Forgot Holmes was injured. Our midfield options are just way too soft and against any better team, Bradley alone deep isn't enough. He needs someone who can run and tackle with him if he's taking up that spot. Outside of McKennie, who else has enough bite to play there? The only other options left on the roster are Trapp and a bunch of mediocre guys shoehorned into quasi #10 roles, none of whom are really able to carry the play in the middle. Just glanced at the 23 left and Christ that midfield is threadbare. I'm not sure we can even field a team that's close to decent with that bunch to choose from.
Is it a symptom of the coach? Mild and cerebral. Lot of "urgency" talk and the tempo is in fact kind of slow. I want to see them combining off each other faster in the attack. Wings cutting in like Boyd did sometimes. Play off the striker. But then you need a striker with ball skills. What I really don't want is the first half of get the ball to the end line and try to find Zardes with a cross. That's a waste. They were better off when the wings took their men on and advanced deeper in the box. Or cut across at the top of the box and either passed or shot. The midfield is selection not motivation. We've been playing pretend on them for a year and a half. McKennie and Adams are the two who get stuck in.
Too bad there isn't a "filler" who's good enough to earn 1700 minutes as a central player for a mid-tier B1 team around to help out instead of Mihailovic.....
The poster you're replying to was responding to a post that claimed that Pulisic plays better and has more of an impact with his club than he does for the national team. That poster in response noted that Pulisic actually looked pretty dominant during World Cup qualifying, and then has played limited minutes for the US due to injury since. He had 7 goals and 6 assists in qualifying, which I imagine would compare quite favorably to both Pulisic's production in the Bundesliga (against an altogether different level of competition obviously) and to the production of some of our top performers in WCQ history -- especially considering his age. It's true that he didn't "carry his team" to qualification, but he didn't really carry Dortmund to anything either, so it doesn't really seem accurate to me to claim that Pulisic has shown an entirely different level of play at the club level than he has at the national team level. It's also true that he didn't look as dominant as you'd expect, yesterday. But I think the point is that drawing any broader conclusions from that seems unmerited.
I just compared the MLS ratings and the ESPN ratings Call me tin foil man. IDGAF. Something seriously off with this. mlssoccer Bradley 6.5, Lima 7...hmmm? Boyd 9.5?
I think Boyd running across the box or taking a shot facing the net is doing something you can build an offense off of. I think Zardes getting a ball back to goal inside the 6 or the penalty spot and being unable to create his own chance and then eventually passing back out as the defense closes in is actually that chance fizzling out. Surely you get the difference. If it makes the Zardes fans happy, I think he would be interesting as a wide forward in this formation. I think Boyd and Weah would beat him out. But he would be facing goal using his speed in space that indulges his touch. As opposed to in the Jozy Slot where if you have brick feet it is broadcast.
My thing is more he looks like a fairly slow footed guy who plays d mid. It's a ground coverage position.
Do tell what you mean when you say "I don't necessarily think the MLS guys are less talented than some of the globe-trotting Yanks or dual nationals."
Much better team when it was either Bradley longball or someone hits a diagonal and we get in space/behind the other team. He is still erring in the selection in favor of guys who are slower and supposed to be technical. I'd like us to just get out and run more. I think we have plenty of mids like Holmes Gall Green Pulisic, Arriola could be played there, who could support going wide and fast. I really do not want an offense based around semi-technical wings trying to hit crosses to Zardes.
He did have a nice long ball on a goal but the thing is in a more competitive game he also maybe costs you 2 goals the other way not chasing his men well enough. It's the "net" that gets him.
I think you are underestimating how many goals this offense should be good for with the right personnel. The mere fact enough happens against Guyana doesn't make this optimal. Go look at his game logs, often enough nothing happens and we lose. Or like the first 2 games of the year, or even arguably last night, we win, but we work too hard to do it, and perhaps it even looks better with the sub.
We got the result. We were a mediocre team playing a poor team. Now let's smash T&T. Open the floodgates.
Yup. The kid is a tireless worker. He gets the 50/50 balls. Positive things happen when he's out there. I think some fans expect perfection all the time from all players.
I am saying he is more of one than this bunch is and it shows you something. I am saying that for one game we wanted to win in this tournament I'd go with him and not Bradley. I think Adams is more like what we are looking for. But I appreciate the hard work and getting stuck in which none of the rest are doing. I don't think he was playing 6 last night so it's hard to talk him up as one.
I like Arriola's work rate and attitude, but we really need someone with a better final ball out there. For a top level International player who starts every game for us, we absolutely should expect a winger that can cross the ball better. One good cross every 3-4 is not OK. One good shot every 5-6 is not OK. Hustle is fine and all, but we need players who can perform, which means more than players who run around a lot.
this was what i was saying with the pre tournament roster analysis. unless you push a forward back to mid, we have like 2 dynamic mids -- counting Pulisic (who should be a forward) -- and one is mckennie who isn't a 10 type. most of the mids are either slow poke 6s or mediocre mush. what happened to the ones who can create chances? guyana wasn't getting stifled by the midfield defense, they were getting outplayed by the forward wings. why can't we have about 5-6 guys like that they have to track. for stretches they were actually giving our mids fits. i do think that as more and more regional players get to play in MLS and USL the lower tier teams are going to catch up. they will go from half fit semi pros to game fit players earning a paycheck with at least some playing time and professional training. but we should still have the athleticism and personnel to respond like an elite regional team and boss them around, all except a couple teams.
This is an observation, not an excuse, but Guyana's players were, in general, physically larger than our squad. With the exception of MB, the central defenders and Zardes, we had a pretty small-statured line up out there. Not that it matters, but it does mean we were bound to lose some of the 1 v 1 physical battles just on size alone.
Pulisic knows how to find the game and the ball out wide and always looks good there especially on the left. He hasn't seemed to figure it out as well in the middle. We have plenty of guys that do know how to play in the middle better than Pulisic so why international coaches keep trying to shoe horn our best players into positions they're not as good at considering they only have them for a week or two confounds me...
Yeah, noticed that too. Jamaica looks like an even bigger, faster, and more skilled version of the same thing. It's a little frustrating that we're not sending in many low crosses in to the box over the last three games. A combination of bad crosses and bad runs by our forwards.
I really don't understand this. Not really directed at one poster, but it seems to me that what better serves the Nats has to take precedence over what better serves an individual player at some point. If that's true, then isn't the Continental Championship one of those times? If it's not true, then why would any fan or the federation be particularly invested in the Nats since it's more of an optional thing? If a US-eligible player is saying "even though I am physically able to help the Nats be successful in the official Continental Championship, it's actually better for me personally to rest and get ready for my club season," then I am very skeptical of that player and they have a lot of work to do before I want to see them represent the US.