Well we have a Gerrard/Lampard situation on our hands. Getting dual 8's to learn to play together is only something I've seen done at the club level with any success. But congrats to Jones on his goal. The Germans will tell us that Jones has always been this player; and they're right?
Since I've been watching Jones they have been. He might be the best club player our pool has in Europe.
To put it delicately, I'm glad he's just on loan. I'd much rather see Draxler on the wing and Meyer in the middle. EDIT: I think the above would make Jones look much better as well.
Stop calling me Frankly. Just because they spend 90% of their club and country careers as midfielders should not remove this thought from your head. Jones with another bizarre, mercurial performance. He is Tom & Jerry Football. Brilliant finish.
That's a good result. With JJ played like this with the NT...but I'm thinking there could be other factors contributing to those performances. Anyway Schalke have a really good chance of going through. Exciting times!
I noticed that too. He plays so much better for Schalke most of the time. Lots of Americans seem to do better for their clubs... hmmm....
Even with the USMNT you can tell he is an excellent footballer - which is different than a perfect, tidy or even consistent footballer, but his up side is way up. the trick is to get him to play that level for us more than he does.
Hmmmm. Probably because they practice with their clubs continually, whereas with the last international fixture it was 2 days and a match.
Watching post injury Jones for Schalke is like watching Anakin Skywalker- you can see the good in him, but there's almost always one or two moments where he switches off as well and gives you James Earl Jones. It's a shame he will miss the second leg, but what a great finish on his goal. Two things stood after watching this match: 1. Jones brought it early and often. His wicked shot in the first minute set a positive tone, but he wasn't always the highest midfielder pressing the ball- Jermaine shared that responsibility- actually I thought Schalke shared it well as a team. Jones would encourage other players to go forward at times, while he stayed deep to break up counters or possession from Galatasray. There were some poor passes and getting caught in possession as well, but it was mostly positive stuff from JJ. 2. There were four sequences when Far-fan or Huntelaar broke with the ball, where Jones absolutely busted a gut to get into the box and provide an option- obviously the play where he scored the goal, but also three other times he made straight line runs of 60- 70 yards to support the attack by making the box. That was impressive (Jones did not get a pass on the other occasions.) Parting shot is that the pitch was absolutely awful- cutting up a like cake.