Re: 8/20, WCQ: USA @ Guatemala, post-match {R} You forgot sleep deprivation the night before and arresting the captain on a trumped up shoplifting charge
I looked it up and apparently we have won 2 friendlies there....but yeah, we've never won any WCQ there...sorry for the mix-up. all our games vs Jamaica in Jamaica...
And having unrealistic expectations is going to make things better? Its amazing the similarity in the criticism of the WNT and the MNT recently. Thing is, the WNT is trying to get away from years and years of long ball. But they had to compete in the Olympics w/o their leading forward and outside fullback. And people were pulling out their hair the same way people are here about style of play. But you know what? They found a way to come together - even after they lost their first game, 2-0 (I think the first loss in the Olympics group stage ever for them) - and win the Gold, even though they had to play tough against the Brazilians in the final. And you know what? They even had to play some defensive soccer - weathering the pressure from the Brazilians at times. Imagine that. Yet here they are - Olympic champions again. I said it earlier, and I'll say it again - we are limited by the players we have available and their collective strengths and weaknesses. They have to improve as individuals (something Bradley has little control over). Bradley has to put together what he believes will be effective. He did that, it wasn't pretty, but it worked. And frankly, it looked better than what we've seen in some of the past games on the road in CONCACAF WCQ matches - at least against relatively quality opposition. If the US gets someone who can be that No. 10, then maybe you can turn this puppy around, tactically. But we don't. Until then, he is going to take the best 11 players and put together the most effective unit we have. It wasn't like he left a Kaka off the roster or something.....
So our players aren't good enough to do any better but our coaches are? It seems like our players are more highly regarded internationally than our coaches are. How do you think teams get good enough to win the World Cup? Eating different foods? Genetic mutations? They get there by teaching their players to be better. We, on the other hand, seem to think it's the players holding our coaches back rather than the other way around.
A national team coach's job really shouldn't include making players better. The players will only be with the coach for a short time, so it's the clubs jobs to improve the players. This is why only players who are in form should be called in. Wasting a roster space on EJ when better players are there is not good on the coach. The coach's real job is to find the country's best players at that time and make the tactical decisions. Bob Bradley does neither of them right, and in the case of tactics, he never changes his game plan during a game when needed. Also, Bob Bradley is a dumbass and couldn't improve a player if he tried anyways.
...... Who, exactly, do you have in mind? Because obviously you believe better is out there. FWIW, *maybe* someone like Kinnear could do marginally better. But bear in mind, he won't be able to do the kind of wheeling and dealing he did to put that roster that is now in Houston together - he will be stuck with the same cast of characters he currently has. How does the US get better? MLS continues to improve, US players continue to play in better leagues, at higher levels of competitions. That is going to have a much more major impact on how the team plays than "improving on Bob Bradley." Remember, folks, this team was looking for someone to bring them together and have them play with heart and grit after 06. Well guess what, that was about as gutty a performance as I've seen from this team. And I think we've seen this team play similarly in other games against better competition.
Uh, call up in form guys like Cooper and Buddle. No one's stuck with anyone except us and Bob Bradley Glad we got a win, but that wasn't "gutty". It was us playing sh1t defensive football snatching a goal on another set piece.
That's my point. Rangers looks at the pool of American _players_ and decides they could use Maurice Edu. European teams look at the pool of American _coaches_ and decide they could use someone from another country. Why do we think we know better and that guys like Bradley are the best we can do? We're stuck with American players but we can hire a coach from anywhere.
I'm sympathetic to your desire for a foreign coach but I'm not sure about this argument. Plug in Croatian or Romanian into the sentences above and the argument also holds true. But I don't think the coaches are holding back the players in those countries.
Did you just say that winning a World Cup qualifier doesn't get us any closer to winning the World Cup? I understand your argument, but you simply can't compare the way a game in Guatemala City plays out to the way a world cup final match will play out. You don't prepare for the games in the same way, you don't adopt the same tactics, and the goals of the games are completely different. The goal of this match was not to lose. Simple as that. Mission accomplished. I understand that you disagree with that goal, but if you look at what happend to Mexico in Olympic qualifying, they took the approach that they had to play with style, and the got eliminated. If you look at our dominance of Mexico over the last eight years, it also follows this pattern. They constantly whine about how they are more technical, have the better of the run of play, and play a more "attractive" game (which is all true). However we have still completely OWNED them because we do what it takes to win. As others here have said, the best thing we can do to improve our chances to win the WC is to improve our player pool. How this match plays out in Guatemala has very little to do with that.
i'd just like to say that buddle is not someone who is just bleeding for a call up. yes he is talented but not a game changer/top tier player. a lot of forwards in LA in his position would score goals. kenny cooper on the otherhand i completely understand.
Match highlights (in spanish) but good replays of the gol! [youtube]zzl589cAQAQ[/youtube] Thanx for bringing back 3 points!!! GO USA!!!
First of all both of those countries are better than we are. Second of all we have more players than both of those two countries combined. We have more players than everyone except Brazil and China. The problem is (and China's as well) we do less with them than other countries. We're doing a poor job of maximizing the resources available to us. This extends well beyond Bob Bradley but at the same time Bradley isn't part of the solution either. It's the seemingly fulfilled prophecy: we assume we'll never have good enough players and because of this continue to head down a path that will ensure that result. We are not Iceland and we are not New Zealand. We have a massive number of soccer players and so far have done a poor job of developing them. Maybe the task is impossible, but I'd sure like to try a different approach before we assume that's the case.
We're tied for first, with T&T slightly ahead due to goal differential. But it's kind of a moot point since the top two go into the hex.
No doubt we are about the least efficient country when it comes to developing soccer talent. I think the identity of the coach of the national team is unlikely to change this. Where he would make a difference would be in how close he can get the guys currently in the senior national pool to approach their potential. I think those are pretty distinct issues.
You cant be tied and have one team ahead. Its a mutually exclusive proposition. Yes Im nit picking. What your looking for is tied on points, behind on GD.
Everyone's limited to their players but good coaches manage to do a lot more with the "raw material" than incompetent coaches and Bob Bradley's as incompetent as a coach can get. In other words, a great coach may take the US into the quarterfinals at best but Bob won't even get the team out of the group stage. And that's a huge difference.
It hurts me a lot to say this but who do you think did better in the past WCs and international stages? Which playing style do you think is better to advance in the international stages?
Re: 8/20, WCQ: USA @ Guatemala, post-match {R} I'm pretty sure based on how dsp worded his post, when he said any game, he meant any game. That's certainly true, and I didn't mean to imply that I thought otherwise.
I'm not sure about that. See, in order to win the World Cup, the first thing you have to do is actually qualify for it...