at anywhere close to the level that I am today.

And so I really just wonder, you know: Why is it that E.U. players are allowed to move country once they turn 16 but non-Europeans can only do so at 18? Why aren't we campaigning for a level playing field, where our best 16 year olds who may not have an E.U. passport like I had are free to move when they turn 16, like the best young players in Europe can?

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I have no idea what it would take to change this...but I wish we could start working on it now.

Gordo14 said:

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jeffk said:

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It's all fun and games until your only real striker pulls a hammy in the first half of the first group stage match of the WC.

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Jozy will likely never score a world cup goal in his career. Pretty crazy when you think about it

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Neither has Sergio Aguero. Its not exactly easy to do

wangus12 said:

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Gordo14 said:

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jeffk said:

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It's all fun and games until your only real striker pulls a hammy in the first half of the first group stage match of the WC.

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Jozy will likely never score a world cup goal in his career. Pretty crazy when you think about it

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Neither has Sergio Aguero. Its not exactly easy to do

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Fair point. Just Jozy has played, what, 5 world cup games as a striker and didn't score. Just disappointing from a striker. Sergio has been disappointing for Argentina too.

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Klinnsman, for all his faults, i think recognized this.

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I LOVED Klinnsman as a technical director. If he was up for it, I would have retained him strictly in that role.

It was that whole "being absolute **** as a gameday manager" that sunk him.

Gordo14 said:

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wangus12 said:

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Gordo14 said:

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jeffk said:

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It's all fun and games until your only real striker pulls a hammy in the first half of the first group stage match of the WC.

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Jozy will likely never score a world cup goal in his career. Pretty crazy when you think about it

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Neither has Sergio Aguero. Its not exactly easy to do

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Fair point. Just Jozy has played, what, 5 world cup games as a striker and didn't score. Just disappointing from a striker. Sergio has been disappointing for Argentina too.

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Jozy is one of the most frustrating players to watch. I like him quite a bit, but so frustrating.

gig them said:

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Quote:

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Klinnsman, for all his faults, i think recognized this.

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I LOVED Klinnsman as a technical director. If he was up for it, I would have retained him strictly in that role.

It was that whole "being absolute **** as a gameday manager" that sunk him.

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I thought I read that we had some of our worst performances from our youth teams under his lead?

Someone else said it, but he was great at having ideas and creating excitement..maybe not so much at implementation

That's probably fair.

It's as if he knew what we needed; he'd seen it and experienced it...but had no idea how to actually do it.

PatAg said:

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gig them said:

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Quote:

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Klinnsman, for all his faults, i think recognized this.

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I LOVED Klinnsman as a technical director. If he was up for it, I would have retained him strictly in that role.

It was that whole "being absolute **** as a gameday manager" that sunk him.

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I thought I read that we had some of our worst performances from our youth teams under his lead?

Someone else said it, but he was great at having ideas and creating excitement..maybe not so much at implementation

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That's a pretty good way to frame it. But I fear that history will remember him as a 100% failure, when the reality is not quite that harsh.

In any regard, it was far past time for him to go.

So, I'm looking at the roster of the 1994 World Cup.

Half the players are listed as playing for United States Soccer Federation.

What was that league?

I really didn't follow the sport until that world cup, and only the MNT until recently.

That's right.... thanks. Which that much playing time together probably was a reason why they advanced. Plus an own goal. RIP Andres Escobar.

Erik Palmer-Brown goes out on season long loan to NAC Breda in the Eredivisie.

EPB goes out on loan

Earnie Stewart played there.

Bobby Wood secures loan to Hannover to stay in Bundesliga. Hopefully he'll turn around his bad form from last year and get minutes.

Wood get loaned to Hannover

Hopefully that's a good move for him. I was confident he'd find a landing spot somewhere in Germany. One bad year shouldn't have ended his European chances.

More USMNT transfer news.....

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Sam Stejskal of MLSSoccer.com is reporting that Tyler Adams will join Jesse Marsch at RB Leipzig on a deal worth $5 million. According to Stejskal, Adams will be loaned back to the New York Red Bulls to complete the MLS season and join the Bundesliga club once New York finishes its season.

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Great move for Adams!

Tyler Adams set for move to RB Leipzig