Well tomorrow at 2:45 ET you have an out of form Shalke with your favorite whipping boy JJ (but sans Papa and the Hunter) v Galatasaray with their newly added offensive threats Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba. That one should be easy to predict.
NearPost, you missed a good opportunity to mess with me. I thought today's 10am game on FSC, Shaktar v Dortmund was live......it is a replay.
So we can agree teams with less skill win from time to time? I admit sometimes it has as much to do with luck and team spirit as tactics. It is difficult to point to a particular game and say this team won just because they had a smarter game plan but I'll try. World Cup 2010. Maradona led Argentina vs Germany On paper, from a skill perspective a team with Messi, Tevez, Di Maria, Higuin, Aguero, ect should be at least as good as Germany's young team was. You agree they're at least similar? Yet it happened to end up as one of the biggest routes of the tournament. So what happened? Germany's midfield completely overran Argentina and Germany was able to attack unmolested and with numbers all game. Why? 1. Argentina was outgunned 5-3 in midfield. Maradona played with 2 strikers and Messi as a number 10. Messi was not coming back into the midfield much which meant Argentina was playing with essentially 3 strikers. OK not the end of the world but that's the start. 2. Argentina had virtually no one on the wings. Neither Heinze or Otamendi? pushed forward. Maradona likes to use his defenders to defend and that's what they did. But it meant Argentina was outgunned even more in midfield because the 3 central midfielders had no support. 3. None of Argentina's forwards played wide, so Lahm and Boateng were left unoccupied. This allowed them to roam free and push deep into the attack causing further problems for Argentina's defense. More than one of the German goals came when Lahm pushed forward and Germany outnumbered Argentina on the right side. So ultimately Argentina decided not to bunker, not to possess, not to overlap, or attack in waves. Maradona decided to let his defense look like a foosball line, relied on Messi and Tevez to produce individual magic, and didn't take into account Germany's advantages in midfield or at wingback. I think with a different coach/strategy this is a game Argentina could have and should have won with their talent.
I think it's going to be more of a shootout. Fergurson didn't show Mourinho a lot of his cards. He escaped the Bernabeu, the giant, with a draw and is going to take them back home and show them what the show's about. United has some serious holes in defense. Both coaches know this. Fergurson will want to cover those with his attack. He has some incredible players at his disposal and will be banking on them to do the business. Mourinho kept making defensive moves at home. He also has the most destructive counter-attacking force on the planet. Both coaches know this. I wouldn't bet on Mourinho to make the same moves, but he tends to make defensive ones. Fergurson tends to attack. If Mourinho takes off Xabi Alonso and his winger, Di Maria, Real Madrid will struggle to keep up in the goalscoring count. It'll be cagey at first, but I think it turns into a shootout. I'd bet on Manchester United to win at Old Trafford. It's what they do.
To answer the original post, a threat out wide. The great majority of our issues stem from a complete lack of threats out wide plus a definite weakness in the center of defense. Most everything else is just a result of trying to cover up for or get around those deficiencies.
Yep. 4-4-1-1 with Demspey underneath Jozy and Bradley paired with somebody else in the midfield worked fine when we had guys like Donovan and Feilhaber wide at the World Cup. Even after the World Cup, the U.S. looked good against Poland when we played the same 4-4-1-1 with Stuart Holden and Feilhaber on the flanks. Had Holden stayed healthy, it probably would have been fairly obvious to play Donovan and him on the flanks, Dempsey underneath Jozy, some combination involving two of Bradley, Jones, Edu, Kljestan, or Torres, and a better backline. Now we see Graham Zusi, Jose Torres, and Danny Williams on the flanks. The U.S. looked decent with Shea around early on, but he fell out of form. We need decent flank play, or else we're kind of boned. That might mean fast tracking a few attackers into the side that may not be proven or in the best situation. That's what Bob did with his central midfield when he started.
I stick by this, we could mold the triangle of Edu, Cameron, Bradley, with bradley playing higher up. The weak link is Dempsey's speed and Altidore's lack of production. Put Castillo in the Reus role as LM.
We dont have players who can play all over the field and score. What makes Donovan distinctive is that he is an exception, not a big soccer picasso. Great soccer countries have guys like Aguero, Suarez, Torres, all the Dortmund guys, etc. Dempsey and Altidore are great in their little zones but have you ever seen either do anything meaning full at the intersection of the halfwaynline and either touch line? Thierry Henri will get u a goal from that spot. Shea can run all over the place but can't score in the box. Ditto Fab. Dempsey and Jozy are ok in front of goal but pull them away from goal and they are toothless. I think that is where the Dortmund idea breaks down. Every team can afford one "post" in front of goal - a Dempsey or Klinsmann, eg, but more than that and you have a blob. Arsenal was relatively dominant aganst ManU today because Giro was disqualified so they had all mobile players on the pitch who could shape the field of play. ( incase u caught it).
Dempsey did fine working from deep positions with Fulham and last term with the US. He's not going to make the power dribbles that Tottenham set up for, but he was brilliant cutting inside and pulling strings and scoring goals for Fulham and the US. It's not just a matter of the positioning on field; it's also how the player is used. If one thinks in terms of a speed concept rather than exactly how Dortmund plays then the system is transferable. The big issue to my mind is that in a 4411 there isn't room for both Dempsey and Altidore. The the two could be accommodated in a 433. -------------Donovan ------Dempsey------Altidore
As much as we want Altidore to succeed, we can't put him out wide. He is a goal scorer. Barca placed Henry out wide and it just didnt work. You know who could work instead of donovan on the right is Gatt. We need to start building the next team rather than retooling the old. I get what you are saying and with any luck what gets us through qualifying is nothing like what we see in the world cup.
Susaeta said the same thing and I could care less. Our coaching and team chemistry also cant match this team. But they have a style and an identity that most associate with the US. A lot of running and they play for the team. They dont do anything too outrageous other than instantly with the ball back, send in 'hawkers' to dive into the ball all over the pitch, it might be CM, LM, CB or whomever who will release instantly off his man and close on the ball. THey play one centrally linking mid who goes horizontal all match connecting play and simply applying 'preponderance' of manpower where it can exploit the other team. There is of course much more to it, such as Mario's positioning against Real where he took Alonso out of the match by virtue of never being where Alonso likes to play. Gondo pushing the pace with quick vertical play for which reals aging mind's couldnt match, etc.
We are in the same league as BVB at GK and can match them at the -2- line. IMO MB and Jones at the #6 and #8 are as good as Bender and Gundogan. The one area that we are in different Galaxies is the AMR/AML play. Reus and Blasz are superb wide 1v1 attackers. We do not have anyone in our pool with their skillset.
I almost completely disagree. Gundo is vastly superior to MB at two things: 1. making space for himself on the ball - head fake, dumby, step over, acceleration. If there is an extra yard of space he will create it. 2. quick vertical passing. Blasz is an RM and the heart and soul of this team (could be donovan, in which case not out of our league). I think you mean Bender? Bender is not better than Cameron, I don't think. If Cameron had fewer mental mistakes as 'last man' defender he would be a better fit for Subotic's role. I think Castillo could play Reus's role to a T. Where we fall down is Dempsey. He is no Mario, no Lewandowski and no Reus. Our most clinical finisher is both the answer and the problem. My conclusion at this point is as follows: Where we are clearly deficient is coaching and chemistry building. Klopp has BvB bleeding yellow. He has them playing 90min at full pressure. Each player knows his role. Much of this has to do with day-to-day work and training. The US coaching team cannot match these tangibles. In my opinion at 20 years old, Mario Goetze has made the same mistake Michael Owen made.
Read what I said: MB and Jones at the #6 and #8 are as good as Bender and Gundogan. MB v Bender and Jones v Gundogan is a wash. In fact, this season Jones has been a slightly more effective club attacker (2G 6A) than Gundogan (3G 2A). Reus and Blaszczykowski are superb wide 1v1 attackers. We do not have anyone in our pool with their skillset. I can live with Deuce v Gotze. Wide attackers who are effective 1v1 attackers are essential to a 4-2-3-1. The USMNT is extremely weak in effective wide 1v1 attackers.
Off topic, but what mistake did Goetze make that Michael Owen made? Goetze just moved to a bigger club at 20 yrs old. Owen would've never left Liverpool if his career hadn't been mismanaged by Liverpool and injuries hadn't hit. Goetze's definitely a better technical player with more tools than Owen too, but that's another issue. Owen was used too much early in his career by his managers, probably both at the reserve and youth level and in the first team. He had played a ton of games by 20. Much more than the average 20 yr old, which is why his body broke down later. He also wasn't developed correctly by his first team managers. None of them ever added anything to Owen's game that he didn't have at 18-20. Which is a large indictment. I don't think Goetze is anywhere close to that.
Every time I've seen Diskurud play on this team he's looked great. Calm, composed, good on the ball, good movement into open space. IMO he should be a major factor in this team's plans. An alteration would be Dempsey in the middle and Fabian Johnson out left. Fabian Johnson's best position for this team and the one that makes him have the greatest impact is left wing. The offensive spark this guy brings is just being wasted at LB. When he played at LM/LW in his early national team days he took defenders on and forced them into making mistakes. Something we haven't seen since. Move him up and without a doubt the offense gets significantly better. I know it's comfortable putting him at LB given this team's past, but this is a calculated risk that I have no doubt would pay dividends. ------------------------------Altidore ----------Dempsey---------------------------Donovan -----------------------------Diskurud ---------------------Jones-------------Bradley If Jozy is going to shine for this team it's more than likely not going to happen in a single striker formation, not unless the team behind him changes. As far as a two striker formation goes, I like the way Terrence Boyd plays and I think his skill set would compliment Altidore's nicely. Two strikers leaves the empty bucket with this team. -----------------------Altidore----------Boyd ---------Dempsey-------------------------------Donovan ------------------------Jones---------Bradley
I like both the front half-dozen but as the comment about Gatt in a previous post, both Diskerud and Boyd aren't there yet or likely to contribute like JK wants. They all play in less competitive leagues. Gatt has the speed but not the skill set. Diskerud does well in that position for club but who knows if he's ready to do it for the USMNT. BTW Boyd has the most yellow cards (10 for the season) among the yanks abroad.
I think he is. The last two games Diskurud has played for the U.S. were against South Africa and Russia. Against South Africa he was subbed in at the 79th minute and got the game winning assist in the 85th minute on a piece of ball control followed by a pass in very tight space inside the box that I've yet to see replicated in any national game by anyone else since. He was subbed in against Russia in the 87th minute and buried a volley that evened the score 6 minutes later. Up to this point he has shown that he's certainly capable. Last few times he's played with the national team they looked better with him than in the minutes before he was subbed in. I can only judge him for this team based on what he's done when on the field and it's been good so far. He has a soft touch, vision, and the confidence to get the ball in tight spaces. That is what is needed to open up space in the box for guys like Altidore and Dempsey. Especially against CONCACAF teams that are going to bunker against us, the team is better off at the very least with him being an option off the bench. And most importantly 0 red cards and 13 goals. He plays aggressive and takes chances, that's his style of play. I can live with him being aggressive and giving away a free kick inside the other team's box.
Given the US's offensive struggles, you'd think Concacaf teams would actually attack, instead of bunker...
Barca set up a bit differently than other teams. Altidore won't have to play tiki-taka as wing-forward for the US. It may be a bit early for Gatt. One other option with Donovan if a 433 were used would be to try him with central midfield: ---------jones----donovan -------------bradley On the one hand Donovan would be further away from goal, but on the other the front three would get improved service. He has little experience in the position but I'd be curious to see him there.
I thought that Juergen was really on to something when he played him there next to Torres and in front of Edu against Costa Rica. The issue was with him in central midfield, we had nobody to link play. Rogers and Shea hugged the touchline, for the most part. The only time we got a good attack going was when Altidore dropped to link play, and it led to Donovan's glorious miss. Ignore the aberrant arrow... Otherwise, this could work fairly well, in my opinion. We could also just play Dempsey wide left and Altidore up top with Gomez on the right, but that's a little less interesting
Any formation that includes Edu will kill things. In a 3 man central midfield: pick 2 of: Jones, Bradley, Holden, Cameron + 1 of Donovan, Dempsey, Feilhaber. Maybe if Zusi continues to develop, he'll be an option inside. Add Diskerud and Bedoya to the list of attacking options who aren't quite there yet. O'Brien.
I'd like to see how an in form LD and Altidore work together whether it's both up top or with Donovan in midfield. So far however Altidore hasn't been effective as a center-forward for the US--at least since the days of Charlie Davies. ---------------------boyd -----------dempsey-------altidore ------------jones----------donovan --------------------bradley In the 80th min against Russia Altidore had a peach of a pass from the right channel to Jones who skied over a sure goal.