Samurai is familiar with the academy system and is a longtime watcher of the US team and club soccer.
Here is the conversation after the U.S. lost to Italy in the Confederations Cup.
Samurai : i was so depressed about the US game yesterday, but _____ pointed out some positives, and i didn't feel so bad
Samurai: he said US had some chances, just couldn’t finish, and he pointed out how Donovan took on a bunch of Brazilians in one run, and so did Dempsey
Samurai : maybe not in 2010, but by 2014, we should really start making some noise
The Ref : that Conor Casey was a bright spot
Samurai: yeah, he was.
The Ref : coulda been 3-2
Samurai : easily
The Ref : but I was depressed also
Samurai: Feilhaber took that shot really confidently, too
The Ref : that’s what I like about him and Casey. It's like they are hungry-- FIRE that ball in from under 20 yards
The Ref : like uhm, Giuseppe Rossi
Samurai : the US is going to have big fast kids coming up, too. ______'s not small, but when he goes to some of the U16 academy practices (they are '92s and '93s, and he's a '94), he's usually the smallest one by a good 6 inches
The Ref : that part is encouraging-- that there is not these one-offs like Dempsey coming out of US Soccer
The Ref : there are a lot
Samurai: the academy thing will help. now kids have somewhere to go, where colleges will recognize them. If they get recognized, they’re more likely to keep playing
Samurai : that's the key. Give the kids incentive to keep playing rather than just because they like it
The Ref : Eddie Johnson can tell them that they have to work a lot harder than the MLS to be in top shape for Europe clubs
Samurai: totally. and they need real confidence, which he seems to have lost
Samurai: Beasley too
Samurai: the other players are probably running circles around them in practice
The Ref : like Walcott on John Terry!
Samurai: the academy practices are so intense because they're constantly being pushed. so the ones that get through will be in great shape. I doubt the big MLS stars feel much heat in practices to keep pushing them
Samurai: the MLS still can afford to bring in players to push their stars, they're still bringing in players to be back ups
Samurai : see how Pearce left Walcott off the starting team, because he didn't do much in the previous game
Samurai: so when he did come in as a sub, they said he was electric
Samurai: that's what the players need, fear of not playing
The Ref : it seemed to have done the opposite to Beasley
Samurai: yeah, he probably realized he wasn't 'special'. he has good speed, but his touch and crosses aren't great. I bet those Rangers players all have great touch and can put the ball on a dime; they just might not be as fast as him
Samurai : when Beasley sees a sub crack a 30-yard shot on target, he probably gets disillusioned. I’ve never seen Beasley do stuff like that
The Ref : man this whole discussion should be a blog post
The Ref : like "today's trade" or something
Samurai: that's a great idea
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