Well the US went on to win 4-0 Game Report: http://www.soccer365.com/US_NEWS/National_Teams/page_91_45127.shtml Our boy Jeff played the first half and got an assist on the 3rd goal. Apparently drew 3 defenders on a dribble run and then dumped it off to open space in the box.
What did you really expect? It's not like the game had any importance. And how many Canadians do you really know down in Flordia? I think they'd have melt before they even reached the Florida state line. The thing I'm most impressed by is the fact that JC got an assist. I mean, that really doesn't happen too often. Do you think the Bruce has been working with him on that? Also, I thought we had more of our players in camp, how come only Jeff got on the field?
I've been saying for a while that Il Bruce might be the best thing that ever happened to our man Cunny. It's never been much of a secret what Jeff needed to do; Fitz alluded to it many times publicly, and Greg has been quoted in much the same fashion: he's got to pick his head up and figure out he's got teammates out there. The problem, IMO, has been getting him to do it. Basically, he seems to have been blowing the coaches off. Well you don't blow Arena off, cause he don't EVEN need your sorry ass. As he's shown many, many times over the years, if you don't want to do it the way he wants it done, then there's the door. He'll be more than happy to find somebody else. Good morning Jeff. (As for kk's other question, I can't find a summary anywhere that lists "substitutes not used" but unless my counting skills have deteriorated, the US played 18 guys yesterday, probably emptying the bench. Whoever else was in camp apparently didn't even make the game day roster.)
mcbride is at everton. martino picked up an injury. dunseth and mccarty did not get selected to the game day 18 roster. the cunningham assist was not really an assist, more of a deflection when trying to dribble through 3 defenders that happened in to the path of chris klein. see video here: http://www.callistonet.com/goals/011803klein.mpg
Cunningham - Strengths? That is exactly the way I would describe Cunningham's "assist". I must be missing something with Jeff C. Everytime I see JC, I am unimpressed. The last 2 times were the playoff games versus the Revs at the Razor. I know he has a boatload of goals, but so does Jason Kreis. What should I be looking for the next time I see him?
Look for passing and team work. As Bill's post above noted, we're all hoping BA can force him to be more multidimensional. His playoff play was a good example of his team MVP award being counterproductive, IMHO. He just doesn't get the draw the defense to you and dish off role. Tremendous talent with the ball, but needs to work withOUT the ball and take challenges as a team vs. 1v1..or 2...or 3. Gaining the ability to purposefully play the ball with his head would help, too. I'm sorry if this sounds JC negative. It's just testimony on how terrific his other skills are that he is able to succeed at this level while being below the average A-league level in major areas. JC has the unique ability to be amazingly good and bad in the same game. I wonder just how good he could be if he developed into a complete player. Perhaps that's why BA keeps working with him?
checked out that video and basically it looked like he lost the dribble against the shin of a Canadian and it just popped into the open space for Klein. The angle and such of the ball's movement just didn't seem to be natural for a pass.
Considering that the top soccer league in the US basically told the state of Florida to f off, i'm surprised that many showed up. And you know too, that some of those people weren't even from Florida.
yes, but remember it was only 55 degrees down there. For a south Floridian that's cold, like -10 to you and me
If USSF spent the same $4.95 it spends on promo it spends here, most people were probably unaware of the game's time, location, and ticket procedures. Since there was no remaining Fusion organization to add some hype, I'm sure basically nothing was done. USSF was rumored to have told the Crew Org. to backoff promo (at Crew expense) for the Open Cup. Makes me believe the USSF PR dept. must be run by somebody's relative who has a day job or they are arrogant enough to believe scattered local media background articles are enough to generate attendance. Obviously, smaller games need some PR help to draw and create buzz. This was the only article I could find in the local press: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/soccer/4981597.htm
From Bob Wagman's match report on Soccertimes: Forward Jeff Cunningham - 5: Never really a factor despite the disorganized Canadian defense. Except for one play resulting in Klein's goal, showed relatively little cohesion with teammates. And this comment on the "assist": A minute later, the ball bounced off of two Canadian defenders to midfielder Chris Klein who couldn't have missed if he tried.
About a week ago the WNT only drew 4k in sunny San Diego (which has a WUSA team) on a lovely field vs. Japan. It was a tepid, 0-0 match, but nobody knew that going in -- just that it wasn't a Real Big Game. Same deal in FL -- plus chilly weather. Let's see who shows up for the Argy match, besides the teams.
So 3stripe and I bought the game and after watching it I gotta wonder if it was at all worth the 20 bucks. Canada didn't even look like they were trying out there, with the exception of their #10 who was just trying to injure our guys. Also Dunseth and McCarty didn't even make the game day roster so we were just left to watch Cunningham. And frankly I wasn't impressed again. This is a game where Cunny should have been able to take advantage of Canada's defnse...He got the start and played a full 45 minutes up top. He drew a fould almost right after the kickoff mainly because of his speed which made me think he would show well. Later he had a very good pass in the box to Donovan who shoulda put the shot away but miraculously didn't. As for his "assist'? It was crap....he once again tried to be a hero going through three players and luckily Canada's defense was so inept that in the process of Jeff handing the ball over to them they kicked it right back to Klein. Cunningham still has a long way to go before he can really be considered for this US team. He just looked like typical Cunningham to me, dribbling, head down, turning the ball over.
Learn how to use the comma instead of the decimal point. Also, how could that play be called an assist?!? That was the 'pure dumb luck' quotient kicking in. There was no pass by Cunny -- Fidlerre is correct, it looked like he tried to dribble through 3 players, and the ball just got deflected.
Malcolm Roberts at TopDrawerSoccer rating the various players: Jeff Cunningham: While he did not have a particularly good game, his aggressiveness dribbling at defenders lead to Chris Klein's goal. His speed helped create space for teammates he had spurts where he was dangerous. But, his head down dribbling rarely created anything for others, and it did not help him solidify a place in this team.
It appears that the window for Jeff Cunnnigham to join the team is closing. The only good thing is that we'll have his head-down dribbling services full time for the Crew
Hopefully he will begin to work on this weakness. A few Nats camps can only help JC. How can he ignore BA and the rest of the team telling him the same thing he's heard here for 2+ years? Who knows how good he could be if he were more coachable?
The thing is, I think it would really take a coach that can connect with Cunny for him to really make the effort to improve. He's got an ego, which I think we'll all agree on, so he's got to get over that in order to learn. I'm not sure if you need an in-your-face type coach, but Bruce certainly demands respect and conformity to his style. I think Bruce will tell Cunny if he wants a freakin shot at playing with the nats, that he's got to improve his game. Eventually he'll listen, or he'll just get passed up for better players. I'd give him 2 years to make a change before people get fed up with him and he starts getting passed around like Zambrano.
Well, just like Bill Archer said, Bruce Arena has shown that if you can't play in his system, he can always replace your sorry ass with someone else. Cunningham gave up a chance for Jamaican citizenship to become a US citizen, and if he really wants to be a part of the USMNT mix, he'll have to make the adjustment. He has the ability to be something special, but he has to grow both as a person, and as a player.