This is not a vent board or any other kind of therapy. Before you hit the POST button, ask yourself if your contribution will add to the level of discussion going on.

Important notes on articles:

• Please do not copy entire articles into your post; rather, provide links to them.. We are now links-only for ALL Internet publications. If only a small portion of the article pertains to your post, Fair Use allows you to copy those one or two paragraphs, provided you cite the author's name and the publication for which he writes. Otherwise, put a link in the HTTP Link box.
• Even if you're copying a reference to an article, provide a link to the page from which the article came. We're trying to cut down on duplicate topics, and the posting process will check the link to your article to see if it's already being discussed on this board. At the very least, you'll save yourself some grief on the boards.
• If your first reaction after reading the article you're going to share is the author is uninformed / stupid / a jerk / all of the above, it's not worth sharing with anyone. Not every article needs to be discussed. The more the hair-pulling articles are discussed (e.g. ESPN Page 2), the more the authors will write hair-pulling articles.

Post being replied to

Potential versus actuality by SixShutouts66

I realize that it's probably bad form for me to write this since:

Writing a disparaging post when a team is near bottom is generally an overreaction
I can't call myself anything more than a casual fan (i.e. never played)

The current USMNT is the best collection of potential players we've ever had, but they seem to be heading for problems in the WC. Some opinions (for what they're worth)

1. Comparing this team to past teams is fraught with dangers since other than a succession of GKs) few,if any, Americans have ever been in the top 33 players in the world. As I said, Keller/Friedel/Howard provided top notch quality. Some of our mainstays (Donovan and Altidore come to mind) were generally unsuccessful in top flight leagues (excepting Landon's last loan to Everton and Jozy's one season in the Dutch league). McBride and Dempsey were successful in the EPL and I'm sure I've left out other.

2. Supposedly impartial lists of best players under 21 have some US players, but fewer (and not as highly-ranked) as other perennial powers

3. FIFA loves money and gifts a WC spot to the US to grab more TV money. Some of the European and South American non-qualifiers would probably embarrass the CONCACAF non-qualifier

4. The US friendly schedule seems motivated to make money, rather than testing the squad. We play home games (and even televise some of them) against squads that draw immigrants. Our "successes" are tainted by our Swarbrick-style schedules

5. I'm not qualified here, but I wonder if the USMNT playing style and the style the players use for their home clubs are too different. Germany with Bayern Munich certainly benefits here.

6. Are too many US players sitting on the bench with big-money clubs?

7 Who is a goal scorer now and in the future with the USMNT. We seem to move and pass the ball well and would do in a style-points score