The Soccer Thread

[shnsajax]

Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones to play for the US instead of Germany. I know nothing about him but he's 27 and has 3 friendly caps for Germany. I would rather we had gotten Rossi, but oh well.

 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=654395&sec=worldcup2010&cc=5901

We have ridiculous depth at the holding mid, but he is immediately top choice, imo. See ya Mastro.

 

I wish he could go to Confederations Cup. Maybe he will get some playing time in the Gold Cup. I'm just curious to watch him play some as I pretty much never watch the Bundesliga.

[wolf stansson]

Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones to play for the US instead of Germany. I know nothing about him but he's 27 and has 3 friendly caps for Germany. I would rather we had gotten Rossi, but oh well.

 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=654395&sec=worldcup2010&cc=5901

We have ridiculous depth at the holding mid, but he is immediately top choice, imo. See ya Mastro.

 

I wish he could go to Confederations Cup. Maybe he will get some playing time in the Gold Cup. I'm just curious to watch him play some as I pretty much never watch the Bundesliga.

He is nails. He is fast. He is strong. He is angry. He is aggressive. He is real, real good. He was voted the 4th best midfielder in the Bundesliga last year. Not center mid either. Mid in general. Behind Ribery, Ozil and Eduardo.

 

A good comp would be Daniele De Rossi. Hard man who can get forward and distribute and attack.

 

He is kind of a douche bag though according to his wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jermaine_Jones

[shnsajax]

Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones to play for the US instead of Germany. I know nothing about him but he's 27 and has 3 friendly caps for Germany. I would rather we had gotten Rossi, but oh well.

 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=654395&sec=worldcup2010&cc=5901

We have ridiculous depth at the holding mid, but he is immediately top choice, imo. See ya Mastro.

 

I wish he could go to Confederations Cup. Maybe he will get some playing time in the Gold Cup. I'm just curious to watch him play some as I pretty much never watch the Bundesliga.

He is nails. He is fast. He is strong. He is angry. He is aggressive. He is real, real good. He was voted the 4th best midfielder in the Bundesliga last year. Not center mid either. Mid in general. Behind Ribery, Ozil and Eduardo.

 

A good comp would be Daniele De Rossi. Hard man who can get forward and distribute and attack.

 

He is kind of a douche bag though according to his wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jermaine_Jones

 

Yeah I was read his wiki about an hour ago. But we need a couple of douche bags on this team like that. Anyone with an attitude would be a welcome addition.

[wolf stansson]

I'm excited about him. I thought he was fantastic before I knew he was even US eligible (like a week ago).

[Exile on Waveland]

Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones to play for the US instead of Germany. I know nothing about him but he's 27 and has 3 friendly caps for Germany. I would rather we had gotten Rossi, but oh well.

 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=654395&sec=worldcup2010&cc=5901

We have ridiculous depth at the holding mid, but he is immediately top choice, imo. See ya Mastro.

 

I wish he could go to Confederations Cup. Maybe he will get some playing time in the Gold Cup. I'm just curious to watch him play some as I pretty much never watch the Bundesliga.

He is nails. He is fast. He is strong. He is angry. He is aggressive. He is real, real good. He was voted the 4th best midfielder in the Bundesliga last year. Not center mid either. Mid in general. Behind Ribery, Ozil and Eduardo.

 

A good comp would be Daniele De Rossi. Hard man who can get forward and distribute and attack.

 

He is kind of a douche bag though according to his wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jermaine_Jones

 

Wow, sounds great.* I don't remember the last time I've watched a Bundesliga game, nor the last time one was even available to watch on tv. So I have never really heard of him; but to be listed as the fourth-best mid behind those three is impressive. I've thought Mastro has given the USMNT some quality minutes in the past, but his time is clearly gone.

 

 

*Sans homophobia, of course.

[Guest]

Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones to play for the US instead of Germany. I know nothing about him but he's 27 and has 3 friendly caps for Germany. I would rather we had gotten Rossi, but oh well.

 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=654395&sec=worldcup2010&cc=5901

We have ridiculous depth at the holding mid, but he is immediately top choice, imo. See ya Mastro.

 

I wish he could go to Confederations Cup. Maybe he will get some playing time in the Gold Cup. I'm just curious to watch him play some as I pretty much never watch the Bundesliga.

 

Wiki says he won't be able to play in the Gold Cup either.

[wolf stansson]

He'll miss Azteca as well. The rules take hold in October.

 

I read on Big Soccer that the genesis of this was M Beezy basically recruiting him before a M'Gladbach v Schalke match.

[shnsajax]

He'll miss Azteca as well. The rules take hold in October.

 

I read on Big Soccer that the genesis of this was M Beezy basically recruiting him before a M'Gladbach v Schalke match.

 

Thoughts on how the two of them will play together? They seem like thet could complement each other pretty well.

[wolf stansson]

He'll miss Azteca as well. The rules take hold in October.

 

I read on Big Soccer that the genesis of this was M Beezy basically recruiting him before a M'Gladbach v Schalke match.

 

Thoughts on how the two of them will play together? They seem like thet could complement each other pretty well.

Most importantly, I think this could be a revelation for Freddy's MNT career.

 

-----------------Jesus Howard--------------------

 

----Spec----Gooch----Boca----Bornstein----

 

--------------Bradley--------Jones---------------

 

-------Deuce--------Adu--------Donovan-------

 

---------------------Altidore-----------------------

 

Honestly, based solely on the Honduras game, I'd rather start Feilhaber than Bradley, but we know that's not going to happen under current management. Jones is the kind of box-to-box general that can cover for Freddy defensively, link the back line to the midfield and loose some rockets from outside the box.

 

 

Edit - Since I know Bradley will never not start Mike, I'd love to see this attempted:

-----------------Jesus Howard--------------------

 

----Spec----Gooch----Boca----Bornstein----

 

--------------Bradley--------Jones---------------

 

------Deuce-----Feilhaber-----Donovan------

 

---------------------Altidore-----------------------

 

Feilhaber in the Gerrard/Lampard role. That's where he plays at Aarhus. I'd love to see them give this a shot.

[shnsajax]

He'll miss Azteca as well. The rules take hold in October.

 

I read on Big Soccer that the genesis of this was M Beezy basically recruiting him before a M'Gladbach v Schalke match.

 

Thoughts on how the two of them will play together? They seem like thet could complement each other pretty well.

Most importantly, I think this could be a revelation for Freddy's MNT career.

 

-----------------Jesus Howard--------------------

 

----Spec----Gooch----Boca----Bornstein----

 

--------------Bradley--------Jones---------------

 

-------Deuce--------Adu--------Donovan-------

 

---------------------Altidore-----------------------

 

Honestly, based solely on the Honduras game, I'd rather start Feilhaber than Bradley, but we know that's not going to happen under current management. Jones is the kind of box-to-box general that can cover for Freddy defensively, link the back line to the midfield and loose some rockets from outside the box.

 

That gives us a ton of speed up front and 5 guys who can attack if you include Bradley. Torres could play almost anywhere on that line as well for any of the front 3.

[USSoccer]

I am very happy about Jermaine Jones right now.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Someone on SBI commented that this could give us leeway to push Edu to center back and Bocanegra out wide defensively? Any thoughts?

[USSoccer]

Someone on SBI commented that this could give us leeway to push Edu to center back and Bocanegra out wide defensively? Any thoughts?

 

Well, BB seems to adore his Gooch/Boca middle pairing, and his system seems to require his backs to get upfield and overlap his mids, so in that sense Boca doesn't really fit, as he's more of a stay-at-home defender without the pace required. I know he plays out wide for Rennes, but unless BB adopts a different formation up top we have enough trouble with width as it is. I rather like the backs we featured against Honduras, actually. Spector should be starting unless his hip falls off or his brain is broken again, and I have my doubts about 'Dolo coming back to his old self, so I think one of Bornstein, Wynne or Pearce have to develop. Hejduk will probably be around. We also might get Edgar Castillo back, too, thanks to this rule.

 

For sure is pushes Mastro out the door, which is enough of an upgrade right there to be happy, as he looked his age last week. If nothing else, it gives us options to play with depth wise, in the event of an injury to someone in the center. I don't know about Edu playing much of a role until next year, and by then he might be passed on the depth chart if Benny F. can find his way out of the Mathis Hole and/or Torres and Sacha can develop like we all hope.

 

As Wolf mentioned, though, I think it opens up more for Adu, and actually Mikey Bizzle to be more involved in the attacking third. Theoretically, MB could play his Heereneven role with Jones providing cover box to box, and Jones' bite in the center might help BB feel more comfortable with a purely offensive player like Adu playing a more prominent role.

[wolf stansson]

Someone on SBI commented that this could give us leeway to push Edu to center back and Bocanegra out wide defensively? Any thoughts?

I don't like people playing positions for the nats that they don't play for their club. He's going to be a lock at d-mid for Rangers judging by this years performance. To that I'll say two things. 1) I don't know if that means much. I don't the SPL/Rangers is anything that deserves a ton of respect. 2) Related to point 1 which is, I don't know how good Maurice Edu actually is. He's been pretty meh in his MNT duty. I know he looks good at Rangers, but like I said, what does that mean?

 

Jermaine Jones is a much, much better player than Maurice Edu. Like I said earlier, I rated him before I knew he had any American connections. I watch a lot of Bundesliga and I saw maybe 3 Schalke games last year. He stood out. The real battle in the middle, imo, is Bradley and Edu and with the current head coach, we know who wins that. I'm psyched about Benny's performance and I'm still psyched about Freddy's potential. This could be a huge piece for us.

 

Edit - also, Bocanegra is too slow to play left back internationally. I mean, it's worth a shot to try out I guess, but imagining him trying to run up and down the flanks with (insert awesome right winger like Ronaldo, Schweinstager, Joe Cole, etc here) is not a pretty picture.

[USSoccer]

Someone on SBI commented that this could give us leeway to push Edu to center back and Bocanegra out wide defensively? Any thoughts?

I don't like people playing positions for the nats that they don't play for their club. He's going to be a lock at d-mid for Rangers judging by this years performance. To that I'll say two things. 1) I don't know if that means much. I don't the SPL/Rangers is anything that deserves a ton of respect. 2) Related to point 1 which is, I don't know how good Maurice Edu actually is. He's been pretty meh in his MNT duty. I know he looks good at Rangers, but like I said, what does that mean?

 

Jermaine Jones is a much, much better player than Maurice Edu. Like I said earlier, I rated him before I knew he had any American connections. I watch a lot of Bundesliga and I saw maybe 3 Schalke games last year. He stood out. The real battle in the middle, imo, is Bradley and Edu and with the current head coach, we know who wins that. I'm psyched about Benny's performance and I'm still psyched about Freddy's potential. This could be a huge piece for us.

 

Edit - also, Bocanegra is too slow to play left back internationally. I mean, it's worth a shot to try out I guess, but imagining him trying to run up and down the flanks with (insert awesome right winger like Ronaldo, Schweinstager, Joe Cole, etc here) is not a pretty picture.

 

That's thing thing. Boca really doesn't have the pace to play the wing against top flight competition. I remember being slightly terrified in 2006 whenever he came into a game, because Arena played him as a back, and he had trouble with pace up the wing all the time.

 

And I agree 100% on Edu. I think I've said before that I rate him as a more athletic Mastroeni, which is a nice thing to have depth wise, but in all honestly outside of Celtic/Rangers, the SPL is probably slightly worse than MLS. Those teams suck, unless someone wants to try and argue that Hibernian could beat like Red Bull New York. So yeah, he's looked good against crap competition, in a small sample size of games. I'd say the jury's out, and he's hurt now anyway, so it's not a problem we have for a while.

 

I think Ives and others fall victim to a Euro league inferiority complex when looking at Edu in the SPL.

 

So if you think Jones is a lock barring injury to start at D-Mid, given his pedigree it gives Bradley a lot of options formation wise, and I'll say this-despite his Empty Bucket love during 2007, he's played a lot of different guys and hasn't really been averse to screwing with the shape of the team. A 4-3-2-1 is a real option now.

[shnsajax]

For the most part the 1st game was boring crapfest. Looking forward to seeing Spain this afternoon and just what lineup they bring out today.

[reggiemiller rules]

Torres with a hat trick in the 17th minute already. I know its New Zealand, but Spain is just awesome to watch.

[shnsajax]

Torres with a hat trick in the 17th minute already. I know its New Zealand, but Spain is just awesome to watch.

 

Right now the Spanish players could hit a dime from 30 yards out. Their passing has been superb so far.

[USSoccer]

I'm going to go on record by saying that the Confed Cuo groups are total crap and there's no way you should have them grouped with:

 

Iraq (ELO #83)

New Zealand (ELO #78)

South Africa (ELO #76)

Spain (ELO #1)

 

and then

 

Italy (ELO #5)

Brazil (ELO #2)

USA (ELO #14)

Egypt (ELO #41)

 

I can't even think of an analogy for that, except that if you're going to have a dress rehearsal, there's no way on the planet that our group next summer could possibly be any harder than that.

 

That said, tomorrow's game is going to be awesome and I'm stoked.

[Mark Priors Calves]

Here's an interesting take on the possibility of Sentanta Sports going under and leaving their premier league games open for someone else to move in for their broadcast rights. The writer suggests ESPN as a likely candidate to make a move because they were denied EPL rights earlier this year and also lost their UEFA champions league coverage next year as well.

 

I'm super pumped about the USMNT match tomorrow, I'm hoping to go score free until about 9:30 when I can catch it on tivo.

[Guest]

Here's an interesting take on the possibility of Sentanta Sports going under and leaving their premier league games open for someone else to move in for their broadcast rights. The writer suggests ESPN as a likely candidate to make a move because they were denied EPL rights earlier this year and also lost their UEFA champions league coverage next year as well.

 

I'm super pumped about the USMNT match tomorrow, I'm hoping to go score free until about 9:30 when I can catch it on tivo.

 

With how the U.S. has played recently, I'm a bit scared. I just hope they don't get completely smashed tomorrow and Thursday.

[bukie]

I'm going to go on record by saying that the Confed Cuo groups are total crap and there's no way you should have them grouped with:

 

Iraq (ELO #83)

New Zealand (ELO #78)

South Africa (ELO #76)

Spain (ELO #1)

 

and then

 

Italy (ELO #5)

Brazil (ELO #2)

USA (ELO #14)

Egypt (ELO #41)

 

I can't even think of an analogy for that, except that if you're going to have a dress rehearsal, there's no way on the planet that our group next summer could possibly be any harder than that.

 

That said, tomorrow's game is going to be awesome and I'm stoked.

 

Yeah, that's really weird. Even if we concede that the US is probably not as good as their ranking, they're still likely a better squad than South Africa, New Zealand and Iraq.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I hate the Italians, I really hope we thrash them. Won't happen, but I want to give them the beating we earned against them in '06.

[USSoccer]

We match up with Italy very well, actually.

[shnsajax]

Egypt have no size to mark up against Brazil on set pieces. Kaka's goal was also nice, but showed terrible defense on Egypt. Outside of that Egypt have not looked terrible