Who Helped/Hurt Themselves Today?

I think Califf didn't play up to his potential. He still is prone to make blunders here and there... the most glaring one was the breakdown in the 1st half that left Howard with a one on one to defend. I agree with your other choices, though it is a bit early to rule out anyone at this point.

 

i thought twellman played fine... in fact i thought he did quite well


martino was out there because things were in hand and it was a good chance to get so it was a good time to get some play


cunningham might have... i don't think he is as big a concern or at least as promising as others... so i am not concerned enough to care





for the most part, i think it was hard for anyone to really hurt themselves in this game... they made it that far and were able to play... that means that they had a good weak in training... bruce is big on that

a meaningless friendly ain't going to tell me that one of these guys is gone

 

I don't think any conclusions can be made about Martino. He played only 14 minutes, and just never got into the flow of the game.

Califf and Bocanegra didn't have to do anything important, because El Salvador's attack was so piss-poor. Califf made an early error, but for the most part wasn't even tested.

I didn't notice Twellman - he didn't get a lot of touches, but then he usually had two defenders on him, which opened up space for Mathis and Klein to operate.

I didn't think Victorine helped himself that much, at least as a right back. He looked decidedly shaky when forced to defend, but pushed forward well. His future is almost certainly as a utility midfielder. He should have no problems filling in at any midfield position.

Olsen demonstrated that he's made fairly good progress since returning from injury. By next summer, if he continues at this pace, he'll be better than he was at Forest.

As far as I'm concerned, Cunningham is a non-candidate for the national team. Apart from a good assist against South Korea in the Gold Cup, he hasn't done anything productive, and he's probably hurt more than he's helped. Some Crew fans have called him a black hole for his habit of causing the ball to disappear if it comes near him. I agree with them more and more every day.

Mastroeni, IMO, put himself in good position to hold on to the role of midfield destroyer. He was everywhere, and showed better touch than Armas ever did. Armas might have been a more annoying defender, though - at least it means we have plenty of d-mid options, especially if you throw in Victorine.

Cullen didn't do too much in the second half, though I'm not sure whether it was because he wasn't getting stuck in or because he simply wasn't tested. Probably the latter.

The only thing you can really get out of this kind of match is which players SHOULDN'T be on the national team. I don't think today's performance ruled out anyone.

 

You guys are being hard on Cunningham. He played 6 minutes today. This was his 5th cap and each time he has come in off the bench in the 2nd half.

 

that's probably because we are use to seeing him dribbling into traffic and coming out of traffic with the other team possessing the ball

 

Barrett!

I don't agree that Cunningham hurt himself in his few minutes... if that's the case, Victorine ruined his chances with his first touch, which was horrible.

But of course, you can't judge someone, especially a forward, in that little time.

The guy I think was helped the most is:

Wade Barrett.

He defended well.

When he had the ball, he played quick, simple passes and never got in trouble.

When he was needed for support on attack, he ran intelligently and played quick one-time passes in close space that kept possession deep in the ES end. He even had an almost assist (was it one of Mathis' near misses?).

He was about as good as you could want in a left back. Finally.

 

I think Mathis definitely helped himself in the sense that he, at least for now, quieted the doubters out there who questioned whether he could regain his old form. I thought he was brilliant today showing flashes of the Cletus we all love.

 

I was disappointed with Califf's play in the air. I don't know when I've seen so many attempted clearances headed directly straight up in the air. It seems the only decent central defender we have in the air is Berhalter. Our lack of aerial quality will continue to kill us on set plays until we improve at that position.

On a side note, Eddie Robinson's the best in the air I've seen in long time. He dominated opposing MLS forwards this year in the air. I never saw him get beat in the air. He also is a great tackler and is decent on the ball. I expect that this is what Arena is looking for in a center back -- someone who is a bit more complete. I'm disappointed Eddie didn't get a run out today. It's way too early to tell if he can succeed at the next level, but he's got all the tools. In any case, I'd be very surprised to see Califf in the starting line-up in 2006.

 

Re: Barrett!

I think Barrett helped himself tremendously, but I don't think anyone really "hurt" themselves...Clint, Taylor and/or Landon should have scored, but they didn't...

 

According to Sams-Army voters and Bigsoccer, any player who plays less than 30 minutes and fails to score had a bad game. Hence, Cunningham and Martino are finished.

My view is that Martino is in good shape given that Arena gave him some minutes. Cunningham has too much competition, but needs to stay in the mix for a bench position or if we suffer a series of injuries.

 

Mathis and Mastro were the best players on the pitch and I think they are cemented as core players for this next cycle. I think Mathis showed that this time the team *should* be built around him. Donovan is good, but his versatility will mean BA is going to use him to fill in at the slot that we are weakest (forward, Amid, winger).

I thought that Sasha actually didn't play well. He was taking too many touches on the ball and could use more speed. He did provide width and have a nice run though. I don't expect Sasha to hold on to a right back in a 4-4-2. A better team would have likely exposed him.

Boca and Califf can't do the middle together. They played well at times, but both are big, tough, strong players without great speed. Let's pair Boca with a quicker center back.

Olsen and Klein are very alike. I would put money down on BA wanting to have at least 1 of them on the field at all times during qualifying (barring injury). BA loves aggressive, battling wing players and in that since both helped their cause.

Twellman got a shot against a weak and small team and didn't really make a mark. He'll get at least 1 more run out with Clint, but I think he's going to be competing with Edson Buddle, Conor Casey, Josh Wolff, McBride, Cunningham, and Donovan for the next to Clint role. Likely Clint will connect better with a speedy player and that may cost Twellman.

 

Well, I guess Kyle Martino should just pack it in, then. I mean if he can't score three goals in fifteen minutes in US debut - playing outside when he's generally in the center - then there's really no hope for him.

 

this is my favorite time to watch the nats. when new guys get a chance to show what they can do. the only guy that looked bad to me was cunningham but he only played a couple minutes.

 

I was at the game yesterday and thought that Twellman played really well. For those that were watching on tv you probably weren't able to see him much because he didn't get the ball often. He seemed to always be in a good position to score but he never got any decent service. Plus it seemed that whenever he did get the ball he always had a forearm in his back. He should definitelly get a few more chances.
Wade Barrett seemed exceptionally confident for a youngster. He hooked up with Olsen very well in the first half and had a few defensive stops as well. I was most impressed with him out of all of the newbies.

 

Just some things I noticed:

Olsen: Helped himself just by playing. His effort brings everyone else up. It's hard for a player not to run hard, when Ben is out there throwing himself around like he did.
Mathis: Showed a lot of leadership today in directing traffic. Yes, he got some very good chances on goal, but he always does that. I think Bruce was looking for maturity and Clint showed some.
Califf: Hurt himself a little by being (what looked like) the weakest link on an inexperienced defense. That says a lot considering Victorine has never really played that position before.
Klein: Helped himself with some very good wing play. With Stewart about done, we're going to need someone to play the right mid and he did it well today, and some of his touches would have looked even better if the players knew each other a little more.
Twellman: ??? Depending on what Bruce was looking for he could have either hurt himself or helped himself. Twellman did what he always does. He worked hard to win the ball, and got free infront of the goal. Twellman isn't the prettiest player, but he's effective. His work rate is something the US needs if we have any hope of playing Mathis up top. On a side note: Twellman also probably got fouled more than any other player on the field, which is typical of Taylor.

 

Cunnigham has never been a favorite of mine.....That being said, I would not call him finished after yesterdays game. He came in at the end and I think the US was just happy to hold the ball at that time. There was not an attacking mind set out on the field at that time. He will get another look, but we will definetly see Buddle and Johnson in the mix in the future.

 

Buddle - yes!
Johnson - who knows?

From what's been said about him during the U20 games, he's been very inconsistent. Not to mention he's not even getting playing time in MLS. If EJ can start playing regularly and scoring in MLS then I say give him a shot. If not, let him stay with the U20's.

 

I think Voctorine would be an ideal utility player but he's just so slow........

Klein also adds versatility being able to play right wing or as a wing back but he lookeded awful with the ball at his feet and has absolutely no left foot.

Twellman didn't show me much in this game, but I'm willing to cut the kid some slack, it was his first appearance with the senior team, and he put himself in good position to score.

Califf was atrocious, I mean, really bad. He's lumberingly slow, and he touches the ball over the sideline more then Mike Burns. I hope he never puts on a national team kit again.....

Barrett showed me alot, great vision, some nice touches, would definitely like to see some more of him, with a better haircut though.....

 

It's hard to tell too much against such a weak opponent, but remember it was not long ago when we weren't even a shoo-in to beat the CONCACAF minnows, so things are loking up.

Defense was hard to rate since El Sal rarely challenged, and did find some space when they did. Boca got better as the game went on, but was not spectacular. Califf was weak. The outside backs were a mixed bag. They both got forward decently, but didn't exactly put in many good passes once they did. Wade put too many crosses harmlessly across the ground or to no one in particular. Sasha was somewhat more effective, including a really nice length of the field run to get the goal, bt was weaker defensively and cleared the ball out poorly on a few occasions.

The midfield was decent if unspectacular, which pretty well describes Donovan's game perfectly. He does play some good one-touch balls, and always seems to get the ball into open space with a minimum of fuss. He was quietly one of the bright spots in the middle. He wasn't asked to do much offensively, and obliged. Klien was a mixed bag with a great cross and too many poor ones. I'd like to see what he could do as an outside back.

Olsen hustled and finished nicely. He's Bruce's boy, so get used to seeing him. I'm not a huge fan, but his work rate and speed could make for a very interesting wing pair once Beasley's back. I'd really hate to have to defend the width of the field with both of those guys running their tails off out there. Pablo was solid and Cullen filled in decently in the second half. Martino wasn't around long enough to make an impression, but his getting on the field looks like Bruce has plans for the boy.

The forwards were mixed as well, Mathis was very good. He did a good amopunt of running for those who see him as lazy. He came back quite deep a lot and was still making runs forward. He was dangerous throughout, and was unlucky to have two good shots saved. His assist was spectacular.

Twellman did little, with little help I might add. He does seem to be a poacher, and without good support and accurate balls played to him, he's going to struggle. It will be interesting if Bruce wants to rely on such a player as he hasn't in the past. He usually likes his forwards to be more well-rounded. Cunningham ran around and did his usual dribble until you loose it routine. He's gonna have to improve to see any kind of time with this squad.

Howard made a couple of nice plays, especially coming off his line early. Rimando did well with the one difficult cross he had to deal with, but I still just can't picture him being a top guy for us.

All in all, I don't thik anybody really played themselves to the forefront who wasn't already there and I didn't see anybody help themselves immensely. Mathis may have put some worries to rest, Olsen looks to be on the way back, but none of the new guys lit things up. I'd say Cunningham looked the worst, but he only had a very short run, so I can't believe that Bruce is gonna get too upset over it.

 

Kyle will be the heart of this team in the next world cup.

 

I agree that this El Salvador team was so bad, not that much can be read into the play. However, my help/hurt breakdown would be as follows.

HELPED:

Mathis -- the class of the team.

Barrett -- good solid player at both ends.

Victorine -- sure we need to see if he can defend better players, but I suspect the answer is yes. Provides that physical element on defense that BA appears to like and is a superior passer out of the back. Sure his first touch was shaky at times, but that is why he is no longer playing forward.

Olsen: Showed the unique elements he brings to the US.

Howard: Looked imposing out there.

HURT:

Klein: For me, the story of the game was all the trouble that the US had with possession, despite the presence of Donovan and Mastro. I blame this on, partly the field, but also in playing a classic diamond midfield. For me, Klein just plays too rigid a game, at least when the US is going with another wide player on the other side. Olsen did a lot better getting into the middle and varying his point of attack. Sure, Klein is a great crosser, but that is not nearly as useful when playing a team that doesn't field an all-midget back line. Klein is a good player and should contribute, but if it is as a starter the USMNT will be a little weaker than I hope it is.

Califf: Continues to show a propensity for the big mistake.

NEUTRAL:

Boca and Donovan didn't play well but their past contributions keep them in the pool.

Twellman was only OK, but his goal scoring exploits should give him another shot.

 

I'm glad somebody else has this view of Klein. I thought he was very poor at holding the ball and his crosses, with the exception of one fine pass, were pretty weak. However, I think he played well defensively.

 

I missed the first 10 minutes of the game, so I didn't see what caused the break-away that Howard stopped when he came off his line.

But I saw the rest of the game & I thought the following helped themselves:

Victorine: I agreed with what Ty/Rob said about Bruce maybe grooming Victorine as a replacement for Sanneh.

Barret: Didn't have too many mis-steps that I noticed and worked well pushing forward, especially his nice ball to Mathis that was well-saved by the 'keeper.

Mathis: Is Clint back? I hope so. It was great to see him talking to his teammates and not the ref.

Bocanegra: Looked solid in the back and relatively confident with the ball at his feet. He also was fearless in challenging the 'keeper on corner kicks.

Olsen: He worked his ass off and tormented the entire right side of the Salvadoran team and scored to boot.

Klein: Solid play and a beautiful cross to Olsen for the game-winner. I wouldn't be surprised to see him play right back as well.

The only players who may have hurt themselves (which should be hard to do in ONE friendly after one week of camp) are Twellman, Cunningham, and Califf. But I'd be shocked if Bruce ruled anyone out at this point.

On Cunningham: Bruce looks to be wanting Cunningham to play the role of the new Cobi at the end of games: run really fast with the ball to the corner flag, take abuse, and run out the clock. Hate to say it, but Cunningham can't hold Cobi's jock in that department.

 

Klein

I have to agree with some of the criticisms of Klein.

He did have a beautiful cross to Olsen for the first goal, but far too many other times, especially in the second half, he had the ball in a dangerous position. closing in on the edge of thepenalty box, and he just didn't seem to know what to do, other than head to the corner and put in another cross.

While it is certainly important that our wingers can provide good service from out wide, they also have to be a bit more versatile, with the ability to take the ball inside from time to time - a la Beasley and Olsen.

It just didn't seem like Klein had that level of tactical awareness and versatility. Klein does work hard, and is big and physical. But if the USMNT is to continue to improve, we need more than what he's shown so far in midfield. Maybe he should be an option at right back.

I also have to agree that Mastroeni looked really good in the first half, and that I was a little disappointed that Donovan didn't play more aggressively. I think he only had two or at most three shot attempts. I'd have liked to have seen him charging forward a little bit more - especially when Clint came so far back into midfield to get the ball, leaving Twellman alone up top.