Nice to see the US bounce back on Saturday, handing the game Honduras side a 2-1 defeat. After a world class finish from Costly, the US responded from what usssocer.com says is "first come-from-behind win in qualifying since 1985." The US midfield certainly picked up the play 25 minutes into the first half, and inspite of Altidore's frequent lapses with the ball at his feet, move the ball into the attacking area. I don't think Altidore and Cassey are the answer for the surprisingly sloppy attack. On a bright note former ManU defender Jonathan Spector impressed with the quick and clever Honduran attack.
The US seemed to dominate the match after the opening 10-12 minutes against a less than world class side. How can the US solidify a spot and be better than 3 and out at WC2010? Should Bradley look harder for an impact player who is not currenlty in the mix? What's your line up?
243 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 243 of 243Egypt. Nigeria. Cote de Ivory. Madagascar. Tanzania. Trinidad & Tobago. What's the difference, right 8:28?
Tomass, We aren't an attacking team. We defend. As long as Donovan is supposed to be our go-to-guy and Casey and Ching are our target strikers, we won't be attacking much. So, let's do what we do best and get numbers behind the ball and chase in a 4-5-1.
So, who's playing this weekend?
Tomass
Your right..my boo boo
654 - hey no problem - right continent, different hemisphere
even with all the naysayers, this country wants to embrace "the beautiful game". what holds back the US is that this is a country of supporting "winners" (except for the Cubs...). i think you'll be shocked at the ratings for tomorrows game against Brazil (surprisingly strong and that does not include univision, etc...). if the US plays tough and it is a good game - not expecting them to win, but hang in there (and assuming they don't stumble along the way in Concacaf) there will be a substantial increase in viewership for next years World Cup. we are now in our second generation of fans (plus immigrants).....the groundswell is beginning.
US to win tomorrow in a shoot out. Regulation will end 1-1. You heard it here first!
1137 - already wrong but in a good way
The US men acquitted themselves very well.
Excellent match against one of the best teams in the world and we lose a heart breaker 2-3.
The only thing I can say is I wish Bradley would have subbed a little sooner in 2nd half when we were allowing Brazil to have free rein out on the flanks.
Howard was amazing and our 2nd goal today was a thing of beauty.
Great job men! Now build on this and know when you're back in South Africa next year that you have the ability to beat any team on any given day.
Chins up!
I know it's a tired old cliche, but it really was a game of two halves.
First half couldnt have been any better. Dreamland. The Selecao half asleep, the US like pitbulls. Second goal really a thing of beauty. Donovan is a total git, but that was a great finish. Don't concede a stupid goal before halftime. Brilliant. Cup of tea and half an orange and same again boys.
Second half. Disaster. Midfield disappears completely. Nothing for the boys upfront. Their full-backs have a field day..our defence gets sucked out of position. Cant defend a set piece for love nor money. Subs too late to do anything. They score 4 (Timmy cons the ref out of one of them...fair do's he deserved it played a blinder).
If we (ie BB and the fitness coaches) can figure out how to get these guys in shape to play 90 mins like they played the first 45 they would really be a handful for anyone. I will always believe that we cant play 4 in midfield against teams like this, though, especially with LD and CD as the wide men. They left their fullbacks completely exposed in the 2nd half.
Overall, though, given the utter shambles this team was in before this tournament started can't complain.
With the Lions losing to SA at Rugby yesterday, I'm 0-2 this weekend and I have a bad feeling about the England U21s v Germany tomorrow in the Euro final. Prob lose on pens.
good summaries gentlemen - they played better than I though they would.
They only thing they needed to discuss at halftime was to win the first 5-10 minutes of the second half. No adjustments were necessary. Just win the start of the second half.
Ouch that hurt
Boob Bradley lost the game today. Clearly he had them go into a bunker, ingnoring what was successful in the first half. But somehow the midfield wasn't told to pressure the ball on the flanks and force everything back to the middle. Leaving Altidore in, who outside of the goal he scored did very little for the tournament, was a huge mistake. He didn't even make movement toward the ball in the second half.
Tomass is right, all they needed was to do more of the same for the first 10-15 minutes of the second half.
Then the subs come way to late. Sure the team did well 2 games in a row to get to the final, but that was because the individual effort and commitment from the players.
The good news is that the US found a way to play well for periods of time that led them to some succcesss. Inspite of BB.
The bad news is that the US needs a new coaching staff, but won't get one.
Funny, "Boob". I agree, we have basically had the same coaching staff/style for the past 12 years. Time for a change.
when in doubt, blame the coaches.....
there is no doubt, it is the coaches that need to go.
I wish we'd had LeBron playing in the back.
or the teachers in school when little Johnnie gets a bad grade....
or the high school coach when little Mia doesn't get enough playing time......
as Dempsey said after the loss, "winners don't make excuses".
I am all ears with better (and realistic) suggestions. BTW, I think Klinsmann's available.....(now why would that be....).
Gold Cup is just around the corner so it will be a great opportunity for Adu, Torres, etc... to really step up and give Bradley not only more depth but also make his future line up choices more difficult.
someone looks for realistic suggestions to improve things instead of armchair criticisms and the thread goes quiet.........
because it's only the gold cup up next.
We don't have the ammunition in regard to players, but I don't think we have the depth besides a few players who need to be given a chance.
The current system of development has proven to get us only to a level of average to above average at certain times. Bradley is a product of that system.
Klinsmann would change the expectations and is not a product of our current Americanized system.
From the outside looking in it appears the MN Thunder and MTA are attempting to emulate the academy system that is in place in Europe but get bashed for it by the "experts" here in Minnesota.
If our current development system isn't working why not look to the European academies as a model to implement here in USA?
it is a shell of the European model
TomASS
Please. Klinsmann was a puppet as the manager of the Mannschaft (Loeb ran the team) and was an utter failure as a club manager. His only appeal was that he lives in the US, speaks English well and probably would have taken the job. He would have cost a fortune and got us no further ahead than we are now. For better or worse BB is here until WC2010. I still think that if they can get those guys to a peak level of fitness so that they can play a high pressure game of 90 mins then they can bother teams. Of crucial importance this season is getting the European-based players playing time...anywhere...so that they are match fit. Don't know what you do for the MLS guys because that league is so pedestrian..but fitness first should be the key.
7:32
I only know how the English system works and there is no comparison. The professional clubs in England finance and support their own academy programs and they invite kids to play with them. Before the age of 16 this is in addition to school teams and club teams (not instead of them). At 16 a subset of boys are invited to join the academy program full-time for 2 years. These boys are paid (I think when Rooney scored his first professional goal he was on about 50 pounds a week!)and there are programs of academic study available (for those of that inclination). Most clubs figure that a successful program results in 2-3 kids each year signing professional forms at the parent club or elsewhere. The Thunder/MTA deal is an 'academy' in name only. It is run exactly like every other private club with parental funding, and it competes with other clubs for talent. The ODP program is, for all its issues, closer to a European academy model than anything else in this country.
I don't think the Thunder can really "elevate" anything. MTA will suffer due to the affiliation.
842 - As I stated before there is a big difference between managing a club team and managing a national team. Your points are fair and valid but someone needed to revamp the current national development system.
Klinsmann wanted too much control from the US officials.
8:51,
When will this suffering begin?
Their boys teams won more State Cup championships this year than ever before?
I'm guessing you hope it begins very soon.
I think 8:51 is saying the Thunder is/are a train wreck, and that MTA will get nothing out of the relationship. Kinda like if the Timberwolves ran a youth basketball academy.
4;49
Who let you in here. Go back to the kiddie ball blogs where you belong.
Can we try to keep some corner of this blog free from ANY reference to kids soccerball..and especially the "my kids club's bigger then your kids club" mentality that pervades all the other forums on here.
10:43
Its not always true that a poor professional team begets a poor academy. Crewe Alexandra (what a wonderful name) who just got relegated down to League 2 in England (the lowest fully professional league in England) have a great tradition of producing quality players through their academy it's just that they have to sell them on to stay alive!
Since the Thunder have nothing to do with MTA its kind of a moot point in this case.
Charles, in case you haven't found this site yet. This might be more to your liking. Quality site by a quality individual.
http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/
Is Freddie serious?
In the first 7 minutes, he's completed 3 out of 3 passes, dribbled the ball out of bounds on a turn, and perfectly slotted the ball away for a goal.
He's by far the best attacking player in the US. Good thing he didn't play in South Africa.
See my posts on 6-9 and 6-12 prior to the Confed Cup.
Notice my calls on Adu, Holden, Rogers and Demerit. Also notice my calls to leave off Beasley and Kljestan.
Sunil could have me for half the price of Bob.
both of you try not to sprain your elbows patting yourselves on the back....see below.
Grenada (pronounced /ɡrɪˈneɪdə/) is an island nation and sovereign state consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Its size is 344 km² with an estimated population of 110,000. Its capital is St. George's.
gee, that a few more people than Bloomington........
That's why a few years ago a team of Landon & Co. only beat Grenada 3-2. Hmmmmm....
1147 - each game is new competition, You can draw no conclusions from past outcomes, besides broad speculations. You haven't even taken into account the opposition squad from a few years ago in regard to talent level.
Good win, One they should have won regardless who was on the field.
Good to see the newbies get some playing time. Would like to see what they could do against stronger competition.
11:47 (or should we call you Freddie's agent) was that the game played in Grenada as the second leg of the series? After the US had already won 3-0 roughly a week earlier and just needed to win as part of WC qualifying?
tomASS's comments are spot on.
In the future you might want to supply all the details so the readers out there can draw their own conclusions..............
Hmmmmmmmmm......
12:13,
That's a lot of excuses. You must be from MTA, or SSM, or EP.
I don't care who, what, when or where, if you only beat Grenada 3-2, something ain't right.
Onyewu to AC Milan.
Lets hope he can get some quality playing time.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=659479&sec=europe&cc=5901
Good to see the USandA 2nd team beat a quality Honduras squad. Bradley seems to have learned from his mistakes by subbing much earlier to change the tone of the game. Rodgers should definaltly be on the 1st team and starting.
Adu off to Benfica pre-season camp (arranged before Gold Cup). Let's hope he gets some playing time this year.
Good work on behalf of the likes of BQ @ Inside MN Soccer and other U.S. soccer fans ...
http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2009/08/04/us-soccer-news-tv-networks-agree-to-increase-availability-of-english-broadcast-of-usa-mexico/
Hello there :) I am 14 years old and from Burnsville. Well as much as I appreciate your very nice, "positive" comments ( haha positive??) , I think you should let the teams speak for themselves. Now I know you parents know SO MUCH about the game ( haha doubt it) but us players ( yes, the ones actually playing the game) don't need your worthless, negative comments. Now remember we're the ones playing the game, not you. Sorry to this but your soccer dreams are over. Bye Now :)
Altidore to Hull in EPL. If he gets some playing time that would be great for the US. Onyewu at AC Milan, Dempsey at Fulham, Howard at Everton, etc.....
Things could be looking up for 2010, but they have to take care of qualifying first.
USMNT roster named for Mexico......where's Freddy?
Holden earned his spot, Ching?
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