The [Horribly Unpopular] Soccer Thread

[aygov]

I feel for the sanity of my Gooner friends. That was no skeleton team they put out against Bradford.

I had a feeling we'd lose. Wenger has pretty well lost the team at the moment if we can't get up enough to beat the mighty Bradford. It's going to be a long year....

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Sepp Blatter, I hope you stub your big toe so hard that you shatter the toenail and it gets all infected and your toe falls off.

For those of you who don't know that name and the seething hate it can create, he's the president of FIFA. Corrupt, inept, possibly mentally impaired. On Saturday he made a statement to the effect that MLS is not a major professional league. His biggest criticism? MLS doesn't follow the FIFA calendar. He made this statement on the same day that a college football bowl game got cancelled due to snow.

News flash, Sepp: the eastern United States and Canada don't enjoy the benefits of the Gulf Stream. To wit, it's really f**king cold. How many matches would get cancelled or have abysmal attendance if they were held in January in New York, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, etc.?

Please do us all a favor and go play in traffic.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

On a lighter side, great video of all USMNT goals this year. And Tim Howard's impossible save can be viewed at roughly 3:45

[ame="http://youtu.be/pyb65X1UWmM"]http://youtu.be/pyb65X1UWmM[/ame]

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Bradley's volley against Scotland is one of the best goals of the year in all competitions for all nations. I'm glad Klinsmann has promoted him to the first squad seemingly for good. I like him and Jones in the middle.

US needs better central defenders though, just don't have any talent there at all. Boca isn't terrible but he's old and losing speed.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

I'm hoping that Omar Gonzalez will be able to suit up in 2013. He got the call-up last January before he tore his ACL on loan... now that he's MLS Cup MVP it may be likely he'll get a second call-up.

It would be great to see him next to Geoff Cameron so we can build our center backs on size, strength, speed, and good distribution. They are both very young, have huge potential, and could be the starters for a good long time.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Really we just need more people in the pipeline. Almost everyone we have is too old to go on just potential. So we need guys who're refined skills, almost all of them are physically capable of playing CB, but they lack a variety of other skills needed to play at a high level. I'm bummed out that seemingly nothing happened out of Ream. Hopefully he gets on the right track.

I also think it will be interesting in 2013 to see what they do with Holden. He has been training with Bolton recently and I imagine will be back with the first squad. His addition could be interesting for the US since he can play any midfield position. Personally I think he's a long term replacement for Donovan.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Ha as I read your first paragraph my first thought went to Holden. Already proven and still young.

But as far as fullbacks, I'd like to see more MLSers in the mix. There's been a big push for strengthening defense in the top MLS clubs and a lot of them are big and fast Americans.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

MLSers are the best bet. I mean unless Onyewu actually can stay healthy and refine his technique, but I don't see that happening. They just need to get the best guys. Sadly I fear for now the best starters are Cameron and Boca, but I hope someone can surpass one of them at least. They're the biggest weakness for the squad since Fabian Johnson has emerged as an amazing LB. If Chandler gets his act together and joins the US squad for good that solved our RB and LB solution for years.

 

[MVKTR2]

Sepp Blatter, I hope you stub your big toe so hard that you shatter the toenail and it gets all infected and your toe falls off.

For those of you who don't know that name and the seething hate it can create, he's the president of FIFA. Corrupt, inept, possibly mentally impaired. On Saturday he made a statement to the effect that MLS is not a major professional league. His biggest criticism? MLS doesn't follow the FIFA calendar. He made this statement on the same day that a college football bowl game got cancelled due to snow.

News flash, Sepp: the eastern United States and Canada don't enjoy the benefits of the Gulf Stream. To wit, it's really f**king cold. How many matches would get cancelled or have abysmal attendance if they were held in January in New York, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, etc.?

Please do us all a favor and go play in traffic.

Amen, especially to the bolded part. As Steve at pro soccer dot com points out his comments also talked of how MLS played in non-soccer specific stadiums and that's what's needed to grow the game in the US. Well.... there's a bit of ignorance in that statement as well.

I particularly enjoy reading the columnist at bigsoccer whom is always skewering Chuck Glazer and the crook Warner as well as other concacaf thieves and crooks. Would be nice if concacaf could shed some caribbean weight and just have the dozen or so nations of consequence having equal say with a little input from the minnows. It's one thing when you're south america, but it's something else when 92% of the north american landmass is occupied by 3 countries and the likes of island nations with 70K citizens have as much say in soccer matters as nations of hundreds of millions of people.

 

[russrob81]

Amen, especially to the bolded part. As Steve at pro soccer dot com points out his comments also talked of how MLS played in non-soccer specific stadiums and that's what's needed to grow the game in the US. Well.... there's a bit of ignorance in that statement as well.

I particularly enjoy reading the columnist at bigsoccer whom is always skewering Chuck Glazer and the crook Warner as well as other concacaf thieves and crooks. Would be nice if concacaf could shed some caribbean weight and just have the dozen or so nations of consequence having equal say with a little input from the minnows. It's one thing when you're south america, but it's something else when 92% of the north american landmass is occupied by 3 countries and the likes of island nations with 70K citizens have as much say in soccer matters as nations of hundreds of millions of people.

It's FIFA. They HAVE to have equal representation. Remember the fantastic officiating at the 2010 World Cup. And as far as non soccer specific stadiums go you do have to look far in Europe to find non soccer specific stadiums. I don't know who's more clown shoes Sepp Blatter or Gary Bettman

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I honestly don't see why a huge country like the US should get more say than a smaller country based on solely population. S#ccer is vilified by most of the US population, so why should the size of that population matter one bit as far as FIFA are concerned?

I'm certainly no fan of FIFA either. Far from it, but the USA is not a big player yet in world soccer. Sure, everyone should be listened to, but I think much of the rest of the world does enjoy one small aspect of their lives in which the US does not have the lion's share of control. I'm not saying it's right or wrong....Just perfectly understandable.

If any of the past attempts at getting American Football played overseas had been succesful, how do you think it would be received in America if all those other countries started to want to change American football around to the way they liked them?

Just take yer time is all I'm saying.

 

[Obliviousbrew]

If FIFA had to base their decisions in population only what will happen with countries like Uruguay with 3 million people but two world cups and a semifinal spot on last world cup..

 

[russrob81]

If FIFA had to base their decisions in population only what will happen with countries like Uruguay with 3 million people but two world cups and a semifinal spot on last world cup..

You make a great point

 

[HoppyDaze]

Soccer is a lot like the Twilight movies. People running around for two and half hours and nobody scores while the fans insist that millions of people "just don't understand it"

 

[MVKTR2]

No where did I suggest population, landmass, or anything else should be the sole or even leading matrix for measuring involvement in the decision making process for the region nor the world in regards to fifa.

All I suggested was that the major powers in the region are forced to grant too much power to the 'minnows' of the region. Granted I didn't go into details or offer an alternate plan, just an observation. I wouldn't have the US lord over the region, I simply think Guatemala for instance has a lot more skin in the game than does Antigua & Barbuda. Perhaps there should be a board of X# of people with X# (a majority)of spots going to the larger nations with X# (a minority)of spots going to the smaller island nations with the ratio more closely resembling the footprint of influence.

Gnome I agree/see the world the same way in regards to US influence... and frankly see it as a bad thing in many ways.

 

[MVKTR2]

Heck the concacaf board's makeup could be loosely based on the qualification round preceding the hex with an additional number of members elected at large. Just thinking out loud...

 

[MVKTR2]

Soccer is a lot like the Twilight movies. People running around for two and half hours and nobody scores while the fans insist that millions of people "just don't understand it"

Meanwhile billions of fans do understand it! :rockin:

 

[aygov]

Soccer is a lot like the Twilight movies. People running around for two and half hours and nobody scores while the fans insist that millions of people "just don't understand it"

Indeed. To make it more palatable for the US market we should make goals worth 7 pts, introduce TV time outs, and allow the officials to replay decisions for 5 minutes....

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Indeed. To make it more palatable for the US market we should make goals worth 7 pts, introduce TV time outs, and allow the officials to replay decisions for 5 minutes....

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Nice. Klinsmann released his 25-man roster for the January training camp. Veeeery MLS-heavy, which is awesome since it's a chance to prove to Sepp Blatter (aka F**kface) that MLS has produced some quality players.

My favorite part of the roster? Both AJ DeLaGarza and Omar Gonzalez got the call-up. I would love to see how they would fare as the starting centerbacks against Canada.

Click here for detailed roster

 

[FlyDoctor]

Reno - my impression of the list though is that it's MLS heavy because of the ongoing european league play. How else to explain the lack of Howard, Dempsey etc? Good roster I agree, but I don't think Sepp would be swayed as he would see right through it.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Yeah it's most definitely due to European league play. But I think they can get it done for the first couple qualifier matches.

 

[Grannyknot]

My understanding is that this is just a "camp" for the friendly against Canada, and that we should expect between 3-5 players from European leagues to join the team against Honduras in Feb.

I noticed Landycakes isn't included in the camp....

 

[Catfish78]

http://www.thefootballramble.com/indepth/entry/and-so-this-is-klinsmas though this was a good article about Klinsmann

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I love Klinsmann, a lot of people hate him cause he's change. But he engineered Germany's return to power and I hope he makes the US a superpower too

 

[Obliviousbrew]

4th consecutive FIFA Ballon d´Or for Messi... where is this guy limit?

 

[aygov]

4th consecutive FIFA Ballon d´Or for Messi... where is this guy limit?

When his ankle breaks?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

4th consecutive FIFA Ballon d´Or for Messi... where is this guy limit?

I'd say his limit is once his body starts falling apart but that isn't going to be for another 10-15 years pending good health. I guess it really helps to mark yourself as the best player in the world before you even start getting car insurance discounts.


Also, good article from MLSsoccer.com (I know, crazy right?) It details the chances of getting a WCQ call-up for the 25-man camp. Here's the link. Personally, if roughly 1/4 of the camp were to get an official call-up, here's who I'd pick:

GK: Tally Hall (or D - Matt Besler pending a good showing, and Besler had some out-of-his-mind matches in 2012)
D: Omar Gonzalez, Steven Beitashour
MF: Kyle Beckerman, Graham Zusi
F: Eddie Johnson

- Hall will likely be a 3rd stringer if he makes it (with Timmy Tim and Guzan as #1 and #2)
- Omar might start, especially if Bocanegra and Gooch have bad showings (hey it can happen... they aren't young pups anymore and WC is a young-mans game)
- Either Beckerman or Zusi will start, but I don't think both will since USMNT has no shortage of talented middies
- Eddie Johnson miiiiight start unless JK decides to run a 4-5-1, in which case the target man will almost certainly be Hercules Gomez.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I hate Kyle Beckermann, he's a total bum, he's pretty solid at being a defensive midfielder but he turns the ball over more than any player on the Klinsmann rosters. I hope Brek Shea works his way back into favor, If they do we could have a fun WC midfield and forward.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Shea could still get the call-up in February. He's just got some nagging injuries to deal with.