The [Horribly Unpopular] Soccer Thread

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Talgrath said:
After taking a half day sabbatical (as much because I was super busy as anything) i'm able to put the loss into perspective. Realistically, outside of our blowout of Cuba, this was the best USMNT performance of the tournament, outside of the "hoof it into the final third and hope for a miracle" last 10 minutes or so of the match; Jamaica got lucky and it does happen sometimes. How often would that weird and wobbly header have gone off the post or been scooped up by Guzan? When was the last time a ref actually called a handball on a keeper just outside the box like that? Credit to Jamaica for playing (mostly) good defense and counter-attacking football to get some chances, but sometimes the sports gods decide to take a dumb on you.

The people calling for Klinsmann to be fired on various message boards are, quite frankly, insane. International football is a game played out over years, not months like club football; and unlike club football you can't just hire the sort of talent you want. I don't expect that US Soccer will fire him, and except for the virulently anti-Klinsmann crowd (something that I think is largely rooted in the fact that he's German) most people will forget about it as long as qualifying goes well (though if we lose the Confederations Cup playoff, then maybe not). This, I think, is the last hurrah for the guys that aren't 25 or under that aren't showing Klinsmann what he wants to see, I think the next 2-3 years will be a better indicator of what sort of progress Klinsmann brings.

Oh, and **** Mexican soccer fans.
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I say sack him and send him back to Tottenham ;) I kid, I kid.

I did watch the Cuba match, and only caught the last of the Jamaica match (the "hoof it and hope" part, I take it), but it sounds like from what I've seen, heard, and read, your analysis is pretty spot on.
 
The US played fairly well; had the Johansson steal gone in and the ref not decided to ignore years of precedent on Guzan's throw, I think this could have been a route. I thought they ran out of patience and ideas way too early. If hoof ball is dribbling to midfield then kicking a longball in the hopes that you can head it in, hoof ball should be played with your giant at the top of the 6, not the top of the 18. And maybe against the short Central American teams, not against the one team with athletes comparable to our own.

As for firing Klinsmann, I think he's fine, not great. Ultimately, US Soccer's success will depend on its popularity among young athletes, and that will pay dividends 2-3 coaches in the future. Sort of like presidents and the economy. I do have two criticisms.

One, I can't figure out if he's playing for now or later. Putting your best team together and trying to win today is fine and defensible. Deciding that doing well in the World Cup is 80% of the job and assembling your roster and coaching it in 4-year cycles is also fine and defensible. But to a point, the two are in opposition, and Klinsmann seems to be unable to pick one strategy and go with it.

Two, I'd recognize our David status in global soccer and try to play accordingly. Instead of trying to be another Germany, I'd be the anti-Germany. Forget about possession and classic soccer; leverage American athleticism, aggression and inexorability. Tell your team to attack the goal when they had the ball and attack the ball when they didn't. Play high-press and try to run the other team into the ground. Focus on set pieces at both ends of the field; it's the one easy place for inferior live-ball teams to steal goals and win games.
 
kingwood-kid said:
As for firing Klinsmann, I think he's fine, not great. Ultimately, US Soccer's success will depend on its popularity among young athletes, and that will pay dividends 2-3 coaches in the future. Sort of like presidents and the economy. I do have two criticisms.
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This is where I disagree. I think Klinsmann has been great. The changes that have taken place in the youth system since he took over have been fantastic. You are right, we won't feel it for some time. But I think that our 2022 Cycle will yield some extremely positive results.
 
Talgrath said:
After taking a half day sabbatical (as much because I was super busy as anything) i'm able to put the loss into perspective. Realistically, outside of our blowout of Cuba, this was the best USMNT performance of the tournament, outside of the "hoof it into the final third and hope for a miracle" last 10 minutes or so of the match; Jamaica got lucky and it does happen sometimes. How often would that weird and wobbly header have gone off the post or been scooped up by Guzan? When was the last time a ref actually called a handball on a keeper just outside the box like that? Credit to Jamaica for playing (mostly) good defense and counter-attacking football to get some chances, but sometimes the sports gods decide to take a dumb on you.

The people calling for Klinsmann to be fired on various message boards are, quite frankly, insane. International football is a game played out over years, not months like club football; and unlike club football you can't just hire the sort of talent you want. I don't expect that US Soccer will fire him, and except for the virulently anti-Klinsmann crowd (something that I think is largely rooted in the fact that he's German) most people will forget about it as long as qualifying goes well (though if we lose the Confederations Cup playoff, then maybe not). This, I think, is the last hurrah for the guys that aren't 25 or under that aren't showing Klinsmann what he wants to see, I think the next 2-3 years will be a better indicator of what sort of progress Klinsmann brings.

Oh, and **** Mexican soccer fans.
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I largely agree. I think in the end we were caught in a bit of a tight spot. We were missing an effective defensive midfielder, and a veteran CB. Last WC Beckerman was fine, he was at the end of his effectiveness but he was still effective. This Gold CUp, not much, you could really see the mileage wearing him out. ANd he's not good enough on the ball to make up for that. We missed Jermaine Jones sorely. As both an enforcer and his ability to be on the ball. Defensively we were greatly missing Besler or Cameron. Now Besler hasn't been hurt, but his form has been pretty terrible post World Cup. He has looked much better this half MLS season then the half after the WC, but still not to the level of his old self IMO. Either he or Cameron should have been able to settle down the young back line. Brooks and Alvarado should be fantastic long term prospects. GOnzalez is still alittle too raw for his age but still is a very godo player. None of them are quite ready for being a CB leading the line mentally. GOnzalez being the closest and that's not his style of play.

I think if all that was different was Cameron and Jones were healthy, we would have crushed Jamaica. I think if we add a healthy Jozy, it's bad. Which is why I'm of the opinion if Jamaica pulls the win over Mexico (given mexico's form it's entirely possible) we're gonna absolutely wreck them in the Confederations Cup QUalifier. It won't even be a little fair. That's ignoring that Timmy will be available for selection.
 
Bob Bradley is my favorite all time USMNT coach, so I tend to compare Klinsmann's time & accomplishments to his. Its really hard for me accept when people claim the team has progressed from where it was 4 years ago. Style of play is much more pleasing to the eye, yes, but some of the personnel decisions have been strange, and borderline stupid. I don't necessarily mean the people Klinsmann subs into games, I mean the players he chooses for camps and excludes from final rosters. When you compare the actual results (of competitive games), I don't see much, if any improvement.

The whole youth development thing as a feather in Klinsmanns cap is somewhat hard to measure at this point. We are just assuming that it has been done well and will work out for the future of the senior team.

That being said, I'm not advocating for us to move on from Klinsmann, but that's really only because there isn't a better option out there right now. I'm very disappointed in being knocked out of a tournament we should have waltzed our way through. We've played like 15 different center back combinations in 2015 alone. Why? "Oh well he is trying to figure out what the best pair is for the future of the team." International soccer is about results here and now, and I'm really questioning this club mentality of always building for the future as an excuse for every bad performance.

Don't fire him. But certainly don't crown him as someone who can't be questioned.
My 2 cents.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
This is where I disagree. I think Klinsmann has been great. The changes that have taken place in the youth system since he took over have been fantastic. You are right, we won't feel it for some time. But I think that our 2022 Cycle will yield some extremely positive results.
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In the early 1980s, the US had about 350,000 soldiers stationed in Europe. In the early 2000s, about 116,000. What if our supply of German-Americans is coming to an end?
 
The issue with just trying to run the other team into the ground is that, quite frankly, the ball is much, much faster than a human being. There's a reason why the best teams in the world tend to play quick passing, attacking soccer, because it works much better than relying on athleticism alone. The best players aren't just great athletes, they're also great decision makers, they use their athletic ability smartly to put themselves or their teammates in the right positions.
 
Grannyknot said:
Bob Bradley is my favorite all time USMNT coach, so I tend to compare Klinsmann's time & accomplishments to his. Its really hard for me accept when people claim the team has progressed from where it was 4 years ago. Style of play is much more pleasing to the eye, yes, but some of the personnel decisions have been strange, and borderline stupid. I don't necessarily mean the people Klinsmann subs into games, I mean the players he chooses for camps and excludes from final rosters. When you compare the actual results (of competitive games), I don't see much, if any improvement.

The whole youth development thing as a feather in Klinsmanns cap is somewhat hard to measure at this point. We are just assuming that it has been done well and will work out for the future of the senior team.

That being said, I'm not advocating for us to move on from Klinsmann, but that's really only because there isn't a better option out there right now. I'm very disappointed in being knocked out of a tournament we should have waltzed our way through. We've played like 15 different center back combinations in 2015 alone. Why? "Oh well he is trying to figure out what the best pair is for the future of the team." International soccer is about results here and now, and I'm really questioning this club mentality of always building for the future as an excuse for every bad performance.

Don't fire him. But certainly don't crown him as someone who can't be questioned.
My 2 cents.
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I severely disagree on your Bradley/Klinsmann comparison. Bradley had a much deeper talent pool, Landon in his Prime, younger Dempsey, Boca, Cherundolo, Mike, Jozy, overall a much better team, and they were bounced by a much less talented team in the knockouts. US hung tougher against an extremely tough Belgium team, which is better than being knocked out by Ghana.

Klinsmann was tasked with the rebuilding period for the US, getting set for the post Donovan years, and I think so far he's done pretty well. He's recruited a few important players over, Johnson, Johannsson, Chandler, Brooks, Alvarado, Mix, and the potential big ones in Green and Zelalem. Now odds are that Bradley could have probably gotten Zelalem, but he couldn't have gotten most of the rest of the list. He's not good enough at that part of the job, neither was Arena. I'm so used to as a USMNT fan losing dual nationals, that what Klinsmann has done is shocking to me. This list doens't factor in the kids either. Assuming we keep both Carter-VIckers and Rubin, those are the exact types we used to lose. How many people forget Subotic, we had a shot, and bungled it. That was during Bradley's admin as well.

I agree there have been weird personnel moves, but I think largely they've paid off. Only one I wish we didn't make was getting rid of MOrales as I would have rather seen him play vs. Jamaica.
 
Even despite the loss in penalties to Panama, I'd still take Klinsmann over the (realistic) alternatives. Honestly, considering everything...who is the better option for coach of the USMNT? Klinsmann is making approximately $2.5 million, that sounds like a lot, until you consider Russia (which is doing much worse) just paid Fabio Capella approximately $15 million to take a walk. So if we fired Klinsmann...who's up that is better? And let's not pretend Bradley or Arena are better (they aren't). Of the USA pool top choices would probably include names like Kreis, Porter, Pareja and Vermes, young guys (in coaching terms), but they won't be able to recruit like Klinsmann and it's hard to say they'd honestly be better picks. While all of the top young MLS coaches have had good to great success with their teams in MLS, there's an ocean of distance between MLS and international play, so let's (for the moment) table that particular idea. So...there's a lot of coaches at the club level that we could try to pick up from Europe, but most of the big names both make more money (mountains of it) and have little to no interest in coaching the USA. Remember, when you fire a coach it isn't just about getting rid of your problems, it's about finding someone better, and I don't see anyone better available.
 
I think what we're looking at with Klinsmann is he's gonna run us through next World CUp then Herzog or Ramos replaces him. I don't think they'll look name and instead look for someone well coached with the younger players. My guess is Herzog but we'll see. Jurgen will still be Technical Director, but he'll put the coaching tasks to someone else at some point.

People with Klinsmann need to look big picture. Right now our youth teams are doing well, our senior team struggled, but lets face it we had some big injuries. We get a chance to tune up vs PEru, by then we should ahve Jones back, I think it's an official FIFA break around that time too so we should have Cameron as well. Whoever wins today will get a fight. I hope it's Jamaica so we can show it was a fluke.
 
Talgrath said:
The issue with just trying to run the other team into the ground is that, quite frankly, the ball is much, much faster than a human being. There's a reason why the best teams in the world tend to play quick passing, attacking soccer, because it works much better than relying on athleticism alone. The best players aren't just great athletes, they're also great decision makers, they use their athletic ability smartly to put themselves or their teammates in the right positions.
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I get what you're saying about how the top teams play, and you're 100% correct. I'm saying that we're not one of those teams--not even close--and won't be one of those teams during the career of anyone on the current squad. Trying to play their style would make about as much sense as a matador trying to fight like the bull. I think we should try something different, even if it's not exactly what I said earlier.

On those lines, here's an interesting article about playing soccer differently http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/05/15/soccer-analytics-brentford-midtjylland-matthew-benham
 
But I'm not just talking about how the top teams play, I'm talking about play in general; just trying to out athlete your opponent isn't going to work, it's all about getting the thought process right and putting the ball on target. The younger players (even those not playing in Europe) seem to get it, along with guys like Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley, though at times all of our players need to be more aggressive in passing. Analytics, no doubt, play a part, but they aren't telling us how to play a new way so much as they are telling us how our players do and where we might improve.
 
Talgrath said:
But I'm not just talking about how the top teams play, I'm talking about play in general; just trying to out athlete your opponent isn't going to work, it's all about getting the thought process right and putting the ball on target. The younger players (even those not playing in Europe) seem to get it, along with guys like Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley, though at times all of our players need to be more aggressive in passing. Analytics, no doubt, play a part, but they aren't telling us how to play a new way so much as they are telling us how our players do and where we might improve.
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Yup. THe out athleting opponents is a trick used by nations who don't have the proper developmental system. Sit back and counter is a viable option, but winning through distribution is the better option.

I do agree on the aggressive in passing. Seems like sometimes they get caught in what I'd call the Barcelona trap of playing a pass to not lose possession instead of taking a chance. Which I understand the value of, but when your center backs are playing the ball to the forwards more then the wide mids, that's not a good thing.
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
THe out athleting opponents is a trick used by nations who don't have the proper developmental system.
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And I'm saying that the US doesn't have the proper developmental system. If it did, we wouldn't be having this post-mortem of the Gold Cup; nobody would be talking about firing Klinsmann, and the USMNT wouldn't have to use Route 1 to get the ball past midfield against Jamaica. Jamaica!

I don't think that the team is as lackluster as it looked throughout the tournament, but until the US talent level begins to approach the top nations, we're going to have to play some version of The Ugly Game. Maybe this means sit-and-counter,or a high press, out-athleting and out-enduring, or having the run of play go against us for 88 minutes but being deadly efficient on set pieces. But if our plan to be a big soccer nation is to play the same way as the big teams and eventually catch up skillwise, we're counting on the unborn.
 
Hello everybody! I'm back from the dead.

Few notes:
- HOT DAMN ALL THE SIGNINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED THIS SEASON
- LA is doing what they do best: suck ass the first half of the season (thus giving me blood pressure issues and probably a couple mild heart attacks) but fix it midseason
- Here's who can go ahead and f**k off: Jamaica, Panama, Mexico (just because), and Mark Geiger (YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!!!) I would get into detail on all of them but you don't want to read my dissertation
- GO WOMEN YANKS! Holy crap. Plus, dat attendance boost for the NWSL
- Reno is getting a mother effing USL team!! The news came out of nowhere yesterday. I'm so happy I could vomit! I'm already putting my hat in (to nobody, as of yet) to be a capo for the supporters group. I already have a song idea: "Home Means Nevada" (the state song) sung at the 64th minute to commemorate the state's founding in 1864

Aaaahhh, good to be back.
 
kingwood-kid said:
And I'm saying that the US doesn't have the proper developmental system. If it did, we wouldn't be having this post-mortem of the Gold Cup; nobody would be talking about firing Klinsmann, and the USMNT wouldn't have to use Route 1 to get the ball past midfield against Jamaica. Jamaica!

I don't think that the team is as lackluster as it looked throughout the tournament, but until the US talent level begins to approach the top nations, we're going to have to play some version of The Ugly Game. Maybe this means sit-and-counter,or a high press, out-athleting and out-enduring, or having the run of play go against us for 88 minutes but being deadly efficient on set pieces. But if our plan to be a big soccer nation is to play the same way as the big teams and eventually catch up skillwise, we're counting on the unborn.
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But how do you develop that system? With practice. If you notice when they play the big boys vs when they play CONCACAF they play the games differently, and its' because someday they hope to be one of the big boys. to be one of the Big Boys you have to emulate them. Physically we're as talented as any nation in the world. It's the technical parts that separate us and top down coaching is the best way to correct that.
 
kingwood-kid said:
And I'm saying that the US doesn't have the proper developmental system......
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You are exactly right.
I can see a big problem with IMG. Our biggest boarding school style academy that was at one time THE academy to go to for talented youth players, has started to produce absolutely nothing. Because they have failed to better the academy and use their resources to hire better staff. I assume they are finding there is more money to be made in American football camps since they started that 5 years ago.

Its obviously an extreme comparison, but take the La Masia academy and compare it to IMG. It is scary just how far off each other they are.
 
Ha, mark Geiger is a tool. I had the "pleasure" of him working a club game I coached few years ago, before he became the chosen one ...... Never have I disliked a ref more, completely incompetent
 
hoppyhoppyhippo said:
But how do you develop that system? With practice. If you notice when they play the big boys vs when they play CONCACAF they play the games differently, and its' because someday they hope to be one of the big boys. to be one of the Big Boys you have to emulate them. Physically we're as talented as any nation in the world. It's the technical parts that separate us and top down coaching is the best way to correct that.
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Quality youth coaching is key to long-term development. US Soccer has begun work with Double pass.


http://www.doublepass.com/

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/inside-double-pass-the-best-kept-secret-in-youth-development-is-coming-to-america

I think this relationship is going to demand higher standards at the youth club level. Our regional office (OYSAN), and I believe this is national, has recently upped the requirements to coach youth soccer on a travel club level. IMO, there's a push away from the parent volunteer and toward professional youth coaching.

I somewhat disagree with the notion that the best athletes in the US are playing soccer. Zardes is an exception, but true athletes who could excel at say football or soccer generally choose football. There's the opportunity for more monetary reward for the athlete choosing football over soccer. Odell Beckham is a prime example of a player choosing football over soccer.

That said, IMO, that gap is closing. I've seen locally several athletes choose soccer over football at the varsity level. (n=1). The next generation's parents will have a much broader to soccer than this generation. I played in the 80s and was a collegiate player in the early 90s, but people like me are the exception rather than the rule. The next generation will close that gap.
 
Hugh_Jass said:
Quality youth coaching is key to long-term development. US Soccer has begun work with Double pass.

http://www.doublepass.com/

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/artic...ret-in-youth-development-is-coming-to-america

I think this relationship is going to demand higher standards at the youth club level. Our regional office (OYSAN), and I believe this is national, has recently upped the requirements to coach youth soccer on a travel club level. IMO, there's a push away from the parent volunteer and toward professional youth coaching.
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good info. thanks for the links.
 
I never said the best athletes in the US are playing the game, our athletes are as talented as any other nation though. THere aren't many guys as physically talented in the soccer world as guys like Omar, Yedlin, Shea, Garza, Morris, etc. If we had our best athletes playing soccer at a high understaending of it we'd be the best country in the world. But we aren't and I don't think that changes. We'll pull some kids away, but I don't think we'll do it regularly. Personally what I want is to get some fringe kids. Maybe not the high school star football player, but a good one or someone who plays baseball or runs track but needs a fall sport and try to get them into soccer learning the skills and then hit them with an academy offer. Building up the academy system and getting kids to not just aspire for soccer as a way to get to college, but a way to make a career is something that has to happen.
 
I've often thought the "our best athletes need to play soccer" idea was sort of silly. Most of our most popular sports in the US require the opposite of what soccer requires, they require size, strength and hand-eye coordination primarily. Maybe guys in the QB position in football, particularly the running QBs, could make good soccer players; they're relatively light and much of their job is similar to that of a creative midfielder, namely getting the ball to the right people, but even then QBs are selected primarily for height (so they can throw over people) and arm strength (so they can throw fast and hard). Soccer is primarily about stamina, speed, foot coordination and spatial thinking, you can train for any of those, to a certain extent, but the guys who are really good have a touch of all of that naturally.
 
Donal said:
Ha, mark Geiger is a tool. I had the "pleasure" of him working a club game I coached few years ago, before he became the chosen one ...... Never have I disliked a ref more, completely incompetent
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Huh.... he sure fooled me the last couple years.
 
Mexico fired Herrera, but did anyone else think the punch was just an excuse? After all, the press had been calling for his head for a while. El Tri is on, I think, coach #12 in the past ten years? Remember folks, this could be the US if USSF listened to the public more.
 
Talgrath said:
Mexico fired Herrera, but did anyone else think the punch was just an excuse? After all, the press had been calling for his head for a while. El Tri is on, I think, coach #12 in the past ten years? Remember folks, this could be the US if USSF listened to the public more.
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You can't punch members of the press. That TV station also has a lot of power.
 
Talgrath said:
Mexico fired Herrera, but did anyone else think the punch was just an excuse? After all, the press had been calling for his head for a while. El Tri is on, I think, coach #12 in the past ten years? Remember folks, this could be the US if USSF listened to the public more.
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If El Tri had rolled through the tournament (on their own, not courtesy of Geiger) the Herrera would have been given a suspension until, um, well until the team had a game, or a practice, or a photo shoot or something. Finishing last in your group in Copa America and needing a USMNT collapse and a half-dozen suspicious calls to win the Gold Cup will have your bosses re-reading all the clauses of your contract to see how they can get rid of you without paying you.
 
kingwood-kid said:
If El Tri had rolled through the tournament (on their own, not courtesy of Geiger) the Herrera would have been given a suspension until, um, well until the team had a game, or a practice, or a photo shoot or something. Finishing last in your group in Copa America and needing a USMNT collapse and a half-dozen suspicious calls to win the Gold Cup will have your bosses re-reading all the clauses of your contract to see how they can get rid of you without paying you.
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All true statements, but I was more pointing out that the Mexican federation can't seem to pick a coach that they can stick with (in part because they listen to the press too much).
 
A busy week of MLS, a few thoughts on the week:

1. The MLS All Star Format Is Great And It's Going to Die Soon
The MLS all star format is a great idea and one that's only uniquely possible in America and Canada. American and Canadian sports all have an "All Star" game of some sort, but none of them play a game against another team with their best players. Aside from some people asking to switch back to the east/west format, there's a simple fact that you need an opponent. For the opposing team the MLS All Stars game, in the past, has been a good warm up; the talent in the "All Stars" wasn't necessarily equivalent to the talent of the European team, so despite the fact that they were in mid-season form they acted as a good challenge. But as MLS talent gets even better top tier talent that logic starts to break down, hell Gerrard and Lampard were just playing against Tottenham in the EPL a few months before they played them as all stars.

2. Goals! Goals! Goals!
Defense was particularly optional in the DC and RSL match that ended 6-4 (?!) in favor of DC United. MLS set a record for goals in a single day, with 39 goals in 8 matches, yowser! Not much else to say here.

3. The Sounders Are in a Freefall
Despite Dempsey being back the Sounders were beaten soundly, at home, in a Cascadia match, by Vancouver 3-0. The Sounders just can't seem to figure out how to score again, they haven't scored in a record for their club, over 340 minutes. At some point the midfield has to provide better balls and score some goals themselves. And at some point Sigi Schmid has to realize that Barrett and Neagle aren't the answer at striker right now.

4. Andrea Pirlo Is Slow and Old
When NYCFC picked up Andrea Pirlo a lot of people said he was old and slow and that with him in NYCFC's lineup defense could be a problem; those that were pro Pirlo said that speed didn't matter, but NYCFC's game against Montreal showed how this can be a major problem. Every goal Montreal scored was a jab aimed at that bruised kidney, an overhead ball delivered where Pirlo was to a speedy forward or midfielder ready to burn the aging Italian. NYCFC used their supercharged midfield to good effect, scoring two return goals but against a better defense they could have faced down a 3-1 or 3-0 result.

5. Columbus Needs a Better Defense
I said earlier in the year that if Columbus can't shore up their defense they're going to lose games, and their loss to Orlando City was a great reminder of that. While Columbus' swarming offense can beat a lot of teams on a good team, a team designed for counter attack will beat them most of the time, Orlando City 5-2. Also, we should just hand Cyle Larin "rookie of the year" right now.
 
Talgrath said:
A busy week of MLS, a few thoughts on the wheek:

5. Columbus Needs a Better Defense
I said earlier in the year that if Columbus can't shore up their defense they're going to lose games, and their loss to Orlando City was a great reminder of that. While Columbus' swarming offense can beat a lot of teams on a good team, a team designed for counter attack will beat them most of the time, Orlando City 5-2. Also, we should just hand Cyle Larin "rookie of the year" right now.
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You're right. It's plainly apparent the Crew have huge problems on their back line. The left central back is played by either Pogatetz or Tyson Wahl. Neither, IMO, have the complete skill set to play central back. Wahl's marking is terrible. On two of OCFC goals, he let a runner past him for an open look at goal from a cross or diagonal run.

Pogatetz is better at marking and is more physical, but his passing decisions sometimes leave me scratching my head. The Crew plays a possession style where the the 2 and 3 push forward and wide, the 4 and 5 spread wide and the 6 drops back central. The center backs have to make good solid decisions and accurate passes to build from the back line with this style of play. Pogatetz gives the ball away from bad decisions or inaccurate passes too often in the back third which result in quality opportunities for the other side.

I'm hoping they'll find another CB soon because the current options to play alongside Parkhurst aren't working.

The crew did pick up another RB. A Ghanaian player by the name of Afful. He sounds like an upgrade from Barson or Jimenez, but until they fix their problem with the 4 back, they'll continue to struggle.

Hopefully, they get it sorted out soon. Saturday was tough to watch.
 
Yeah, if you're a Crew fan that had to be a frustrating match. On the upside, this is the opposite of what the Crew were in years past, unable to score but able to defend well. If they can fix the back line I think they will be one of the best in the east.
 
The Crew were scary-good at the beginning of the season. The potential is there, they just need to click.
 
The Crew needs to shore up their back line. So what else would one do in that scenario? That's right, pick up a striker. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2015/08/04/0804-crew-sc-Jack-McInerney_.html

I'm not saying this is a bad pick up. In fact, it'll be interesting to see how BerhalterI'd will incorporate him in the lineup.

I'd think finding a solution to the back line problems should be an immediate need. Hopefully that's addressed sooner rather than later.
 
I woke up to find Tottenham already down in the first match of the season! Gonna be a good day.
 

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Laughing_Gnome_Invisible

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