- Ahhhh! I thought we had it! It was right there! I could touch the Confederations Cup trophy, and then it all slipped away less than 1 minute into the second half. What can you say, Brazil is Brazil and they were better.
- Curious (awful) substitutions by Bradley in the final. Sure, he was hampered by Michael Bradley being suspended, but if Sacha Klesjtan, Conor Casey, and Jonathan Bornstein have told us anything it's that they cannot play at this level. Thank you all for your time with the USMNT.
- I don't buy the hype on Jozy Altidore. Granted, Spain is fanatically racist, but there's likely a reason why Villareal loaned him out and then Xerez never played him. Those reasons can be seen every time he plays - he has a horrible touch, he can't hold up the ball, he wins nothing in the air, and - worst - he looks lazy. Charlie Davies has shown more speed, creativity, and all-around effort. Sure Altidore got the goal against Spain, but rewatch any of those games throughout this tournament. We're better suited with Dempsey playing up top.
- I think the possible addition of Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones could be a huge piece to the lineup puzzle. We now look set in the backfield with (L to R) Spector, Onyewu, Demerit, and Bocanegra. Donovan simply shocked me. And Dempsey is our best player. Ricardo Clark is shaky at best, awful at worst. Same for Bradley. Feilhaber seems to just disappear for long stretches. If we're missing strength it's in central midfield, and Jones could provide much needed help. The return of Maurice Edu from injury should also be a big boost.
- I'd love to see Torres, Kenny Cooper, and Freddy Adu used prominently in the Gold Cup. Why keep these guys on the roster if you're never going to play then?
- Demarcus Beasley is done. Kaput. Finished.
- As much as I like him, I think if the USMNT wants a good showing next summer they need to upgrade from Bob Bradley. Under his guidance the USMNT has been wildly inconsistent and lacking the tactical acumen to play with the best. Let's face it - if not for Tim Howard the US loses to Spain in the semis and give us probably 6 more goals against Brazil. Rumor has it that European-based US players find his training sessions laughable. Enough of this crap about, "understanding the American soccer player." American soccer players need to grow up and earn it. Bradley, for all his brings, simply doesn't have it in his skillset to take them to the next level.
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Monday, June 29, 2009
The New Eddie Johnson, And Other USMNT Thoughts...
by
ian
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Our mid-field yesterday, with the exception of Donovan, was pretty much awful. I agree with Ian that Dempsey up front is the way to go, and I really like Charlie Davies as well. I'm not going to give up on Altidore yet - he's still young and I can hope he gets better - but his time is yet to come and I don't think he should be starting in the Confed Cup final.
That being said - Bob Bradley is an awful tactician. I saw Kleistan come on and knew we were done. Feilhaber, while putting out a decent effort defending, gives almost nothing on the attach. And whoever was playing on the wings yesterday was being eaten alive. Spector and Bocanegra were being left out to dry, with Brazil making overlapping runs and the midfielders not helping.
Also, it doesn't bode well for our defense that two goals (a likely a third, though it wasn't called a goal) were headers over defenders. I thought the US is supposed to be physical in the air?
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