Review: USA - Bosnia & Herzegovina - Player Ratings

he's no CB. This is why midfielders almost never convert well. The space you get in midfield is greater. The mentality is different. A CB needs to be a CB full time or at least a defender.The first two goals are directly on Cameron and they are on him because he thinks like a midfielder as a first reaction.

Why get back to the line on that play? I play midfield, that is a CB's job...oh wait...
I've got this striker, yeah he has position, but I've got space to recover...oh wait...

 

Howard - 7 - Not at fault for any of the 3 goals and made a few nice saves; distribution was decent.

(He did better this match in trying to stay positive, but he reminds me too much of angry daddy out there. He needs to bring the positive, even when he's pissed. He needs to be big daddy.)

Evans - 6 - He's the guy everyone likes to bash but he defended quite well and tried to get forward in the first half. Didn't do as much in the second half but not a bad effort. He certainly didn't hurt his chances at RB.

(In form player. I was skeptical. He played just fine)

Cameron - 5 - He was late to react on the first goal and got beaten for the second one. I liked his passing but you can tell he hasn't been playing CB regularly. Besler and Gonzo will be happy to see this.

(Nope. He gave a 4 performance. Maybe 3. Other than Jones, worst player on the pitch and I think JK finally got the message. Dmid or go home)

Brooks - 7 - Could have done better to stop the first goal and got beaten by Dzeko on the third goal but his passing out of the back was exquisite. I'm not going to fault him too much for Dzeko's goal because that was an extremely difficult header. He defended well for the most part - stopped two dangerous breaks including a tough one on one with Dzeko. He'll have a shot to start in the next round of qualifiers. This kid is a stud.

(Lets not get carried away...oh, what the hell, lets get carried away. He is not the finished product, but as I predicted in the pre-game thread, the coaches want him to be the man and this was his first chance. He was tidy on the ball, very nice forward looking passes from midfield. Great fouls. Mentally strong. I don't know whether he is the force that Gonzo is yet, but he's certainly not the kryptonite. That goal against was a great goal. Since both US CB's gave up a glancing header for goal we can pretty much accept that is a current weakness in our game despite having two plus 6"3 CBs.)

F. Johnson - 6.5 - His defense was so-so but he thrived in the midfield. His run to set up Jozy's equalizer was a turning point in the match. He's our best LB but it's hard to keep him there when he's so good in the midfield.
(Two grades, 5 for LB, 7 for LM. He is so silky smooth and if you saw his movement, he was all over the pitch looking for the ball. I just have to admire his deceptive speed and all around game. better LM than LB.)

Jones - 4.5 - Looked uncharacteristically gassed in the first half (hard to blame him since he went a full 90 on Sunday) and had a few horrendous giveaways in the midfield. Not his finest hour.
(3. i dont want to see him in the midfield again until he learns to stop adjusting his socks after a bad give away. I would not be sad to see him leave the team.)
Bradley - 8.5 - A tremendous performance from the bald eagle. He completely controlled the midfield and delivered a gorgeous ball over the top to set up the first goal. His run to assist Jozy's third goal was sublime.
(His first half was a 5, his second half was a 7.5. that long ball was pirloesque for the first goal. Jones neutralizes MB more than Bosnia.)

Bedoya - 6 - Worked hard on both sides of the pitch but just didn't see enough of the ball to make an impact offensively. I like what he brings and think he should be called in for the next round of qualifiers.

Diskerud - 6.5 - Kept it moving in the first half and was key to us keeping possession. He draw what should have been a penalty with a strong sequence of dribbling but was unfortunate not to get a call. His passing range and technique is unique to most guys in our player pool and he's another guy I'd like to see get called in for the September qualifiers.

E. Johnson - 5 - Eddie had an awful first half. His giveaway that lead to Bosnia's first goal was baffling and an amateur mistake and he followed it up by failing to get a shot off in the box when had two good looks. He redeemed himself somewhat with the easy goal and kickstarted the comeback effort. It was nice to see him score for the first time against a non-CONCACAF team.

(I wouldnt even grade EJ. His was sh*t awful for a grown soccer player, but got the goal. Man, just shoot or pass, but do it quickly. You're too old to be playing iwth yourself out there.)

 

Ah, cute.

 

I also love how people are giving Brooks a match-grade based off of future potential?
What does that have to do with the way he performed last night?
I'd give him a 5.5, and he should be very happy with it.

 

95% on EJ; split the rest between GC and JB. IMHO, neither could have done anything to deliberately block the 2nd shot given that both would have been running full tilt at their own goal and unable to turn and actually defend against it. IMHO, GC especially is getting way too much criticism. Seltzer even criticized him for not jumping high enough to head the ball on the third goal. Well, he jumped as high as he could and the cross, being perfectly placed, was still too high. Some times the opposing attackers actually do their own jobs properly, no?

 

Funny isn't it. Luckily Shark Week was last week. Big Soccer lives for moments like Bosnia's third goal to pounce on MOF, or Tim Ream or 'the Gonzalez once a game brain-fart' when they give up a goal like that. Yesterday the reaction was "awwwww, isn't that cute. He didn't want to hurt Dzeko."

 

Howard: 6
Evans: 6
Cameron: 5
Brooks: 5.5
F Johnson: 6 (5 at LB, 7 at LW)
Jones: 5
Bradley: 8.5
Bedoya: 6
Diskerud: 6.5
E Johnson: 5.25 (4 at LW, 6.5 at CF)
Altidore: 10
-----------------
Castillo: 6.5
Johannson: 7
Corona: 6
Kljestan: 6.5
Parkhurst: 6
Wood: NR

 

Weird, for a regular on these boards, that's like asking who is JK.

 

This is BS, do you expect anything less. Future Potential, no one even knows what it will look like.

I always thought Agudelo scoring goals vs South Africa and vs Argentina at a young age was the worst thing for him. He still has to grow up and deal with a phase when nothing goes right for him. Then find a way to get past it. Every player deals with this. Brooks will probably have to deal with the same hing soon. I think Jack Mac might be dealing with it now. No one knows how they will turn out. Just look at Altidore vs Adu. Altidore fought through it and is reaping the benefits. I don't know about Adu. Heightening expectations is only going to lead down to the same saga playing out over and over again.

 

The only 10 rating in a friendly over the last 5 years I believe was warranted was Zlatan vs England. It wasn't just the goals but how much better he was and played than anyone else on the field that day. If he was playing with a better midfield, he may have scored 10 goals.

 

Ok, I do remember that game, and yes, that grade was completely warranted because Zlatan is not of this world. As far as it pertains to Jozy, is it because his team is actually competent that knocks him down slightly in rating? From what I saw, he hardly set a foot wrong...

 

Yeah, very true.
And this has had more to do with our player pool in the past than anything.
Look at when Altidore came aboard and got playing time immedietly, we had SH!T at the striker position, SH!T.
Our midfield was more stocked than our forward pool but it still wasn't anything world-class and yet Freddy Adu still couldn't get consistent time and maintain any sort of momentum and managed to alienate coaches and teammates, but since we're in a fantasy-futbol sort of generation people are just gonna try and force Adu into a position and a coaching staff is just gonna have to build around him (Adu), lol.
And your remarks about Altidore vs. Adu is on-point.
Altidore has developed his mental toughness and has "just found a way" while Freddy Adu has continued to be "lost in the sauce".
People need to realize how terrific our program is when a player like Adu is just not going to be allowed to wonder onto the field and start in a couple World Cups; in U.S Soccer you gotta want it, and wanna fight for it. You got a sh!tty attitude and wanna loaf? Have a nice life pal.
You honestly think someone like Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley wanna play next to someone like Adu and his attitude?
Bob Bradley is a guy who's gonna get every ounce of ability and effort out of a player and even he couldn't make Adu want it.

 

I guess I'm not in the cool-kid crowd.

 

Lol.
I think Jimmy Conrad was pretty spot-on when he said we need to stop doing "that" with these young players like we did with Adu.
Of course, it's hard to net get excited over "sexy" when you're not puttin out the quality of players that Spain and Brazil are.

 

Meh, I see your point but the sad truth right now is that I feel better about Cameron back there than I do Omar Gonzalez.
I wanna see CB's be able to move their feet, if not then we might as well have Gooch Onyewu back there.

 

In your defense, looking back over the past 12 months, GAM has largely been replaced by EJ. The usage of GAM has lineaerly declined with the improvement in his play. GAM was his moniker when his production had hit a standstill and he was really floundering both professionally and for the USMNT. At that time there was some serious antipathy for him on these boards.
GAM was not a nickname that was used with warmth. Also I think there is a large percentage of us who are video game players and we didn't like his assertion that b/c we played FIFA we were less manly.

It is interesting though that since he has started producing for Seattle and the US again, we've taken to calling him EJ as opposed to GAM. Fickle bunch, we.

 

I believe Don Quixote took a wrong turn in Denver last march and was last seen skiing in Vail in June. Mntime, we still have a manager who plays Cameron, a rb/dmid in the EPL, at cb in a freindly less than a year before the kickoff for the world cup when he doesnt play there for his club, Stoke. My mind reading machine is in the shop getting serviced but you'd almost think he is there for the A/B comparison.

 

And one could go on and on with similar examples

Repped, and I am curious about your opinion on something. We both know JK knows what you are saying yet 80 per cent of the posters and journos blithely stick Cameron at cb snapping heil Jurgen. I dont care what they are thinking but I do care what JK is thinking. Do u hv an opinion? There is always the possibility that the new manager at Stoke has hinted he will play Cam at cb but it seems doubtful.

P.s. edit - maybe JK is playing Cam at cb to toughen him up defensively before moving him to the 6 behind Bradley. That way cam gets more meaningful pt centrally against the better strikers than he would at fb. That would be the rosy scenario.

 

Also, I seem to recall 4 v 1 break from BiH (don't remember the exact numbers, but I remember saying oh sh*t), where Brooks, whether by luck, position or guile, snuffed it out. That has to negate a goal given up right?

 

Do you have a chart or something that I can look at the use of GAM vs EJ over time? I seem to recall GAM came back into vogue again right after his walk on goal in the GC.

 

He is playing him at CB because he thinks he is a CB. Twice now he has played him against the odds with a new partner.

With Edu he did ok in Mexico city but people forget how poorly Chicharito was finishing that day. He could have had two goals and by the way, they looked exactly like the one he gave up to Ibisevic(?).

Both JK and Sparky probably think they have better options at dm/cm. They don't think gCam can pass.

I have not seen a better 1 v 1 defender with ball on the ground than gcam (he did drop in form towards the end of the season for stoke, but in my eyes, it was understandable). He keeps his head up and delivers good outlet passes. He keeps his head up and sends in a good long ball. His defensive ability is in the tracking back and disrupting play, knocking a man off the ball, not in marking a man with the ball in front of him.

If I were JK I would strongly consider him as Dmid for the qualies and leave Jones in Germany.

 

In GAM...er, EJ's defense, I don't think that he was insinuating that gamers aren't "manly". Just that he was too old for that kind of thing. But I suppose you can be offended that he thought/thinks you are a man-child.

 

Unfortunately my wife would agree with EJ.