Seriously, what did Nguyen do today? I have an answer....he got dispossessed twice, one because he didn't hustle hard enough, made one good tackle and that was all. Period. Why the love affair with the kid? See him in 2-3 years if he develops. The kid may grow up to be Ronaldo Jr. But in two matches so far with the USMNT, I HAVE SEEN NOTHING.
This tournament is a success if Bradley realizes that Benny and Clark are our two best central midfielders. That frees up Donovan to be a striker or in the hole in a 4-4-1-1 (or 4-2-3-1.) Which goes a long way to solving our finishing problems. Damn, how in hell are we so damn deep at right back (I mean Drew Moor is, what, #6 on the depth chart?) and so damn weak at right mid?
Donovan, whether played on the right or more centrally, is going to get a few chances every game to run at defenders and make penetrating runs into the box. Perhaps the good thing about the 4-4-1-1 is that there isn't an extra striker (like Twellman) to get in the way of Donovan. The problem with the 4-4-1-1 is figuring out a place to put Dempsey. He's one of our best 11 players, but he's not going to be consistently effective on the wing. So unless we find a high quality right midfielder, we lose a lot by putting Donovan in the center forward position of the 4-4-1-1. Even if we did have such a player, Dempsey would be rendered almost totally useless because he is not an impact substitute.
He was unimpressive today. But I didn't want to lump him in with the others because I think he has more potential.
And Donovan--finally--played quite well at right mid the last couple times. For a while, he'd looked like he was never going to adjust to it.
Against Paraguay, a skilled and wily but not an especially athletically impressive side, an offensively minded midfield should have been in place ... but Kjlestan isn't a left winger and Olsen isn't a right winger. So, Bob got 50% of his starting line-up right. Fortunately, they're keepers. And they probably would/should have been starters in 2006 as well.
I'm not sure what the point of playing 4 two-way center-mids today was. The midfield shape was (on the whole) off today, with Olsen pinching in and Sascha playing too deep. Any effectiveness this line-up might of had in a possession-oriented game (which they are capable of) was neutralized by Keller's inexplicable long-balls. Seriously, 9 times out of 10 that dillhole punts of hoofs it up field to a 2-on-6 situation, totally stagnating any build-up or cohesion. In hindsight, a 4-3-2-1 might have been more effective... something like... -------------------------Johnson------------------------ -----------Mapp----------------------Feilhaber---------- -------Beckerman-------Clark-----------Olsen---------
It wasn't so much that he was beaten to that ball, but I was concerned he may have been hit by a sniper given his rate of speed.
Feilhaber was to blame for the first goal, he has to stay with his mark and not ball watch behind the play. He looks very good on the ball but sometimes looses his head on the defensive end. Clark had a nice goal but I'd like to see him improve his positioning defensively. Olsen worked hard and did his best, no complaints. Sasha looked a bit lost but was played out of position. Mapp needs to get used to the late game sub role, he looked pretty explosive off the bench.
Its the best 4 that I have seen. Convey or Dempsey are the only two that I can see being better at those positions if they get into a rhythm next year in the EPL.
I think everybody would agree that Clark and Feilhaber both have holes in their game, but at the same time Feilhaber is the best central mid I've seen in a US jersey since JOB was struck down by God. Clark provides an athletic a 2way destroyer and is exactly what people wanted Armas to be on the ball. He may need to get a bit better defensively, but he is making a strong case for himself. And Ben Olson's time is over as a US national team player in anything other than a fringe role. Its a shame to hear that people are saying he is too slow (because he was faster before he tore up his knee) and frankly he provides bite to a team that needs it.
I can't believe how many of you are in love with the Benny/Ricardo midfield. I think it is a good combo, and I have a difficult time deciding with would be MOM for me, but I also can't help but think of Paraguay's first goal was right through the center of midfield. After looking at that goal again, it looks like both Benny and Ricardo were out of position/behind the play. This bothers me. And while I like the two, at this level, that type of mistake cannot happen...so I'm not yet promoting this combination.
Clark showed why he should be ahead of Pablo on the depth chart. At least he is willing to transition to an offensive threat at times. Plus he certainly looks to speed up the attack rather then back passing all the damn time. Benny- has a great feel for the game now if players only knew when to run off of him. He sees the lane and the passes to make unfortunately, the guys he is playing with at teh Copa dont have that aspect of the game figured out yet. Olsen- I dont mind him as a bench guy to make some hard tackles against our concacaf foes in qualifying. Other then that he is useless. Sasha- needs alot more seasoning but at least has the intangibles i.e. size, decent speed, good free kicks Mapp- at least he is willing to take people on. We lack players like that. Should have threaded the ball across instead of shooting but atleast he is aggressive. I think he has proven that he atleast deserves some more looks. Ngyun- cant believe he got beat to some balls when he had the fresh legs. Looked very slow but could be the result of not being 100%. Jury is still out, hope he starts v columbia.
From someone who obviously didn't watch the match. Clark was weak? Taken aback by the speed of the game? You're having a laugh if you really believe that. Go back and watch the match again. As for Nguyen, the guy gets 10 minutes on the field and we've already got people pronouncing what he is or isn't gonna be? What a joke. No one on this board learned anything about Lee Nguyen in his ten minutes of play. Give the guy some more time on the field at this level and then we might be able to make a reasonable assessment of his abilities.
Well he actually played before the Copa America for the USMNT. In that game, he looked exactly the same, out of his league. Oh yeah and he isn't starting with his club team also. And he doesn't really fit into the US system under Bradley. I am not saying he isn't good or doesn't deserve to be there. I am just questioning what everyone in the world seems to be seeing when they think he should have started this last game and/or that he should start the next game. I haven't seen anything in what I have seen of the kid to justify his inclusion in the starting XI. Period. He is still extremely young and raw. Let him get more club time and grow. See us in say 2-3 years Lee.
good comments... i'd add that it's interesting to see Nguyen's style (at least what we've seen so far) vs. Beasely. IMO, beasely is a super freak athletically... running everywhere and more... but then he is pretty lost when he actually has the ball at his feet. and no, i don't consider tapping the ball 10 yards ahead of you and chasing it past the defender as "skillful". then conversely, u have Nguyen, who seems to have great ball control and again, very technically precise movements with the ball. two different styles, ironically, coming from the same system (PSV). regarding Nguyen's fitness and being "slow"... yeah, i saw that too. i try to keep in mind he hasn't played soccer in months (half a year?) and it's just a fitness issue. he did look slow, but hopefully that can go away with proper training. defensively, i was impressed to see Nguyen on one sequence in the far left corner, defending the right winger one on one... he looked solid. also, a few minutes later, Nguyen made a solid clearance from the PK mark that directly lead to a US fast break and scoring opp. how many of those types of clearances generally find it's way out of bounds? most. but his lead to a scoring opportunity. i hope he gets a starting nod vs. columbia. that's what this tourny is for... playing the young guys....
Nguyen's first cap was against China in san jose... he got about 10 mins of playing time. i was at the game... he didn't look "out of his league" at all. in fact, i'd say he showed enough to warrant more PT. i think what you're missing about Nguyen, what your not seeing, is his technical abilities when he was the ball at his feet. his first touch, his simple give and goes, his positioning... things like that. i'm not just saying you, but i think too many of us americans are in awe of the super freak athelete (beasely, wynne) with little ball skill, and tend to look past less atheletic players with actual skills.
Are you referring to the China game, where he subbed in at about the 80th minute and his only contribution was to dribble one of the Chinese players onto his ass? The people who dislike Nguyen because of his perceived lack of athleticism have got it all wrong. Don't you remember in the Arena days when we would all talk about how our players might not be so skilled but they had better conditioning... and then they'd go out and get spanked by a slower team with more skill? [Col. Kurtz]If I had ten more Nguyens our troubles here would be over very quickly.[/Col. Kurtz]
I thought Lee was one of the best players during the last ten minutes in the china game Lee in that game:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsVyhTE2ngs
And both guys are playing there by necessity, not choice, which bolsters my point. As for the 4-4-1-1 not leaving a spot for Dempsey...why can't Dempsey be the guy up top? Also, I'm not as enamored of Dempsey's game as I once was. When the CA hullaballoo dies down I'm going to start a thread on it. But I'm the guy who started the first thread saying Dempsey would probably be in Germany and that he'd probably only spend 3 seasons in MLS. But in that thread, what you'll see is a bunch of people talking about his grit on both sides of the ball. Now, he doesn't put forth any effort on defense. I don't know what's gotten into him.
I can't speak for everybody, but I'm sold on them because they: - create chances, particularly Feilhaber - control the ball well, both on the ball and with their passing - shoot from distance, particularly Clark - display toughness on the ball when challenged - tackle good enough - attack with purpose - possess composure to play at the highest levels And they do most, if not all of these, better than everybody else. Mastroeni is the best tackler and Bradley probably has the best work-rate, but Feilhaber and Clark are more well-rounded players. I think the goal in question can be blamed on the entire defense. Paraguay changed the point of attack a few times, and we lost marks all around. Feilhaber and Clark played a part in both of our goals this tournament, and were the conduits in a side that created more chances than I've seen from a US side in quite some time (it certainly wasn't Kljestan and Olsen.)
The team is giving up a lot of goals on players that are not marked at all. Mexico's goal was from a wide player going back door that had nobody near him. Argentina's first goal was a botched offside trap? (Wynne) Argentina's 2nd goal was due to Crespo floating out wide and nobody pulling out with him. Paraguay's first goal was due to a runner going through and not being picked up. I'm sorry, but at some point we have to ask ourselves what is causing this current US squad to be allowing player after player to be open in the box. Are the mid's expecting a central defender to pick up that run into the box? Are the wide defenders expecting a wide midfielder to pick up the guys on the outside? This is my biggest complaint with the US team and I saw it happening in the Mexico game. It seemed like the defense had no width.
Ok Personal Pet Peeve here but why do the US midfielders leave thier marks as they advance to the goal without the ball. Against Argentina it was Rico against Paraguay it was Benny. I have seen this with other midfielders as well. Don't know if it is the assumption the D will just pick the guy up or what but it has been costing us big time. My son and I play a little game with our DVR after and opposing goal we call "Whose fault was that" and quite often there is a guy that was marking the eventual goal scorer that just slows up to watch the play and loses his mark or assumes a defender will pick him up. For Benny and Rico both of these guys are tremendous talents they just have to eliminate these lapses.