USSoccer

The ditto was in reference to the EPL Americans being likely to play during both matches. However, the more I consider it, the more I think that guys like Cherundolo, Dempsey and Bradley would play the England game and the Argentina game, and skip the Spain game. Donovan would probably play the Spain game and the Argentina game.

Ok, so starting in May the USMNT will play England in Wembley on May 28th, Spain on June 4th in Spain, and Argentina at the Meadowlands on June 8th. We then have a WCQ either the next week or 2 weeks later. 5/28 isn't a FIFA date, but you figure all the EPL Nats would play. Ditto 6/4. Would we then have those guys come back and feature on 6/8? I don't see how we play our A squad in all 3 games.

I can't decide if this makes Michael Bradley awesome, or stupid: http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2008/03/why-soccer-play.html It definetly makes Heereneven kind of really dumb.

Woodgate's goal was one of the crappiest goals ever.

Couple thoughts on the EPL today: Dempsey squandered a really, really good chance in the 2nd half today. He had a chance to loft it over the keeper who was 8 yards off his line but didn't get anywhere near enough under it. He's still probably their best player in the attack. If they get relegated, what are the odds that he's sold? Newcastle sucks.

So you've basically seen Fuld's catch and nothing else?

Yet another pebble onto the pile of reasons why he should never, ever, ever be a GM or P.P. guy. He's horrible.

I'll take the bunch of crap

Ronaldo was better for longer. Ronaldinho was great, but always a little overrated in my opinion. I think it says something that Ronaldinho made little effort to keep himself in form and fit. If I had to build an all-time team, I'd choose Ronaldo before Ronaldinho.

What does this even mean?

HAhahahahahahahah Liverpool. 2-1 Barnsley or Farnsley or whatever. Rafa Benitez sucks at life. But I'm sure it's actually Tom Hicks' fault that the Travelling Circus of Failure lost a home FA Cup tie.

Who flippin' cares.

We'll, us Americans hate David Beckham, and England can have that [deleted], back. What?

Kind of a sad way to end a great career.

Also having to cover for Rico Clark, who was rusty, didn't help. Still, I expected more. Covering for Clark, Convey and Corrales was probably a factor. I think that long term, we need to alter our formation, because right now we have 3 guys playing in positions that don't necessarily play to their strengths in Donovan, Dempsey and now Bradley.

You're wrong about Dempsey in both respects. His shoulder was barely off on a long ball from his end, and his body was even. That play is supposed to go to the advantage of the attacking player, per FIFA. Secondly, the ref chose to let play continue, which FIFA also allows for, and didn't even reach for his whistle until after the ball was in the net. He had at least 10 seconds to blow the play dead after it was clear Clint possesed the ball, and didn't. That's poor officiating. Also, considering that Clint played 95% of the game with his back to goal and with horrible service, he did very well to win most everything that came his way. He and Jozy make a good offensive pairing.

FYI, Seth, the ref is named Carlos Batre, and he's hosed the USMNT before. Keep an eye out for him in qualifying.

I think DMB's pace and work rate would serve him well as a back. BTW, two blown calls cost the US 2 goals tonight. Dempsey was on, I don't give a crap what the linesman saw, and Bocanegra cleared the ball off of the Mexican played and it was inexplicably called a corner, upon which Magellon scored his 2nd. I really don't think Adu is ready to start. He really looked out of his depth. I suppose it's nice that we drew 2-2 despite how poorly our mids and wing backs played, but I'm still dissapointed.

My first instinct reactions: -Bobby Convey played an awful, awful game. I still think he's a useful member of a 22 man WC squad, a backup mid, but he sucked. How much of that was due to him, and how much of it was due to... -Drew Moor is TERRIBLE. Why the hell BB decided it was a good idea to play 2 MLS scrubs, one of whom hasn't played a USMNT game of note since like 2004, is beyond me. Corrales and Moor were so, so terrible. It's getting to the point where we need to think long and hard about converting someone (DMB) to play one of the wing back spots. Mexico's ability to exploit the wings affected everything else that happened. -Gooch and Boca played well, considering they were under siege most of the game. -Our midfield overall was total crap. Donovan vanished completely during the 2nd half-what a passive, meek effort after what I though was a good 1st half. Michael Bradley was so, so terrible. Bad decision after bad decision, made up for only by a lot of effort tracking back to clean up his own screwups. Rico Clark wasn't good, either. BB needs to figure out his midfield ASAP, because this ain't going to cut it. Edu and Benny were meh. I saw a lot of the same problems out of them as I saw from MB and Clark. Either Mexico was so dominant in the middle that it didn't matter, or all 4 guys were really off. -Jozy was very, very good. I don't have to elaborate because he is absolutely going to be the real deal. Also, I don't care what John Harkes says; Clint Dempsey played very well. Not because he's my guy, but because he made something out of nothing every time the ball came near him, and he had a goal criminaly disallowed. Freddy Adu was NOT ready for this game. He didn't look good at all. Overall, this game feels like a loss, and a very telling one at that. To have led twice, and given up equalizers on set pieces AND to have been pretty much owned in the midfield makes me very nervous about WCQ. Mexico has some players coming up that are going to be very worrisome. Imagine Vela, Castillo, Bautista (he was probably the MOTM tonight), Guardado and Dos Santos all on the field at once? Sheesh. They were the better side tonight by far. BB needs to take note and adjust accordingly.

He wasn't. It was a goal, disallowed by a lousy CONCACAF ref.

-Latin American refs suck. That ref didn't even look at his whistle during Dempsey's turn on goal, and the play was right in front of him. It should be 3-1, without any doubt. -Clint, Jozy and Landon are playing great. Gooch gets points for his goal. -Both our backs suck. Drew Moor sucks at defense. Props for the cross, but mark your guy. -Corrales is awful. Again, it should be 3-1. Clint didn't foul anyone. He wasn't offsides. No one screened the Mexican keeper, so they weren't offsides like in the Italy game. It should be 3-1.

Jozy as the target frees up Dempsey to play his natural creative role. I like this. Here's hoping Bradley the Elder gave MB the freedom to get involved in the attack tonight. Clark can play the destroyer role just fine. USMNT Drinking Game: Everyone do a shot every time Bobby Convey forgoes his right foot to favor his left. Do two shots every time he shanks a sitter from less than 12 yards. Do three shots if LD scores on a PK, and then the announcers gush over his scoring record (which by now probably is 1/3 PK's). Do a shot every time Boca and Gooch miscommunicate, leading to a clear scoring chance. And finally, do a shot every time a Mexican player takes a dive.

Very Cuauhtémoc Blanco like I said "shouting obscenities", not "beating her senseless". And she knows it's all in good fun. Also, per SBI the Oompaloompa confirmed that we'll be playing a "Top 5" team in the Northeast on June 8th. There's also speculation that on June 4th, we'll be playing a "Top 20" team in Europe. So that probably means England in Wembley, and Argentina in Foxboro, since Euro 2008 starts June 8th and the current top 5 is Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Spain and Germany. England in Wembley, if that's the one, probably is the match Beckham gets his 100th cap.

I'm not necessarily convinced of a US win tonight. Mexico is going to beat us here sooner or later. If our central defense continues to suck in 2008 as it did in 2007, we're going to have problems with the Mexican attack, even without Nery and Sideshow Andres. No Cherundolo doesn't help. I'll go with 1-0 US, but I wouldn't be stunned to see something like 2-1 Mexico.

England won Capello's debut 2-1 on goals from Jermaine Jenas and Shaun Wright-Phillips, in a game that saw Wayne Rooney do his best Frank Lampard WC2006 Shooting Spree imitation. In other news, I have my Dempsey kit on, and have already started shouting obscenities at my wife (she's Mexican).