No, it wasn't. For our most competetive spot on the team, none of the DMs has really stepped up and claimed a permanent place there.
Didn't we all realize three years ago that LD is not well used in the middle, that he's better on the left and even better on the right? I think that is a known theorem, already. When he is in the middle, he's just not physical enough to create the space to distribute. Klinsy is rediscovering the wheel in that sense.
No, but that level is what I would call a "good free kick taker". Donovan is merely middling, and many times will not put the ball where it needs to be. Thus, we should continue looking for players who can help us in that regard if they also happen to be good.
Or would we want a Rory Delap type, who'd make pretty much every thrown-in in the attacking half of the field a set piece? hmmmm
im not saying someone in MLS cannot play well internationally. But lets consider why Donovan, who is pretty much our best player, refuses to leave MLS to go to back to Europe. If you ask me I think he's afraid to fail. He had his little 8 week run at Everton where he did very well and now he figures that if he tries Europe again and doesn't perform as well as he did last time then he will be considered not good enough. So, it's a classic case of being afraid to fail. And this lack of courage i think follows him sometimes on the pitch where he is prone to miss easy put aways.
You think? Donovan was pretty good there against Mexico and should have had a goal or two tonight. I'd say let JK rediscover the wheel...
To be honest (and I've seen Honda play quite a few times), his mediocre play would make him one of the top players on our national team. I'd take him over Landon ultimately..but it would be a very tough decision I think. He's just turned 25 and has some massive clubs interested in him. Anyway its a discussion for another thread
Um, no. He just likes living in L.A. That's it. That's all it's about for Donovan. Why do people refuse to understand this?
I misspoke in my last post. Honda is much better with free kicks than Gerrard. Gerrard is very good with them, but he is not going to be winning any awards purely for them. I would say Gerrard lands somewhere in the "good-great" range for free kick takers, and arguably that would be where you want a guy taking yours to land. Saying "Donovan has become good at free kicks" is only true if you ignore that the majority of his tend to be off-target and ineffectual. He is very rarely (if ever) going to curl in a kick against a good keeper. Here is a more palatable example: Charlie Adam is "good" with free kicks. Charlie Adam is much better at them than Donovan. No one is going to call Adam one of the best in the world at taking them.
Yes, Brad Davis is. Unfortunately, he is too old and not good enough to fit our national team as much as it pains me to say it.
Well he definitely ran out of gas so the SPL isn't preparing him well enough, I have never seen him slow down like he did tonight so something is not right, jet lag whatever. I've seen the goal, both our fullbacks were out of position and the wings didn't cover. Edu wasn't out of position he was slow getting back because he was knackered, but generally when there was a turn over he started from the right place when the turn happened so he wasn't out of position. Everyone was pressing forward. I think you are over cooking this "they were pressing" thing. We were pressing, they were mostly countering. Your reading of the game just seems wrong to me. I think you also completely missed the very important work he did in the first half destroying most of their breaks and wining balls which you rate as 'ok'. For the first half he was excellent, the perfect foil for Torres. If he's not there, you don't get a chance to see Torres have the game he did.
Re: USA vs. Costa Rica 9/3 Post-Mortem [R] Rationality doesn't live here anymore, USA lost! now that I've said the obvious, here is my take on the game. Great first 40 minutes from the team, there were good movements throughout and Jozy did a great job holding the ball, his progress from AZ Aikmar really showed in the game. Torres was very good along with Chandler these two stood out for me. Shea was ok but he absent minded in many attacks, and seemed to be out of it for most of the second half. Now for the man of the hour Castillo, I thought he did well defensively , for all the whining about him, he has yet to make a defensive mistakes that cost us a goal, today goal was Boca's fault for not moving forward with the defensive line. Orozco did very good as well apart from some shaky moments. I thought Rogers was too slow tonight, he was like a step behind with many of the break aways in the first half , and his slow decision making caused many offsides from Altidore and the other forwards, I think he was the weakest linked tonight. Overall it was a bad performance since we lost, but had we put away some our chances earlier in the game, it would have been a very good night.
How many NTs have in their roster a "top of the line" FK kicker who's also good enough to play regularly?
Donovan has scored some important free kick goals in his career, including (offf the top of my head) the match winner in Honduras that clinched the 2010 World Cup for the US, as well as a Gold Cup winner over Panama. And for all nights to ride him about this, he actually struck a pretty good free kick tonight - wasn't that far off. Agreed, he's not as good as the others you mention, but he's better than many. He has also excelled at corners and other dead ball situations in the past few years.
Jeez, CR didn't show up the first half. A traffic cone in Mo's spot would have made Torres look good.
Edu simply didn't bother to run back on the goal. The whole backline was caught flat footed and the Costa Ricans lofted the ball right over the top of them. The Costa Rican striker ran right through Bocanegra and Orozco. It didn't have much to do with the full backs. Chandler at least tried to mark a runner into the box. Edu didn't even bother.