AgGrad99 said:

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I'd lean towards 'no' because even with our set-back on the national stage this past year, our talent pool seems to be steadily growing each year.

But it's cyclical. I'd be curious to compare when Donovan/Beasley were coming up, and then when Demps was coming up.

It's probably much better now, but I'd be curious.

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It was similar then, in my mind. That to me is the first little era where it felt like signing American players was trendy, which I hope is coming around again.

In my mind you not only had Donovan who was owned by Leverkusen, and Beasley at PSV (which back then was really much more reputable clubs. I'm pretty sure they and Ajax were part of the alliance of giant European clubs that negotiated with FIFA and UEFA in the 2000s)

Conor Casey was at Dortmund. Onyewu at Metz. Bobby Convey ended up at Reading. Zack Whitbread at Liverpool.

And slightly older than 23 but there was also John O'Brien was at Ajax. And at this period you also had Tim Howard playing in goal for a while for Manchester United which was big for a pretty young goalkeeper.

The next little generation was ok too (but none really made it to clubs that were nearly as big I dont think), then the one after that ended up with basically nobody who was any good except random Americans born and raised in Germany.

Yeah, you're exactly right. All the sudden there was an explosion (for US Standards) of young talented players who were actually going to give us options.

The next cycle of guys seemed to pop up when Klinns entered the picture and focused on foreign nationals.

It's exciting to seemingly be entering another run, instead of winding down.

The next little generation was kinda in the wake of the 2007 U-20 World Cup. That team had Robbie Rogers and Bradley at Heerenveen, Zimmerman at Hamburg, Gabriel Ferrari at Sampdoria, and in the wake of that cup, Altidore went to Villareal, Adu went to Benfica, Danny Szetela went to Racing Santander, Sal Zizzo went to Hannover. But really not a lot of those moves panned out, and those clubs are not nearly as big as the ones that the Donovan/Beasley group signed for to start with.

AJ was in there too. I had high hope for Sal and him...dang injuries.

Remember Charlie Davies? I was really looking forward to him.

JJxvi said:

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AgGrad99 said:

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I'd lean towards 'no' because even with our set-back on the national stage this past year, our talent pool seems to be steadily growing each year.

But it's cyclical. I'd be curious to compare when Donovan/Beasley were coming up, and then when Demps was coming up.

It's probably much better now, but I'd be curious.

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It was similar then, in my mind. That to me is the first little era where it felt like signing American players was trendy, which I hope is coming around again.

In my mind you not only had Donovan who was owned by Leverkusen, and Beasley at PSV (which back then was really much more reputable clubs. I'm pretty sure they and Ajax were part of the alliance of giant European clubs that negotiated with FIFA and UEFA in the 2000s)

Conor Casey was at Dortmund. Onyewu at Metz. Bobby Convey ended up at Reading. Zack Whitbread at Liverpool.

And slightly older than 23 but there was also John O'Brien was at Ajax. And at this period you also had Tim Howard playing in goal for a while for Manchester United which was big for a pretty young goalkeeper.

The next little generation was ok too (but none really made it to clubs that were nearly as big I dont think), then the one after that ended up with basically nobody who was any good except random Americans born and raised in Germany.

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The difference to me is the age difference between that group and the current group.

PatAg said:

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AgGrad99 said:

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AJ was in there too. I had high hope for Sal and him...dang injuries.

Remember Charlie Davies? I was really looking forward to him.

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who knows what happens if he never is in that car accident

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Thanks for posting that. That's a guy you just have to root for

https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/Bundesliga/timothy-tillman-bayern-munich-nuremberg-usa-wonderkid-510198.jsp?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=english&utm_content=post

Unthought Known said:

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https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/Bundesliga/timothy-tillman-bayern-munich-nuremberg-usa-wonderkid-510198.jsp?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=english&utm_content=post

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sounds awesome.

Unthought Known said:

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https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/Bundesliga/timothy-tillman-bayern-munich-nuremberg-usa-wonderkid-510198.jsp?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=english&utm_content=post

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Another Germerican. I wonder what prompted him to come our way.

Miyazga possibly gets loaned to Caen, a Ligue 1 club, Would you consider Ligue 1 to be a higher profile league than Eresedivisie?

akm91 said:

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Miyazga possibly gets loaned to Caen, a Ligue 1 club, Would you consider Ligue 1 to be a higher profile league than Eresedivisie?

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I think so just because of the top end talent in that league. Monaco, PSG, Lyon, and Marseille are better than anything in the eridivisie if you ask me.

I would place Ligue 1 WAY above Eredivisie, not just due to higher profile talent but also because of the age of the league (1932 vs 1956), bigger stadiums, more teams, broader history of success across the league (in Eredivisie, 3 teams have won all but 3 titles since founding), and a bigger market-with the funding that comes along with being in a bigger market. I would count Ligue 1 either 4th or 5th best league in Europe (behind EPL, Budesliga and La Liga, in no particular order) with Italy being nearest for either spot Ligue 1 does not occupy.

Well, here's hoping Miyazga secures at least the loan to Ligue 1 Caen at the minimum.

The UEFA club coefficients have France 5th after the big 4. Netherlands is also below Russia, Portugal, Ukraine, Belgium, Turkey, Czech Republic, and Switzerland. It has not been a good 5 years or whatever for Eredivisie clubs. In the heyday of Lyon in the 2000s France was even above Germany

Just watched 50 best goals in USMNT history.

Dempsey, Donovan and Altifore obvisouly has the most.

Of the old guys, who do you see has a role moving forward?

I'm thinking the player i hate to love, Bradley.

What "veteran" do you want to see with the young guys?

I could Bradley having a role as a reserve/mentor for defensive purposes. I don't consider Wood a veteran in the sense you are asking.
Maybe Geoff Cameron is another guy to have in camps to provide good input to our young center backs, he has a lot of experience in England.

Honestly, I'm not sure I want any "veteran" with the new group. At this point, the best player plays. There's plenty of young talent across the board that should be pushing if not surpassing the "vets". We'll see some of the old guard play as we transition to the next cycle primarily for friendlies where Euro based players are not feasible. However, they shouldn't be automatic starters anymore. Of the vets, I see Jozy and Bradley as likely to still be in the mix.

akm91 said:

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Honestly, I'm not sure I want any "veteran" with the new group. At this point, the best player plays. There's plenty of young talent across the board that should be pushing if not surpassing the "vets". We'll see some of the old guard play as we transition to the next cycle primarily for friendlies where Euro based players are not feasible. However, they shouldn't be automatic starters anymore. Of the vets, I see Jozy and Bradley as likely to still be in the mix.

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I think this missed World Cup was our time to break with the past. Keep playing these kids we have been, and mix in a few younger solid players like Yedlin.

Can Jozy and Bradley do some things these kids can't do yet? Yeah, but you're also trading long-term team-building for short-term... what, exactly? If it was me, I'd focus on developing the team that will play in 2026 right here in the US. Obviously we'd like to see them in 2022 as well.

The old guard had their time, and I don't want to denigrate them or scapegoat them about not qualifying - I just think that their time with the team should be done.

Absolutely agree.

I see Yedlin, Brooks and Woods from the "old guard" being a core part of the new cycle, along with Pulisic, McKennie, Miyazga, Steffen and Adams.

I definitely see Robinson, Weah and Sargent being part of that nucleus but they need to get the consistent playing time.

I see few of the MLS based players being integral part of the team, mostly as bench strength.

Old guard...new guard, I don't give a damn.

Put our best XI out there, let's win some games and qualify for the World Cup. The goal is to really do well in WC 2022 and compete for the WC in 2026, but you have to qualify first.

USMNT isn't a development team, it is our best team, and they are tasked with being the best.

PatAg said:

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I could Bradley having a role as a reserve/mentor for defensive purposes. I don't consider Wood a veteran in the sense you are asking.
Maybe Geoff Cameron is another guy to have in camps to provide good input to our young center backs, he has a lot of experience in England.

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I like the Cameron idea, not to mention he can literally play any spot in the back 5 from outside back to holding mid.

I'm tempted to say Dempsey as a supersub, but he'll be in his late 30s by the next tournament and most likely done playing. Maybe Guzan as a reserve keeper?

akm91 said:

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I see few of the MLS based players being integral part of the team, mostly as bench strength.

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I don't have a problem with that at all. I want our best players abroad and there's no way we field a competitive side if half the starters are MLS players. The league just isn't good enough although it's getting better as time goes on.

fig96 said:

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PatAg said:

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I could Bradley having a role as a reserve/mentor for defensive purposes. I don't consider Wood a veteran in the sense you are asking.
Maybe Geoff Cameron is another guy to have in camps to provide good input to our young center backs, he has a lot of experience in England.

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I like the Cameron idea, not to mention he can literally play any spot in the back 5 from outside back to holding mid.

I'm tempted to say Dempsey as a supersub, but he'll be in his late 30s by the next tournament and most likely done playing. Maybe Guzan as a reserve keeper?

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Yea, I was thinking more for the time period between now and qualifying being done. I'm not sure any of those 3 would make the WC roster.

I just dont see demps being able to contribute much from here on out. Maybe if he is playing with some youth who can set him up for the finish he can contribute some minutes.

I would like to see him get a proper send off.

http://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-transfers/story/3581269/chelsea-loaning-us-defender-matt-miazga-to-nantes-source

Quote:

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Chelsea and United States defender Matt Miazga is on his way to France to finalize a season-long loan move to Ligue 1 side Nantes, a source confirmed to ESPN FC.

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who?mikejones said:

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I just dont see demps being able to contribute much from here on out. Maybe if he is playing with some youth who can set him up for the finish he can contribute some minutes.

I would like to see him get a proper send off.

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Yup, agreed.

Nantes? That's a big step up compared to Caen. Good for Matt!

Nobody raise your voices. Just another night in Nantes.

Looks like Robinson will be loaned out to Wiggan. At least it'll be regular playing time for him. Not sure why they wouldn't loan hi out to Bolton again since he's wanted there by the coaching staff and has familiarity. Both are in the Championship.

Tab Ramos revealed some reallllly interesting information in a recent interview

https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/79082/tab-ramos-hiring-freeze-has-made-for-difficult-y.html

Quote:

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With Namazi's departure, Ramos has also had to take charge of the U.S. U-18 men's team, which is headed to the Czech Republic later this month. U-15 coach Dave van den Bergh has filled in with the U-19s since Friedel left for MLS. U-14 coach Clint Peay moved into van den Bergh's U-15 position, creating a vacancy at the U-14 helm.

We asked Ramos why the vacancies haven't been filled:

"First of all, I am very happy for John, he is an amazing coach and person and will make any professional club better on and off the field," said Ramos. "But our youth national teams have been in a hiring freeze since our men's senior national team missed qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

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