when i first read that, i thought it said "womanlike effort" and i laughed for about 40 seconds and was about to rep you. then i realized it didn't say womanlike after all
When Alan Smith scissors you, you go down. What's important is that he bounced back. He's no Ballack (in terms of Diving) but he's much closer to him than Lampard. I only mention Dempsey on the right because he can, on occasion, cross very well. But I agree that he SHOULD be in the center.
An undefeated streak can only end with a defeat.. There is no other way.. A tie never ends an undefeated streak.. Just bad writting.. Arsenal's 49 match undefeated streak didn't end with their ties..
To tell you the truth, I don't know that Clint's nimble enough to be an all out striker, at least not at this stage. He seems to have a penchant for getting tangled up, and holds the ball a touch to long yet. I can understand why Bruce wanted to give him a run there though, his shot is better than most and he can definitely outdribble many of our other options there (Noonan, Wolff, Casey, etc.) But I still think he'll be more productive coming from central midfield where he can be close enough to goal to dart in and put shots on frame, but far enough away to where he's not constantly man-marked.
Armas + Olsen is a disaster Why the hell would Arena start Armas and Olsen in the midfield again after their poor play against Cuba? They don't have any chemistry together. I really think Bruce needs to give Olsen a better chance to link up with more quality players on the pitch. Also JOB was useless. I am not saying he should be out of the mix for WC 2006, but he needs more live game experience.When the hell is Arena going to realize we need better quality from our wing defenders? Can we at least someone other than Dolo or Hejduk a chance? How about Burciaga, Dunivant, or even Mullan. Hell we could even play JOB at LB. I just don't understand Bruce's loyalty to certain players. Overall I give the entire team a 4 rating.
He is the only American player with a true soccer brain. The ONLY one? Really? By your standards (not doing what people expect) Mathis at least fits the bill. And I'm pretty comfortable with the soccer brains of McBride, LD, DMB, Pope, JOB, Matroeni, Reyna, and a whole lotta guys who have the smarts if not the talent... I think Dempsey has better ball skills than Lampard, I'd put him closer to Ballack no, really, who found Frankie's stash?
I love how people are freaking out like this lineup is anything remotely close to what the Germany 06 lineup will be. Bigsoccer is such a laugh sometimes. 3rd game in 6 days, already through to the next round, quali against CR coming up, working through depth, yellow cards, etc. a little perspective, please. Frankie is by far the best-conditioned athlete on the team, he has an unstoppable motor, is tough and persistent, and is a good clubhouse guy. He will be in Germany, and we'll be a better team for it.
Re: Gold Cup USA-CR Post Match Thread That official let them play alright. Costa Rica players were going through the player to play the ball and no fouls called. Do that to our backs long enough they could score. Lucky for us it didn't happen.
give gaven a shot before the end of qualifiers. hes got the pace, vision...even good finishing ability, plus he knows how to work the sideline and make the cross. the only thing he's missing is experience. bla bla bla he sucked at the u20s. well then i take it back, i guess we should never try him out at the next level ever ever on account of the wyc.
as soon as I saw the line up I knew we wouldn't score a goal. this is the biggest "I don't give a ******** about the result" match I've ever seen out of bruce.
Advancing is not enough. Winning the group makes you play weaker opponents and that helps you advance even further.
interestingly enough, outside of Mathis, I'd say that every single midfielder you list there is a better comeplete soccer player than Dempsey at this point in his development
You can't say that. Lampard plays for Chelsea. His ball skills are great. I've seen him make many the perfectly-weighted ball off one touch....I mean PERFECT, even to the point of playing the spin perfectly in the path. Maybe (maybe) Dempsey can do a little bit more 1v1 (variety of fakes), but I doubt seriously he's anymore effective. Lampard is one of the greatest players in the world right now. He really doesn't have a weakness.
Re: Gold Cup USA-CR Post Match Thread "Ralston showed he has something to offer at a very weak position for us." He won't have anything to offer in Germany he is not Quick or fast enough. "Hejduk is actually getting better with age (either that, or I'm getting used to him)." Your getting used to him. I thought he did not play well. He has zero control over his own body.
I agree he'll be there..but you are WAY EARLY in saying its a good call. He could easily Agoos on us (Frankie had a hilariously sequence in midfield in which he lost the ball way too easily, and then looked like a girl chasing his brothers trying to get the ball). Frankie has his positives. Its the inevitable 'oh my gods' that could get us in deep, deep trouble in a big match.
Did I say Joe Cole? No I meant, Lampard. Lampard's never done a stepover in his life, much less actually dribbled someone. He makes exquisite runs and can volley a lightning bolt blindfolded, but he's very efficient and economical, not a do a stepover and dribble into the box player. Ok, Maybe I should've said "DRIBBLING" not ball skills. And jri, Lampard does have weaknesses. He works hard, but he ain't the quickest and if he's out on the wing he can be made to look very bad.
Re: Gold Cup USA-CR Post Match Thread Which makes me even more curious about Dolo up there.... he had a couple of great crosses today ... but I guess that is too radical a change for now. I swear he looked like a shot albatros going for that header where he hit the CRC player in the head. Someone had mentioned that in the past and I gotta say the comparison is dead-on. Of course I would still be very surprised if he wasn't headed to Germany ... for workrate reasons among others perhaps.
Re: Gold Cup USA-CR Post Match Thread Frank caught the guy in the face with a forearm well after the ball past both of them.