The [Horribly Unpopular] Soccer Thread

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I don't view consistently forcing crosses when a defender is as frequently isolated as Beasley was as a bad thing. He didn't let the attackers get past him and make dangerous runs at goal, he always forced the cross which is what our center backs are best at defending. As an outside back, you can't win the ball every time, you make sure they can't do something dangerous with it. Beasley did that for the most part. Ghana consistently attacked via Beasley's side and ended up with nothing to show for it. Meanwhile FJ, who I love, fell asleep on defense on the right side and lost his man for the goal.

Have to disagree. Just because no goals happened this match doesn't mean he didn't have a bad game. I'm not saying he could have stopped every cross because that's foolish, but honestly if Jermaine wasn't having the game of his life in the midfield and Beckerman didn't more than once clean up a Beasley slip, I think we lose because of Beasley's poor play.

As far as Fabian goes, there was nothing but crickets from Ayew and Asamoah for most of the game. I think that testifies to how well he and Bedoya played. That goal had little to do with defense. Ayew had gone central he wouldn't have been Johnson's man in a zone marking scheme like almost ever soccer team uses. US were outclassed in that goal as Ghana was in Dempsey's.

 

[BrewKnurd]

Have to disagree. Just because no goals happened this match doesn't mean he didn't have a bad game.

Of course not. And just because you allegedly heard crickets doesn't mean Johnson played particularly well, but you'll be claiming that later in this post.

I'm not saying he could have stopped every cross because that's foolish, but honestly if Jermaine wasn't having the game of his life in the midfield and Beckerman didn't more than once clean up a Beasley slip, I think we lose because of Beasley's poor play.

As far as Fabian goes, there was nothing but crickets from Ayew and Asamoah for most of the game. I think that testifies to how well he and Bedoya played. That goal had little to do with defense. Ayew had gone central he wouldn't have been Johnson's man in a zone marking scheme like almost ever soccer team uses. US were outclassed in that goal as Ghana was in Dempsey's.

I think Bedoya was massive in supporting on the right side in defense. Jones, for all the defensive work he did, always drifts more central and that's part of why Beasley was as isolated on the wing as often as he was.

As for the goal - that was Johnson's man, and Johnson clearly means to follow him, so he KNOWS its his man, he just fails to do it because he loses track of him - he looks over his left shoulder trying to find the guy who's burning him inside. Johnson wasn't passing him off to any central defender in a zone marking scheme. He lost him.

http://thebiglead.com/2014/06/16/jo...-ayew-equalizer/andre-ayew-goal-against-us-b/

Call it getting outclassed if you like, but outclassed often means you did something wrong. Just like Boye stepped a bit too aggressively (IMO) when there was nothing but space behind him and allowed himself to get beat by Dempsey. Did he get outclassed? Sure. Could he have avoided it? Quite possibly. Same with Johnson who's looking to his left trying to find Ayew as Ayew is cutting in for the goal.

Anyways, agree to disagree on all of it. GEAUX USA.

 

[Memorex88]

My picks for today...

Belgium
Brazil
Russia

It's hard enough picking winners or ties, I won't venture scores.

 

[BrewKnurd]

I still don't think it's fully sunk in for me that the US just beat Ghana with Jozy out, Dempsey unable to breathe through his nose, Bradley looking terrible and Besler out for a half. These are some of our very best/most vital players, and the US managed to pull out a win without their full contributions. Very impressive.

 

[Grannyknot]

Considering we only allowed 1 goal during 70+ minutes of blitzing attack, its hard for me to say that any of our defenders had a bad game, but there was at least 3 times I can remember Beasley being caught so far up the field that it didn't even look like we had a left back on the field.

About the crosses vs. being burned on the flank....I was pretty much on the edge of my seat every time a cross was coming in. I'd like to think he could have stopped some of those crosses, but solo defending, at his age, on the flank is tough, so I guess he did pretty decent in that respect.

I'm just gutted about Jozy's injury.

 

[BrewKnurd]

Considering we only allowed 1 goal during 70+ minutes of blitzing attack, its hard for me to say that any of our defenders had a bad game, but there was at least 3 times I can remember Beasley being caught so far up the field that it didn't even look like we had a left back on the field.

Not going to disagree that this happened, but it's part of what you get when you rely on fullbacks for width, which is the general approach of the US lately, and us even moreso the case when someone like JJ is your left midfielder.

About the crosses vs. being burned on the flank....I was pretty much on the edge of my seat every time a cross was coming in. I'd like to think he could have stopped some of those crosses, but solo defending, at his age, on the flank is tough, so I guess he did pretty decent in that respect.

To be clear, I'm not nominating him for man of the match or suggesting he was incredible - he wasn't. Just that he did pretty well given the situation - that being Ghana consistently attacking that flank and Beasley frequently left having to deal with a player or two on his own.

I'm just gutted about Jozy's injury.

Yes. Yes indeed. I really think he had a chance to have a great tournament. Holding out hope that maybe he can contribute in the Germany game or (knock on wood) knockout stage.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I think Bedoya was massive in supporting on the right side in defense. Jones, for all the defensive work he did, always drifts more central and that's part of why Beasley was as isolated on the wing as often as he was.

As for the goal - that was Johnson's man, and Johnson clearly means to follow him, so he KNOWS its his man, he just fails to do it because he loses track of him - he looks over his left shoulder trying to find the guy who's burning him inside. Johnson wasn't passing him off to any central defender in a zone marking scheme. He lost him.

http://thebiglead.com/2014/06/16/jo...-ayew-equalizer/andre-ayew-goal-against-us-b/

Call it getting outclassed if you like, but outclassed often means you did something wrong. Just like Boye stepped a bit too aggressively (IMO) when there was nothing but space behind him and allowed himself to get beat by Dempsey. Did he get outclassed? Sure. Could he have avoided it? Quite possibly. Same with Johnson who's looking to his left trying to find Ayew as Ayew is cutting in for the goal.

Anyways, agree to disagree on all of it. GEAUX USA.

Jones was central but he was out there when needed. He was out there to meet the second man Beasley often didn't make the key plays to close men to prevent chances. In the grand scheme of things Beasley didn't cost the US, but he for sure had a weaker game than Johnson.

If you want a gif on the downside of beasley's game

http://s3.amazonaws.com/br-cdn/temp...916cc9448594fc866c6622f062eae7.gif?1402960557

Christian Atsu had his way on the right side all day. That was on Beasley. Ayew made one play.

If Cameron, Brooks, and Besler didn't all have amazing games in the middle, then we would have lost because Beasley was no match for Atsu. Things will only be worse if he has the same game against Nani.

 

[Mongrel]

The US was very lucky to win that game. The players were not ready for the heat, and you could tell by all the cramping. They were running on empty most of the second half. In between the spectacular opening goal, and the corner kick that put the US ahead, there was a lot of sloppy play. Pass after pass was off target, and they just kept giving the ball back to Ghana who got to own time of possession, and they gave Ghana way too many chances, particularly in the form of corners that didn't have to be given. Still, a win is a win, and a win is 3 points. Good job USA! But there's a lot of work to be done to prepare for Portugal.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

So assuming Jozy isn't good to go which is a virtual given. How do you go next match?

Personally I switch to an offset diamond system. Puts lots of stress on Beasley so he needs to play more like he did in qualifying.

So again assuming health with besler I go something like

Johnson ------Cameron-----Besler-------Beasley
------------------Beckerman----------------
-------------------------------Jones
-----------Bedoya--------------------------
-----------------------Bradley-----------
-------------Dempsey---------Wondo----------

Dempsey is now the lone target man on the team.

 

[aygov]

It was a gritty win, but we won. We were damn lucky though! Our possession play was terrible and I don't know if it was the heat, but when we got the ball there seemed to be no urgency to press with it. On the flip side when Ghana had the ball we seemed to be willing to let them knock it around rather then closing them down.

If we play that way against Portugal I can see us getting ripped to shreds..... but f*ck it! We won, so happy days for now!

 

[BrewKnurd]

If you want a gif on the downside of beasley's game

http://s3.amazonaws.com/br-cdn/temp...916cc9448594fc866c6622f062eae7.gif?1402960557

Some context to this GIF - happened shortly after a corner kick where Beasley was one of the two outlet men stationed about halfway between the box and the midfield line. Beasley made a run up the line to run down a pass from beckerman. Jermaine Jones (at least it sure looks like Jones, hard to tell for 100% sure when viewing replay on a phone in an area where I only have 3G service ) made a trailing run to try to win the ball that Beasley had lost. These two things left no one but Atsu on the left hand side of the US defensive half and set up the GIF you posted.

So yes, he was out of position for the counter, but he was doing his job by being that far forward on that play, its how the US was set up for the corner. Jermaine Jones left the space even more open by trying to run down the ball and leaving no one minding the left side (Not even necessarily faulting him for that, just stating what happened). There's plenty of things to rip Beasley for, I don't think this is one of them.

That said, I do think Beasley could/should have done better controlling the pass from Beckerman. By which I mean he should have controlled it at all. Could have avoided the issue altogether.

I'm done defending a guy who I didn't even want to be starting as of a couple games ago.

 

[BrewKnurd]

It was a gritty win, but we won. We were damn lucky though! Our possession play was terrible and I don't know if it was the heat, but when we got the ball there seemed to be no urgency to press with it. On the flip side when Ghana had the ball we seemed to be willing to let them knock it around rather then closing them down.

If we play that way against Portugal I can see us getting ripped to shreds..... but f*ck it! We won, so happy days for now!

I'm so interested to see what the Portugal mentality is. Because they could very easily come out absolutely fired up because they need a win or demoralized as a result of their injuries/suspensions/lingering pain from the hammering they took.

I think US will perform better than they did against Ghana. 1) I think Bradley will be better simply because he is better than what he showed against Ghana. 2) I think some prep time to work on how to play w/o Jozy will help a lot.

 

[Grannyknot]

I'm actually not convinced that Portugal is a better team than Ghana.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I'm actually not convinced that Portugal is a better team than Ghana.

Portugal has Ronaldo. That alone makes them better than Ghana. Ronaldo can do what he did against Sweden where he just went insane.

 

[BrewKnurd]

I'm actually not convinced that Portugal is a better team than Ghana.

But they have Ronaldo! They have to be good!

 

[aygov]

And Algeria score their first world cup goal in 504 minutes!

 

[BrewKnurd]

did everyone see this?

Apparently the page went through numerous edits, some of which are listed here: http://www.newsday.com/sports/socce...hana-leads-to-funny-wikipedia-edits-1.8467984

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I didn't see that one, I saw the second edit though. Wikipedia after World Cup matches are always funny.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Well, that was depressing. I was at work for the game yesterday, and forgot my ipad (Yes, I don't own a cell phone) I asked about 15 people if they knew how USA were doing in the world cup. Appparently, the only English guy there (me) was the only person that knew they were even playing!!

Aside from that....Well done USA!!!!!!

 

[Grannyknot]

Portugal has Ronaldo. That alone makes them better than Ghana. Ronaldo can do what he did against Sweden where he just went insane.

Let's be honest Hoppy....
I could say the sky is blue & you'd be tempted to argue that it wasn't.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Let's be honest Hoppy....
I could say the sky is blue & you'd be tempted to argue that it wasn't.

The sky isn't blue, there's a whole thing with dust and sunlight

 

[botigol]

Algeria pushed Belgium harder than I thought that they would have. Good end-to-end action.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Well, that was depressing. I was at work for the game yesterday, and forgot my ipad (Yes, I don't own a cell phone) I asked about 15 people if they knew how USA were doing in the world cup. Appparently, the only English guy there (me) was the only person that knew they were even playing!!

Aside from that....Well done USA!!!!!!

Bolded for sadness....

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Ghana vs USA now holds the second highest TV ratings for group stage play in the US.

The match registered a 7.0 overnight rating on ESPN, good for second-highest rating for a group stage match on record in the United States. And that's not counting the 1.4 million who watched via WatchESPN.

The number one match of all-time? USA vs. England in 2010, which got a 7.5 overnight rating. However, that game was on network TV (ABC) and it aired on a Saturday.

Let's not forget the numbers on Univision either, as there was an average of 3.8 million tuning in on Spanish-language television.

(SPOILER ALERT: This website displays scores) http://www.mlssoccer.com/worldcup/2...hana-second-highest-group-stage-match-ever-us

"Holy crap" facts in bold. That's a ton of people tuning in on a Monday, early afternoon for a chunk of the country. We're getting close to big soccer country style of shutting down the country on matchday.

 

[aygov]

Ghana vs USA now holds the second highest TV ratings for group stage play in the US.


(SPOILER ALERT: This website displays scores) http://www.mlssoccer.com/worldcup/2...hana-second-highest-group-stage-match-ever-us

"Holy crap" facts in bold. That's a ton of people tuning in on a Monday, early afternoon for a chunk of the country. We're getting close to big soccer country style of shutting down the country on matchday.

That would be a pretty cool place to get to.

I was planning on hitting up the Watch party in grant part, but by the time I got their (45 minutes before KO) it was already packed and no really good viewing spots were to be had. Ended up going to a pub and standing on the patio because there were no damn seats anywhere. The patio was preferable to the inside of the pub where it was armpit to armpit and ordering a beer was a 10 minute ordeal...

 

[Mongrel]

Ghana vs USA now holds the second highest TV ratings for group stage play in the US.


(SPOILER ALERT: This website displays scores) http://www.mlssoccer.com/worldcup/2...hana-second-highest-group-stage-match-ever-us

"Holy crap" facts in bold. That's a ton of people tuning in on a Monday, early afternoon for a chunk of the country. We're getting close to big soccer country style of shutting down the country on matchday.

Real football countries shut down for the entire month

 

[Grannyknot]

Our local "pub that shows soccer" was a madhouse.
We couldn't find a place to park, drove by it looking for a spot, saw the line out the door, & turned around to watch it at my house.

 

[Memorex88]

Game on!!!

 

[Homercidal]

When is the next USA match??

 

[Memorex88]

When is the next USA match??

USA vs Portugal
Sunday 6PM EST