re: Is Klinsmann delusional, or is he being coy?

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Where were all these chances to put "four or five in"? We were lucky to get the one we got and the only other really good chance I can think of was when Dempsey slipped in 1v1 in the first half but had a tough angle with an on rushing keeper.

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Seriously? There were at least three chances that I thought were locks to hit the back of the net that we blew. Aron's was so bad that it deflated his game for the rest of the match. We had chance after chance at the beginning of both halves.

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Anyone with half a brain realizes this... but our coach doesn't. If that doesn't bother you by now... well I don't know what to say.

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Mix has really struggled lately, and frankly, I'll take Bradley at the 10 with Clint up top all day before a struggling Mix. With the roster we had at our disposal, it's not that far fetched. He's much better in a deeper role, but he's also got the ability to make some passes and create chances that most of our other options just can't.

Zardes is taking a beating, and I'm not sure why. He hardly got the ball. When he was allowed to play with the other kids, he was more than fine. Zardes wasn't the problem at all. Our inability to make clean passes or keep the ball was. Everyone was guilty of it, including Bradley, who was uncharacteristically sloppy.

The Alan Gordon thing seemed to be one that was just done to fill the "target man" shoes. Not the best choice, but I doubt LA really needed him at this point either. Honestly, I didn't expect him to see minutes, and I really never expected to see Aron's confidence deflate like it did.

I won't argue the last one. Maybe Alvarado offered him a garbage bag full of weed or something for dirt cheap to live out his dream.

are you brohams just now realizing that his "great" work w/USA has been built up by smoke and mirrors?





But wait! We won on foreign soil under him! We got out of the group of death!

Why yes, this is true. But its b/c the dude has benefited from American soccer players becoming better overall and b/c that GOD wasn't actually as rough as it initially seemed.

Have we not dominated CONCACAF since he took over (26-4-6 since 2012)? Have we not dominated our biggest rival, Mexico, who seemed to be leaving us behind at the time since he took over? Have we increased our win percentage and attracted young talent? Did we make it out of the group in the World Cup and compete with a ton of talented teams in the process?

That's not smoke and mirrors. That's fact. He's delivered results, increased the pool, and has us playing and competing with some of the most elite footballing nations in the world on a more consistent basis. You can criticize him tactically, personally, and whatever else, but other nations are starting to respect US Soccer more under Jurgen. It's not just a fluke when we beat a major power anymore. For every Alvarado, we get a Morris or Yedlin. If you're going to criticize the experimentation and risky player selection, also acknowledge that it's delivered on occasion as well.

The fact is that people really just don't like Jurgen, and they would rather have a slightly worse experience with someone not named Jurgen Klinsmann. He's pissed off a lot of people, and the fact that he doesn't give a shite makes everyone even more mad. Every manager has issues and makes mistakes, and this dude can frick up with the best of them. In the really big matches, though, his record is pretty good.

Every statistic shows that we have slightly improved from win percentage to the amount of points we take per match. We've met expectations and surpassed them for a ton of people. Alexi Lalas was certain we wouldn't make it out of the group, along with the rest of the world. Stop changing facts to strengthen your case. There's tons of valid criticism to be made. There's no need lessen the accomplishments of the program over his time here.

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The fact is that people really just don't like Jurgen, and they would rather have a slightly worse experience with someone not named Jurgen Klinsmann

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Is it really too much to ask for a coach to identify the best 11 players, play them in their natural positions, and play them consistently?

Yes, and all those improvements are a direct result of the US talent pool being better than it has ever been. The team is naturally going to get better and better as soccer becomes more popular here. He isn't the reason for that. He is simply riding the wave that was always going to come.

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Have we not dominated CONCACAF since he took over (26-4-6 since 2012)

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We were 20-4-3 (.740) in CONCACAF games that count since the coaching switch.

We were 27-6-3 (.771), in competitive CONCACAF matches (and that includes 2009's Kenny Cooper All Stars Gold Cup performance) under Bradley.

So, basically - a game worse in competitive matches and a few games worse (11-3-3 or .647) if you believe that the "help" Jurgen enlisted through most of 2013 was an outlier.

FEEL THE PROGRESS.

I mean, I guess it's good that our B team can beat Costa Rica's B team in the offseason. That's something, right?

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Lletget

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Is a stud and should be our starting left mid hands down. If not our No. 10.

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I'd take the 2002 roster over the 2015 one.

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That 02 WC 23 would dominate vs. the 23 (+3) that we took to the GC.

However, I think the talent of players that we have access to is deeper in 2015 than it was in 2002.