Gregory J Foster

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@AdamCrafton_ What a spectacular own goal this has been. The World Cup - as it was experienced by fans (not how it was governed) - felt like a joyous pushback against oligarchy. Apparently, the oligarchs didn’t get the memo.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@MikeWoitalla @TaylorTwellman @ussoccer When we get a little distance from this, we’re gonna realize the damage it caused the USMNT. The quickest way to ruin a positive team spirit is to introduce cheating. We cheated.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@MaxBretosSports I’d love to see him have more control over youth development. A four year run could be transformative.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@MiguelDelaney Those of us worried about this should emphasize that the World Cup is a “public good” (as you have). We need to be explicit about the definition and how that definition applies to the World Cup. That’s the bulwark against oligarchic, hedge-fundy rhetoric and behavior.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@benjstrauss @espn If valuations rise, how important is year to year profitability? Doesn’t the type of owner matter more than anything else (long term v. short term)?

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@DianaKristinne This is an opinion no one needs to hear. Feels like the same PR B.S. we’re all over-exposed too.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@AlexiLalas Tremendous - so many elements of the Cup worked. Congratulations on the overall broadcast!

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@henrywinter I love the WC for many reasons. One is that it allows the global community to join & express itself. Strengths, weaknesses of this WC seem analogous to our cultural/economic/political experience. Agree the game and the global community belongs to the people not the presidents.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@MaxBretosSports Their success was based on a system rather than individual players, too. Seems more sustainable than most other countries.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@IanDarke FWIW, Tucson has a history of hosting 5 MLS Clubs simultaneously during preseason. The teams train at the same facility on separate fields and there is ample locker room space. My sense is that Spain, Portugal and Morocco have numerous facilities and communities that can do this.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@AlexiLalas Makes me think about what the US needs too.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@AlexiLalas Spain & Argentina are the best teams. Spain relies on youth development with technical/tactical/strategic consistency. Argentina is strength-based: Messi, opportunism and collective will to win. Under maximum pressure, Tuchel didn’t have Scaloni’s or de la Fuente’s resources.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@ajzell2 @TaylorTwellman Ok. Hopefully, England's new manager will choose a different tactic next time this happens.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@ajzell2 @TaylorTwellman This might explain what I mean better than I can: https://t.co/Ij1nMWQsjq

[Guillem Balague @GuillemBalague]

This should be time for reflection for England, so for what is worth let me share with you a take from someone who is not English but knows English football culture perfectly having played many years in the Premier League

You might agree or disagree, but it links to what Tuchel said about the team being passive. And if there is a hint of truth in it, maybe responsability should be taken beyond the coach, and even beyond the changing room (maybe the excess of confidence entering the game, the difficulty to see problems when victories come, the abusive search for culprits, all those things that we have seen in the past are also partly to blame)

Here it goes:

"Guillem, I can't help repeating something I've told you before: England can never truly function as a team because they don't understand the word "solidarity" or the concept of collective football.

They always freeze when the decisive moment comes. They go out of every major tournament (World Cup or Euros) in the same way: not just losing, but making a mess of it. They always freeze when the decisive moment comes.

There's a historical pattern. At some point in the game they abandon each other. Every player starts looking after himself, trying to save his own skin.

Today they left the goalkeeper completely exposed. They all disappeared from the game, almost as if they were trying to avoid being singled out.

Can you say who was at fault for the goals? Exactly. The best thing for them is that no individual gets blamed. Collectively, they were responsible.

Everyone goes home relieved that it won't all fall on John or James. That it will all fall on Tuchel.

Meanwhile, Messi can hardly run, yet he spent the entire second half happily playing on the edge of the box. Enzo, too, kept finding space to shoot from the edge of the area — his trademark — until one finally went in.

An absolute disaster."

Should we discuss?

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@ajzell2 @TaylorTwellman Yes - why didn't they do so? Why did Scaloni and the Argentine players understand the situation so much better?

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@ColesTakes22 @TaylorTwellman Of course it is - that’s my point. Talent wasn’t decisive in either semifinal. Tactical tweaks weren’t either.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@nytimes @TheAthleticFC Many folks were following the shiny object rather focusing on the landscape. Spain’s win is consistent with over two years of results. And team play is the reason. The same folks should remember this as they evaluate Argentina.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@NateSilver538 Many folks were following the shiny object rather focusing on the landscape. Spain’s win is consistent with over two years of results. And team play is the reason. The same folks should remember this as they evaluate Argentina.

[Gregory J Foster @gregoryjfoster]

@PhilKitro Many folks were following the shiny object rather focusing on the landscape. Spain’s win is consistent with over two years of results. And team play is the reason. The same folks should remember this as they evaluate Argentina.