There were quite a few times where somebody sent in a cross and nobody was in the zip code, or a player hung onto the ball too long at the top of the 18 or in the box and lost it. The problem for our players is knowing when to dribble/pass and when to drive the ball on frame. Well, that and supporting an attack with numbers.
Excellent point. Torres bossed the center of midefield superbly, but needed someone closer to goal to boss the attack (Dempsey!).
I watched Mo closely all match. He was poor in the second half. And fyi he should have no fitness problems as his season hasn't "just begun". He's played 8 matches over the past 1.5 months between SPL, Champions League and Europa League (and would have played one more had he not been red carded in a SPL match).
Re: USA vs. Costa Rica 9/3 Post-Mortem [R] Heresy here: watching the recorded game, I think Edu was very static, and I actually think Kyle Beckermann fits the DM role for this team better...
I'm not really going to look too much into the result, in the end it was a friendly where they are playing guys to give them a look. Sometimes it fails, sometimes it can help breath new life into a team. Torres was a beast today, not just on the ball but off. He was consistently working his ass off, as soon as the US lost possession he was usually one of the first to attempt to get it back and he did on many occasions himself. Clearly there needs to be more gelling and with that finishes will come. I really wish Landon would have stepped up a bit, he was really virtually non existant through the game besides fudging what should have been a quality chance.
Have you ever watched us play? That is seemingly the ONLY time we're dangerous. Unbelievable some of the shit I'm reading in this thread. Bunch of crazies, the lot of ya! Goodnight.
None of our abundance of DMs could be considered excellent passers, with the possible of exception of Jones, but only occasionally. Perhaps Holden should fill this role, as he did with Bolton, playing box-to-box, destroying and distributing...
Okay so: USA CRC 583 Total Pass 325 87% Accuracy 75% We had more ball but less shots. So we just need that final third "Oomff".
This game tonight reminds me of how Chivas USA used to play under Vasquez! Good on possessions and will create some few good chances, but soft and will crumble against tough opponent. A flying start then a big slow down in tempo, very predictable. I hope Klinsi does not make Vasquez his permanent assistant. Look at Chivas USA now, they're still the same team but playing possession game with purpose, they pound quickly and effective, a bit more direct. I guess Robin Frazer is better tactician than Vasquez. Torres was full of confidence today. The team played very well despite the final score. Donovan was not himself after the miss. Castillo is inconsistent with his passing. I think it's more about chemistry than quality. He did good defending, anticipating and moving/runs.
It's a similar role Holden plays at Bolton, but not the same. At Bolton there are two players with defensive assignments in the midfield, like Fabrice Muamba for example. It's more 4-4-2 with two central midfielders than what Edu and Beckerman played in the past two games which was more reserved. You wouldn't want Edu on the attacking box in his current position.
Re: USA vs. Costa Rica 9/3 Post-Mortem [R] THANK YOU! Edu was ok in the first half when CRC was sitting back and letting things happen. once costa rica decided to push a little, throw some pressure up field, edu disappeared. he didnt do ANYTHING tonight to put a stamp on the position. instead that door is still wide open for him, beckerman, MB, holden, etc etc to take advantage of. for one of the deepest positions on the team, nobody has really grabbed it by the horns and made it theirs. i think we see beckerman playing in belgium, and people will surely bitch about it. i certainly hope we never see MB in a twin d-mid formation again, we saw that against mexico and we've see him in it in other games. it was catastrophic in the mexico game, he was constantly invading space that beckerman and jones were trying to occupy and it turned the d-mid area into a total cluster********. MB is really a player without a position, he can score goals but he definitely is not an attacking midfielder. he can be a solid defensive midfielder, but doesnt play well with others in that space. he doesnt appear to be a strong box to box midfielder or a wing player either. i'm just waiting for someone to unlock his strength on the field and use it to its full potential. it just hasnt happened yet. we'll see what happens in italy.
First, sure it was a friendly. But so what? It was a friendly for our opponents too. Both teams had exactly as much at stake here: basically nothing. But Costa Rica still got it done and we didn't. Second, that's the question: did they wilt because they were tired or did they wilt because they played soft? While watching I was assuming it was the latter.
yeah I'm not saying I'm happy with the loss, but all the hyperbole around here, per usual, is a bit much players got tired, we couldn't finish, and we let the ticos back in the game it sucked. its going to be okay tho.
If we are to go with the 4-3-3 we need three guys up front who are all good in the attack and willing to tuck in and make runs or stay wide and swing in crosses as needed. That was the biggest problem, today. The only person making runs was Jozy, and unfortunately the final pass either was too late and he was offsides or he was offsides because he started his run too early. We need players making multiple runs, which no one wanted to do today.
Tbh I think a major problem was our subs not being very dynamic. The team seemed tired, but the options of who to put in, weren't exactly great either. I really want to see Davies and Adu play for this squad. Dempsey coming back for the next game should help our depth.
The main problem with this team, much like the u-20 team that didnt qualify for the world cup is that they do not have a forward who will just shoot the ball. Though the MNT has Dempsey. Dempsey plays as a midfielder more than a forward for the US and his absence is clearly evident . Sometimes someone taking the shot from distance or while attacking is all that you need, as was evident in Todays game with the US's lack of shots. Agudelo and Altidore hustle but they just do not take the shot enough. We have not had a solid forward who just shoots since McBride pre 2006. Though Jack McInerney as a u-17 did very very well in that role as has Josh Gatt of late, but they do not have enough experience. There is a reason why Barcelona went for Ibrahimovic and then Rossi even though they had alot of talented forwards on their rosters. You just need the player who will take the shot or be the selfish individual player for a moment.
Agreed. And Muamba is similar to Edu in that they are both solid destroyers but pass poorly. Many a Bolton attack dies at Muamba's feet, as with Edu.
I have watched this team play(more then you I bet) and if you would've read my entire post instead of nickpicking at it you would've seen that I was mostly talking about Freekicks and please tell me when was the last time we actually scored from a direct free kick? Their's no need for insults it's just a matter of another one's opinion and everyone is entitled to there own opinion. But calling people crazy is out of line and in my opinion very childish, I would've expected better in this thread.
Let's not romanticize Deuce either. There are games when he just disappears, so in that he's no different from Donovan. Or any other player, for that matter.
Josh Gatt isn't a forward. >...and Ibrahimovic is an odd example to choose when he basically was ushered out the door immediately after one season in Spain for a loss of just some 30 odd million dollars or whatever.