Landon says the '02 team "was far ahead of" the '14 team

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by Karl K, Jul 2, 2014.

  1. cleansheetbsc

    cleansheetbsc Member+

    Mar 17, 2004
    Club:
    --other--
    and of course it was pre-7:00 am. I don't get my singing voice until at least 9 am.
     
  2. eddygee

    eddygee Member+

    DC United
    May 12, 2007
    Moco, Maryland
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No we were outclassed gross exaggeration :whistling:
     
  3. Grogtank

    Grogtank Member

    Sep 5, 2009
    Vegas Baby
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This sounds like pure sour grapes to me. That's my analysis.
     
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  4. ty webb

    ty webb Member

    Aug 28, 2005
    NYC
    I don't think we will hear that from him.

    And if he wouldn't have, he would have been at the WC.
     
  5. deuteronomy

    deuteronomy Member+

    Angkor Siem Reap FC
    United States
    Aug 12, 2008
    at the pitch
    Club:
    Siem Reap Angkor FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For me, the argument always weakens after this . . .
     
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  6. ty webb

    ty webb Member

    Aug 28, 2005
    NYC
    I think you are right.
     
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  7. Friedel'sAccent

    Friedel'sAccent Member+

    Jul 7, 2006
    Providence, RI
    Club:
    Reading FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Hi, I'm not concerned about the content of your post, rather the sneering tone you took (i.e., "Landycakes). That's not considered constructive in N+A. If this thread becomes as unbearably toxic as every single coaching thread has become, you can be sure we'll move it or close it. For the moment, we're just trying to keep the entire forum from going off the rails.

    And it would be dandy if you and others would stop devisively and derisively talking about "fans" and "haters." That's discussing posters, not ideas.
     
  8. Shaster

    Shaster Member+

    Apr 13, 1999
    El Cerrito, CA, USA
    The 2002 team has such attacking talents. The current team is weak (except Dempsey).
     
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  9. Rainer24

    Rainer24 Member

    Jan 6, 2008
    Nashville, TN
    Club:
    VfB Stuttgart
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Meh. I think it's pretty much a toss up. We happened to face a team we knew how to beat in the Round of 16 that year. Beyond that, results were much the same, although we played really well against Germany that time around.
     
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  10. flyerhawk

    flyerhawk Member

    Feb 5, 2006
    Hoboken NJ
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I categorically disagree with this. Luck is a part of all sports and certainly part of football. Whether we got particularly lucky in 2002 or unlucky in 2014 can be debated but the notion that luck doesn't factor into the World Cup is silly.

    Wondo finishes and we win a game we had no right winning. That is the definition of lucky.
     
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  11. Papin

    Papin BigSoccer Supporter

    Nov 19, 1998
    le côté obscur
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Has the U.S. ever had a midfield combo as experienced and skillful as Reyna and O'brien?
    Has the U.S. ever had a better header of the ball than McBride? Add a young Mastro, extremely experienced vets like Jones and Stewart, a dangerous Mathis available on the bench, two fearless youngsters with incredible speed (LD and Beas), one of the best center backs the U.S. has ever had (Pope), a savvy goalkeeper who played lights out (Friedel saved two PK) and two MLS players who played better than anyone could ever have imagined (Hejduk and Sanneh) and you have a pretty damn good team. And, ahem, Agoos.

    And still, the second half against Portugal was all about desperately keeping Portugal from scoring a third goal to avoid a total collapse.
    The 1-1 draw against Korea was a hard-fought match where the U.S. lost the lead after Mathis's strike and hung on to get one point against a determined opponent.
    The match against Poland was a cold dose of reality. Poland completely outplayed the U.S. in that match. The team looked shell-shocked and took forever to get back into the match. Luckily, Korea decided to play all out against Portugal and saved our behinds.
    In the round of 16, we were lucky to face our old foe Mexico, a team that couldn't buy a win on U.S. soil. Mexico had a ton of chances and a few non-calls (clear U.S. handball in the box) and the U.S. secured a win when LD scored a beauty on a counter attack that was against the run of play. Arena surprised Aguirre by playing Reyna on the right, which played a major part in McBride's goal.

    Germany is the match that showed how good that '02 team could be. The Germans were the ones hanging on for dear life at the end. I think that match is the one that swings the pendulum in favor of the '02 team. For most of the second half, Germany looked and played the way Belgium did the last five minutes of yesterday's match, defending waves of U.S. attacks.

    I see a lot of talent coming up through the ranks that can hopefully lead to more skillful play, better possession soccer, and more attacking play in the future. After the '02 cup, everyone was giddy with excitement, but Bruce hung on to his favorites for too long (Lewis, Berhalter, Pope, McBride, and Reyna were all 32 or older in '06) and there just wasn't enough talent in MLS to carry the team in '06 (IMHO Albright, Olsen, Ching, Conrad, and Wolff wouldn't have made the 2014 squad, and we know EJ didn't). I hope, and somewhat expect, that JK will continue being unpredictable and shaking things up. That's the only way he's going to succeed if he is to last through the 2018 cycle as a two-cycle manager.
     
  12. y-lee-coyote

    y-lee-coyote Member+

    Dec 4, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    AFAIK Landycakes only became an issue and a slur recently, I knew that before I knew there was a big soccer. You mistook my tone on the fans thing. Honest. I wasn't trying to thinly veil haterz.

    Again, I wish you had been this aggressive in the coach's thread. We might still have one.
     
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  13. butters59

    butters59 Member+

    Feb 22, 2013
    Next time I hear "Group of Death" I gonna vomit. We played imploding Ghana team, limping Portugal and disinterested Germany. Both Costa Rica and Mexico had much more difficult opponents. 2002 team had amazing talent.
     
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  14. Friedel'sAccent

    Friedel'sAccent Member+

    Jul 7, 2006
    Providence, RI
    Club:
    Reading FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The coaching thread issue goes back a long ways, and I'm not going to discuss it further here. The "Landycakes" has been around for years and years and is not in keeping with the tone of N+A.
     
  15. ty webb

    ty webb Member

    Aug 28, 2005
    NYC
    Since JK cut Landy for not staying fit and maintaining a professional approach. I seriously doubt JK will keep untalented favorites around like Arena in 2006.
     
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  16. luftmensch

    luftmensch Member+

    .
    United States
    May 4, 2006
    Petaluma
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Would it be better if he'd said "I think it would be in the best interest of your legacy if you would choose your words more carefully"? Because that's pretty much how I interpreted "shut up Landon."
     
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  17. Marko72

    Marko72 Member+

    Aug 30, 2005
    New York
    Are you sure that's what it was? That's a hefty assumption.
     
  18. Kool Herc

    Kool Herc Member

    Oct 17, 2008
    Dallas
    Club:
    Leeds United AFC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Both Mexico and Costa Rica groups had teams that were out after the 2nd game so that alone makes their groups weaker. Heck, Mexicos group had a match fixer for god sakes so it was a 3-team group (albeit 3 very good teams.) Just as you punched holes in our group I could say the same about Italy England uruguay and Croatia.
     
  19. The_Dude

    The_Dude Member+

    Aug 21, 2004
    I'm sure he's pretty stressed about this development.
     
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  20. The_Dude

    The_Dude Member+

    Aug 21, 2004
    He cut Landon because he made himself unavailable for Hondura, Costa Rica & Mexico. He never forgave him for that. My opinion.
     
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  21. The_Dude

    The_Dude Member+

    Aug 21, 2004
    Unequivocally, yes. Mathis took that ball over his shoulder, controls with his right foot - it bounces once and he hammers it with his off/left foot. Surrounded by three Koreans - silencing an entire nation. Literally. It was easily one of the best goals of the entire World Cup but never was recognized as such because he made it look so easy.

    Jones got some space and hit a GREAT ball - but the skill level for the two goals was completely different.
     
  22. Kool Herc

    Kool Herc Member

    Oct 17, 2008
    Dallas
    Club:
    Leeds United AFC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agree and I think the fact that when he was a free agent he could have challenged himself leading up to the WC with a short term contract in England and once again took the easy route
     
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  23. chad

    chad Member+

    Jun 24, 1999
    Manhattan Beach
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That is so beautiful. It never gets boring.
     
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  24. Spursfan1

    Spursfan1 Member+

    Sep 7, 2010
    Atlanta
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Koreans in retrospect were never that good. they had that amazing run but honestly in the last 3 world cups since then....

    If we play at home I think we can go really far in a future world cup.
     
  25. The_Dude

    The_Dude Member+

    Aug 21, 2004
    Clint-mania was a beautiful thing. I still remember that some dude in Germany would upload his goals from the BL by videotaping his television screen. Even his misses were awesome - the shot from midfield that hit the crossbar in Ireland (I was actually at that game) was particularly memorable.
     

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