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alincoln

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Everything posted by alincoln

  1. The reaction to this exit is hilariously overblown. We got knocked out by a team we dominated that is now in the semis because almost our entire team was injured or returning from injury and an extremely weak coach. Without injuries and with a real coach, our forwards would have consisted of Swanson (starting LW), Macario (starting 9/RW), Smith (starting 9/RW), Hatch, Rodman, Press and MAYBE Morgan. Our MF would have consisted of Ertz, Lavelle, Sam Mewis and Horan and we would have played Sauerbrunn, Girma, Dunn and Fox in the back (our defense was actually statistically dominant). There are plenty of other players in the pool that are young and highly skilled that dumbass Vlatko didn't bring in because he is too weak to move past the old guard who actually control the team (a HUGE issue the media is too weak to address). The old guard were crucial parts of arguably the greatest women's team of all time but their primary concern is staying on the USWNT gravy train as opposed to the best interests of the team. Rapinoe shouldn't have been anywhere near this team much less actually playing and everyone knew it . . . Vlatko, her, the entire USWNT organization . . . but only she could remove herself from the team and she wasn't going to miss out on that sweet WC-related cash. Her greed should tarnish her legacy a bit. The US development system will put us at a competitive disadvantage going forward but that was not the issue in this world cup. England's bright young attacking talent (Alessia Russo) was developed at UNC in the US system. That said, the European club system is going to get better and better while we are going to continue to rely on a MLS-lite academy system and the ECNL/Division 1 college development system. Our elite players need to move to Europe and I expect that they will as the money gets better and better. I'm not that concerned though because, unlike men, many of the best female athletes in the US play soccer and the coaching and development at the top 100 ECNL clubs in the country is good to elite. Go watch Solar's U-12 team if you think we have weak coaching/tactics at the elite club level. It's also ridiculously competitive with the best players/teams in the country regularly playing against the best. The weakest players on the top teams are also getting weeded out annually at young ages. If your daughter is an ELITE player in almost any city in the country, an ECNL club will almost definitely find you and try to make it work for you to play on their ECNL team. That's reality. The media loves to claim that elite club soccer is an entirely white upper class environment which is inaccurate. Here is a picture of the Solar (DFW's best ECNL program) U-16 2023 ECNL national champions: This team is no exception. There is a ridiculous amount of talent in the US women's game and the future is extremely bright if USSF gets its head out of its ass which is admittedly unlikely because it is primarily a political organization driven more by the greed of certain of its stakeholders that the best interests of US Soccer.
  2. https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/covid-19-surges-linked-to-spike-in-heart-attacks/ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00403-0 It's not exactly controversial
  3. This is the third cardiac arrest of a young male athlete I have heard of this month. The other two were in our local community. I'm sure it is all just a strange coincidence though.
  4. The U.S. really has 2.5 teams at the World Cup. The U.S., the Philippines (18 Americans) and Jamaica (11 Americans). 24 more Americans are scattered across the other teams including 5 on Ireland and Haiti and 4 on Nigeria.
  5. Are you sure? The Texas suburbanites tell me that everyone in your town is a meth addled jesus freak who commits violent crimes at the same rate as experienced in the big cities.
  6. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    It's easier to understand the USSF's decisions when you recognize that the USSF views the USMNT as a tool to prop up MLS. The FOX broadcast team (Donovan and Lalas primarily) is instructed to use its pulpit to justify USSF's decisions to the casuals. Berhalter got the job again because he is more than willing to implement this strategy. MLS is ok for players in their teens but anyone with USMNT aspirations should be looking to move to Europe ASAP. The salary cap/structure, lack of relegation and meaningful cup qualification (CL, Europa) and overexpansion limits competition for playing time, renders the games meaningless and results in abysmal defending.
  7. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    Hopefully this tournament also reinforced to our young players that they need to get the fuck out of MLS ASAP. Awful league.
  8. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    We could have easily swapped at least 1/3 of this roster for younger players who did not make the Nations League roster. The bottom line is that we played Berhalter ball in this tournament with Berhalter's favorites and generally looked like shit against opposition with more than 1 million in population. Going forward, we will have to win in spite of our manager and his staff. It's a ridiculous situation.
  9. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    That's debatable. In any event, the USSF/Greggg couldn't decide whether to use this tournament to bleed in promising youngsters or give yet more opportunities to gregggg's favorites to justify future call-ups to the real team. Fortunately, his favorites almost universally demonstrated that their international careers should be over. Beyond that, we didn't learn much that will positively contribute to the USMNT other than that Jesus and Vazquez could have a role provided they move to Europe and Sands and Jones (although he is already 26) could find themselves deep on the DM and FB depth chart, respectively. Neal and Cowell have a lot of developing to do but they have promise. On the negative side, Mihailovic, Zendejas and Miles Robinson were disappointing. I now have Miles competing with Erik Palmer-Brown for the 7th CB spot behind Richards, Ream, CCV, McKenzie, Trusty and Zimmerman. Mihailovic is going to need to tear it up at AZ to get back in the squad given the limited B/C squads going forward. Zendejas simply isn't good enough.
  10. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    Long starting. Lol
  11. I would be surprised if this team doesn't have its worst ever finish in the World Cup (currently 3rd), although we are in the much easier side of the draw. Australia, Canada, England, France, Brazil and Germany are all in the other half of the draw.
  12. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    Who wouldn't you take over Berhalter?
  13. I assume that they laid off the talent with many years left on their deals and/or ridiculous compensation. They will let the remaining talent run down their relatively short-term deals and then reset the compensation market for all but those they deem crucial (Smith, McAfee). Most of this talent is fungible and ESPN has hired way too many people for way too much money for way too long.
  14. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    Great moves for Pepi and Pulisic. Pepi needed a moderate step up and got it by staying in the same league but with a CL club with a history of moving players on after they further develop. Pulisic needed to get the hell out of the EPL and move to a slower paced and less physical league while retaining CL status. A legendary club like Milan is the icing on the cake but he isn't going to play LW there with Leao on the roster and, no, Milan isn't moving him to accommodate Pulisic.
  15. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    Not terrible given the roster but still had to give the participation trophy start to Sean Johnson. So dumb.
  16. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    Yedlin was average at best. He is also pointless. Why play a past his prime FB who has played poorly for the worst team in MLS over a European-based youngster coming off a solid season? It’s the same issue with Long instead of Neal and Morris instead of Cowell. Average past their prime MLS players taking minutes from young players who could potentially contribute to the A team at some point. It’s a huge problem for greggg teams. Pointless call ups of dudes with no USMNT future at the expense of potential future contributors.
  17. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    Cuntggg clearly picked the staring 11. Welcome back to underperformance. It’s stunning how corrupt and incompetent the ussf is.
  18. Stay at Hotel Covington if you can get a room
  19. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    Greggg is officially back in charge.
  20. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    Our fanbase expects that we will be able to succeed in the deep waters of international soccer (e.g., COPA and WC knockout rounds) with a player pool that is at best equal to the opposition and a coach who was openly mocked by the opposing coach the last time he was in this situation. We desperately needed to buy an advantage in our coaching search and we somehow reapplied the wheel boot we just got rid of.
  21. alincoln

    USMNT 2023

    Gergg looked like absolute dogshit the last time he was matched up against CONCACAF when he couldn't beat Canada and avoided a play-in game on goal difference in WCQ despite having a roster that some of our fanbase believes is better than Uruguay's.
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