I don't think the Panama coach "settled" or succeeded in implementing his gameplan, unless the plan was to go down right before the half in a jumbled, disorganized mess and then equalize off a poorly-defended set-piece.
I agree, Chandler should have been there because of the paucity of talent/bodies at the position and you know what? People talk like Chandler doesn't care but he could just stay in Germany and focus on his reasonably successful club career if he wanted to. He doesn't have to accept call ups and compared to his club money, the national team doesn't pay anything so I have to question the people who question his motives.He melts in the heat, humidity, questionable conditions and officiating of CONCACAF away qualifiers makes more sense than him being some sell-sword who has lost interest and doesn't put out of the national team anymore. I don't hate many things but the spreading of rumors and naked speculation on where a player's heart is really makes my angry. We can't read minds. We can only judge performances and my read on the guy is encapsulated above in the italics . It's not malicious, he just struggles in away qualifiers although he could be very useful in Russia where that won't be a problem.
I did and Zusi played exactly one game at RB after June. I wouldn't exactly call that a "shift to the back line."
Interesting comments here. I think this match was ok, and we should not overreact too negatively on this one anymore than we get too high on the shellacking against Panama. 4 points over 5 days is good. Panama in the humidity early in MLS season is difficult and particularly with that ref. Don't forget CONCACRAP refing. And a bouncy field which takes away some of our tempo of play which favors physically punishing play with a team like Panama. Defense had one serious lapse on a dead ball play. No goals in the run of play. We had a ton of injuries against us. Wood, Cameron, Brooks, Yedlin, FJ, etc. And I think Chandler is a question mark for the US - good for club and poor for country. Yes JJ and Bradley junior are not doing well, and this may be Arena's toughest decision .. having to tell Jerome he is a warrior but it is time to hang up his international cleats. And gosh I think Jozy is good, but he is just not playing better than Dempsey or Wood. What was good? Pulisic - he got hacked down multiple times and still fought through for that great assist. Acosta looks like a good player in the making, and Villafana as well. Nagbe had some very good moments. I am looking forward to the next set of matches when Dempsey, Wood, Pulisic, and FJ all play together. So four points in two games, and better organization ... all in all making progress in the positive direction.
No, I wouldn't either (although the article mentioned 3 games, but I'm not clear if he actually played in three). Maybe it caught Arena's eye? In any case Vermes seemed to also be thinking that would potentially be the evolution of Zusi. Personally I think they're both nuts (well, maybe not Vermes because MLS is a different level than international). I'd have called in Chandler even knowing he was only able to play one game. Per Donovan on the radio today (citing Cameron) Bruce was set on Cameron at right back a couple weeks before camp once injuries started to occur (Yedlin, Lichaj).
Can't disagree with what was said above. Any formation that put Pulisic in the hole is a must. However, he needs supporting attackers around him in order to fully capitalize on his strengths and talents. That other point about Bradley is the biggest problem with this US team. Again and again, guys are automatic starters based what they have done in the past, not what they can do now or able to do going forward. There are many games where I don't think people will argue that Bradley needed to subbed off, or benched. His poor passing under pressure, tendency to give up the ball cheaply and making errand passes will and had cost the team points. I think we all know that when playing against the best teams in the world, or playing on the road in tough environments, you're not going to have tons of time to pick and choose your passes. You're gonna be pressured, you're gonna be swamped, and you're gonna feel the hit. You need the ability to make quick and precise decisions, deliver the ball accurately to the targets and Bradley had demonstrated repeatedly, that he's just not up to the task. At least not in recent memories. What this team need is a coach with "how to run a club" mentality. Guys are going to complete for a place on the roster, and they will need to compete even harder for a spot on the starting 11 every week. No one is an automatic starters. I think we're at a point where we have enough talents in our players pool to be able to do this. We have multiple quality players on every single position, well maybe except LB.
In the conversation that matters most, about world cup qualifying, this is basically a good outcome. It's not a miraculous resurrection of our WCQ campaign in one game, which a win would have been, but it's certainly not the total psychological and strategic disaster that a loss would have been. It keeps us in 4th place, in the WCQ conversation and in playoff qualifying position even after the most putrescent hex start in our history. Panama has never been an easy foe away in WCQ. Has any team? We have two wins and two draws against them in our four WCQ games, but only one (3-1 win in 2006 hex) was an easy win, the rest were very hard-fought and could have gone either way. Those lamenting this game as a sad state of affairs since we had to struggle would do well to cast your mind back to 2004 (if you were even alive then) to recall when it felt like an em-effing miracle that we even scraped a 1-1 last-gasp draw at Panama in the WCQ semis. Concacaf away is nearly always a slog; occasional wins at Panama and El S are by far the outliers. Was it the best performance we've had? Nope. Disappointing compared to the Honduras rout? You bet. Somewhat concerning that Arena seems to be making some of JK's same exact mistakes, like a Bradley/Jones DM pairing? Yup. But I still think we were a better match for Panama in this game, away, than we were in any of the tough games we played away since WC14. Think about how we looked in Guatemala or even T&T in the semis, for example. Putrescent. This was better. Hell, by the very end it seemed to me that Panama was happy with a home draw and was playing out the clock while we were pressing and on the front foot. So I'm encouraged, but not hugely. If we can put T&T away we'll (at least temporarily) leap Panama into one of the automatic qualifying spots. Sure, 3d place doesn't sound glamorous after we won the hex outright like three times running, but the last time we entered the hex in 3d place was 2002 and that didn't turn out too shabby.
According BA, isn't that a criteria to call in a player? At least that's the reason he gave the media for why he brought in start Vilafana? It's because he's a LB? Or was that just BA's hypocrisy and just a poor jab at Klinsi?
I have also posted previously that I would take Wood over Jozy any day of the week, perhaps maybe on some very rare days I might start Jozy over Wood. But to be fair, Jozy (as well as Dempsey) was not put in a position to be effective during this game and that's the coach's fault. Both Jozy and Dempsey had zero service because our most talented and creative player is being isolated and harassed on the wings. Didn't anyone noticed Dempsey was mainly invisible, except for that goal? Which by the way was 99% Pulisic and 1% Dempsey to slot the ball in front of a wide open net?
The best thing that can happen to this team is get a fresh new coach. Someone that is not TOO FAMILIAR or attached to the current player pool, and rebuild this team from the ground up. With all the bad that Klinsi had, he was GREAT at one thing. Identify young and upcoming talent, and start integrating them early into the team.
I don't know if it would be good for qualifying, but it could be good for eschewing any politics involved in player selection. Do Jozy and Bradley have to be automatic starters? Maybe they do, but I wouldn't mind seeing a coach with no other agenda than putting the best team together judge that, hurt feelings be damned.
You may be right but I wouldn't feel safe right now.they have similar remaining schedules, with the key game possibly being their remaining head to head matchup in Panama. I just don't think that the extra point from a draw helps them that much. They had far more to gain with a win. A win wouldn't guarantee 3rd but I think it would pretty much guarantee 4th over Honduras and make US' path to 3rd very difficult. A loss and they still have a pretty good shot at 4th over Honduras.
There is no way a slight 17 yr old, even if his name is Pulisic, is ready to be the midfield boss against a strong, athletic CONCACAF side. He took a pretty good physical pounding as it was and there's no reason we should expect that to change.
http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2017...ers-michael-bradley-jermaine-jones?yptr=yahoo Is this this what people in here been saying? Not only should we stop playing them together, but perhaps they should be considered from being automatic starters all the freaking games. Their time and usefulness has passed. Sure they can still bring some quality to the team, but automatic starters? I highly doubt it, including Bradley.
Right from the beginning, Arena said there would be few changes in the first two games of qualifying. Too little time. I took him at his word. These past two games have now bought a bit of time and relieved some of the pressure so that he can start making his stamp on the team personnel-wise. In my opinion, he passed the first test. If the personnel remains the same OR we see similar results and style than he deserves a bit more criticism. Do we see players like Acosta, Zimmerman and others get a larger role in the team? Acosta, I believe, is very similar to Jones in some ways. We'll have to wait and see how Arena uses him. I really like Zimmerman but he is competing for a crowded position. We'll see if he moves up in the depth chart.
I don't care if he's 14 yrs old. If he can run the midfield for BVB, he's more than qualified to be the midfield for the US. And I am pretty damn sure not a single US player is qualify to start for BVB.
I agree with you. Let's see what BA does over the next 12 months. But in all honesty, I like to see what Zimmerman can do instead of Gonzo, Ream, and the likes.
Yes. Green, Ibarra, Orozco, Johannson, Mix, Williams, Corona were magnificent elements of this integrative melange. Greatness is rare, but Jurgen dared to be rare.
You forgot Wood, Fabian Johnson, and Pulisic...yes Pulisic....should I go on? Green scored a wonder goal in Brazil. Both Green and Zelalem will likely turn out to be great for the US when their times come.
Did find it interesting listening to Men in Blazers that Hercules Gomez co-signed the argument that Bradley-Jones needs to be scrapped. I've viewed it as simply too comfortable for Arena to go away from when it comes to away matches in Central America, but if Gomez is jumping on the bandwagon, maybe he's hearing, and seeing the same thing everyone has for years, that they actually make one another worse when combined in this way. I don't know what the heck you do though. Jones is irreplaceable against teams with legit attacks. He's a fearsome presence, and teams know they can't simply run down the middle through us w/o having to keep their peripheral vision active for his whereabouts. And Bradley's work rate, and quality when he isn't overburdened w/way too many responsibilities, has basically been a core component of every game plan we've put together the past six years or more. So what the heck do you do? What's our best options going forward? I suppose we can mix and match depending upon the quality of the opponent and style of play but something like: -------------------------------------------Jozy------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------Wood---------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------Pulisic-------------------------------------------------------- -------Fab--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dempsey ------------------------------------------------------Jones or Bradley------------------------------------------ ---------Villafana------------------------Brooks--------------------Cameron----------------Yedlin----- Is this it? Or do you put Dempsey in the middle and Pulisic on the wing? I tend to view them as guys that can interchange but I prefer Pulisic in the middle because of his ability to incorporate teammates and keep the pace up, whereas Dempsey tends to slow the pace down and draw fouls instead of incorporating teammates when he's at the tip of the midfield. I wonder if you switch them depending upon the team you're playing? A fast and big T&T put Dempsey in the middle, and Pulisic on the wings? Not sure, but if the unthinkable happened, and we finally broke up the pairing, what becomes the first XI?
Zusi has played three full games at RB for the Sporks: the two vs. DC, and the one at home vs. the Goonies, where he had the assist for Benny's goal.
Already need a new coach? Arena said there weren't going to be many changes because there wasn't time. Considering the predicament we were in that's smart. I guess he's familiar with some players seeing them in MLS or with the US, but really other than Lletget, Gonzo, and Altidore (for a year 10 years ago) he hasn't coached any of them (ok Bradly for a week or so at 2006 pre-WC camp) - why would he be too attached? And can you blame him too much for Lletget and Gonzo? These are players he's recently coached for several years who know what he wants and who he knows well. That familiarity would be helpful in this situation (and they probably only played so much due to injuries). And he already began integrating a new face in Villafana and two youngsters in Arriola and Acosta. And in an away WCQ no less. IMO its not fair to judge Arena yet on these issues you bring up. ETA: Oops, duh - he coached Duece too. But I'm ok with him playing a guy who just keeps scoring.