In terms of pure quality, I would put Belgium in the top 10-15 sides in the world. They are far from "middling".
Fair enough. I guess my problem with EJ is that he can often make it look like he is making things happen, without anything actually happening. He can get himself in good positions, beat someone one on one, but I never get the sense anything is going to come of it at this level because of his glaring shortcomings...
A bit off topic but man Twellman really sounds like a condescending prick but ill chalk it up to his head injuries.
There goes the Kljestan lovers and how they've wanted him to play in CM finally with a decent Def. mid to cover his offensive plays moving forward.... I hope this marks the end for him. He got trotted out as a starter against the country that he plys his trade in...thanks..time to focus that same effort onHolden now.
I actually agree with you about the Hex opponents being weaker than Belgium, and that this was only a friendly. The Hex results won't be this bad, although the performances may continue to be mediocre. On the other hand, I feel like we've had these "learning experiences" before and come away still looking dumb afterwards. It was an ugly, uninspired, flat performance. Guys who need the minutes like Altidore and Besler didn't get nearly enough, guys who we'll need to go 90s in the Qualifiers were given too much time like Jones, Dempsey, and even Howard, and a guy like Evans, who won't see a minute in the Hex, especially in midfield, didn't deserve any time. Thank goodness Bradley and Fabian J will be back soon. Too bad that clever attacking mid from LA wasn't called in, what's his name? On to the next drubbing...???
Trying to keep a cool head here: it was a friendly. Done to experiment. What was the experiment? The team played like this after a while: --------------defense-------------- -----Zusi-----Jones---Sacha----- -------Dempsey---Davis--------- ---------------Jozy--------------- What went wrong? 1. Geoff Cameron is not a side back. He provides nothing in attack, matter of fact he tends to move centrally and leave too much space on the side. 2. Once again, Dempsey is not a creator. He only creates for himself. So relying on him to connect the midfield with the attack is dumb. 3. Jozy needs the balls served on a platter, ready to kick. If he has to turn, he spoils it. 4. Sacha is lost in this team. He's used to getting directions, and JK style of management seems lost on him. Also, he has zero vision, so he cannot help in playmaking. 5. Zusi is very similar to Sacha: he lacks pace, and he takes too long to think what he is going to do with the ball.
I don't really understand how Kljestan of all players is being scapegoated for this disaster. I'm not going to waste my time defending him, though, because with Bradley coming back he will end up effectively being scapegoated anyways as unlike the bad player he has no chance of starting now.
I seriously question playing with one forward. I just don't think we'll ever be particularly suited for it. And when you're doing it with Zusi and Davis as the wing backs it is even less successful. This game, also, showed how important Bradley is. All love for Jones, but Bradley is the D-mid who needs to be there for this team to succeed. The D did not do well. I'm not so down on that as I think they are young and will improve. We're better off suffering now and letting them mature together. Hopefully their maturation (I don't even know if that is a real word) will be quick.
Do I blame him? Nope. Was he put in a position that many have been clamoring for since the excuse of him being played out of position and would be able to add more if played where he naturally played. It's fair to say NOPE. Playing him at CM he's shown the same as he did on the wing....VERY LITTLE.
IMO Belgium is probably the 3rd or 4th best team in Europe at this particular moment in time. Croatia and Serbia are hardly pushovers.
Well we were going at half speed as well. I guess the problem would be we were the Bad News Bears going at half speed.
Kljestan and Jones were switching off this evening. Sometimes one went forward and one stayed back, sometimes it was the other way around. My point - this leads to a good stat to compare which of the two had better attacking intent: Jones completed 1 of 1 passes in the final 3rd of the field. Kljestan completed 9 of 13 passes in the final 3rd of the field.
Why do you think this? They might crack the top 25. Might. My writing is not CYA for the US team- we lost handily to a team that really isn't that good. Losing 4-2 to Germany or Brazil. Par. Losing 4-2 to Belgium. Panic a little...
You must be kidding right? Only crack the top 25? They beat the hell out of us today without 3 of their best players. Belgium is a legit team with tons of talent and they seem to be learning to plat together.
I'll agree with you on Kljestan, Davis and Evans, but the others, not so much. EJ has been every bit as good as Jozy this cycle and Goodson is an adequate back-up.
My eyes don't lie. Sacha didn't do crap. Jones was breaking up plays, making strong tackles...and doing the dirty work he needed to do as a destroyer tonight. Sacha was placed in a more 'offensive' position...and often times was often hidden on the field making meek passes, not making or doing anything decisive with his passes or time on the ball.... Holden's first pass was more than Sacha did the whole game! Quick of though, decisive, and showed that he could make more of an impact with better fitness and knocking off that rust. Lets move on from Sacha already...
Belgium has a ridiculous wealth of talent right now. They might not play up to that level as a team, but in terms of individual players they are about as scary as anyone outside of Brazil/Spain/Germany right now. And honestly, Brazil seems to be a bit down at the moment. That doesn't excuse us looking like absolute dog meat, but they deserve some respect.