I agree buddle didn't really offer too much. I think he was a correct sub--we needed attackers and he's what we had. but he wasn't particularly effective. I think the Altidore / Gomez combo was good.
7+: Altidore, Cherundolo, Bradley 5-7: Bocanegra, Bornstein, Donovan, Dempsey, De Merit, Edu, Gomez Algeria didn't prove to be much of a test, making it hard to know how well we played defensively. They did come close to scoring early, but a clean sheet is a clean sheet.
Howard - 8 Did everything right and world class distribution. Bornstein - 6.5 Played above his head in a critical game. Bocanegra - 7.5 Really strong. DeMerit - 7.5 Also really strong. Cherundolo - 6.5 Still on good form. Edu - 5 Had moments both strong and weak. Bradley - 8.5 MOTM. Epic game. Donovan - 8 Went missing for stretches in the second half. Dempsey - 7 Super worker. Altidore - 7 Did well in the second half. Gomez - 5 Should have finished before Clint was ever called offside. Feilhaber - 7 Smart runs and passes. Beasley - 5 Not much time to do anything. Buddle - 5 Worked hard but lacked the necessary quality.
Dempsey was very good in this game despite being constantly brutalized. He scored a goal and put one off of the upright on top of being calm and composed in the midfield when we needed him to be.
By the way, Feilhaber was awesome in pressing the Algerians and creating creases along their back line with nifty touches and quick changes of direction. If Landon didnt snap that ball in the net, Feilhaber was on his way there.
Howard - 7 - much improved distribution Bornstein - 6 - not a liability Cherundolo - 7 - got forward well Bocanegra - 7 - did well DeMerit - 7 - strong play Bradley - 7 Edu - 6 Dempsey - 7 - finds himself at the end of attacking moves Donovan - 7 - when he plays well, we win Altidore - 7 - handful Gomez - 6 - needs to finish Feilhaber - 7 - provided spark Buddle - 6 - trouble holding up on occaison Bob - 7
Demps is all grit and vinegar... love it... refs screwed him on the goal and the no call backhand that split his lip in the box... that was straight red and no-brainer PK... It could be argued that our main opponents in this this group stage weren't the teams we've played, but the refs that appeared (at times) to purposely job us... I hate to hear incessant bitching about refs and unfairness when a call doesn't go your way... but we've had enough of them now and in previous cups that the sum-total is more than disturbing... This group stage was laughable... two legit goals waved off... it is absurd...
(Posting without reading) Bradley 8 Took charge from the opening whistle and willed us to win. Altidore 7.5 Worked and worked and worked and still had the energy for that last decisive break. Should have scored multiple times, but I say redeemed himself. Dempsey 7.5 How to rate Dempsey? He repeatedly worked himself into dangeous spots but fate denied him... what 6 times? Would have been an 8 if he got that open-net left footer on frame. Earned an Algerian sending-off that was missed. Donovan 7 Marked out of the match for long stretches, but came up big when we needed it. Gomez 6 Looked dangerous in his minutes, it just didn't happen for him. Edu 6.5 Big step forward in his possession play from last match. Still not a rock on the ball. Cherundolo 7 very effective with the ball when LD was marked out of the match. DeMerit 7 Shakey early, but rebounded to dominate the box. Bocanegra 7 Filled in for Gooch with error free play. Howard 7.5 Wasn't asked to do much, but showed totally confidence the entire game and I think that inspired the team. Obviously the cross bar was needed early. Bornstein 6.5 Turned it over a couple of times, but didn't let his man beat him. Subs: Benny 7.5 Best I've ever seen him, was all over the place and made good decisions and touches. Buddle 6.5 Generally effective but had some frustrating touches. Beas 6.0 Good work rate. Was that a hand ball?
Bornstein would get abused by a team like Serbia or Germany... He did a nice job in this game, and it was definitely needed, but now the team should move on. Boca on the outside and back in with Gooch. Otherwise, take our chances with Goodson.
One thing I noticed was that Dempsey and Gomez were canceling each other out. They weren't playing well together - creating space, communicating. Dempsey was so hungry to get the ball in the box that he kept nudging Gomez out. No disrespect to Gomez, though.
Howard - fine Boca - fine. looked better in the center. Cherundolo - having a great tournament as a 2 way fullback at age 32. Demerit - MOTM - after the one early blunder he dominated the center defense. Bornstein - kid did fine. Bradley - he's Mr. Everywhere. great work rate. Edu - fine. Him and Rico are a bit of a toss up in my opinion. Landon - found himself too far from goal too often in the first half. Great goal to save our bacon and win the group. Dempsey - a goal and an assist and a very energetic effort that left him bleeding. Gomez - I liked us better with Herc out there than Feilhaber. Bradley made the change to add class to our possession but I thought we looked good first half with Gomez peppering shots. And he had an assist. Altidore - MOTM#2? what an effort. played much harder than usual. like a lot of our team ran out of gas the last 10 minutes. Feilhaber - I didn't like the tactical change but he played well. I do like that Bradley is gutsy about making halftime changes. Buddle - looked good in short stint. could and maybe should have buried that header. I'd be fine starting him but as I've said in the past in terms of the marginal starters we need to start what makes sense tactically depending on who our opponent is. Beas - did fine. added some pep. got undeserved yellow.
Martin Sheen: -10. He almost put the reverse mojo curse on us by promising a win in the pregme voice over. Martin, you're an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks, to collect a bill. Except for that, everyone was great.
Exceeded Expectations: Altidore Bradley Bornstein DeMerit Feilhaber Met Expectations: Donovan Cherundolo Bocanegra Edu Howard Failed to Meet Expectations: Dempsey* Gomez Buddle *Dempsey is marked down for poor finishing only, because he was a beast throughout the match. I didn't object to Gomez starting, but I would rather the sequence be first Buddle then Gomez. Buddle takes time to settle in and therefore should start, IMO. Gomez seems to be able to adjust to the match instantly, so is a logical attacking sub. Bornstein had a very good match. His speed was essential. For those claiming that small defenders like Bornstein will be run over by big Germans/Serbs/Ghanaians and that we must have Gooch back for those matches my question is: what about Cherundolo? Are you going to drop perhaps our best outside defender because of his size? He plays against the best of the B'liga regularly and has been a club mainstay for 11 years. I say start him, and perhaps Bornstein also, depending on the matchup. If our opponent doesn't have great speed on the flanks Bocanegra will do fine. But let's not write off Bornstein (and Cherundolo) right away.
Methinks you should have waited to write this lol. Giving a 10 just cuz haha. I think Bornstein deserves at least a 6 and i'd say more like a 6.5. He really didn't do anything wrong and I thought played an excellent game. I think DeMerit should be a bit higher personally. As I stated in another thread, the "whiff" at the beginning of the game slightly deflected off the Algerian's shin, which is the only reason he whiffed. Not enough to give him a DeMerit in score.
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/statistics/castrolindex/matches.html Might as well throw these ratings into the discussion. After each match I have been following the Castrol Index to see how it compares to what my eyes tell me. For example, the Castrol Index consistenly ranks DeMerit much too low in my opinion. However, the ratings Michael Bradley has received generally seem about right.
My ratings Howard - 10 Cherundolo - 10 DeMerit - 10 Bocanegra - 10 Bornstein - 10 Edu - 10 Bradley - 10 Dempsey - 10 Donovan - 11 Altidore - 10 Gomez - 10 Feilhaber - 10 Buddle - 10 Beasley - 10
BTW, if any U.S. player has deserved a ten in the last two matches it is Bradley. I think the world is taking notice of his ability. I expect him to make a big move after this tournment.