Again, once again, PLEASE understand:we're just not that good USA v ES [R]

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by Karl K, Mar 29, 2009.

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  1. Karl K

    Karl K Member

    Oct 25, 1999
    Suburban Chicago
    Already the knives are out --

    Pearce Sucks

    Beasley Sucks

    Ching Sucks

    and...of course,

    Bob Bradley REALLY sucks.

    Or so the great "braintrust" on here is writing on all the Superdave started threads.

    Look, here's the deal here. We didn't win (I won't say "tied" because, really, we will destroy El Salvador when we play them here) because of two events:

    --Heath Pearce ball watching and failing to play the offside trap correctly
    --Damarcus Beasley forced to play nominal left back when we went to a 3-back, forcing Frankie to play jump ball in the box.

    THAT'S it..

    Oh, and one one more thing.

    We're just not that good.

    Really, is anyone surprised? It's just like Guatemala in the opening round. We go to these Latin American hell holes, where you can't hear yourself think, and our first touch becomes horrible, our ability to connect on simple passes deserts us, and our tactical sense devolves into route 1 football.

    People love Torres now, and he's a nice player and all, but Sascha Klejstan has kicked A$$ in other games. So he folds like a cheap paper airplane in this game. So what? It happens because, you know, we're just not that good.

    Landon Donovan, who makes it his personal mission to obliterate Mexico, faded in and out of the game more often than Rush Limbaugh mocks Obama. So what? It happens, because, you know, we're just not that good.

    Look, get used to this in away games. We're not going to set the world on fire. We simply don't have the talent to overcome the difficulties these games create, though we are way better than any of the teams we play in these toilets. It stinks, but there you have it.
     
  2. green94

    green94 Member

    Jan 1, 2007
    Minneapolis
    Club:
    Hamburger SV
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, Kljestan also sucked in the Mexico game. It's kind of becoming clear that he's just, you know, not that good.
     
  3. UxSxAxfooty

    UxSxAxfooty Member+

    Jan 23, 2003
    Rochester, NY
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Karl, I just hope you're not out there somewhere coaching some U-whatever youth soccer team and are just a crank on a soccer message board.
     
  4. ty webb

    ty webb Member

    Aug 28, 2005
    NYC
    We are more than good enough to beat this very poor ES side. T&T was up 2-0 and then missed a PK, prior to ES rallying to tie the game.

    We had terrible tactics and poor performances by some players.

    Pearce, Califf, Sascha, and Beasley were terrible and should not play on Wednesday.

    Bob's tactics were absolutetly dreadful.
     
  5. Karl K

    Karl K Member

    Oct 25, 1999
    Suburban Chicago
    Me?? A crank? As opposed to the great unwashed that would like to hang Bob Bradley in effigy? What do they do? Fart sunshine??

    Again, once again, the pure apoplexy and bi-polar reactions are coming out of the woodwork.

    So let me be very clear about what I meant in my opening post to all those out there who are really P'oed about what happened...

    Relax. Tonight's game is going to happen again. Get used to it. Take a valium. Enjoy the point. Move on.
     
  6. Karl K

    Karl K Member

    Oct 25, 1999
    Suburban Chicago
    Yet managed to get a point away after we were down 2-0.
     
  7. Knave

    Knave Member+

    May 25, 1999
    Hi, newbie! Welcome to BigSoccer.
     
  8. ty webb

    ty webb Member

    Aug 28, 2005
    NYC
    With Bob as our coach, you are probably correct Karl.

    This horrific performance against a very weak side should have been predictable based on Bob's track record.
     
  9. UxSxAxfooty

    UxSxAxfooty Member+

    Jan 23, 2003
    Rochester, NY
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You made a big deal about winning in Guatemala the last round.

    El Salvador hadn't scored on us in 11 years.
     
  10. Bolo

    Bolo New Member

    Jan 16, 2007

    Karl, I have no doubt it will happen again and don't want to hang BB, I just wan't a team that will not be 3 and out in the WC and that's what we have now. Ignoring the score, ES dominated much of that game and often looked like the more technical team. Simple question, do you think this team will fare better in WC than the 2006 team?

    I don't..
     
  11. quinn

    quinn Member

    Feb 20, 2009
    Club:
    --other--
    You blame this on BB? tactics, iffy i guess, but we all knew generally what would happen, but it all comes down to that abysmal touch by beas. that doesnt happen, and its an entirely different game. prior, it was a bit see-saw, and ES scared me on the counter, but it was give and take. after, not so much. plus, how could bb know that 3/4 of the midfield would all of a sudden lose their touch AND start passing to no one. thats not tactics or on the coach. i dont hear anyone bitching about his subs, and he seemed to have made good ajustments while the keeper was down with "injury".
     
  12. CMeszt

    CMeszt Member+

    Farewell Sweet Prince
    Jan 9, 2004
    Gentrification's Apex.
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    when the hell have we ever NOT had shitty games like that in Central America? Under what manager? You can't blame Bradley for the lack of a first touch on the squad.
     
  13. Reccossu

    Reccossu Member+

    Jan 31, 2005
    Birmingham
    But WHY is the US so bad. I've seen plenty of players in college with better touch and tactical sense. It must be that although the US could field better players in terms of skill, they would not have the speed/athleticism to play international soccer.

    Still, the US needs one player who can make space for himself off the dribble. I can only remember one time a US player dribble an opponent all game -- Torres on the left wing. Can't we field a better team by sacrificing one super-athelete in favor of one skill guy?
     
  14. ty webb

    ty webb Member

    Aug 28, 2005
    NYC
    LMAO... there is no way we should go 2-0 down to that side in the first place.
     
  15. appoo

    appoo Member+

    Jul 30, 2001
    USA
    is there a reason you felt you needed to start a thread to say this? Or are all the Superdave threads or Post game threads not good enough for you?
     
  16. Karl K

    Karl K Member

    Oct 25, 1999
    Suburban Chicago
    Who knows? That's 14 months away. Depends on a lot of factors -- injuries, Altidore's development, the draw.

    We can go three and out and be a MUCH better team. We could advance and actually be WORSE.

    Sometime these games wind up boiling down to a few key moments, a few key mistakes, a few key moments of luck/brilliance.
     
  17. Karl K

    Karl K Member

    Oct 25, 1999
    Suburban Chicago
    Yes, I have stopped beating my wife.
     
  18. rep21

    rep21 New Member

    Jul 24, 2008
    Tucson, Arizona
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Its fine. Keep making excuses for Bradley or certain players. Keep the expectations low. That way when we go three and out in the confed cup and three and out in the world cup we can just come back to this thread and pat each other on the back knowing we just aren't that good.

    That is BS, though. We are good enough to go to El Salvador, Guatemala, T&T, etc and win every time. We ARE good enough to go to these countries and at least expect us to play properly, not long balls to nowhere. I didn't see Torres, Altidore or Hejduk affected by the environment, either.

    Really, the only true thing about our team that isn't good enough is the coach. Its his job to select the players and formulate the tactics. Can anyone honestly say that as a team we are better than we were in 2006 leading up to the world cup? It seems we have better players but overall it feels like we are the same team as in 2006.
     
  19. KALM

    KALM Member+

    Oct 6, 2006
    Boston/Providence
    Outside of this game, we've outscored El Salvador 16-0, I believe, in the past decade. So, personally, I think we're better than this.
     
  20. Diegan

    Diegan Member+

    San Diego FC
    United States
    Sep 18, 2008
    Club:
    Celtic FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And France was good enough to go to Austria and beat them (but lost 3-1) and blah blah blah. Manchester United lost to Fulham, Barcelona lost to Espanyol... bad results happen. Bad results happen more often in hostile environments. I honestly think that every player would rather play in a massie stadium in South Africa with a lot of your fans would be more appealing than playing in El Salvador with almost no fans. We aren't Argentina, but we are good. And you know what's even better? We're getting better.
     
  21. FC Funkotron

    FC Funkotron Member

    Jun 27, 2007
    Austin, El Paso, New York
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't know what people expected. We haven't looked 'good' away in any of these qualifiers. Cuba, Guatemala, Barbados, El Salvador, yet our team always manages to grind out a result, which I find to be incredible.

    These gut checks are what's essential for our team; and in no way will these games be anything like the neutral playing fields of South Africa.

    Sure, this is disappointing, but people need to calm down with the verbal lynchings being given to most of our players and Bob Bradley.

    They'll bounce back against T&T and most likely look impressive doing it.
     
  22. TheHun

    TheHun Member

    May 5, 2005
    How much of this is due to not having the national behind the USA team ?

    Why call them a "national team" when they clearly do not represent a nation ?

    MLS goes blissfully playing their games while the USA representatives try to qualify for the world's biggest sporting event.

    Evident on TV tonight was a small country whipped into a frenzy at the slimmest of chances of making it to South Africa in 2010.

    Yet, in America, a large percentage of soccer fans do not support, soccer, the US team and even more care less about MLS.

    In the same frame, women's soccer gets as much, if not more, attention as the mens game ... (is this even a reality to any country that has ever won the world cup ?)

    What's wrong with this picture ?
     
  23. Diegan

    Diegan Member+

    San Diego FC
    United States
    Sep 18, 2008
    Club:
    Celtic FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'd pay to see a Euro team like the Netherlands or England go to ES, Guat, CR, etc. and see how they'd react. I'm not saying I'd expect them to lose, I just think it'd be extremely interesting to see how they react to that atmosphere.
     
  24. VioletCrown

    VioletCrown Member+

    FC Dallas
    United States
    Aug 30, 2000
    Austin, Texas
    Club:
    Austin Aztex
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Wow. This is so weird. It's like people haven't watched World Cup Qualifying before.

    I have a distinct memory of us playing Panama (PANAMA!) like utter crap down there four years ago, and somehow squeaking in a miracle tying goal in injury time. And then doing the same thing again in Jamaica.

    Yeah, we looked pretty crappy through most of the game. But then, after Jozy came on, we just looked certain to get at least a tie. And I don't remember feeling that way four years ago in the Jamaica and Panama games.

    I'm not sure I really mind this. Four years ago I was bugged because I didn't think we had it tough enough. Qualifying was too easy.

    I think we actually need more games like this. Not games where we suck for 75 minutes, but games where we have to have some mental toughness to get the result.
     
  25. SoccerKowboy

    SoccerKowboy BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 13, 2007
    Virginia, USA
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I agree with the general sentiment of the OP, but we're better than we played today. It seemed like just about everyone's touch (except Torres, Donovan, and Altidore) was off. Califf shouldn't have started, he was just coming off of injury, and didn't even play in his last club match. I've always been a big Pearce proponent, but he just looked flat out bad. Beasely was missing that extra gear he has... hope it's temporary.

    Torres looked very good. Bradley needs to figure out a way to fit him into the lineup, because he fills the hole that Benny left when his form fell off the face of the earth. MB looked fairly good too, and Altidore played quite well. I don't know how Jozy manages to keep his form, despite not getting any game time in Spain. He's absolutely murder on CONCACAF competition, because there are very few central defenders in our region that have the size and/or skill to mark him.
     

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