Well the Cuba game didn't bother me at all. The line-up was clearly either experimental or B/C string. This line-up was closer to an A/B squad and I thought we didn't dominate and found it mildly upsetting. I'm not a chicken-little type. I realize the players aren't really up for these games ... laughing when they miss shots and such. I imagine when we get to Mexico we'll see a big change in attitude which will translate to less "back to goal" play from the team.
This is one of our problems; when we slow down the speed of play. We need to play direct soccer. I don't mean we play like Norway with the long ball, but we do need to constantly be running at the defense while avoiding the Chris Armas style back-pass festival.
I have to say, I think Beasley is one of the better finishers on the team, if not the best. Watching him with PSV and the Nats, whenever he gets a chance, he slots it home much more often than not. I can't remember him missing a sitter or anything near one for a long time. But even if he has, the point remains.
I forgot about that chip by Noonan. That was a nice effort. I thought JOB showed a lot of his class today - the vision and the intelligent passing. It'll be exciting to see him in a lineup with Landon, EJ, and DMB. I actually think DMB and JOB could wreak some serious havoc for us if Bruce sticks DMB out on the wing where he belongs. JOB can actually spot a player making a run AND deliver the through ball. Please God, let him stay healthly.
What have we've learned after 2 games? 1. Sanneh might be done 2. Beasley is a poacher. he get dispossessed too much but you forget those moments, when he and Donavan does their 2 step. 3. Connor's chances are fading 4. "Q" looks promising 5. Gooch is carving his spot for the WC
Definitely understand your opinion, Joel. I completely agree we were too slow in the attack in the first half...being overly patient probably. The game opened up for us because we came out and went on goal with a purpose after half. Our first possession of the second half went directly into their box. I wouldn't call the game unconvincing because I thought we were in clear control of the match for most of the time. We showed some good quality getting the attack going, and we used our space well. Of course, we have to work better in that final phase of the attack to get the all-important goal. If I'm Arena, I find a practice field somewhere and practice nothing but finishing drills.
Overall, not our best game ever, but I would not expect that either. We picked up point difference meaning all we need agianst CR is a draw, that is important. I thought Cherundelo, JOB and Gooch played well. JOB did a lot of nice little things in the middle of the pitch to move the ball back into our attack, which I don't think anybody else for the US could do. He sill has a lot of sharpening of his game to do, but it was good to see him out there. The little chip that got put in for the OG reminded me of the assist to Mathis against Korea. I did not think Pope played well, and other than some good crosses, Vanney did not play well. With any luck, I think 6 of the starters today could start in Germany (Keller, Delo, Gooch, JOB, Mastro and Donovan) then with DMB subbing on that could be 7.
US was in control and dominated for most of the game. The few chance they got, Keller was in the right spots and saw the ball all the way.
Maybe not DQ'ed, but loses the round on points. He definitely should have put that one on frame. As a whole the game was pretty dull. The US looked the more industrious of the two teams through the majority of the game, but regularly wasted opportunities to get shots on goal. Donovan missed a half volley wide right and put a chance in the 6 yard box right into a defender/keeper. Ralston (?) had a good volley chance roll to the keeper. Noonan hit a crossbar and missed that header wide. But, to be fair, Bernier had a wide open look on a cross and failed to control the ball and I recall a few wild shots on Canada's part. EJ needs to get healthy faster. His presence easily doubles the number of shots on target for the US. Gooch and Dolo were very good at the back. I can't recall either of them making me nervous during the match. Vanney was a bit of a liability on the left, while the Conrad sub seemed to make things substantially more dicey at the back.
DMB definitely turns the ball over way too much in the midfield - once you slow him down he doesn't have the skill to dribble around defenders and he seems unsure of what to do. Thats why it's hard to figure out why Bruce has him floating around in the middle of the field. But yeah, LD and DMB are lethal together.
I thought Wolfe played very badly this compared to Noonan. Also, think JOB is no where near his WC2002 form and wasn't that impressed with him either. I thought Noonan's shots were aleast dangerous and he got into dangerous positions. Wolfe, OTOH, who was playing forward (he was playing forward right?) didn't even have a dangerous shot. Everyone else was about as expected. Dolo played very well but I've come to expect that now. Dolo was honestly more dangerous on offense playing in the right back position, than Wolfe was playing forward.
The only take away from this one is JOB is on the way back. I know it was only Canada, but his play in the 2nd half showed that if he is health he is a guy we need on the field. The last two qualifiers and the first two GC games have showed one important thing. We are thin. EJ, McBride, LD, DMB, are critical to our fortunes over the next year. You could add Mastro, Gibs, Gooch, Dolo. I think Noonan needs some more PT to settle and relax. Same goes for Dempsey although he is further along. I hope we take the next two qualifiers and put that sh!t away so Bruce can focus on building depth. We really need it. And please God, everyone stay healthy!
All we need is a referee, like the one today, who is willing to give yellow cards to opponents who go after Beasley instead of the ball. Beasley is a very good midfielder who can be creative up front, but too often opponents try to kill him and the referres just give a foul without a yellow card.
i'm a noonan apologist but i don't think wolfe (sp?) was quite that bad. he made the outlet pass to RunDMB that led to LD's goal. he also had a nice pass the in the box that would have been an assist had LD finished better. as far as his job is to score goals he certainly wasn't successfully but i think his distribution caused some problems today. Completely agree with this.
yeah others might disagree but i've thought the refs for the US games so far have been quite good. i kept thinking "why can't MLS get these guys?"
MUCH better performance today. Better ball movement, which led to wide open passing lanes. Loved our one-two touch passing also. Great to see JOB in action again. He looked solid IMO. Thought Vanney was very impressive. His crossing ability was 100% better than Hejduk's!!! Thought Pope was very solid, too but not sure why he was taken out at the half. Injury?? STUPID yellow by Donovan, near the end of the first half! He MUST learn to control his temper toward non-calls!! Bad yellows for Mastroeni & Onyewu, too!! Noonan had several chances, as did Wolff, but our finishing left A LOT to be desired!! Sweet pass by Beasley on Landon's header!! The communication between those 2 is amazing!! SOOO many opportunities that, after a while, it got VERY frustrating!!! Still, we won & now play CR for the group title on Tuesday!!
People are getting down on Beasley, but lets remember this guy has played a full season at PSV - PSV people, with EUFA CL, and US qualification .... maybe you all should cut him some slack since he could be, could be a little tired. Dunno thats my hunch. But, there have been many positives so far - Donovan is showing some moxie, Gooch is becoming the real deal (with Gibbs and Keller this defense will keep the US in games), Noonan is showing that he is more valuable than Wolff, and Arena is doing the right thing to find out who gets their last chance. The US is 2-0 folks and this is no where near full-strength with less than a year to go.
how was JOB today? Did he have a decent game that shows with fitness he will be good addition to our first 11?
Wow, opinions do vary. I read all the threads and found many things I did not agree with at all. I thought Vanney looked bad most of the time, others thought he played great. I thought Wolff sucked, but I always think that. Overall, we lacked any kind of spark. I really home he takes the best from game 1 & 2 and plays them in Game 3. We needed Dempsey on the field today to inject some life.
My 2 cents: good game today. It is hard to score against a packed in defense. The US totally dominated possession except for a couple of streaks in the second half. Why that happened, I have no clue. Our guys looked tired at those points, rather than the Canadians. That said, Noonan needs to score a goal to get over the hurdle of doing so. He had a couple of gimmees that he would probably never miss for the Revs. Nevertheless, he did well in a variety of ways. I was particularly impressed with the rapid ball handling and one-touch midfield passing in the first half. I would like to see that mode of passing to create more shot opportunities from outside the PA. I think the US is rather poor at its distance shooting compared to Ger, Arg, Bra, Eng, for example.
This is a problem the US team should have more of. DMB is now more experienced will know how to handle it better this year.
Beasley will be a starter, not a sub. Arena has even mentioned recently that DaMarcus has a strong case for currently being our best player. After Donovan, he's probably the easiest guy to pencil in as a sure thing.