outsidethe18blog

[outsidethe18blog]

24 Times MLS Will Frustrate Me This Year

By Hunt Cable

Major League Soccer begins its 2018 season this Saturday at 1pm ET. And, of course, at Outside The 18, we are all in, except...

1. When Orlando City doesn't make the playoffs

2. When there are game weeks have like 3 games, and others are a full slate... 

3. When I want watch a game at 7:30pm at a bar on a Saturday night, but instead have to resort to watching it alone at home because you can only watch it online.

4. When I bet games against the Philadelphia Union for no reason, and I’ll lose. 

5. When a game I want to watch is on Univision, which is first of all, in Spanish, and second of all, I don't even have that channel because I don't have cable #millennial

6. When the World Cup will be on halfway through the season and it will remind me of the quality soccer that I could be watching instead of MLS. 

7. When I hear supporters’ section drums

8. When I hear terrible, unoriginal chants like “I believe that we will win”

9. When I hear the Skol clap thing 

10. When there are 0-0 games that are not even close to being entertaining

11. When Toronto wins the MLS Cup again and I have to congratulate Useless Jozy Altidore and Even More Useless Michael Bradley

12. When I have to watch every game until MAYBE May on my computer because we are waiting on ESPN+ to launch

13. When I hear one more **** commentator talk about the “atmosphere” of Atlanta United’s stadium

14. When I’m too nervous to ask to change the channel when a game is actually on ESPN at a bar on a Sunday afternoon because I know I’ll get a response like “nobody watches f****** soccer”. 

15. When I have to take time out of my day to look up good MLS players for my fantasy team because Dave Wells is at least 500 points above me in the standings

16. When I look at theScore app and it says LA is playing, and its not the Galaxy. 

17. When I ask Andrew if he is watching the Toronto FC playoff game tonight and he asks what channel its on, and I say I don't think it’s on TV...

18. When I remember Servando Carrasco is married to Alex Morgan

19. When I use my season tickets to go see an USL team play on a Saturday night because i know “I won't be missing anything in MLS”

20. When ESPN gives me the infographic of best rivalries in American sports leagues, and show Portland vs Seattle 

21. When Orlando City’s beautiful stadium has sprinkler “circles” 

22. When a non-soccer fan asks me if that “really good kid that plays in Germany” will ever play in MLS

23. When NYCFC is on a hot streak and Jack Tomick jumps on the bandwagon

24. When Taylor Twellman goes ape s*** about concussions

But besides those things, I’m all in on MLS this year. 

#VamosOrlando

[outsidethe18blog]

Best Bets: Premier League Week 28

By Hunt Cable

Ever since I created my own gambling account (Andrew and I used to share one…R.I.P.), I have been bothering my friends with random game odds. Some of them stupid, some of them smart. Sometimes I parlay. Sometimes I am bored and bet college basketball unders, because that always hits because it’s college basketball…

Here are some of my notable wins:

-Parlayed Manchester United vs Sevilla under 2.5 goals (-125) with a USA Women’s Hockey Gold Medal win over Canada (-160).  -Parlayed a Manchester City win vs FC Basel (-335) with a Juventus vs Tottenham draw (+210)

-Swansea moneyline (+1000) vs Liverpool

Not bad huh? I know. That’s why I won’t tell you the stupid things I’ve bet and lost….

Ok, well, here are my best bets for this weekend, and a couple of Andrew’s too….

Leicester City vs Stoke City BET: Leicester win (-140)

Stoke is terrible this year (it hurts to say that out loud), and Mahrez should be back. And I know you could argue “ohh but Stoke is playing to not get relegated”, but Stoke isn’t that type of team. 

BET: Leicester to keep a clean sheet (+125)

The last two times Stoke has played at Leicester, they have been shutout. 

BET: Jamie Vardy to score (+140)

In the last 7 meetings between these two teams, Jamie Vardy has scored in 3 of them. 

Bournemouth vs Newcastle BET: Under 2.5 goals (-120)

Newcastle and Bournemouth have only ever played each other three times in the Premier League, and only once has 3 total goals happened. The other two meetings….1 goal combined. 

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Swansea City BET: Swansea moneyline (+295)

Swansea is on a tear right now, having not lost in any competition since January 2. 

BET: Over 2 goals (-110)

Swansea and Brighton have both been scoring goals as of late, and you bet with both of them in relegation contention, goals will happen. Worst case: You push. 

Burnley vs Southampton BET: Over 2 goals (-105)

Although Burnley has been short of goals recently, Southampton has enough weapons to put 2 in. 

BET: Anytime Scorer- James Ward-Prowse (+360) 

Let the youngest Southampton veteran lead the team to a much-needed win out of relegation

Liverpool vs West Ham United BET: Over 3.5 goals (+110)

West Ham has scored at least 1 goal in their last 10 Premier League games. The .5 scares me a bit, but Liverpool scores goals at home, and usually gives up 1 or 2. 

BET: Liverpool to win by at least two goals (+105)

Liverpool has won the last two meetings against West Ham, and WH still has some key injuries that will hurt them against the attack of Liverpool.

BONUS ANDREW PICKS!

West Bromwich Albion vs Huddersfield Town BET: Huddersfield to win by .5 goals  (+110)

“Huddersfield should at lest draw at home against bad competition.” 

Watford vs Everton BET: Over 2.5 goals (+105)

“I feel like this game always has a ton of goals. Delofeu back at Everton. Deeney needs a boost. Both defenses are average.”

Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur BET: Nothing

“On paper, its an easy Spurs win but we always have trouble with CP. Our competition has been all over the place too…Rochdale, Juventus. Could win 3-0 just feels like a weird game. Plus with Chelsea and Man U playing each other, only right we drop points.”

Manchester United vs Chelsea BET: Under 2.5 goals (-135)

“This has under written all over it.”

*All odds provided by Bovada.lv

[outsidethe18blog]

And the next USA Soccer President will be...ummmmm

By Hunt Cable

Ok, so I really wanted to write a piece explaining the pros/cons of each candidate for the USSF Presidential election. But after doing hours of research, and becoming overloaded with information, I eliminated most of the candidates myself mostly with a couple “Who the f*** are you”s, one straight up just “nah bruh”, and for another candidate, I just laughed at the thought of them being in charge (you all can decide who that was). 

These candidates are mostly not useless: Kathy Carter Kyle Martino Carlos Cordeiro 

(blank stare) OK, so Kathy Carter is the President of Soccer United Marketing. SUM is a sports marketing company and the commercial arm of Major League Soccer. Its owners are the league’s club owners. It holds the rights to market U.S. national team TV broadcasts and sponsorships through 2022. BUT it is basically in bed with the MLS and doesn’t satisfy the USA Soccer’s needs...

You may recognize Kyle Martino as that TV analyst with the tall hair every Saturday morning on NBC Sports as you wake up hungover to watch your favorite Premier League make you regret even waking up (or maybe that’s just me). He also played for the United States National Team, as well as in the MLS. However, he’s just a friend of the game, with no real experience besides being a apart of it.  Carlos Cordeiro is the current Executive Vice President of USA Soccer. He has vowed “we dont need more of the same”, as his boss and soon to be former President Sunil Gulati glares at him for backstabbing him. But can we trust a guy who didnt make that changes happen if he’s already been the #2 guy? Have they differentiated themselves at all from each other? No, they basically want all the same things, give or take... (more money to US Women’s Soccer, promotion and relegation, and to grow the youth game).

Ok, gun to your head, who’s going to win? Kathy Carter because she has the backing of the MLS votes, which is close to 25% of the vote already, which is also the percentage of MLS fans who actually watch the MLS (OOOOH GOT ‘EM).

Should I even care about this election? Yes, probably. At least do it for Christian Pulisic.  Fine. When is this election? And how does it work? It’s Saturday morning in Orlando. The National Council Meeting begins at 8 a.m. ET, with the election portion beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET. You can watch U.S. Soccer's YouTube page. Ugh, too complicated and wordy and stuff. Just click here to see how it works.

Is there a Quentin Tarantino-esque movie title involved? Rumor has it that there is a “Gang of Six” (the 6 candidates who are not Carter or Cordeiro) who are banding together to defeat the two favorites. 

Be sure to keep up with @oustidethe18pod on Twitter for constant updates and thoughts!

[outsidethe18blog]

They Are What We Thought They Were

By: Andrew Wolschlag

     Last summer seems like a long time ago. ��Premier league coverage was ramping up and all the pundits were making their predictions for the 17/18 EPL season, Hunt and I included.  There was a ton of optimism around some of the new guys joining the premier league and in the variety of ways that they went about it. Huddersfield shocked the world and gained promotion to the Premier League for the first time after claiming 5th place and winning playoff bouts with Sheffield Wednesday and Reading. Brighton was back in the top tier of English football for the first time since the early 80’s after some financial turmoil. Finally, Newcastle who bounced right back from relegation the previous cycle under the guidance of their high profile manager Rafa Benitez.

        Despite all the excitement around these teams there was still a growing concern that the quality gap between the Championship and premier league was growing.  Many feared that the newly promoted sides just wouldn’t be up to snuff with the end result being a swift drop back down to the Championship.  That leaves us here.  All of the previously mentioned clubs are safe as of writing this post. However, with a third of the season remaining, time is running out on these clubs Cinderella stories.  At the top of the table I don’t think many people foresaw the utter dominance that Manchester City would reign down on the league. Aside from the title race that leaves us with 2 remaining storylines, the quest for Champions league, and the “Survivor-esque” challenge happening down in the EPL basement.  The teams that were in dire straits a few weeks ago Swansea, Stoke, and West Brom have all picked up wins recently which can go a long way in traversing the congested drop zone.  Swansea in particular has picked up 2 huge wins over Liverpool and Arsenal, going from dead and buried to right back in the thick of it.  Many of the perennial Premier league teams have done some major business in the transfer window with West Brom picking up Daniel Sturridge from Liverpool and Swansea City reuniting with Andre Ayew. Even Burnley who was also picked for assured relegation before the season is only 5 points away from the “safe checkpoint” of 40 points.  

        Both Hunt and I selected Brighton to be relegated and even after a pretty poor start to the season (1 point out of 3 games) they have staved off a lot of this chatter by picking up solid wins over teams around them in the table like West Brom, Swansea, Newcastle.  These types of victories are crucial come the end of the year. The problem now is that these important games aren’t going their way anymore losing the return leg of West Brom and tying Southampton.  They have not won since Dec 23 and in that time (6 league games) they have only scored 3 goals.  They have to get on the scoresheet if they hope to survive down the stretch.  Based on their January transfer window, they are well aware of the issue, signing a young Dutch forward in Jürgen Locadia and out of favor Leicester City forward Leonardo Ulloa.  Who knows if this will be enough to get them over the line come May?

        Huddersfield has had a magical start to their first ever Premier League campaign.  Claiming 7 pts out out of their first 3 games has seen them climb in the table as high as 3rd. The cherry on top was beating Manchester United 2-1 at their ground John Smith’s Stadium.  Goals are also hard to come by for Huddersfield with only 19 goals scored through 25 games just 1 more than Brighton.  To make matters worse they have gotten blown out on more than one occasion losing by 3+ goals seven times.  Also like Brighton, they have not won since December of 2017 and only scored 3 goals since then.  They are in a terrible run of form with 4 consecutive losses and an away day vs Manchester United this weekend they will probably be looking ahead to taking on someone their own size in Bournemouth at Home the following weekend.  That game will absolutely have relegation implications. In order to do some damage control, they have elected to bring in a Championship attacking midfielder in Alex Pritchard and a young defender in Terence Kongolo Monaco on loan.   A hardly mind-boggling transfer window.  Head Coach David Wagner will have to be creative down the stretch if he hopes to keep Huddersfield alive.

        Last but certainly not least the annual dumpster fire that is Newcastle United.  Championship Champions last season and coming into the league with a world renowned manager in Rafa Benitez and a fresh new lease on life in the Premier League from owner Mike Ashley.  What could go wrong?  The year started out so positive, that is before they went down a man and lost to Tottenham on opening day.  Newcastle began right where they left off last time they were in the Premier League. Rafa frustrated that he was not able to get the transfers he wanted, Mike Ashley playing the victim complaining that he doesn’t have enough money to compete in the Premier League, et cetera. It gets even worse as made public his intention to sell the club to a new passionate owner at some point before Christmas of 2017.  Here we are in February, Mikey is still the owner, not willing to budge on the £250M+ offers.  But hey, I probably wouldn’t sell my Premier League club for that price, and if he wants to continue to run it into the ground that is his prerogative.  Just 1-point clear of the drop and form all over the place. It is tough to tell where this Newcastle team is headed but if fan sentiment gives us any clues you could assume the club is headed in a downward trajectory.

        All this to say there is a lot of work over 13 games still to be done for these clubs if they have any ambition of staying in the league and cashing in on another year of big boy TV deals.  By no means are these teams eliminated from contention or assured relegation. I am just reminding everyone that the pundits picked these guys to be relegated before the season and often they make these picks based on the knowledge that they have accumulated by watching the league for 20+ years. They of all people know what a grind the Premier League season is and I think we often forget that no matter how strong you start the year you still have to finish strong.  Currently all of these teams are safe but if the results continue the way they have since December then these clubs better start prepping for life back in the Championship.

[outsidethe18blog]

If the remaining ‘Bachelor’ contestants were the top 12 teams in the Premier League...

by Hunt Cable Over the past couple years, I have become obsessed with a drama-filled, exciting game that has become must-watch TV for me on a weekly basis. 

I appreciate the ‘beautiful game’ called....The Bachelor.

Don’t know much about The Bachelor? Don't know much about the Premier League?  That’s ok, because below is a helpful guide that compares the two...

Krystal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachkrystal_/ Team: Manchester City Nobody likes you. Everybody hates you. Guess you should’ve eaten worms... 

Tia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiarachel91 Team: Manchester United The universal favorite. Strong, confident, and her latest move may move her to the top of the list. 

Sienne Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seinnefleming Team: Chelsea All the talent is there. She may be even too good for this game. Will she live up to her potential or crumble when it matters most?

Lauren B Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laureneburnham/ Team: Liverpool SO much talent here. But what’s holding you back from being one of the best? You don't do anything wrong, but you also really haven't done anything better than anyone else....

Becca  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bkoof/ Team: Tottenham She’s fine. She’s stable. She’s easy to be with. But can she make a push to be among the favorites?

Chelsea Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chelsea_roy_/ Team: Arsenal Ugh. 

Jacqueline Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trumbullina Team: Leicester City Slowly, but surely climbing the table. Very quietly.  Bekah Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whats_ur_sign Team: Burnley It’s not your fault, and you may give some at the top a run for their money, but you’re just too young. Far too young. You’re just not as experienced at this like the others. But one day, your day will come, I promise. Well maybe. This game can be cruel. 

Kendall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keykendall88/ Team: Everton Fun. Interesting. Polarizing. But overall a lackluster performance. Maybe you’re trying too hard?

Jenna Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maroosworld Team: Watford Started off great! Wow! But now....well you’re on the decline. The time is now for ‘go big or go home’.  Marikh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennacooperfit Team: West Ham United You’re a straight pretender. You care too much about what people think. 

Ashley Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleyluebke Team: AFC Bournemouth Ummmm what are you doing here? How/Why are you still here? You haven't performed well enough. I mean you have great qualities, but we know you're not going to win it all.  ***Maquel was not included because in the last episode, her grandfather died and she left the show. Unconfirmed whether she will return. 

[outsidethe18blog]

The 2018 World Cup Draw: Predictions \\ By: Andrew Wolschlag

Hello Friends,

This morning at 10am EST all eyes will be in Moscow for the 2018 World Cup draw.  As an American, this is yet another reminder that this is not a dream and we did not in fact qualify for this installment of the World Cup.  I imagine this sense of pain and embarrassment will be amplified come May and June when friendlies are announced and teams start their final preparations.  I could talk about how bummed  I am that we are not going to the greatest sporting event in the world all. day. long.  However, our failures are not why I am writing to you today.

The world cup draw is in fact my favorite off the field sporting event.  I rank it just above the NFL draft, the NCAA selection show, and transfer deadline day.  The entire world watches as one of the most corrupt organizations out there decides the fate of 32 countries who have qualified for the World Cup finals.  They do this by orchestrating an often times comical show using legends of the game to pick ping pong balls (countries) out of 4 separate pots.  The suspense of each pick is palpable, every team wants an easy route to the Knockout round.  To give the audience a break, FIFA generally interjects with some entertainment.  Usually you get some “this is not the right venue” musical performances or a “does this really matter” player award that is handed out.  If you are lucky you may even get some “not so fun” facts about the host nation. It truly is a global spectacle.

I have messed around with a World Cup draw simulator, and when I say I messed around I mean I recorded the groups after running it 50 times and here is what the numbers say.  Keep in mind I mainly focused on Pot 1 & 2 Combos whereas the teams joining from Pot 3 & 4 are less about numbers because they are dependent on how the pot 1 and 2 picks fall.  Also the only group that is guaranteed from a letter perspective is Russia being in Group A so take the Group letter with a grain of salt.

These are just predictions.  We will know how wrong or right these are in about 90 mins… I’m sure FIFA has some tricks up their sleeve.

Group A

Russia

Colombia

Iceland

Japan

Group B

Poland

Croatia

Senegal

Panama

Group C

Brazil

Spain

Iran

Morocco

Group D

France

Peru

Denmark

South Korea

Group E

Portugal

Uruguay

Egypt

Serbia

Group F

Argentina

Mexico

Sweden

Saudi Arabia

Group G

Germany

England

Costa Rica

Nigeria

Group H

Belgium

Switzerland

Tunisia

Australia

[outsidethe18blog]

Matt Lanahan Presents: Everything You Need To Know About US Soccer Right At This Moment.

If you haven’t learned by now, Matt Lanahan and sad soccer experiences go hand in hand. To name a couple that you may or may not have heard about, there was my handball that lost us the State Cup for my club team, the 4-0 loss in the High School State Finals, Portsmouth falling into a black pit of monetary despair, and Newcastle getting relegated. But nothing hurts more than the USMNT failing to qualify for the World Cup. You might have heard my mini-rant on the podcast, during which I was mostly sad. Still, three days later, my mind is still a whirlwind of emotions. I am embarrassed, I am angry, and in a weird fucked up sense I am a little bit happy (I’ll explain). If you are tired of hearing takes on why the USMNT did not qualify, stop reading here. If not, continue on, and get my opinion on what went wrong these past few years for US Soccer.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Goalkeepers A good goalkeeper is like a wife: it usually works best if you don’t have multiple. The consistent change between Brad Guzan and Tim Howard is detrimental to the chemistry of the team. The relationship between the goalkeeper and the two center backs is especially important. Consistently changing that dynamic was a major downfall for this USMNT squad, and it showed. A number of weak goals resulted from back center back and goalkeeper play. Additionally, the decision to NOT bring a young goalkeeper to qualifying hurts the future of the team. I would hope that Howard, Guzan, or Rimando are not in the next qualifying stage. So, why the team rostered Rimando, and not a guy like Ethan Horvath or Bill Hamid puzzles me. Again, the nearsightedness of USMNT is very apparent.

Center Back partnership Throughout qualifying, the center back pairing has given me nightmares. No matter who was playing, seeing a player run at the two CBs made me more nervous than getting an organic chemistry test back. Between Geoff Cameron, Matt Beslar, John Brooks, and Omar Gonzalez, no pairing has ever been set in stone. Because of this, it felt like there wasn’t a leader on the back line. Germany had Boateng/Howedes, Spain had Ramos/Pique, Italy had Canavarro/Materazzi. Obviously, these are world class players that the USMNT can’t expect to replicate. But, the USMNT is missing at least one rock-solid center back who wins crunching tackles and is the emotional leader of the team.

Center Midfield Plain and simple, just not good enough. The USMNT was consistently outmatched in the midfield by lesser opponents, unless we added an extra player to the midfield and sacrificed attacking or defending options. Thankfully the Michael Bradley era has ended. To me, he will be remembered as a shitty attacking midfielder who couldn’t create, and an even shittier defensive midfielder who couldn’t tackle. Sadly, we lacked any better options in these two positions. Players like Nagbe or Pulisic showed glimmers of quality when placed in the middle. However, as outside midfielders, they consistently struggled to find the game, or to create through the midfield. We have yet to find a midfield pairing that can be dynamic going forward and effective defensively.

Forwards Bobby Wood and Jozy Altidore were poor throughout much of qualifying. The interplay between the two was almost non-existent. Neither forward could produce meaningful chances on their own, and both missed a lot of chances that should have been finished. Good teams have a “go-to” guy. Someone who is always dangerous with the ball. Someone who has the clutch gene and scores big goals.  The USMNT did not have that guy.

Chemistry The most frustrating thing to watch during the games was the USMNT’s apparent lack of chemistry. On the field, this was apparent—errant passes and miscommunications were Almost every single game, the question remained: who will be starting? By the last game in qualifying, the lineup should be set in stone. The partnership between the two center backs (whoever started) consistently made me nervous. We had a new goalkeeper every other game. There never seemed to be a connection between the two center mids. The partnership between Altidore and Wood just seemed “off.” But most importantly, the players lacked passion. After a goal conceded, there were never a center back screaming at a teammate. After a goal scored, the celebration was typically lackluster. After Pulisic got hacked for the 32nd time, nobody got in the ref’s face or put in a hard tackle on the opposing player.

This team was a group of individuals. It was a hodgepodge of the “best” skilled, most athletic players. Players on the USMNT come from all over. Some players are foreign born, although most were born here. The players come from the MLS, Liga MX, Bundasliga, Premier League, and Championship (England). And in that diversity, we struggle to create an identity. We aren’t an England, that spreads the ball wide with wing backs flying forward; We aren’t Greece that sits back and then counters; We aren’t Spain, that dominates possession with small passes; We aren’t Chile, that defends furiously with a high press. We need to create an identity for ourselves.

Coaching Klinsmann was the man we needed to coach the USMNT. He set realistic goals and made important changes to the youth system (see my other articles). Under Klinsmann, the USMNT was improving. We were more dynamic going forward, we defended as a unit, and we disciplined as a team. Klinsmann brought on younger players to ensure that future teams would be set up for success. He allowed players like John Brooks, DeAndre Yedlin, Christian Pulisic, Bobby Wood, and Sacha Kljestan to experience the atmosphere of the World Cup and World Cup Qualifying.

Bruce Arena is not the man for the job. It is clear that his intention was to win games at any cost, and the quality of US Soccer was severely diminished during his reign. Players consistently thumped long-balls down the field instead of possessing. Most importantly, our defensive shape as a team was abysmal and we were exposed by a number of less skilled teams. Arena has a subpar coaching history. After failing to qualify for Russia 2018, I hope the USSF will choose to replace someone with achievable goals and ambitious training tactics.

Expectations When Klinsmann became the USMNT head coach, he created realistic, progressive goals. He sat in front of the media and did something that few newly hired coaches would do at that point. He told the truth—the USMNT is just not that good. At the 2014 World Cup, his goal was to advance out of the group stage. Critics lambasted this as “weak” or “unpatriotic.” But why should the USMNT have any higher expectations? We have never been further than the quarterfinals in a World Cup. Klinsmann long-term goals did not resonate with the media or the general population, and because of that, he was consistently on the hot seat. Losses to quality teams like Colombia and Argentina only seemed to fuel that fire. Our expectations were just too high.

The win-now culture is pervasive in across many sports. It is understandable. But it comes at a dire cost. Think of any professional sports team that refuses to “rebuild.” Those teams that are too nearsighted to plan for the long term end up in the “twilight zone” where they justttt miss the playoffs every year. Unfortunately, this is the mindset of the US Soccer Federation, the media, the general fan that watches soccer every four years, and most die-hard fans that pay attention more closely. We as a nation continue to say, “We will be good at soccer in 20 years,” and then do little to make that happen (this is not to say that the expectation of qualifying for the World Cup is unrealistic FYI).

WHAT TO DO NOW

Clean House Unfortunately, the USMNT was not set up for future success. The roster moves indicate that this team was in a “win now” mentality. Here is a list of players who will be over 30 by 2022: Agudelo, Altidore, Beasley (he might be dead), Bedoya, Bradley, Beslar, Cameron, Dempsey, Feilhaber, Gonzalez, Guzan, Howard, Kljestan, McCarthy, Nagbe, Orozco, Ream, Rimando, Villafana, Wondolowski, Zusi. Not saying that anyone over 30 shouldn’t be on the team, but age does become an important factor. Other than Nagbe and a couple other in-form veterans, pretty much all of these players should not put on a US jersey again in a competitive match. Therefore, a YUGE chunk of the current team will be gone for good. Cleaning house means getting rid of Bruce Arenas too. There are a couple names that get thrown around, but I like Peter Vermes, current coach of Sporting KC. He is a guy that knows the US Soccer System, but most importantly, he creates teams with an identity.

Exposing young players to the USMNT The large void in the USMNT will need to be filled. The sooner that young guys can gain exposure to the international game, the better. The United States has a promising U17 and U20 team, and a number of other young players that haven’t gotten a call yet. Prospects like Julian Green, Matt Miazga, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Gedion Zelalem, Joshua Perez, Emerson Hyndman, Eric Palmer-Brown, and Lydnon Gooch are all under 23 and playing in Europe. Homegrown talent like Will Trapp, Dom Dwyer, Cyle Larin, and Sebastian Lletget have the potential to join a talented US roster. These players need to be tapped to the national team ASAP and begin training with each other. I cannot stress enough that Friendly matches should be used as a showcase for NEW players instead of a farewell tour for old players.

Assessing the Academy System Many of the new players who should be entering in contention for the USMNT will have gone through the Academy system in the United States. These next 4-8 years will be a litmus test for our system. Currently, it seems to be proving to be effective. Most of the players listed above were trained in the Academy system, including the ones who now play in Europe. MLS player Diego Fagundez, who was trained in the US system, has been pulled to the Uruguay U20 national team a number of times. The USSF must continue to monitor the success of US National teams and make changes to the structure of the Academy system if necessary.

The US Academy must develop a system. Think of the New England Patriots. Belichick and the coaching staff do an excellent job of picking players to fit their system. This allows players that might not be successful in other scenarios to thrive. While they might not be the most talented team on paper, the Patriots have consistently found ways to win. Other good teams had success using a systems approach. The Miracle on Ice team won the Olympics after Herb Brooks picked players that fit his style of play. The Oakland Athletics’ were competitive after Billy Bean acquired “unorthodox” players that meshed as a group. Chelsea FC and Antonio Conte’s methodology meant a great player like Diego Costa wasn’t needed anymore. Until the USSF and US Academy create a system and choose players based off of the quality to fit that system, the USMNT will not be successful.

[outsidethe18blog]

The Official OT18 USA World Cup Non-Qualification Playlist

[outsidethe18blog]

The Official OT18 Newcastle Promotion Playlist