wolf stansson

Look at this lil goddam terrier. [tweet] [/tweet]

Isn't Kellyn Acosta in that mix too? He just got called in as a defender, right? He's said publicly a few times he's a midfielder, not a defender. Not that that has ever slowed the Klinz down. He's only 20, so if he can do it, by all means. I want Fab closer to goal, whatever it takes. Also, for all the dilettantes out there, Men In Blazers are bringing their trademark blend of pandering, disingenuous US Soccer coverage to the Copa on Vice Sports. They'll cover the Copa and the Euros, presumably doing bits like they did from Brazil.

Also, I'll never not love Mike Bradley. So smart. [tweet] [/tweet]

Even horsefeathering Klinzy can't take the fun out of a US team with Michael Bradley, Fab Johnson, DeAndre Yedlin, Christian Pulisic, Darlington Nagbe and Clint Dempsey on the same field. My XI when healthy: --------------------------------Howard Yedlin----------Cameron-----------------Brooks----------------Fab --------------------------------Bradley Bedoya---------------------------------------------------------Pulisic ---------------------------------Nagbe ----------------------------Dempsey ------------------------------------Altidore A part of me would still love to see an MLS left back emerge from the Robbie Rogers, Brek Shea, Jorge Villafana ether or somewhere in Europe to move Fab up to the midfield and use Pulisic off the bench as a change of pace/style sub. That's pretty much beyond hope at this point though. Wood is knocking on Altidore's door just by virtue of scoring goals for his club and now moving to the Budesliga. Even if I don't quite see it yet, it's meaningful. Besler to me is still much steadier than Brooks but Brooks' superior talent is something that needs to be fostered before Russia. Miazga should come for Cameron's spot in the next two years as well, but there's a lot for him to do yet. Would be nice to see Zach Steffen or Ethan Horvath make a play for the keeper spot. That's a huge weakness right now. Basically Jurgen sucks but it's refreshing that after a two-three year development black hole, we've got young players pushing through. Wood, Morris, Miazga, Carter-Vickers, Finlay, Pulisic, etc. I know at this point, posting horsefeathers like this is beyond redundant and boring, but WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY does Jurgen have to horsefeathering fail over and over before he realizes what EVERYONE ELSE knows? Before his first cap, what did literally EVERYONE say about Darlington Nagbe? EVERYONE said, "super talented, disappears on the wing but is a game-changer when played centrally." For years Caleb Porter fell into the same temptation to use him on the wing because his speed is so damn dangerous, but he eventually figured out that even though it doesn't utilize his greatest strength, that speed and dribbling, quite as much, his ability to combine makes him more valuable. Jurgen obviously doesn't watch MLS, or if he does, thinks he's smarter than MLS managers and get something out of a player that the guy who's been coaching him since he was 18 can't, but it's so frustrating and I hope he dies in a helicopter crash or something.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/drewjolsen/status/735654268460511237[/tweet] 100% completion rate.

...and there it is [tweet] [/tweet]

The kid is a starter, you guys. Not that a squad player for a top ten team in the world being a US starter is shocking. But it's shocking that he's 17.

Yedlin YA BURNT that dude. Great finish by Nagbe.

Nah. Wood is wood. Z is cinder block. Having three technical players the caliber of Fab, Nagbe and Pulisic on the same side of the field is really a thing.

Bradley at the 6, nagbe at the 8 is LIT.

HOLY F After 6 years, klinzy is finally playing Michael Bradley at the correct position! If only for this 45 minutes.

This game is valuable if you think it's of value to learn about problems we've known about since the world cup but still haven't fixed. If you think that sounds dumb, then this game is very dumb.

As always, f this lineup and f Jurgen.

I guess he gets the credit if he's the one that told KD to become an elite rim protector over night. That's just about the only thing that can render the Warriors' small lineup useless. He's having to run a lot to keep up his end on offense and that might wear him down vs LeBron, but it's still impressive as hell. Really, just knowing how to develop a second unit and having offensive plays to draw up during a stoppage automatically makes you better than that sentient haircut Scott Brooks. The only thing missing for OKC other than a real coach has been health in the playoffs. Here they are.

It's really good that Morris was called up for the Copa. Without the Olympics, that's top international competition he'll need to get comfortable in since he's pretty much definitely going to go to Russia. Oh, wait. I guess scoring a bunch of goals in MLS isn't as good as a few goals in NCAA.

2004 was very lit. Cardinals won 105 games. I lost my virginity with the same haircut that my future favorite athlete had at the time. I had the greatest summer of my life. Very lit times. http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2016/05/18/clint-dempsey-usa-usmnt-donovan-klinsmann-copa-america

I just hope he gets at least one more and goes out strong. He's had to play most of the last 5 years with little to no support going forward, so his goalscoring record over the last 5 years is just that much more impressive to me when you look at some of those lineups he got stuck with, especially in 2012 and during the WC. I want him to hang around to get the record and think he will. There's a role for Clint Dempsey in the Hex. Even if it's off the bench. horsefeathers, there's a role for Clint Dempsey in 2018, even if it's off the bench. I just don't know if he wants to do that or focus on Seattle/his family.

Bobby Wood and/or Jordan Morris up top then. Clint in the hole. Already thinking about how this is probably it for our man Deuce. Going to be hard to say goodbye. 5 years of his prime under a coach I hate and I feel like I was robbed of something there. Clint didn't suffer, but it wasn't as fun to watch.

Bobby Wood signed with Hamburg.

He ain't sitting out a year.

If you need me, I'll be in my prayer room, praying this happens. [tweet] [/tweet]

Sunderland are the Rocky of relegation fights. They're better with their back against the wall, fully concussed and bleeding from the ears.

No chance he leaves Dortmund. His dad is a coach there and Tuchel rates him highly. Klopp signed him (and his dad, right?) and rates him highly. Either way, I hope he stays in Dortmund for now.

The English footy rags finally have an american click bait player they can make semi-believable crap up about. If you combine the American internet soccer click fiends with the Liverpool internet soccer click fiends, you got some ad bux coming in, mon frere. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-3561727/Liverpool-face-competition-Real-Madrid-Manchester-City-pursuit-Borussia-Dortmund-whizzkid-Christian-Pulisic.html http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/511372/Liverpool-Jurgen-Klopp-Real-Madrid-Manchester-City-Borussia-Dortmund-Christian-Pulisic For the record, if he does reunite with Klopp, I'll root for Liverpool despite my prior feelings on their club culture and the fact that FSG owns them.

They're really isn't because of the lack of a postseason. You're betting on a team having the best record rather than winning the title here. Do they put those out for American sports? Like what were the odds of the Braves finishing with the best record this year? There's just so much more than that too. Promotion/relegation. They only are in the Premier League this year because of the multiple miracles they pulled off in the last 4 matches last year. They should have won the damn championship this year, not the PL. Literally one bounce of a ball different and that's what happens this year. A few bounces of the ball and they could probably be in the third division. Then you get into heavier, less quantifiable barriers like class, economics and regional identity. Being a Cubs fan has historically been pretty tough, but you always know that if your team starts doing everything right, you have as good a chance as anyone to see a championship. That's just not the case in a league set up like England. There is no rational human being who, before this season, could have made a case for having championship ambitions as a Leicester fan. Honestly, as a fan of all but 6 clubs it would have been laughable to have title ambitions. There are so many factors that need to be in place to be a contender in a big league like England. Gazillionaire owner. Attractive location for foreign players with many options in front of them. Facilities that generate revenue. Sustainable fan base that generates revenue. Foreign interest that generates revenue. Even with all of that in place, it's incredibly difficult. See: Liverpool. Arsenal. Tottenham. Leicester just cut the line on all of that stuff and it will never, ever happen again.