Possible U.S. Soccer presidential challenger emerges
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, May 16, 2017
Gulati was elected to successive four-year terms in 2006, 2010 and 2014. New U.S. Soccer term limits were approved with Gulati's support in March, but he will be allowed to run for one more term in 2018. (Gulati has made no decision about whether he will seek another term.)
"This is democracy," Gans told Soccer America. "This is America. For an organization this big, a $150 million organization, to never have a challenger, a fourth term without a challenger, is not good from a process perspective. For the good of the game, somebody should run. I think I should perhaps be that somebody."
Before making a decision about whether to run, Gans says he will spend the next 60 days or so meeting with soccer constituencies and listening to what they have to say.
"You have to wonder why no one has ever opposed Sunil," he said. "I don't think it's because he's doing such an excellent job. I get a lot of calls from people who are unhappy, so I am aware of some of the issues. But in the interim period, I want to go on a listening tour. I think I have some good ideas, but I am going to listen. I want to hear what the feedback is."
Gans points to three of Gulati's decisions that he says showed poor judgment and leadership:
1. Extending Jurgen Klinsmann's contract through 2018 before the 2014 World Cup finals were even played. (Klinsmann was fired in November 2016.)
2. Not attending a Senate subcommittee hearing on U.S. Soccer's involvement with FIFA and Concacaf in July 2015. (Gulati later said he did not receive specific legal advice not to testify and U.S. Soccer CEO Dan Flynn was instead chosen to appear, based on a wide range of topics the subcommittee initially planned on reviewing.)
3. Letting the labor dispute with the U.S. women's national team linger and become a major media story.
"The men's national team has gone backwards," Gans added, "and youth soccer is in disarray."
Gans, who played college soccer at Cornell and Brandeis, served on the board of directors of and as legal counsel to FC Boston, an original member of U.S. Soccer's Development Academy program first known as the Greater Boston Bolts.
He worked for the NASL's New England Tea Men and the MISL's Baltimore Blast and was a Soccer America correspondent before pursuing a law career. He represented the owners of Foxboro Stadium, Steve Karp and Robert Kraft, and worked with the local bid committee in connection with securing World Cup 1994 matches in Boston.
Gans later founded Professional Soccer Advisors, which has represented English Premier League and other European clubs working in the U.S. market. He also explored the feasibility of forming an alternative MLS players association to the group, backed by the NFL Players Association, that lost a drawn-out antitrust lawsuit to MLS and was later replaced by the current players union.
In addition to his legal work in private practice, Gans was for many years the COO and general counsel of New England Mobile Book Fair, one of the nation’s largest independent book and publishing companies, and its popular online cookbook company, Jessica's Biscuits.
All that, Gans says, gives him a unique perspective on the game.
"Sunil is a very intelligent guy, and has definite strengths," said Gans. "But in all humility, I think I am more well-rounded, being a parent of Development Academy players, being an adviser to executives and owners of Premier League teams, having represented players and management. I understand all their perspectives."
U.S. Soccer's membership (pros, youth, adult, athletes) will pick its president at its next AGM, which will be held Feb. 8-11, 2018, in Orlando.
That will come a month before U.S. Soccer must submit its three-nation proposal to host the 2026 World Cup and four months before the FIFA Congress is expected to award the 2026 hosting rights to the USA, Canada and Mexico.
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Am I dreaming? Good news a challenge for Gulati.
Lets learn more about Gans. We certainly know a lot about Gulati.
This is a good development and yes, we need to know more about this dude.
Also, it's not just Gulati (mostly is tho). The USSF board in general seems very stagnant. Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems there is rarely a new member or outgoing member. There are reasons for that on both extremes and neither is a positive.
It is a good move he kept Klinnesmann way to long.
While I agree that Sunil made a mistake in extending Klinsmann's contract before a ball was even kicked in Brazil, I would still give him high marks overall and feel that if he wants to run again he should be re-elected. He has worked hard to build up valuable capital internationally for the USA and it would be a shame to throw that away now when FIFA is just beginning to reshape itself(whether that process is yielding the right results, however, is another matter).
It's always good to have choice, regarding leadership, board included. While I can't necessarily disagree with John, I'm not convinced US soccer is held in higher esteem than its always been. While its important to get along, Sunil appears more as an appeaser than a decisive goal focused administrator. Now for the really big question's, what's Gans position on turf, potential modification of our international calendar alignment with everyone else and his thoughts on eventual pro-rel? I know many tire of these specifics of mine, but its important to me.
Mr. Gans makes one good point about youth soccer being in "disarray," We have no system to develop players from top to bottom. Germany won the 2014 World Cup when they made a decision in 1994 after hosting and losing the WC to get it done. The US can do the same.
The world cup was in the US in 1994 and it's a bit easier for Germany to retool their already robust develop system than it is for us to build one from scratch, which we are doing. I'm interested to hear more about Gans' ideas but just saying there is disarray without providing a proposed solution doesn't mean much.
He says Germany hosted the world cup and lost it in 1994. The overhaul of the German development system actually began after their poor performance at Euro 2000.
Why is it easier for Germany and Belgium? Because the sport is ingrained in their culture at a level we can only dream of at this point. Iceland got a few fluke results last year. Let's not go crazy with them. Although Gylfi Sigurðsson is awesome, one of favorites.
Iceland??? hahah. Way to pick the country that performed over their skis in the last major tournament and point to them as a better developer of talent. Such short-sighted bs that is. Let's see where Iceland goes from here over the next few years. I'm sure you are predicting tons of success. There is some merit to a couple of the things that you list, J: coaching education is expensive and lacking, and we could do a better job of incentivizing development (that does not necessarily mean TC). Rotating coaches is hardly a factor holding us back, and if the list truly does go on and on, I can't think of much else that points to "disarray." There have been some MAJOR develops in the last few years that are aligning the development pathway, and this is showing gloriously in the youth products that we are seeing now (Pulisic being the most obvious). These major developments that Gulati has overseen include the advent of the DA system, the growth of MLS and MLS academies and reserve teams leading to the growth of the role of the homegrown player, the growth of USL as D2, the creation of USL 2 as D3, and the consistent implementation of 433 in the youth national teams and relative success with many of those teams (including the first U20 CONCACAF crown and unprecedented results against Mexico). Most of these things are huge projects that take many years to roll out fully (such as the development of the DA system, MLS academies, and the lower divisions), and the amount of progress that has been made in the last 5-10 years is amazing. I am not saying that Gulati should get credit for all of this or that he should run unopposed, but if this guy's platform is that everything is screwed up and we need to start over, then he is out to lunch. Gulati or someone new should continue this progress and take it to the next level, not blow it up and set us back 10 years.
Another failure in comprehension if you believe that MLS isn't prioritizing homegrown players playing. We are reaching stunning levels of ignorance regarding your comprehension and lack thereof. USL and USL 2 are humongous pieces of the infrastructure/pathway for development. Any denial of that smacks of an agenda driven bias.
J - I don't know where you are getting that info from, but it's wrong in some ways and fails to comprehend the nuance of the technicalities that are involved with the homegrown designation in other ways. This list is not complete by any means, but here are 10 16-20 year old hg players that are making significant contributions to the first team (I included the '97 20 year olds because they are eligible for the U20 World Cup, which seems like a better cut off than some arbitrary age cut off). D. Acosta/RSL (19) - 4 starts. J. Glad/RSL (20) - 27 starts last year at 19(injured this year). B. Lennon/RSL (19) - 8 starts (RSL product but not technically homegrown because he went to Liverpool for a year). S. Saucedo (20) - 5 starts (signed as homegrown but not considered hg any more because he went to Veracruz for a few months). A. Davies/Van (16) - 4 starts/8gp. Tabla/Mon (18) - 9gp/5 starts. Farfan/Por (18) - 4 starts. Jones/Phi (20) - 5 starts/8 gp. T. Adams/NY (18) - 7 starts. Redding/Orl (20) - 6 starts. Also, there are a lot more hg players 20-23 who are making huge impacts on their teams: Lima, Crognale, Harkes, Morris, Fagundez, Muyl, Thompson, Delgado, Edwards, etc. Neither of these lists include any FCD players, which would include guys like Pomykal, Gonzalez, and Acosta. And remember that the season is early. Many young players will get their chance after the season has settled in a little bit and the young players have had a chance to get their feet wet. Also, remember that many of these hg players were signed with the knowledge that they were clearly a year or two away from really making a big impact, which is completely normal for 16-17 year old signings. And, finally, it is not abnormal for lots of young player to never reach their full potential and pan out.
Don - that's a lot of facts but you're ignoring that it's just more fun to whine and complain about everything, especially when you are a tiresome troll like Kumar who is threatened by any potential success by US Soccer for some reason.
Yeah, he's a fraud.
J - You clearly didn't comprehend what you were looking at on MLS.com. You were way off in how you relayed those "facts." Par for the course...
Here is your first "factual" statement: "Of the Homegrown 13 players signed in Mls ages 16-19 only 3 have played this season and 2 of them 1 game and at least 1 of those 2 played for exactly 3 minutes that game." Now, let's see if that's correct... Paxton Pomykal is a 17 yo hg for Dallas who has started 2 games this year year with 140 minutes. Alphonso Davies is a 16 yo hg for Vancouver who has played in 8 games with 394 minutes. Dani Acosta is 19 yo hg for Real Salt Lake who has started 4 games with 431 minutes. Marco Farfan is an 18 yo hg fro Portland who has started 4 games with 355 minutes. Tyler Adams is an 18 yo hg for New York who has started 7 games with 615 minutes. Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla is an 18 yo hg for Montreal who has played in 9 games with 556 minutes. CONCLUSION: Your first statement was blatantly false. Your next statement: "Ages 20-22 this season 17 have not played, 5 played 1 game, 2 played 2 games and only 12 have played 8 or more games." Let's see... Tommy Redding is a 20 yo hg for Orlando City who has 7 games with 587 minutes. Derrick Jones is a 20 yo hg for Philadelphia who has played 8 games with 467 minutes. Kellyn Acosta is a hg 21 yo for Dallas who has 9 games with 746 minutes. Jesse Gonzalez is a 21 yo hg for Dallas who has 7 games with 630 minutes. Alex Muyl is a 21 yo hg player for New York who has 11 games with 622 minutes. Derrick Etienne is a 20 yo hg for New York who has 9 gp with 376 minutes. Ian Harkes is a 22 yo hg player for DC United who has 9 games and 798 minutes. Nick Lima is a 22 yo hg player for San Jose who has 9 gp with 728 minutes. Tommy Thompson is a 21 yo hg player for San Jose who has 9 games with 230 minutes. Jordan Morris is a 22 yo hg for Seattle who has played 10 games with 828 minutes. Diego Fagundez is a 22 yo hg for New England who has 11 games for 892 minutes. Raheem Edwards is a 21 yo hg for Toronto FC who has 9 games with 611 minutes. Marky Delgado is a 22 yo hg for Toronto FC who has 6 games with 431 minutes. Alex Crognale is a 22 yo hg for Columbus Crew who has 9 games with 532 minutes. This leaves out Sebastian Saucedo (20), Brooks Lennon (19), Justen Glad (20), or Jordan Allen (22) who all play for Real Salt Lake strictly because of technicalities even though they clearly work in on my side of the argument. CONCLUSION: Your second statement is a little bit off factually, but the spirit of it is way off when considering the entire picture. The same goes for your final points, which lack realistic expectations for young players, especially given the relative infancy of the homegrown program. For example, a 20 year old playing for a second team or being loaned out is not necessarily a "demotion" as you call it. That is a completely normal part of player development. Lastly, these numbers are a huge sign of progress compared to just 3 years ago. Expect them to continue improving rapidly, proving even more that the hg movement is indeed highly valued by MLS.
I admire your ability to gather the facts needed to counter Kumar's falsehoods. Most of the time, I don't have the energy for it.
It's a tough but noble cause, Fire ;)
Haji Wright and Weston McKennie pulled up to Schalke first team for the end of the season. Kumar doesn't rate them, however, because he can't find their worth listed on transfermarkt.com. Just being in the game day 18 would be huge for McKennie, but wouldn't be surprised to see Haji get a few minutes.
It's always tiresome to hear people try to imply that changing the youth soccer development structure in the US should be anything close to simple, or that because other countries that have a long history of ingrained soccer culture have done X, the US should be able to do X just as easily. The fact of the matter is, the US is only just beginning to develop a true soccer culture. Until not too long ago, soccer was largely seen as a leisure activity for kids, and there was absolutely no drive to set up anything resembling a coherent structure for the sport, such as for developing players, and the highest level most people knew a player could aspire to was to play in college. While many other countries that have a history of soccer culture have some kind of pyramid of amateur and professional club system, for the US, the lack of any kind of top to the sport, like professional teams, meant that everybody kind of created their own organizations to run things, and there was no need or desire to work together. The result of this is that when US Soccer was finally at a point where it wanted to improve player development, it was forced to deal with the reality, all the different organizations doing their own thing and ignoring everybody else - USYSA, AYSO, US Club Soccer, state high school associates, NCAA, etc, etc. As we all know, once a group of people a little bit of power over something, their first priority is always to protect their own turf, not do what’s best for everybody out there. One especially tough nut to crack is the fact that youth soccer in the US is now big business, where youth clubs are basically companies which are set up to make money, often with the promise that if you pay us tons of money, we'll get your kid a college scholarship. There is no way such clubs will ever want to give up their very profitable structure they’ve built for themselves. This is why it seems so silly to me when people are like Gulati or whomever has failed because he hasn't fixed youth development in his tenure, as if all it takes is the desire to do so. It's not like US Soccer has the power to just order all the organizations to fall in line, or they'll have to close down. We've heard the metaphor about how fixing youth development in this country is like turning around a huge cruise ship, but I don't think that's accurate, a far better analogy is that it's like finding lots and lots of ships, or various shapes and sizes, all going in different directions, and convincing them all to go in the same direction, and even convincing some of the captains to scuttle their boats and having all their passengers get on someone else's boat. The bottom line is, getting all the organizations to work together for the goal of developing players is next to impossible, and for me, probably the best option is what they've been doing - building their own boat, the academy system, and hoping that, if it does a good job, then people will see it and want to follow.
Uh, yes, now they have their own boat, with guidelines that the participants have to follow, like more practice time, no tournament weekends, where kids can be playing 4 or 5 games in 2 or 3 days. Since this is so easy for you, and you have all the answers, if you don't like it, what should the federation have done instead?
duh, PR. 1. USSF should have fired all coaches since coaches are bad for young players' development. 2. They should have forced every kid to play in only pickup games every day of their life (if no pickup games around them, they should simply travel to the nearest "barrio"). 3. Training compensation for all. 4. MLS should set up a post in every "barrio" in the country. Done. Superpowers in no time.
Found this interesting quote from an MLS academy coach regarding the kids he saw come to the Dallas Cup from Latin American clubs' yuonth academies: "“I got to watch some of the U-12s play, and they’re primed to be little professionals at 10 years old. That’s different from our US culture. But the more that we’re exposed to that, the more we’re going to realize that yeah, these are the expectations that we have to have.”
But according to Kumar, in Latin American everyone just plays in the street until age 16 at the earliest. The link to the article is: https://ussoccerplayers.com/2017/04/dallas-cup-talented-american-youth-soccer-players.html
Yeah no one who questions your totally made up claim that great players only play in the street and nowhere else has any credibility. And then you create some random age group to cover yourself when in fact this coach's statement completely contradicts your earlier claims. Like when you said Pele only played in the street until he was 16 and a year later was at the world cup when, in fact, he had been playing high level organized youth football for years before that.
J Kumar, I don't know what kind of dictatorial country you live in, where you think that the person at the top can just order everybody to do things, and then have to fall in line or they'll be gotten rid of, but that's not how this works. USSF is a federation, made up of many different people and organizations, and believe it or not, the president of the federation doesn't have unlimited power over everybody under him/her. But I know, you don't like pesky facts to get in the way of your chosen world view. If you don't like the facts, you just make up alternative facts, and then act like you know everything.
Heh, I see, so because they can mandate some things, like the hugely important cut of date for ages, that means they can mandate absolutely anything they want, they have complete control. This must mean that the reason why they haven't mandated all the things that you yourself know would quickly and easily turn the US into a world power is because they either don't want the US to be good, or they don't recognize brilliant people like yourself, people who know all the answers, and who never do things like make up facts to fit their arguments. OK, got it, I'll remember that for the future, thanks. Oh, just curious, since you seem to dislike US Soccer so much, does this mean you're against how they've been trying to push the nation towards small sided games for younger ages, something they've been doing for years now. Oh, and do you also understand that getting all the various associations to change to small sided teams and games is not as simple as putting out a diktat, snapping your fingers, and watching it instantly happen? Silly question, I know, since you know everything, you obviously know that instituting such changes in a country as large and as varied as the US takes a lot of time and a lot of effort, and is never easy.
PR - Iceland and Germany did it. No Excuses! Also, basketball! Simple - all USSF has to do is go to barrios. We have already missed out on lots of world class talent that Mexico is scouting because MLS hates latinos. In five years, MLS will be worse than NCAA because it does nothing to incentivize player development.
"I think I should perhaps be that somebody." Perhaps. He's making reasonable noises, but must we elect a lawyer? They've ruined the political process in this country; there are plenty of other professions we could pull from--why always lawyers? They enter law school normal serviceable people and exit the back side insufferable know-it-alls. There have got to be eligible engineers/school teachers/doctors to choose from, too--how bout some of them?
Geez...second person in a week to trash all lawyers with sweeping generalizations.
Good lawyers are analytical wizes and masters of seeing every side of an issue.
There is a very funny greeting card, showing a plane flying about a forest fire dumping its load of...lawyers... on the flames, as a good use for said esquires. Why is it NOT funny if you use any other profession? These people are trained to "win" conversations and make deals--they are terrible team players, by design. It's almost not their fault; more a product of their legal training. Ask silicon valley engineers what lawyers are good for. The answer is mostly Fleecing Me Of My Intellectual Property. So, useful in very small doses. Maybe this is the correct application for a lawyer, but then can we really be surprised when it all goes sideways?
In most instances, a lawyer's job is to represent his/her client zealously, not be a "team player". That doesn't mean they can't be team players in non-legal situations.
Lawyers have to be team players. They also have to be leaders. Trial lawyers have to have the fortitude to stand up alone to a judge in his own courtroom for the rights of their client. Some are better at it than others. Just like any profession. So judge this candidate on his individual merit.
I do not think I have ever met Gans, even tho we live in the same area. His critique of Gulati is dead accurate. I have long seen the chaos that claims to be the so-called system to develop elite soccer players. Gulati has never really acknowledged this. I sent him a long paper about how to fix US Soccer after the relative success of Klinsy and the USMNT in the 2014 World Cup. He said thank you and has done nothing. Let's have Gans make a run at it.
What were your ideas?
Schalke - Bayern U19s going to PKs after 2-4 end of regulation. Wright with a crucial assist in the 77th minute before Bayern got the equalizer in the 90th.
Bayern wins 5-4. Haji was fifth kicker and made his. Brutal as the fifth kicker for Bayern hit the cross bar, but the ball went in off the keeper's back.
Don't have a dog in this fight. I try to keep away from the political garbage. Who knows maybe Gans is an improvement..But to give him credit for statement about Klinsman is not a game breaker, for me. It is easy to criticize Klinsman but I have yet to read from any of all who are very critical of Klinsman, explain in-depth the technical/tactical qualifications of his failings. I continually asked Soccer America to interview IN-DEPTH wise Klinsman to get a better insight on his tactical decisions in certain games , his ideas on developing talent, what US soccer should improve on, what they could from European soccer, etc. After his stint as coach of USMNT, I think we are owed a good interview with Klinsman.
Frank, I think there were times, like the loss to Mexico, when the tactical errors were obvious and didn't need in depth explanations. I don't know about others, but I intentionally do not describe what I see as the weaknesses and strengths of the US teams. Probably opponents have their own accurate analysis, but I see no reason to help them.
Bob, I've been around too long in coaching and training, as you have, to have been the object of parents criticisms ,at times, about your coaching decisions. Personally ,some of the stuff that I encountered over the years is hilarious, for these parents lack real decent soccer insight and didn't have a clue about the "why's" of your decisions. That same can be said of those who criticize Klinsman. You might be right about the Mexico game that he made some tactical errors, I'm not going to argue that. But I would to like know the reasons behind his decisions- making on that; for I'm sure he didn't come upon his tactical decision willy-nilly, there were, I"m sure, discussions with his crew. So just criticizing him for something and not knowing the "why's" behind the scene ,I think is short-sighted, even though you might be right. This is why I would like to read an in-depth interview with Klinsman to understand the decisions he made. Your quote "but I intentionally do not describe what I see as the weaknesses and strengths of the US teams", I say to that, that is how things are done in Holland as well because the Dutch by nature are very critical. Through criticisms they quickly see what is necessary to improve things. Whether the opposition knows it or not, should not be an issue, unless they don't know anything about soccer and are just stupid, which they aren't. Just like the opposition knows all about how Barcelona plays, so what, there are no secrets there, try beating them.
TIP 6, THE TWO WORST PASSES A PLAYER CAN MAKE IS THE PASS FROM THE OUTSIDE BACK UP TO THE WINGER AND A SQUARE PASS. THE FORMER FORCES THE WING TO HAVE BACK FACING DOWNFIELD, AND THE LATTER IF INTERCEPTED BY THE OPPONENT MEANS NOT A COUNTER ATTACK BUT ALSO 3 PLAYERS ARE BEATEN BY THE INTERCEPTED PASS....
Don't be fooled by Gans. He oversees a club, FC Boston which is one of the most corrupt in the country. Led by Brian Ainscough, the fired ex Northeastern coach and Marco Koolman the mediocre Holy Cross coach, FC Boston is known for charging top dollar for DAP (pay to play at it's extreme) and taking bribes and kickbacks from parents of players in exchange for roster spots and playing time.
"FC Boston is known for charging top dollar for DAP (pay to play at it's extreme) and taking bribes and kickbacks from parents of players in exchange for roster spots and playing time."
Hmmm, I don't know much of anything about this club, but let me guess: your kid didn't make one of their teams, and you swear that your kid is way better than other kids who were taken, so the only explanation is the coach/club were bribed to take the other kids over yours. When someone else you talk to swears the same happened to them, then "everybody" agrees that it is "known" that the club picks kids based on bribes rather than ability. And what club in your area isn't "known for charging top dollar"? I'm sure that not every club does that, but seeing as that's such a common practice, that's not so much a criticism of a particular club, but rather a criticism of the youth club business culture that developed in this country since the last couple of decades of last century.
LOL, you actually believe that you have an understanding of logic, and an ability to apply it as well. That's literally the funniest thing I've heard today.
Heh, yeah, since you didn't quite pick it up, the statement itself wasn't funny, as I said, it was the idea that you know anything about logic that was so amusing.
TIP 7, AFTER A GOOD RAIN, BEFORE THE GAME BEGINS ALWAYS ALLOW THE ATTACKERS TO WALK AROUND THE PENALTY BOX AREA OF THE OPPONENTS LOOKING FOR LITTLE PUDDLES FOR THIS CAN THROW OFF THE DEFENDER AND THE GOALIE'S TIMING....
#8 YOU DON’T HAVE TO RUN 15YARDS FOR A PASS IN ORDER TO GET OPEN AND MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE. BUT MOVING A COUPLE OF STEPS SIDEWAYS, LEFT OR RIGHT, WILL HAVE THE SAME EFFECT EMPLOYING LESS ENERGY
Dad.....The legal field has been very fortunate to have a member with the integrity and honorable attributes of Steve Gans...I grew up with him,and his dad was a professuonal soccer player in Germany..He is a rare quality human being,and the nicest person,I have known my entire life. This guy really has his act together-
Ok you want to know what was wrong with Klinnesmann? He may be fantastic at seeing the over all big picture. But he could not see the little things needed to get to that big picture. When an opponent was passing the ball from one side of the field to the other our players were never deep enough. So it was an auto magic completion for them. If our players would play 6 yards deeper on the far side of the field. Those passes could have been turned into 50/50 balls or more in our favor. But no same thing happened game after game with some of our players. Meaning a little coaching point could have corrected it. It was obvious to me. But it was not obvious to him evidently. Also he was supposed to be a head in his physical training of his players. A lot of coaches can just look at their players and see what they should work on to help them more injury free. Not him you see a player with big quads. You have to work more on the gluts and hamstrings to prevent hamstring injuries. He missed it on some players so a player Altidore missed the whole WC with a hamstring injury remember that? Plus he had no replacement for that type of game Altidore played why was that? Plus he had a bug up his arse for Donovan so he kept him off the team. So Landon could not help the team with his speed or his passing? Klinnesmann was an idiot for doing that. The future is now in World Cup. Even off the bench he could have helped the team win. Why did his team have no counter attack game besides their possession game. He had the team long enough to have both. So that are some one of the reason I did not like Klinnesmann. I thought he was an unbelievable striker as a player. I think he was not a good manager or teacher.
Good analysis, Nick. I concur. I was happy for JK to stay as technical director because I thought his overall vision for the game in this country was solid. He was a great player and still has plenty to offer in an administrative role but he just isn't a good coach/manager.
Here is your first "factual" statement: "Of the Homegrown 13 players signed in Mls ages 16-19 only 3 have played this season and 2 of them 1 game and at least 1 of those 2 played for exactly 3 minutes that game." Now, let's see if that's correct... Paxton Pomykal is a 17 yo hg for Dallas who has started 2 games this year year with 140 minutes. Alphonso Davies is a 16 yo hg for Vancouver who has played in 8 games with 394 minutes. Dani Acosta is 19 yo hg for Real Salt Lake who has started 4 games with 431 minutes. Marco Farfan is an 18 yo hg fro Portland who has started 4 games with 355 minutes. Tyler Adams is an 18 yo hg for New York who has started 7 games with 615 minutes. Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla is an 18 yo hg for Montreal who has played in 9 games with 556 minutes. CONCLUSION: Your first statement was blatantly false. Your next statement: "Ages 20-22 this season 17 have not played, 5 played 1 game, 2 played 2 games and only 12 have played 8 or more games." Let's see... Tommy Redding is a 20 yo hg for Orlando City who has 7 games with 587 minutes. Derrick Jones is a 20 yo hg for Philadelphia who has played 8 games with 467 minutes. Kellyn Acosta is a hg 21 yo for Dallas who has 9 games with 746 minutes. Jesse Gonzalez is a 21 yo hg for Dallas who has 7 games with 630 minutes. Alex Muyl is a 21 yo hg player for New York who has 11 games with 622 minutes. Derrick Etienne is a 20 yo hg for New York who has 9 gp with 376 minutes. Ian Harkes is a 22 yo hg player for DC United who has 9 games and 798 minutes. Nick Lima is a 22 yo hg player for San Jose who has 9 gp with 728 minutes. Tommy Thompson is a 21 yo hg player for San Jose who has 9 games with 230 minutes. Jordan Morris is a 22 yo hg for Seattle who has played 10 games with 828 minutes. Diego Fagundez is a 22 yo hg for New England who has 11 games for 892 minutes. Raheem Edwards is a 21 yo hg for Toronto FC who has 9 games with 611 minutes. Marky Delgado is a 22 yo hg for Toronto FC who has 6 games with 431 minutes. Alex Crognale is a 22 yo hg for Columbus Crew who has 9 games with 532 minutes. This leaves out Sebastian Saucedo (20), Brooks Lennon (19), Justen Glad (20), or Jordan Allen (22) who all play for Real Salt Lake strictly because of technicalities even though they clearly work in on my side of the argument. CONCLUSION: Your second statement is a little bit off factually, but the spirit of it is way off when considering the entire picture. The same goes for your final points, which lack realistic expectations for young players, especially given the relative infancy of the homegrown program. For example, a 20 year old playing for a second team or being loaned out is not necessarily a "demotion" as you call it. That is a completely normal part of player development. Lastly, these numbers are a huge sign of progress compared to just 3 years ago. Expect them to continue improving rapidly, proving even more that the hg movement is indeed highly valued by MLS.
TIP 9. THE OFFSIDE TRAP IS NOT INITIATED BY THE DEFENSIVE LINE, BUT ACTUALLY BY THE MIDFIELDERS AND FRONT LINE WHEN THEY APPLY PRESSURE ON THE BALL AGAINST THE OPPONENTS; IF THE BACK LINE FAILS TO MOVE UP FOR THE TRAP THEN A BIG GAP WOULD RESULT GIVING THE OPPONENTS SPACE.
TIP10. WHEN YOU IMPROVE AS A PLAYER, YOU WILL FIND THE GAME IS PLAYED MORE BETWEEN THE EARS THAN WITH YOUR FEET...
On the offside trap seen more games lost with it then won with it.
Nick, if a team lives by the offside trap,then certainly unfortunate things can happen. But offside trap needs to employed within a tactical scope of things. An offside trap should be employed at times when the opponents don't expect it within the run of play. And if this happens a couple of times it can throw the attackers timing off for they have to think about their actions first. But most importantly the offside trap should be employed when the team all of sudden applies pressure forward which forces at the back line to move upward for you don't want a big gap to appear between the midline and backline. Often the opponent are caught sleeping when this happens.
Frank, Tip #10 should be repeated every 5 times.
I sincerely believe that is one of the things that our coaches don't instill in the players. You have to throw it out there some will absorb the idea and some wont.
That is true , fan. That is why old European players nearing forty coming over here from Europe to play here in the MLS still do well. It is all about brains...
TIP 11. A SQUARE PASS FORCES THE RECEIVER TO LOSE FIELD VIEW FOR MOMENT.
TIP 12. WHEN YOU TAKE ON AND GO BY A CENTRAL DEFENDER NEAR THE PENALTY AREA THEN GO PAST HIS WEAK SIDE, WHICH IS IN MOST CASES THE DEFENDER'S LEFT SIDE. WHEN HE TURNS TO HIS LEFT AND FOLLOWS YOU HE WON'T BE ABLE TO TACKLE WITH HIS RIGHT LEG AND IF HE DOES IT OFTEN RESULTS IN A PENALTY
The following issues in Garland Soccer need to be investigated:
1. Garland Soccer rolls out the red carpet for sexual predators. Garland’s children were harmed by sexual predator Bernardo Mondragon-Guzman. Garland Soccer made numerous promises in the media. “We’re going to do everything we can to protect our children. And if we need to change things, we’ll do, we’ll change things,” David Arciniega, the president and NTSSA board member, blocked every attempt I made to institute proper policies and procedures to keep Garland’s children safe. Garland Soccer has done nothing in response to children being raped.
2. A director married to a registered for life, level 2 sex offender with a child victim was letting him handle rosters and other records. This director did not drive and this offender accompanied her everywhere. The president, David Arciniega, insisted on keeping her on the board knowing the sex offender would be around at every soccer activity possibly putting our children in danger. This clearly violated Garland’s Loitering ordinance.
3. This same director and her husband were bragging that they would be meeting the association president, David Arciniega, to discuss construction work for GSA when no open bidding was in progress.
4. $8,000.00 of “missing funds” has no proper documentation as the board is routinely denied documentation by David Arciniega in violation of state law concerning fiduciary duties.
5. Garland Soccer Association president, David Arciniega, lied to the GSA member coaches about those “missing funds” claiming there was ongoing litigation between the software provider, Jevin and the payment processor, Corduro. 2 years later no litigation is on record anywhere.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/st-petersburg-little-league-one-of-several-nationwide-missing-money/2299711
http://www.athleticbusiness.com/business/management-company-gives-little-leaguers-the-run-around.html
http://wfla.com/2016/10/25/st-pete-little-league-struggling-to-get-by-owed-35000/
6. A former Coach and director were brought up on phony charges when the player pool placed children of the correct age with their coaching parents. Why would children be placed on teams competing against their own parent's teams?
7. The president, David Arciniega, runs this organization like a dictatorship and flouts the GSA, North Texas State and US Youth Soccer by-laws.
8. State law concerning fiduciary duties is not being followed.
9. Elections in Garland Soccer have been rigged for years. Referees are brought in and instructed to vote for certain candidates. Aren’t we in America???
10. Arciniega filed a No Confidence Petition in an attempt to remove me because I spoke on behalf of a candidate running against him. Members are afraid to vote their conscience even though state law concerning fiduciary duty requires directors to act in the best interest of the charity / non-profit.
11. The number of players and coaches are plummeting as folks leave unhappy with their experience in Garland Soccer.
12. Garland Soccer has lost almost all of its interleague play with neighboring associations. Richardson, Wylie, Mesquite and Chamber Classic have left Garland Soccer. Plano Soccer will not invite us to join them all. The U13 and up depend on interleague to have enough teams to play in their correct age groups.
13. The coaches are shut down at meetings and their voices are not heard.
14. The Garland Soccer Association is operated in a shroud of secrecy even though it is in fact a 501 c 3 charity and should be completely transparent.
15. Members of the association and the public have not been welcomed to the board meetings.
16. Board meeting agendas, board meeting minutes and board member reports are kept secret.
17. GSA has no Ethics Committee as North Texas State requires as Arciniega refuses to form one.
18. GSA has no A & D Committee as required by the by-laws as David Arciniega refuses to allow one to be formed. The A & D process is completely broken and as protocol and procedures are totally flouted all of the hearings are illegal.
19. David Arciniega and Kim Verity refused to issue A & D decision letters in direct violation of North Texas rules which places Garland Soccer NOT in Good Standing. I had to spend nearly $40,000.00 taking this group to court and the letter they issued did not result in the required appeal at NTSSA. This organization is totally corrupt and was dishonest in the court papers.
20. A hearing that was called to decide the placement of a child that was placed on his own father's team by the player pool was called by David Arciniega without informing this coach that the placement of his child was being decided.
21. The Garland Soccer website is not in Spanish though there have been numerous requests over the years for that to happen as much of GSA’s player base is simply not being served.
22. Garland Soccer puts kids in soccer that are in danger themselves and a danger to others as there is no TOPSoccer program in place for kids that would benefit from it. I was working to form a league for special needs players before Arciniega pushed me out. Now, that has been dropped and these wonderful kids are not being served.
Garland Soccer is totally corrupt! How did David Arciniega get elected to the NTSSA state board when he totally mismanages Garland Soccer and does not deal honestly? I should not have had to file suit to get the issues in Garland resolved for our kids and coaches.
How'd this guy work for the New England Tea Men when the Tea Men only existed from 1978-1980 and this guy admittedly was a college freshman in 1979? Was he a ball boy? An intern? A groundskeeper?