Honestly, in the first half I thought he was awful. Much of the lack of connection through the midfield was on him. Then again, I generally do not like him in the midfield. Linking is not his game, that's not where his head works. He really only comes into his own in the final third.
Everyone struggled in this tournament. Good game by Jamaica. Those who keep saying MLS is better than or equal to the C'ship might want to reconsider. Jamaica went out and stocked up on C'hip/EPL players to really upgrade their quality of play especially in defense and midfield. JK should have started with Beckerman shading right-central midfield with Bedoya and Evans. Beckerman shading left-central midfield with Zardes providing cover was the critical tactical mistake in the match.
How is it perplexing? Five countries take the women's game seriously and we were one of the IF NOT THE first in line. It makes sense that we dominate. Soccer is the like the 6th sport for men on the pro level in this country.
I said from the outset that he and AJ are an either/or proposition. I do not like them together. Pairing them became a solution when Jozy was removed. As usual, Klinsmann had no plan B.
Agreed. Dempsey was crap tonight. Too reckless, too many pointless touches, and simply not good enough. This was the last major tournament he could have had an impact in, and he wasn't good enough tonight.
I'm not convinced JAB & Alvarado were the main problem. Our midfield was terrible. Bradley doesn't seem like a big match guy, The pressure gets to him. Too many missed passes when calm was needed. Also, my initial impression of Klinsmann was that he was a conman. I always opposed his hiring. He's the sort who convinces people with what he says, not with what he does. For the sake of the program, I fought my instinct and tried to see things from his perspective. Because, if it's true what my gut tells me about the guy, we're screwed. Really, really, really screwed. To the point that we cannot even get rid of him.
What have we learned from our Gold Cup Experience? MB is neither technically good enough (passing, ball control, and dribbling) nor athletic enough (Speed, Agility, Strength) to be effective in his role. An in-form JA or similar player who can cause problems 1 on 1 due to descent size, strength and speed is important. AJ, Dempsey, Zardes, and MB are easy to defend against. JK can not properly assess an opponent. He can not assess his own teams strengths and weaknesses. He can craft an effective game strategy. He can not properly prepare a team of talented professionals so that they play with confidence and according to a plan. In general, we have had a tradition of coaches that produced a result greater than the collective talent we had at the time. At least for a time. JK has reversed this tradition unless you count worthless friendlies in Europe.
We could get rid of him. The money is there. The question is the lack of will. Gulati really likes this guy. Then again, hiring coaches has never been his strong suit.
Well, I have this feeling that his extension has clauses that make him virtually un-fireable. Basically, to get rid of him, we'll have to bankrupt the program and start again.
AJ makes his gimme header to tie the game and we are having a different conversation...but yeah he didn't.
Why is this perplexing? Soccer is hard, it's the world's most popular sport, and there are others that are better at it then the US is. That's why I am a fan- they aren't always expected to win.
Just read it was also the first USA home loss to a Caribbean opponent since 1968. Another in the long line of distinguished JK firsts...
"If we are 2 goals down with 10 mins left we know we can score 2 goals. Why? Because I'm subbing Gordon in!"
First of all, for some people who asked---There is a third place match. The reason behind this was because of the Copa America Centenario. Since it was largely expected that USA and Mexico would be in the finals, the third place game was added to help determine the other CONCACAF teams that were to go to the 2016 Copa America. And speaking of that, if it does indeed happen (I say 75% chance), it would be a nice tournament to break in the new coach... But-- Klinsi needs the 3rd place match more than anything. We don't know..Mexico may (snerk) lose to Panama (Which would rule) and we bump another dos a cero on them. Klinsi gets his one shot to the Confederations Cup. But if we play poorly or lose in the third place match, heck, he's toast. As for the "Bob Bradley was fired for less." Theory--It does have merit. Then again, Klinsi has looked far more impressive than Bob Bradley playing in Europe. And considering where the next World Cup is, I am not too quick to want to put JK's head in the guillotine just yet. Also, Bob Bradley's team played just as crappy as JK's team, only to go up 2-0, and then get hammered for 4 unanswered goals using the worst sub in US Soccer history. What it boils down to is we still need a complete coach and system. Bob Bradley's run and gun style was fun, but whe needed possession to shore up a lead (Especially in a cup final), we got hammered. Likewise, Klinsi is great at possession football, but we can't use our athleticism when we need to because of stupid drills and formational changes that maximize passing over anything else. When we tried to run and gun, Bob Bradley style, against Jamaica, we looked terrible. Just as we looked terribad watching Sacha Kljestan try and play it on the ground against Brazil and get schooled. So, if I was Gulati, I start making calls. Kreis is first on my list. Anything less than a completely crushing and perfect game in the third place match, and it's over.
I cant see him getting fired because Bradley coached 3 Gold Cups. If thats the bar to grade on.....I would say he will be comfortable until at least the playoff. Seems realistic when you look at past coaches tenures.
It has at least a couple of years (probably much longer) since I last posted, and it took a pathetic, no 20th - century, showing for me to say something. ... longs for the days of the 3-6-1. ... the next thing I expect is for someone to tell me Sunil Gulati is running US Soccer.
Janusz Michallik @JanuszESPN 22m22 minutes ago We looked poor in group stages. This perhaps should not be a shock.
The first goal allowed was a pathetic display of defense. Couple that with all the botched passes and bad plays by Brooks and he needs to sit for awhile. He isnt ready. Everyone says Omar isnt fast enough or quick enough but Brooks isnt exactly nimble on his feet either.
As with all upsets, there was an element of lucky/unlucky bounces. Bacon at the 6. Mattocks's goal off the throw in kissing both posts before rolling in. That call at the 18 that very rarely gets called. That doesn't excuse a tournament that was poorly managed from the outset. It could be framed another way: if Haiti had a finisher, or Honduras hadn't been such crap lately, we could be having a very, very different discussion.
It is a different game if we take any of the like 10-15 decent attacks in the first half, shitty finishing happens sometimes and fluke goals against the run of play do also. I wanna new coach because im not a fan of 2 cycle coaches but the level of "great untapped soccer genius" in this thread is just astounding.
And all tourney long, it was a strategy, really. Not just the final ten minutes here. That's what aggravated me. Why the sudden identity change / regression to Bob Bradley ball?