hoppyhoppyhippo
Well-Known Member
Horrible defense lucky that they were offsides
Let's see if we can find some width through Zusi.
...but the ref has been great and Michael Bradley is such a force
That's on all 3 defenders. Cameron and Howard both pulled off when neither should have and I don't know what Gonzalez was doing. He was lollygagging back. You'd never see someone like John Terry give up on a play like that.
Not enough possession, not enough skill, not enough defense.
Only US players I'd say were great were Bradley, Dempsey, and Eddie Johnson.
...Sacha stank, Zusi only had a shot to make one play and it was an unfortunate hand ball.
JMO the US needs to either go 4-3-3 if they're gonna keep using so many CMs, or start Zusi and Johnson at LM and RM so they have a better shot. I know Zusi is a midfielder on club but he's done great as a winger for the US.
I think you'll see a very different squad from here on out. Obviously I think Klinsmann wishes Cherundolo wasn't hurt. But I see no way you can have Cameron and Gonzalez back there again. Gotta put the captain back there, don't care if he doesn't have it and isn't as athletic as Gonzalez, he's still the best defender on the team when smarts and command comes into play, neither Gonzalez or Cameron is ready for that role yet. Maybe by 2014 they will be, but you have to get there first.
I still think the squad is good enough to win the hex or at least to advance with Mexico, but they need a lot of work still. I like that the Young Squad did ok on the road in a hostile environemnt but they need to be better.
Also Landon needs to get his head out of his rear and get back to camp.
We do miss Landon. He has been the face of the team for a long time and I cannot fault him with the amount of matches he has played. However, he does need to man-up for his country. I know if I had 1/100th of his skill and were in a position to do so I would not miss an opportunity with the national team. But I digress....it's easy to be a Monday morning QB.
I think Landon will be back but he needs to be careful, if he teases too much Landon will not start. He's got one more shot at World Cup glory, if he doesn't take it, he'll lose some luster on his career. While I doubt he'd have made a huge difference today, you never know, with all the corners maybe he delivers one or 2 into the right spot.
I don't think Gonzalez is the only problem, there was no leadership in the back line.
Does anyone else really wish some of our players would get collusive (is that a word?) on a teams arse and try to get some US players on a bum EPL squad? Like I'd love if Gonzalez and Cameron had time to hone their craft and build chemistry. But it seems like the US players almost always get scattered to the wind unless they play MLS.
Player for player, we are 4 years behind any player brought up in Europe. I blame this on many factors, mainly the poor quality of NCAA soccer programs, but it all falls back on a lack of interest in the sport in this country.
I don't think Gonzalez is the only problem, there was no leadership in the back line.
It's more like 10 years behind. And I say this only because in a lot of countries in Europe, the soccer pyramid includes tiers for highschool, middle school, and grade school, so if potential is seen at an early age a player could essentially be on the fast track to the big boy leagues before they even hit puberty.
All we have is a US youth soccer organization followed by highschool ball and then college, all of which don't get a lot of attention.
However academies are becoming a bigger deal in MLS so we could soon see a big jump in youth talent.
And as far as US players going to Europe... okay, they can have a few but we really need to start growing the usable player pool in the domestic league and make it a league that players will choose over a Euro-league. And a better league also means grabbing young foreign talent, allowing US players a chance to go up against players they would have normally faced over in Europe.
EDIT: and you really can't blame the lack of popularity in this country anymore. MLS is now the third highest attended professional league in the US, just behind MLB (but may still never catch the NFL.)
It's more like 10 years behind. And I say this only because in a lot of countries in Europe, the soccer pyramid includes tiers for highschool, middle school, and grade school, so if potential is seen at an early age a player could essentially be on the fast track to the big boy leagues before they even hit puberty.
All we have is a US youth soccer organization followed by highschool ball and then college, all of which don't get a lot of attention.
However academies are becoming a bigger deal in MLS so we could soon see a big jump in youth talent.
And as far as US players going to Europe... okay, they can have a few but we really need to start growing the usable player pool in the domestic league and make it a league that players will choose over a Euro-league. And a better league also means grabbing young foreign talent, allowing US players a chance to go up against players they would have normally faced over in Europe.
EDIT: and you really can't blame the lack of popularity in this country anymore. MLS is now the third highest attended professional league in the US, just behind MLB (but may still never catch the NFL.)
But the lack of a development system like they have in England, Spain, etc. is the real problem. We have youth soccer, but the MLS clubs need to spend their money developing youth academies for kids.
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