Where did the Fire Arena crowd go?

[MLSNHTOWN]

Or at least the overly nervous crowd?

[ghostofcryuff]

Right here. That lineup was crap. If anything approaching that lineup is going to start in Germany then the US won't get out of the group stage. Everyone in El Salvedor knows how horrible their team is at the moment, the Nats should win 5 or 6 nill against such competition.

AND if this isn't to be the lineup in Germany why arent the young players who will be competing getting to cut there teeth now? Obviously EJ can make a difference, so could Gavin, so could Oguchi, we already know Convey can so why isn't he getting every bit of time he can especially when he's sitting quite a bit at Reading. Let's see Spector and Simek get a shot, they have certainly both earned it, and the team will be much better off if these guys can play at this level then some 30+ old timers who can't cut it agaisnt the best of Europe and South America.

Arena has no clue on tactics, nor is he able to pick his best eleven ever, unless key inuries happen to the likes of Armas and Agoos (Korea) without which the US wouldnt have gotten out of the group stage either.

[Onionsack]

They went here

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142159&page=7&pp=15

they are now the Fuera Lavolpe crowd.

[Sachin]

Right here. That lineup was crap. If anything approaching that lineup is going to start in Germany then the US won't get out of the group stage. Everyone in El Salvedor knows how horrible their team is at the moment, the Nats should win 5 or 6 nill against such competition.

AND if this isn't to be the lineup in Germany why arent the young players who will be competing getting to cut there teeth now? Obviously EJ can make a difference, so could Gavin, so could Oguchi, we already know Convey can so why isn't he getting every bit of time he can especially when he's sitting quite a bit at Reading. Let's see Spector and Simek get a shot, they have certainly both earned it, and the team will be much better off if these guys can play at this level then some 30+ old timers who can't cut it agaisnt the best of Europe and South America.

Arena has no clue on tactics, nor is he able to pick his best eleven ever, unless key inuries happen to the likes of Armas and Agoos (Korea) without which the US wouldnt have gotten out of the group stage either.
Because the goal of World Cup Qualifying isn't to blood young players, but to get to Germany. If you play too many youngsters, you run a strong risk of not making it to Germany.

The cliche "one game at a time" never holds more true than during WCQ. It's all about getting the desired result - win at home, tie on the road - in every match. Wins on the road are bonuses.

This is NOT a league, despite the format. Every game matters.

For all the flack Arena gets, let me remind you of the results during World Cup Qualifying:

1. USA 3 Greneda 0
2. Greneda 2 USA 3
3. Jamaica 1 USA 1
4. Panama 1 USA 1
5. USA 2 El Salvador 0
6. El Salvador 0 USA 2

W:4 L:0 T:2 GF: 12 GA: 4

Notice what's missing: style point. If you want style, go watch the fashion channel. If you want soccer, keep watching.

If you want style and soccer, zip up your pants. You're going to go blind that way.

Sachin

[Sachin]

Read this post: http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3185281&postcount=268

It says it all.

4 last minute results salvaged this year is more than luck.

Sachin

[gettysburg32]

In the end, after the first four matches, three of which were on the road, two of which were on the road in central america, and the other road match was against a side the US has never beaten in wcq away, would anyone here not take the scenario that one victory in either of the last two home games clinches advancing?

I'll admit, I was a wee bit nervous going into last night's game. A loss last night would have made things all too interesting. But, Bruce accomplished exactly what anyone (anyone who's been through US WCQ before, and anyone not still blinded by 2002) would have wanted looking at this group at the outset.

The US is in dominant/controlling their own fate position going into two home matches. Was it always stylish, no. (Although I will say it was fairly stylish last night - and with one less offsides call or Mathis not tripping on the damn ball, I would've removed the fairly) Did it end up being very effective, yes. In WCQ, effective is a wonderful adjective, stylish isn't always so (ask the Dutch).

About the youth, I slightly agree with ghost in that it would be nice to see this more and more towards 2006. However, (cliche alert), qualifiers are not time for experiments, (end cliche) and as talented and promising as Gavin, Oguchi, Spector, etc are, throwing them into a Central American road game as their first (or nearly their first) cap, that is obviously an experiment. Hopefully now, because of the lead the US now has, the Jamaica game will be a perfect time for lots of the young talent to play.

PS - Can't wait for Wednesday & going up to DC :)

[geordienation]

Right here. That lineup was crap. If anything approaching that lineup is going to start in Germany then the US won't get out of the group stage. Everyone in El Salvedor knows how horrible their team is at the moment, the Nats should win 5 or 6 nill against such competition.

AND if this isn't to be the lineup in Germany why arent the young players who will be competing getting to cut there teeth now? Obviously EJ can make a difference, so could Gavin, so could Oguchi, we already know Convey can so why isn't he getting every bit of time he can especially when he's sitting quite a bit at Reading. Let's see Spector and Simek get a shot, they have certainly both earned it, and the team will be much better off if these guys can play at this level then some 30+ old timers who can't cut it agaisnt the best of Europe and South America.

Arena has no clue on tactics, nor is he able to pick his best eleven ever, unless key inuries happen to the likes of Armas and Agoos (Korea) without which the US wouldnt have gotten out of the group stage either.



Wow. A Dutchposeur emphasizing style over substance. Who'd have thunk it?

[AndyMead]

Wow. A Dutchposeur emphasizing style over substance. Who'd have thunk it?

When you never win anything, that's all you've got left.

[Bambule GK]

Or at least the overly nervous crowd?


Dude. This close... THIS CLOSE to negative repping you.


Talk about waving a 50 spot in a trailer park.

[appoo]

IMHO, qualifying so far has been relativly pain-free.

I have yet to have a single doubt enter my mind that we wouldn't make it out of this round

[JohnR]

The Fire Arena crowd exists next to Saddam's nuclear weapons and the Easter Bunny, in the imagination of people who feel it necessary to imagine such things.

[Marquis de Sage]

The reality is that the fire Arena crowd needs to be heard to keep Bruce in check. Some of you will say that nothing keeps Arena in check, and you may be right. But without the "Fire Arena Crowd" we might not have seen Gaven & Johnson as early as we might otherwise, or we might see Frankie and Cobie around for too long.

The reality is that Kasey Keller, Kerry Zavagnin, Eddie Pope, Frankie Hejduk, Cobie Jones, Earnie Stewart, Tony Sanneh, Greg Berhalter, Chris Armas and possibly Brian McBride will likely not be starting in June of 2006. All will be over 30, and most close to 33. See Bruce's comments about playing 30+ year olds in a World Cup from "Our Way", re: specifically Agoos, who had been solid all the way up to the World Cup.

When are the players who are going to replace these guys going to start to play? Landon & DaMarcus didn't start playing until October of 2001, so I'm not worried. But the "Fire Arena Crowd" may be and that keeps Bruce and the soccer community honest.

I like Bruce's plan so far; we're undefeated in qualifying, and set to advance out of the two stages that statistically presented the hardest challenge. We're on the right path, but these issues are looming. The challenge for Bruce is to make the right decisions at the right times about phasing in new talent.

[Sachin]

If you think people yelling (or not) on BigSoccer has any effect on Arena's lineups, I've got some oceanfront property in Mali to sell you.

Of course, some would argue Arena's ego is so big it blocks any viewing of BigSoccer.

:D

Sachin

[Marquis de Sage]

Sachin

Mali would be nice. Plus, I could watch Kanoute up close. I agree that Big Soccer posters don't have any direct influence. But the Marc Connolly's of the world read bigsoccer and that influences their perspectives. I was more talking about the need for a "Fire Arena Crowd" in general, whether it be on Bigsoccer or in the media.

As I prefaced the post with, I question whether any one can challenge Arena; that doesn't mean the "Fire the Arean Crowd" should shut up.

Maybe I'm be naive though.

[gettysburg32]

Marquis, dude, this isn't a first amendment issue. No one's saying that you don't have the right to say "Bruce is a moron, Bruce is a fool, Bruce is a douche, whatever". Second point, just because a coach makes a questionable decision, lineup, etc, does it mean one should jump immediatly from unchecked praise to "let's fire the SOB!". Carry on making yourself far too important.

[uniteo]

they're out there...lurking.

and working on posts about how the El Salvador game proves we don't need Reyna in the pool.

[JohnR]

and working on posts about how the El Salvador game proves we don't need Reyna in the pool.

C'mon, another exaggeration. The skeptical of Reyna crowd falls into two camps -

1) He's OK now, but we need to ditch him by '06 because he'll be too old
2) He's OK now and will be OK in '06, but we can win key games without him

Critique one of those arguments if you wish, but don't torch the straw man.

[Serie Zed]

The Fire Arena crowd exists next to Saddam's nuclear weapons and the Easter Bunny,
This is oh-so-true. Leading up the the 2002 WC, there were a MILLION threads devoted to what a horrible coach Arena is. I posted a poll to find out where people really were with him and, shock, it turned out that it was a hyper-vocal minority of about 15-20% that really had a problem with him. The number that thought he'd done a good job (7+ out of 10) outnumbered those that thought he'd botched it (1-4) by something like 4:1.

Turns out that Nixon was right about the "silent majority."

[csctn]

The reality is that the fire Arena crowd needs to be heard to keep Bruce in check. Some of you will say that nothing keeps Arena in check, and you may be right. But without the "Fire Arena Crowd" we might not have seen Gaven & Johnson as early as we might otherwise, or we might see Frankie and Cobie around for too long.

I like Bruce, but if I found out that anything on BigSoccer influenced how he ran his team, I would be one of the first in line to call for his firing.

[Treetaliano]

Where did the Fire Arena crowd go?


I haven't gone anywhere