Your forgeting the second goal Tottenham scored where Clint held up the ball, like a good target man should (fell over) and then made a cheeky lil pass to Smirtin(?) who got some help from a LOVELY deflection. All this made possible by the agressive play of one Clint Dempsey.... for president in '08.
Why is everybody giving such creedence to Heeverveen (sp). Last time I checked they're not doing very well, and aside from playin full 90's neither is Bradley. As for the top 10 leagues there are sh*ty teams in all of them that play to the same caliber as a MLS squad.
Fair point. But,,, Has Michael Bradley's performance with the USMNT been compelling enough to establish himself a presumptive starter? Given current midfield talent and, more importantly, how that how that talent performs in combination, I think the answer is “no”. Michael Bradley will start. Michael Bradley will get 90 minutes. You can use ink. I will not bother divining the coach's motives. I like the kid's game and think he has a future with the squad. But I don't think the coach is doing the kid any favors by making him the presumptive starter without his having earned it by on-field performance.
Edu, Adu, Clark where art thou?? Maurice Edu definitely needs to get a call up ASAP and Mastro needs to be dropped ASAP. We already have the next mastro with Bradley, no point in having two of the exact same player. US strikers suck so bad. with this roster: Howard Spector Demerit Boca Pearce Donovan the Brad Benny Beasy Dempsey EJ(maybe Wolff)
Haha, your funny. I guess you don't watch too much Euro football. I hate to be mean but the MLS is no where near any of the Euro teams, and you doing well I think that MB sucks because he's BB's son is... What kills me is this. In the US up until we are 16 most of us will be in school and when we hit 18, college is where we'll play. In Europe, Africa, or Asia, all these teams develope their men since they were little, so I'd rather go with the kid getting European soccer experience and developing over the rather solid but in his prime Clark.
botom line is it will not be Mike Bradley vs anyone. We will probably play with 2 defensive mids anyway, as a lot of good teams do now.
You didn't explain yourself. A good goalie is one who takes charge and can contol his box. One who doesn't have mental lapses. He's a good skill set goalie but it takes a lot more to step it up to the big leagues. Scott Garlick was similar and look at his career progression? By the way, I think you should take "I watch the game 101".
I don't intend to call out MB because he the coach's kid, but the gorilla in the room keeps getting bigger. Again, I like his game. But if Pablo and MB start (and they almost assuredly will), not only will we lose, it will be further evidence of our stagnation.
Again, as I stated before, he was hugely influential against Tottenham, just not as a target man in the air. He scored a headed goal going forward (which he's done on many occassions), kept possession well (see second goal) and managed a flick on off a throw-in. However, almost every time the ball was hoofed up to him aerially he failed to win his one v. one battles with the CB marking him. I agree that Sweden is a big, physical and organized team, so Dempsey would have found it difficult to impose himself no matter who he had around him or the formation played. Nonetheless, playing him as a target forward really miscasts him- he lacks the physical qualities McBride has/had (vertical leap) and the technical acumen that comes with experience and training (timing).
Ive seen many people talk about who should and shouldnt be on the starting XI. Although no one has spoken about who Brazil is bringing and how the starting USMNT players should be able to cancel out their corresponding brazilian counterpart? Or how collectively x players are a good choice. Remember this is a team game and its a team effort. Bradley so far has done a good job with his selections. Hopefully this will somehow translate into a win against Brazil.
All right, perhaps it will put your sniping to rest if I just put the question to you since you've ignored the heart of the argument. In your opinion, is Dempsey a good target forward with his back to goal? Does Dempsey consistently win his one v. one battles with international class CB's in the air? IMO- Hardly ever. Thus, he has been miscast by Bradley.
That's funny, because I saw Clint winning aerial challenges time after time against Tottenham and most of those were flicked on perfectly to his teammates. He did not flick them on successfully every time but I must say he was brilliant in the air in this match. What were you watching?!
This is a solid post. Dempsey was brilliant against Tottenham and the only reason Fulham were in the game. He had a hand in all three goals, and he made several good defensive plays near the end. I am not sure what else you want from a player.
he never plays target forward for his club or USA team. He occasionally plays forward but more of the withdrawn variety.
and all of this "target forward" stuff is just silly. He was playing mainly withdrawn behind Kamara. The only time he was WAY high was on set-pieces.Sky Sports had him as a withdrawn forward in the pre-game( and that is what FSC shows. There is no FSC TV, it is just the SkySports feed), and that is what he played.
Regardless of where he was played, they were launching long balls to him all game. Over and over again. And he struggled in that role for the most part. But he is improving in that aspect, which will only make him a better player in the long run.
Does anyone think Ben Olsen deserves a midfield spot over Mastroeni at this time? He is in good form and I think he brings a more controlled form of grit/destruction than Mastro from that holding d-mid position.
The match I watched he lost the vast majority of the aerial challenges, particularly in the second half. I think looking at it any other way is a bit biased. But this is USA Men. Clint is a nice player, but not great in the air with his back to goal. In that game he was very bright in general however. His hold-up play on the ground was very sharp.
What would you say he was playing in the last game against Sweden? Big forward? Center forward? It's all semantics if the U.S. uses him as its primary outlet in the air, bypassing the midfield and often negating his solid hold-up play on the ground.
So would you take Mikey-Mastro over Benny- Mastro? Benny has clearly outperformed Mike on the international level. But I have no doubt the cm pairing for Brazil will be mikey-mastro. Benny might play on the wing if they opt for duece and landy up top. But he will not start in his natural position. That is blatant nepotism.
Aweome post. 2nd , 3rd or 4th line up for brazil will destroy usa on sunday. did you guys watch copa america???????? more important question is : where can see them us and brazil train this week? or hotel? i got tix for the game but would like to see them closer.....maybe get some signatures. thks tom
The bigger question for me is why is Mastro starting? Why is he even still on the roster? I appreciate his service in 2002, because he was great, but he was a liability in 2006 and is not in great form. Why start him over Feilhaber? Or over Bradley? Or over Rico Clark? Or over Danny Szetela? Or over Kyle Beckerman? Or over Ben Olsen? All those guys are the holding/d-mid type, and are in better form than Mastro. I would even rather see a total experiment and see what Jonathan Spector or even Bocanegra could do at the d-mid spot (Boca played this spot at Fulham some last year, so that is not coming completely from left field). So, I would recommend people stop screaming nepotism and start screaming about Mastro even being on this squad.
First, I want to say hello to everyone. This is my first post here. Second, I have to say I don't understand all the animosity towards Eddie Johnson. Hasn't done anything for the MNT? 11 goals in 27 caps? Nothing? and how about his 14 in 17 games with KC, not to mention the excellent goal he scored this past weekend, absolutely beautiful. Michael Bradley is an excellent player. He should be playing. However, Clint Dempsey has done absolutely nothing to convince me that he's ever going to do anything for the MNT. On the other hand, I didn't see him in the famed Tottenham game. And who gives a f&%$ if Davy Arnaud plays one game. Give him a chance. He probably won't play more than 5 minutes anyway. My prediction: US can win if everyone GOES OUT to win, without that fear that Argentina showed in the Copa America. Thanks for listening (or, rather, reading). And stop beating on BB for shite's sake. Give the man some support, which he hasn't gotten from anyone in the country yet, even with the good record he's got!