Becky and Engen looked very good and Morgan looked relatively very good, considering how long she's been away. Holiday had a very poor showing. I do not like her as anything close to a dmid. She's lazy and out of position on d, which happens most games. The reality is, I'm not sure there is space for Holiday to start on this team, I'd prefer a true Dmid. It's evident we need better flank play. Rapinoe is one of those players. We really missed her creativity today and she continually gets better on defense. Heath has never proved to be an asset in any match that is not Concacaf, she just doesn't have it. Hao hasn't played solid minutes for a long time. Has she lost her greatest asset, her speed? Press had a fairly hard time 1v1 on the flank, it wasn't effective for her. I'd like to see what Hao has left in the tank. It's been around a year and Ellis has really mis-managed this team and we do not seem any closer to answering any questions she needed to figure out months ago: What is our starting midfield? What's our starting formation? 4-3-3? 4-2-2? What roles do Rampone and Abby play? Does this team need a true Dmid (yes) ? Who's at left back? Who partners with Morgan?
↑ I wonder if she has a side deal with USSF and/or (at least) with Adidas for bonuses for goals scored, and no player has the ability/desire to keep her away from attempting an opportunity like that.
Well I have to give Ellis a little credit for trying a different formation. Personally, I would have paired Lloyd and Holiday at the back and let Brian try an play make on the flank. Holiday was just awful. They would have been better off pulling Holiday in the first half and put one of their shiny (due to lack of use) DMs next to Brian. The outside backs were totally out classed. They both should have been pulled at the half. Chalupny did everything she could but Thomis was just too fast. This was a job for Dunn. Klingenberg twice let Le Sommer get inside position on her inside the six. She was lucky that only one was finished. I also would have flipped Morgan and Press. Morgan is much more dangerous on the left where she could find Press and Lloyd instead of hoping those two found Morgan. Things I was most taken with was players constantly running away from US players. We looked very slow. Also very time the US got the ball they continued to show no patience, immediately launching it up field into the teeth of the defense. Ellis also continued her hopeful bench coaching. When her outside backs got torched in the first half she hoped they could hang on until her scheduled sub. When the central midfielders got out played in the first half she hoped it would somehow stop happening. I also kept thinking back to the new development curriculum and wondered if Ellis doesnt allow them to dribble the ball.
A few random thoughts: -The time to experiment is over. It's time to get a set lineup working together. -Lauren Holiday had an absolute howler. Turnovers galore, and she can't defend at all. Plus her set piece deliveries were awful. -Everything but the finishing was there for Alex Morgan. Loved the no-look backheel nutmeg early on. And the partnership with Christen Press showed some potential for success. -Morgan Brian has a world of potential, but she looked in over her head today. Maybe she should have played on the wing instead. -The left back position may be up for grabs again. Lori Chalupny didn't have a good game and got burned on both France goals. Maybe time to give Kelley O'Hara a chance again? -Ali Krieger is the logical starter at RB, no doubt about it. Plays that France were having success with early on were getting stopped once she came in. -The Carli Lloyd at outside mid experiment was a failure. She is a CM and will always be a CM. The offense looked much better once she was moved inside and was on the ball more. And she put in yet another solid 90 minute performance. -While I do think she could have done better on the shross from Houara, Ashlyn Harris had a fine game in goal. IMO she is the clear number 2 at the moment and shouldn't be blamed for this loss. -The dive for the PK and the shank aside, Abby didn't look too bad. But I still think she should be removed from PK duties from now on. Forgot to add: Whitney Engen and Becky Sauerbrunn were very strong. I want this pair to start in June.
Yes time has not helped Rachael "Bam bam" buehler. She was bad in the past and worse now. Two quick goals after she was beat then Jill gave her the hook. Jill needs to lose her number .... now
We played a line up that had never played together before against France. What did you think was going happen?
US Soccer has a good excuse already: "The USA was without several key players for this match, including defender Christie Rampone (back), midfielder Megan Rapinoe (knee), forward Sydney Leroux (ankle) and goalkeeper Hope Solo (suspended)." http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2015/02/08/13/14/150208-wnt-v-fra-game-story
Well that was mess. I called Ellis being the wrong choice the minute they appointed her. - Lauren Holiday needs to sit on the bench until she can find her form again. She's been average to awful for the NT for a long time now and using her FCKC form as an excuse is now wearing thin. - Lori Chalupny is not a LB. Let's stop that experiment right now. (What has Kelley O'Hara got to do to get a shot to prove her worth? Kling had hers, Cox had hers, Chalupny had hers but O'Hara isn't allowed to? Why?). - Speaking of stupid experiments: keep Carli Lloyd at CM. Always. And let her keep the armband and PK duties. She's more than earned them. - I'm yet to see Tobin Heath's worth. So far, losing possession unnecessarily is her trademark. - Morgan Brian is not quite ready to start internationally. She's close though. - Ashlyn Harris had a good game. She's a solid #2. Like it or not, Hope Solo is still the best US GK. - On the plus side, Whitney Engen and Becky Sauerbrunn looked good. - Alex Morgan is not match fit and it showed but the little link up we saw with her and Christen Press is encouraging. - The less said about Abby Wambach the better. Prayers are needed for the USWNT in this WC because it looks like it's going to end really, really badly.
About time. Chalupny showed some serious spunk even though she couldn't match the speed of the players she was up against, so I think she could definitely be useful in the right place at the right time. But using her as the default left back isn't working. I don't know what Ellis's problem with KO is.
I'm still invested in the "Ellis is holding a grudge against O'Hara for bailing on the U-20's eight years ago" theory.
Many posters got what they wanted this game, and the results still didn't follow. 1. Solo didn't start in goal. 2. Morgan and Press started up front. 3. We played a 4-4-2 4. Wambach didn't start 5. Boxx didn't play And yet, the results were still the same.
Agreed. She needs to earn her spot like others have had to do. All this talk of finding the right partner for Holiday when she was the problem today is baffling. I disagree that Chalupny isn't a LB. Until her concussion issues, she was the best LB the US had. I think she's just a little rusty, having not played there in years. It was a failed experiment, and one that should never be repeated. And 100% agree on Lloyd keeping the band and the PK duties, but on the condition that she mixes up which side she shoots to. The one thing that gives me hope is that they looked awful in the lead up to 2011 and were a Sawa header away from winning it all.
All of these players were poor Heath Press Klingenberg Chalupny Holiday Lloyd Brian Center backs played kick ball. Midfielders couldn't possess at all. The whole team was bad. It wasn't one player.
I actually thought Press may have been the best US player. She was the only player that had success holding the ball and connecting passes.
Makes perfect sense. Even Google seems to be downplaying the results of this match: You'd think that by now this fiasco would get top billing.
Caveat, I only saw the first 60 minutes. But this was not encouraging. They had a long camp to get things right after the dismal performances in Brazil. They changed nothing. The positives. I think Harris was pretty solid. Houara's cross-shot was so lucky, she couldn't have done much to stop it. The center backs were also impressive. Sauerbrunn and Engen are my starting pair for the World Cup. Krieger is pretty clearly the best right back. So 3/4 of the defense is set, in my view. The only other positive was Morgan and Press showing brief glimpses of a partnership. Not nearly consistent enough yet, but the signs were there. The negatives. The midfield was a complete disaster. Holiday, as many have said already, was awful. She needs to be benched until she shows that she cares. Heath was a turnover machine. They are polar opposites as players (flashy skill vs. simple passes), but she reminds me of Lori Lindsey in that she is only effective against slower, smaller teams. Lloyd as a winger was pointless. At this point, if she and Holiday can't play together, you have to bench Holiday and let Carli play in the middle. And Brian looked overmatched by the occasion, which surprised me because she held up well against Brazil. The left back position is still a question mark: there are four candidates. Most of us like Chalupny but she looked rusty today (albeit Thomis is a tough assignment) and could be used in the midfield. Dunn is injury prone but has quickness. Ellis continues to show faith in Klingenberg but it is fairly baffling why. She got torched by Le Sommer repeatedly and was lucky she only finished one. And O'Hara is in the doghouse. Who will emerge as the winner? Time is running out to fix this team. I have next to no faith in the coaching staff. POTM was Amandine Henry. She bossed the midfield today.