Not to mention we couldn't keep the ball and get them in any position to do anything with it. The midfield struggled to link up and were very slow in thought. The conditions were bad. Field was bad, Stadium was rowdy, Ref forgot his cards at the hotel, Panama was looking to make things sloppy. Made for a very ugly game. Going forward we have Gold Cup and Qualifying. Plenty of games for the player pool to prove themselves. Hopefully some young players can keep emerging.
Clint over Landon as best forward only because of longevity of career, MAYBE. In his prime, Landon was the best player and best forward, period.
That's the Bradley/Jones effect. Gonna be interesting to see when Bruce admits those two just can't be together anymore. Either could pair with Pulisic, but what we really need going forward is Acosta/Pulisic central pairing. June qualifiers maybe too soon for this, but definitely in the Gold Cup...
I think Bruce is more married to Bradley then Jones but I wasn't particularly thrilled with Bradley's dropping back and slowly trying to build from there. It's way to slow and predictable. One thing Klinsmann wasnt wrong in. Bradley needs to be further up the field. Or we need someone who can move the ball faster
Yes, he made a few good saves, which he should be expected to, but it's not like he was getting peppered with tough shots. If he had saved the one goal against, then sure, he would get my vote for MOM. That would have been an amazing save. But he didn't make it.
I think the goal was very saveable. He was in good position to start but bailed to his left before the shot was taken. If he had stood tall he might have taken a face shot but no goal...
I've seen Howard jump out of the way like that before. Agree, if he would have just stood tall and big, he may have saved that shot (and maybe have been knocked unconscious too). In any case, it would have been a great save and I would gladly grant him MOM title.
Don't agree with this for the first game. He was stellar. Great combination play, decent passing, and was a linchpin in the offense. Totally agree on bad game 2, but the midfield sucked, so there is that.
Armchair Analyst: The case for a USMNT midfield without Jermaine Jones http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/03/29/armchair-analyst-its-probably-time-usmnt-move-past-jones
Well, Matt Doyle is no fan of Jermaine, or of the Bradley/Jones pairing, and neither am I. Jones needs to bring it for Galaxy games, and no more suspensions. I hope he has a chance of learning to work with his teammates. If he can't, I just pray he will be one season and done for us.
Interesting bit though: Jones' through ball lead to the goal. Of course, how many other opportunities might've been created if we actually managed the midfield. I think that's the story with him.
Congratulations Hugo! 🇺🇸Arellano called to U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team training camp: https://t.co/UmiZ2AFebl pic.twitter.com/2F0URPiVRO— LA Galaxy II (@LAGalaxyII) April 3, 2017
Gyasi Zardes named to 40 man roster for the Gold Cup. Aka, Bruce still likes him, but Gyasi's current form is rightfully keeping him off the team. We will see if Bruce calls him into the group stage to get his mojo going. I'd rather him stay in LA, there are other options that will do just fine in the group stage. As for the game against Venezuela - meh. The only things to note were JAB's injury, Fabian Johnson's continued "meh" games in a US shirt, and Michael Bradley's decision to play a 5th CB. Also, the USMNT seems to be leaking set piece goals much like we were in 2014/2015. Hope Bruce fixes it by Thursday.
PHEW. order is restored. And thank goodness for Christian Pulisic. Nagbe, Yedin and Altidore also with a decent game. Fabian Johnson looked terrible, and Clint rusty.
Clint killed the team. The lack of press was discouraging too. We have two strikers why wouldn't you press
Agree 100%. FJ looks like he doesn't really care. Yedlin is good in the final third - defense not so much. Nagbe lacks technique but makes up for it with speed and aggressiveness. Nice pass by Altidore for the 2nd goal. And Pulisic is a joy to watch. I wish he and Landon could have played together - they would have torn opponents apart. But as a team we were so lackadaisical. T&T was so fearful we would press but we never did. But in the end superior skill and home field advantage won out. Very good outcome for us in the Costa Rica - Panama match: 0-0. If Panama had won it would have put a lot more pressure on us. As it is we still have a long way to go. I think we have 3 road games and 2 home games left. Usually the 3rd place team in the Hex ends up with 16 or 17 points; we have 7 points with half our games played and our next game will be the toughest one of all.
Clint's role seemed very strange to me. What as our formation? Pulisic was all over the field. He literally would be deeper than Bradley, then playing up top. I guess Bruce let him play the #10 role and gave him license to roam anywhere he wanted because pulisic played wing, striker, and mid at numerous times. I was ok with that, but who was Bradley's partner? Defensively it looked like Nagbe, Bradley, and Johnson were the three center mids. Dempsey also seemed to have a free role but he was very immobile most match. Personally I like the Altidore-Wood pairing with Dempsey coming on as an impact sub.