US vs. Mexico Feb. 11, 2009 PLAYER RATINGS THREAD

[USvsIRELAND]

Only saw 2nd half so I want to hear people's opinion.

[Marko72]

(On a 6 point "average" scale)

Howard - 7.5
Hejduk - 6.5
Onyewu - 6
Bocanegra - 5.5
Pearce - 6
Dempsey - 6.5
Bradley - 8
Kljestan - 6.5
Beasley - 7
Donovan - 7 (edit upon further reflection)
Ching - 6.5

Altidore - NR (but looking 7ish)
Clark - NR (but looking rather 5ish)

[Bruce S]

Howard - 7.5
Hejduk - 7
Onyewu - 5
Bocanegra - 5.5
Pearce - 5.5
Dempsey - 5
Bradley - 8
Kljestan - 5.5
Beasley - 6
Donovan - 5.5
Ching - 5.5

[Blutgrätsche]

Seems to me that numerical ratings just don't capture the essence of this one. Therefore:

Naughty:
Pearce
Dempsey
Kljestan
Onyewu
Boca


Nice:
Howard
LD
Bradley
Haydude
Beas
Ching

You can add Altidore, Clark, and Bob Sr. (for poor subs) to the Naughty list as well..

[lmorin]

Howard - 7
Hejduk - 5.5
Onyewu - 5.5
Bocanegra - 4.5
Pearce - 5
Dempsey - 4.5
Bradley - 8
Kljestan - 4.5
Beasley - 6
Donovan - 5.5
Ching - 5.5

[TheDoc]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Howard - 7.5
Hejduk - 7
Onyewu - 6
Bocanegra - 5.5
Pearce - 6
Dempsey - 6
Bradley - 8
Kljestan - 6.5
Beasley - 7.5
Donovan - 6.5
Ching - 5

[BalanceUT]

A site accumulating ratings for the game.

http://fans-scorecard.com/main/demo_rate_players

[KALM]

Howard - 8 (Came up huge once or twice and looked confident otherwise)
Hejduk - 7 (solid defensively)
Onyewu - 6 (some great stops, but some shaky moments too)
Bocanegra - 5 (poor on the ball)
Pearce - 5 (meh, but I'm not sure we can do better at the moment)
Dempsey - 6.5 (strong 1st half, weak 2nd half)
Bradley - 9 (MotM)
Kljestan - 6 (did not create much, but worked hard defensively)
Beasley - 7 (set up two of our most dangerous opportunities)
Donovan - 6.5 (contributed to both goals but otherwise quiet)
Ching - 5.5 (did what was asked of him, but I feel he's too limited still)

[RMCFkevin]

Howard - 9 (Was Great when he needed to be, stayed in the game even after picking up a knock on his knee)
Hejduk - 8 (Best defender on the pitch)
Onyewu - 6 (Did some good, not too much bad)
Bocanegra - 5 (didn't notice too much, will give him benefit of the doubt for a clean sheet)
Pearce - 5 (Wasn't bad but wasn't himself either)
Dempsey - 4 (seemed like he was playing for the fouls)
Bradley - 9 (Scored 2 goals, worked hard)
Kljestan - 4 (Didn't notice him too much)
Beasley - 7 (Had some flair on the wings and caused problems for mexico's defense)
Donovan - 6 (not too much but played an important part on the first goal by heading the ball into the middle)
Ching - 5 (Worked hard by holding up the ball but nothing more than that)

[The_ChelseaSupporter]

Howard - 8
Hejduk - 8
Onyewu - 6
Bocanegra - 6
Pearce - 6
Dempsey - 5
Bradley - 8
Kljestan - 4
Beasley - 7
Donovan - 7
Ching - 6

[Smithsoccer1721]

Howard - 9
Hejduk - 7.5
Onyewu - 6.5
Bocanegra - 5
Pearce - 5
Dempsey - 5.5
Bradley - 9
Kljestan - 6.5
Beasley - 6.5
Donovan - 6.5
Ching - 5

[GringoTex]

There are no goals without Donovan tonight. You goobers giving him 5s and 6s are, well, goobers.

[The_ChelseaSupporter]

There are no goals without Donovan tonight. You goobers giving him 5s and 6s are, well, goobers.

Agreed. I think people are just used to him scoring the goals himself! Typical game from him, which happens to be good and quality.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Howard-8
Hejduk-8
Bocanegra-6
Onyewu-7
Pearce-6
Bradley-9
Kljestan-6
Dempsey-5
Beasley-6
Donovan-6
Ching-5

[NoSix]

Howard: 8
Hejduk: 7
Onyewu: 5
Bocanegra: 6
Pearce: 6
Dempsey: 5
Bradley: 8
Kljestan: 5
Beasley: 7
Donovan: 6
Ching: 6

Altidore: 6
Clark: 4

[NoSix]

There are no goals without Donovan tonight. You goobers giving him 5s and 6s are, well, goobers.

And other than those two plays, he was invisible/tripping over the ball/passing it to no-one, so all together a 6 is about right.

[Cool Hand Luke]

And other than those two plays, he was invisible/tripping over the ball/passing it to no-one, so all together a 6 is about right.

Truth

[Nutmeg]

Howard: 8
Hejduk: 8
Onyewu: 7
Bocanegra: 3
Pearce: 3
Dempsey: 4
Bradley: 9
Kljestan: 7
Beasley: 7
Donovan: 6
Ching: 5

Altidore: NR
Clark: NR

What amazes me about this game is that there were some truly bad performances, but we still pulled out the 2-0 win. I'd move Boca to LB and put Califf in at CB immediately. Dempsey was just a down game, but he's not a long term problem that needs fixing.

Give the Bradley-Kljestan pairing some time. I think those two could be a very good partnership.

[NBlue]

And other than those two plays, he was invisible/tripping over the ball/passing it to no-one, so all together a 6 is about right.

That would be a good point if it wasn't completely incorrect.

Donovan also created the third best opportunity of the night by making a beautiful pass back to Dempsey in the box a few minutes prior to our first goal. It took a brilliant save to prevent a goal. And he sent in a rather dangerous free kick that he barely missed after Ching drew a nice foul earlier in the half. He was also the dude with three Mexicans draped on him just about every time he touched the ball -- allowing opportunities for his other teammates.

So, to review. Was significantly involved in both of our goals. Check. Created and excellent opportunity for a third goal that was saved. Check. Took a nice free kick that just drifted wide on a windy night. Check. Allowed opportunities for his teammates based on Mexico's focus on him defensively. Check.

Dude sucks. Bench him. I'd give him a 3, at best.

[FC Tallavana]

Howard - 7...Solid

Hejduk - 7...MOTM until Bradley's second goal.

Onyewu - 6...Recovered from somewhat shaky start.

Bocanegra - 5...Not up to his recent level.

Pearce - 5...This guy is the luckiest man in the world. He brings little to the team, yet he's a virtual lock.

Dempsey - 5...Not a mudder, but he worked hard.

Bradley - 7...His best game by far as a nat. MOTM.

Kljestan - 4...What is it you guys see in him? This is the same guy that sucks pretty much every time I watch him play against decent competition.

Beasley - 6...All over the place and showed a nifty move or two.

Donovan - 5...He was the focus of Mexico's defense, but he worked hard and made an impact. Still, too many errant passes and dribbles to nowhere for anything more than a 5.

Ching - 4...A combination of what I said about Pearce and Sacha (though not as harsh on the Sacha side of things).