WC Fail

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The success of the USWNT will be the biggest dagger to the heart of US Soccer since the USMNT failed to qualify for the WC. The reason is that if the women win, and they probably will, it will further enable US Soccer to live in the delusion that they know what they are doing. This WWC has revealed several things:
1. The gap has closed. The US women have been outplayed in several games, and other teams probably feel the way NFL fans feel when their team has to play the Patriots: calls and good fortune have been on the US's side.
2. Defense sucks. Our defense I mean. Our CBs are a disaster, and it is the case on both the men's and women's sides. We get away with poor marking consistently, and US Soccer puts little to no emphasis on defense in its courses.
3. Shooting. How many goals have the women's players' skied? We kid ourselves into thinking we play " possession" style ( we don't) , and we will walk the ball in. The women are dreadfully inefficient at volleys and, since we outlaw headers for some ridiculous reason at the youth level, that will cost us too.
4. Coaching- Ellis is a bad coach with great players. She can't sub, she disrupts chemistry, she cannot deal with angry players. Press is a better player than Rapinoe- sorry. She should have been on all along and was only in today due to "injury". That bit of luck saved Ellis. Rapinoe doesn't have the pace to be where Press was when Press scored.
Had the women lost to Spain, as they probably should have, it may have forced changes in US Soccer. Since the women will probably win, US Soccer can point at them and say " See ? We DO know what we are doing?" And play the tired old "The best US athletes play other sports" card. Success sometimes fails, and this is one of those times

So, one one hand, the team has been outplayed in several games, the defense sucks, the center backs are a disaster, we don;t mark, we can't shoot, we can't play a possession game, and they also can't volley?

But on the other hand, they have "great players?"

Internally inconsistent. Make up your mind, OP.

I am the OP. That wasn't I, but it was someone or ones else who understands the game. We do have individually great players, but our system makes them less so. In a very short time, US Soccer has beaten the Creativity out of Pugh, for example
She is a very young woman, and she is being told " do this, do this, and do this" thereby ignoring the instincts that got her where she is. She used to be a lovely take on artist, and now she just looks confused. Try to get this through your head: all of the criticisms I made were valid. The reason winning again will be a dagger is because the twits at US Soccer will now say " The women still win, so what we are doing is right". They are only slightly less thick headed than you are, which is scary. Had we dropped the ball in this WC, that would have been bad short term, but that on top of the men's disaster from the last WC may have forced some changes. Don't be offended just to be offended. Internalize what I am saying. You may disagree with my contention, but you are the one who is confused in analyzing my rationale.

Holy crap, you're dumb. All of those quotes were from your initial post. There was no reference to another post.

You may have good points, but no one will ever know because you are close to illiterate.

I can't dumb down my argument enough for you I am afraid. Let me try once more: players good, system bad. I bet many of your kids' teachers retired after dealing with you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The success of the USWNT will be the biggest dagger to the heart of US Soccer since the USMNT failed to qualify for the WC. The reason is that if the women win, and they probably will, it will further enable US Soccer to live in the delusion that they know what they are doing. This WWC has revealed several things:
1. The gap has closed. The US women have been outplayed in several games, and other teams probably feel the way NFL fans feel when their team has to play the Patriots: calls and good fortune have been on the US's side.
2. Defense sucks. Our defense I mean. Our CBs are a disaster, and it is the case on both the men's and women's sides. We get away with poor marking consistently, and US Soccer puts little to no emphasis on defense in its courses.
3. Shooting. How many goals have the women's players' skied? We kid ourselves into thinking we play " possession" style ( we don't) , and we will walk the ball in. The women are dreadfully inefficient at volleys and, since we outlaw headers for some ridiculous reason at the youth level, that will cost us too.
4. Coaching- Ellis is a bad coach with great players. She can't sub, she disrupts chemistry, she cannot deal with angry players. Press is a better player than Rapinoe- sorry. She should have been on all along and was only in today due to "injury". That bit of luck saved Ellis. Rapinoe doesn't have the pace to be where Press was when Press scored.
Had the women lost to Spain, as they probably should have, it may have forced changes in US Soccer. Since the women will probably win, US Soccer can point at them and say " See ? We DO know what we are doing?" And play the tired old "The best US athletes play other sports" card. Success sometimes fails, and this is one of those times

So, one one hand, the team has been outplayed in several games, the defense sucks, the center backs are a disaster, we don;t mark, we can't shoot, we can't play a possession game, and they also can't volley?

But on the other hand, they have "great players?"

Internally inconsistent. Make up your mind, OP.

I am the OP. That wasn't I, but it was someone or ones else who understands the game. We do have individually great players, but our system makes them less so. In a very short time, US Soccer has beaten the Creativity out of Pugh, for example
She is a very young woman, and she is being told " do this, do this, and do this" thereby ignoring the instincts that got her where she is. She used to be a lovely take on artist, and now she just looks confused. Try to get this through your head: all of the criticisms I made were valid. The reason winning again will be a dagger is because the twits at US Soccer will now say " The women still win, so what we are doing is right". They are only slightly less thick headed than you are, which is scary. Had we dropped the ball in this WC, that would have been bad short term, but that on top of the men's disaster from the last WC may have forced some changes. Don't be offended just to be offended. Internalize what I am saying. You may disagree with my contention, but you are the one who is confused in analyzing my rationale.

Holy crap, you're dumb. All of those quotes were from your initial post. There was no reference to another post.

You may have good points, but no one will ever know because you are close to illiterate.

I can't dumb down my argument enough for you I am afraid. Let me try once more: players good, system bad. I bet many of your kids' teachers retired after dealing with you

Holy Smokes, people. It’s the 4th of July. Time to celebrate America’s achievements including our USNWT.

But like I said before, if you had any strategic, tactical, development and/or any in-depth soccer knowledge/experience, you would have been working for US SOCCER or the like. Hence, you wouldn’t be here spreading your criticism nonsense. I bet your DC is not even a good soccer player either. (I’m sure you will now tell us that your DC is the next Messi. LOL)

[Anonymous]

If only they were related to top executives, they would have a job with US Soccer

[Anonymous]

Nobody should have to show off their coaching credentials to anonymous posters on an online forum to make the argument that US Soccer is screwed up. That's been obvious for years.

Saying that the federation is coasting on past glory on the women's side and may be headed for a future crackup because of poor management is a coherent argument. You don't need to be a coach or a full-time soccer pundit to understand that. If you can't accept that argument, make a coherent counter-argument. Otherwise, maybe you should back off the personal attacks and get a life.

(I'm not the OP)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If only they were related to top executives, they would have a job with US Soccer

BOOM! Great post!

[Anonymous]

I have not been impressed with the WNT for several years. There is a systemic issue about player development and selection. The US is succeeding on the women's side because we do have an overwhelming advantage in the numbers and a strong developmental landscape, primarily because the game is a middle class and upper middle class game on the girls side. Parents invest a tremendous amount. US Soccer is the beneficiary, so far. But, US Soccer's lack of foresight is going to come home to roost soon, I fear. The men's game is very different. Other nations have a lot of boys play the game (not so on the girls side), and in the US, soccer is not the sport that the very best athletes gravitate to on the boys side--you have football, basketball, baseball and a ton of other upstart sports taking a lot of good athletes out of the pool, early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have not been impressed with the WNT for several years. There is a systemic issue about player development and selection. The US is succeeding on the women's side because we do have an overwhelming advantage in the numbers and a strong developmental landscape, primarily because the game is a middle class and upper middle class game on the girls side. Parents invest a tremendous amount. US Soccer is the beneficiary, so far. But, US Soccer's lack of foresight is going to come home to roost soon, I fear. The men's game is very different. Other nations have a lot of boys play the game (not so on the girls side), and in the US, soccer is not the sport that the very best athletes gravitate to on the boys side--you have football, basketball, baseball and a ton of other upstart sports taking a lot of good athletes out of the pool, early.

Therefore saying the rest of the world will catch up to us soon is just wishful thinking. Like someone said up thread US will always have the fastest and strongest athletes that may or may not be so refined in their touches and also may or may not play the game 'the right way,' but soccer is just another sport and speed and strength will always have an edge over physically less talented opponents.

[Anonymous]

You can say that the rest of the world is slowly catching up in men’s basketball, baseball and hockey too. It’s more fun when there’s competition. Who wants to constantly watch soccer if we constantly dominate the WC or Soccer Olympics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can say that the rest of the world is slowly catching up in men’s basketball, baseball and hockey too. It’s more fun when there’s competition. Who wants to constantly watch soccer if we constantly dominate the WC or Soccer Olympics?

All people are asking for is a stronger commitment at the youth level to true possession based soccer and scouting and selecting kids that are capable of playing it. The women's team has no identity beyond athleticism. When the European teams begin to match our athleticism we will simply no longer be competitive.

[Anonymous]

As if the USWNT are a bunch of donkeys who’ve never taken a first touch. You could have the most technically gifted players but what does it matter if the coach doesn’t employ a style that plays to those strengths?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As if the USWNT are a bunch of donkeys who’ve never taken a first touch. You could have the most technically gifted players but what does it matter if the coach doesn’t employ a style that plays to those strengths?

There isn't a universal American style that is ingrained as a language to these players. That is the problem. This is as much a youth system development problem as it is a player selection problem.

Look at board after board in these threads discussing the small, smart technical players who fail to make the travel club A teams at early ages because the club needs to win at U9. We prioritize athleticism as the primary problem solver at the youngest of ages and play to win using the advantages that size and speed brings at 10 years old. We play direct to take advantage of their athleticism and ask the slow fat kids to play in the back and just clear it to the fast kid.

We fail to develop soccer IQ or technical sophistication and nuance. And on top of it we are blissfully arrogant. We seem to fail to really grasp the gains that other nations are making. We seem to think that we actually develop athleticism when it is just genetics plain and simple and we are no more prone to having gifted athletes than any European nation is. We fail to take full advantage of our player pool and athleticism and instead rely on lazy soccer. And that lazy soccer starts at U9 tryouts all across the land.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As if the USWNT are a bunch of donkeys who’ve never taken a first touch. You could have the most technically gifted players but what does it matter if the coach doesn’t employ a style that plays to those strengths?

There isn't a universal American style that is ingrained as a language to these players. That is the problem. This is as much a youth system development problem as it is a player selection problem.

Look at board after board in these threads discussing the small, smart technical players who fail to make the travel club A teams at early ages because the club needs to win at U9. We prioritize athleticism as the primary problem solver at the youngest of ages and play to win using the advantages that size and speed brings at 10 years old. We play direct to take advantage of their athleticism and ask the slow fat kids to play in the back and just clear it to the fast kid.

We fail to develop soccer IQ or technical sophistication and nuance. And on top of it we are blissfully arrogant. We seem to fail to really grasp the gains that other nations are making. We seem to think that we actually develop athleticism when it is just genetics plain and simple and we are no more prone to having gifted athletes than any European nation is. We fail to take full advantage of our player pool and athleticism and instead rely on lazy soccer. And that lazy soccer starts at U9 tryouts all across the land.

And now we know what this whole moronic thread is about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As if the USWNT are a bunch of donkeys who’ve never taken a first touch. You could have the most technically gifted players but what does it matter if the coach doesn’t employ a style that plays to those strengths?

There isn't a universal American style that is ingrained as a language to these players. That is the problem. This is as much a youth system development problem as it is a player selection problem.

Look at board after board in these threads discussing the small, smart technical players who fail to make the travel club A teams at early ages because the club needs to win at U9. We prioritize athleticism as the primary problem solver at the youngest of ages and play to win using the advantages that size and speed brings at 10 years old. We play direct to take advantage of their athleticism and ask the slow fat kids to play in the back and just clear it to the fast kid.

We fail to develop soccer IQ or technical sophistication and nuance. And on top of it we are blissfully arrogant. We seem to fail to really grasp the gains that other nations are making. We seem to think that we actually develop athleticism when it is just genetics plain and simple and we are no more prone to having gifted athletes than any European nation is. We fail to take full advantage of our player pool and athleticism and instead rely on lazy soccer. And that lazy soccer starts at U9 tryouts all across the land.

And now we know what this whole moronic thread is about.

Please explain then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can say that the rest of the world is slowly catching up in men’s basketball, baseball and hockey too. It’s more fun when there’s competition. Who wants to constantly watch soccer if we constantly dominate the WC or Soccer Olympics?

All people are asking for is a stronger commitment at the youth level to true possession based soccer and scouting and selecting kids that are capable of playing it. The women's team has no identity beyond athleticism. When the European teams begin to match our athleticism we will simply no longer be competitive.

I think the focus on athleticism is incorrect. But taking your statement at face value that athleticism is the key and that European countries will catch up in athleticism, I just don’t agree with your points. When I look at other sports that are heavy on “athleticism” — like basketball, track, or many of the other summer Olympic sports — I don’t think anyone ever thinks that any European nation has been producing better athletes than the US. I think the one thing that the US will always produce is better athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can say that the rest of the world is slowly catching up in men’s basketball, baseball and hockey too. It’s more fun when there’s competition. Who wants to constantly watch soccer if we constantly dominate the WC or Soccer Olympics?

All people are asking for is a stronger commitment at the youth level to true possession based soccer and scouting and selecting kids that are capable of playing it. The women's team has no identity beyond athleticism. When the European teams begin to match our athleticism we will simply no longer be competitive.

I think the focus on athleticism is incorrect. But taking your statement at face value that athleticism is the key and that European countries will catch up in athleticism, I just don’t agree with your points. When I look at other sports that are heavy on “athleticism” — like basketball, track, or many of the other summer Olympic sports — I don’t think anyone ever thinks that any European nation has been producing better athletes than the US. I think the one thing that the US will always produce is better athletes.

They are losing all their athletes to soccer. That is the argument on the US men's side anyways. We lose all our athletes to BB and football.

But, strike that from it all, you really think the US has the monopoly on genetic athleticism?