http://www.crewealex.net/today/view/breaking_news_detail/0,,10414~250087,00.html Another victory for the U23's as they beat Crewe U21. 4-1 behind goals from Buddle, Testo, Thompson and Eskandarian. Whitbread was in central defense and put in an impressive performance according to the Crewe website. I'm guessing that this was a U21 side for Crewe.
Excellent article! This is probably the most impressive victory for the young ones (pun intended). Crewe traditionally have a very strong youth program, although from the sounds of the article many of their top youths weren't in this game. Still, it's a very good result against a quality opponent. Props to the coach, who seems to have the team playing well together both offensively and defensively. Great to see Zak getting in there. I'm very curious about Yi, Lewis and Wingert. All of them are getting free auditions in the UK, so I wonder if they'll be picked up by one of the clubs or if someone will recommend them to another European league. I was thinking they'd probably all end up in MLS, which would be good, but with this kind of exposure dominating these other youth teams in the UK, who knows. If they show well against Man U., I'm quite certain some eyebrows will be raised. Great job guys! -Tron
"Zak Whitbred was impressive in the back." Man, that is music to my ears! Ya have to figure that the odds are very good that he starts for the US in qualifying. I mean, it's not like he has Campbell and Desailly in front of him. That Olympic team just looks better and better!
Great little article, though I had to chuckle when it said, "they (Crewe) can draw heart from the fact that they were playing the best of the USA's U-23 players".
I just sent them this e-mail. Nice article about the The Crewe vs U23. For those of here in the States starved for information about the progress of our junior teams, your efforts are much appreciated. That being said, your assertion that the Crewe were playing "the best of USA's under-23 players" is a bit off the mark. It is possible that only a handful of these players -- Whitbread and Buddle most likely, and perhaps Beckerman and Countess -- will even MAKE the USA Olympic squad in Athens. It is likely that the USA Olympic team will be anchored by WC stars Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley, with MLS players such as Tim Howard in goal and Bobby Convey in midfield playing significant roles. Another key player, who was also captain of the the USA U20 squad, Kelly Gray, also in MLS with the Chicago Fire, will likely start in either central defense or defensive midfield. For an interesting discussion of the USA U23 pool see, https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=2547 So while the team the Crewe faced was one with some real talent, it should actually be considered mostly a B-Team. Regards, Karl Keller
An interesting comment, with one email we belittle the Crewe team for not beating our "2nd best" team and we run our own team into the ground by saying that most of them won't even have a chance at the final squad. While I do agree with you that many of these players may not be on the final Olympic squad they are our best that are playing this week in England.
i find it interesting that some of you "experts" on these boards don't think that many of these players can come on the scene and make a contribution in the future for our national teams. If this was the case then Pablo Mastreoni would not of been considered for the world cup team because he was never mentioned YEARS before the event. Players fade and others get better. All the players on this team have every chance of making any qualifying games in the future just as players on your "in list" can fade away. It seems from the reports that they are playing great. Give other players some credit for playing well.
Uh, most of these guys are in college. The players who will actually make the squad have all turned pro. I'm not saying no college players will make it, but the majority of these guys have no chance.
soccer365.com article Here is a recent article about the U-23s in England: http://www.soccer365.com/US_home/National_Teams/page_22_36719.shtml
Please. Learn the meaning of words and the nature of rhetoric. Where did I "belittle" the Crewe in this e-mail for "not beating" our "2nd team?" I was simply letting them know their view that this was "the best" was a bit "off the mark." I also said that this group was one "with some real talent" -- I didn't "run our own team into the ground." I think many of these players MIGHT make a future contribution. But it is simply probable that they will NOT make a FUTURE contribution for our Athens OLYMPIC team. Ned Grabavoy is a talented player, but is he going to unseat Bobby Convey in the center of midfield? Not likely. This is a distinction with a difference.
Just to back up what TexanSoccer06 said, which one of those 2 is still in college and which will be in his 5th professional season by the 04 Olympics?
The biggest part of the article which is off the mark is giving the impression that our kids are 2 years older than the English teams. This is not the case. We are calling our team an under 23 team because its our Olympics team but the Olympics are two years away so our team is the same age as the English teams. This will be lost in England because they don't enter Olympic soccer. Any Crewe or Bolton or Man U fans who reads about the result will go away saying, "Yea but their players were 2 years older," and we will lose a golden opportunity to gain credibility in a country who still thinks we are in our soccer infancy and not a country that is turning the corner.
I can tell you that the Bolton team will not have included any of our first team, reserves or top academy players. I've yet to find the squad but I believe the team that played the US U-21's was our U17s + a few of the U19s. Don't get carried away.
So we played a bunch of 16 year olds and a few 17 and 18 year olds. Sounds like someone is in denial.
Ned Grabavoy is a talented player, but is he going to unseat Bobby Convey in the center of midfield? Not likely. ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ SO in YOUR Opinion even if someone comes along who is really talented in the next two years they can't take a spot just because Bobby Convey has been slated for the slot by so many"experts"?? Case in point Pablo M got the slot after steve A got hurt. I guess in your opinion that was wrong because (1) he played in college so he didn't have much experience and (2) because he wasn't talked about pre two years world cup.... Many old names and new names will emerge just as old names will fade in the next two- three years. I find it amusing that some people already have the list made of the olympic team and future national teams.
I think he said "unseat" Convey, as in beat him out, out play, or supplant, which is hard to argue with. Pablo got the call due to an injury to Chris Armas (steve?). If there is an injury to Bobby, it would obviously would open doors for others, including Ned perhaps.
I'm not the one wanking over a win for my international team against a bunch of 17 year olds. The truth hurts doesn't it?
In denial of what exactly? That an international team can beat Bolton's first year academy players? Whoohooo! You must be proud
Prenn is actually correct - to a point. I don't think the Bolton side was the reserve or even the U21 side, as I mentioned in a previous post. The U.S. U23's - well actually they are probably an U21 side, maybe even U20 - should defeat most, if not all, reserve, U21, U19, or U17 (club) sides. What I like about the results of the tour thus far is that they are winning and winning handily (10-3 on aggregate). They are doing what they need to do. In the past, U.S. sides have not always done this against sides they should defeat. To agree 100% with Prenn, the U.S. should have defeated whatever Bolton reserve or youth team they faced. Losing would've been the bigger deal. Another thing about this U.S. "B" U21 side, or specifically the "A" U21 side. They lost to the Italian U23 team in Italy 0-2. This is the same Italian side that reached the semifinals of the 2002 UEFA U21 tournament. The thing is the Italians team was called a U21 side (when they aren't) and the U.S. side was called a U23 side (when they aren't). IIRC, reports indicated that the U.S. didn't play poorly in the game. They just lost. I think our youth teams are getting to the point where they can compete with the rest world. On an idividual basis our YNT players can be compared with players of another country's YNT.
What, this isn't the best we have to offer? You mean the poms putting a spin on something in their favor? Nah, never could happen. Buddle and Whitbread are the only two players on this team who are professionals IIRC, all the others are amateur players in college who aren't even paid to play football. Convey may be unseated, but I doubt it's from a guy who isn't already a professional. Of course it's not impossible, but it's not very likely either.
Actually wouldn't you say Kyle Martino is the frontrunner to be the starting attacking midfielder on the Olympic team?