This is going to be a very important game. Guatemala just came off a huge 5-1 win. Do you think the US is going to rebound off of this bad loss? Arena is going to have to make some big changes to the squad.
i think the US will rebound just fine... Guatemala will not be a walk in the park but i feel the US can win this game hands down.. over th Chapines 5-1 trashing of the VERY SCRUBFUL T & T... this result is only natural as EVERY ONE IN THE FINAL 6 SHOULD TRASH THIS GARBAGE TEAM of T & T dont read to much into this result because T & T WILL FINISH LAST and will be on the recieving end of very punishing score lines.. the only thing asured right now is that Trinidad is ELIMINATED yes ELIMINATED and will finish last in the Hex...
Let's go back to a 4-4-2. Other than that, I can't think of any changes that are all that necessary ------------Keller Cherundolo---Pope---Onyewu---Gibbs ????---Donovan---Mastroeni--Beasley ------????---Johnson Maybe McBride up top with Eddie. Not sure about right mid or who to pair up top with Johnson. I guess either Wolff or McBride up top. I think I prefer Wolff. And no Reyna. He showed today that he's not fully recovered.
Mike- Beasley's out with yellow cards. I think that a bunch of the MLSers will play this one, probably in a 442: -----------------Keller Cherundolo---Gibbs---Berhalter----Albright -------------Mastroeni Ralston------------------?????? -------------???????? --------Wolff-------Johnson What I don't know about are: - If Dempsey will play and where. Since Pablo didn't go the full 90 in mexico I think he still starts at d-mid. - Where does Noonan play. Same problem as Dempsey. Both may be subs. -What Arena does with Reyna and Donovan. With Reyna it's a matter of fitnes. With Donovan it's a matter of if his head is in this enough to help the team. Arena has to address the distraction of LD's possible move to LA. - I have no idea what the latest is on the Mathis soap opera. He could be a factor. -Nor do we know if Pope can play to solidify the back line. I really want some defender who knows how the Fish flops and Gibbs and Pope are the two possibilities. -Will Convey be a factor? Left midfield, a-mid, possibly left back are all open IMO (Albright could be the right back).
I'm not ready to run Ralston out of town for fifteen minutes of positionless play when everyone around him was exhausted. Had we simply subbed him in on the right wing and pulled Reyna (moving Beasley back inside), things might have been different, and not just for him.
yeah, it's all his fault that mexico scored twice while he was on the bench...if you can't stop goals from the bench, what good are ya???
Ralston came into the game and was a total non-entitiy. I'm not sure if I want to see him start. I'm not ruling it out, but we have to have better options on the right, don't we?
The US must rebound with win over Guatemala without any excuses. I like to see Dempsey get the start. Woffle will play up top with EJ.
A box 4-4-2 (aka 4-2-2-2) ------------Keller------------- 'Dolo----Gibbs----Gooch---Boca ----------------Mastro--------- --------Noonan---------------- --------Donovan--------DMB--- ------------------McBride------ -----------EJ------------------
Not really at this point. I think in front of a home crowd Ralston and Dempsey will do just fine. Noonan can come off the bench. Mathis or Wolf with Johnson. There needs to be some urgency to the attack.
Ralston was a victim of the scoreline--Arena had to risk a more offensive minded scheme, but in doing so he subjected the defense to much more pressure. Ralston hardly saw the ball, so I think it's unfair to judge him here. I was never a big Berhalter fan. He reminds me of the players we had several years ago--competent professionals who just don't excel athletically or thrill you with skill. I'm sure he does very well against less accomplished athletes, but he doesn't quite have enough juice against the best teams. His experience and positive personality will keep him in the pool, but it's just a matter of time before Arena finds more playing time for the youngsters that need a bit more seasoning---not just Gibbs and Gooch, but right behind them, Marshall and then Spector. Gradually, we're starting to upgrade a lot of positions.
Time for bruce to earn his paycheck. This will be the first time in awhile I won't be satisfied with a draw. I think they can handle Guatemala though, they just can't let this game get to them, they should have taken their hour to sulk and now they should move on and think about Wednesday.
I've been thinking about the same thing. I hope a good crowd turns out. From what I've heard, most of the east stand is sold out. The west stand still has plenty of seats. At least it should look good for TV. I'd be very surprised if less than 30,000 showed up.
I like the idea of Mathis up top with EJ. Ralston could work on the wing at home. I guess we're pretty thin right now.
---------------------Keller--------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- ----Dolo-----Pope---------Marshall-----Lewis--------- ----------------------------------------------------- -------------------Mastro---------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ ---Dmpsey--------Donovan-----------Convey---------- ------------------------------------------------------ -----------Johnson--------Wolff----------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- let's get some creativity and and willingness to take guys 1v1 in the attacking 3rd. Also, the 3 a-mids I listed can run, pressure, and get stuck in on tackles for our high pressure game. Most importantly, I think Donovan needs someone he's comfortbale and used to playing with with to be really effective, and without Beasley that leaves Convey
Replace DMB with Lewis and I think that's a good bet, and probably a good choice. DMB got the yellow, remember.
Doh! You're right! Well, at least that makes it an easy choise between the two and probably just as effective. You might could replace Noonan with Dempsey. Either could go there. Same with Wolff for McBride but I think we'll want a good air attack against shorter opposition. ------------Keller------------- 'Dolo----Gibbs----Gooch---Boca ----------------Mastro--------- --------Noonan---------------- --------Donovan-------Lewis--- ------------------McBride------ -----------EJ------------------