The Soccer Thread

[Jon]

Holy crap. Lewis just got destroyed. What a terrible, reckless, violent challenge.

 

At least he got red carded to make it 10 v. 10. But my goodness...

[USSoccer]

'Dolo deserved the sending off. He wasn't fouled and he did what he had to to prevent a break.

 

That Guatemalan desevres to get his ass kicked. That was completely violent.

 

And Clint is my guy, and I know he's pissed he got taken off, but Dempsey for Beasley is the right move in a 10 v 10 game. DMB has pace that Clint does not, and Clint's skill in tight spaces is less useful now.

[Jon]

Bocanegra could have controlled that one, taken a quick nap, and still had time to tap it in.

[Guest]

Bocanegra could have controlled that one, taken a quick nap, and still had time to tap it in.

 

Yup. He was WIDE open.

[Guest]

Holy crap. Lewis just got destroyed. What a terrible, reckless, violent challenge.

 

At least he got red carded to make it 10 v. 10. But my goodness...

 

It looked to me at first like it was a head-to-head and I thought a yellow was deserved because it was still a late challenge (though the homer in me was hoping for a red). But then I saw the elbow on the replays and a red was certainly deserved.

[Jon]

They won't rest until every American leaves with a bloody head.

[Guest]

More classy play from the Guatemalans.

[USSoccer]

I'm going to list the Americans that had a good game:

 

Howard (easily the best player tonight)

Bocanegra

Gooch.

 

That's it. 'Dolo was BAD before he got sent off (again, completely deservedly. His 1st yellow was a stupid temper tantrum and his 2nd was necessary but deserved). Pearce got owned all night. Both our wing backs got exposed, and I don't know if it was the conditions, coincidence or just an off night, but they looked like absolute garbage.

 

Ching was only good when we went to bunker mode. Lewis wasn't good. DMB was ok, but again, bunker mode. Hejduk had a horrible giveaway.

 

Donovan was invisible. Dempsey was quiet overall aside from a couple instances. However...

 

These two were bad because our center mids blow. Bradley and Mastro can't link. They can't hold. They can only disrupt, and that's a BIG reason why we got lucky. We deserved to lose this game because we can't create, can't hold possession and can't link from back to front.

 

I'm glad we got a win, but it was a lucky 3 points. We can't play like that and expect to win.

 

Ironically enough, I'm going to give Hardworkin' Bob Bradley a backhanded compliment here:

 

He managed his terrible roster properly. I think he needed Jozy and Benny at the least, and then all this is moot, but his subs were the right subs. Clint was carrying a card, and DMB has pace. If Clint is card-free, Ching should go off, but that was the right move. Hejduk's pace and workrate were correct. Edu for Mastro-again, Mastro had a card. Well played.

 

I hate his tactics but tonight he played his hand right, and a fair amount of credit for the win should go to him. He managed the game correctly.

 

I hate saying that. I want him fired.

[wolf stansson]

I'm so unbelievably pissed right now.

 

How can we go from the Olympics, where we looked as talented as ANY team in that tournament, to tonight with the full side where we look like absolute garbage.

 

I'm happy with one performance so far tonight and that is Tim Howard. That's it. Everyone else sucked. It's probably not their fault, it's probably the formation and game plan; all I know is if this double mother fuaauieing destroyer is in place in the Confed's Cup and the World Cup, I'm going gray early. Screw Lewis, screw Bocanegra, screw Beasley, screw Hejduk, screw Ching, screw Mastroeni and most of all screw Bob Bradley. A lot of guys in that screw list are some of the all-time best America has produced. Some of them are still in good form.

 

I. Don't. Care.

 

Marvell Wynne, Sacha Kljestan, Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu, Jonathan Bornstein, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber and Stuart Holden need to factor before those guys.

 

Our Olympic team would have won 3-0 at the very least. If we had a legitimate tactically savvy coach instead of some dour douche weaned on the lean years of American soccer where 0-0 was a great result and 1-0 was joga bonita, I could confidently say that I wouldn't be shocked to see them make a World Cup Final if everything bounced their way. That's the kind of talent we have, but no...we either don't field the talent (Bradley) or we don't instill the discipline and preparation necessary to close out games (Nowak).

 

That first symptom is inexcusable; that second will be solved by these talented players playing in better and better leagues and bigger and bigger games.

 

Give Howard the arm band, let the talent fragging play and start believing in the talent that is there.

 

 

Also, I think Landon Donovan is an excellent player and right now, the best we've ever produced, but he's gotten to the point where I don't know where he fits in this team. Same with Dempsey and Beasley. Beasley can't finish and Dempsey and Donovan just disappear too easily. I suspect getting a better system with the real players playing would open things up for Deuce and Donovan, but as of now, with the coach we have, they just aren't being used correctly. I'm tired of this American system, whatever that may be. Time to start playing with the balls we should have.

[wolf stansson]

Oh and by the way, remember a year ago when I was the lone Michael Bradley defender? Yeah, I'm backing off that for a while. Heerenveen was the Arsenal of the Eredivisie last year. They had great possession and distribution along with some scary talent that allowed him to get forward. Until I see him doing that, I still like him but I'd rather see Edu or Feilhaber in there.

 

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I can't put faith in Eredivisie match reports that I didn't see anymore. What I have seen out of him for the Nats is solid, but not worthy of an auto start. I need to see the club play translate to the national level or at least get him to a league televised here so I can see if it's legit or just luck.

[USSoccer]

Oh and by the way, remember a year ago when I was the lone Michael Bradley defender? Yeah, I'm backing off that for a while. Heerenveen was the Arsenal of the Eredivisie last year. They had great possession and distribution along with some scary talent that allowed him to get forward. Until I see him doing that, I still like him but I'd rather see Edu or Feilhaber in there.

 

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I can't put faith in Eredivisie match reports that I didn't see anymore. What I have seen out of him for the Nats is solid, but not worthy of an auto start. I need to see the club play translate to the national level or at least get him to a league televised here so I can see if it's legit or just luck.

 

His role is different with the Nats, but I agree. If we insist on playing this dumbass empty bucket (which minimizes the impact 2 of our best players can have, BTW) then you can't have twin destroyers on the field. You have to sit either MB or Mastro...and honestly I trust old-ass Mastro over MB right now. His passing sucks and the system doesn't allow him to play box-to-box like he does in Holland.

 

Landon and Dempsey are tweeners. They each lack something necessary to play up top, and yet aren't suited for the midfield. The 4-3-2-1 would be best for them, but that's not gonna happen, and if we're fielding our best XI right now, in the Bucket, you have to leave one out.

 

Jozy, Freddy and Benny need to be fixtures. They're better than the guys blocking them.

[Magnetic Curses]

wait, marvell wynne's kid plays soccer for the us?

 

that's so unbelievably awesome i can't describe it.

 

marvell "what would you say you DO here?" wynne sr.

[USSoccer]

I'll also add that it's a joke that Ruiz didn't get carded for kicking Howard in the head.

 

I frickin' hate Central American qualifiers.

 

EDIT:

 

After further consideration...Eddie Lewis had a lot to do with how bad Pearce was at first. Eddie couldn't keep up with his mark at all, and that's poor scouting on the part of Bradley to put Old Man Lewis against a burner on the flank.

[wolf stansson]

wait, marvell wynne's kid plays soccer for the us?

 

that's so unbelievably awesome i can't describe it.

 

marvell "what would you say you DO here?" wynne sr.

Yeah, he's a really gifted athlete. His dad probably would have been better suited to soccer too because he sure did suck at baseball.

[wolf stansson]

Landon and Dempsey are tweeners. They each lack something necessary to play up top, and yet aren't suited for the midfield. The 4-3-2-1 would be best for them, but that's not gonna happen, and if we're fielding our best XI right now, in the Bucket, you have to leave one out.

Guus.

 

 

Now that I've chilled a little, I'm going to do my favorite thing. Make a starting XI for the MNT! Yay.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------Howard-----------------------------------------------------

 

------------Wynne---------------Onyewu-------------------Bocanegra*----------------Pearce------------

 

---------------------Donovan^---------------------Bradley*------------------------Kljestan-----------------

 

----------------------------------------Dempsey^-------------------Adu-------------------------------------

 

--------------------------------------------------Altidore+---------------------------------------------------

 

* Or Edu

+ Or Cooper

^Interchangeable

Edited August 21, 2008 by wolf stansson

[USSoccer]

Landon and Dempsey are tweeners. They each lack something necessary to play up top, and yet aren't suited for the midfield. The 4-3-2-1 would be best for them, but that's not gonna happen, and if we're fielding our best XI right now, in the Bucket, you have to leave one out.

Guus.

 

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES

 

Bring in the mercenary.

[wolf stansson]

Landon and Dempsey are tweeners. They each lack something necessary to play up top, and yet aren't suited for the midfield. The 4-3-2-1 would be best for them, but that's not gonna happen, and if we're fielding our best XI right now, in the Bucket, you have to leave one out.

Guus.

 

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES

 

Bring in the mercenary.

Seriously, he turned Arshavin to a star. There's no way Andrei Arshavin is any better than Landon Donovan (other than his maahbles). They're the same player.

[sethuel1]

Good: Howard, Boca, Gooch, the limited minutes of Edu and Beasley

 

Decent, in certain ways: Ching (excellent lone forward when we don't need to actually go forward...talk about a backhanded compliment), Hejduk (no touch, but holy crap can he annoy anyone near him with the ball), Pearce (if he's got a decent wing guy in front of him [read: Beasley, not Lewis] he can actually defend instead of trying to cover two positions and then getting burned)

 

Almost entirely bad: Donovan, Dempsey, Lewis (though only because he took an awful shot, otherwise he wouldn't have made this lofty category), the terrible midfield pairing of Bradley and Mastro

 

Ho-riffic: Cherundolo, Bradley's tactics

 

An abomination to all mankind: Mr. Ref from Suriname

[USSoccer]

I still can't get over how funny it is that Bradley took a veteran team designed to play against a bunkering, physical opponent and then got pantsed when Guatemala attacked us for 90 minutes.

 

Seriously, if their player keeps his elbow down, we lose that game. We were dominated.

[shnsajax]

I still can't get over how funny it is that Bradley took a veteran team designed to play against a bunkering, physical opponent and then got pantsed when Guatemala attacked us for 90 minutes.

 

Seriously, if their player keeps his elbow down, we lose that game. We were dominated.

 

I am sure they are saying that it was a great win in a country that we don't win in.

 

Eddie Lewis got hammered, that guy should get an extra couple of games on top of the red card. I am hoping Donovan took a piss on their field too.

 

The entire team looked like crap. They are lucky to get a win. Maybe a draw against Cuba at home will be a wake up call.

[USSoccer]

If the American soccer press is touting that game as some sort of "gutty, hard won victory that showed our character" they all deserved to get nutpunched.

 

A real soccer country with a real soccer press would be tearing the team to shreds today.

[shnsajax]

If the American soccer press is touting that game as some sort of "gutty, hard won victory that showed our character" they all deserved to get nutpunched.

 

A real soccer country with a real soccer press would be tearing the team to shreds today.

 

One of the biggest problems is that there is virtually no press, and no real pressure applied by anyone.

 

Congrats to the US Women, losing by far their best player. Great goal today to win it in extra time.

[wolf stansson]

http://www.asm-fc.com/magazine.aspx

 

Freddy's blog. It'll be updated 3x's weekly. Monaco is serious about making him the man.

[shnsajax]

I just read about Silvestre moving from ManU to Arsenal. Very strange to see that happen.

[wolf stansson]

Mo Edu secured his work permit and the transfer to Rangers is official.