1) Team spacing is the number one issue Bob Bradley and the US have to resolve prior to the World Cup. US attackers too often received the ball isolated against defenders with no teammates as options within 15 yards. 2) Alejandro Bedoya is a good soccer player. 3) Jose Torres does not cover enough ground and is not strong enough on the tackle to play as a starting central midfielder in Bradley's 4-4-2 system. He needs an enforcer dedicated to defense partnered with him if he is going to be effective. The first goal was a perfect example of where Torres needs work, as Sneijder won the 50/50 challenge against a weak Torres effort before he blew past the defensive line. 4) Jonathan Bornstein, who I have defended in the past, has now made two critical mistakes in two consecutive European friendlies. In fact, the mistakes were nearly identical. 5) Unless the injury was worse than initially reported, Stuart Holden is going to be a factor for the US World Cup team. 6) Tim Howard is not a great penalty stopper. He is no Brad Friedel. 7) Beasley was actually aggressive and looked like he belong after he moved to left midfield. 8) Michael Bradley continues to improve, especially in his defensive decision making. 9) If Jermaine Jones cannot play, the US will be OK. Maurice Edu and Ricardo Clark are both excellent enforcers, with Edu rating a little more highly in my opinion. 10) The blue jerseys might still be cursed, but the better explanation is probably Holland is still a better team.
1. Beasley is still one of the better American soccer players. At least he looks like he wants to make progress up the field. 2. Donovan should be benched for the second game if he plays that way against England. Utterly terrible today. 3. Howard has to be top notch if we have a chance of progressing.
1. The rumors of Beasley's demise have been greatly exagerated. His insertion changed the game becuase he actually had some f-ing composure on the ball and can strike a dead ball. 2. We need someone with composure on the ball in midfield. 3. We don't have anyone in our midfield pool who brings that composure regularly. 4. 4-4-2s don't match up well with 4-5-1s. Oops, I guess anyone who knows much about soccer knew that one already. 5. Eddie Johnson is better than Robbie Findley.
Over reaction on Howard, he had the save if he guessed right. Donovan was invisible today, seemed like he reverted back to his form from a few years back.
1) Beasley's back and super pissed off. He had a very good game today. Positive, calm, threatening. Don't see how he could be left off the roster for SA now. 2) Edu made both Bradley's jobs a lot easier today. 3) Bedoya is who again? But man did he show a lot of class. 4) Jonathan Bornstein is a ********ing menace. He's an albatross. 5) Donovan forgot what it means to play for the U.S. - he's been getting comfortable with the skill level of his Everton teammates, and being a role-player as opposed to a consistent leader and creator. GET BACK LANDON!
Edu was composed in midfield. The other guy who runs around a lot must be the one you are talking about.
The defense and goalkeeping was very solid today - other than Bornstein's errors and bad luck deflection. He still makes the 23 IMO, but he is not a starter anymore. Did the Dutch have a shot on goal beside the PK, Huntelaar's deflection, and Howard's save of Van Der Vaart.
Lesson "that should be" learned... Americans believe that if you are not knocked down or tripped, it's a dive and should not be a foul. American players tend to play this way, and, hence, American forwards do not drop at first slight touch and American refs do not call whisper-light fouls. This does not serve us well abroad. Lesson -- if a defender puts his hands on an opposing player, that player will go down. It doesn't matter if that player "dived" or not. The ref will have to decide if it's a foul or not instantly, and more often than not will call it. So the lesson should be DO NOT PUT YOUR HANDS ON AN OPPOSING PLAYER IN THE BOX! Unfortunately, we'll probably continue to be mystified by this and continue to earn penalties that lose games (Honduras, NL, Slovakia, etc.)
--US looked uncharacteristically disinterested and unorganized until the last 5-10 minutes. the plethora of needless giveaways and hurried long balls actually surprised me...i was expecting a tighter job of controlling the ball. --way too many half-passes that left the receiving player stranded. --not sure why we are looking at bornstein in the center. --on a good note, that's not the team we will field, and they will have plenty of time together to get used to one another.
1) You can tell by Donovan's touch early if he will be a factor in the game or not. 2) ESPN is more interested in showing Dutch replays than US possession.
can't believe you can call out howard. Did you watch him vs. man u in penalties, or vs MLS all stars?
Here's what I have learned: 1) Jonathan Bornstein simply sucks. I think he played himself off of the final 23. Meanwhile, quietly, Heath Pearce might have made a comeback. 2) Jose Francisco Torres is the real deal, a worthy replacement for Benny Feilhaber. That said, I don't see JFT able to start against England or Slovenija. Torres played well and was tenacious, but he is probably more effective as a gamekiller than a starter. 3) The US needs Clint Dempsey as much as Landon Donovan. Of course, Holden held his own quite well. 4) Like you said, the US does not need Jermaine Jones. At this point, his presence is a luxury. 5) Findley is not a 2010 prospect. He's 2014 material and that's that. 6) Eddie Johnson is solid, but he still holds the ball too much and is a bit too tentative. He only makes it if Davies can't get to snuff. Johnson is still below Ching on the pecking order. 7) Once again, Bedoya is the real deal. Bedoya plays like Landon Donovan and is making a Mastroeni 2002 play for the final 23. 8) It isn't you. That ref sucked ass and was Holland's 12th man. Nigel De Jong, quite simply, should have been sent off. On two occasions. 9) The remarkable play of Holden, Torres, and Bedoya leads me to believe that despite his goal last week, Kljestan does not make the final 23 and gets scratched. 10) Welcome back Jay DeMerit, DaMarcus Beasley, and Maurice Edu. You guys are also going to South Africa too.
If Davies is not back before the WC, Landon Donovan should be played up top with Jozy with a midfield of Dempsey - Bradley- Edu -Holden
Watch the match again. It's way to early to draw and conclusions other than the fact that JB had a really bad game and Landon was marked out of the game by the Dutch.
Very few US players can hang with the top teams. The first 70 minutes looked alot like they will look against England. Left back is a bigger problem than we can possibly imagine. Donovan crapped the bed. EJ is still useless, Findley is useless -- just play 10 and get out of Jozy's way. Torres added very little in this kind of game. If you're going to cross like that, Spector, might as well play Hedjuk. I hate DeJong -- Holden was doing well and can help this team. As lazy as Dempsey can look, he is missed. I have high confidence in DeMerit. Man can Bradley cover ground. This team as of today will not go through the group stage.
Not highly impressed with our performance. At the same time I didn't think the Dutch were all that impressive either. If you saw their qualification run their form was arguably the best in the world. The Dutch looked far from world class. So in that respect our boys deserve some credit. Outisde of Bornstein I thought our defenders (DeMerit, Boca, Specs) were solid.
If Charlie doesn't come back, Donovan needs to start up front with Jozy. There are no other legitimate options. Assuming a healthy and on-form Beasley, you could put him at left mid and Dempsey on the right with Baby Bradley and Edu in the middle.
That was absolutely infuriating - especially in injury time. JP and Harkes were commentating and they had no idea the camera crew were showing replays instead of the game.