9/9 US vs. Brazil - Player Ratings Thread [R]

[dark knight]

Player Ratings thread.

[shinzui]

First impressions

Howard 7
Cherundolo 5
Onyewu 4
Bocanegra 5
Pearce 6
Beasley 4
Bradley 6
Feilhaber 5
Donovan 6
Dempsey 5
Wolff 6

Convey 2
Arnaud NR
Johnson 4

[FreddyAduhowdoyoudo]

Howard 5.5
Cherundolo 6
Onyewu 5
Bocanegra 6
Pearce 6.5
Beasley 4
Bradley 5.5
Feilhaber 5
Donovan 6
Dempsey 5
Wolff 5

Convey 3.5
Arnaud 5
Johnson 4.5

[Kevin8833]

Howard- 6 (tough game couldn't do much of anything on any goals but had a few decent saves)
Cherundalo- 7 (much better game I thought I thought he played well)
Onyewu- 5 (he makes me sick to my stomach)
Bocanegra- 7 (I think he organized and played pretty well but Onyewu was dreadful, and Onyewu's still does absolutely nothing to compliment Boca, to me this game proved Boca is miles above Onyewu)
Pearce- 6 (Decent game but didn't really stick out much good or bad aside from the shot on what should have been a pk, definatly worth playing some in WCQ)
Donovan- 6 (Played pretty well but was nothing spectacular, we need much better from him, and unfortunatly once again was very quiet against a world class team, I really don't think he is as great as most people think and I question if he is first XI quality.)
Feilhaber- 6 (Will be great for us as he grows and when he is on is a great player but tends to dissapear to much which I believe will change as he gets more experiance, I think as time goes on he will be an excellent player for us)
Bradley- 7 (Would be an 8 if not for the pk at the end, he is a great player and I love his grit and determination, he is going to be a great player for us and really already is, if he cuts down his few mental areas with experiance he could become world class, and Bradley-Feilhaber centermid for the present and future is a very exciting one in my opinion not to mention the depth behind them)
Beasley- 6 (Decent game, nothing great nothing bad, a definite passing grade but we do need more out of him.)
Dempsey- 6 (Decent goal but has some learning to do if he is going to be a perminant forward, I do believe he can do it but has some things to learn, played well and was our most effective forward I feel, much more so when johnson came on.
Wolff- 5 (Quiet game, very unimpressive in my opinion, and his touch was surprsingly bad I question why he was even at the game nevermind starting)
Subs:
Convey- 5 (Why doesn't he just chop his right foot off? Emberassing.)
Arnaud- 6 (I was surprised he looked pretty decent out there and I wouldn't mind seeing him play some qualifiers, nice and surprising performance.)
Johnson- 6 (Pretty effective his speed improved our attack the second he got in, I feel he should have started and still have the hope that he can learn with experiance to be more aggressive to goal and be a very good forward for us, good performance for the time he was in I feel.)

Coach Bradley- 6 I think we looked decent in the beginning and end of the game but the middle third we sat back and survived to much, I am sick of the bunker and counter game, I am not saying I want him fired but if he was it wouldn't break my heart at all, he is to similar to Bruce Arena.

Team- 6 Decent game, but the same things as always a lack of a finishing goal scorer and the onyewu boca pairing was brutal, we sat back in our end to often depending on the counter and that must change, however we did have some good individual performances and at times looked very good, however I just feel it is the same problems as always and something must be done.

[fscat]

I was at the game, but left 10 minutes early to beat the traffic, so I'm only going to rate whom I actually saw:

Howard - 6 - thought he had a good game overall, but he should of got to that 3rd goal, IMHO.

Pearce - 5.5 - played well enough to be definitely a part of the LB discussion, he was shaky at the start, but settled in well enough. The only reason I'm not rating him higher is because he was a part of a defense that let in 4 goals.

Bocanegra - 5 - I'm officially tired of Boca being a starting CB with us. He does well enough covering for others and cleaning others' messes, but if he's has to stop someone himself, it seems like a total crapshoot. Plus he is good for at least one stupid foul in a dangerous spot per game.

Onyewu - 5.5 - thought he played better individually than Boca. He seems like he is in much better form than he was at the Gold Cup. The own goal was just bad luck. The play with Robinho at the end of the 1st half, I never saw a replay of it, so I don't know if it was a foul or not.

Cherundolo - 5.5 - thought he looked best of the defenders. Stifled alot of plays on his side, plus did well on the attack. Again the only reason I'm not rating him higher is because they did give up 4 goals.

Beasley - 6 - another solid performance by Beas. Tracked back well on defense I thought. Nothing spectacular, but solid.

Bradley - 6.5 - well I hope his detractors are silent until the next friendly, because I thought he looked good. Plus no stupid fouls (that I saw). Seemed distribute well also.

Feilhaber - 6 - solid, not great performance. Distributed well, tracked back well on defense, but took some bad shots on goal.

Donovan - 6 - again, solid performance. Could of been more aggressive, but other than that, no massive complaints. I like him on the right side more and more in this lineup/formation.

Convey - 6 - I don't know what got into him between the Sweden friendly and this one, but he looked MUCH better. Actually semi-dangerous.

Wolff - 5.5 - seemed to look better as the game went on, perhaps due to the fact that he hasn't played with these guys for awhile. Actually started to look semi-dangerous in the second half.

Dempsey - 6 - looked semi-dangerous, I was wrong about him up front, liked what I saw, he seemed to tire out to me though, thought he could of been subbed out after awhile.

Bradley - 6.5 - liked the lineup, liked the subs. My only complaint is that he leaves the 1st team out to long, and would like to see some of the subs out there longer.

[DirtyJerzey]

In terms of ratings, everyone did pretty solid except Gooch and to a lesser degree Wolff.

I think we'll see two changes for our next match ... Demerit in for Gooch and EJ, Dempsey partnership uptop.

I also think we'll see a change in mentality. If this game should say anything, is that our team can hang with the big boys if we are not afraid to attack and provide some flair ourselves. We're more than capable, and hopefully the days of playing for the 1-0 result are over.

[asdf2]

In terms of ratings, everyone did pretty solid except Gooch and to a lesser degree Wolff.

I think we'll see two changes for our next match ... Demerit in for Gooch and EJ, Dempsey partnership uptop.



I'd like to see Demerit or Conrad in for Gooch and a Ching Donovan partnership up top. Put Dempsey wide right.

Then when Altidore gets in the mix he takes Ching's role straight up.

Rico Clark on for somebody - maybe Feilhaber - because he's got to play.

As for the subject matter I'll try to post something later. Kevin 8833 's are pretty good but I'd downgrade EJ a bit.

[m vann]

I was at the game, but left 10 minutes early to beat the traffic, so I'm only going to rate whom I actually saw:

Bradley - 6.5 - well I hope his detractors are silent until the next friendly, because I thought he looked good. Plus no stupid fouls (that I saw). Seemed distribute well also

I was gonna ask how you missed the stupid foul in the box but I'll give you a "get outta jail free card" since you left before it happened! But you are right, minus that penalty, Bradley showed his class and potential. :D

[Kevin8833]

I also think we'll see a change in mentality. If this game should say anything, is that our team can hang with the big boys if we are not afraid to attack and provide some flair ourselves. We're more than capable, and hopefully the days of playing for the 1-0 result are over.
PERFECT!!! I could not agree more!! we have proved this in the first and last third of this brazil game and the majority of the argentina game, when we push the game we can be as good as anybody.

[Eleven Bravo]

Howard-5.5 Man oh man. He played very well and with a dislocated finger, but four goals scored against is four goals scored against.

Cherundolo-7.0 This was definately a much better game for him. He definately does better against smaller/quicker teams instead of stronger/bigger teams. I think he really picked up the slack for Donovan offensively.

Bocanegra-PERFECT TEN!!! best Bocanegra performance i've ever seen. GREAT GREAT GREAT job by Bocanegra. And he got a goal to go with it. He was definately the rock for us defensively. the MOTM for me.

Onyewu-1.0 i'm giving him a 1.0 instead of a flat 0.0 because this was Brazil, but c'mon Gooch!!! And i'm just going to come out and say it...OGUCHI ONYEWU SUCKS!!! first the own goal and the second goal was his fault too. He completely forgot his mark. So, why have him on the team? i thought that is the main reason to have Oguchi Onyewu is to clear away corners...NOT to completely forget who he was marking. Don't get me wrong; it was a good goal, but Onyewu get your shit together. Every time Brazil broke our defensive line...guess who was at fault!!!! Oguchi Onyewu!!! The man is just plain terrible. No wonder why he is still playing in Belgium. And it's sickening to think of it too because he has soo much potential, but he is NOT living up to it. I really hope to see B.Bradley try other options against another opponent because right now i wouldn't be so sure to think that Onyewu is a lock for the 2010 WC squad. I know i'd put him behind Bocanegra & Conrad right now. And i, personally, would put him behind Parkhurst & DeMerit. Possibly, Marshall, Sturgis, Boswell, & Spector could be better options too. Hopefully, Cory Gibbs has a miraculous recovery because we need him BAD!!!!

Pearce-5.5 he played alright. and if you play alright against Brazil that gives you a positive rating for me. Oh! and that was an absolute cracker on goal. He does need to improve defensively though, but i'm optimistic.

Donovan-4.0 i'm giving Donovan a below average rating because he did not play up to standard nor with any heart. In other words, he was not the worst player on the field and he had a nice cross to Boca.... BUT!!!! Landon Donovan you are supposed to be the heart and soul of this team, and you were fading in and out of the game. i expect better than that. To me, Donovan was the only player who looked like he wasn't giving 110%.

Feilhaber-4.5 Not a game Benny will want to remember, and i didn't even know he was subbed off for the longest time so obviously he wasn't having the best game...BUT this was Brazil and you didn't do anything bad that i can remember.

Bradley-8.0. Bradley would have been a 10 or at least a 9.5 if it wasn't for that bonehead last minute play. He really needs to work on that. But he was really the engine for this team. I was very impressed, and i'm sure he's probably the one player on the USMNT that the Brazilians wouldn't want to face off against again. He's like a Benny Olsen with speed, pace, and skill.

Beasley-7.0 DaMarcus Beasley has done a complete 180. and in a great way. Not too long ago, i was thinking that Beasley's had peaked and was on a downward slide, but man is he proving me wrong. He was simply spectacular out there, and he really closed down that left side. Thank God we have the REAL DaMarcus back.

Wolff-6.5. probably the guy who gets the most shit that doesn't deserve it. And yes, i'm from Georgia so you can say i'm biased, but when he plays, our offense just looks so much better. And no, i know he's no Pele and going to win the golden boot someday, but when he's on the field he really knows how to open up spaces for our other attackers. One negative comment i have is that you should have scored that goal instead of going to the ground asking for a penalty. Maybe that's just me, but don't look for the ref to give you crap (especially, against Brazil where if they lose, the ref is suspect #1) and just tuck it away.

Dempsey-7.0. he wasn't playing all that great until he scored that beautiful goal. And that's why i like having Dempsey up top. He just has that something special to score in important games.

Convey-2.0. holy crap batman, learn how to use your right foot.

Arnaud-5.0. didn't play long, but he played well for as long as he was in. I wouldn't mind seeing him again.

Johnson-5.0. getting better. but still needs to get in positions to be dangerous in the attack instead of always trying to set up other people. Score goals. get nasty. i don't care. just be a forward.

Coach-7.0. Bob did a great job in getting these guys prepared. He was very unfortunate to not come away with a result, but i liked the fact he had the kahunas to attack.

Team Performance-7.5. i would have said great performance if we would have managed a result, but we didn't...so i'm just going to say a good performance. But i cannot fault the team's heart, discipline, and composure (except LD's). They were certainly on it today, and personally, i think there were a lot of times that i felt like we were the better team.

Final Remarks-Unlucky. that seems like the best word to describe this match. Unlike the Argentina game where they were just outclassed and ran out of gas. This team really kept Brazil on their toes the whole entire game. I really thought we could win. But I can't say that was "the standard" of play that i want to see from my players since we did, in fact, lose, but i was proud of our boys. And i think that this shows that WE CAN in fact play with the best of the best.

***And Kaka is a damn beast.

[FirstStar]

Bocanegra-PERFECT TEN!!! best Bocanegra performance i've ever seen. GREAT GREAT GREAT job by Bocanegra. And he got a goal to go with it. He was definately the rock for us defensively. the MOTM for me.

Onyewu-1.0 i'm giving him a 1.0 instead of a flat 0.0 because this was Brazil, but c'mon Gooch!!! And i'm just going to come out and say it...OGUCHI ONYEWU SUCKS!!! first the own goal and the second goal was his fault too. He completely forgot his mark. So, why have him on the team? i thought that is the main reason to have Oguchi Onyewu is to clear away corners...NOT to completely forget who he was marking. Don't get me wrong; it was a good goal, but Onyewu get your shit together. Every time Brazil broke our defensive line...guess who was at fault!!!! Oguchi Onyewu!!! The man is just plain terrible. No wonder why he is still playing in Belgium. And it's sickening to think of it too because he has soo much potential, but he is NOT living up to it. I really hope to see B.Bradley try other options against another opponent because right now i wouldn't be so sure to think that Onyewu is a lock for the 2010 WC squad. I know i'd put him behind Bocanegra & Conrad right now. And i, personally, would put him behind Parkhurst & DeMerit. Possibly, Marshall, Sturgis, Boswell, & Spector could be better options too. Hopefully, Cory Gibbs has a miraculous recovery because we need him BAD!!!!

Pearce-5.5 he played alright. and if you play alright against Brazil that gives you a positive rating for me. Oh! and that was an absolute cracker on goal. He does need to improve defensively though, but i'm optimistic.


In games against Brazil (and other WC-champion quality teams), small individual mistakes kill you. The one that killed us today was when Carlos shanked a cleareance out for a corner. He wasn't under pressure, he didn't have to hurry. Hell, he didn't have to clear it (but I'll never hold it against a defender for doing his main job-- get the ball away from the goal), but he did, he hurried and he shanked it out for a corner. Gooch lost his mark and Brazil scored. Gooch and Boca together just doesn't work because it always seems that they play to each other's errors. Gooch leaves too much for Carlos to clean up, Carlos puts Gooch in bad situations. Something needs to be done to make our central defense work better-- we really were a few bone-headed plays by Gooch, Boca and Bradley (playing in CD area at that time) away from drawing Brazil.

I left Pearce in there because very little of the trouble Brazil gave us came down his side (except goal #1) and I think he more than proved that he's at least as good as Bornstein.

[Kevin8833]

Johnson-5.0. getting better. but still needs to get in positions to be dangerous in the attack instead of always trying to set up other people. Score goals. get nasty. i don't care. just be a forward.

Excellently worded.

[fscat]

In games against Brazil (and other WC-champion quality teams), small individual mistakes kill you. The one that killed us today was when Carlos shanked a cleareance out for a corner. He wasn't under pressure, he didn't have to hurry. Hell, he didn't have to clear it (but I'll never hold it against a defender for doing his main job-- get the ball away from the goal), but he did, he hurried and he shanked it out for a corner. Gooch lost his mark and Brazil scored. Gooch and Boca together just doesn't work because it always seems that they play to each other's errors. Gooch leaves too much for Carlos to clean up, Carlos puts Gooch in bad situations. Something needs to be done to make our central defense work better-- we really were a few bone-headed plays by Gooch, Boca and Bradley (playing in CD area at that time) away from drawing Brazil.

I left Pearce in there because very little of the trouble Brazil gave us came down his side (except goal #1) and I think he more than proved that he's at least as good as Bornstein.

Regardless where we all fall on the Gooch/Boca debate, I think one this is certain, and you nailed it on the head, they play to each other's failings, they both make little mistakes that great teams will take advantage of. Their pairing has GOT to stop. I really believe BB thinks this is his top CB pairing.
I have no issue with our fullbacks, despite all the Spector/Pearce/Bornstein stuff, my main complaint with our team (despite our lack of a true RM and a deadly striker) is the centerbacks.

[Via_Chicago]

Just grades for the starters (I was also at the game - just FYI):

Howard - 5.5 - I thought how Howard did well. He made some big saves and did well commanding his box and coming off his line. However, the way he positioned his wall on Ronaldinho's free kick left something to be desired. An admirable game from a guy with a dislocated finger.

Cherundolo - 6.5 - I can't give anyone on the defense a "7" when the team gave up four goals, but Cherundolo had one of his best games in a long while, with tireless defensive work on the wing. Dempsey's goal was all Cherundolo, a beautiful run and cross that fed perfectly to the onrushing Dempsey.

Bocanegra - 6.5 - Boca played well today. He did an excellent job anchoring the back, but his communication with the defense is still lacking and I'm not sold on his leadership as captain nor on his partnership with Onyewu. But with a goal and some serious physicality in the back, Carlos had a solid outing overall.

Onyewu - 5 - Another Jeckyll/Hyde outing for Gooch. Not much he could do on the unfortunate own goal, but he was beaten badly on the Robinho yellow card, and appeared to have missed his man on the second Brazilian goal. However, despite these mistakes, he also played a relatively mistake-free game, leaving much of the physical challenges to Carlos. Smart move from him, but there's still something lacking here. Moving forward, Gooch should prove a huge boon against big, physical teams like Germany, but should be seated against smaller, more skilled opponents like, say, Argentina.

Pearce - 6 - A good game from Pearce, easily his best that I've seen from in a Nats jersey. Despite the fact that Rostock is a terrible club, the move to the Bundesliga seems to have done wonders for his confidence (I could almost hear him after an early challenge on Ronaldinho: "After man-marking Ribery, this is a piece of cake!"). His combination with Beasley was also fun to watch. Looking forward to his battles with Bornstein for playing time.

Donovan - 5.5 - A ghost match from Landon. He really was in and out of the game, but I was impressed with his physicality tracking back on defense, but his offensive forays were few and far between. While it'd be easy to chalk this up to his role on the right side of midfield, I'm not so sure. Landon's just the kind of player who is sometimes there and sometimes isn't. But, since I was at the game, I didn't get a good chance to keep my eye on him the whole match, so I'll leave this assessment to others. Great ball on the corner kick that led to the first U.S. goal.

Bradley - 6.5 - Nearly a strong 7 or 7.5 for Bradley who played maybe his best game in a Nats shirt today. His boneheaded foul on Julio Baptista was reminiscent of his red card late in the US - Canada match (another game I was at). But he's looking more and more like the talent we know he is than the kid who at times looked out of his element with the U-20s. I've been very critical of Bradley but he really stepped up in a huge way today.

Feilhaber - 5 - Not invisible, but quiet game from Benny. He strugggled to really assert himself in central midfield, but Bradley made the right call in starting him, regardless of his lack of playing time in the last month. The U.S. needed a creative presence in central midfield and Pablo wasn't going to be it.

Beasley - 5.5 - There was some nice work from Beasley on the left today, but I'm really devaluing him here for the poor quality of his set pieces. Great defensive effort (as always), but only occasional flashes of a willingness to take the Brazilians on in the offensive third.

Dempsey - 7 - This was a fairly strong outing from Dempsey today. With a true striker up top, he may have been able to create more up top. He did well controlling the ball and holding up, he timed his runs well, took on Brazilian defenders, and displayed the kind of grit and determination that we haven't really seen from him (in a Nats uniform) since last summer. A strong outing and my MotM. (Nice finish on the goal too).

Wolff - 5 - Starting Josh Wolff was a fairly perplexing decision. While he did some things well, like holding the ball up and displaying a decent first touch in Brazil's box (and should have drawn a penalty), he still displayed absolutely no killer instinct and linked up poorly with Clint Dempsey. Johnson looked to be a better choice.

[Tahu]

I was at the game.

Boca was great - 8 - calm, cleaned up messes and btw - scored the first goal.

Donovan - Fair - 4- he did actually run at a few people; but the better the team he plays against, the worse he does. I bet if the game was not a friendly, he would have been useless.


Dempsey - 8 - the core of the teams front line.

Wolff - 6.5 - pretty good for no caps in a while. He could still spark the team off the bench in the qualifiers.

Gooch - 3 Needs to calm down in central defense

DeMarcus - 6.5 Would have been higher if he scored. Very comfortable playing against the big guns.

I was in the corner, so I can't speak to some of the other players.

[Scorpion26]

Johnson-5.0. getting better. but still needs to get in positions to be dangerous in the attack instead of always trying to set up other people. Score goals. get nasty. i don't care. just be a forward.

Excellently worded.
I have to agree on this also, and I think he will improve I hope he does go to Europe after this season. He needs to be more aggressive, and show that scoring touch he had early in the MLS season.

Also taking note players i which to see, but weren't picked or hurt

Justin Mapp, Ricardo Clark, and Parkhurst these three i think could of help out after halftime. I also hope for those three to make to Europe soon.

[Via_Chicago]

I have to agree on this also, and I think he will improve I hope he does go to Europe after this season. He needs to be more aggressive, and show that scoring touch he had early in the MLS season.

Also taking note players i which to see, but weren't picked or hurt

Justin Mapp, Ricardo Clark, and Parkhurst these three i think could of help out after halftime. I also hope for those three to make to Europe soon.

Johnson's past the point where his first touch is really going to improve, but he can finish when he's put into a dangerous position. The key for him will be really learning to hustle his ass off, make smarter runs, and put himself in better positions to score. These are things that he can still learn and do (and I think he's really improving under Onalfo's tutelage in the KC system). He's not a "developing talent," he's too old for that, but he still has two things that you really can't teach: speed and an ability to finish. These are the two things that will continue to make him a valuable asset to the national side. The potential to be a very solid international-caliber forward is still there, but Eddie needs to grasp it.

[Bruce S]

Gooch can't play at this level. It his agility that is the trouble. You can't learn agility. He can't play at this level.

[lmorin]

Howard 6 - Good job. No faults.
Cherundolo 7 - MOTM; nice combination of getting into the attack with solid defending
Onyewu 6 - Good solid play; unfortunate on the own goal, but hardly his fault.
Bocanegra 6.5 - great energy and positioning.
Pearce 6 - Very steady. Nice positive change from Bornstein
Beasley 6 - major contributor to the attack against an excellent defense
Bradley 7 - would'a been higher and was MOTM until the PK foul
Feilhaber 5 - solid, but he's a tweener--not a defender and not an attacker
Donovan 6.5 - provided great balance to the Beasley attack and his defensive play was superb
Dempsey 6 - he needs to learn the position better and to keep the ball inside the PA, once he gets it there; nicely taken goal.
Wolff 5.5 - decent, and clearly should have won a PK, but the team needs more at his position.

Convey 5 - I want to see the Convey of the Coca Cola Championship year.
Arnaud NR
Johnson 5 - he's got to use muscle, technique and guile, not wait for open opportunities.

[g_d_awg]

despite our lack of a true RM
STUART HOLDEN!