i'm surprised at how hard people are coming down on the guys for the way they played tonight. there have been many games when i turned the game off and wondered if the our team had somehow regressed or if they had been possessed by old women with cataracts and clubbed feet. tonight, for the most part, wasn't one of those nights. i thought we spent the majority of the time looking inept in the final third (as usual) and our defense was a little shoddy (could you expect anything more from that back line?), but they did an ok job. granted the second half was much better than the first, but even by the end of the first half they had begun to turn things around a bit. i saw a lot less "let's pass it to the other team because sharing is fun" and "back pass-square pass-lose possession" than i recall seeng in previous games (including games we've won). maybe i was watching a different game.
*Don't misunderstand San Jose fans- just because we are down on him doesn't mean we aren't intelligent enough to know he's our ace. In fact, what I think I'll remember most from this game is that Landon completely solidified his leadership on the squad. He's been talking recently more about being a leader for the team, and he certainly has come up huge in the last three USMNT matches. This guy is our ticket if we're going to do anything on the world stage next year. *I feel bad for Davis... his play was erratic but he deserves another look, especially when there are more veterans in the midfield and a forward who can move really well. The goal scorer for Cuba may have been his mark, not Sanneh's, I'm not sure. That was a horrible play by the whole team. *Beasley needs to be on one of the wings. When he is he's a god. *Frankie is an okay option if you have four in the back, but not three. He actually created some of our better opportunities moving forward. I think that says more about how our midfield didn't really play as a team very well (that's an understatement.) *I felt Wolff brought some good energy off the bench. *Another thing I'll take from this game... I really believe that the midfield is the weakest part of the team. I hope Pablo stays healthy, Dempsey continues to improve, O'Brien returns. But our midfield situation seems fragile, very fragile. * Even though this game was horrible, don't forget that is important to let Bruce experiment when he can with different players and formations. In the long term, the team will be better because certain weaknesses in players were revealed tonight, and because Landon continued to show the leadership this team needs. Although it is embarrassing to be in that form against Cuba, in the long run it won't matter as much as what we learned (although much of what was learned many of us already claim to have known, it's nice to have proof ) Better now than during the WC, right Steve Sampson? * And hey, the result looks good despite everything. Goal differential puts us ahead of Costa Rica
Over 3500 posts and this is your analysis? Santino played just fine and looked more comfortable than most. You did get it right with Casey, but wrong about Dempsey. Look at the freeze frame and see the red uniformed player behind Dempsey a full step ahead. Clint Mathis is poison. His attitude terrible. He couldn't make it in Germany and thus far appears barley able to make it in Salt Lake. Zero goals! BTW- A lack of attitude is exactly what Bruce coaches. He likes selfless players. Pablo, Pope, Frankie, etc. Showing attitude by any of these guys would only hurt their appearance in front of the Bruce. Look at Frankie, he is a lot more hot headed in Columbus than he is with the USA. He knows.
First of all, was that a 3-6-1 we played out there tonight? There would have been a lot of dumb panic on these boards had we not won but this was MLS pick up roster. Hardly ANY of our guys were used to playing together. And only a few of our starters will make the WC roster. Lots of blame on the Cuba goal: Beasley's give away, Quaranta got burned, Sanneh should have marked the scorer, and Hanneman could have saved it. Stupid red card by that Cuban. Hejduk Great gritty game by Frankie. Has sense of urgency when we were down and tied. Nice to see him going forward well even though it was a weak opponent. Conrad Worth more looks. Did fine despite being only center back. Quaranta Talent was obvious. Also has size and speed. That being said, he was fr**ckin awful out there tonight. Olsen and Armas - hard to judge. We had so many players in the midfield they didn't have to run much or make big plays. Davis Had one nice run. Has skill to burn. Concern is speed. Deserves another look. Dempsey **********in' aye bubba; this kid can play. Great match. Casey He's to the 2000's what Jovan Kirovski was to the 1990's. Lots of skill but couldn't score in a brothel (or set up a buddy). Beasley A bit quiet. I for one was never sure of his role. Nice goal though. O'brien Just nice to see him out there. Calm intensity let to his steal to set up final goal. We had some serious skill out there at that goal celebration in the end with him, Donovan, Beasley and Dempsey. Donovan Not a bad 15 minutes of work!
If anyone can give me a great reason why Tony 'Frickin' Sanneh would be out there at this point in his career, there is a rep point in it for you all... dont hold your breath, i dont think there is any reason that i will accept
the only reason is that he was the "frickin" man in 2002 and Bruce was prepared to give him his shot. so, tony got his shot. now, bruce needs to shoot him (proverbially of course), or at least send him out to stud or something like that. i take it you're further gone than me, but i can accept it if it was just a test, but Tony didn't pass and i'll be right with you if this becomes another Agoos situation....
Conrad must have done something right, being nearly alone most of the night. He deserves a better chance with some better teammates. Santino showed great promise. The kid is 20 and barely got the call up, yet still looked the most confident behind maybe Dempsey. Forward or right half, I am looking forward to seeing more of him. Dempsey just thrills. Hopefully he'll shake that Earnie Stewart knack for missing the frame and start scoring more often than not.
I have a DVR and it is clear that Dempsey was not offsides, he was clearly in an on-side position when the ball was played. I don't know who it was (Davis?), but the player in the far post position was in an offside position, but he was not in the play.
Your comment about Casey almost killed me. Why? Because I laughed so hard and couldn't stop. You speak a lot of truths, and I agree with you on Mathis. It would also be nice to see a player ( Mathis) that is a threat from outside the box. The one thing that I don't agree with you on is that Dempsey was offsides. On instant replay he is onside, however there is another US player who looked offside by a half-step.
i'm in the camp that believes it was dubious. he got the ball, his leg was extended, olsen came in late. no problem with a yellow, but it wasn't clear to me that he was trying to hurt olsen.
I agree, Dempsey was definately onside on this play, although i admit that my first impression was that he was off. kudos to the linesman for getting it right. But, man oh man, Clint shoulda had at least a hat-trick, he really missed some sitters, he almost had to defy the laws of physics to put a couple over the top from close range. Overall the final score was deceptive, Cuba played a lot better than I expected and the US underperformed against a team they should've put away ny half time.
Some people criticized Arena's lineup but keep in mind we play again in 48 hours. He needed to play the whole roster so Cuba was the opponent to clear the bench against. Also, need to put these young guys on the field to see if they can play at this level. It would be nice to see Cannon and Marshall out there too. People mention Gavin but he didn't even do much in the U20 tournament.
I'm close to being online with this, except that I though Davis alright, and Wolff pretty good in his limited minutes. I also didn't see as good a game from Quaranta as many here (MOTM talk is crazy IMHO). I thought he could have done much better in many aspects. Olsen was nearly brutal too. really bad: Sanneh (at least he did have a decent cross or two), Olsen (almost one group up due to effort, but still) Not the greatest and/or expected more: Casey, Quaranta (almost 1 group up) Alright and/or Incomplete: Armas, Hanneman, O'Brien, Davis Good: Wolff (limited minutes), BMB (great late, but slightly above average earlier (role)) Great and/or better than expected: Conrad (my MOTM), Dempsey (though should have had the one 2 feet from the goal), Hejduk (everywhere), & Donovan (great goal...(Wolff told him where to shoot?)). Agreed. He ran the left endline well, some good crosses and a couple good cuts towards the center. He seemed to not have anyone making good runs in the 1st half (and Cuba played well). Overall, the first five to eight minutes were DREADFUL....horrible....the lack of chemistry & touch was mindblowing. It was amazing that the US tied it just before halftime IMO. Players didn't look in sync, looked like they were taking Cuba for granted, and just some laziness. Better in the second half, but LD saved this game.
I think Casey had enough chances to impress and failed all to many times. I think Bruce should be a nice guy and help Conner pack his suitcase, I buy him a one way ticket to Germany. Next give Kirovski a ring and give him a shot to make the WC. Like he's giving Sanneh, Armas, & Olsen. I know Kirovski has never lived up to everybody's expectations but at least sometimes he looks like world class. Then again if they had Kirovski, the Galaxy (who are already without Donovan) will really get spanked by Real Madrid.
Neg reps for persistent infringement and generally not adding anything useful. If you can't put at least one useful post out there please be silent.
1) Dempsey was onsides (someone posted a nice still-- by the way, if you're reading this, how did you do that? I have tivo and wouldn't know where to start-- email me at mattheweison@hotmail.com). Beasley's cross was beautiful-- Cuba stopped playing and complained for the offsides call because they had no alternative-- they were beaten. 2) Sanneh looked pretty bad out there. I was surprised not to see him come off when we were making substitutions. 3) Dempsey played really well. His scoring rate will improve with time. Frank Lampard will probably be named European player of the year and his strike rate is probably much less than Dempsey's 4) I didn't know that Landon had that kind of capability to curl a free kick. That was simply beautiful. Beckham and Zidane eat your heart out. 5) Beasley is probably the best one on one finisher on the team-- that third goal was quality. 6) The passing that lead to that last goal was mind blowing-- but maybe Cuba had simply given up at that point. And they're Cuba. They're not that good. 7) Except for the last 10 minutes, we looked pretty awful out there. It seems to be a consensus from what I've read on the posts that Landon's the man, Dempsey shows great potential -- we just wish his finishing would improve, Beasley is great but should be pushed to the wing, Quaranta had a decent debut, Sanneh should be thanked for his 2002 contributions and then retired from the National Team, and that Armas and O'Brien might be able to contribute in Germany, but need to show us more, and that Hejduk although not exciting is probably our only viable option (along with Cherundolo and maybe Berkhalter) at wingback and is a shoo-in for the squad. The Costa Rica match should be interesting. Also, when we face Mexico, I'll be interested to see how we're able to play them. I think they've improved since the period during the last few years when we had their number. And Borgetti might be the best heading striker of all time-- if he goes back to Europe, he's going to make a huge impact.
I haven't been that angry with the national team in a very long time. 1) Sanneh was a gapping hole all game, even at the end he got beat and was saved by a teammate 2) What the hell was up with all the backpassing I almost broke my cell and remote with the anger that generated 3) We looked so second rate it was embarrassing 4) All I could think was...We must look like a huge joke to everyone 5) Cuba deserved the win more than we did 6) embarrassing!!!!!!!!!!!
There's this thing called MLS Direct Kick and this thing called Tivo. I suggest you get both and start watching some Crew games because Buddle has had games this year where he looked like a traffic cone with a chipped tooth and paunch.