EJ is looking good Corrales was only visible when making a mistake probably Pablo's best game in a while, may make Bruce forget about Armas (doubtful) LD did the bare minimum, not acceptable when wearing the captain's band, which he must have fiddled with a thousand times (next time give it to McBride) Albright looked good, and may be an option for 06 Spector look like belongs, Dempsey did well, though his lack of speed on his breakaway was glaring---need to see more from both. where was Gibbs playing last night? was he a midfielder?
I was impressed by Spector and Dempsy. Sure they both only got a little bit of play but they made the most of it and didn't show any nerves. To me that is all you can ask for in that situation. They both have a lot of potential for the future.
I saw him talking to the ref quite a bit. No excuses here, but I've seen Reyna be less than "captainesque" in some of his games as well. It happens. Donovan's 22. He'll continue to step up. All of his games as captain won't be like his leadership that he displayed vs. Panama. Give him time.
Point 1- Must have been my seats. From where I was sitting it looked like LD was just standing there while Tony got in the ref's face about the ejection. Point 2- I agree that not all games where he captains are going to be the spectacular outing he, and the rest of the team, had against Panama. But of all the times I've seen him play, on the telly and in person, this seemed to me to be one of the few times where he didn't have a presence on the field (I think I can count those games on half a hand). He is still a world-class player and this one game isn't going to change that, but this was definitely not what I was expecting from him, armband or no armband.
Landon's problem is that the whole game he was thinking "So this is what the weather's like in Germany!"
Nobody is saying he shouldn't be captain, or hasn't already impressed. But let's call a spade a spade. LD had a very average game last night. I think most people are disappointed because in the middle of the second half when things were starting to go bad, it was the perfect time for LD to take over the game. He didn't. Should this be a concern? I don't know, he certainly has a record of producing when it counts. But it does raise questions about his ability to lead. Every player on the field last night had something to prove, for LD everytime he wears that arm band, he has to prove he deserves to wear it when it counts. That he really truely is next in line. Being captain isn't about being the best player on the field, its about being the best leader. Last night Mastro was the leader of the team, not LD.
Impressed me: Eddie Johnson Chris Albright Jonothan Spector Pablo I though all the above played very well, knew thier role on the team and executed the game stratagy very well. EJ scored and made good runs and worked hard off the ball. Albright was solid at RB and defended well, wasn't asked to go forward much so can't fault him for lack of offense. Spector looked very poised and threatening in his few minutes on the field..he belongs. Pablo was pablo we all know and had a hand in the goal. Luke Warm: Landon Donovan Cory Gibbs Gooch Kasey Keller Clint Dempsey Talyor Twellman Donovan suffered from a weak midfield line up so I won't ride him to hard. When he did get the ball he did well with it. Gibbs was OK but he did play out of position most the match and thus I won't hold it against him either. Gooch got a red card but considering it was his first start he played on par with expectations. Keller was quite which is a good thing..made saves when he was called on to do so. Twellman just wasn't on long enough to get a read and he wasn't in as a forward. Dempsey did well for a first timer but still has a ways to go yet, still showed enough to deserve a call up next year for Gold Cup or Friendlies. Shoot me please: Brian McBride Ramiro Corrales Steve Ralston Anthony Sanneh McBride just isn't the player he used to be..his whole 2004 has been bad or at best uninspiring. I think everyone knows about Corrales, and even though Ralston played much better than I expected it still wasn't that good and he really slowed us down in our midfiled build ups. Sanneh looked awful out there, practically fell over the ball in his own 6 yard box and then almost gave away a goal..too many bad moments by him to count. Overall the conditions and the weak midfield combo really took the wind out of my sails as a fan, but given we were experimenting a bit and already quaified I won't start bitching. I am Glad at least 2 guys got their first ever caps and that EJ is showing us he is for real.
Yeah and he was MOM or as you say the best player on the field....which is as you say not what being a captain is about. LD is the leader of this team, and he captained it for the 3rd time last night with a team that had 7 new starters(or guys that have not started in a while) and 2 first time caps.. Corrales Ralston Gooch Albright Sanneh Pablo EJ Spector Dempsey Yeah he wasn't as offensive as usual but its not like the guy laid an egg ..all things considered. Not his best game but certianly not his worst.
people who say they weren't impressed with corrales are right -- duh -- but it doesn't matter. it'd be something to worry about it landon or bease turned in a game like that for somebody who is so far out on the fringe, his game last night was meaningless.
Mastro was MOM because he stepped up in the second half when things were starting to unravel and he held it all together. That's leadership. LD didn't have a terrible game, he touches were good, his off the ball runs were good. He just didn't impose himself on the game when he needed to. He didn't work defensively when he needed to. He didn't lead when he needed to. Because he was the captain of the C team, I expected him to take a much larger leadership role. It was the perfect opportunity. Does it mean anything in the long run. Maybe not, or maybe it does.
I think in this case, Mastro's gain was LD's loss. Meaning, much of the midfield play ran through Mastro because his spacing in the middle of the park was better. I suspect that was on purpose. I think Bruce is comfortable with Mastro holding down the middle - as a consequence you see Landon making runs more runs forward and not directing the attack as much. With Zavagnin in the middle with him, you see more of the latter. It reminded me of how Donovan played that position about a year ago.
Onionsack - Not sure the down on McBride part. Non MOM but played his role at a class level. McBride played his part of the target forward in this scheme the best I have seen it in awhile. He pulled down under control or headed to a teammate numerous long balls from the back. He played at least one if not two balls off that should have been finished. He had one chance where he might have scored had the service been in front of him instead so deep into him that he had to turn it back out. He an Eddie need some time together as they at times played balls into one open space while the other was attacking a different space.
I agree with this. As one at the game you could see that the screwy system Bruce was playing or the cluesless way Corrales was playing left the left side wide open and packed the middle. This gave LD no room to work. Also Ralston and Corrales were not at the level needed for this. Was this his best game no, could he have played better -sure. But is was definately not a performace to rag on.
I have to say that I was impressed by both Albright and Gibbs. I caught the game about 20 minutes in and it took me a while to figure out what formation we were playing in. They looked like wing-backs in a 3-5-2. As the game went on, it was pretty clear that not only were they the best defenders on the day but, along with Mastro, they were our midfield, too. With Ralston playing inconsistently and Corrales having a nightmare, those two took on a lot of extra responsibility and really shone. That being said, I would love to have the game replayed with Gibbs inside and Spector and Dempsey on the left for the full 90. That could have been something special.
Yes, that would be closer to what the "Bruce Arena should play more young guys" crowd would have wanted. Considering that the Bruce critics' favorites are Dempsey, Spector, Gibbs, Eddie Johnson, and Gooch and that the guys Bruce likes but the critics don't are Corrales, Sanneh, Ralston, and (kind of) Albright, you'd have to score this game as - Arena 1/2 Critics 1 Bruce gets the 1/2 point because after all he did play some of the critics' faves, plus Albright and to a lesser extent Ralston played well for him.
My two cents on this game player by player.... Eddie "Grown Ass Man" Johnson - Again he continued to impress, a class finish in shifting that ball to his open foot so he could square himself to that far post shot....well done kid....made alot of dangerous runs to space and pressed well on defense, solid game and keep it up....in the future look out for this kid, 2 weeks with Man United, then 2 more with PSV after that....when next qualifer rolls around I say expect and even more mature and smarter EJ Gooch - Unfortunate on both cards actually...the first he was just applying hard pressure on the forwards back and did not clip him, just a little body to body and the guy went down, unlucky card, the hand ball...well just sucked wrong arm in the wrong place at the wrong time....otherwise, looked calm on the ball, very strong in the air, good touch at his feet, and played two long balls in particular that were quite impressive both about 45 to 50 yards on the fly directly to McHead who layed them into EJ's path...little development and this kid could be big time....see ya next round after sitting a game Albright - Never thought I would say it but congrats, and wow Chris....very impressive performance, no stupid fouls, good tackles, nothing dirty, used his body extremely well to hold players off.....was impressive in the air on covering those over the top diagonal balls...and in the last couple minutes made a great backtracking run to slide tackle away a ball from Marlon King, was a fantastic play.....if he puts in another performance like that I would have to say that puts him up the depth chart quite a bit Spector - Not much time but played pretty simple, and smart on the field...good toe poke in the box on Fuller in the second half, played a couple simple balls and showed good skill in bleeding the clock....BUT....was I the only one that saw him carve up about 4 Jamacian defenders, JESUS...what a great set of moves he put forth...good lay off at the end but a poor result from Mastro.....again, i expect to maybe see him again next round Dempsey - Not to see...but I loved the fact that he ran at guys, wasnt scared to put a couple step overs at them and try to beat them, played hard and made a couple good physical tough tackles against a BIG jamacian team....should see more time soon Mastro - Great game, nuff said, MOM....later Armas cause Zavagnin and Mastro just simply play the role better both ways Steve Ralston - First twenty minutes was very impressive, great service, pushed forward well and you can really tell his defensive side has improved greatly....good touch, smart simple plays....cant complain...nothing great but nothing really bad....good to have on the depth chart Quick Hits.... Gibbs - Weight room son... Sanneh - Not bad for out of position but we got better players there... LD - already being discussed to death...kid did fine just wasnt jumping off the screen like usual
I thought Gooch's performance last night was a good argument for working guys in slowly. I assume he's normally a better player but last night was a disaster. When you're largely responsible for a goal and then get sent off... that's a pretty bad night. I'd like to see him start the next friendly, but defenders can't afford such bad mistakes. Oh, and on your scorecard don't forget Mastro. I didn't see anybody here calling for him but several people have him as MoM.
At least he was consistently inconsistent. He didn't seem to favor one team or the other - both sides had room to complain.
On the thread's subject, Johnson really impressed me (needs to work on one-on-ones). I thought McBride started very well but faded. Mastro and Albright were nice surprises. I could see Ralston getting called in during the hex for a particular matchup (and because the US has a bit of a hole there). Spector and Dempsey looked good, but it's hard to tell much when they only played a few minutes and while a man down. I was disappointed by Gooch (perhaps expectations have been built too high) and still don't know why Corrales got the start.
I quite agree with this. But I'm not going to condemn him for one game and worry that it's going to be a problem (and I'm not saying that any of you are doing this either). I was disappointed that he didn't take over when things got a little iffy there in the second half. I'm just saying that he didn't really register as an "impress me/fail to impress" figure. That's all.
Yes, it was. Corrales's, even more so. Taking the plunge would seem to be riskier for defenders than attackers, wouldn't it? I think Mastro's a neutral, like Donovan, McBride, and Keller. In the pool already, neither Bruce nor his critics have much problem with him.
My .02 on the "bubble" players hoping to impress: I would have been more surprised if Albright had played poorly, considering that he got to spend a whole season actually playing at right fullback since his last outing for the USMNT. Let's see how he progresses this next season and then we'll know whether he's got at shot at WC06. Cherundolo's got more skills, but Albright has the size that Bruce seems to want on that backline. Eddie Johnson continues to improve. Could be the Josh Wolf of WC06 the way he's going. Let's all pretend the Corrales "experiment" didn't happen. Gooch played like a young, promising talent in his first real action. Lots of raw ability hampered by some mental mistakes. Ralston, like always, was good, but perhaps not good enough to become a regular. Spector- wish he had started with Gibbs playing in the middle with Gooch. Obviously loads of potential, being only 18 years old. Twellman and Dempsey ran a lot.
He only failed to impress because our expectations of him are so high. He only failed to impress because the strengths of Reyna's game were needed in the middle of the second half last night, and there wasn't anyone on the field who could fill in that gap.