US v Norway Player Commentary/Ratings [R]

Having played,coached and been around the game my whole life, i am amazed at how critical people could be watching 1 game, a lopsided US victory. To score goals is the most difficult thing in the game, so give the players credit when they score. No one game is going to make a player,nor have the coach cut the player.He is going to evaluate the training sessions, history of the player, previous experiences watching the guy play for him. So have fun with your evaluations ,but understand that when a sub comes in for 25 min. and the game is 4-0 human nature is to ease up, even in pressure situations. To have a game rated in your opinion very high is great , but understand , Its a collection of games that will decide

 

Player ratings from goal.com:
http://www.goal.com/en-us/articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=9373

 

Twellman (10) - Scored the Hat Trick what else could he of done. Also liked how he lost the ball and came back into the Mid and slide tackled 2 to try and win the ball. ALSO ITS ABOUT TIME HE SCORED!

Dempsey(7) - Did a really good job at the RM. Nice crosses and was a spark to the team

Noonan (4) - Tried to take is guy 1v1 but dint put any good crosses in

Pope(6) - Solid defense and a Nice goal on his 75 apperance.

Heydude(6) - Got into the attacking mix. Had some good moves and crosses

Dunivant(8) - Amazing freekick and found Pope for a nice goal. 2 assists from a Defender thats frickin good

Conrad (5) - Good passing out of the back.

Donovan(5) - I thought he played like it was just a lame scrimage. Had oppertumitys to shoot and passed but did have an assist

Zavagnin(4) - Frogot he played

Olsen(6) - Did a better Job then Zavagnin.

Jaqua(5) - Thought he did pretty good for the short time he was in. Would like to see more of him

Uhemelu(5) - Did alright

Ching(3) - Pass

Quaranta(-6) - Still has a shot at RM

Josh Wolff(5) -Dint have a good game

Hartman(4) - Had a good game

Klein(6) - Would like to see more of him

 

He made my point about Donovan much better than I did earlier:

7.5 Donovan - Some may ask where Donovan was yesterday, aside from setting up Klein for the final goal. However, I think Donovan realized this was a match where the fringe players needed to really prove their worth, rather than going ahead and putting his own stamp onto the match. He played an unassuming role in the center of midfield, helping out and getting others involved by letting them take the initiative in this match. But, believe me, if he had wanted to give Norway the run-around, he could have against that lot last night.

 

Great victory. Two things worry me though:

1 - I worry that this was a fruitless effort for Bruce, even with the 5-0 result. I don't really know what it could have possibly shown him that he didn't (or we didn't) know already.

2 - Some of the players reactions to our 3, 4 , and 5-0 scoreline. I get the impression that some of them left the field with an opinion (of any kind) about "European" competition.

Anyone???

 

How many thread do you plan to cross post this in?

https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7372073&postcount=36

 

Just watched all of the goals on a quick review and I have no idea where you get this idea from, or what you are talking about.

Not the slightest.

Minimal celebrations (from the players that even bothered), congrats and smiles.

I have seen 10 times worse in top level Euro matches, and hell, Brazil matches when they are pounding the opponent.

Think you are being a little to PC/sensitive on this one. I don't think actually. You are.

Watch again please.

 

...and there you have it sports fans. Seer of all seers....Twellman has been accepted!!!

 

Were you able to understand that sentence? If so, kudos. I have no idea what the hell he was talking about.

 

You're probably right...but just to clarify, and I may have been vague, I meant some of the bench warmers.

But again, probably some of the younger players overreacting and Bruce will keep them in line.

 

Hey morons,

in case anybody failed to notice, except for Dunivant's two assists he was pretty freaking useless out there. Which dissapointed me, as he was extremely steady for LA this season.


Bruce needs to give Burciaga a look. I dno't know what that guy did to Bruce, but Burciaga is clearly the best LB in MLS, and the best American left back. How this guy isn't getting at least a call up is beyond me.


Also, why is Quaranta on this team...as a right winger? A year or two, I would have argued that he was destined to be a right wing. Now? No way in hell. The guy has no clue out there, and his only saving grace is that he tries to make an occasional tackle. I actually think we need to give him a look up top, as right now, our forward pool is thin (Twellman has sucked except for yesterday, Ching is a hack, Jaqua and Rolfe are both too raw, Johnson is injured, Wolff can't finish, only McBride is a bonafide lock).

 

If ESPN doesn't keep highlighting it, you never see it or know about it.
I guess boys will be boys and I'm sure BA will deal if he feels he has to.

The players on the field are the ones that really matter IMO, and they were fine.

Serious, when Brazil is pounding some Asian minnow 6 or 7 nil and they are doing that butt wiggling samba right in front of the opponents goal, while laughing like girls on prom night, I always expect someone to come over and clock one of them.

I guess they can get away with it because they are too cool for school.

Our boys on the field were pros.

 

Not Czech ......but the score was ......Mexico 2 and Norway 1

So considering this is our 2nd team .....not a bad showing

 

Then remove his .......anti- USMT ....post .....and we will not need to defend our World Cup bound .....Czech and Italian defeating footballers

 

Edit I forgot, Conrad the first time, not that anyone cares.

This and the next few games are all about setting the 23, so I'm going to rate in that context. Of course its always nice to get a 5-0 victory.

Already a Stone Cold Lock:
Donovan - His performance is irrelevant to making the roster. Nevertheless, an interesting game from LD. While only netting one assist, I think you have to give an a-mid some of the credit for 5 goals. Norway naturally tried to focus on Landon, freeing up Dempsey to free-lance, and those results were self-evident.

Likely Members:
Hejduk - Very typical game from Frankie, and showed why he'll be there. Work rate up and down the right side was phenonmenal. Was more dangerous than usual going forward, and the few times he was caught up field, through desire and fitness, he was able to recover easily. While he isn't seen there much these days, it would not surprise me if he is starting at LB the first game of the WC (it did surprise in J/K).

Pope - Helped himself a bit. I still think he looks a step slow, but 2 straight clean sheets isn't all bad. Bruce loves the experience. Eddie just needs to be decent, which is what he was Sunday, to solidfy his spot.

Bubble - Forwards:
Twellman - The obvious doesn't need to be stated. It's still a dogfight, but he needed that one
Wolff - Typical game from Wolff. Did good work receiving and quickly putting the ball into semi-dangerous positions. Always good runs off the ball. Looks great, but rarely has a finshing strike or pass. I think he helped himself a bit overall. I don't think he would've started if Rolfe didn't get sick, and that helped him more than anything else. Rolfe might have netted a few in this rout, which would have openned some eyes.
Ching - Proabably hurt more than anybody else. Is Twellman a "Target" forward? Chinger better hope BA feels he needs 2 in Germany, and that Twellman doesn't qualify. The middling 8 minutes didn't help either.

Bubble Offensiveish Mids
Dempsey - Was the MOTM, so duh. What we've been waiting for, and a big step for Clint towards Germany.
Noonan - It was the tale of two halves for Pat. He looked lost in the first half, but stepped it up, taking on Defenders in the 2nd, and serving a nice assist. Still a step backwards.
Quaranta - That Q only got 21 minutes in these 2 games is a bad sign for him. Then he played poorly in those very same 21 minutes. Is running out of chances.

Bubble Defensiveish Mids
Zavagnin - Steady performance for KZ, if unspectacular. Made a few negative passes, but had at least one nice foray forward as well. He's in the mix for the back-up D-Mid spot (if there is one) only thanks to injuries, but you know what you get here.
Olsen - Was quite good in limited time. Had an ambitious blast as well as a nice job breaking up the few NOR threats that existed. Could he be the Cobi Jones of the 2006 squad? This last spot is gonna be fungible in Bruce's mind, and Benny might just be the guy.

Bubble Defenders
Conrad - The best of the 4 back there. He really has not made a misstep in any of the Nats games I've seen him in and has to be considered a viable candidate now. With Gibbs lacking club, Boca struggling, Berhalter inadequate, Pope aging, Marshall hurt... this guy has himself in line.

Long Shots
Hartman - Hard to say a shutout doesn't help you as a GK, but this one didn't. Made the one nice save off the set play (although that looked to be wide), but looked shaky in the air. Hoping for an injury at this point.
Klein - Has been out of the picture too long to be considered anything but. An absolute roof blast that no one can take from him. Is a pure right-mid if BA thinks he needs one, and the RB experiment vs. CA was an interesting test. Needs both ******/GUA to really get in the picture though.
Dunivant - Two assists is a nice debut to be sure, but with Lewis/Convey/JOB we probably don't need a left footed specialist in Germany. Seemed a bit unsettled on defense, which is really what he's there for. Certainly didn't hurt himself, but a long, long way to go.
Jaqua - Similar to the Ching comment, although he did have a good first run out. I think we may see him a bit more in the next two as McHead insurance.
Ihemelu - Just a look see.

 

If it hasn't been stated, he was 3 for 4, but who's counting.

 

That's like saying, "Well, he didn't do anything but that's because he felt that others were doing fine without him."

To me, that's a load of crap. He completed 7, maybe 8, passes the first half, while Zavagnin, Dempsey, Hejduk, Dunivant and Noonan were running themselves into the ground on both ends of the field. But the guy gets an extra point due to his reputation ... whatever.

 

Dunivant was pretty ragged on offense w/ several unforced giveaways on even simple squared-off balls.

For the life of me, I cant understand how Quaranta and Ching continue to steal minutes from otherwise decent prospects.

 

Great post. Very accurate. A word to add about Dempsey is just to point out that he is only 22 years old. He's a year younger than Donovan. I think Bruce is wise in grooming him despite some less-than-stellar performances because he knows there is upside there.

Off subject but where the heck is Ricardo Clark, hurt?

 

Clark was injured in Spain in Dec.,ruling him out of this camp.

 

Probably the most clueless attempt at player rating that I've ever seen. Dude, nothing personal: wake up.

 

By your analysis you missed the entire game. How could you not know who Brian Ching is and how can you hate Taylor Twellman? I see you're a DC fan so I can see why you would Twellman in MLS, but why hate on a fellow American because of club loyalties?

 

By your analysis you missed the entire game. How could you not know who Brian Ching is and how can you hate Taylor Twellman? I see you're a DC fan so I can see why you would Twellman in MLS, but why hate on a fellow American because of club loyalties?