Post by airkeeper on Aug 8, 2024 19:38:14 GMT
Keep Schmetzer as far away from the US team as possible--don't even let him attend matches for f*ck's sake. One complaint about the US has been a lack of identity; Schmetzer won't be able to fix that--the Sounders team lacks a sense of identity. Another USMNT complaint has centered on tactics, and we all know Schmetzer is anything but a tactician. OMG imagine this bozo in charge of the nats; rather than Pulisic he'd be calling in high school kids haha! He claims the nats job is "pretty plush," but what does he think his tenure as gaffer here has been? Dude has faced no accountability for failures and has gotten no heat from the FO, not even during the worst season in team history. The other thing that gets me is that he was talking all big like he'd go all-out and take big risks if he were the nats gaffer because, what did he say, something to the effect of 'I'd have nothing to lose since it would be the end of my career.' Cool story bro, so why don't ya act like that with the club instead of making moronic lineup choices, playing guys out of position, reverting to ineffective tactics (like playing out of the back), etc?
If Schmetzer gets hired as the USMNT head coach, I will renounce my US citizenship. FFS the last thing the US needs heading into co-hosting the World Cup is Brian f*cking Schmetzer.
As a baseline, I think Schmetzer is an above average but not top tier MLS coach; certainly I wouldn't call him an inspiring hire and hope we do better. However, US Soccer is a cluster fuck so I have tempered expectations, I'm not even sure Gregg was above average in MLS and he got the job so...there's precedence.
However, I do think Schmetzer's strengths align with what is needed for a National Team. Over the past 25ish years our talent level has grown quite a bit, but other than beating Mexico (and I'd contend that's more a fall of Mexico rather than a rise of the US), our results haven't improved. While cliche, I don't think it's wrong to say we've lacked the "American spirit" on our recent teams that we used to have. Guys like Donovan, the big forward who played in EPL and Columbus who I can't seem to remember the name of, Eddie Pope, Steve Cherundulo; they honestly sucked but they fought like hell and that's missing from the team. As it turns out, getting guys to leave it all on the field is the one thing Schmetzer is consistently very good at.
I'll also note that at the International level, coaches are limited in what they can employ tactics wise; in fact, I'd say there are only two successful models. The first is the national "we are X and we play this way" method. Spain, Netherlands, Italy come to mind there. I don't think we can emulate that though because a lot of that comes from having it trained from very young ages. Even if the next coach established a model, it would take a full generation for it to bear fruit. Ergo we have to take the second model which is lining up your best players in their best positions and filling in around there. France, Argentina, England, Uruguay are examples of that. While I'm certainly understating the nuance, the high level of that would be Pulisic at LW, Reyna at CAM, everyone else run and fight like hell or get benched. Honestly that's Schmetzer's wheel house.
It is cool we don't agree on this; I am not trying to act like I'm some omniscient genius--I'm just sharing my thought from my living room whilst watching Olympic climbing recaps. But I appreciate seeing what others think! I will add, in the spirit of transparency, that I do not hide the fact I am not a supporter of Schmetzer anymore--I think he had his time, but that time has passed him. And I am okay with being in the minority on that too.
I have a bigger issue with USSF which goes beyond the hypothetical of hiring Schmetzer (which I do not think is likely, not only because he hasn't even gotten a phone call). IMO such a hiring would cement US Soccer's perceived lack of ambition for the senior men's team and lack of thinking beyond 2-4 year WC cycles. And that has been an issue since...Klinsmann, and even earlier. Yes, they gotta take the current cycle into account, but then what? The senior men's coach is the most visible hint at what is going on with the US men's soccer program. My stance is if they hire an MLS coach who is basically counting down til retirement, then that bodes poorly for the future of the program. Do not get me wrong: I don't think the biggest issue with the US men's team has been the manager, but IMO the gaffer is both a reflection of the current issues with the program and a glimpse into the future of the program itself. A good coach can turn things around and even get their team to overachieve, but I don't think Schmetzer is that guy--he is (arguably used to be) a fine MLS coach, but I do not think he has the knowledge or ability required to be an effective gaffer for the US, a senior national team that is desperate to make a big change not only in how it's perceived on the global stage but in its quality and the results on the pitch.
I think hiring Schmetzer as the senior men's coach would be unambitious and ineffective--I feel similarly about damn near all the coaches in MLS. Why? While there are some good coaches in the league, most have no experience (or very limited experience) outside the league. That is a problem IMO because of how MLS is structured--lack of adversity: less pressure, less competition (due to parity), etc. But again, there are bigger issues with US Soccer and the sport in this country (particularly on the men's side) in general than just a hypothetical hiring of Schmetzer/MLS coach.
