JK needs to stop trying to play ticki-tacka against bunkering concacaf teams. We are NOT Barcelona!!! It almost burned us against Antigua until he put Gordon in and it burned us last night. So much wasted useless possession. Bust it down the wings and cross it in. Morrow had a couple crosses and Beltran had one, but for the most part Davis and Zusi were just doing tentative and slow short passes that didn't lead to anything. The USMNT scoring rate is significantly lower under JK than it was under Bradley. This needs to change. I fear for what is going to happen to us in Honduras.
Even with the "star" players like Donovan and Dempsey on the field, I don't remember seeing the USMNT playing attractive passing football recently. Do we have the players with enough intelligence, skill and movement to play 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 like some of the more advanced teams? If you don't at this moment, then stick with a more traditional 4-4-2 with 2 forwards (one target, one shadow). That will play to the strength of US players: work rate, physical power, fighting spirit. That's what we saw in the more successful years in the past. It's understandable that people want to see creative soccer. However, that is a deeper issue that goes all the way to kid's games, highschool and college and even MLS. It is not something that will change immediately. It is the whole system, mentality and physical attributes. Klinsmann (and all these pundits) needs to decide: do you want results now? Or are you willing to sacrifice the short-term result and change the system and playing style of the whole country for long term?
I thought that the Kinsi style is more like the German style of very quick counterattacks. That would fit the U.S.'s strengths fairly well, but maybe not as much w/o Donovan. But when you play a bunkering team, the quick counterattack kind of goes out the window, and you need to have another plan.
I actually thought the one-two passing in the center that Wondo was trying to do was going to be the way to go. But then Johnson or somebody else would just back pass it. What makes me most disheartened is that everybody kept passing to another player's feet. Does Klinsmann or do the guys in that camp not understand that you can pass into space? Nearly every time you'd see a pass then the guy receiving would have to check to and make a turn because his back was facing the opposition's goal. It is very difficult to win games if you don't play looking forward.
this qualifying round just has the feeling of squeeking by with the 4th place finish and somehow managing a 1-0 win in the asian playoffs.
Our first 4 games are going to be brutal... frankly I don't see us getting to World Cup Brazil under Klinsmann's tutelage.
The playoff would be against the Oceania champion. I expect difficulties in qualifying as well. Eventually, the US will fail to qualify. Is this the cycle?
It doesn't help that Klinsie looks so clueless. Like he doesn't know which players to play or how to play them.
Probably because he doesn't. He seems so focused on a few European players he thinks are particular prizes and pretty much no time evaluating MLS players. Granted the US had guys on the field that rarely or never played together before this camp, but it's still disheartening that once a bunch of MLS players get the opportunity, it's all of them at once. I'm not really sure how informative that is since you don't expect all of those players to make the final qualifying roster. I do expect better performances from what is more like an A team.
This goes without saying. Regardless of how the US does in qualifying, he should be fired on principle...
Just an unrealistic idea. Let's say we use the Quakes to represent the country and we just replace international players with US players. How would it look like? Would it get results? Remember, it will be coached by Yallop and playing his brand of soccer. ----Lenhart/Gordon--Wondo------ XXXX--Cronin--XXXX--XXXX Morrow--Hernandez--XXXX--Beita ------------Busch----------------- Replace Dawkins, Baca, Chavez and Bernardez with?
Why not Shea Salinas on a wing? He was starting before he got hurt. Clarence Goodson (Quakes own his rights) at center back? He's been on the USMNT roster before.
"MLS stars fail to shine in scoreless draw against Canada" (Center Line Soccer - Wednesday, 1/30/13) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! GO USA!!! -G
It would be an interesting experiment, to take an MLS team and just fill in as needed. Of course, they'd use the Galaxy for their test case.
The team we saw play this week doesn't deserve to go to the WC. It's an unattractive, mealy-mouthed style of play.
The team you saw last week won't be going to the WC. That was an American MLS All-Star team attempting to play an un-American style. 4 or 5 of them might be lucky enough to make the squad.
I get that. And maybe it's just that Klinsie doesn't want to waste any energy on a bunch of spec players that he's not planning to use again. But there was a lot of talent on that squad (no matter what he may think). If he can't do a better job of putting together a TEAM and getting them fired up to play, then we're going nowhere. Because the upcoming gauntlet includes four teams who do have that passion.
Again, I wasn't really paying attention as I was following another game online but even though I saw him make one shot, how did DeRo look?