He's So Wondo! The continuing chronicle of Chris Wondolowski's career

Aside from the miss, do you really still believe that he "can't hack it against better teams"? He did well against Portugal to help try to kill off the game, and then in this game, he was in the flow, helping the team on a lot of chances, and in fact put thru Dempsey on that play in extra time that was nearly a goal. Not only did he look like he belonged, but I thought he played well over all. I don't know that he turned the ball over once. IMO he looked much better than Johannson did, which is why he Johansson didn't play any more after the Ghana game and Wondo did.

 

I feel a lot of people decided in their minds already what Wondo was to them. The way people are writing about it, it's almost like they're happy he missed to confirm their beliefs and anger about him pushing Donovan out. People are already calling it the worst miss in the history of US Soccer.

 

Personally, I think the formation change was the key...a guy up top put Clint where he should have been and moved Mikey to where he should have been all cup. His few touches against Portugal were smart.

I think he was to slow mentally in his decisions almost every time. A bit quicker and every situation got better.

Yes, AJ looked like a kid against Ghana, but if JK truly thought more of Wondo he should have started after JA went down. I don't hold anything against him or the miss, but for me...the formation change was the true key.
Wondo himself just was a bit slow IMO.

Opinion of course, but just how I felt watching.

 

If Wondo had put that ball in, he'd be widely hailed as a hero and Klinsi as a genius for selecting him. I doubt anybody would be talking about "slow mentally" or "just not good enough". Maybe Zoidberg would be a rare exception, but in general that is indicative of how shallow and second-guessed these opinions are. That is one really, really important play, obviously, but at the same time it is a single data point among many, many data points you could look at to objectively evaluate Wondo's performance.

 

That's what you call a "career-defining moment"..

IF if was a fifth then we'd all be drunk.

 

Hindsight Bias. Win or loose people will find a way to stroke themselves off.

 

How can you say anyone is happy for a miss like that? People can have preconceived notions about people and still feel disappointed about an outcome. There is nothing wrong with that. I am not going to come here and say Wondo is a piece of crap who deserves to pay for his miss that kept the US from winning the game. He is a good guy, just not the player for me that a team can count on to deliver in the biggest moments. That doesn't mean Wondo doesn't feel lousy for screwing up and I am happy that he feels that way. That is ridiculous.

Would Donovan have scored that goal? I don't know judging by current form, but we know that he has done it before at the biggest stage with everything on the line. Wondo had his shot today to prove he was equally capable. He missed it, just like AJ had vs Ghana. Julian Green to a lesser extent proved he can take his chance, however less was expected of him with the team down 2. Yedlin with the team needing the performance of his life stood tall. Tim Howard impeccable. Omar Gonzalez with my doubts of being capable of defend at this level followed his strong outing vs Germany with another solid game.

The World Cup is the biggest stage to show the world who you are and prove doubters why they are wrong about you.
Some people seize the moment, others miss it and careers are defined.

 

He was onside but the linesman gave it offside, he had hes flag up, it would'nt hae counted anyone so chill out, Wondo is the ********ing man, everyone misses chancess sometimes

 

Wondo should have scored. My butt clenched hard. But that 19 year old kid Green is going to be awesome years to come.

 

Green just turned 19 and is going to be 23 in 2018, 27 in 2022 and 31 in 2026. Not sure if he will be that good by then or if he will be in form but for now anyway, he has the potential to play in 4 World Cups.

 

Wondo & Klinsi!

 

Of course, but you are of course doing the exact same thing...aren't you? Confirmation bias works both ways, except folks don't want to accept that.

My post was stated as opinion, but look at the responses. Just because J Green scored doesn't make me think he is a sure thing or will fulfill some WC prophecy. He could easily fade away. Yedlin isn't WClass all of a sudden but he does seem to have a real ethic, desire and learns...which is the important thing.

To say Wondo is limited at this level is a pretty bland, innocent statement. To question if he is up to speed is another one.

No bias there. Just based on what we have seen and how he plays, moves, etc.

Emotional bias is of course a two way street, but I won't expect rational thought here, and won't....I know where I am....just like I know it wouldn't happen in US Men. Feel for the guy. The chance was not some easy tap in, but Wondo was only going to be able to do so much. Goal would have been incredible, but wouldn't have changed the player he is...just like it won't change a guy like Green or make him WClass all of a sudden.

Old business cliche...it is what it is.

When speed of play increases Wondo has shown his limitations. That is not a shot at a player...that is a reality.

 

You're taking a ball out of the sky that's dropping from 12-15 feet with one of the top keepers in the entire world bearing down on you, I don't call that a gimme. The goal looks big in this picture but the keeper isn't just floating in air motionless, he is coming out and making himself big. I don't think it's nearly as easy as people make it out to be.

Still, Wondo should have scored it. He should have put it on frame. He tried to take the keeper completely out of the equation by going upper-V and he missed. It sucks for him more than anybody else. No chance for redemption; he'll never get another chance like this, not because he's inferior but because he's too old to be considered for 2018.

Better players missed have missed a ton of similar chances in games just as big, such as the miss at the end of the day's previous game by Switzerland. But everybody knows Wondo was capable of burying this so it's going to hurt his image that he didn't. I'll definitely support him on the pitch until the day he retires, and at least for the Quakes he's got many game left to play.

 

How am I doing the "exact same thing"? My opinion of Wondo wouldn't change one bit if he had scored there. My opinion of Wondo is based on watching him play game after game for many years. I'm simply saying that the opinion of Wondo and his selection on the team in social media and on "US Men" forums would be completely different if he had scored. And that shows you the "quality" of that analysis. How do I know this? It's because most of what I read is "Wondo blew that, see told you that he was not good enough 'for this level'". As I said, you may be an exception if your opinion is based on something more substantial (even if it is wrong :--)).

The sad thing is that even fans of Wondo don't really "get" his game. Wondo is an elite, as in world-class, poacher. Over a 3 or so year period he scored more goals in MLS than anyone ever has, and that includes Landon Donovan, it includes Robbie Keane, it includes Thierry Henry, all of them. John Terry, a guy who has played against some of the best scorers in the world, gets it.



But the problem is people look at a guy whose style is, um, well, kind of "pedantic". He sort of plods along, he's slow, he's not flashy, he is not an exceptional leaper, etc., and they think "not at this level". That's where the bias comes in. You have to kind of get past that and look at the data - how often he scores, how often he gets himself in position to score, not just in MLS, but in international play as well. That's why Klinsi selected him. And that's why he was in position to win the game for the U.S. at the end of the game yesterday. He is not actually an elite finisher; he is a pretty good finisher. Even the elite of the elite, Ronaldo, Messi, etc., miss good chances from time to time, and Wondo misses his share. So I'm not totally surprised that he missed that one yesterday, which, as you correctly point out, was not as easy as it looked.

As for the whole "speed of play" thing, I don't really see it as an issue. I was worried about his "speed" period, as in would he look real slow out there, but he doesn't. And he combines quite well with his teammates, has a good soccer brain, contributes to build-up play just fine. But again, that's not the reason he's in there.

 

It's really hard to take the miss out of the equation because it was such a huge moment, but if you look at the rest of his shift in this game he was fine on the pitch. He was winning balls, keeping it in the attacking third, passing crisply. He did his part to keep the play alive just ~20 seconds before the miss by winning the ball out of the air. Later on, he won a header that gave Jones his half-chance to tie it on a volley. He barely missed connecting on a whipped in Yedlin ball late. Wondo deserved to be on the team... the whole team was great but not good enough compared to Belgium or a lot of other teams. But we outlasted Spain, Italy, and England, to name a few.

 

He was not flagged offside. Ian Darke initially confused the linesman signalling the goal kick as offside.

 

Moot point but the linesman was pointing for a goal kick, not offside

 

I read somewhere that Chris Wondolowski won a state track and field championship while he was at De La Salle High School in Concord but I can't seem to find it anywhere online.

 

Thanks, we know. How bad is it over on the US board? Don't ever plan on going over there again.

Personally, I think the vitriol should be all directed towards Klinnsi's tactics in that game, but the miss will definitely be the lasting image. Ugh, just thinking about it makes my body ache.

I just want to give him a hug.

 

I read somewhere he liked to eat Wheaties as a kid.

 

Eating that crap its no wonder he missed putting the ball in the back of an open net!

 

Wondo missed the goal because he completely took his eye off the ball. Hard to believe that his body mechanics betrayed him like that. Maybe it was because he hadn't eaten Chipotle's in awhile, and he didn't have enough junk food residue in his system, making him irregular.

 

Count me in.

 

Someone mentioned it on this board yesterday, but did anyone else get the feeling that Wondo had gained some weight and was sporting an obvious gut over the past few weeks? Maybe it's just the cut of the USMNT jersey, but it just looks awkward on him.