I have followed Paraguay, along with other teams and clubs of course, for many years. They are very tough. It is a mental thing. It is odd to me that many would expect the USA to win automatically. I would think that Paraguay has performed better over the past 20 years than the USA in world cups.
Chandler is the real deal! I can’t understate how impressed I was with his runs out of the back. An attacking right/left back has been one of our missing elements in our attack – very philip lahm-esque. Also have to agree with the general sentiment on Agudelo, he too is also a gem. After the WC I was worried about our future development after the likes of Dempsey and Donovan move on but I feel more comfortable now. However, the inclusion of Agudelo and Chandler does tend to say something about our youth development doesn’t it? Perhaps home born players are developing as they should.
Any body think that Donovan was pretty poor last night. He missed a sitter and had some poor passing throughout the game. We need a creative midfielder or all our forwards will look bad. Holden is not the answer but not sure where the answer will come from.
that’s basically what i think too. Although, and you can call me crazy, I still wouldn’t mind seeing Gooch instead of Goodson. I think with Ream, Gooch might be more effective.
I also don’t mind the idea of Boca for Goodson with Chandler on the left (or Dolo). Then dropping Dempsey back to the wing and putting Jozy in.
I can’t believe we are still in the same place with the Left Back spot. It’s unbelievable. Bocanegra is still the only acceptable LB option at this time.
Paraguay is known to be a great defensive team within the Conmebol region. And of course, they have some good offensive weapons as well. They are comfortable sitting back, especially up by a goal.
The U.S. is starting to play much better as they continue to experiment with new players and with a little bit more time, and with the correct personnel on the field (No JB), I can see the U.S. finally breaking through the final third of very strong defensives like a Paraguay. The U.S. was a bit unlucky not to get some kind of result, because they had their chances. It’s a friendly and the U.S. is progressing. BB needs to play this sort of game now and forget the “Park the Bus Strategy.” If the U.S. wants to play defensively against teams like Brazil or Argentina, they need to hold possession much better or forget it.
Ream’s passing out of the back was fantastic, he kept finding red shirts with his passes. In the Argentina match, every one of our backs repeatedly just hoofed the ball either straight back to Argentina or out of bounds. That being said, there were entire sequences of trying to play out of the back that made me very nervous and looked on the edge of giving away a goal. But, unless you start somewhere and actually try to do it, you’ll never learn. I thought our spacing up front was off. With the box midfield and Donovan and Dempsey pinching so much into the middle, they ended up within a couple of yards of Agudelo and Altidore in a very crowded central space. The only way forward after that was to send balls wide to charging Chandler (usually with decent results) and Bornstein (usually the end of a US move). I can’t think of any diagonal runs behind the defence by either Jozy or Agudelo without the ball …. Jozy, for a big strong kid just looses way too many 50/50 air balls. Makes one long for the days of McHead, who got his noggin onto such a high percentage of our defensive boots … Agudelo already seems more adept at positioning and shielding to win those air balls than Jozy …
I am now confused about who should start CB in the Gold Cup. Gooch and DeMerit have been making mistakes recently, but I’m not ready for a Goodson-Ream pairing just yet.
I wish Gooch would go back to his old form as well. Right now he’s useless with the way he constantly just kicks long balls which turn into loss of possession for us.
I should add that for everything I said, Agudelo was seemingly the anti-Jozy. He was far more adept with his touch and with finding space with smarter runs. Won long balls as well.
And hey, he even scored a goal during this 2 game stretch.
Paraguay is reknowned in Conmebol for having a great defense…They regularly qualify for the WC out of arguably the toughest qualifying competition.
The idea that the US should walk all over them is nonsense. The highlights show that the US had many good scoring chances and more than Paraguay. The match could have been 2-1 USA were it not for some off finishing and great saves.
We are not the only ones who have a hard time unlocking the Paraguay defense. Everyone does. They are like the Italy of South America.
Every time he jogs around aimlessly (and lazily). Tries to move up the field attempting to get into “open space” which happens to be inhabited by 2-3 defenders. Receives the ball and dribbles into 3 guys, thus losing possession. Receives a ball only to show off his touch of stone, immediately losing the ball. Rarely wins any ball in the air. Doesn’t score goals. (Which can sometimes, but not always be attributed to “bad service.”)
This is what I saw these past 2 games.
God forbid I criticize a striker for not doing things like scoring, which is typically what they’re on the field to do.
I agree Since 82 (“Call me ‘sensei!'”); our forwards do not get the ball in dangerous spots. To get the ball they have to come all the way to mid-field, try to find a channel so Ream can find them, hold it up, and hope to get it back – which they rarely do. Agudelo, Josy, nor Duece got the ball in good places last night.
I thought Jozy was pretty bad 95% of the time, which seemingly has become the norm for him.
Agudelo impressed much more. I loved that he actually won long balls kicked by our defenders/goalkeeper. Rarely, if ever, do you see Jozy do something like that. He just expects the ball to get past the opponent and keep bouncing forward to he can run on to it, and that almost never happens.
Tim Ream, distributes the ball quickly. He is a physical presence and has some pace however,just by looking at some of the mistakes Ream made he should not start just yet. The defenders and especially the center backs develop a veteran quality before they start in that position on a regular basis. It comes with seasoning at their respective clubs. Ask anyone in football;Never, ever give up possession in your own half. It’s a cardinal sin. Every time I see a Red Bull match there are 2-3 instances where he is turning the ball over in his own half. And, no surprise, he does it on 2 occasions on the national stage. I think this is the only knock on him and can be corrected in time as he plays consistently for NY. The guy can play and it is exciting to see him give a pin-point pass 30-40 yards up however, he needs to pick and choose his target as opposed to passing it up to the first person he sees. It only takes one errant pass to F your world up. (Ask Rico about it)
Agudelo is most impressive. I think that is a major asset of his.
I think Altidore has potential in working on the wing and has shown skill distributing the ball. He really needs more playing time than anything IMO. Some times the last thing that comes is goals.
The MF is critical however, and the set pieces were awful last night.
The US got what it deserved in the last two friendlies, a loss and a draw. If you flip the scorelines, of course. The lack of a cutting edge vs. Paraguay was aggravating. That being said, imagine what happens if the ref calls a PK on the Agudelo foul. He earns another PK, the US ties and/or wins, and everyone is through the roof with excitement. A result like yesterday is actually good in the long run because it makes the US take a long hard look at its deficiencies (evident in BOTH games) which is sometimes lost when the initial reaction is “holy crap, we tied Argentina”.
I would like to see Edu/Spector get more opportunity to play CB next to Ream. I dont think we need to have 18 CM. Lets get our best players on the field. I like the old Gooch, but he may not ever be the same. Until he is Bradley needs to be creative. It’s refreshing to see the higher skill lever of the younger generation coming in. The USA has a bright future.
I agree, I was forgetting about Ream, his ability to stay calm and his vision to start a counter attack is just what we have been missing. IT really makes a difference rather than just clearing the ball anywhere (right Bornstein.
Against Argentina Gooch seemed lost and showed some lack of confidence, hopefully he can regain his 2009 form.
Possession without penetration is just pure… mas****tion. But it was good to see Chandler, Agudelo and Lichaj on the field. Especially Chandler, he just came out of nowhere and provides some much needed energy going forward. I wish I could say the same about the left back… JB is not helping his case. I really hope that Lloyd gets a more serious look.
Disappointing result, although Paraguay is much better than people give them credit for. My thoughts:
* Bornstein was decidedly awful. Here’s hoping that we just witnessed his last meaningful cap
* Man, do we miss Holden.
* Chandler looks good and dangerous, as did Agudelo. Altidore was a non-factor
* I’m slightly tired of Demerit’s all-or-nothing, all-heart-and-no-skill type of play. When he misses tackles, he completely leaves his team out to dry. He has limited passing ability, and there’s no way he should have missed on the header right before he was subbed
* Speaking of passing, Ream’s distribution was a sight for this fan’s sore eyes. He should start at CB right about….now.
I have followed Paraguay, along with other teams and clubs of course, for many years. They are very tough. It is a mental thing. It is odd to me that many would expect the USA to win automatically. I would think that Paraguay has performed better over the past 20 years than the USA in world cups.
Chandler is the real deal! I can’t understate how impressed I was with his runs out of the back. An attacking right/left back has been one of our missing elements in our attack – very philip lahm-esque. Also have to agree with the general sentiment on Agudelo, he too is also a gem. After the WC I was worried about our future development after the likes of Dempsey and Donovan move on but I feel more comfortable now. However, the inclusion of Agudelo and Chandler does tend to say something about our youth development doesn’t it? Perhaps home born players are developing as they should.
Any body think that Donovan was pretty poor last night. He missed a sitter and had some poor passing throughout the game. We need a creative midfielder or all our forwards will look bad. Holden is not the answer but not sure where the answer will come from.
that’s basically what i think too. Although, and you can call me crazy, I still wouldn’t mind seeing Gooch instead of Goodson. I think with Ream, Gooch might be more effective.
I also don’t mind the idea of Boca for Goodson with Chandler on the left (or Dolo). Then dropping Dempsey back to the wing and putting Jozy in.
How about this for a possible starting 11:
(4-4-2)
Dempsey Agudelo
LD MB Jones Chandler
Boca Ream Goodson Dolo
Until Holden gets back, I think this is our best lineup.
I can’t believe we are still in the same place with the Left Back spot. It’s unbelievable. Bocanegra is still the only acceptable LB option at this time.
Thank you for saying what I have also noticed (and said) about balls in the air – Altidore vs Agudelo.
Paraguay is known to be a great defensive team within the Conmebol region. And of course, they have some good offensive weapons as well. They are comfortable sitting back, especially up by a goal.
The U.S. is starting to play much better as they continue to experiment with new players and with a little bit more time, and with the correct personnel on the field (No JB), I can see the U.S. finally breaking through the final third of very strong defensives like a Paraguay. The U.S. was a bit unlucky not to get some kind of result, because they had their chances. It’s a friendly and the U.S. is progressing. BB needs to play this sort of game now and forget the “Park the Bus Strategy.” If the U.S. wants to play defensively against teams like Brazil or Argentina, they need to hold possession much better or forget it.
Ream’s passing out of the back was fantastic, he kept finding red shirts with his passes. In the Argentina match, every one of our backs repeatedly just hoofed the ball either straight back to Argentina or out of bounds. That being said, there were entire sequences of trying to play out of the back that made me very nervous and looked on the edge of giving away a goal. But, unless you start somewhere and actually try to do it, you’ll never learn. I thought our spacing up front was off. With the box midfield and Donovan and Dempsey pinching so much into the middle, they ended up within a couple of yards of Agudelo and Altidore in a very crowded central space. The only way forward after that was to send balls wide to charging Chandler (usually with decent results) and Bornstein (usually the end of a US move). I can’t think of any diagonal runs behind the defence by either Jozy or Agudelo without the ball …. Jozy, for a big strong kid just looses way too many 50/50 air balls. Makes one long for the days of McHead, who got his noggin onto such a high percentage of our defensive boots … Agudelo already seems more adept at positioning and shielding to win those air balls than Jozy …
I am now confused about who should start CB in the Gold Cup. Gooch and DeMerit have been making mistakes recently, but I’m not ready for a Goodson-Ream pairing just yet.
ream, chandler, and agudelo looked really good last night. kljestan looked good too.
13 shots and only 3 on target… USMNT needs some finishers, coulda used Wondolowski and his 65% scoring rate from last season.
I wish Gooch would go back to his old form as well. Right now he’s useless with the way he constantly just kicks long balls which turn into loss of possession for us.
I should add that for everything I said, Agudelo was seemingly the anti-Jozy. He was far more adept with his touch and with finding space with smarter runs. Won long balls as well.
And hey, he even scored a goal during this 2 game stretch.
Paraguay is reknowned in Conmebol for having a great defense…They regularly qualify for the WC out of arguably the toughest qualifying competition.
The idea that the US should walk all over them is nonsense. The highlights show that the US had many good scoring chances and more than Paraguay. The match could have been 2-1 USA were it not for some off finishing and great saves.
We are not the only ones who have a hard time unlocking the Paraguay defense. Everyone does. They are like the Italy of South America.
Every time he jogs around aimlessly (and lazily). Tries to move up the field attempting to get into “open space” which happens to be inhabited by 2-3 defenders. Receives the ball and dribbles into 3 guys, thus losing possession. Receives a ball only to show off his touch of stone, immediately losing the ball. Rarely wins any ball in the air. Doesn’t score goals. (Which can sometimes, but not always be attributed to “bad service.”)
This is what I saw these past 2 games.
God forbid I criticize a striker for not doing things like scoring, which is typically what they’re on the field to do.
Joseph Gyau-2014…
Your nuts. Please quantify, where Jozy was pretty bad “95% of the time”?
I agree Since 82 (“Call me ‘sensei!'”); our forwards do not get the ball in dangerous spots. To get the ball they have to come all the way to mid-field, try to find a channel so Ream can find them, hold it up, and hope to get it back – which they rarely do. Agudelo, Josy, nor Duece got the ball in good places last night.
I thought Jozy was pretty bad 95% of the time, which seemingly has become the norm for him.
Agudelo impressed much more. I loved that he actually won long balls kicked by our defenders/goalkeeper. Rarely, if ever, do you see Jozy do something like that. He just expects the ball to get past the opponent and keep bouncing forward to he can run on to it, and that almost never happens.
Tim Ream, distributes the ball quickly. He is a physical presence and has some pace however,just by looking at some of the mistakes Ream made he should not start just yet. The defenders and especially the center backs develop a veteran quality before they start in that position on a regular basis. It comes with seasoning at their respective clubs. Ask anyone in football;Never, ever give up possession in your own half. It’s a cardinal sin. Every time I see a Red Bull match there are 2-3 instances where he is turning the ball over in his own half. And, no surprise, he does it on 2 occasions on the national stage. I think this is the only knock on him and can be corrected in time as he plays consistently for NY. The guy can play and it is exciting to see him give a pin-point pass 30-40 yards up however, he needs to pick and choose his target as opposed to passing it up to the first person he sees. It only takes one errant pass to F your world up. (Ask Rico about it)
Agudelo is most impressive. I think that is a major asset of his.
I think Altidore has potential in working on the wing and has shown skill distributing the ball. He really needs more playing time than anything IMO. Some times the last thing that comes is goals.
The MF is critical however, and the set pieces were awful last night.
The US got what it deserved in the last two friendlies, a loss and a draw. If you flip the scorelines, of course. The lack of a cutting edge vs. Paraguay was aggravating. That being said, imagine what happens if the ref calls a PK on the Agudelo foul. He earns another PK, the US ties and/or wins, and everyone is through the roof with excitement. A result like yesterday is actually good in the long run because it makes the US take a long hard look at its deficiencies (evident in BOTH games) which is sometimes lost when the initial reaction is “holy crap, we tied Argentina”.
I would like to see Edu/Spector get more opportunity to play CB next to Ream. I dont think we need to have 18 CM. Lets get our best players on the field. I like the old Gooch, but he may not ever be the same. Until he is Bradley needs to be creative. It’s refreshing to see the higher skill lever of the younger generation coming in. The USA has a bright future.
Amen to that, although Agudelo showed that it was possible to receive the ball in good spaces with intelligent movement.
We played real well in the middle third. The problem, and it has been a consistent one for awhile now, is the lack of connectivity in the final third.
People are quick to blame Altidore, and before him Ching, Johnson, Cooper, etc., et. al., but we do not make the final pass well.
In the past two games our forwards, rarely if ever, get the ball in space with a well timed pass or proper support.
When Holden comes back, he needs to play with Bradley. Also, it hurts us not to have a creative type like Adu or Torres in the MF.
The back line transitioni bodes well for 2014. Both Ream and Chandler need to start ASAP.
Gooch in 2009 form would be a great compliment to Ream – a bruiser and a calm distributor. I like it.
I actually passed the point of being mad and just started to feel sorry for Bornstein. Not sorry enough to stop hating on him, but still.
I agree, I was forgetting about Ream, his ability to stay calm and his vision to start a counter attack is just what we have been missing. IT really makes a difference rather than just clearing the ball anywhere (right Bornstein.
Against Argentina Gooch seemed lost and showed some lack of confidence, hopefully he can regain his 2009 form.
Ream & Agudelo….. man its good to be an RB fan.
Possession without penetration is just pure… mas****tion. But it was good to see Chandler, Agudelo and Lichaj on the field. Especially Chandler, he just came out of nowhere and provides some much needed energy going forward. I wish I could say the same about the left back… JB is not helping his case. I really hope that Lloyd gets a more serious look.
Disappointing result, although Paraguay is much better than people give them credit for. My thoughts:
* Bornstein was decidedly awful. Here’s hoping that we just witnessed his last meaningful cap
* Man, do we miss Holden.
* Chandler looks good and dangerous, as did Agudelo. Altidore was a non-factor
* I’m slightly tired of Demerit’s all-or-nothing, all-heart-and-no-skill type of play. When he misses tackles, he completely leaves his team out to dry. He has limited passing ability, and there’s no way he should have missed on the header right before he was subbed
* Speaking of passing, Ream’s distribution was a sight for this fan’s sore eyes. He should start at CB right about….now.