Congratulations Boys, but ...

First of all, congratulations boys! You put together a solid performance and took care of business vs Egypt. Some of the deficiencies that have existed in far too many recent games that have cost us apparently have been addressed and it showed on the field. You did what you had to to advance. Luckily, Brasil helped in an ENORMOUS way and we got lucky like we did to advance in 2002. Regardless of how it happened ... good job!

I'll take it, but let's not delude ourselves. Our first two games were not good at all, and at some points very bad. The bad play from those games were criticized, as they should have been. There are still some issues to correct, but it appears that some of our concerns have been addressed.

One of the things that, to me, made a BIG difference vs. Egypt was the discipline of the center midfielders: Clark and Bradley. Whereas in the first two games Michael ran around like a chicken with his head cut off, yesterday he was patient and composed (mostly.) When one of those two went up, the other stayed put -- and we were much stronger down the spine, as we should be. And the result was that we didn't have a big hole in the middle of the field. Bravo ... at least SOMEONE is listening.

The team came out with heart and, for the first time in the tournment, we looked like the 'old' US -- working hard and playing with guts and a never-say-die attitude. Well done. Welcome back.

The defense has played relatively well with grit and quality but there still is an issue that needs to be addressed -- and that is working harder and providing more support for each other. Whereas DeMerit and Spector seem to be working very well together, there have been too many instances where Gooch is not supporting Bornstein enough when the ball goes out to him.

Gooch needs to work hard to drop back and provide an outlet pass to take the pressure off his teammates and to provide a 'soft landing' so that we can retain possession. One glaring example of this that comes to mind was in the first half of the Brasil game.

Howard distributed the ball to Bornstein and Brasil had only a little bit of pressure on him, but once they realized that he was not getting any help and had no outlet pass, they put heavy pressure and Bornstein countered by trying to send a ball up field. Instead of retaining the ball, it went out the sideline and we gave up possession when we didn't have to.

If Gooch had simply dropped back behind Bornstein when the ball went out wide, he could have collected an easy pass and we would have retained possession. Just a little bit more hard work early -- whether it eventually is used or NOT -- makes retaining possession a whole lot easier. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Just move to the ball handler instead of running away. Give your teammate options.

Anticipation and good decision-making makes a huge difference not only in retaining possession, but in other circumstances as well. When Donovan had his breakaway vs. Egypt, Jozy was headed (correctly) to the back post and Donovan sent the pass to where Altidore should have been for a tap in.

The problem is, Jozy instead cut inside his defender, and the opportunity went wanting. By cutting inside, Jozy actually brought the defender to the middle of the box which actually took an option away from Donovan had he tried to gain a better angle by cutting to his right. If Jozy had continued his run to the far post and drawing the defender -- whether or not he had been given the pass -- it would have been a better choice.

Credit Donovan for being a leader and accepting the 'blame'. I'm sure at some point after the game, he explained exactly what I did above. Donovan has had a very good tournament and he has shown that he is the top class player, leader, and mentor to the young players we need. Well done Landon!

Some of these decisions are simple and should be automatic. Some are more complex and sometimes you don't get them right. The key is to evaluate quickly and try to make the right one MOST of the time.

As far as coaching in the game goes, thank goodness no Beasley -- that was good decision #1. Maybe Bob is becoming more objective. But no Torres -- especially at the end when we were up 3:0 and a goal against us would have been devastating seemed a little naiive to me. Going home with a sub in our pocket was even more naiive. When Egypt was pressing for a goal late, there's no doubt in my mind that EVERY other coach would have burned that last sub to quell their momentum. Well, every coach but Bradley and Arena.

While the victory was great and it means that we get another game to tighten and step up our game, we will gain nothing if we go out there timid and holding back. Some of the players said that we had "nothing to lose." The truth is, that is how we should play EVERY game!! Don't throw caution to the wind, but go out and make something happen!

Stop worrying about everything negative that can happen. If we play well enough, the results will come. Play with quality, composure, control, discipline, and patience. Improve the timing and quality of your decisions. Anticipate more and move early. Be creative and dynamic. Think outside the box and be unpredictable. PLAY THE YOUNGER PLAYERS! Step up and shoot from 30 yards out. Or fake the shot and slot it to someone else. This is how to step up and grab the bull by the horns!

With the quality of players we have, we should already be doing this!

For everyone that thinks that those of us that are criticizing "too hard" don't love and support the team, you're dead wrong. We critique and point out issues for those exact reasons -- we want the best team we possibly can have. To ignore issues and gloss over problems is counterproductive.

So if some people got their feathers ruffled a little bit and felt the pressure, then too bad -- I can't apologize for that. It appears that some of what we have been complaining about has reached the right ears and they have listened. If some of the wrongs have been righted, then great -- but still more to do. Success is a journey and you can never be satisfied with where you are -- there are always things to improved and issues to address.

So ... for the time being, well done boys. But you've won NOTHING yet. The only thing you've done is to finally play a little bit like we KNOW you are capable of playing. Don't be satisfied in just getting to the semi-final. Continue to improve the quality of your play and go balls to the wall! Play hard, smart, quality ball and give a real effort ... THAT is what we all want.

NO GUTS, NO GLORY!!! Bring on Spain!!!

 

Pull a tiring Dempsey for Torres. That would have given us more bodies in the middle of the field but, MORE IMPORTANTLY ... it would have slowed Egypt's momentum and taken up to 40 seconds off the clock!!! That is so important when you get to tournaments like this.

Regarding the first goal vs Costa Rica, Torress was trailing from behind and all would have been well except that Pablo dove in to try to win the ball when he should have just contained the play. Mastro missed and the player had an extra 8 yards before Boca could arrive ... and that was it. It was NOT Torres' fault.

 

LOL! It started off being much shorter, but there was so much to say!

There you go. (See above for more details.)

 

Don't be so quick to judge ... Kevin is simply stating that Torres adheres to the plan with the correct location and execution of said plan.

In the Italy game Michael Bradley was 'supposed' to be a central midfielder, but he was neither central nor defending for much of the game ...

 

Aww shucks ... take the time to read it -- I think there are some valid points.

Are you really that anxious to move on to more 'Fire Bradley' threads? (Disclaimer: there may not be 100% support of Bob in my original post. )