Things have gotten rocky in the USA camp, with Jurgen Klinsmann having benched our best defender, Carlos Bocanegra, for our key 2-1 loss to Honduras back in February. I think it is very possible that wa will fail to qualify for the World Cup. Rumors have it that the dressing room is not happy with Klinsmann. Only a dramatic improvement in form will get us out of this mess, and with Landon Donovan in an existential funk and not playing at all, Bocanegra inexplicably benched and Dempsey not match fit I am very,
very worried. We have zero chance of bringing any points back from Mexico on March 26, so we can't afford to lose any other games now. I'm not sure why Klinsmann is benching Bocanegra, but I think it is a mistake. Bocanagra may be old, but he his still good and he is unquestionably looked to as a leader and organizer on the pitch. Perhaps he has clashed with Klinsmann?
Balanced against that, Klinsmann was brought in to take the program to a new level, and most of our best players are aging. A new generation will have to be groomed and worked into the team. That means there will be some big bumps in the road. Firing Klinsmann could set us back years, even if he fails to qualify us for the World Cup.
But if we don't make it to the world cup Klinsmann is history for sure. I like a lot of the things he has said and done, but it's as simple as that. He won't survive a failure to qualify.
Worryingly, players have begun to quote Phillipp Lahm's book, or echo his criticisms with their own....
Rio Ferdinand said:
Ferdinand off to a training and punditry regimen in Qatar, a country that continuously reminds us of the corruption money has brought to the game...
Suarez already essentially putting himself
up for sale.
I don't think he'll leave during the summer, but if we fail to finish in the top four next season (and I consider that very likely), he will probably go. His value has increased and he will be targeted by an increasing number of clubs in the Champions League.
Liverpool do not have the resources to compete with Man Utd, Chelsea or Man City. Spurs, Arsenal and Everton are our real competitors - we all want the fourth spot because the top three spots are locked in for the foreseeable future.