Can some one please explain to me what that was all about tonight? Just what, precisely, was BB trying to accomplish? I see absolutely no value in what was attempted tonight. In fact I also need someone to explain exactly what WAS attempted tonight. What was Double B trying to do? That looked like a poor MLS side out there. The GK is not ready for prime time, the entire backline, with the exception possibly of Conrad, was worse than pathetic. The guy at wide left was doing what exactly? The only ones you kind of knew why they were out there were Holden, Santino, and the 2 forwards. That is 4 out of 11. And of those 4 and Conrad, 2 at best are real contenders for a spot anytime soon except for possibly the last Qualifier if we are already in. If BB wants to use this time to experiment, he should be keeping a basic core group and adding players in and out to see how they fit in with the overall team, not throwing out 4 marginal guys with no caps between them and a couple aging also-rans and only 3-4 players with any chance of playing a serious game for the US. You learn nothing from that other than that Heaps and Parkhurst should never wear a US shirt again. Frankly, they deserved to lose that game and if it hadn't been for Holden's persistence they would have. Pathetic all the way around and once again, this shows the question marks about BB's approach to what we are or should be doing overall with our National Team program. BB Defenders will say "it was a meaningless game". I don't buy it. It is the championship of our region, NORMAL FIFA RULES applied so it was not a "friendly", and the players are wearing the national team colors. That means it is not a meaningless game. So someone is going to have to explain that debacle to me, cause I don't get it.
It was a non-essential game in a non-essential tournament against a weak opponent. How anyone can fault Bradley for playing a C squad tonight (which did pull out a draw, BTW) is beyond me. We'll soon go back to playing B players and an occasional call-back from the A team soon enough. But if this does prove anything its that our fans can seriously get up in arms about any topic at all. Hey did you guyz kno BB wuz wearin pink under his shurt 2nite??? Whut a guufnuutsballzz!!!
Wow... terrible paragraph. We had already qualified for the quarterfinals. Bob wanted to get everyone on the roster a run out - and make sure that he capped Robles, Heaps, Cronin, and Clark.
My first thought is that Bob was trying to trim the "I hate Bob" pool by inducing a couple of fits among the BS crowd, especially after I read some of the in game threads. OTHO, in the "so what" version of the regional championship, where everybody has less than the A group of players and when the US A squad just finished playing 5 games, BB was trying to find some diamonds in the rough, and see if someone may step up to the challenge. This roster included a lot of BS favorites who people felt were being snubbed because they were not BB's favorites. They got a shot. It WAS a meaningless game. The US fate and seeding did not matter on the outcome.
It was a meaningless game. We had already advanced regardless of this match. In the thread here on who we wanted to see play in this game against Haiti today, just about everybody on here wanted to see the bottom-string guys (even Heaps) get a chance to play today because this was a meaningless game and the perfect opportunity to give them a chance to play.
What are you talking about? I'm suggesting that the game was useful in identifying players who are not ready for the international level. You are correct to say earlier that Jay Heaps' inadequacy was already known. We can now add to that list Michael Parkhurst, Santino Quaranta, Kenny Cooper and others whom many on this board have been yelping about for quite some time.
We knew this kind of lineup was coming for this game and they played well below expectations, with the exception of Holden and maybe Conrad. Not much you can do but move on to the next game. If Bob played the same lineup for 3 games and then lost in the quarterfinals all of BS would be screaming about how Bob never uses his full roster so whats the point of even bringing people?
Wow! I am in shock. This game DID have an impact on seeding. yeah we were through, so to speak, but if we lose we don't win the group so that has an impact. Anyway, who didn't already know most of these guys couldn't play? What were they doing on a US Nat team roster anyway? And to throw them all out there together, what do you learn from that? If you want to give our sympathy caps, do it in a friendly. Of the starting 11 how many do you honestly think had a chance of making the 23 going into that game? 2-4 at most. Well, at least I got the argument right, LOL! "Meaningless game". Anyway are you telling me you really wanted to see Heaps in for 90 minutes? Or Parkhurst? Or a MF at RB? Or the guy at LM? GTFOH!
Big question... I've read a few people fear that player x (Adu, Feilhaber, Torres) would get played with scrubs and we wouldn't be able to show their stuff? Were the scrubs tonight able to show their stuff? Games like this are a huge disservice to the guys who get tossed out like it's garbage time.
So instead of evaluating another young player, we play one who's known to suck? You gave "testing players" as what Bob was trying to accomplish. Heaps' inclusion, as you admitted, is entirely inconsistent with that theory. Ergo, "testing players" wasn't all that was going on.
We are trying to identify players who can plug holes in the WC roster. What is so hard to understand about that? BB didn't call these guys away from their clubs in the middle of the season just so they can watch some games from the bench.
I am so sick of people making the arguement that this game was meaningless. The cold hard truth is that no NT game is meaningless, especially when FIFA Ranking points are on the line. A game like this should have been easy points...points that will affect seeding for the WC. I understand that we can not get a seed this WC, but these points matter fro 2014.
Yeah, we're not getting a seed in 2014 because we tied Haiti in the 2009 Gold Cup. Now I've heard it all.
I think you missed the point I was tryng to make...we need to pick up the points where we can because they matter for WC seeding. This should have been a winnable game. Because we tied Haiti, doesn't mean we aren't getting a seed.
There have been numerous threads on why Heaps was included. I don't feel the need to repeat them here. Numerous players, including Jay Heaps, got a shot and could not get the job done. Round over. Go to bed.
I understand that we can not get a seed this WC, but these points matter fro 2014.[/QUOTE] Is this factual? Why? Where would I find this information? And, although I was surprised at the number of B or C team players BB used against Haiti, I don't disagree with him weeding out those who will never make it - like Robles!!!
1. That doesn't explain why most of tonight's lineup was on the roster to begin with. 2. How many of the starting 11 had ANY CHNACE to make the WC squad? If Bob really wanted to ID guys to "plug holes" he would run them out there with the better players to see how they fit, not throw out a team of scrubs, some playing out of position (and playing there for 90 minutes, LOL). You learn NADA from that. Well at least nothing valuable anyway. Even the guys that looked ok like Holden have to still be tested with the big boys. So what did we learn tonight that we didn't already know?