There's no need to pile on Pearce. He's out there because we are paper thin at lb. What's the excuse with Klejstan? The guy is a turnover machine. Always has been. Torres is the exact opposite. Very tidy with the ball.
He wasn't, and Man City finished 15th and 16th the two seasons that Reyna was healthy enough to start at least half the time.
I agree with you about torres, but pearce shouldn't start against teams with fast wingers cuz he gets burned all night.
For whatever its worth..... I think Bradley should be taken to task not for his starting 11, but for his 18. There was no balance. I also find it interesting how people are saying Torres for Sacha. Yes, Kljestan was not good, but the game turned the second Torres went in on the left for DMB. As bad as Sacha played, Beasley was just as bad if not worse. His lack of playing time at Rangers is really obvious.....except to Bob Bradley. I don't care how well this team develops over the next year. As long as BB is in charge, it will be three and out in South Africa. End of story. He's a very good MLS coach, but the man is way out of his depth as a National team coach.
The thing is Kljestina was absolutely horrendous, he didnt do anything positive at all. So was Beasley. they should both be out. When Torres came in, it actually looked as if our midfield had some idea of how to move the ball. Kljesitan just has no idea how to create an attack and Torres is so much better at that. Torres is also significantly more physical. Even though hes pretty small, he packs a significant punch. There are actually a thousand reasons torres should be playing over klejsitnabf. Actually. A Thou
I'm not debating that. I just saying that perhaps Torres on the left may be more effective than Torres in the middle. Bring LD back in the middle and sit both Sacha and Beasley. But of course, that makes waaaay too much sense, so Bradley won't ever consider it.
Well, with respect to atmosphere it's not gonna get any easier for the road qualifiers. Saprissa and Azteca are gonna make this match look like Disneyland.
In reality BB has done a BA and is not scared to cut guys based on tenor. That's dangerous. That is why I could never be coach of England; because Beckham would never make my roster; ever.
Anyone who is trying to make profound claims needs to realize that this is not a game where we can make any determination of the US ability. The will was not there from the players and needs to be corrected, but the reason US nearly lost that game was due to a lot of things going wrong. Possibilities of the problem?: Desire, preparation, underestimation of ES, and/or unprofessionalism by the team.
Benching or dropping CD ... as an Inzaghi-like poacher CD plays LM for a club that proudly employs the "double 6" 4-4-2. He is one of the best players week over week @ that "Mediocre Club" [who BTW have beat Arsenal & ManU and drawn w/ Arsenal, Liverpool, Villa & Chelsea this season. COYWs] If he sucks in Bradley's "double 6" 4-4-2 - which you claim - maybe the fault isn't w/ Clint - who does very well in it against much tougher competition than Mexico or ES @ Fulham - Maybe the other 9 players around him - who do not play in that system w/ their clubs- have no clue of their roles [especially our CM's & Fwd's]?
At minimum, these guys can switch during the game depending upon how the game and matchups are unfolding.
After 36 pages, pretty much everything has been said so this will be (sort of) brief. 1. Yes, it's tough to win on the road south of the Rio Grande, but this is not the 90s, people. At some point these guys who have played in MLS and Europe for a long time, have just got to step up and collectively have the Hey-dude attitude that we can actually win on the road in CONCACAF. I don't know whether the main problem is the players getting intimidated by the atmosphere (they should all as pros be able to deal with this) or with Bradley's game plan on the road that is ALWAYS ultra cautious. With the possible exception of the Azteca, virtually every game we play away in CONCACAF should be winnable. 2. Defense. Pearce is simply not ready for prime time and Boca is basically Agoos with a little more height. These guys may be OK in CONCACAF competition but beyond this, they will get their doors blown off. They are both too slow, and neither of them can play the ball out of trouble with their feet which is why we have so many long balls bypassing the midfield and preventing possession. Gooch is essential as is healthy Spector. (I really don't want to see Califf again in a meaningful game) Beyond Gooch and Spector, who else do we have for central defender or left back? 3. Midfield/Forward. I don't normally agree with much else the "Captain for Life" has to say, but he was absolutely correct about the failure of the wide midfielders to get "chalk on their heels". The entire midfield kept playing in congested space (when the ball wasn't flying over their heads from Boca's clearances) and few of them were moving off the ball to show for it. The result was stagnation for about the first 65 minutes. Bradley has to figure out where the best positions for his midfielders are because last night he never did. First, Bob, Donovan is not a forward and Dempsey is not a winger. The two of them should play attacking mid behind a lone striker (I'll let you guys decide whether this should be Ching, Jozy or someone else) and be able to go wherever they want, including coming back and showing for the ball. Both of them need to hold and distribute and make runs for each other, A LOT! I don't know what Sacha's problem was, but he certainly can do better. As for Bradley, I'm not exactly sold on him at DMF, because he can make some very stupid mistakes (like on the first goal and the foolish yellow). But short of changing coaches, I don't think we have any other choice (we can debate the nepotism issue at another time).
Boca is a great defender however my two problems with Carlos are his distribution (something that even Califf is better suited for.) And more importantly his lack of using his head in tight spaces. His lunge at the ball was almost as detrimental as DaMarcus' turnover. He is a great defender but the fact he didn't have Gooch with him to cleanup his mistakes hurt him. Califf is good but the fact he couldn't hear and more importantly does not have chemistry with Boca hurts.
Good post Perfesser. The U.S. has the talent to win these games on the road comfortably but Bob got his player selection and tactics wrong. He corrected both at about the same time (around the 70th min) and the changes that needed to be made offensively were obvious. The selection of personnel for the defense was strange to say the least. A draw on the road is not a bad result but I would look at this as 2 points dropped rather than a point gained. If we had started the match looking for 3 points we most likely would have got them.
As the year progresses and 2010 approaches, I think we need to seriously think about this as an option unless Beas's form improves. It's clear that a lack of pt is hurting him. I love the guy, but cycle after cycle, we make the mistake of relying on guys who did it for us in the past but aren't capable of doing so in the present.
etc etc OK. That's cool. You and the Fulham fans like how he's doing over there. Good for Dempsey. Good for Fulham and their fans. I just don't think he has the tools to be effective out on the wing at the international level, even against the likes of ES. Another way of looking at it is he's being wasted out there. I actually think he has great scoring instincts and would do great as a target man in the box. I've seen him score some pretty goals at Fulham.
Just caught the Spain-Turkey game. Like watching a completely different sport (after taking in last night's sloppy USA-ES contest).
Just caught Brazil away at Ecuador, and it proved that things are tough all over for away qualifiers.
Apologies for forcing you to come to a primitive country and not rolling out the red carpet for gracing us with your presence. I'm please to tell you, for the next time you visit, that we’re becoming more civilized. We’ve just been introduced to tables, chairs and cutlery, things are bound to improve from here on in. Despite all that has happened in recent history the Salvadorean population generally has a good perception of the States. Many are more than willing to open their doors and offer a warm welcome to visiting tourists. Countries that refer to US as “satan” are further south, Brazil and Argentina are renown for their strong anti-US sentiments. [FONT="]Do any other yanks share this sentiment? How many of you serioulsy believe your technical level is comparable to the giants of European football? In my humble opinion the countries of similar ability to the US are countries such as Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, etc The States along with Mexico are still a fair bit away from reaching the big guns lofty standards. Certainly not minnows but second tier minnows probably would be more fitting. [/FONT][FONT="] [/FONT][FONT="] [/FONT] [FONT="] [/FONT] [FONT="] [/FONT]
So when we get better, do you promise to stop throwing bags of urine? I certain don't equate the behavior of football fans with the actual hospitality of the people. I hope most of my fellow Americans feel the same. I guess the point that really is relevant, is that is much more of a big deal to play in El Salvador or Guatemala than it is to play in Latvia or Luxemborg.
From 2006, that was only true for Romania and they were in a really tough group. Many teams that couldn't even muster that got to the playoff. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA) Netherlands also didn't make it with 20 points from 10 games, again in a tougher than average group in 2002. It certainly isn't the norm. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA)