USMNT Problems: Sound off here or on Monday Night Futbol

[aderitter]

sportsnola.com/heavy-the-heart-the-plight-of-us-mens-soccer/

[aderitter]

So....is this it? Is the conversation over? Do all of you really think all is well in our beloved country?

[warrior16]

I selected the first three because I think it's a combination of all 3. It's not a problem we can fix easily, but I still think there are things we can do.

First off, by no means do I solely blame Klinsmann for our current plight, but I think it's time for us to move on before it's too late and we dig ourselves a hole we can't climb out of. He clearly is a man that holds grudges for a long time, leaving Donovan off the WC squad clearly for personal reasons (sure he wouldn't have been a starter, but he certainly could have helped us more than some of the other guys that made the team) and now accusing Fabian Johnson of faking an injury when his club team proved it was legitimate. He is always the first to criticize our players, yet he never accepts blame himself. That is not the character of a leader. The moment that made me the most angry was when he publicly criticized Alejandro Bedoya after the Brazil game when he played Bedoya in a position he's never played in his life. Ridiculous. What did he expect to happen?

Speaking of playing guys out of position, that's another thing. Just look at the mess we are currently in. We have fullbacks playing as wingers, wingers playing as fullbacks, and we're using 3 defensive midfielders in a 4-4-2. No wonder we can't hold onto the ball. Instead of maybe calling up talented guys that actually play the positions we're missing, like Benny Feilhaber and Ethan Finlay, Jurgen thinks playing Jermaine Jones as a winger is a good idea. Bradley, Jones, and Beckerman are all defensive mids, yet he seems to think they can magically become box-to-box mids at the drop of a hat. Add to the fact that we have no cohesive back four, it's no wonder we're playing poorly. This team has no discipline, no strategy, and no structure. Just watch the Brazil game again. It looks like our 11 guys have never played soccer before in their lives. Our national team had never played so poorly before that night. The players are clearly giving up on him.

Concerning MLS, I'll be the first to admit the league isn't great, but I'd rather have our guys start consistently in MLS than go to England and disappear off the face of the Earth. It would be great if we had 11 Geoff Cameron that started on top-flight teams every week, but that's not attainable right now. We just don't have players that good, but Klinsmann still is not maximizing our potential.

I think we can all agree that the high-price of soccer in America is hurting our national team, largely limiting the sport to white, middle to upper class families and thus making it difficult for lower-income families to afford the higher levels of coaching, training, etc. That needs to change, and I think it will, slowly.

There are tons of talented managers out there that we could get. Carlo Ancelotti, Peter Vermes, even Miguel Herrera.

[aderitter]

Ok.. I'll talk about all of this Monday Night. Would love it if ya'll would call in.

[aderitter]

Make sure everyone to vote. I will be talking about the results also on Monday Night!

[aderitter]

We will continue tonight to talk about all of this. Call in at 504-556-9696 to give your opinion.