Greggg also did pretty well in recruitment no? Pretty important trait.
If there were two pro arguments for him, it was always that the players liked him and he did a great job recruiting dual-nationals. If we can patch some things up, Balogun really gives us something we have never had before besides Jozy sporadically and GGG deserves major credit for that.
Yeah, I think Gregg did a lot of things really well. The program is in a healthier spot overall (not all because of him, but partially), OTOH I don’t think he’s the guy that is going to get it to the next level.
I still get so torn on this whole idea of moving the sport here forward, playing a certain way, etc. I get it but it felt like Berhalter overdid it with this personnel at times when they can’t actually play that way.
Maybe that’s worth it with such a young program, but to me that’s always kind of the hard thing to reconcile with the Berhalter experience.
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Didn’t he technically pledge to the USMNT when Berhalter was unemployed? 
I think so. He did all the heavy lifting though, that courtship started years ago.
Yeah, of course. And he was a huge addition. I thought he had a really good Copa.
That was one of the major bummers about crashing out, he was really finding his form. On the positive side, it’s a much more enticing job with him up there instead of playing musical chairs with Pepi, Sargent and Wright.
I’m obviously not up on the jargon here…“Jedi” is…Antonee Robinson?
Yes, Jedi Robinson.
I agree with the basic point - Robinson, Pulisic, 60% of the time Wes plays, and Balogun strike me as the only truly plus starters we have.
Gregg deserves a ton of credit for how deep the player pool is too - he’s definitely recruited a ton of these guys who had choices to play elsewhere.
I think he excelled at soft skills generally speaking - this group of players seemed to enjoy playing for him and won a number of tough gut-check games against better versions of Mexico than the current one - they always played really hard, even the Uruguay game is an example of that.
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Well whomever the next guy is has a chance to continue that tradition because he’s going to have to recruit Diego Luna before we lose him.
The style of play thing is definitely where I’m stuck too Dylan. I get if you want to be actually good you need to play gorgeous Arsenal-esque football. But we don’t have the guys for that. And we’re probably still a few generations away from having the guys for that (if it’s even ever possible for us to have the guys for that).
Play the way your players are capable of playing. Muck it up, make the game sloppy. You don’t get any bonus points for trying to play aesthetically pleasing football.
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Yeah but it is not black and white. Against the Dutch in a KO game? Yeah.
For a mostly U23 group over the last six years? I think playing this style is probably crucial for their development. And will pay long term dividends.
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On a possible realistic hire (Yes make the call to Klopp obvi, but I am not seeing that at all) is Marcelo Gallardo. Not sure on his English, but he did play one season in the MLS so maybe a little? In general soccer philosophy and tactically of what is out there, he’s the most exciting to me.
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https://x.com/giantgooner/status/1811171078271803765?s=46&t=aDh8NkT4I1bGjqImv_NXRw
This is how I feel towards all those popping bottles at the firing. It’s CP, Jedi, and maybe Balo? Everyone else: 
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OTOH, a ton of guys are still extremely young.
Dest is 23. He can have flamed out and still become a really good USMNT player over the next decade.
Similar thing applies to most of the young core.
Yea i actually think Dest is pretty good and right behind the group I mentioned.
It feels like a lot of these guys have bad advisors. Go play for a team that wants you, that will give you quality minutes where you can develop.
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I think Adams was great in the World Cup and just had a bad injury. Cardoso is an exciting prospect, too
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I think the play a certain way thing is so unhelpful to UNMNT. maybe Spain and France and Germany have enough talent to choose to play a certain way, but the US doesn’t have the talent depth to make that choice. The coach of UNMNT needs to find the system and tactics that fit the players available.
I can see some value in guys who play a very extreme style like Uruguay under Bielsa or Austria under Rangnak. In that case it might help players understand their role. But for most countries an ‘identity’ is just not a reasonable choice. the idea of playing a style is, for me, mostly a club concept that helps you pick players, but picking players isn’t a national team thing.
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