Don't disagree with anything you said. That's Zerboni's game- terrier- and against the Chinese it worked. None of the 4 midfielders used are particularly good passers. many passes to no one. The midfield is still woeful in my opinion. McCaskill's one notable bright spot was when she chested a long far post diagonal back in the box to I think Morgan for a real chance.
the chinese played a game designed to produce a 1-0 result - for themselves, or, (so as not to embarrass themselves) for the opponent. they succeeded. the u.s. fielded an experimental, sub-optimal team, trying to continue the play-against-rhe-bunker, plus, play-multiple-positions learning curve. they also succeeded, but less so. that's what these friendlies are for. the addition of pugh for mccaskill, heath for horan, and o'hara for sauerbrunn, would have put more smiles on all our faces, but might not have altered the final score. because that's soccer. & btw, this is how most teams will play us in a tournament. so the coaching staff has to get the first team AS WELL AS THE SCRUBS AND INJURY/CARD SUBSTITUTIONS to learn to play against it.
if all the other teams are smart in the WWC next year, they'll use the bunker strategy against the US. US still hasn't proven they can beat a team like Sweden that bunkered and ended up beating them in PK.
we need a quick, shifty, break-down-the-opponent-in-small-spaces passer out of the midfield, (and a better gk) before next year. who fits the bill in nwsl or college? coloprico? the unbreakable lavelle?
Boy, that seems like the definition of a tough crowd,, one that frets about the keeping in that game...
true.. wasnt thinking of the gking in this game tho. it was good. my post was essentially a commentary on my continual search for solo.2.
Well, not sure she had to be pulled off before half time. First if not being able to control the French attackers and LeSommer in particular were grounds for getting disappeared from a team, the grounds would littered with former defenders. Second, if a coach takes u out in the 44th minute of a 1-1 match that seems like a clear message to me. If the switch to a better defender like Short had been made at the half much less would have been made of it. So maybe Im reading too much into it but her early exit and subsequent disappearance from the team seem to hint that there is more there than her not being able to handle one of the best attacking players in the world. As to Smith herself, Im not a fan for various reasons including the Katie Bowen incident in college.
Good luck. Sometimes you just have to make do with "good enough." Its not like she's Maravelha or whatever her name was...
c’mon man! why do people keep killing my hope for new hope? you’re right tho.... still, i got time before final decisions are made.
Can anyone explain what Ellis was trying to do? When we had possession, our midfield three were in a line parallel to our back four. I've never seen that. No triangles, nobody inbetween the chinese lines. Just 7 USA players behind or even with the ball and 3 up high with 10 chinese between them. When they go the ball to McCaskill or Rapinoe, there was nobody to support them but Morgan. So, 1 v 3 or 2 v 5. What is the point with Dunn at fullback? Is she playing there for her club team? She was not tested once defensively by China and nobody expected her to. Is this another thing we keep doing until we play a good team and they pick it apart? Seems like Lloyd is going to France as the back-up for Morgan. Probably bumps Press off the plane.
it's more due the opponent, China, using two straight lines of 5 players each, thereby closing or at least crowding those short passing lanes the most effective strategy vs the US right now is quick long balls up field as seems Ellis likes to short change the back line. The French & the Dutch(both strong counter attacking teams) would be the most worry some opponents right now
At one point during the game, Aly Wagner wondered why the US backs weren't pressing forward more. I thought it was obvious: That is what China tries to get you to do, leaving not enough defenders in back, and then they counterattack. The one time they almost scored, that seems to be what happened. I think Ellis wants them to learn not to throw too much forward against teams like China. They were determined not to get caught by a counter.
Must select other players instead of Long. There is a concern because I don't see much progression over a year ago. The talents are there.
interesting. posts on long seem to change directions each time she plays. last time, posters were complimentary.
Long's numbers are pretty good. If you want a superstar, don't pick her. If you want a worker who will deliver day in and day out, pick her.
Long has been very good this year for Seattle in holding mid role. Didn't see much of the second half last night, so can't say how she played, but she's been in good form in NWSL. Long has been excellent this year in holding midfield role for Seattle. Didn't see much of the 2H against China and so didn't see her play, but she is a solid, dependable player.
I just finally saw the US/China match. Observations: Sauerbrunn is not a fullback. She was played there in the first half and didn't do well. The U.S. offense consists of Rapinoe and Morgan and pray for luck. (Well, not quite true as Pugh and Dunn are good also., but R and M pretty much dominate the offense.) Players who didn't impress: Horan, McCaskill, Press. Players who rose in the pecking order: Dunn, Davidson, Huerta, Long.
Zerboni is better than all of the midfielders that have been getting regular time for the past 4 years, except Ertz. All of them are defensive mids and none are good passers. We need an attacking mid.
Brian is a good passer, but I agree that our midfield groups lacks some attacking dynamism, which is probably why we need Lavelle in the lineup together with a strong holding mid and a strong box-to-box distributor.
Agree completely we need a dynamic, dangerous, and creative attacking midfielder. Are there any in the college or NWSL ranks? I can tell you that, with the DA and more available videos, I have seen them in the youth ranks. Sometimes they even get called into a camp or two. Then it seems frequently to be decided they don’t fit the “system”. Having said that there is one younger kid who stands out and has been a camp regular so I have some hope for the future.
I would put Dunn in there. Playing a similar role to vintage 2011 HAO. But what do I know? Then Rapinoe/Heath. I'd rather we develop Huerta or someone else to pair with O'Hara. If Lavelle rediscovers health/form then I'd have her playing the 10. I think Ertz/Rapinoe the only firm options but I would be getting Dunn on the field often.