Thought this was one of Jozy's best holdup and effort games, especially considering the opponent. Overall I'd give him a 6. Jones should have buried his cutback but if he wants to be our #9 he needs to bring down Johnson's pass more often than not. Gatt's performance was clearly that of a player who needs more exposure to the quicker pace/lower margin of error international game. He showed some good individual skill and instincts, he earned himself another look. He and Jozy had a little chemistry playing the 1-2s that are a big part of Altidore's AZ game, he could be a great runner off of Donovan and Dempsey. Gomez worked for the team as always, his spinning volley that was blocked was a good effort. Didn't create much danger, one of his weaker games. Boyd and Agudelo showed why they keep getting brought into the team at such a young age.
Way too many people seem really eager to turn a single bad touch into Altidore having done poorly. These folks should rewatch the match. His defensive work was pretty excellent through large stretches of the match, which was essential away to a quality opponent. If the midfield hasn't taken an entire half to settle into the match, we might have seen him with more energie left to attack later on, when we were better atoning forward with menace. Klinsmann seems to have been very pleased with his performance. Overall, I'm glad that we were able to score to goals away to the Russians, especially while utilizing so many young attackers. Everyone has room to improve, but everyone had at least a moment or two to validate their presence on the field. I wish Agudelo could find a good, stable club situation.
So you predict that Gatt will be a a so-so Tippeligaen and USMNT fringe player? You could be right (if we understand 'could' as a modal operator, but then, everything conceivable would be possible!). But without an argument I can simply disagree with your opinion
I thought Gatt's debut was reasonable enough. Hopefully he will get more experience at the Gold Cup. He seems to be the determined type.
Brian Straus @BrianStraus RT @JeremyPond Klinsmann on Altidore's performance against Russia: "He was just a handful. He gets a big, big compliment."
yes anyone could see in the first half he was giving russia trouble. he did a heck of a job running around and even in the second half did very very well despite a misplaced pass.
Well said. Like i said, he had from about minute 60-70 (loose guess) where he had 3 or 4 times in relatively quick succession where he lost the ball or had a poor touch. That kind of just shot his confidence down. You could see it in his body language. He wants to be out there and he's playing hard. I think he's going to do really well in the HEX and find some renewed confidence for the national side which he needs. Putting the ball in the net does wonders for any struggling forwards. Even Giroud looked like a competent player after he found the net the first time in this weekends game. As for Jozy's "blown scoring opportunity", i had to chuckle when Twellman gave him a hard time. God knows how poorly TT would've butchered that ball from Johnson. Haha. Donovan is about the only player in the pool that could have pulled that off. Key words: Could have.
Anyone else getting tired of Twellman acting like he was some world class striker who wouldn't be making the same mistakes we see with our attack? Taylor was the epitome of what we see with Americans. They struggle to read the game at the international pace and their touch isn't as good as their counterparts for the large part with a few exceptions. Taylor, if you executed half the shit you constantly complain about, you wouldn't have fallen flat on your face in the Bund and would have done a hell of a lot more beyond MLS.
Yet, he wasn't anything amazing himself. Not nearly. I don't mind criticism. Yet he has a f'ing hardon for our attackers and acts like he was a level above.
I like Twells. He tries to provide insightful analysis. The negativity from him and Darke is bit much though.
The worst part about Jozy is not that he hasn't scored a goal in a long time. It is that he sucks at making runs. There were so many times today that we would push on the attack and he would stand there in the middle with no movement. Start making some runs and draw the defenders out of position for god's sake. That is what I like about Edson Buddle's play. Even when he isn't scoring, like recently with LA, he is making runs that draw the defenders away from the middle of the box which opens it up for Robbie Keane.
When you (a forward) don't see the ball much because of the opponent having a better game, you better make it count the few chances you are going to get. period.
Well, general thoughts first. We didn't have much of an attack in the first half. First 20 minutes or so were poor all around. We couldn't keep the ball. Settled in over the next 20, and started creating some stuff the last 5-10 minutes of the half, and created actual scoring opportunities in the 2nd. Effort was good from everyone, though there were, of course, mistakes. Altidore. On first blush, I thought Jozy was poor. Not awful, however. He blew his one big chance with the first touch. And he had a poor giveaway on a counter. But he did have the nice run and cut back that Jones missed, and a nice shot/half volley early in the match. In fact, early on, he was probably the only bright spot. And he certainly gave better effort than last time. And it looks like not scoring is starting to get to him a bit. He needs to relax, think less, and just play. Still, I don't think he is particularly well suited the play the #9 in the 4-5-1/4-3-3, nor is he particularly good as a wide forward. He's best when we go 4-4-2. Gomez. On first blush I thought Herc was good. Though I can't really point to too much dangerous stuff he did other than making a good run behind the D that Mikey almost picked him out on. He did a lot of dirty work and played team ball well. Thought he was more effective when he moved to RW and Gatt went LW. Still, I think he's more effective up top than out wide. Gatt. Relative to an objective scale, he didn't play that well. With it being his first cap and first start, he did fine. He didn't hold onto the ball well, and he was reluctant to take people on when the chance was there. Still, he worked hard and made some intelligent runs. And even got off a decent shot (though right at the keeper) following up one of Jones' runs. Twellman was correct on his analysis there, though, he should have put his foot through it instead of side footing. He'll be back, for certain. Agudelo. Came in for Gatt, but also spent some time up top. Played well. Nice knockdown to Mikey on the first goal, but Bradley deserves nearly all the credit there. Had some nice dribbling to draw a yellow. Good to see him back. Kljestan. Came on for Herc. Thought he played well, but I could be distracted by the 'stache. Nice header down for Bradley on the cross from Jones (I think). Thought that was the right play, it just didn't fall right for Bradley, who had more space than he thought. I'd like to see JK give him some minutes at the 8, rather than as RM/RW, but he was still respectable. Boyd. Again, good in very limited minutes for Jozy. Header started the play that Mix finished. I thought most of our good attacking sequences came through Bradley or Jones, with Chander (ball that led to Jozy's cut back for Jones) and Johnson (through ball to Altidore + others) also contributing from time to time, though not as much as I'd hoped. Mix was also good late. Once the Russian's got the early lead, they seemed fairly content, after 25 minutes or so, to remain solid defensively and try to knick one on the counter. This let us back in the game somewhat, but also didn't make for a lot of rampaging runs by FBs up the pitch, or a lot of open space.
why do so many keep making excuses for this guy? he's toast. lot's of guys score in Holland, some leagues are like that. If you follow hockey think Quebec Major Junior League versus Western Hockey League for instance. It's known to happen in sports. everyone's supposed to "work hard", it's the National Team for crissakes. why does he get an exemption if he sucks after working "hard"?His first touches, especially after being in the game are almost laughable for a forward at the int'l level. ball skills are horrible, first touch horrible, vision horrible, work rate horrible, -- there are plenty of other options, it's just wasted to have a proven has- led-a-foreign-league- in goal scoring CF out wide for this joker. experiment over.
which is my problem with the guy, his attitude and mental toughness have always been sub-par, shouldn't he rise above it at this stage of his career???, esp. considering this was his first Nats game in a Mammoth's age?
No one seems to be pointing this out, Dutch league is far from a defensive league but its great what Jozy is doing there. But man, he looks so lost and like he doesn't have a clue what anyone on USMNT is going to do in the run of play.