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The SBI Show: Episode 117 (Talking USMNT-Ukraine, Americans Abroad, and more)

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Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By IVES GALARCEP

The on-again, off-again, on-again USA-Ukraine friendly is still on and the latest episode of The SBI Show takes a closer look at the match.

Episode 117 of The SBI Show looks at the lineup options Jurgen Klinsmann will have to consider for the match after having Michael Bradley, Mix Diskerud and Tim Ream withdraw. We also look at potential lineups we could see.

Co-host Garrett Cleverly and I also discuss the past weekend for Americans Abroad, including the end of Clint Dempsey’s Fulham loan, Jozy Altidore’s absence from the League Cup Final, and more.

Give Episode 117 of The SBI Show a listen after the jump:

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What did you think of the show? Agree with our projected lineup? What did you make of Jozy Altidore’s exclusion from the League Cup Final?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Ives –

    i really wish you guys would pay a little less attention to the “haters” of certain players and just give an even-handed assessment. while there may be a number of so-called “haters” of guys like dempsey and altidore i would suggest that there are a lot more folks who just recognize that neither have been playing well for quite a while and are wondering if maybe that means JK should find some more minutes in those positions for other guys

    its been over 9 months since dempsey was productive. some think that moving donovan into the underneath role and rearranging the midfield a bit could be an option

    for jozy, its been a season long slump with sunderland – now over 6 months. how bout more minutes for johannsson? maybe boyd?

    maybe some people are blindly hating but i would suggest that many others are simply concerned with their production and wonder if maybe offering others more opportunities is a reasonable response

    again, would love to hear both sides of this argument instead of what sounds like a constant feud with those you perceive as celebrating certain players struggles

    or do you actually feel that no criticism/second-guessing whatsoever is valid?

    Reply
    • If the shoe doesn’t fit, then don’t complain about it.

      Players are certainly open to criticism, but there absolutely are people who are predisposed to hating specific players. This is fact. THOSE are the people I refer to when talking about “haters”. Being critical of an out-of-form player does not make you a hater. If you only every rip a specific player when he’s struggling, but stay quiet when he’s playing well, chances are there’s something there that makes you just not like him.

      I’ve seen the comment histories of people who have been heavily critical of specific players, and there flat out are people who target specific players. Who knows why. Just because that profile doesn’t apply to you doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, or can’t exist, and at no point did I ever say people can’t be critical of players. I’ve been critical of Dempsey and Altidore at varying points in their careers, but I’ve also praised them when they’ve done well. That’s a normal way to be. it’s those folks who seem to almost take joy in certain players’ struggles and mistakes and failures that make me wonder just what their deal is.

      All that clear enough for you?

      Reply
      • first, i enjoy the show and your work – thats why i folllow.

        dont disagree with anything you said. i get addressing people who jump on a guy after not playing well for a month or two or three… and offering a balance to that over-reaction

        but when you hit 6, 7 (jozy) 9, 10 (dempsey, jones) months of poor play… isnt it time to ignore those who are obviously not too objective and start a new conversation with those who have been willing to give those guys benefit of the doubt for a while, but who now are wondering if its time to consider other options?

        whatever your opinion on the subject (maybe you think we just need to continue to be patient) i, as someone who is following the conversation, would just like to hear (on future shows) a discussion that is more oriented towards those who respect those guys but are still concerned

        at this point it is not outrageous to be concerned about those guys (right?) and id just be curious to hear a conversation that comes from a less “defensive” perspective. just a suggestion

      • Not sure why you have to take our views on these guys as “defensive perspective”. I’ve addressed Altidore’s struggles and Dempsey’s struggles plenty of times, and I’m simply not as concerned as others are. It’s not meaningless that they’re struggling, but I see reasons for the struggles and have shared those theories repeatedly. Not sure how those observations could be seen as “defensive perspective”. When we talk about “haters”, we specifically talk about those folks who have issues with specific players (like the people who seem to jump on Tim Howard the minute he makes a mistake), but you really shouldn’t lump in those discussions with any and all concerns people have about those players. Not EVERY conversation we have about these players revolves around “the haters.” More often than not we’ll mention them and then move on into the discussion. You seem to not hear the rest of the conversation and get distracted by talk of “the haters”. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. If YOU aren’t one of those haters then WHY do you care if we address THOSE people and THOSE habits? Let it go.

        People are entitled to worry, and can have concerns, that’s fine. And I’m entitled to tell those folks that things aren’t as bad as they seem, and certain players should be able to get through their struggles. That’s the discussion that takes place and is normal.

        Funny thing is I find your comments to be a bit defensive, like you take it a little too personally when I call out people for being predictably critical about specific players. Not sure why that is, though I haven’t checked out your comment history to see what your commenting habits are.

      • didnt mean to say YOU are being defensive, just that it seems like you being a bit “protective”, maybe, of dempsey and altidore

        i guess next time i would love to hear you guys talk about when, at what point, you think people should be legitimately concerned, if not now

        not until after 1 or 2 games at the world cup?

  2. Edgar Castillo may be a liability as a LB because of his defensive deficiency, but he often plays at LM in league play where he excels going forward. If Castillo starts with Johnson I would like to see them alternate positions.

    Reply
  3. Regarding Julian Green, I think a lot of people want to know how well he’s getting along with the group more than how well he’s playing. What are the chances he really likes the group and wants to file his switch?

    Reply
    • I forgot to label those episodes when they went up on the site so if you just clocked on The SBI Show link at the top you wouldn’t find those on the list. Every episode goes on the site, but sometimes they aren’t labeled correctly so they don’t show up on that list. I’ve updated the list now so all the episodes should be there.

      Reply
      • Thank Ives I knew I had to be missing something. Sometime I catch them on the main page but mostly I go to the SBI show link.

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