I've long believed it wasn't only the fans that didn't realize how good Donovan was. I think there are quite a few veterans on this team, that made a career for themselves in Europe, that never understood how much better a guy who played every day in MLS actually was than them. Had they realized it, perhaps as leaders their reaction to his getting cut should have been a bit more than a shrug and before heading off to training.
Well said by lots of people. If people are going to say the strikers finish and we win, remember they got some good shots in the 2ND half, that could have made itworse
Not against Guatemala granted. But those mistakes were not really little, IMO. Goal of a goal kick? But I can make a pretty good argument that little mistakes cost us World Cup games against Ghana twice, and Germany in 2002.
Not really. That's just Zardes being Zardes, who jk has given a record breaking number of caps lately. Those 2 make quite a pair.
The time to panic was when Jurgen started shitting on Donovan, said he could only make the team as a forward, and there was a rumor Klinsmann might cut him. Before that there were just major concerns.
This isn't Zelalem or Hyndman that US fans hype up as better than they are, Pulisic is absolutely as good of a prospect as some people claim he is. He might not become a world class player, but he has that type of ability. He might be the best prospect in the Bundesliga. He's up there with Heinrichs, Azzaoui, Eggestein for that honor. He's viewed as the top prospect at Dortmund, ahead of Felix Passlack who a lot of people regard as the top German player at any academy in Germany of the same birth year. You should read the Dortmund transfermarkt forum (here it is: http://www.transfermarkt.com/christian-pulisic-22-/thread/forum/12/thread_id/805158) if you don't believe me, they talk a lot about how Passlack doesn't have as much talent as Pulisic. They throw out the top names in football in their discussions about the type of talent Pulisic has, they think he's that good. I agree that he's not a savior though. Right now he's still not even a regular with his club team and hasn't even played yet for the NT. We don't need a savior, we just need a good coach who doesn't wreck the NT, and will use the many talented players that we have, although Pulisic is right up there among the best prospects in the history of the NT program.
Oh sure, but you have to promise to replace it with my next doozy when we lose tomorrow after he brings Alvarado on to replace Dempsey in the 90th minute with us down a goal.
Our best player (FJ) doesn't have a set spot. Our best CM is a tweener, who isn't a 6 or a 10, he's an 8. But if we play him at 8 with two forwards, we lack creativity. If we play a #10 ahead of him, we don't have anyone who can really be effective as a lone #9, and our wing play is so weak we are often impotent in this set-up. Along with the problem we don't really have a #10 (Bedoya and Nguyen have gotten limited/no shots as #10s). And those are just the problems on offense. On defense, our two best CBs (Cameron & Brooks) haven't played together yet, have they? Or very limited. RB and LB are both unsettled if FJ isn't there.
Cameron and Brooks played the full 90 together as centerbacks once, in Brooks's debut, the 4-3 friendly win against Bosnia in Sarajevo in August 2013. The last time Cameron and Brooks both played 90 in the same match was March 5, 2014, against Ukraine in Cyprus. Cameron started at right back, Brooks played alongside Onyewu in the middle. They played 45 minutes together in central defense (I think) in the pre-World Cup friendly against Turkey on June 1, 2014. They played 45 minutes together in central defense in the win over Ghana at the World Cup on June 16, 2014. Since the World Cup, they have been on the field at the same time for a total of 18 minutes. Friendly v. Peru in September 2015, Cameron came on as a halftime sub for right back Michael Orozco, Brooks went off in the 63rd for Matt Besler. ********ing hell, that's even worse than I thought.
Basic rule. There is no offside on a goal kick. He should have been back covering Ruiz when the ball was in the air and Gonzo was going for the ball.
Just made a similar comment the offside comment - although Orozco to me seemed like he didn't know the rules either and was holding a line just in front of Ruiz. However I'm not sure I agree that your outside backs should be dropping deep. If they did, your team would be completely outnumbered getting a second ball near the center of the field. Typically the tallest CB goes up for the ball, other CB drops and OB's pinch in looking to support team gaining second ball. Possibly if the other team is dangerous on the counter, they pinch back deeper. Ruiz shouldn't worry anyone for speed so that wasn't a concern. BTW - completely agree with your posts about the poor preparation by the coaching staff - especially compared to guys like Arena and Bradley who had their teams very prepared.
It's true that he's better than many MLS starters, but he's just not a 90-minute player at this point. And even if you were to include him in a Guatemala XI, a lineup of 11 players picked completely at random from American MLS starters would almost certainly be better than Guatemala's at 8 or more positions, and probably at 10 or 11 positions, depending on which names get drawn out of the hat.
FJ is a left mid, you cant take your best LM and move him to the backline. There are better options at LB than LM right now. If JK wasnt so set on certain players over and over Lichaj would have gotten a shot at LB, Ream was decent enough as a stop gap. Feilhaber may have been good or bad. We have no idea how Kitchen or Trapp would be with the full team as JK totally overhauls lineups when he calls in new players, whixh makes them look different than if they were played at DM with the A team. Besides the gold cup pairing laat year has there ever been any continuity in the CB pairing aka the most important chemsitry position on the field. Players cant be played out position and if that means MB, CD, or JA need to be benched so be it. The game isnt putting the best 11 on the field, its putting the best team on the field, I dont think JK understands that concept. In abort JK has down a horrible job identifying needs and flushing out options in the pool, by either over experimenting with the line up, playing everyone out of position or both. So now Bradley has no spot, we have no formation or tactic. CD is asked to do too much at his age. Our backline has no chemistry. I dont wvwn think the players know the positions theyll be playing until game day.
Yes agree you want to be in a position to win a second ball, but that picture was when the ball had already been put back in play. It was a low kick and the players should be reacting to the ball's flight, which likely would not be creating a second ball, at least at height. I read somewhere, either Sunday or yesterday, that MB90 did not play that ball off his head in fear of sending it in an unpredictable direction (translation - he was not going to play it cleanly) and assumed he had cover to play the ball. Perhaps the poor lighting effected the reading of the line of the ball to the back line. Also, if not mistaken, that was the first goal kick of the game. Not sure how you do it, but first couple GK's of the game, I am in a very defensive position, especially if there are other factors to consider, such as what will the other team try to do, wind, lighting, wet turf, etc.