Howard is in camp. I'm betting that we won't see line-ups announced until just before the ghame tomorrow. Check this link for the full roster: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/national/2003-05-31-confed-cup-roster_x.htm
With Joe Max Moore no longer with the team, expect less lineups in advance then in previous tournaments/friendlies/world cup qualifiers.
I'll say this, the times that I have seen Jeff Cunningham play, he's very very impressive. What is the deal w/ no Fridel or Keller??
Keller is recovering from surgery (elbow I think) and Freidel is being given a rest after a long club season.
It's kind of chickensh!+ to make cryptic comments like this without elaborating. If you have something to say, say it but don't make vague passive-aggressive inuendo. If I needed that, I'd talk to my mother-in-law.
Old times, good times I think that was a SAG in-joke. As I recall, there was a poster on SAG who always got the lineup for USMNT right during 2000-2001, posting 24-48 hours before the official lineup was announced. It was speculated that the poster was a SAG writer, perhaps Ridge Mahoney, and that the source was a player. Joe-Max was the chief suspect, both because this happened when he was in camp and because the poster always took Joe-Max's side when little bits of gossip were floated about which strikers were doing well in camp or which players were upset about some of Bruce's decisions. But nobody ever proved anything. And as I'm going senile, I might have garbled a detail or two.
Yeah that is pretty much it. It was just a joke referencing the posting of lineups and how some thought there was a joe max tie. Now my personal favorite was the extensive discussion as to whether it is ethical to post on these boards the lineup if we know it. Damn you crash, damn you all to hell for deleting those discussions.
Sorry for not being more specific. Just a reference to an old joke on SAG/Bigsoccer regarding the joe-max tie to a person who was remarkably spot on in posting lineups several days in advance. I wasn't trying to be cryptic or chickenshit. I thought it had been discussed alot here and the reference was self explanatory. I guess it wasn't. Sorry.
Cletus? Hejduk with the arm-band... Cletus has been MIA in the press since the boys left for Europe. Is he hurt? Did I miss something?
Re: Cletus? This is quite possiby my worst nightmare. With the exception of Cunningham, Hey-I-suck is my least favorite player in the nats pool. While his speed lets him be servicable on occasion, he is easily beaten and pushes into the attack far far too often for a defender. He is certainly not deserving of wearing the armband-Either assign in perpetuity to Donovan or give it to a more valuable veteran. Armas comes quite quickly to mind
Re: Re: Cletus? If Phil Neville can be captain of England, well then Heydude can be captain of the US.
Re: Old times, good times It's a person using the name rmed, which many people thought it implied Ridge Mahoney, the editor of SAG. However, it was never proven.
I'm just wondering why so many people got pi--y about an in joke? No big deal, that's the point of an in-joke right. A subtle wink-wink form of communication between individuals in a larger public forum, right? No biggie, I had no clue what they were talking about and it didnt bother me. Far bigger things to sweat than that. Though the explanation is certainly interesting. Not sure why there is so much Cunningham love in that one corner. He certainly has impressed w/the MLS, but he hasn't looked impressive at all when he's played for our national side. Seems to turn into a blackhole everytime he gets the ball, what comes in, never comes out. Keeps his head down, showcases a few deft moves, and then has it thieved from him. If he could get his head up and be more pass first, than me-first at times, he'd certainly be more effective. Lord knows he has at least some of the skills and talent we need. Shame that he got hurt, as this might have been a nice opportunity for him to really refine his game. And he would be a terrific asset to kill a game w/his speed, but it looks like that might not happen (any knews on the severity of his hammy injury? Is it that bad? Was it a hammy?).
Re: Re: Cletus? Guess you haven't watched a single match with him playing for the Crew this season. Next to Pope he has been the best defender in MLS this season and has not been beaten by pretty much anyone, he is at the top of his game right now and he deserves this honor.
As far as Frankie is concerned, if there's an area to be critical of Bruce, it's that he hasn't taken enough or long enough looks at fullbacks in MLS and the end result is that Hejduk is a virtual automatic for any game, and we get lots of Victorine and Convey experiments back there, and the occassional 3-5-2 to dispense with them altogether. Once we get through the Gold Cup and we have more looks in MLS, I think Bruce should work on starting to bring in some MLS fullbacks and seeing who might be the real deal. As far as Frankie being the second best defender in MLS this year, you're welcome to that opinion, but I'd guess there probably aren't going to be a lot of people who share it. My guess is that because of our lack of depth at the position and Frankie's impeccable fitness, Arena's expecting Frankie to log more game time than any other outfielder. Hence the armband.
Just published on EuroSport: http://www.eurosport.co.uk/home/pages/V3/L2/S22/E5759/live_Lng2_Spo22_Evt5759_Mtc60380.shtml Joe Cannon Carlos Bocanegra Steve Cherundolo Gregg Berhalter Greg Vanney Earnie Stewart Chris Armas Eddie Lewis Chris Klein Landon Donovan Jovan Kirovski
Worst. Lineup. Evar. 1. Mathis has been finding old form recently, where is he? Sorry, can't see the inclusion of Kirovski over Mathis as a positive. 2. I don't think Stewart should be starting, personally. 3. Come on BRUCE, give Convey a chance to start and kick ass for once.