Just got home from match. So, while the Levi's Club was nice, and I certainly appreciated the air conditioning and lack of crowds to get a beer, after that I can't say I felt my $300/ticket was well spent. Ugggh. 1st half was actually pretty impressive for the US. Zardes was amazingly our best player dropping back, controlling the ball, and making semi-dangerous things happen. Ultimately we just barely threatened however. Haven't seen the replays yet, but 1st goal guy just wide open. that's poor. I still haven't seen PK either, but I hear call was o.k. Unfortunately, that changed the whole game, going from 1-0 down and controlling the match in a way, to 2-0 down. 2nd half was just kind of disjointed. Not good enough. Just not creating much. Bradley was awful. Giveaway city. terrible. Jones also wasn't good. So that's the CM and if they aren't good, it's going to be difficult to advance here. Reported sellout, though 'd say more like 80-90% full. The nosebleeds looked full, but large swaths of premium seats behind the benches were empty. My section was probably 70-30 Colombia, maybe less, but they were understandably more vocal. My view is other than then AO sections, it was 70-30 Colombia fans. Also not really a tremendous spectacle atmosphere. Felt more like a friendly.
These three I would disagree on. Brooks had a solid, steady game. 5 Bedoya one of our better technicians Not a great athlete but not a liability given our talent level. 4+ Bobby Wood a 6! He had zero impact, didn't win an individual dual or create any dangerous chances. 3
Thought I'd add, Johnson looks disinterested. Not sure what his orders are. On the other side Yedlin looked a bit out of his depth. Worrisome.
No, there's plenty of players to pick from. I'm asking you who you think is out there who's going to make a difference at this level. All we have is role players, supports player to plug in, absent of any true star or high quality talent until the next generation matures. Landon isn't there to bail us out on the counter anymore and Clint, much as I love him, isn't what he was.
Its not MLS, by the time a good soccer player is fifeteen they should have the basics locked in. That way each year is just about building new technical skills and speed of thought. Point the finger at the winning is everything mentality in youth sports. I coach high school, and I have to spend time teaching trapping and checking the field before you receive a pass and other things. And this is to players who have played for years. We get 1 to 2 good players put them on a youth team, beat up on lesser teams, then those kids never get better or learn to be part of a team. MLS is not a great league and doesnt help, but it is not the problem.
I think the conclusion is we just aren't very good. That sums it up. We have some talent. We can beat some teams. We can beat Bolivia and Puerto Rico. I wouldn't be stunned if we upset some teams. But over the long haul, we just don't have the talent currently to consistently compete with the better teams. Colombia is just better. We won't win this tournament. I think (might be wrong) that the national team is better now than it was 10 years ago. But until we have really good players at every position, we won't be competing against the the best teams. How many really good players do we have? Maybe a few?
The common man is not seeing that growth. Service gigs don't keep food on the table unless you are busting 16 hour days and working under the table. I know this first hand. Please take the politics out of here.
The US badly needs a competent coach. Klinsmann is not that guy. Why won't the USSF fire him? It's clear he's the problem! God Damn It
Chimp, you've been on Fab all day. His job was to stop Cuadrado. End of story. Nothing more to say. You guys may want Fab to play Klinsi-chandler ball but Fab is going to play correct fullback and I think he is right in doing so.
Klinsi needs to move FJ to midfield or on the wing up top 4-3-3 Whether it's Castillo or Besler this needs to happen. It's like playing Podolski at left back!
Your points are all valid, but a bunch of hard working role players with a set tactical plan, and play their roles can produce magic. Greece in 04, Leicester this year, CR at the world cup. It can happen, but you have to make up the lack of skill with desire and tactics, sadly JK is not a great tactician and doesn't inspire players to play hard.
When everyone and their mother wants 17 yr old Pulisic to come in and rescue tried and tested vets as well as a number in their primes, it's quite tough to argue Jurgen is the problem. There's better coaches out there but it's a players game and we're hamstrung by a) a lack of top talent/difference makers and b) a gap in development until this next generation comes thru. Point being, no coach is going to do much better with this current pool. We're mediocre right now. We'll get some good results, some bad. I still think we'll rebound and win the next two.
And don't forget the play where Dempsey decided to take an off-balanced shot rather than let Pulisic take it, the kid had the better angle, but like a said before, Dempsey thinks shoot first pass second.