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US GAF: Support your national soccer team
- Thread starter xbhaskarx
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Edu
Gamecocks625
Member
not a good sign. Yikes.
I fucking knew this was going to happen the second I saw that Bradley was out. No Bradley and/or Donovan = no ability to transition from midfield into the attacking third. We have to hope and pray that one or both of those two will be back by Monday, or we may be really fucked.
no one is coming back. the 24 is announced and we have what we have. the whole midfield needs to be reexamined. they were especially terrible .Someone like Beckerman doesn't have that talent, skill, strength or speed to play in the national team.
Shit, you're right. I forgot about that. Well, Klinsmann needs to start someone that has at least an inkling of attacking ability. Beckerman better not even sniff the field on Monday.
this whole shit is infuriating. always on the back foot. Azteca result was because of key saves and you could see even there how we struggled with possession. I am not seeing the attacking football JK claims he wants us to play. If you had a successful outing with Edu/Cameron at the back why mess with that ? yes you don't have the best 11 you want, but out of 24 this is the best we can put up ? if you don't win these road games at CONCACAF how do you expect to get out of the knock out stage at the world cup ?
I just want the midfield to keep the ball for a 3 min stretch. Stretch the field, switch the field. do something , anything. I have no idea how JK coaches in the locker room but he should be mad as hell right now.
Doesn't the fact that we're clearly far more talented than Jamaica and Guatemala mean these poor results can't be blamed on quality and talent level? Nguyen was a huge star in Vietnam, Diskerud has been considered one of the top players in Norway for years, guys from leagues like Sweden (Bedoya) and Belgium (Kljestan), none of them can get a call up. They played Omar Cummings who hasn't done anything noteworthy in two years, whereas Chris Pontius has zero caps for us.
I blame roster selection (Klinsmann favorites who seem to get called in no matter how they perform, like Beckerman, Castillo, Orozco Fiscal, Torres, etc), individual lineup decisions (starting slow a fuck players like Goodson and Beckerman when facing Jamaica), and this bizarre obsession with trying to play as many defensive midfielders as possible. People complained about Bradley's empty bucket, this guy plays at least three in every game. But hey he talks about exciting attacking soccer.
yeah I would be more right in saying that one can question their commitment and desire to win.
I am just mad right now dude.
Selection as you point out is just shocking. Some of these guys don't deserve call ups
It will be interesting to listen to the post game press conference. I want someone to ask JK some tough questions.
Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
I thought that guy had earned a permanent call-up after the victory against us?
Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
so much for subtlety with you
perfectchaos007
Member
It's hard to support my National soccer team when they lose to Jamaica. It's not like we were facing their track team!
US Player Ratings: No one shines in 2-1 loss to Jamaica
September 7, 2012
Greg Seltzer
MLSsoccer.com
September 7, 2012
Greg Seltzer
MLSsoccer.com
...
This.
It's amazing how much these guys are missed. Donovan presence ALONE creates offense. Once he leaves, it's going to be tough times for out USMNT.
There are always players missing. A massive country like the US with the size of our player pool can hardly blame a loss on a few players who aren't there, when we're facing freaking Jamaica.
This was Jamaica's first victory over the US, ever. In 19 games. How many of those games did Donovan play in?
This was the first time the US lost a WC qualifier that mattered vs a Caribbean team since losing to Haiti 1-0 in 1969. Donovan and Bradley also missed that Haiti game considering they had not been born yet. Think of the scrubs we must have been fielding, over 20 years before the scrubs that somehow managed to us into the 1990 World Cup.
But hey at least we beat Mexico with a smash and grab goal in a game that they totally dominated....
This was Jamaica's first victory over the US, ever. In 19 games. How many of those games did Donovan play in?
This was the first time the US lost a WC qualifier that mattered vs a Caribbean team since losing to Haiti 1-0 in 1969. Donovan and Bradley also missed that Haiti game considering they had not been born yet. Think of the scrubs we must have been fielding, over 20 years before the scrubs that somehow managed to us into the 1990 World Cup.
But hey at least we beat Mexico with a smash and grab goal in a game that they totally dominated....
Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
You are giving us too much of a credit there. It's not like we had a bazillion clear chances versus Howard.
When you're playing teams that you should easily beat, you bet your ass a missing big name player can make a difference. The other team gains confidence knowing that a star is missing.
That sounds like a bunch of results-based amateur psychoanalysis, aka typical sports commentary.
Okay so then how did we manage to beat (not beat once, or occasionally, or consistently, but always) crappy Caribbean teams in World Cup qualifying before we had any stars? Are you saying it's better to have zero stars, than to have a handful of stars with a couple missing? Because this team still had Howard, Dempsey, Johnson, Altidore...
We were missing Dempsey and Bradley against Mexico, how come the confidence Mexico gained from that didn't make a difference? Hell the goal was scored after Donovan was subbed out (after an ineffectual performance)...
The bottom line is Klinsmann appears to have almost no idea what he's doing, it's the fact that we have some players who can be difference makers (Howard, Dempsey, Donovan, Bradley, Johnson, Altidore) that keeps his tenure from being a total disaster (I'm not predicting anything disastrous, I think we'll still qualify). And who knows, he may get even more of those types (Holden, Chandler, others like Boyd and Shea could be), but he certainly doesn't seem to be elevating their level as a group. And the same thing (playing well below their potential) happened when Caleb Porter, working under Klinsmann, coached our U-23 group that both he and Klinsmann declared was the best and deepest we had ever had, and after a 5-0 win in the opening game, managed to have us finish third in the group behind Canada and El Salvador, in front of pro-US crowds in Nashville. There are enough data points (between embarrassing losses, victories where the other side dominates, dire 0-0 draws with the likes of Canada, etc.) now for me to say that I'm thoroughly unimpressed with this regime.
I miss Bob Bradley.
I know that Bradley was unpopular with the majority of the fanbase, but I think he was a smart coach who knew how to utilize his talent. The biggest problem with our team is still the lack of technicality and creativity. We have poor touch, don't know how to move off the ball, lack creative spark going forward (occasional moments of brilliance from Clint/Donovan notwithstanding), and are becoming slower every year. The rest of CONCACAF is improving and closing the gap between them and us and Mexico.
Now, Klinsmann faces the same problems regarding player pool that Bradley did, but his repeated errors regarding player selection and tactics are perplexing. His obsession with using defensive midfielders as attackers is mind-boggling. The whole idea that ditching Bradley for Klinsmann would result in the USMNT playing an attractive brand of soccer is laughable. Bob wasn't inflexible. He didn't blindly adhere to a bunker/counter strategy. He wanted the team to play attractively. But he also understood what he was working with, and he knew that he didn't have the talent to play balls-to-the-wall attacking soccer. There's no shame in bunkering when you have to. It almost won us a Confederations Cup against vastly superior competition.
But we're sliding into mediocrity. Sure, winning at Azteca is awesome and I'm so proud of our team for getting that win. But what does it matter if we can win on Mexican soil in a meaningless friendly and then turn around and play like complete shit against Jamaica in a qualifier?
Defensively, we're a mess right now. Boca and Steve are old. Injuries ruined Gooch. Fabian Johnson seems like he could be the answer at left back, but we still need to rebuild the rest of the backline. We need Chandler to give up his empty dream of playing for Germany and come back. Also, why the hell hasn't Lichaj been called up?
We also need more creativity in the midfield. Beckerman doesn't necessarily need to disappear -- he can be a useful piece in qualifying as a defensive mid -- but he needs to be a bench guy and he needs to stop being asked to possess the ball and push forward into the attack. We obviously missed Mikey in this game. I'd like to see guys like Sacha, Mix Diskerud, and Benny get calls. That isn't to say that they'd kill it out there, but they can't possibly be any worse creatively than what we're fielding right now.
The strikers, I believe, are capable of scoring, but they need service from the midfield. We don't have guys who are going to create something out of nothing. We need a cohesive attack out of the middle to get these guys the ball in situations where they can finish.
Klinsmann needs to reevaluate the player pool and make some major tweaks to the roster. We need some fresh blood and the return of some players who haven't been around in a while. We need to stop constantly playing people out of position. We need to play within our limits and, more than anything, we need to play cohesively and intelligently. I'm starting to believe those who warned that Klinsmann is just a motivational speaker who owes a large part of his success to Joachim Low.
I know that Bradley was unpopular with the majority of the fanbase, but I think he was a smart coach who knew how to utilize his talent. The biggest problem with our team is still the lack of technicality and creativity. We have poor touch, don't know how to move off the ball, lack creative spark going forward (occasional moments of brilliance from Clint/Donovan notwithstanding), and are becoming slower every year. The rest of CONCACAF is improving and closing the gap between them and us and Mexico.
Now, Klinsmann faces the same problems regarding player pool that Bradley did, but his repeated errors regarding player selection and tactics are perplexing. His obsession with using defensive midfielders as attackers is mind-boggling. The whole idea that ditching Bradley for Klinsmann would result in the USMNT playing an attractive brand of soccer is laughable. Bob wasn't inflexible. He didn't blindly adhere to a bunker/counter strategy. He wanted the team to play attractively. But he also understood what he was working with, and he knew that he didn't have the talent to play balls-to-the-wall attacking soccer. There's no shame in bunkering when you have to. It almost won us a Confederations Cup against vastly superior competition.
But we're sliding into mediocrity. Sure, winning at Azteca is awesome and I'm so proud of our team for getting that win. But what does it matter if we can win on Mexican soil in a meaningless friendly and then turn around and play like complete shit against Jamaica in a qualifier?
Defensively, we're a mess right now. Boca and Steve are old. Injuries ruined Gooch. Fabian Johnson seems like he could be the answer at left back, but we still need to rebuild the rest of the backline. We need Chandler to give up his empty dream of playing for Germany and come back. Also, why the hell hasn't Lichaj been called up?
We also need more creativity in the midfield. Beckerman doesn't necessarily need to disappear -- he can be a useful piece in qualifying as a defensive mid -- but he needs to be a bench guy and he needs to stop being asked to possess the ball and push forward into the attack. We obviously missed Mikey in this game. I'd like to see guys like Sacha, Mix Diskerud, and Benny get calls. That isn't to say that they'd kill it out there, but they can't possibly be any worse creatively than what we're fielding right now.
The strikers, I believe, are capable of scoring, but they need service from the midfield. We don't have guys who are going to create something out of nothing. We need a cohesive attack out of the middle to get these guys the ball in situations where they can finish.
Klinsmann needs to reevaluate the player pool and make some major tweaks to the roster. We need some fresh blood and the return of some players who haven't been around in a while. We need to stop constantly playing people out of position. We need to play within our limits and, more than anything, we need to play cohesively and intelligently. I'm starting to believe those who warned that Klinsmann is just a motivational speaker who owes a large part of his success to Joachim Low.
Definitely.
I wish I could find the post someone made after US lost to Ghana in the world cup. Something about Donovan being replaceable. lol
Maybe I'm just thinking of the U-23s because tonight our midfield was overrun in the same way as it was against Canada in that 2-0 loss...
Maybe it's that in both cases, the US coach seemed to be totally lacking in ideas as to how to counter the opposition's tactics...
In any case, those are two of the worst meaningful games (as opposed to the 0-0 friendly vs Canada) I have seen the US play in years.
Maybe it's that in both cases, the US coach seemed to be totally lacking in ideas as to how to counter the opposition's tactics...
In any case, those are two of the worst meaningful games (as opposed to the 0-0 friendly vs Canada) I have seen the US play in years.
That has always been the case, but at least the US was a scrappy bunch that punched above their weight, where the whole was more than the sum of the parts (as opposed to teams like England and Mexico)... this is just bland.
NoRéN;41880079 said:
Didn't he score like... almost all our goals in that tournament?
I don't understand how Donovan is so underrated. Soon he will be the first player ever with 50+ goals and assists in international play for any country. Let's see if we're around to watch the second...
Yes, and that's what I loved about our team. It seems lately like we haven't had the same fire in the belly that we've possessed in previous years. If nothing else we should always be relied upon to outwork our opponent.
Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
I was a Bob supporter back in the day and never understood the fascination with Klinsmann. When we hired him, I decided to put aside the doubts I had in my mind and let him do his thing. But at this point it's become painfully obvious that Klinsmann was never the answer.
video of Klinsmann talking to USSoccer post match.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY7ygaYWUXA
From the open practice and all it sounds like they realize they need to play with a lot more width. Shea will likely get a start. Since Goodson is out, Boca or Edu must pair up with Cameron.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY7ygaYWUXA
From the open practice and all it sounds like they realize they need to play with a lot more width. Shea will likely get a start. Since Goodson is out, Boca or Edu must pair up with Cameron.
No. I get sick to my stomach every time I think about the potential of losing this game. I just can't fathom waiting 6 years to see the US play in a World Cup again.
I don't think there's much danger of losing tonight in front of a sold out Columbus crowd, just based on the difference in talent level between the two teams... Jamaica is like a mediocre MLS team.
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