Jake Witman

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@Bayes_Baller @Galaga_Warlord @Rabadash2 There are 2 breakpoints here that make no sense unless he is both extremely good at his job AND got extremely lucky with open positions -

5 YoE to become a director is very rare

13.5 YoE to become a SVP is nearly unheard of, especially with only 2.5 YoE as a VP prior to that

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@YIMBYman I might try watching MLS again, but the last time I seriously watched (~ 6 years ago) it just wasn't worth my time. The entertainment product simply isn't good, the on the field quality is poor, and tickets/parking/concessions at the stadiums aren't so cheap to make it worth it

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@NorthernBostero @AriA1exander @VoltCortez I'm confused - how exactly do you think MLS Next works? I admit with that number of clubs there might be some rare exceptions, but from my understanding these clubs are still charging kids anywhere from $3k-10k a year to play for the club. Does that sound accessible to you?

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@MacGrowsMoney @Rolfadinho0 The short term blueprint probably needs to continue to be dual nationals or at the very least players who go to Europe somewhat early in development.

If the USMNT continues to incrementally get better hopefully pressure increases to restructure how youth development works here

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@JohnFitzLeroy1 @HolderStephen To be totally honest - this is more like the team that played in a lot of the earlier friendlies. Hard to say what their true level "should" have been since they didn't need to play in qualifying but the team looked MUCH better than they ever have at the start of this WC

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@DanK_Law @UtdSMNT I would argue Poch made the adjustments he could, particularly with the sub and formation change at half. Poch can't control star players not showing any passion/confidence or our GK kicking the ground like a High School JV player

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@MikeConti929 @harryarnett Baffling bad decisions on where to go with the ball, terrible first touches upon receiving a lot of passes, unable to get creative for the first 2/3 of the game.

Belgium closed down passing lanes and played tough defense, but we looked much worse all on our own as well

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@MikeConti929 @TheNorth212 It doesn't help that Belgium finally woke up. They played really well for the last ~30 minutes of the Senegal game but otherwise looked lifeless for a lot of the tournament. Really thought we had a chance going in based on the forms both teams were in regardless of the talent gap

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@DandMussoccer Lots of people (understandably) throwing Ream under the bus. HOWEVER please everyone remember the Turkey game. We literally don't have a better option on the bench. This is not a case of Ream "stealing" a spot from a better player. Our CB options are just absolutely atrocious

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@PDCanadian @CroatiaFooty I know you are joking, but the crazy thing is even in the FIFA rules hair does not count as material contact on the ball. Lack of spin/directionality change also should have clearly meant that if a small touch occurred it did not impact the play, so no offsides. Bad decision

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@ventura_brunoo @AndyHermanNFL The premier league (and most others AFAIK) literally has an entire set of rules around appeals to repeal red cards or reduce disciplinary sentences from cards. Successful appeals are not the most common but they do happen. There is so much precedent

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@Mark_Travis @aqshipley This is a tired line. Only 4 of our players were born and raised in Europe. And who cares anyway? That's one of the good things about this country, anyone can become an American

Also crazy thing to complain about given most teams pull heavily from a diaspora these days

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@Kai_Haihorn @Aaronharpauthor @fiago7 The way the rule is written doesn't allow them to actually nullify the card itself, only the automatic disciplinary action that comes after the card, which is the suspension for the next match

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@PuyolEnjoyer @HarryBrent @__griffin_ I do enjoy the memes, but I don't care about all playable parts of the body. If I catch a defender flat footed and my shoulder leaning is the reason I am "offsides" I just made an excellent run and got punished for it. That was a successful run for 99% of the games history

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@JamesSurowiecki The offsides rule could be tweaked, I think it would help immensely. Either make it a "daylight" rule between the attacker and defender, base it off of only the players' feet and now their whole body, or remove offsides when the ball is played from inside the box already

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@PuyolEnjoyer @HarryBrent @__griffin_ I'm ok with a thicker boundary but I cannot fathom why the rule is not simply based on where the players 2 feet are. You could make it below the knee or whatever to account for their lead foot not being planted but the crotch/butt/shoulder lean causing offsides is beyond stupid

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@spurs8637 @MatchReportH Ok watch the video of the Balogun challenge, he gets contacted in the air, is staring at the ball in the air, and his foot briefly lands with 0 extra force on the defender's ankle and is immediately picked back up so he can plant it somewhere else. No excessive force, no intent

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@spurs8637 @MatchReportH I don't even care about the Messi specific comparison, what about all of these other challenges https://t.co/QmHl6RoLh2

[DawgProcess (Devon Witherspoon Supporter) @DLock4MVP]

Hasn’t been a red all fucking tournament btw

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@spurs8637 @MatchReportH It's not a red because it hasn't been a red card all tournament across numerous incidents with higher studs and more violent contact.

It's also not a red because in this specific match the referee refused to give even yellows for harder challenges

[Jake Witman @jake_witman]

@0xSearchie @WombleIsaac @theoldzealand If referees/VAR haven't given a single red for a studs up tackle on ankles so far this tournament out of numerous examples, idk how you can ever state "it's 100% a red" with a straight face. Context matters