This could be a blessing in disguise. We put too much stock in our National team players. Really.. our US soccer staff just has to be better at picking the pool and if they included more players more often to camps and teams instead of the same ones from U14 on up then when players from the pool get the call up... they have some confidence. Thats all it is... They just need to feel like they belong on the pitch so they can relax and play.

David, well said. Our scouting is proven to not be good at all at any age. It's all about status and entitlement. Keeping good relations for job security. Take care of me and I will take care of you. Pick Academy at U14/U15/U!7. Pick foreign based players at U20 and up ( Many of them not in the mix at younger ages ). Where is the scouting effort in this system?? I would love to hear a story or 2 of a great player found playing in a neigborhood league, just like in the rest of the world!!!

Luis, the last neighborhood talent was Giuseppe Rossi, but he had sense enough to bloom in Europe.

Well, Rossi did join the Parma youth system very early on, at 12. BTW, what's up with him lately? Haven't heard much since he joined Fiorentina.

David, I agree, if it's handled right. One thing I'd do (and that JK would certainly NOT do) is to rely on a strong MLS team that plays the necessary style, such as the Houston Dynamo (disclosure, not a fan), and raid their back line, and maybe a mid or two (Boswell and Clark come right to mind). There needs to be some cohesion, and I can't believe you cannot put together a solid back line from what is available in MLS. We're playing Costa Rica, not France or Germany. I get that JK wants a different style, but I don't see any progress so far, we're qualifying *now*, and we need to grind out some results. Aw heck. Bring back Bob.

Please leave Bunker Bob in Egypt. I'm not happy with many of Jurgen's decisions (Beckerman again) or of having a dearth of Flank players called in. But that doesn't mean I've come down with a memory loss of carrying only five healthy defenders at the World Cup or playing Clark a mere week after pulling his Hammy against Australia. MLS players, well straight out there are several who are more worthy of a call up (Felhaber or Agudelo)and no Gatt? no Diskerud? If you were out to play an MLS guy in this makeshift back four, why not George John from Dallas? Parkhurst hasn't seen the field but is Justin Morrow really our answer for that? Very few of those guys playing in MLS are truly the "Key" players on a squad, and at the International level they simply MUST be. The Costa Rica match is a must win, we need to gain full points at home and see that we pick up enough on the road to make the upper half of this group, I see us likely forced to play a bunker type match away at the Azteca, and after the Mexicans were nearly beaten at home by Jamaica, I can't see them playing as poorly twice Mexico simply does not lose often at the Azteca. @ Ramon Creager, WE aren't Germany either and Costa Rica smell the possibility of picking up AWAY points in Friday's match, they know fully well that we NEVER win in Costa Rica so if they can poach a point here then that is something that can truly motivate THEM.Our problems go way beyond "Style", they go to what should have gotten Sponge Bob bounced a year earlier, not taking a good look at how OLD our side was getting and the need to rebuild the side with younger players, something that our failure to Qualify for last year's Olympics made worse. This is much more serious than just which coach is in charge, it's a matter of many of the former National Team players who have moved off to ply their trade in Europe being little used now, see Spector, Ream, or Shea or just getting back on their feet after a long layoff, say Stuart Holden. Our player pool is thin, I'm sorry but any talk of this being a blessing in disguise is just wrong, at the International level you need players who are experienced yet young enough to stay healthy or recover quickly and we are short of both. Where are the flank players needed to set up our Strikers? I damned well hope that Corona get's in as at least he can play wide and actually PLAYS against most of these guys, maybe Beasley sees time again (same story) but the defense is just not up to International standards and I damned well hope that if we pair Gonzalez and Cameron again that ONE of them can put pressure on the other team's attackers because neither one looked to be doing that against Honduras... not looking forward to seeing that repeated, maybe Edu plays at Stopper just as he was used last summer at the Azteca, but if we turn over the ball in midfield again you can expect to see pressure on our defense... Brad Guzan can't be expected to stop everything. (ICE)