It was a game that didn’t have much meaning from a results standpoint (at least not for the Americans), but the U.S. national team’s 2-2 tie vs. Haiti on Saturday certainly still had plenty of value for the United States.
Along with giving head coach Bob Bradley a chance to see every player he hadn’t seen in the team’s first two matches, it also helped provide the U.S. team with a good tough test heading into the Gold Cup quarterfinals.
Stuart Holden stepped up yet again and showed why he has to be considered one of the U.S. pool’s most promising attacking prospects. Unfortunately for the USA, Holden’s performance was one of only a few true bright spots on Saturday.
Here is a look at player grades for Saturday’s match:
Luis Robles (4)– Worst performance by a U.S. goalkeeper in a LONG time. To be fair, it was his first game, and his defense did him no favors.
Brad Evans (5.5)– Shaky start but showed some glimpses of being able to play the right back spot.
Michael Parkhurst (4.5)– Couldn’t cope with Haiti’s speed, falls very low on the U.S. centerback depth chart.
Jimmy Conrad (6.5)– U.S. team’s best defender, staking his claim to a starting role in the knockout rounds.
Jay Heaps (3)– Started out okay, but things eventually fell apart. Left back is thin for the USA, but not thin enough for Heaps to ever need to get another cap.
Stuart Holden (7.5)– Class of the U.S. attack. His vision, mobility, touch and shot are impressive, and while he has his inconsistent moments, he’s clearly ready to become a regular call-up and a key starter for the rest of this tournament.
Sam Cronin (6.5)– Not a flashy or obvious contribution, but he provided solid cover for Holden in central midfield. He showed calm on the ball, good touch and the ability to keep the ball moving positively. He set up Holden for his assist on the first goal and played more like a veteran than an MLS rookie earning his first cap. Bright, bright future.
Santino Quaranta (5) – Very mobile and active, hit some good crosses and kept Haiti’s defense working, but he never did put a real stamp on the game, and disappeared for stretches.
Colin Clark (4.5)– After seeing Robbie Rogers this tournament, Clark paled in comparison.
Davy Arnaud (6)– Good game, not just because of the goal. Probably isn’t a first-team call-up just yet, but he has helped his stock.
Kenny Cooper (4.5)– Didn’t do much at all with this great chance to show he deserves more minutes or call-ups. That doesn’t mean he won’t get chances down the road, but for right now there probably shouldn’t be any more questions about why Cooper doesn’t get called up or get more national team caps, at least not for a while.
Charlie Davies (6)– Provided instant energy as soon as he came on. His strength on the ball was impressive, and ability to shield defenders was good, but his touch was off and he didn’t take his chances well.
Brian Ching (5)– Didn’t score, but yet again he’s involved in a play that leads to a goal (yes, it was a turnover, but Ching is reaching lucky charm status with the number of goals he plays a part in). Look for him to start the rest of the tournament.
Kyle Beckerman (5.5)– Another solid outing for the RSL midfielder, who should probably start in the quarters.
————
Some more thoughts on the match:
Jay Heaps struggling badly wasn’t that much of a surprise, but to see Parkhurst struggle was a bit of a shocker. I thought playing in Europe made you a better player? Okay, it was just one game, but with the rapidly rising stock of the likes of Jay DeMerit and Chad Marshall, I’m thinking that Parkhurst’s chances of World Cup 2010 are looking shaky. Yes, this all might sound a bit harsh, but I’ve always thought highly of Parkhurst and this performance wasn’t up to par. Perhaps he can pull a Clint Dempsey and have a great knockout round to re-establish himself as a serious contender for a World Cup roster spot.
While the defense didn’t do him any favors, Robles looked VERY shaky and nervous. That’s understandable, but we’re just not used to seeing an American goalkeeper look so bad. EVER. The United States certainly does need to develop some young goalkeepers, but there has to be better options. Matt Pickens is one player who comes to mind.
Cooper joined Freddy Adu in the “He got a chance to show his stuff, but only showed why he hasn’t been getting playing time” group. Both players are promising young prospects, but both still have plenty to work on. I wouldn’t have a problem see Cooper get another start in this tournament, which could happen if Charlie Davies has to leave to join Sochaux.
Sam Cronin became the first member of the MLS 2009 Draft Class to earn a cap. I know that some folks didn’t think he played well, but I happen to think he quietly put together a pretty good performance. He’s still low on a loaded central midfield depth chart for the United States, but he’s just 21 and his career is moving along nicely. 2010 might be too soon for him, but I’d bet on Cronin playing a role for the USA in the 2014 World Cup.
I know Brad Evans didn’t exactly look like Zambrotta at right back on Saturday, but between the Grenada game, and Saturday, I saw enough glimpses from him at the position to understand why Bob Bradley was trying him there. High-energy guys with great work rates who can get off good crosses are not that easy to come by, and if Evans ever made that move on the club level it would be interesting to see how good a right back he could be (and yes, I know that won’t be happening because he’s too important a midfielder for Seattle, but it’s just a thought).
Jimmy Conrad made his return to the national team after more than a year away and the fact that he was chosen to be team captain should probably spell the end of some of the conspiracy theories about why he hadn’t been getting called in by Bob Bradley. Conrad is still a very good defender who will be battling for one of those central defender spots on the 2010 World Cup roster. With Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra and Jay DeMerit looking like locks, Conrad could wind up battling Chad Marshall for a spot (though I’d take all five and use Bocanegra at left back.
Here’s a thought about Haiti. So the Haitian team ties the USA, and nearly pulls off the upset, but gets denied in the final minute. Haiti still reaches the Gold Cup quarterfinals with the result, a truly impressive accomplishment for a team few gave any chance coming into the tournament. So what do some members of the Haitian press do after the game? SOME of them spend a good amount of the post-game press conference practically blaming the head coach for the team not winning because he didn’t use his third substitution (let me clarify, it wasn’t all the Haitian media who acted this way, just a handful who hogged the post-game questions). Apparently lack of perspective isn’t just for American soccer message boards anymore.
Later this week I will begin a series on what the current 23-man roster would be for the World Cup if the World Cup was today. You can start thinking about your rosters now (but save them for when I actually post that).
For those who missed Holden’s goal, or just want to see it again, here it is:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJeTDvQsMsk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6]
————
What did you think of the U.S. team’s performance vs. Haiti? Who’s game did you like? Who’s did you hate? What do you think of the grades?
Share your thoughts below.
I would also like to say that I have never seen a keeper wander out of the box so much since the days of Jorge Campos.
Yes Copper wasn’t good, but I think all of us can agree that when we saw the lineup with Heaps, and Clark on the left and a forward tandem of Arnaud and Cooper, we weren’t expecting a whole lot. I would much rather see Cooper partnered with Ching or Davies with the normal set of wing players. I think that partnership with good crosses being sent in would be the best situation for Cooper.
I felt bad for Clark. He’s an exciting player in MLS with usually strong crosses and penetrating runs. Maybe it was nerves for a first cap? I hope he gets another chance.
Also, how bad was Holden on set pieces?! He made Donovan look like Beckham. Soccer should allow a pinch hitter, so we could insert Brad Davis when needed…
Parkhurst looked horrible, as did Heaps. Robles was out of position a lot. Cooper looks plain lazy. I have to admit I like Ching a lot after watching him the last couple games. Yeah he isn’t the most skilled player but he works harder and battles harder than everyone else out there. Take Chings work rate and toughness and put it in Coopers body, you would have a world class striker.
Cronin made no visable mistakes but was not anonymous like Clark. Quaranta doesn’t look great in my opinion. Last start for him I think. Conrad looked good. Like to see him more, along with Marshall. Arnuad worked hard, would have loved to see him get a shot from distance off.
Paul, it was comical nonetheless. I laughed out loud, and then rewound and slow-moed it down to watch again. And laughed again.
I was hoping that Robles was better than he looked. Maybe it was just a bad game, but I wonder if he will be eclipsed by other younger keepers like Seitz (assuming he ever sees the pitch on a regular basis) or Cervi (assuming his stint in Scotland also leads to some valuable playing time).
I also agree that Parkhurst looks worse now that he is playing in Scandinavia than he ever did when he was playing for the Revs. He was much better in the friendlies earlier this year. Wouldn’t mind seeing Marshall and Conrad paired together with Pearce and Cherundholo on the flanks to see how well that line works together in the next rounds.
That clearance by Heaps to set up the 2nd goal was pathetic. From one of the angles I saw, it looked like he had a guy that he could calmly pass it to. Instead, in a park district U-12 league move, he tried to hoof it forward. Only it did not go far and it went straight to an opponent. He also looked like a moron in allowing the cross for the first goal. Athleticism only gets you so far in this sport.
For all the years of success that they have had in MLS with Heaps and his toothy white-boy ilk, the NE Revs under Steve Nicol are a great example of what is wrong with local club soccer. Have they produced anyone worth a crap to our national team besides the great Clint Dempsey (who could not wait to get out of New England and got so frustrated that he decked the Revs captain at the time!)? I tend to think Dempsey was an aberration, having honed his great skill and creativity in the Texas trailer park. Good thing NE did not screw him up.
Parkhurst, another Nicol protege, also was crap the other night — and I don’t think it was just a “below par” showing. He also showed little in Beijing.
Robles was the 3rd best American born keepr playing on that field that day, both Hartman and Reis are better GK’s (MLS game before), end of story, I dont want to just play young guys if they arent ready for it.
Arnaud has another strong preformance to be ignored and underrated by Ives, he should have at the very least the 2nd best score in the field, if not the best, he had like 1 bad touch and 1 bad pass the entire game. Coupling this with his defensive work rate. I see no reason to give Cooper, Casey or any other flavor of the month PT over Arnaud who is more talented both phyiscally and skillwise, and he has a better head in terms of work rate and understanding proper runs.
Ives- What did Davy not do to get a better score? I really dont think you can come up with anything. Are you injecting age/experience into the ratings? Is he punished because he understands the game before hand and plays as such? Davy a point and a half better than Kenny Cooper is a joke. You gave Davies the same rating for turning the ball over more than half the time he receieved it including a horrible touch that we had a 4v2 break on? Look at what you wrote for Davies then what you wrote for Arnaud, how can you rate them the same?
Players to consider for WCQ and WC2010, from this group of guys are:
Marshall for Califf
Holden for Shacha
Rogers for Beasley
This moves would make our team a lot better.
Mike –
Thanks for the clarification. The twisting and turning by Heaps on the first goal would have been comical if it had not led to a goal. (I think he may have gotten into similar gyrations later on.) Robles also shares the blame on the second goal (the direct threat from the wing had finally been covered by Heaps), although Heaps got everything started by getting beaten in the first place and then “clearing” it directly to an attacker in a dangerous position.
Robles was an embarrassment. Holden showed that he deserves the final MF roster spot over Klejstan.
I would only take Holden and Davies out of this group to SA 2010. What concerns me more is the poor performances of Bob Bradley (4) and his staff on defensive adjustments. If they were players, they would certainly need to improve to make the squad.
Still, Robles had no business coming out and was at least as much to blame as Heaps on the 2nd goal. (Heaps completely owned the 1st goal. Stunningly bad.)
Mike – my guess was Robles came out on the second goal because he didn’t trust Heaps to clear properly, after Heaps’ comically awful defending on the 1st goal.
First of all, people need to stop comparing Adu to Cooper! That is rediculous. I’ve seen Adu do things against big clubs in the world, and cooper do nothing against weak concacaf teams. The question here is, when is Cooper & Casey going to file for dual citizenship so they can play for Panama or Guatemala!lol
Beckerman: He gets a 6 for his hustle and pace of the game on the defensive side.
Holden: 7 for his passing and controlling performance. Great goal from 25yds out, definitely a better solution than Sasha.
Davies: 8 He gets an high 8 because of his dangerous presence in the game. His level of play in a B-C-team stick out more than a fat lady at KFC! He had 3 chances to score in the box, but unfortunetly not everything goes in the net in the game of futbol!
Quaranta: 3- OK performance, not alot of force put into the Haiti game.
Ching:5- His movement was decent like most of the time. He could of done more by steeping back into the key and creating.
Conrad: 6- He was great correcting mistakes in the back for the newbies. Also was great in the middle.
Robles and the rest wree just stupid awfull! They need to get a dual citizenship so they can play elsewhere!!
As much as I dislike Holden , I’m gonna admit he is a great call up for usmnt.. His shooting ability is great. We need that from our center mids. RICO tried but just is a horrible shooter.. Holden just needs not to lose the ball a lot n he will be solid. More playing time with the guts , n I think he will do some damage. I still dislike him though lol
I agree w/ srfinger. I have been less than impressed with Cooper’s play. In fact, I think he shouldn’t play again for awhile. Scoring goals in bunches in MLS means nothing if you play like a wuss for the Nats.
His penchant for ridiculous bicycle kicks, back-heels, and the like are not really his game (and if they are, I haven’t seen any evidence that he’s actually pulled them off). He probably needs to stop reading the message boards, declaring him the next best American striker.
my posts make no sense in retrospect, I am officially calling it quits as an Ives-commenter. I am Joe Shmoe in the SBI mafia.
Note: Consider this a Favre-esque retirement
(SBI- My bad Josh, but I didn’t want Sushant’s comment taking the discussion into a completely different direction. I took your comment down so that you don’t sound like you’re talking to nobody. And Josh, you’re the highest-ranking DC commenter on SBI, how’s that? LOL)
I think if you bring up centerbacks, you do yourself a huge disservice not mentioning a guy by the name of Danny Califf, who has happened to be called up over Conrad for two years now.
BRAD EVANS deserves a 5.5 at least.
(SBI-You’re right. I meant to give him a 5.5, not 4.5, as evidenced by my comments saying he showed signs of being able to play the right back position.)
As long as Kenny Cooper thinks of himself as a Freddy Adu-type on the ball, he has no use to the national team.
Stop drifting out wide, stop shying away from balls in the air. The only way he makes the WC roster is to start battling like a 6′ 3” monster.
Brant, the shot couldn’t have been defended, but the clearance was atrocious. You could also argue that had Robles not left the net WIDE open, the Haitian would never have even shot it.
I did read Ives’ comment about rosters.
But, I got tired of the comments that we had our C, our D, our F, our G, etc team out there.
So, I wanted to see how the players we put out there actually fall on the depth chart.
The 23 man roster requires players that can fill more than 1 role and let’s you cover your lack of depth in certain areas so it’s not really a depth chart. For example, instead of 4 Forwards, you’d take Jozy/Davies/Ching & have Dempsey as another Forward (as in the Confed Cup) and put in another mid.
Paul –
Heaps was (partly) at fault for both goals. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a defender backpedal, almost fall down, and then get turned around twice in the span of 5 seconds before (let’s be honest, it wasn’t exactly a world class move, either). The second goal was party a result of his ridiculous clearance, but also the result of Robles try to come out. Why he left his net when Heaps clearly had position, I have no idea.
If only Colin Clark could cross the ball…
Honestly, I thought Haiti’s 2d goal was a thing of beauty and I wonder how anyone would’ve really defended that blast.
For what I saw, I think the midfield were basically competent players, but outside of Holden, I wasn’t overly-impressed by any of them. Any one of them could plug into a more high-powered lineup and play a sufficient supporting role, but when asked to step up as a group, I thought they just got run over by Haiti for much of the game, as the passes just bounced right around them.
Similarly, the defensive unit as a whole had no way to cope with Haiti’s speed. There were more than a few times where our defense looked like they were standing in mud. Heaps was pathetic, Evans clearly still learning the position, and Parkhurst (shockingly) unresponsive and out of position. By the end of the game, I thought Conrad was going to strangle the lot of them. Jimmy was working his butt off, but was clearly sick of covering everyone’s mistakes.
I thought the attack was pretty good, and was stymied more by Haiti packing in 10 guys behind the ball rather than their own inabilities. Cooper looked to be lacking a bit of touch, but I thought he was in the right places throughout the game.
I think Holden may be playing himself into a position similar to Feilhaber’s. Assuming the US starts two defensive minded midfielders, then he can provide offense in the last 25 or so minutes.
While he seems to be a little better shooting the ball, he’s not as good a passer, or as comfortable on the ball as Benny. I don’t know where being a serviceable backup to a guy coming off the bench leaves Holden, but that’s about where he is.
Oh, and Ives….
“Luis Robles (4)- Worst performance by a U.S. goalkeeper in a LONG time. To be fair, it was his first game, and his defense did him no favors.”
I’m guessing you didn’t see Dominic Cervi in U-23 action last year. Yikes.
Troy Perkins was really rough in his first cap earlier this year, if I recall correctly.
Also, I believe one of Tony Meola’s last few caps was an absolute howler.
The good thing about this tournament is that it gives MLS scouts the opportunity to see some of the best talent available in the region. Some of the players on Haiti (along with players from several other teams) look like they deserve a glimpse from several MLS teams. New York and San Jose need to take a long, hard look at some of the players in the tournament.
Ching is awful. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.
I think your ratings are pretty solid. I didn’t think Conrad had the match you did, but then again, he was being asked to cover a lot with the frailties that Heaps and a few of the others presented. I also agree that it is great to have young keepers in camp, but that there are other options out there and I like your call on Pickens getting a look. Who do you think takes the 3rd GK spot: Perkins or Marcus? I’d go with Marcus if he’s a starter at Wolves. It seems he’s well liked in camps, which as a former back up keeper through my collegiate career, is often all you have going for you when your starter is lights out like Timmy.
So how have 2010 WC roster chances changed for the Gold Cup players?
Helped themselves, real chance to compete for roster spot: Rogers, Holden, Perkins, Beckerman, Marshall
Likely on roster and held steady: Ching, Davies, Feilhaber, Cherundolo
Outside shot, held steady: Conrad, Cronin, Heath Pearce, Quaranta
Disappointing, but still has a shot: Cooper, Parkhurst, Adu
Killed any outside chance: Colin Clark, Brad Evans, Luis Robles
Never had a chance: Heaps, Logan Pause, Davy Arnaud
Am I missing anybody?
Ives, great point. It’s a good thing ching is so good at getting stripped of the ball because he helped set up the 2nd goal. Hahaha
Guys, let’s focus the discussion on the game (and Gold Cup). Save the depth chart talk for another time (and another post). I’m doing that after the Gold Cup so save your charts for then. Thanks.
Bill-I thought Ives was too kind to Parkhurst. For someone of his experience to continually let balls bounce in front of him when he’s so obviously physically outmatched is criminal. For someone who relies on smarts and guile, he had none of that against Haiti.
I can’t think that BB can be too pleased with just about anyone that started Saturday, and other than a guy like Holden (despite his uneven perfomance in the middle) none of these guys will have a sniff of the WC roster.
I liked Cronin when he basically played behind Holden in the first half, but when Holden moved to the right and Cronin spent more time forward, he became less and less impressive. Still, and pretty bright start to his national team career.
Holden and Davies are the only two players from this game I want to see playing in another national team game. Knowing the Gold Cup has a couple more games to be played, hopefully, they had better be starting from here on out.
Sushant, considering the high regard Bob Bradley holds Ching in, and how important he has been to this team, I think he would be the A forward group.
Chad Marshall needs to move on to bigger and better things and challenge himself at a higher level. He could find himself 3rd in line at the center back position next year if he continues to play well and progress.
This is our C team at best, our B team would be guys who are consistent benchers for the A team. Cooper dissapoints me. He looks so good in the MLS but doesn’t have it yet at the international level. Him and Adu have a lot to work on to be considered for the World Cup.
Cronin did very well and that is the type of performance he always gives. He isn’t flashy by any means but he does everything a coach wants him to and he never loses the ball.
I only saw the first half but it seemed to me that the back line, including Conrad, was playing way too many long balls. Also, I agree with Chris, Holden turned the ball over too much. When he had loads of time and space he distributed well. He needs to play in an environment where a bad first touch is punished every time.
Good call Sam. I totally agree. I was in the Bob-hating group after the first Brazil match in the Confed Cup.
Playing Devil’s Advocate, while he may have been accurate in not playing Cooper & Adu… its too bad he didn’t have that instinct when he started Sacha & Beas. (vs. Brazil)
I think your analysis of Parkhurst might need a second look. To give him the same rating is Brad Evans isn’t right. Parkhurst made one glaring mistake- and was really unluckly with a few of the refs decisions. But to bash him after this game isn’t fair– for most of the tournament the US has let the outside backs go- and its been 2v2 with the centerbacks (this isn’t realistic).
Was it Heaps that got embarrassed on both Haiti goals? My Spanish isn’t very good, and the broadcast I was watching didn’t reply the goals more than once or twice (unlike Holden’s smash off the crossbar, which they must have shown at least a dozen times).
Good game for Holden, and a great goal. One thing I DIDN’T like: Holden started posing and preening after his game-tying goal instead of getting back to the center circle so the US could go for the win. Charlie Davies had to remind Holden and a few others that they still had a chance to win, and perhaps should get on with it.
As much as I like the Revs, Jay Heaps was an absurd selection for this team. I realize that we’re thin at left back, but we’re not that thin. It was even more ridiculous when you consider that Heaps was playing centrally in a three back set for three seasons and has been used at right back since the Revs went back to a 4-4-2.
Ratings all seem correct Ives. I think Holden should play out wide, as he tends to get caught in possession a bit. The thing I love about him though is the amount of professionalism he shows. His blast in the first half and the second half were very very identical and the fact that he can call on that so effectively so often is very valuable. If anything he deserves Kljestan’s roster spot until he can get himself together. I really would like to see Rico Clark get called in so we have some one who can close down the center and give Beckerman a bit of offensive freedom.
Man, I’m indifferent on Bradley (I think the US CAN do better but I also don’t want a coaching change during a WC cycle–just look at Mexico), but his haters have really been made to look like fools with some of the performances put in this Gold Cup.
All you’ve heard the last 2 years is “WTF Bob didn’t call up Kenny Cooper again!!! FIRE BOB” etc. Well, Cooper got his chance, and played like trash.
All we heard during the Confed. Cup was how stupid Bob was for not playing Adu. Turns out, Adu was incredibly rusty and would have been eaten alive worse than Sacha against the world’s big guns.
So in the future, how about a little more trust with Bob’s player selection??
You’re being generous on Colin Clark. He was T.E.R.R.I.B.L.E. and when he wasn’t the first subbed off I about threw my beer bottle through the TV.
For now, Holden has earned a spot playing in the WC Qualifiers (maybe even 2010). He has looked impressive this entire tournament.
Sam Cronin is a very solid player. He might be in the 2010 mix as well (on the roster, probably won’t get any playing time).
But Freddy Adu shouldn’t be capped until he gets regular playing time again (maybe Bob was right on this one…)
Cronin was very solid out there. Impressive. I expected much more out of Colin Clark. He had some awful moments in the first half, though not awful in a Jay Heaps way.
FRIST! (damn spellcheck)
Seriously, even Holden didn’t look so hot. Nice creativity, but he coughed up the ball in dangerous positions an awful lot.
Cronin even looks like Bradley jr.