re: Did our previous coaches just suck?

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Poch was needed to take this group to the next level both tactically and emotionally.


Agreed. Gregg built the foundation of trust, but the players also got complacent. Poch scared them enough to snap them out of it.

I'm not gonna shite on Gregg. He's not the right coach for now. But he had a lot to do with them getting to this stage, too.

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Bruce Arena righted the ship from the disaster in France 98 but hit his and the US's ceiling at the time. He accomplished more with less than most if not all of his successors.

Bob Bradley pretty much maintained what Arena built, Bradley teams never lived up to expectations.

Jurgen did more for US soccer development as a whole than he ever did for the national team, he did a poor job with in-game adjustment and roster management. Poaching players from abroad for immediate "success" and rebuilding the youth development through the MLS academies will be his greatest contribution.

Berhalter was like Ted Lasso, he got the players who had checked out to buy back in but the team lost the grit and physicality, plus he was way too reliant and connected to the MLS, before the academies have produced a deep enough player pool.

Poch was hired for the cup and will be judged strictly on his results. Without seeing him go through qualifying it's hard to know what kind of job he has done yet. It seems like his sole focus is/was on the World Cup, rather than Nation's League or Gold Cup, which I'm happy with.