What I learned binge-watching our group games

On a related note dribble master Andrew Farrell seems to have had that aspect of his game coached out.

 

Indeed it can.

As I have said elsewhere, this would all be moot if we had another target forward on the roster. Failure to have depth at this position has been JKs biggest mistake.

 

I'd add to this that our players are not adept at shielding the ball and retaining possession under pressure.

This shortcoming is particularly telling on throw ins, where it seems to me we almost always lose possession.

 

Only if it's Rimando.

 

"One wonders whether taking Beckerman off, moving Bradley back, and inserting Diskerud................would lead to the generation of more scoring chances."

I am a fan of Dreds and always thought he would be here, but as a sub. So I'm happy for him, but given the Jozy problem, I agree and have posted the point above. You can even move Cameron to the 6 and Mike to wide right. The point being the Coach needs to gamble tomorrow. It's a knockout game and we can't be dead tired at the 80th minute and without someone centrally who creates for a living .....

 

Now that you write it, I realize that you are correct in that we don't do much dribble/hold-up play in the midfield. On many teams, a midfielder will feint a pass under pressure then burst into space. The defender is temporarily caught off guard, quickly catches up, and re-pressures. All is as was before ... but now the ball is 10-15 yards further upfield, and the passing options have changed. We don't do that so much.

I also suspect that you are correct, it is probably a coaching thing. It's not as if these U.S. players can't make a feint then a quick dribble. They just are not used to thinking that way. Probably starts as early as ODP. Our Region II ODP coaches were all over defenders and midfielders moving the ball in one or two touches. They would bench guys who lingered on the ball.

 

FYP.

Those who consistently beat a defender 1 v 1 then did something good with the ball, get noticed. at all levels.

The problem is that there are very few players who mentality is set up to make good decisions with the ball almost 100 % of the time, and even fewer are on our roster.

 

I agree, but in quasi-fairness to JK, who else do we have that's like Altidore?

Not saying I agree with this, but here's a justification:

Eddie Johnson filled in ably against Mexico, but his club form has been terrible. Plus given JK's comments about "givers and takers", there may have been some existing locker room issues. I don't know how the "pay me!" comments in Seattle, nor the comments about his DCU teammates resonated with the team.

Boyd is way too raw and hasn't really shown well in the chances he has been given.

Dempsey is the only one else we have that has played and thrived at the level of the opponents we're seeing at the World Cup.

All things considered, if you told me a month ago we'd get out of the group without Altidore and short rest from the damn rainforest, I wouldn't have believed it.

 

Ummm, my friend's now-professional son, who was always successful with the ball, sat on his ODP Regional team behind guys who did not become professionals, because he liked to take more than two touches.

But we are off topic. And perhaps you are correct in general, if not on that specific.

 

unfortunately coming back to the MLS (where the aggregate quality is less than in Serie A) from Roma will do that to you. At Roma he was surrounded by quality and did not have to cover as much ground due to support.

But I still think the prime reason he is running more is not having Altidore as a target forward outlet and Dempsey in between.

 

Ah, good call on Agudelo. He's a better backup than EJ or Boyd.

I don't have a problem with the listed defenders, since FJ, Chandler, Yedlin, and Cameron can play multiple positions. I didn't like Davis or Wondolowski; we had better options. And I don't understand why Diskerud hasn't been given minutes so far. All he does is win games for us. (And yes -- we all know about certain missing players...)

Green - let's be charitable and say he was an investment. Time will tell if he's Apple or Enron.

But it's worked so far. God willing, it'll work for a few more games.

 

Maybe someday we'll know how toxic such things were vis a vis EJ.

I will say this -- it does have the appearance of JK not brooking any dissent or any shortfall in what he would consider full and unselfish commitment to the cause. That would certainly be a plausible explanation for the omission of LD. Coaches do have to exert control...but that can be overdone.

Not saying it is true...just saying it is plausible.

But I think we have to admit that having EJ now or Aguedelo, say, instead of Julian Green, might be helpful.

 

As for Mix's playing time...
The Ghana Game:
1-0 until the 82 minute... and JK only had 1 sub to use late in the game. 1 sub for Jozy, another for Belser at the half. Last sub was used for Bedoya (who seemed gassed).

The Portugal Game...
2-1 in the 81rst minute with Dempsey's pelvis goal. JK really doesn't need an offensive sub in this game... Although maybe if JK subs in Mix for Zusi on the wing then Portugal doesn't score on the counter.

The Germany Game...
0-1. germany leading most of the second half. US needed to keep the score low... I can see why JK didn't use him in this game.

If these games played out differently were the US needed goals late, then I could see Mix being used more. Lets hope we don't need him!

 

I don't think you can compare games though. I do think it's fair enough to question whether Bradley ran too much for that specific game in those particular conditions, and therefore he was playing a role not suited to that game. Analysis of each game should be taken individually in that regard.

 

W/re to MB's running around. That's the norm for him of course. The ineffectiveness is due to the advanced position. Again, he wasn't all that effective in advanced positions in Roma's midfield as he wasn't Kevin Strootman type mid.

W/re to maintaining possession in early friendlies under Klinsmann against CR, Mexico, and Brasil the team generated excellent possession and run of play statistics. The record was 2 losses and draw with a combined score of 2-6. Among other things we lacked the backline.

In any event the major trends at the top of the club game are moving away from the possession mania with teams like pre-Pep Bayern, Dortmund, and Real showing how work-rate and team speed can really nullify the possession giants.

 

Fair points but Klinnsman is doing some crazy shit this tournament, Yedlin used as he has been, OG against Germany, Davis starting, etc...I hope that his next crazy one pays off and it's Mix. With Belgium off to slow starts this tournament it would make sense to try and score early.

 

It's very clear that Klinsmann is specifically asking him to.

 

Thank you!!!! I was trying to figure out what to do with the nervous energy that will probably keep me up most of the night. Binge re-watch the group play!!! See you all in 5 hours!

 

I'm not quite saying you're wrong. But I decided to start my binge-watch tonight by skipping a bit of the beginning of the Germany game because I felt it had more to do with being shell-shocked rather than a representation of how we'll normally play. So I happened to turn the game on at 9:30, to see Bradley's recovery in traffic deep in our half/40 yard ball forward perfectly weighted and timed to lead Dempsey, who can't quite turn Hummels.

90 seconds later, he deftly turns a throw in and nearly chips Jones past the last defender.

I don't think Bradley has quite acclimated to his role yet. But can he make killer balls to forwards? Certainly. We're at the Berra 90% of this game is all mental part of the tournament, and if Bradley can shake the dust off, he may create more than one goal tomorrow.

 

On replay, I'm getting a rather different sense of this game than I had at the bar. The problem in the first 20 minutes is not in the attack but the inability to regain possession. On the ball, we get forward well, we make aggressive decisions ... but 13 seconds after gaining the ball, we lose it, and the Germans have it for the next 3 minutes; we look flat-footed on defense, winning tackles but watching as German players leaning forward gather in the ricochets.

I'd note Bradley taking on a midfielder at 18', freeing Zusi in the corner on the play where Jones runs into the referee; brilliantly floating to Jones who can't quite settle (32'); showing almost a quarterback's long-range accuracy to Dempsey (37'); most of his first half touches are aggressive and successful. I think criticism of him as a playmaker is a matter of a) the inertia of opinion after problematic performances in the first two games and b) high expectations.

Jones plays well, but misses more passes while making less aggressive decisions than Bradley; Johnson is a muddle; how many lost possessions trace back to his feet? (And those complaining about our possession after throw-ins should note how often it's Johnson heaving the ball at someone's hips that causes the problem, not to mention that his range of 8 yards cuts down on the number of options anyone needs to defend. Surely someone who grew up in baseballland knows how to throw better than this Deutscher.) Davis is a cipher; I kept being surprised to see him turn up. In the 42nd minute, a German tackle against Jones trickled away in front of Davis, leaving him with space and time, but the ref whistled the foul, and I thought that may have been his only opportunity for an offensive touch in the entire half. I'd love to chat about the game with him - he had a better view than any other spectator, so he'd probably have some insights.

The biggest issue I didn't notice the first time is Gonzalez. Watching in a bar, I thought he'd done well, making clutch tackles. Watching more analytically, he seems lost, and the clutch tackles come from abruptly realizing he's alone and three steps out of position but badly needed. He's literally got his hand on his balls as Muller's plant foot hits the grass before striking his game winner. I'm not saying he should have been in front of that shot, but the difference between Besler, gritting his teeth and digging hard to get there, and Gonzalez, cringing and covering his crotch, on that play is emblematic. Rating Gonzalez highly was like giving a drunk credit for cleaning up the shards of his broken pintglass.

So those are my impressions after a re-watch. Had to give up in the 70th. I do need to sleep after all.

 

MB:
Opponent / Time / Total / In Poss / Not in Poss
Por / 97'35" / 12,204 / 4,672 / 4,407
Gha / 100'01" / 12,730 / 3,715 / 5,063
Ger / 95'03" / 13,084 / 3,808 / 6,326

The numbers do not seem to support your theory.

 

This is definitely the case. I can't remember the age group, but I watched a video of a Barcelona youth team playing against a team from Poland. The close passing, dribble out of trouble, technical nous were there for the Barca youngsters but early in the game one of the boys lost the ball which led to a goal. The next time they gained possession in their defensive end, the Barca boys went right back to the original script and played the way they practiced regardless of the earlier mistake. My son plays on an academy team in NJ (U12). They practice the same type of technical play out of the back, but the minute this doesn't work in a game and they give up a chance (or God forbid, a goal), they completely abandon this approach and just hoof the ball upfield , to the delight of the ignorant parents who "oooooo and awwwwww" with every long kick headed to no one. The win at all cost mentality at the younger age groups is a prime factor here.

 

Parent edjumacation is essential, constant, and very, very difficult.