I'd like to see a still picture from when the ball was hit. It looked to me like Cameron and both backs were in a line, and boca was 5 yards behind them for some reason.
I gotta say that it wasn't that Cameron stepped up, it was that the backline wasn't together to begin with. The backline communication is a team effort and they all failed in that case. Boca's starting position from the moment the ball turned over was the biggest factor, and credit to the Guatemalan midfielder and Ruiz who quickly recognized this mistake and linked up very nicely. Howard still normally would have bailed them out, but hesitated and as people have said, had a poor night out by his standards.
He isn't playing and was playing badly to begin the season and got benched. Bolton has a new coach now, so hopefully Tim has a mini re-birth there.
I'm slighty surprised Pearce hasn't gotten more of a look at CB yet, he's mobile, fairly skilled, left footed, not too small, could provide some cover at LB as well. He seems like he would be a good fit for what Klinsmann wants to do.
I think Brooks and Okugo need a look sooner rather than later, at least as options which add depth. Experience is certainly a benefit at center back, but Ghana did beat us in the World Cup playing a 20 year old center back. And our situation has to be at least as desperate as their was. Some of these players being thrown out in this point are pedestrian within MLS.
In a Gonzo-Cameron pairing, Geoff is the speed guy. As the more stay at home defender I wonder if Omar has picked up enough organizational skills to reign Geoff in and play the trap.
He already got a shot and hasn't been getting PT with Bolton in the last month, it's time to give Omar Gonzalez a shot he has deserved a call up for over a year.
Yes, but he got snubbed last year he should of gotten called up in the September and October friendlies.
Got it, your issue is not that Gonzalez has been ignored for over a year, but that a year ago, he should have been called up and wasn't for a series of friendlies. My view is that callups need to be looked at over time and focusing on any one or two matches is silly as there is an overall plan involved. If JK calls him, I hope he is able to turn quicker than a semi, unlike a year ago.
Otherwise known as the high school girls team approach to soccer. The adult's approach to soccer. Oh you meanie!Now he deserves three makeup callups!!!!And I'm not inviting you to my party either!
Boca looked suspect on a number of plays that game...I've been hinting at it for a while but the USMNT needs to ask Boca what kind of gold watches he likes..
Agreed about Gonzalez. But Ream's bad performance against Ecuador doesn't cut it for me. His playing time @ Bolton must increase. Nonetheless, he is still on JK's radar. I believe he was called up for the September qualifiers, but then JK moved him to a "stand-by" status.
This is a great point. He's a cb for us only. If he's not going to get time there for Stoke, I think we need to look seriously at getting him into his club position (likely dmid/cmid long term for Stoke)
Cameron is not playing CB for Stoke. CB has never been Edu's playing position; he's not playing at all now. Goodson is depth only; Spector could be depth only, but it's not his playing position either. DeMerit was highly suspect in his prior games with the Nats. I like the points made about Pearce, but CB hasn't been his position either. It's time to call in those 6 from MLS listed earlier and give them all the playing time in the friendlies and camps. Okugo does look the most likely based on his U- teams experience. Gonzalez has a long way to go to step up to the international level. So unlucky that he got injured in his tryout in Europe; he could have really used the experience.
omar was hurt a year ago, no where near erady for a teaam like russia who will abuse him but he's close, camp cupcake for sure i want to see edu in russia, along with cameron goodsen scares me
If another CB emerges in replacement of Bocanegra, so be it. I'm being hypocritical here because I called out Tim Ream earlier as one of those potential replacements. But I had a moment earlier... If this is going to be the last WC for Bocanegra, Donovan, and Cherundolo, we may see a fight to the death every match if they start. I've probably given too much credit to our midfield in this last win. Our midfield has improved drastically, but there's still loopholes. When our opponents expose those loopholes, our defense can look weak (not implying that our defense is flawless). What I'm trying to say is that if we qualify, starting these 3 veterans may not be a recipe for disaster. It may give them a sort of "final-stand" mentality, and I gotta admit, that would be a hell of a thing to see in a win or go home scenario (especially from Donovan). All in all, just a different way of looking at the situation.
Again, there is no way to say that. They have to get to the Conference Finals for Gonzalez to be unavailable. Which means they MUST beat either San Jose, RSL or Seattle in the playoffs. Any of those teams right now would be a favorite against LA. So it's silly to say that there is "no way" he gets called up because he'll be in the playoffs. While he may be in the playoffs, it's more likely than not that he'll be out, if you go by form and seedings. Currently, LA is a combined 1 W and 6 losses vs those 3 teams.
I wouldn't think that to be a problem. He has been organizing the LA backline for quite a while now, and his worth to the team showed through in their defensive performance with him out of the lineup. With the same backline, they went from being bulletproof to being sieve-like.
So unless LA is in the play in game and loses then you expect him to get called in playing a playoff game the weekend immediate before the Tuesday game in Russia? Interesting
Well, according to this article, we are swimming in CBs: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/09/01/throw-new-american-exports-center-backs-are