The Real Awful Comment by Tim Howard is Not What You Think

A controversy has exploded over comments made by Tim Howard recently. The former legend seemingly criticized foreign nationals in an interview with USA Today, which you can get free at any reputable hotel. Howard provided his insight into why our team is underperforming.

Said Howard about Jurgen Klinsmann: "(Klinsmann) had a project to unearth talent around the world that had American roots. But having American roots doesn't mean you are passionate about playing for that country."

"I know there were players that came in that it didn't matter as much to. If you get enough of those players, one or two can get found out, but if you get enough of those players you lose sight of what you are all about. While it was a good idea in theory, it had its flaws."

Well Howard had to take back his comments a later interview with ESPN. It goes without saying that they were not only nonsensical but grasping at straws when it's obvious we don't have enough top-level footballing talent. Now Jermaine Jones has criticized the comments.

But it's another comment that Howard made that we at IMOTGP are most disturbed about. It's this:
"I think there has been this rhetoric that has been spewed out over the last couple of years – players have to go to Europe. If you want to go to Europe that’s fine, but I would guess that come 2018, 80 percent of our roster will be made up of MLS players. It is not about where you play, it is about what you bring to the team and how much you care."

This comment highlights the biggest problem with football in the United States; that MLS is considered a proper landing spot for influential team members. What Howard is saying is so wrong in claiming it is "rhetoric" that is "spewed" that players should "have to go to Europe."

He makes it sound as if going to Europe is like going to the dentist. No, as a footballer, you earn the right to play there. Not many of our guys have and if the national team down the road continues to comprise of 80 percent of MLS players, we will never make up ground on the world's best, no matter how many teams Don Garber puts in this damn league.

You don't need this blogger to tell you how well John Brooks, Bobby Wood and Alejandro Bedoya played in Copa Centenario and where they played their club football before that tournament. Many fans wonder why Michael Bradley's national team form has dipped; it isn't a stretch to say it has coincided with his return to North America.

The United States continues to set a low bar. After all, Jozy Altidore was named national player of the year in 2016.  Christian Pulisic finished second even though anyone being honest recognizes a player who started five Champions League games this past year including one in a pulsating 2-2 draw at Real Madrid is clearly the best we have to offer and truly more worthy of the honor. Altidore, meanwhile had a strike rate of 10 goals in 23 MLS matches. OK.

Let's get this straight one final time. The more U.S. players that play for top European teams, the better our national team will be. Now you don't "have to go to Europe" to play for the United States, but you do if you want to try to be the best in the world.  Howard's romantic notion about "how much you care" has nothing to do with any of this.