Recent Comments
I think Aaronson can do what Luna has done for the US and does it better. He was great for Leeds this season at keeping pressure on opposing defenses when they were trying to play the ball out of their half. I think Luna got more attention because he has a louder personality.
It depends on how you think other groups will finish out. I think the US will win all 3 matches in their group. Group B I think 3rd is likely to be B&H or Qatar. No way either finish or Canada or Switzerland for 2nd. The US can beat either B&H or Qatar. Group E I think 3rd will be Ivory Coast, which would be a tough match for the US. Group F I have Sweden 3rd. Tunisia is a non factor and I think Ecuador is better than their rank. Group I 3rd will be Senegal or Norway, again both tough matches for the US. Group J 3rd will be Austria or Algeria. I think both are winnable.
Out of the above mentioned 3rd places teams, I think Senegal, Austria, and Algeria would be stylistically the hardest matches.
Chances are yes we would see Belgium again in the Round of 16. I don't think you can look back at the recent friendly with them as a good gauge of how a rematch would look. I think this would be a low scoring game this time around. Which helps our chances of winning it.
Snagging two on the road to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series as they head back to Carolina was a big statement by this Canes squad. I expect them to win tomorrow and punch their ticket to the finals.
I was going to be content with the series coming back 2-2 as I just don't like this Habs team to beat the Canes 2 out of 3, but after last night I agree. This series is over, the Canes have completely taken away their will to fight, and with the fatigue showing large right now I expect tomorrow's game to be a continuation of what we saw last night.
This Canes squad is a complete machine. 11-1 so far in the playoffs, and outside of the one game where they were coming off a break that was as long as the Olympics they've basically controlled every game that has been played. Defensively it might be the most perfect execution of a system the league has seen in a generation, it really is impressive to watch
The youth age groups are a big problem. My parents have been running the local league for 30 years with an emphasis on skill building and access... The pull of kids leaving the local leagues to pay thousands to be on travel teams creates a rift where they dont have enough kids to keep the local league going as kids age but also creates a financial barrier for a ton of kids. The same thing is happening in all the other sports. It destroys an opportunity for community fabric and for kids to develop.
Correct, and the field is expanded this year, so an extra round to play. If we reached the quarters, we'd double our previous total number of wins outside group stage to do so. Not saying it won't or can't...
Came here to say this... Isn't 2002 the only time the US reached the WC Quarterfinals?
I know very little about soccer, but "USMNT will be Quarterfinalist at the least" feels unlikely.
I love your optimism
hadn't realized that. that just furthers my point. Reaching the Quarterfinals is an insane bar to expect for this team.
Franklins teams always had heavy TE usage. With one of the best TE coaches as our OC I would expect 12 and 13 personnel to be common. I also think there will be a third TE recruit in this class (Sam Faniel).
I know they are different teams and all of that, but the USMNT has only won 1 game outside of group stage in the history of the world cup.
Game 1 was very much a layover hangover game. They looked completely out of sorts in that first period but by the end of the 2nd period they were looking a little more like themselves.
Game 2 was a result of just throwing pucks at the net. You could feel that the huge SOG disparity was going to end up favoring the Canes in the long run. Getting the series even before heading to Montreal was a good confidence boost for the team too.
Game 3 was another game a lot like game 2, but just not on home ice. It felt a little bit like they stole one there but even with two back-to-back OT wins they didn't look quite themselves. That Aho line just hadn't really produced, but they started to exert some influence on the game late in game 3. You kinda felt like if the Aho line fires up then the series would be over pretty quick because then they'd be rolling and tough to stop.
Game 4 was a lot of fun in that first period. The Aho line did indeed fire up and delivered big time. 3 goals in like 2 minutes and Montreal just never had a chance from then on. Snagging two on the road to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series as they head back to Carolina was a big statement by this Canes squad. I expect them to win tomorrow and punch their ticket to the finals.
LMAO this is quite the hot-take. I can see the US advancing out of the group. That SHOULD be doable. Let's assume for a moment that they win the group. They'll be matched up with some 3rd place team in the round of 32.
The options here include teams like Bosnia&Herzegovina, Switzerland, Ecuador, Cote d'Ivoire, Japan, Sweden, Senegal, Norway, Algeria, Jordan. There's maybe 2 teams on that whole list that I think the US has a chance against.
They'd have to win that to advance to the round of 16 where they would most likely be up against Belgium - I don't think the US is likely to beat any teams from Europe. Especially a team as strong as Belgium.
All of that, just to reach the Quarterfinals. Honestly, I think just reaching the Quarterfinals would be a smashing success for the USMNT. They would likely have to win at least 4 matches to get there (2+ group stage wins to win the group, plus the round of 32 and the round of 16 to reach the quarters). I love your optimism but to suggest the quarterfinals is the bar for them is wildly disingenuous.
The US is in a favorable group. Paraguay, Australia and Türkiye are all beatable teams. I think the most likely case is the US advances out of the group in either first or second. I don't think the US will fall as far as third but even if they do they probably would still advance because there should be points available against those teams and they should be one of the top 8 3rd place teams. Depending on their matchup it's possible the US would win their R32 match. I think if they make it to the Round of 16 that would be a big success for this team. I think advancing out of their group and losing in the R32 is what would be expected. I think failing to advance out of the group would be embarrassing.
In a dream scenario the US wins all 3 group stage matches to win the group on 9 points. They get favorably matched up with Jordan (Group J 3rd place team) in the round of 32, where they win to advance to the round of 16. There, they get another favorable matchup against Saudi Arabia (the 3rd place team from Group H that miraculously wins their R32 match against Belgium on a missed PK after extra time). From there, they probably face Croatia, England, Canada, or Colombia in the Quarterfinals. I don't see the US winning many of those but for shits and giggles lets say they draw Canada and score a miraculous 94th minute winner on a set piece. I think BEST CASE scenario that is as far as the US can hope to go.
It's not really that hot a take. Just look at the stats - White had more carries, more yards, and more TDs than bush did in both 2004 and 2005.
Bush was the more versatile, electric player. I also believe that was taken out of games early once a win was nearly inevitable.
But you're misremembering that team as well IMO. Matt Lienart was also a heisman winner and a heisman runner up. It's not like that team was just Reggie Bush and the band.
I think he is referring to usc running the ball with white on 4th down trying to ice the game in the championship instead of using bush
Edit: just reread and maybe im wrong on how I'm interpreting the comment. Idk
You aren't a proven Playoff-caliber coach by buying into the excuses anywhere. I mean he definitely had issues at Penn St and banged the drum about what he needed from the school to take the next step, but that wasn't about buying into the excuses, it was about calling out the need to improve.
Its the kind of coach we needed. A guy who expects the best out of us and will push for it, both internally and externally. With the culture we have had since Beamer, I don't think that kind of mindset was ever going to be able to be cultivated in-house. For the longest time, we've always had more excuses for why we couldn't do something than plans of actions on how to accomplish it. We needed an outside perspective to show us what was possible here, and the stars aligned at the exact perfect moment to allow us to get probably the absolute best most ideal candidate possible for this school when we needed it most.
Well... looks like its going to be a quick series, just not in the way I thought 6 days ago
Wow!
I get it, you don't like my takes; but what you just posted is literally the hottest take i've ever read. That's basically saying that Jordan wasn't the best player on the bulls and when it was clutch time you get the ball to Horace Grant.
They don't ask how, they ask how many
I am actually excited about this WC. I think with the expansion of the number of teams and having it in the US during the summer, the USMNT will be Quarterfinalist at the least.
I think that's a penalty. Too many men on the field, or something. But hey, if you're not cheating you're not trying. And it's not cheating unless you get caught.
With what was said about the WRs and all these TE recruits I wonder if we are going to run 13 personnel like what has been taking over the NFL.
I think it's less about what he says, and more about (1) strategy, (2) operations, and (3) financial backing.
Fuente had a one person recruiting department. And as soon as there were holes on the roster, he abandoned his strategy and was just grasping at straws. I think Pry had the right strategy, but didn't have the management skills, personnel, or funding to execute. I think CFJ is able to capitalize on all three.
This is a TKP message board so we are required to have wild optimism or want to burn it all down and start over from the ground up right?