On his pre-injury form, Holden was as "lock" as you could ask for. But he just did an ACL, an injury that very often players don't bounce back 100% from. There is absolutely no guarantee that he'll be the same player next year or the year after that he was this past season. Holden's a fighter who has come back strong from injuries before, so I'd bet on him. But calling him a guaranteed lock without taking the circumstances of his knee into account is fantasy.
Maybe the entire team can skip the tournament. I'll get back to this. But yes, you are talking about last cycle's results. Mexico didn't look very good and turned it around. That said, yes this is a 23 tickets to Brazil thread. I am countering that this thread is fast becoming obsolescent, considering that I am losing faith that our nation can even qualify. Qualification is not easy, despite what seems to be the mantra that you and Heist seem to exhume.
Those were SGE losses, before Aguirre and before Chepo. And, if Chepo keeps on coaching like this, he is not getting canned. BTW, the US was a missed Carlos Pavon PK away from needing a point vs. Costa Rica.
And in the 2002 cycle we were a goal at home away from crashing out of the WCQ before the Hex. Finished third in the Hex. That was definitely the worst qualifying cycle of ours that I've ever seen (but I wasn't really watching in 1990). The qualifying cycle of 2010 was far, far better all around. The best time we had in qualifying has to be the 2006 cycle. Which is not a cycle I'd like to repeat.
It is, EVEN IN ALL CAPS. Its not sad. Your hyperbole all over this board is sad. We didn't "barely advance out of a Gold Cup group". Take a look at the standings again and also note that even a tie against Guadeloupe would have gotten us through. As far as not advancing out of any group at the WC, there's no reason and no evidence you have to support that. The only evidence is to the contrary from the 2010 WC. That may or may not be relevant. If we get a tough draw we might not advance, but that will be true for us for the next few Cups if not forever.
True. I guess I was thinking that even a Holden who isn't 100% will still stand out on this team, but we've certainly seen enough U.S. players derailed by injury that I guess I shouldn't assume anything. I'll amend my opinion to say that, as of right now, Dempsey is the only "guaranteed" man.
And let's remember that Holden had only been starting in England for about 6 months when he got hurt. Yet people are so eager to toss out guys like Bradley, Bocanegra, and even Dempsey who have years and years of European and national team success under their belts. Holden is actually lucky to have not played in big games yet where he would inevitably disappoint the frothing masses on BigSoccer just like every player on USMNT who isn't Messi or Rooney does.
Holden was one of the top middies in England this year and another year like the one he had and he'll be playing for a top club.. The hype is real.
As Jakepc said, the Holden hype is real. English fans are notoriously harsh on their players, the fact that Holden is so well loved tells me something. His play on the field told me something far more. I am not eager to toss out players. But I am eager to toss out the idea of "Starters". Dempsey, Bradley and Bocanegra can not be called Starters. NOBODY should be called a "Starter". You play well for your club, and you're in good form, you get called up. No player should ever be considered automatic.
What? Seriously? That's like a 63%* success rate. Better than a coin toss, but come on, most people on these boards who pay attention could probably do that good. *I'm not a math wiz, but I'm pretty sure I'm within a few percentage points.
Remember, 4 years is a long time. Even the three years we've got between now and the 2014 WC is quite a long time. I doubt I'd get more than 12 out of 23 right this time. Injuries right before the cup can impact things. It probably was a little bit easier in 2007 for the 2010 WC I'd say. There were more guys who were young in 2006, but likely to stick around for 2010.
I agree. IF (and it's a big "if") his knee holds up and he is able to regain the same level of form as he had last season. Another full season with a similar level of play, and without an injury to scare off suitors, and a major club will come calling. But it usually takes time to regain the same level of form you had pre-injury after a long injury layoff (I would not expect that level of form for most of next season), and an ACL tear often hampers careers to the point that often players aren't ever quite as mobile as they were.
True, but "better than a coin toss" is pretty good when you're talking about 4 years and the aging process and all the injuries and club moves, and managerial moves at clubs and weirdness, plus guys who don't develop, or unexpectedly bloom late or re-emerge, or dual nationals who switch national fed allegience, and guys dropping completely out of soccer (ie Szetela) and such that can happen in that time.
But it's hard to say you're rebuilding when more than 70% of your starters from the last cycle are still there this cycle. Obviously bad things could happen, they could get injured, go out of form, whatever. My only point is that this isn't a rebuilding cycle anywhere except the back line. Yes, all of our starters could bomb out wherever they are. Four years is a long time. But if that's your definition of rebuilding, then every cycle is a rebuilding cycle. The fact is, our starters at 7 of 10 field positions from the last World Cup are still strong going forward, quite likely through 2014. That's not rebuilding, by my definition. Rogers could grow into an awesome winger? c'mon, tell me you don't really think that's true. Obviously a lot can happen in that time. But really, the only position where we desperately need something good to happen is CB. Everywhere else, we'll be fine if we avoid something bad. The US is a world cup semifinal team? For real? lulz You seem to forget that one of those results was last week. Was last week part of the 2010 qualification cycle? I get my days mixed up sometimes.
Yeah, Chandler escaped my mind. My bad. There is some speculation he may switch allegiances...and that would hurt us big time. But if not, he's going to be our #1 at RB by the end of the cycle I'd bet. Some people fall off less than others with age. Hopefully Dolo stays strong into his mid 30s.
The thing about Cherundolo is, even though he's still one of our best players at a somewhat advanced age, it's not like his career has been remotely injury-free. Unfortunately I feel like his clock is ticking furiously at the moment, the injury last night being a bad omen.
Here's a guess: GKs: Howard, Guzan, Rimando RBs: Chandler, Cherundolo CBs: John, Gonzalez, Whitbread, Ream LBs: Lichaj, Shea CMs: Bradley, Holden, Jones, Edu AMs: Donovan, Adu, Gyau, Gatt STs: Altidore, Dempsey, Agudelo, Wood
Try watching the Gold Cup again. Thanks for playing. I can only judge our side by it's current form. What you are asking is judging Italy 2010 based on 2006. There is a difference.
I like playing. You are assuming that no one at all emerges as a good player for us. In the Gold Cup we had one bad game and lost to Panama (and even that game could have very easily been a tie). We beat everyone else except Mexico and shut out everyone else except Panama the first time and then Mexico.
Yep. And, a heck of a lot better than a roll of a die, or dice, if there are two or more. Better than a spin at the roulette wheel. Better than playing the California lottery. Heck, it's even better than spinning that wheel that was on that old board game, Life.
Pretty funny. But, I gotta say, Holden is coming off a major injury. And, Dempsey is getting older. There is only one guaranteed, and you know who he is ;-)
Exactly my point. Haters can't have it both ways. I don't like Bob as the coach, I think we should get rid of him. But let's be clear about what he can and can't do. I know he can easily help us qualify and even get us out of a group at the WC (unless we really aren't able to find ANY reinforcements for the older players). I haven't seen anything in this tournament to convince me otherwise. He figured out some things in these games and helped the team rebound from a poor performance and then we got beat by a clearly better team. A better tactical team and a much much better skill-level team.
I'm a hater. I don't have any serious problems with Bob because we only beat Guadalupe 1-0. We will qualify for the WC. I have problems with his tactics in the CC final, the GC final, and the WC 2010 round of 16 match. In our biggest matches he looks out of his depth tactically and puts the team in position to fail. Yes I know hen won the GC once but that is 1 for 4. Not good enough.