Well, it's a long discussion involving the history of the USMNT and what exactly makes up a good counterattacking team. I'll try to keep it short. I guess IMO good counterattacking teams generally play that style becuase they don't have possession style players, but they DO have speed. I believe this team has both, and would also say if you can play both stick with a possession style game and use the counter attack only in circumstances where it is obviously called for. Benny, Adu, Altidore, Rogers, Kljestan, and Holden are all capable of losing/beating a defender and connecting a pass. They each have their tricks, play well in tight spaces, and can go 1 v 1. Yes Rogers, Davies, and Wynne have incredible speed and that should be used when called for, but why long ball it or soak up pressure waiting for the counter while making yourself exhausted when you can take the game to the other team? I think this crop of young players will turn what is still a counterattack oriented USMNT into a possession style one over the next two WC cycles.
Stuart Holden MOTM, he played from side to side, box to box, 100% when he was in there and scored. I hope his goal is not the only one of the tournament for the US.
I dont even know why I responded to your post... maybe you were the one drinking... I dont think Edu was as bad as everyone wants to think he was the last 15 mins... sans for letting the ball bounce in front of him, he didnt put a foot in wrong... and the pk shouts were clear dives... as for Wynne... his attacking play was poor for the most part... and instead of linking up and helping Holden, he bombs the ball out or forward... he did help create one goal, and I give him credit... I just wished he tried to do that more... instead he doesnt... im happy for the win, but im VERY concerned about the next match because of the play of the fullbacks
toothless, weak win. i thought we looked slow and tentative. fortunately, japan looked even more inept. perhaps what to expect w/ a first game.
Holden did play well and I didn't realize his contribution to build-up to his goal until I saw the replay a few minutes ago. He started the play, continued to make his run, and finally finished it off with a goal. He grows on me everytime I see him play. His play the last two season in Houston and with the youth Nats shows he has a promising career. I could see him heading across the pond in the near future, maybe next summer. With that said, what I liked today was his tackles. He had several well timed and well executed tackles in the midfield and into our defensive third on the pitch.
Someone needs to send a memo to these refs : When Jozy Altidore is in the process of Rigginsing yet another defender, play the freaking advantage and not the foul. Thank you.
Here my .03 cents -- we coulda lost or tied that game easily. Glad we made it through: 1. McBain: 7 drew tons of fouls in semi-dangerous areas, but was of NO consequence in the box. I am sticking that he is a great American player, but not a real fit with this team. Hopefully, he will prove wrong. 2. Adu: 6 is not a back to the run of play type guy. Withdraw the ole boy a bit 3. Bradley: 6.5 Played an alright game and passed well. Disrupted up the middle 4. Klestjan: 5 He had some bad passes alright, but did anticipate a couple of plays very well and he played one of the best defensive games I have seen HIM play 5. Holden: 7 Started boring, but after the goal exploded with confidence and some skill. I was starting to get mad at Nowak, whom I thought might be trying tame the feller. 6. Rogers: 6.5 Deadly and causes havoc when he can get the ball going forward. Did not play a good game defensively -- which is strange. U-20s he was a beast. 7. Wynne (motm): 9 I have been saying that he will be the best American back since the U-17s. Why? He is of a pro baseball pedigree and world class track and thus inclined to pay attention to the small details and repetition training. At first he was raw, but I knew he would train hard to get better. Europe clubs, I guarantee, are frothing at the mouth. They are gonna go back and look at tape and see that he shut-up a young Messi too. When he arse stomps Babel -- bye bye across the pond. Which might be a good thing, b/c he will only improve. Now to the game. He got caught once or twice, but I saw a near flawless game. He probably is the most explosive speed guy in the tourney. Looks like Bo Jackson in super tecmo bowl. How long has it been since we had a defenseman where you know he ain't gonna get beat one on one -- ever? 8. Edu: 8.5 -- agree with others...tired near end, but he added defense and calmness dribbling outta the back 9. Orozco 5 -- we should have brought an overage here. Enough said. People are a bit too fast for him. 10. Guzan 8 -- Great reads and organizing. No brilliant saves, but intimidated the Japanese players with the size (there were many times they took too many dribbles) 11. Parkhurst 7 -- Thought he read the game well and marked well. LEt Edu do his thing.
The beanpole ref needed a meal. And a clue. And another thing: if FIFA-recognized national governing bodies cannot put their logos on their shirts, then why are the referees wearing FIFA logos? Is it because they get the badges from cereal boxes?* ___________________________________________ *a classic Ray Hudson reference, by the way
FYI, just repeating what others have posted, but Sno apparently is out for the Dutch due to cards and Makaay is likely out with an injury according to their coach. Things are looking up! (Not that I hoped for it, but I suppose I'll take it. Face it, we're not exactly at full strength either without Spector and Sturgis.)
I fear for my Dynamo holding on to Stuart. He holds or at least is eligible for a Euro passport due to his parents being Scottish. A jump to Europe would be easy. I get to see him every game with the Dynamo and he is a pistol.
a few thoughts.... why couldn't we win a header in the last 10 minutes of the match? every ball in the air, regardless of where it was on the field, japan got a head to it first. how did that happen? edu got seriously tired towards the end of the match, and while i think it was clear that the japanese forwards were diving, the u.s. can consider itself fortunate to not give away a pk. the conditioning of the back 4 has to be a concern going forward in the tournament. adu deserved a penalty. kljestan needs to not play again for the rest of tournament. or really, ever again. altidore needs to start instead of mcbride. feilhaber, mccarty, szetela need more minutes. we need to use our subs at appropriate times to reduce fatigue. the patriot act has to finally be invoked for a good and noble cause and balboa must be taken out.
I think you got Wynne confused. I, too, was very keen to watch what he did with the ball. I don't recall ONE Unwarranted bootball. Can anybody confirm? We should have a unwarranted boot ball counter. I agree with you, I hate booting. When are we never CONCERNED -- deathly CONCERNED -- About this EUROPEAN player or that EUROPEAN player? We will be fine buster brown. Which brings to another important -- very important -- point: MLS and USSoccer needs to start compiling detailed stats like the other big leagues. I think that it can give a better picture as to who is doing what rather than gumption.
feilhaber, mccarty, szetela need more minutes. Who's minutes do you take? we need to use our subs at appropriate times to reduce fatigue. AGREE the patriot act has to finally be invoked for a good and noble cause and balboa must be taken out. ABSOLUTELY AGREE
I thought Guzan was really poor in distribution. He took way to long to bring the ball back into play and played everything long, which meant the US was always playing into a set Japanese defense. That's one of the big things that keeps the US from building play out of the back (that and Sasha's turnovers). He's somewhat handicapped in that Wynne and Orozco are pretty uncomfortable on the ball, but the CBs on this team are good passers and he should take advantage of it. And while Holden was mostly good, he kept that Japanese short corner onside by not reading Parkhurst and Edu.
Not sure I agree with that ... I have to go back and look at the video, but I think we still had guys on the posts, so there would not have been any offside at all. On a lighter note, I surely plan to use that set play with my U17s!
i take all of kljestan's minutes, i either start bradley and sub him out pretty early, or i don't play bradley at all. and i give rogers and holden a rest on the outside as well (so i'd be giving feilhaber and mccarty minutes in central mf, and szetela minutes at rm).
Wynn was the man of the match because the Japanese game plan was to attack down the wings. The best players for Japan are their wing players and the USMNT's defensive plan was to clog the middle leaving Wynn and Orosco (sp) on islands. Wynn snuffed out everything thrown at him (and a lot was!) and still got forward to send in some good crosses. In front of Wynn, Holden was fair at best. Kliestjen (sp) had a horror match and Adu was a give away machine. Lastly, the only goal of the game was through his effort. Edu was firm as well but had much more help and a few more luck outs. BTW-I don't see those so called PKs deserved, against him, as such. The referee was fairly consistent all match and refreshingly was anti divers! Simulating is a plague on the game and I was happy to see the dive first players, unrewarded. In both instances with Edu, the forwards were looking for contact and a reason to go down instead of playing the ball. Simulation is "part of the game" only because it is allowed. It is against the rules and spirit (got it Freddy?, now go play soccer!). Yea, to that ref!
You are aware that they kept running wall passes on the flanks and quite often it was the midfielder delivering the cross? I'm not sure he played all that well, but those crosses weren't all on him. In addition, there are only 5 defenders on the roster, there aren't to many options to replace either Orozco or Edu. With respect to Edu, I thought he had a good game.
I don't see how Edu can be so horrible in those 15 minutes and still be rated AHEAD of Wynne. Wynne was clearly our best player, by a long ways. People just don't want to say it as that makes them look bad for constantly picking on Wynne as just as athlete for the entire runup to this tournament.
Yeah, that was a wonderful set piece. I only saw the one replay, but I think whoever had the near post pushed out while Holden stayed put on the back.
i think we need to play adu as an attacking mid, not up top. there was no link between the midfield and the forwards, bradley usually achieves some of that but not today. adu needs some space in midfield where he can create without having two defenders draped on him the whole time.