He's a jackass, but there are times where a jackass has its place. I don't think he was substantively off in anything he said.
Agree. I'm tired of our "experienced star players" playing in World Cup qualifiers like they have something better to do. I'm tired of our coaches not giving more talented, hungrier youngsters a chance because "qualifiers aren't the place to experiment with new players", ya because our "experienced star players" are doing such a bang up job. The entire USMNT needs new leadership.
Alexi misses the mark. Again. Said in the other thread it sounds like an AYSO coach screaming at the kids to try harder. It's all show. Why's he calling out Howard, Clint, Bradley, Jozy types? Two of them, and I love them both, are a shell of their former selves thru no fault of their own. Father time. Bradley is and has not been the player he once was for about 5 years. Old Bradley isn't coming back, he's now 30. Jozy's just Jozy. Alexi seems to think these guys can play much better. I propose they in fact cannot, they're all pretty much well past their primes. Cameron was awful vs CR but that's more a blip. So yelling at a 34 yr old Clint or an ancient Howard accomplishes nothing. The real issue is why he even has to focus on them and where the next crop which should have replaced them are. A healthy NT should be leaning on 24-28 yr olds. Sure you sprinkle in some older vets but the bulk, the real foundation should be prime 24-28 yr olds. Your NT's top players should be in their primes or you have a real problem. So, where's all that talent we should lean on in their mid 20's? Eh, Alexi? That's the real issue.
Alexi Lalas is such a blowhard. What is with egotistical people and always yelling at younger generations for being soft and having things handed to them? Good god, spare me from the old man syndrome. Do you really think players like Howard, Dempsey, Bradley, Altidore, and Cameron don't understand the situation they are in? It isn't exactly rocket science. We know at this stage what these guys bring to the table. The real problem for the US is the garbage they have in the back four. Zusi and Beasley on the outside is killing this team. Local high school kids could run around Zusi, and Beasley is ancient and can't defend anymore. Then you throw in Gonzalez (overrated), Ream (overrated) and Cameron (should be at CDM) and you have a slow mistake happy defense. All and all, Arena and this team knows the situation. Whether they poop the bed and don't qualify (please don't) or dominate and get that 3rd automatic spot, Lalas yelling gibberish does nothing to change the situation or how it will unfold.
It's a publicity stunt, and he's not right. The problem for the USA has been defense. 12 goals for -- good, but 6 of those against Honduras. 11 goals against -- very bad. The problem has been a non-existent defensive midfield in front of a shaky defense. Against Honduras, no pressure in the midfield on the passer and very poor defending by Gonzalez lead to the first goal. Against Costa Rica, no pressure on the ball in midfield, nice through pass, and then Urena beats Tim Ream like an old carpet. On the second goal, giveaway by Cameron, nice though pass, and Zusi and Ream beaten like drums.
Giving up 3 goals in 2 games, while not ideal against this caliber of competition, is less of a problem than scoring 1 in 2, IMO.
he jumped on the obvious anger/frustration of fans in the most generic terms possible. he said absolutely nothing. my only thoughts on this are that im really bummed people are giving him the attention he wants.
You are likely correct, he is getting a lot of attention which is likely what he wants, along the lines of him telling the USMNT that they will probably not get out of the groups stage in 2014. However, he does say something that I absolutely agree with: the observation that this team has no grit/fight/bite/gusto/etc.. They wave their hands around looking for calls instead of winning the ball back or pressuring build up play. While I do not agree with the guys he called out by name being the main problem, they are the ones that were around when the USMNT fought and they need to show the younger guys what that looks like. But yes, he is a blowhard and I bet he would be the first to admit this.
Lalas has been doing this for years. He has adapted to that homegrown controversial spokesman so easily as if it were his own and (based on the new contibutiting/communication/broadcasting/streaming era) it seems that it's like that for now but let's hope, along with the USMNT, that this mentality changes among everyone... especially in the staff of Coaching for the National Team... and it ultimately reflects in our fan mentality as well! ¡Vamos USA!
At least someone went on TV and said something negative about the team. For the last three years you'd hear stuff on JK and that's about it. Some germerican stuff here and there. It's a boys club, they look out for their own and there are really no consequences. Bradley has been bad for a few years now. Hes had what, 6 or 7 different midfield partners and still, not better. But God forbid they try someone in his place! To me, it feels like there's this culture that looks out for one another, between USSF, MLS bigwigs, and the media. And you can't go rogue. That culture leads to our shortcomings.
It's more of a "fire 'em up to prove me wrong" kind of speech than actual criticism. He's playing "the heel", in wrestling terms - being the villain to rouse the emotion of the audience. The problem is that there's nothing substantive behind it. Our problem is not a lack of emotion/heart/grit/attitude/other intangibles. Our problem is worse - lack of technique and general tactics Someone else posted this link: http://www.lateralesquerdo.com/en_G...e-posicionamentos-estados-unidos-sem-futebol/. It's really quite a good analysis of the Honduras game, but the primary criticisms are straightforward: 1) too much space between the attack, midfield, and defense making it too easy for Honduras to create equal-strength situations in the USA final third, (2) poor organizational discipline by the midfield making them easily exploited on defense and ineffective in attack, (3) lack of coordination when pressing, (4) forwards unable to read and execute plays in the final third. That last one is particularly painful - more than one example of our attackers, in the Honduras third, with superior numbers, and a simple one-two could free up an attacker - and the attacker to receive the pass actually runs away and the attacker with the ball attempts a terrible cross/long shot/impossible to tell, really. There are fundamental tactical errors, which the video showcases multiple examples. It's actually rather embarrassing. These are basic tactics. This isn't a talent pool issue, or a training issue, or an issue of US soccer being underdeveloped. Much smaller nations with much less developed soccer infrastructure are able to do this. I honestly believe that the problem is actually the opposite - we've developed to the point that our talent allows us to coast and become complacent. We're good enough that we can get sloppy with tactics and technique and still win against most of our opponents. For all our sloppiness against Honduras, we still got the point - and most of CONCACAF is much weaker than them. Which means rude awakenings when we face higher competition.
For all the hoopla our qualifying basically comes down to beating Panama at home. Hardly a difficult task for any team that wants a place in the world cup. With the way we played this WCQ we would be punished and def out of contention in other confederations.
You sure about that? We've put in some bad performances...but the 2nd place team in Germany's group is Northern Ireland. Even our bad performances would have been getting wins or draws against the likes of NI, Azerbaijan, and San Marino. Serbia is in 1st place in group D, and Wales is 2nd. Montenegro is 2nd in Group E. Poland is 1st. Iceland is 2nd in their group on GD. It's a fact that the 4th best team in the hex is better than the 4th best team in any Euro group. It's rare that the 3rd best team in the hex isn't the equal of the 2nd best team in any Euro group. Then it just comes down to winning a playoff. And that's not even talking about Asia, by far the most overrepresented confederation in every world cup. People forget that Mexico sucked worse last time than we are this time, and they got out of their group in SA. Costa Rica won the true GOD and got to the quarters.
In S. America we would not be part of the discussion. In Europe at best we would be Pot 2 which would need us to overcome a top tier team to qualify or be thrown into a playoff with a solid team. There's a lot of variety in Euro groups. Do I think Honduras/Panama is better than Faroe Islands? Yes. Better than Ukraine or Israel? Idk. And I don't mean this in relation to our team. We have normally been either the 1st or 2nd best team in N. America. I don't think Honduras/Panama have what it takes to win an Asian cup. The teams in the hex are also blessed with playing a team like T&T or Guatemala each cycle which makes the Concacaf group really 5 teams vying for 3.5 spots which is hardly grueling. Africa- all based on the group. If we got into a group with Algeria, Cameroon, and Nigeria with only the top team getting out, it would be far more difficult than what we face now. I do agree WCQ performance does not dictate performance at the WC.
It will be interesting to see which player(s) Bruce tries to develop as Bradley's back-up. He's watching these games badly wanting a player for the role of ABMOD, Armas, Kovalenko, Juninho/Sarvas, Pablo, DeJong... Does he put Acosta on protein shakes? I just hope we stay the hell away from the Jermaine Jones well.