Kolek planning to go pro
Why else wouldn’t he manage the team ?
QSMNT is a real thing.
You seemingly show up and mock criticisms of GGG/USSF every time it happens,
Answered multiple times now.
I'm not mocking criticisms of GGG.If I had my druthers, he would not have been re-hired.I'm mocking the lunatic fringe of the USMNT fanbase which sees conspiracy and nefariousness at every turn. It's not nearly enough to simply disagree with a decision. No sir. The decisionmakers must be ascribed with wicked intentions. They must have their personal character, their morals and their ethics assailed. They must be destroyed.And God help anyone in the soccer media/world who pushes back against that narrative. They're obviously federation lackeys, not simply people with - gasp! - a different outlook. Again, it's not enough to just disagree. You must also question the motives and character of the person.It's all a bunch of nonsense, Wags, and I'm surprised you're caught up in it.I wish the federation had gone a different direction. The fact they didn't doesn't make them the literal bad human beings you and others make them out to be.
Oh I don't think they are bad human beings.
I would respectfully suggest that some of your posting history indicates otherwise.I won't/don't want to list all the examples, but a couple come to mind.Immediately after GGG's rehiring, your response here was to call Matt Crocker "just a puppet" and suggest he is somehow selling out for money. Those typically aren't the kind of aspersions you would cast on someone you think is a good person, right? At the very least you're impugning his character. Again ... not enough to say he made a bad decision. He has to be attacked as a person.You also shared and endorsed a very long Tweetstorm late last year - or maybe earlier this year - arguing that federation leaders have willingly and knowingly engaged in a conspiracy that harms the organization - or at least its chances of success - in exchange for personal benefit, financial and otherwise.That seems an awful lot to me like calling them bad people. Good people don't sell out their organization for personal gain, right?
Arsenal got money...
I'll stick with my opinion on Gold. He'll be in foul trouble within the first eight minutes.
Wags,If you told Matt Crocker he was a just puppet, would he take that as an attack on his character, or merely you questioning his decision making?If you told Sunil Gulati he sold out the best interests of the USSF in order to enhance his personal wealth, would he think you were questioning his ethics, or merely had a difference opinion with how he ran the federation?I think the things you've posted here go far beyond questioning a person's job performance.
Let's assume Matt crocker came into his new job. He reviewed all of the investigation into Gregg. He interviewed all the candidates he wanted to. He spoke to other coaches, staff, soccer insiders. He spoke to youth/current/former USMNT players. He did all the due diligence he should and could to make a decision on hiring the next usmnt head coach.And at the end of that process, he concluded that Gregg is the best person for the job.Is there any evidence that could be provided that would convince folks that: A. Matt Crocker is the right person for the sporting director position/good at his jobB. Matt Crocker made his decision without significant outside influenceC. Matt Crocker truly believes Gregg is his pick for the best hire
No. The only evidence that anyone should care about is if he meets or exceeds expectations. And only time will tell if that’s the case.
Fair enough, I can see where you're coming from. Its not my intention, but it doesn't really change how I feel about things.Like Sultan said, no, not really. GGG wasn't a slam dunk hire the first time and didn't set the world on fire during his tenure, so it wasnt a no brainer "if we can get he back we GOTTA". So for fresh eyes to come in and just reup the guy you just let go is pretty unheard of.But again, results are all that matters. If strategy/tactics/team vibe changes from the first time around, ok then Crocker heard/learned/saw something new and that changes everything. But if we see more of the frustrating lack of offense compared to the free flowing assault from the last 2 matches of Nations League, then its gonna be really disappointing.
Ya, I get the results perspective.But you're essentially saying there's nothing that will convince you that Matt Crocker isn't a puppet.
Not so much that he isn't a puppet but that there was a plan in place when he was hired that he was supposed to adhere to. I'm not saying he's toothless in perpetuity, but thats how it appears early stages.And do you really look at it all and be like "yea GGG coming back makes sense, I'm sure they looked at all options and this works best"? I'm not saying they were getting Pep or Jose, but I find it SHOCKING there was nobody better in the world that had interest. They scored more than 1 goal in less than a third of their games over the last 2 years through the WC. Just brutal.Again, even if you're not into the USSF is corrupt ideas or other "conspiracies", I don't know how you look favorably upon the rehiring and Crocker's first few months as a result.
Ok - had some time to think this over. Below is what ggg will need to change in order to win me (and I’m assuming the majority of the fan base) back over. Some of these should be easier than others. 1 - He needs to repair broken relationships with key players. Very concerning to hear he still had not reached out to Gio. Needs to repair relationships with Scally, Pepi and John Brooks. I highly doubt the brooks relationship is salvagebable. 2 - He needs to move on from his favorites ASAP. Aaron long, Acosta, areola, Jesus ferera, Jordan morris, roldan, Shaq morre. Aaron long stuck around for way too long. Played in most lead up games to WC and important qualifiers nations league etc. should’ve been dropped a long time before. 3 - Tactical flexibility. Build around your best players. You don’t build around a system with the national team. You conform to your top existing talent. Play gio Reyna centrally. Stop the fullbacks from pushing forward with worthless crosses into the box. MMA midfield doesn’t work. Musah and Mckennie are redundant etc. 4 - Pick the right starting 11 and in game management. Subs have been pathetic and some starting lineups are klinsman level bad. 5 - stop being such a dope. Selfies in the middle of games. Stupid bounce passes. Ridiculous framing of games aka the “dominant loss” against Canada. Missing a Memphis Depay. Leadership conference fiasco etc.
I also don't care if Brooks ever suits up for the USMNT again, but I may be in the minority on that one.
I agree with pretty much all of this. I do think Ferreira has earned a spot on even the strongest 23 whether as the 3rd #9 or a backup #10. He's a 22 year old who scores in league and for the US. I know that he hasn't done it against the best teams and he needs to prove that he can, but the US has had a ton of strikers who haven't been able to come close to his production even against the lesser teams in the region.I also don't care if Brooks ever suits up for the USMNT again, but I may be in the minority on that one.