PBP: United States vs Costa Rica; 2/2/19; 3pm ET

Is the Zardes experiment over yet? As useful as tits on a bull.

 

I’d say from the whole team. They look flat.

 

Playing in a city named "San Jose" you'd expect to see more Ticos in the stands.

 

Canouse can't beat out Bradley and Trapp if he doesn't play.

 

This is really ragged play. Team isn't on the same page like against Panama. Some is the pressure, but the rest is mental. Easy passes are being missed under no pressure.

 

The first half hour of this game shows that the extreme overreactions to a win over a domestic Panama team with almost no international experience were just that - overreactions.

 

That Tico team has some "virgins." Caps in parentheses:

---------------------Esteban Alvarado(11)------------------------
Fuller(0)--------Arboine(0)-------Calvo(43)-----Francis(5)
--------------------Guzman(52)------Cruz(6)----------------------
Loria(0)--------------------Araya(0)--------------------Alfaro(0)
-------------------------------Ortiz(6)-----------------------------------

Half of their field players are getting their first cap.

 

Hey, Ted Unkel's better half (and better ref) is in the booth. Neat.

 

I didn't know FOX was using the better Unkel!

 

Nobody playing well higher than CB. Save us Michael Bradley.

 

So we're all ready to throw Berhalter out? Bigsoccer......shaking my head...

 

This is our B team. At home. Against a Costa Rica team composed of five guys getting their very first cap and a couple of B-teamers.

We shouldn't be looking about even with them.

 

Zzzz

 

Lovitz is a weak link this time around

 

People should shake their head at your response. He never said that. And as he disclosed, he's observed him regularly already being a Cbus fan, so he knows some of his limitations. To wit wasn't the ideal choice originally. But still should be a major upgrade over the previous clowns, who received deserved complaints along the way. If the heat had been turned up earlier the US wouldn't have missed the WC.

 

Honestly I'm going to complain about any US manager that isn't me.

 

Team is not responding well to a little pressure, yet.

 

Holden attributing the lethargy to two games in "quick succession."

They played 6 days ago.

 

Baird looks like one of those kids from a polygamy colony.

 

All a matter of what the training is like in between.
Berhalter might emphasize work on the training pitch over the friendly. Or, not.

 

What was Trapp doing - why did he kick that out a minute ago?

I actually hope that Berhalter tries to lead the team to play out of trouble in the 2nd half without needing to call in Bradley.

 

For a distributing d-mid, Trapp isn't a very a good distributor. Done with this experiment yesterday.

 

Two games and a "busy" camp under a gung-ho new manager might have the boy's legs on the wrong side of fresh.

 

Every pass and run is about a half yard off. Hopefully one of the things that get sorted from shaking off rust from being in and around their season.