The Swamp

Wow! This is a long but interesting take on Jurgen's team. Sounds like some insider commentary from some unhappy campers.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/soccer/stor ... =hp_t2_a11" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Champagne meet bow.

...

So Deuce gets the captain armband, little Bradley steps up and tells the team to grow up/stop acting shameful/quick your bitchin/keep it in house/get on the field win (probably the real captain), and Boca defendeds Jurgen on facebook.

wlu_lax6 wrote:So Deuce gets the captain armband, little Bradley steps up and tells the team to grow up/stop acting shameful/quick your bitchin/keep it in house/get on the field win (probably the real captain), and Boca defendeds Jurgen on facebook.

I heart Michael Bradley.

I would be so strange (yet fitting) if the US made 6 consecutive world cups with basically no name managers and fighting spirit and then fail to qualify when they have a superdiva international manager.

Go back to American coaches!

normalasian wrote:I would be so strange (yet fitting) if the US made 6 consecutive world cups with basically no name managers and fighting spirit and then fail to qualify when they have a superdiva international manager.

Go back to American coaches!

Like Bora Milutinović!

It doesn't look like a fun place to play in Denver tonight. I'm talking conditions, not crowd as they look hyped.

The Sybian wrote:

normalasian wrote:I would be so strange (yet fitting) if the US made 6 consecutive world cups with basically no name managers and fighting spirit and then fail to qualify when they have a superdiva international manager.

Go back to American coaches!

Like Bora Milutinović!

Bora's sort of a no name manager.. i mean Costa Rica, USA, Nigeria, China!
And he didn't even qualify the US. He was the host!

I thought we had a longer thread on this, but I think it must've been on the old new new old place.

At any rate, that article really caught the team at an interesting moment. I read somewhere else that the last three coaches (including JK) have had this type of make or break moment at some point in the hex.

For Bradley it was getting thumped 3-1 down in CR. For Arena, it was getting thumped on the same field. (I'll never forget the feeling of dread when I saw Richie Williams in the starting lineup.)

This team was, truly, in disarray before and directly after the Honduras loss. I have been a supporter of JK all along, including/especially because of his focus on restructuring our youth development system. But after that loss, and then the Belgium game, my biggest concern was that he didn't seem willing/capable of shifting tactics to match the skill/capabilities of the players on his roster. In particular, not putting a couple of attacking midfielders or forwards with good technical ability up with Jozy was killing us. Jozy is not a target forward, no matter how much coaches have tried to get him to do that. With Clint settling in near/beside him, and guys like Bradley working combinations, they are a much more dangerous team.

And what we've seen with this B squad the last two games is that he is building serious depth. The respective extended camps (June for the A team, now July for the B team) is huge. Think about how much better that A team looked in terms of possession and tactics from Belgium all the way up through Panama (I'm excluding the win is a win against Honduras.) Prior to that, he'd only had the squad for short bursts. And given the type of retooling he is trying to do, it clearly wasn't enough. Now he'll have this group for (hopefully) the month of July and we'll see what kind of progress they make as the tourney progresses.

We still have a major issue on the back line. And we desperately need to add depth and options in the center of the formation. Really good to see Donovan and Holden out there last night. You add in Bradley and Dempsey and you're really starting to find a nucleus that can play the possession game. You simply can't play that style when only 2 or 3 players has the skill/confidence to pull it off.

Nonlinear FC wrote:I thought we had a longer thread on this, but I think it must've been on the old new new old place.

At any rate, that article really caught the team at an interesting moment. I read somewhere else that the last three coaches (including JK) have had this type of make or break moment at some point in the hex.

For Bradley it was getting thumped 3-1 down in CR. For Arena, it was getting thumped on the same field. (I'll never forget the feeling of dread when I saw Richie Williams in the starting lineup.)

This team was, truly, in disarray before and directly after the Honduras loss. I have been a supporter of JK all along, including/especially because of his focus on restructuring our youth development system. But after that loss, and then the Belgium game, my biggest concern was that he didn't seem willing/capable of shifting tactics to match the skill/capabilities of the players on his roster. In particular, not putting a couple of attacking midfielders or forwards with good technical ability up with Jozy was killing us. Jozy is not a target forward, no matter how much coaches have tried to get him to do that. With Clint settling in near/beside him, and guys like Bradley working combinations, they are a much more dangerous team.

And what we've seen with this B squad the last two games is that he is building serious depth. The respective extended camps (June for the A team, now July for the B team) is huge. Think about how much better that A team looked in terms of possession and tactics from Belgium all the way up through Panama (I'm excluding the win is a win against Honduras.) Prior to that, he'd only had the squad for short bursts. And given the type of retooling he is trying to do, it clearly wasn't enough. Now he'll have this group for (hopefully) the month of July and we'll see what kind of progress they make as the tourney progresses.

We still have a major issue on the back line. And we desperately need to add depth and options in the center of the formation. Really good to see Donovan and Holden out there last night. You add in Bradley and Dempsey and you're really starting to find a nucleus that can play the possession game. You simply can't play that style when only 2 or 3 players has the skill/confidence to pull it off.

Nice post. Only thing I disagree with is the depth at center midfield right now is tremendous. Bradley and Jones seemed like locks, but I don't know about Jones anymore. He is probably the best player (after Bradley), but he takes too many stupid fouls and cards, and his forays forward (which never seem to amount to anything) prevent Bradley from going forward. Bradley looked so much more dangerous when partnered with Cameron, who was solid defensively. Beckerman is capable in a more defensive role and has good distribution, but Holden and Diskerud have looked tremendous. I can't wait to see what they can do against better opponents, but they have looked great, especially Holden. His distribution has been great, and he shows great vision in finding open players in unusual situations. And that chip pass to Donovan against the Guats was sublime. Klejstan is passable, but I'd really rather not go there. Hell, Benny Feilhaber is even a passable option. When have we ever had that kind of depth in any position?

The back 4 does scare me, though. Gooch looked good, but he really didn't have much of a test against the Guats. Gonzalez and Beslar show some flashes, but I just don't trust them yet. Goodson is decent and adds some goal scoring potential on set pieces. I think Boca is done, especially as a CB. I think he could play LB still in a pinch, but not provide much down the wings. RB should be set when Cherundolo and Chandler are healthy. Beasley plays LB with a lot of heart, but I just don't think he could cut it against top teams. At least Bornstein appears to be out of the picture. Fuck, that guy sucks.

Yeah, we are actually in agreement... to a point. My point about depth is more about getting ATTACKING and POSSESSION guys into JK's system. And this is really important to this point, we need players that can actually help us win in Brazil. So, for guys like Holden (who I totally agree has massive potential), Landon, and Diskerud this tournament is huge. It took a long time for the guys that were in the mix in January to understand their roles, and it will likely be the same for these three, not to mention getting that understanding with the A team guys.

And just to reiterate, I'm not concerned about the holding or DM slot (and hopefully we play with just one DM). As you say, Jones appears to be getting his shit together, and if not him we have 2 or 3 other guys that can slot in there. The piece I'm worried about are the guys that can hold and distribute... And I disagree with you on Beckerman in this regard. It may be an opinion based on a random and small sample size, but I feel like when we play quality teams, he panics over the ball quite a bit.

Nonlinear FC wrote:Yeah, we are actually in agreement... to a point. My point about depth is more about getting ATTACKING and POSSESSION guys into JK's system. And this is really important to this point, we need players that can actually help us win in Brazil. So, for guys like Holden (who I totally agree has massive potential), Landon, and Diskerud this tournament is huge. It took a long time for the guys that were in the mix in January to understand their roles, and it will likely be the same for these three, not to mention getting that understanding with the A team guys.

And just to reiterate, I'm not concerned about the holding or DM slot (and hopefully we play with just one DM). As you say, Jones appears to be getting his shit together, and if not him we have 2 or 3 other guys that can slot in there. The piece I'm worried about are the guys that can hold and distribute... And I disagree with you on Beckerman in this regard. It may be an opinion based on a random and small sample size, but I feel like when we play quality teams, he panics over the ball quite a bit.

You are right about Beckerman panicking against top notch teams. At first, I was suprised to hear that he is known for his distribution in MLS, because he didn't show that in his early USMNT appearances. Either it is just the weak competition or his increased comfort in the MNT, but he has looked a lot better recently. That said, I put him at 6th on the chart. I am a huge Holden fan, and I think Mixx has shown a ton of potential with his flair and willingness to take on defenders and fire shots on target.

Mixx was the highlight of seeing the Gold Cup last night for me. Kid has some serious upside potential.

P.D.X. wrote:Mixx was the highlight of seeing the Gold Cup last night for me. Kid has some serious upside potential.

And unless I am mistaken, last night cap tied him as he was eligible to play for Norway.

Believe so. He's a Yank now.

Jurgen signs 4 year extension with US Soccer. He is our man through 2018. His name had already come up for other potential gigs following Brazil, so the US really had to lock him in.

US Loses closed door scrimmage 2-1 to Sao Paulo
http://www.soccerbyives.net/2014/01/usm ... mages.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Soooo… Down 1-0 to Ukraine early and defense looking extremely suspect.

Based on what I'm reading from the usual USMNT soccer journos, a better description of the defense would be "shambolic".

I have the game on, but I'm not really paying attention, and didn't see the goal, so these comments are less about today, and more about the last few months.

Should anyone have any optimism about this team, based on the individual results since qualification? No one can get a game. Altidore, Dempsey, Bradley and Donovan are all a hot mess. Is there a chance they get into better shape as MLS ramps up? I'm not confident at all that we get a point in Brazil.

Fucking John Kerry…

Obama probably made them throw it.

Ghana lost to Montanegro today, so maybe we get a point?

US were playing pretty well in the second half, until the back line was scorched with a ball over the top. Howard was able to make the initial save, but the rebound went right back to the Ukrainian player who put it in the back of the net. Abysmal defense.

With the draw we got I'd be happy with 4 points. That's probably not enough to move on, but is realistic.

I haven't seen the game... which says a bit about how much importance I think you should place on this result. It is a weird, experimental batch of players, it's in Europe, an already suspect overall defensive unit plucked two of the more wobbly/wonky guys to "shore up the middle."

I know it's the US soccer fan's DNA to be fickle, but off of this result? C'mon.

Nonlinear FC wrote:I haven't seen the game... which says a bit about how much importance I think you should place on this result. It is a weird, experimental batch of players, it's in Europe, an already suspect overall defensive unit plucked two of the more wobbly/wonky guys to "shore up the middle."

I know it's the US soccer fan's DNA to be fickle, but off of this result? C'mon.

My DNA leads me to be generally much more optimistic than the average US soccer fan, and my post is more about what's happened since we qualified. That being said, we did look horrible today.

govmentchedda wrote:

Nonlinear FC wrote:I haven't seen the game... which says a bit about how much importance I think you should place on this result. It is a weird, experimental batch of players, it's in Europe, an already suspect overall defensive unit plucked two of the more wobbly/wonky guys to "shore up the middle."

I know it's the US soccer fan's DNA to be fickle, but off of this result? C'mon.

My DNA leads me to be generally much more optimistic than the average US soccer fan, and my post is more about what's happened since we qualified. That being said, we did look horrible today.

Me too. I blow off friendly losses or bad performances, win or lose as experiments, but when the USMNT play well or beat a great team like Italy, Germany, etc... it doesn't matter that the opponent is a B or C squad, because WE BEAT GERMANY!!!

Somehow my DVR didn't record, so Doc is off the hook. Just watched an extended highlight clip. Brooks and Onyewu looked atrocious! Where were they on the second goal? It was a solid 8 seconds after the ball over the top before they were even on the screen. I love Gooch, but he had a fork in him 3 years ago. I am really concerned about Dempsey's horrible form this past year, Altidore doesn't even make the 18 at Sunderland too often, and Borini seems to be racking up the goals. Sunderland is a horrible fit for Jozy. He needs a team that is capable of feeding him. Come to think of it, he'd probably be a solid fit with Arsenal. I bet if he got first team time with Arsenal, he'd have a decent goal tally right now. Giroud really isn't a great finisher, and he has a lot of goals this year. I am a bit concerned about Bradley falling off at Roma, too. Just shocked that he would give up on Europe so quickly. Before his ankle injury, he was playing really well at Roma.

That's the thing. This game centered around the horrid play of Brooks and Onyewu. If they're playing in the World Cup, it doesn't matter anyway.

If anyone is worried about Brooks and/or Onyewu even being on the squad in Brazil, they are clearly envisioning some kind of catastrophe befalling our A, B and C squads.

And I feel sorry for that person (because it's clearly a crazy, lone person). Because that's no way to live life, man.

(To this point, I'm not really sure why JK trotted Onyewu, in particular, out there. He hasn't been "right" for what seems like 2 years.)

Here's the bottom line: We have a B squad capable of winning the Gold Cup, in pretty convincing fashion. We have more depth than we've ever had in our player pool.

We are not, and probably won't be in my lifetime, a team that can trot out a C team end expect results against most teams from Europe or S.A. This team had a few A team players, then a handful of B level players, and then a chunk of guys that won't be in Brazil.

I just don't put a lot of stock in a game like that. Shit, I didn't see it, but I'll bet beyond being way out of position on the goals, Brooks and Onyewu (especially Gooch) sucked in terms of starting our possession offense. Coupled with not having Bradley or anyone close to that level in the middle... *shudder* that's going back to the kind of US team that was very hard to watch. Jones isn't that guy. Klestyan and Bedoya are floaters and very much on the bubble for Brazil.

When JK trots out an A or B squad that shits the bed, I'll pay attention.

Nonlinear FC wrote:When JK trots out an A or B squad that shits the bed, I'll pay attention.

Ehh, I'm with you for the most part. However, Dempsey and Altidore sucking it up is certainly a cause for concern.

Gooch was getting a look and reward for testing himself/fighting to play in Europe. He did not make the the most of it.

So we got USA @ Czech (helping the Czech get ready for a Euro qualifier v. the Dutch) and a friendly @ Ireland in Ireland (after Ireland plays the Scots in a Euro qualifier) this fall.

wlu_lax6 wrote:So we got USA @ Czech (helping the Czech get ready for a Euro qualifier v. the Dutch) and a friendly @ Ireland in Ireland (after Ireland plays the Scots in a Euro qualifier) this fall.

Meh. I can't get too excited until the run-up to the Gold Cup now. Though I'm hoping we can get Gedeon Zelalem's immigration status worked out by then and get him cap-tied in the fall.

So Landon is going to get another Cap in a non-testimonial game. I am sure Jurgen is super excited about this. So we are turning this friendly into a meaningless game instead of a chance to test our some young guys I want to work into the program. Got it. Only thing better would be to have Jurgen not play him (Reminds me of the "Cito Sucks" chants from the All Star when he would not put in Mussina in the 93 All Star Game).

http://www.espnfc.us/united-states/stor ... al-game-vs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't see how Landon getting a farewell appearance will keep Jurgen from also playing plenty of young guys in that game.

Now is the best time. The Americans can use the entire 2015 friendlies and Gold Cup to test out kids.

degenerasian wrote:Now is the best time. The Americans can use the entire 2015 friendlies Gold Cup to test out kids.

I think Jurgen will want to try to win the Gold Cup.