Yup. I was surprised at the poor passing from Boca. We better start looking even more seriously for more CBs. Onyewu should be given more looks because he's hopefully on an upswing in his career. And Like I said in my post two days ago: Onyweu and Boca are an old wise man get together. They could be good but can always be beaten by speed. Is that acceptable? For example, in one of the runs made past the defense (Fiscal perhaps), in the space of the goal box shortways, Fiscal was a good 15 feet ahead of the next defender, and pressured the Honduran to take a bad shot. That was just speed.
Onyewu's sharp club form carries over to USMNT http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2011/10/onyewu-return-helps-usa-top-honduras.html
Since there doesn't appear to be an active, dedicated Ream thread right now -- and it probably would do no one any favors to kick one off -- I will make the point here... A young Gooch made mental errors regularly. There was one in particular against Mexico early in his career when he was caught ball-watching and gave up a crucial headed goal. Sound familiar? He learned, the mental game came around, and then we had the Gooch we know and love for several years before the 2009 injury robbed him of 2 years. I see a striking parallel with Ream's development. Different players and styles as centerbacks, but same early-career problem: mental lapses. I have not given up on Ream. I really feel for the guy. He looked totally defeated and alone when that goal went in. But he likely is going to figure it out. And when he does, his upside will come to fruition. I love his touch and passing game. Today I am an optimist.
Nobody is giving up on Ream. But right now, he's been downright terrible for the Red Bulls and he hasn't really looked much better for the US team. He shouldn't be getting called into the US team until his club form turns around.
I'm sure he will too. He's a very talented player, but defense is a position that requires more intelligence and experience than say a forward like Agudelo where a bit of naivety is sometimes an asset. But that said, there is no excuse to keep calling him, when he is playing badly, when others are playing better.
That was my first thought when I saw him throw up his hands and lower his head after the goal. Confidence torpedoed. If I'm Klinsmann I bring him in and tell him, "look you have some real talent here. I think you're going to be a big player for this team down the road. But right now I'd like you to focus on your club play and really get back into learning more and more. You'll be back on this team soon." After that I would call Omar Gonzalez and repeatedly beg forgiveness.
i'm more concerned with the midfield. center back problem will be solved before qualifying. we simply can't keep relying on donovan and dempsey to be there for us. we need more young blood, with open minds. how do you expect to win when dempsey is exhausted after 20 minutes? how do you expect holden to return to form after being out for almost a year? how do you expect donovan to carry the team in 2014, at age 32? the midfield situation is way scarier than the defense. our defense will always look crappy when we our midfield is worn out after the first half. the timing of the olympics could not have been worse. our young blood will be competing in that tournament, if we qualify for it, when we could use them in world-cup qualifying.
Was Dempsey exhausted after 20 minutes? Didn't look any different than Dempsey 07 to me. Only time will tell with Holden, Gooch looked pretty good after a long time off. Xavi is older than Donovan, he still plays at a world class level, same with Diego Forlan.
Defense in soccer is truly an amazing thing. You have to be perfect almost all the time. A small mistake turns into a loss just like that. Reams got plenty of time and his issues are certainly fixable but they seem to keep occurring and we seem to keep having this conversation. I certainly hope he can figure it out because his composure on the ball is something else. On the topic of distribution, I was amazed as the skill and accuracy of some of Goochs long balls which regularly were successful. He was terrific yesterday and that is exciting.
Reams has no physical presence. Hence him being pushed away and turned last night on the goal (Imagine what a Rooney would do to him). Unless he starts taking roids and gains about 40 lbs. of muscle, he will not be the answer in the back line.
The goal was not on his lack of physicality, Ream was just too late to get on his man. I have no idea what he was doing standing a few feet away from an Ecuadorian attacker while a cross was being played in. Ball-watching? Admiring Red Bull Arena? Wondering why Klinsmann put him in the game?
And when he was late he lacked the physicality to push, bump, reach, pull to put the player off balance. He tends to lay off players because he doesn't like physical contact. He is a finesse player who needs to be stronger and more physical. He is very slight which matches his play. He needs to lift weights and put some pounds on and that will hopefully give him the impetus to be more physical. Compare him to Gonzalez. Omar is in almost contsant contact with his forwards he plays against.
Shoot, compare him to Dolo, who uses his body so much better....It's not all strength, Ream lacks smarts too.
His size isn't the problem. I can think of many center backs who are smaller than he is but who are far more dominant in aerial challenges (Ayala, Cannavaro, Heinze, etc.). The problem we saw on that play was his hesitancy.
The Ecuador game was the best Gooch performance the USMNT has seen in two years. I am elated as I see this as a trend going in the right direction for both Gooch and the USMNT.
Yep. That play was a mental error, first and foremost. He had no idea where the ball was so it's not surprising he got beaten to it.