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Can we expect to be a contender for gold in season 26, and if not, what should our goal be? When could we expect our talent to develop to a point that we can be a perennial favorite on the world stage? Today’s 27 year olds were 18 the last time we made the semis.

No. Our goal should be to have better players than this season. I don't know if I can answer that question. I hope to be able to compete in season 28 and 30, but I think we're a ways away from a "perennial favorite."

These are the very players that we have yet to create too. But what I am arguing is that when we get to that point of having a player like that, who's to say that isn't an outdated build? If we had players like that I wouldn't be arguing about this at all and we wouldnt have this conversation about different player types right now. What we are arguing about is the fact that we continue to be like CR and Poland but lack to have players even like them. So if we can't train those types of players why do we try? Like I said, I would love to have those players and Im not against those builds at all because they could work in multiple offenses, which gets back to being able to run something other than LI.

I seriously don't know how many times I can make this point. They aren't winning because they are using LI. They aren't tactically superior to us. They are winning because all of their players are better than ours. And until we change that, we're not going to win anything.

When did I say they were tactically superior than us? I have said from the get go that their players are better than ours and we need to create better ones. So I dont understand why you said that to my quote? My whole running is based on new players instead of the types we continue to have. The thing I have argued about though is creating similar players to these teams. We need to be different and better builds to set us apart.

Last edited by Isaiah at 9/19/2013 8:06:54 PM

With running multiple tactics, many of our guys are already built to be able to run inside and outside tactics, as long as they are used appropriately.

I don't think this is true either. I don't think we have 1 guard that is good in both inside and outside tactics, and really only 1 or 2 bigs that are good at both.

Also, what you mean by "used appropriately?" Do you mean we've been using some players incorrectly? I might agree with you there. That could be an interesting discussion.

Actually you are right about this because our older players were better built to run multiple tactics than our players now. Now, we have continued to tell everyone to build towards the LI offense and that has left us with very few options. This is where we went wrong at the beginning, and I will admit that I was part of that at the beginning too, but we have failed in giving ourselves the opportunity of choices and now we are stuck.

Im saying appropriately because there are many combinations of ways to play players. Part of the problem has been kind of unavoidable with the LCD rosters that left us with no choice. Im mostly talking about if we use our current players for an outside offense appropriately then it still could be effective.

Eminence:

Give me one reason why I should vote for a person who has helped out what are arguably America's two biggest rivals. ;)


Magiker:

You were obviously very effective at the U21 level. What did you learn from that experience that you think you can carry over to the NT level?

First off, I’d like to say I love your mentality with regards to tactics and player development, it’s refreshing.

My question is twofold.

Short term:
Our results from worlds were disheartening to say the least, and we won’t see significant changes to our core group in two seasons. The quickest way to improve this team would be through a stamina training regime, but we’ll still be at a disadvantage.

Knowing that we don’t have the best talent to draw from, what can we do strategically to maximize our success?

Long Term:
Simply, how can we develop the best players in the world?

Strategically speaking, I believe we still need to use our LI attack for the next few seasons but have our mind on the ability to switch things up. It does not take a 20JR player to be effective in an outside offense, even at the NT level, so we need to keep an eye on the other teams and look for any mismatch or tactic switch that could give us a chance to win. If we expect a man to man defense then we need to analyze every player's stats from the opposition and see where some weak areas may be to attack. Obviously once the game starts we dont have much say as to what goes on, but we can change the roster to at least try to take advantage of mismatches. But really, these next two seasons would best be focused on doing the best we can, with what we have, and plan for the future.

For the second part of the question, developing the best players in the world would be up for opinion. I think in order to do this though, we need to have first a goal of where we want to go, a list of types of players we will need for where we are going, and then allow for owners of these players to have fun with the training yet still guide them along. It comes down to looking out for the owners and creating players that are in the best interest of them .

I’m confused by your stance.

In absolute terms, yes, we have better, more balanced players today - but so does virtually every other NT.

Speaking relatively though, I do think that we've regressed in some ways - or at least not kept pace with other top countries. We once had one of the greatest guards in the world in Joe Bronson. Today, we don’t have an elite player at any position.

Just scanning the TL, there are currently 33 players with at least 12 IS and 17 OD, I see a Slovenian guard with 18 OD and 20 IS, a Honk Kong guard with 19 OD and 17 IS, a Hungarian guard with 18 OD /15 IS /13 ID, a Polish guard with 18 OD /15 IS /16 ID, a Chinese guard with 20 OD / 15 IS / 14 ID. We don’t have a single guard that can defend these players, and very few that can score efficiently on them.

As for Poland, if I recall, they didn’t win gold with vastly superior talent. They had HCA and were able to TIE virtually every game they played, in the same position the USA would have been similarly dominant.

This is all tangential to the point though. Whether or not we were better off or worse off in the past, you said in your speech your goal is to make the semi-finals, and you don’t know that we’re good enough to get there.

I have two questions for you.

China made a commitment to conserving enthusiasm last season. At the risk of advancing with three losses, against a certain CT, they TIE’d, defeated us, and advanced to the semi finals, ultimately falling to Poland. If the US were in a similar position, would you handle things differently?

What will you do uniquely to make the NT more successful than it would be with another coach, both during this term and in the future?

Well, im not saying all these players now. He said he couldnt see ONE player that could have been used in multiple tactics, but I was just saying that there were in our older players but not so much now.


Edit: My nonsense comes out of many things running through my mind at once. I have never been the best at conveying my thoughts when typing...so you may come across many things like that. But feel free to ask me to elaborate when this happens ;)

Last edited by Isaiah at 9/19/2013 9:15:08 PM

I just noticed that none of the Top 5 U21 teams in the world (Italy, Russia, USA, Latvia, Phillipines) have a National Team that is ranked in the Top 10. I think this is a reflection of these countries encouraging the primary skill-heavy "arms race" of U21 to trainers of high-potential young players rather than a balanced build for players early on. A recent example is David Aquino (27260671). A manager on the offsite commented that he would train OD/PA for a season if he bought him. Our U21 manager's response? Aquino will "get OD and PS training this season over my dead effing body."

My question to the candidates is: should the U21 team take a (relative) back seat to the National Team when it comes to high-potential players in the hopes of creating world-class, salary efficient players (ie emphasizing training secondaries at a young age rather than waiting to do so once they hit 22 years old)? And if so, how would you work with the U21 coach to enact such a plan when your respective goals are at least partially conflicting?

Magiker's previous work with the U21 shows that he deserves a shot at the NT; he's got my vote. That being said Isiah(interesting ideas) and that Dutch guy(can't hurt to bring in a foreigner, it did help the US soccer team) are good options as well. I'm gonna try to be optimistic.