I think the fact that Klinsmann has to start the process of player selection from scratch is a good thing — for him and for the players.
Arena’s and Bradley’s styles were only going to take us so far. As for the consistency under the previous managers, we were very predictable and not capable of winning games that we were supposed to win in convincing fashion. Although we were disciplined, we lacked a certain sense of freedom and ingenuity that it takes to really break down other teams consistently.
The player pool is much bigger now, and the timing is right (in terms of WC cycles) for a change in direction. It is a good thing that we are not playing so conservatively because that will allow us to develop into a team that has confidence in its ability to create goals no matter who we are playing. Klinsmann’s new style is just as much about psychology as it is about tactics.
The fact that there are a lot of players to choose from and that he is trying different things with these players helps him establish the new philosophy.
Do any of you actually have lives outside of this site? I mean, really? The “favorites” nonsense had already begun, when do you start calling for JK’s firing?
Absolutely a poor result. I don’t want to hear that this team is in transition right now, don’t give me that. If you’re trying to be the best team in CONCACAF you don’t lose to a team that doesn’t have a coach, is missing players, when you’re playing at home, to a team that didn’t even make the last WC!!!!!!!!! Unacceptable, and you can try and spin it as much as you want, but facts are facts!
I think the U.S. team will be flirting with the thirty spot in the world rankings for some time, and deservedly so.
I keep thinking of the U.S. team that broke into the top 5 in the world rankings and how everyone thought it was absurd. I think that team deserved top 10 status and was in a whole different class than our current team.
The reality is that the change from “Arena playing the same players all of the time”, which I think was a bit of an exaggeration, to Bob Bradley giving everyone but the water boy a chance to play has hurt the team overall. Klinsmann now has to start the process all over and eventually end up with a consistent core of players who can be counted on. Players who will hold their positions in the USMNT and it will be up to someone to take their position away from them instead of this destructive “everyone gets a chance” mentality that has caused the USMNT to lose it’s identity and consistency. Everyone does NOT deserve a chance!
The Costa Rica game was yet another game where the U.S. didn’t even seem to have that fighting spirit that has been so much a part of the teams of the recent past. Yes, they are not good enough right now, but that doesn’t mean that that has to be reflected in their attitude as a team for large portions of the game.
I hope, and expect, Klinsmann to settle on a core of U.S. players at some point to give us some chemistry and consistency. If players want to be on the U.S. team, let them earn it.
1. There have been the Klinsman doesn’t know tactics comments (Phillip Lahm)
2. There have been the Klinsmann plays favorites with Rogers and Castillo comments.
3. Now thanks to you we have the JK doesn’t have a feel for the game and know how to sub comments.
Remind you of any bald headed, track suited recent candidates for the Egypt job?
It’s nice to know that some things never change and that USMNT fans are so consistent .
I’ll let JK speak for himself. From MLS soccer:
“And with 10 minutes to play in the half, the US suddenly seemed to run out of gas.
“To keep up that pace, the players are starting now to learn what it means that if you really want to play your way through and keep a very high tempo and a high pace, it’s difficult,” Klinsmann said. “It’s difficult to carry that through 90 minutes.”
Many managers would see the sudden lurch as a sign to make a change at the break. But Klinsmann didn’t make any substitutions until the 63rd minute, when he brought on New York striker Juan Agudelo. In the end, he only used three subs, despite the fact that he could’ve used six.
“I want them to go through those down periods as well,” Klinsmann said. “We saw here and there the players getting tired or their heads for a couple of minutes struggling. But they need to go through those minutes. They need to fight their way through it.
“Then they got a second breath or third breath, and they did excellent. The way we combined the way people were looking for each other, and the way they passed their way out very difficult tight spaces was good to see.
Despite the scoreline, Klinsmann shrugging away any questions about the strikers’ inability to finish – a problem under his predecessor, as well. All that mattered to the new “dude” in charge was the performance.
“From a performance point of view, it was very, very positive what we saw,” he said.”
I never got the sense that the forward was isolated last night. If anything, the fact that there were three “forwards” seemed to give them the liberity to back track into the midfield to win balls. (Josy and Shea both won balls near the midline during the game.) They might have been better served by having at least one of hte stay a little higher last night. Shea seemed to try to do that wneh he moved into the middle of the front three.
Agreed on the Juan-jozy partnership. Or at least jozy+Dempsey or another forward.. Klinsy should have subbed Rogers or Shea instead Of jozy. Need to see more 2 striker formations
Its sad we can’t beat a weakened costa rica team with a interem manager. I don’t like this 4-3-3, it doesn’t fit our team. Play dempsey up top as a withdrawn forward with altidore. The 4-3-3 which turns into a 4-5-1 isolates the forward way too much.
The more i watch this, the more i conclude JK got outcoached. CR made adjustments, we made none. maybe longterm he’s putting some things in, but toward winning the game, he was outmaneuvered.
How horrible was Altidore’s first touch on the pass from Donovan? Also, Rogers had a scoring opportunity ruined by a bad first touch earlier in the game. If the U.S. players can’t do something as fundamental as trap the ball at times, then the team is in serious trouble.
Rogers isn’t terrible, he is just slow on the ball and slow in his decision making. Not sure if it is the player or the league he plays in.. (in that if he played in a faster, more fluid league, would he too become faster on the ball)
I thought the 4-3-3 that Klinsmann was playing was pretty interesting. It seemed like Landon would shuttle between being level with the Torres, Shea, and Rogers in a 4-1-4-1 on defense and playing behind or just off of Altidore in attack. It was somthing like this: http://this11.com/topics/show/6698/usas-lineup-vs-costa-rica
I liked it a lot, actually, but part of the problem didn’t actually seem to be with the team’s shape. Instead, it was more of a problem to do with not such great decision-making in the final third. Juergen and the players he has brought into camp have all talked about having the freedom to express themselves. That was certainly on show last night, and it led to some very good plays. However, it also led to plays, particularly in wide areas, where the simple play was there, and we decided to overdo it. I like that the team is starting to get a rhythm and flow to their play, but we can’t throw simpler plays out the window.
The other thing I liked but also led to problems was our approach on defense. For most of the first half, we pressed and got in Costa Rica’s faces, making it difficult for them to get into the match. However, towards the end of the first half and for a lot of the second, our pressing faded. My guess is that the team simply got tired, which is very common for any team that presses like we did. The issue is that we kept playing a high line. Any time you play a high line, you concede space in behind, and any time you stand off of an opponent, you give them time on the ball. Basically, Costa Rica had time to play passes, and spaces to play them into – that is a deadly combination no matter how mediocre the team you face.
All of that being said, we showed a new approach to attacking, and a new approach to defending, and for a while there, we looked damn good at both. Our pressing didn’t give their attacking players time to expose our defense, and our ability to keep possession made it tougher for them to get the ball back anyways. I remember a post TSG had after Klinsmann’s debut how Mexico use their energy to win the ball back and possession to keep it so that they can mask their defensive deficiencies, and how the USA might want to at least try the same approach. I think we saw that approach is very plausible for the USA, and I honestly believe that if we bring in our best players with everybody in shape, we’re able to keep up that pressing for much longer, especially with options off the bench. I’m excited, not going to lie.
FOr the first thirty minutes I couldn’t beleive I was watching the US men. After that, the fouling succeeded in breaking the US rythym and we did not punish them on the resulting set peices. Considering the game meant NOTHING and Klinsmann is still trying to sort out a million things, I’m happy with the night, esepcailly if you look at it in terms of what we learned. Namely:
– The US can play an active, quick passing possession game.
– The US attacker clearly relished immediately attacking to regain possession when they lost it.
– Torres can conribute (but he needs to be a little sturdier in contact).
– Castillo is not the answer. Not trashing him, but he was bailed out by a couple of foul calls when he gave up possession very easily.
– The switching around was generally good, but it resulted in a tendency to try and take everything up the middle. I like attacking that way, but we need to mix in wide attacks to keep from being predictable.
The number one positive was that Klinsmann learned how Central American teams will counter the style he wants to play. He said after the game that passing needs to be even quicker to counter it. I think he’s right. In particualr, Robbie Rogers (who was oka for the most part) cost us at least two good chances by waiting too long to make the final pass, resulting in offside calls.
Random thoughts:
Chandler SHOOT when you get the chance
Brek Shea is on the left for a reason
Edu has become positively Scottish in his tackling. That is not necessarily a good thing.
Time to work Tim Ream with Bocanegra, and get Omar Gonzales into camp. Ream’s semi-sophmore slump has turned him into a whipping boy, but we will be exactly what Klinsmann wants from his backs.
This all sounds like a remake of the movie Hoosiers. I think there is more at work here than we think and klinsi is trying to recreate the way this team plays. I will hold any and all judgement for a year. As for last night, I saw an American team that was making more steals, more agressive challenges and controlling the ball better than any other usmnt game I have ever seen. Howard rarely punted out from my recollection and we built from the back line. Go back and watch Hooisiers and the way the fans and players reacted. Anybody that expected an overnight change into total dominance was disappointed, but I was expecting to see better teamwork and hustle. An I got it. Now let’s work on finishing.
still dont see why Castillo gets all the crap (must be a LB curse) he was as good as anyone else except edu/torres. JK must like his explosiveness from the back which is evident.
Castillo and Rogers = Gold Cup and meaningless friendlies
I’m still a little nervous that JK’s plans are great for the long run ( get Claudio to work implement that style all the way down to the U-12s!) but I’m worried the USMNT’s current player pool isn’t technical enough to pull it off.
If an experimental CR side with an interim coach can come to the US and win against whatever team JK can put out there…it’s worrisome heading into WCQ.
I’m not saying I don’t like it. It just makes me nervous. As soon as CR started pressuring the ball the game turned. Won’t take long for the other CONCACAF teams to figure than out. Right, JK has until next June to figure it out. All that being said – I absolutely LOVED the first 30 minutes. Some of the most entertaining senior side football I’ve ever seen out of the US. There was actual off the ball movement – imagine that!!!
Why we only used 2 subs is beyond me. Shea was great but was getting heavy legs near the end. I hope Klinnsman is not the Hans Backe of the international game
I hope the guys at MLSsoccer.com watch that highlight package. Then maybe they’ll see that, apart from goals and really exciting chances, you don’t need to show 5 replays of, for example, every little innocuous dribbler to the keeper.
team looked great the first 25 min. especially Castillo. robbie rogers does not belong in the USMNT. Break needs to buy himself a right foot. chandler ok.. bocanegra was fairly invisible/ quiet for being the captain. expected more from LD. liked edu/ torres. although i would like to see a CAM
we are in transition.
results don’t matter right now — performance does.
I think the fact that Klinsmann has to start the process of player selection from scratch is a good thing — for him and for the players.
Arena’s and Bradley’s styles were only going to take us so far. As for the consistency under the previous managers, we were very predictable and not capable of winning games that we were supposed to win in convincing fashion. Although we were disciplined, we lacked a certain sense of freedom and ingenuity that it takes to really break down other teams consistently.
The player pool is much bigger now, and the timing is right (in terms of WC cycles) for a change in direction. It is a good thing that we are not playing so conservatively because that will allow us to develop into a team that has confidence in its ability to create goals no matter who we are playing. Klinsmann’s new style is just as much about psychology as it is about tactics.
The fact that there are a lot of players to choose from and that he is trying different things with these players helps him establish the new philosophy.
Do any of you actually have lives outside of this site? I mean, really? The “favorites” nonsense had already begun, when do you start calling for JK’s firing?
Aw, you just let it out stormy. Fringe opinions are opinions too.
Absolutely a poor result. I don’t want to hear that this team is in transition right now, don’t give me that. If you’re trying to be the best team in CONCACAF you don’t lose to a team that doesn’t have a coach, is missing players, when you’re playing at home, to a team that didn’t even make the last WC!!!!!!!!! Unacceptable, and you can try and spin it as much as you want, but facts are facts!
I think the U.S. team will be flirting with the thirty spot in the world rankings for some time, and deservedly so.
I keep thinking of the U.S. team that broke into the top 5 in the world rankings and how everyone thought it was absurd. I think that team deserved top 10 status and was in a whole different class than our current team.
The reality is that the change from “Arena playing the same players all of the time”, which I think was a bit of an exaggeration, to Bob Bradley giving everyone but the water boy a chance to play has hurt the team overall. Klinsmann now has to start the process all over and eventually end up with a consistent core of players who can be counted on. Players who will hold their positions in the USMNT and it will be up to someone to take their position away from them instead of this destructive “everyone gets a chance” mentality that has caused the USMNT to lose it’s identity and consistency. Everyone does NOT deserve a chance!
The Costa Rica game was yet another game where the U.S. didn’t even seem to have that fighting spirit that has been so much a part of the teams of the recent past. Yes, they are not good enough right now, but that doesn’t mean that that has to be reflected in their attitude as a team for large portions of the game.
I hope, and expect, Klinsmann to settle on a core of U.S. players at some point to give us some chemistry and consistency. If players want to be on the U.S. team, let them earn it.
Brader,
1. There have been the Klinsman doesn’t know tactics comments (Phillip Lahm)
2. There have been the Klinsmann plays favorites with Rogers and Castillo comments.
3. Now thanks to you we have the JK doesn’t have a feel for the game and know how to sub comments.
Remind you of any bald headed, track suited recent candidates for the Egypt job?
It’s nice to know that some things never change and that USMNT fans are so consistent .
I’ll let JK speak for himself. From MLS soccer:
“And with 10 minutes to play in the half, the US suddenly seemed to run out of gas.
“To keep up that pace, the players are starting now to learn what it means that if you really want to play your way through and keep a very high tempo and a high pace, it’s difficult,” Klinsmann said. “It’s difficult to carry that through 90 minutes.”
Many managers would see the sudden lurch as a sign to make a change at the break. But Klinsmann didn’t make any substitutions until the 63rd minute, when he brought on New York striker Juan Agudelo. In the end, he only used three subs, despite the fact that he could’ve used six.
“I want them to go through those down periods as well,” Klinsmann said. “We saw here and there the players getting tired or their heads for a couple of minutes struggling. But they need to go through those minutes. They need to fight their way through it.
“Then they got a second breath or third breath, and they did excellent. The way we combined the way people were looking for each other, and the way they passed their way out very difficult tight spaces was good to see.
Despite the scoreline, Klinsmann shrugging away any questions about the strikers’ inability to finish – a problem under his predecessor, as well. All that mattered to the new “dude” in charge was the performance.
“From a performance point of view, it was very, very positive what we saw,” he said.”
I never got the sense that the forward was isolated last night. If anything, the fact that there were three “forwards” seemed to give them the liberity to back track into the midfield to win balls. (Josy and Shea both won balls near the midline during the game.) They might have been better served by having at least one of hte stay a little higher last night. Shea seemed to try to do that wneh he moved into the middle of the front three.
Agreed on the Juan-jozy partnership. Or at least jozy+Dempsey or another forward.. Klinsy should have subbed Rogers or Shea instead Of jozy. Need to see more 2 striker formations
Agreed. He was worth looking at, but lets move on. John is obviously a strong possiblity.
Its sad we can’t beat a weakened costa rica team with a interem manager. I don’t like this 4-3-3, it doesn’t fit our team. Play dempsey up top as a withdrawn forward with altidore. The 4-3-3 which turns into a 4-5-1 isolates the forward way too much.
I think the Orozco Fiscal experiment has gathered all the data we need. Get George John into camp next time for analysis.
Based on the first 30 minutes, what adjustments were needed? Players simply started getting tired.
Plus, we moved to a 4-4-2 later in the game in response to the goal… Shea moved up.
Also, who was on the bench that could have provided the spark needed?
+1
Rogers was in the right place all night, even tracking back to defend. Decision-making speed, as you’ve said, was his problem all night.
I was @ the match yesterday and was left with the following impressions.
* Brek Shea & Jose Torres definite bright spots although, fatigue played a role.
* Left the public training session last wed.feeling like we lacked a finishing touch and my fears were confirmed last night.
* Tactically we look like we’re getting there, loved the Donovan/Altidore rotating in the first half.
* Rogers & Castillo….thanks, but no thanks. We can do better at those respective positions.
* I would love to see an Altidore/Agudelo pairing on tuesday, with JTF just behind them distributing.
* Overall, the result was disappointing, but it’s a friendly and it’s about evaluating talent.
The more i watch this, the more i conclude JK got outcoached. CR made adjustments, we made none. maybe longterm he’s putting some things in, but toward winning the game, he was outmaneuvered.
How horrible was Altidore’s first touch on the pass from Donovan? Also, Rogers had a scoring opportunity ruined by a bad first touch earlier in the game. If the U.S. players can’t do something as fundamental as trap the ball at times, then the team is in serious trouble.
Rogers isn’t terrible, he is just slow on the ball and slow in his decision making. Not sure if it is the player or the league he plays in.. (in that if he played in a faster, more fluid league, would he too become faster on the ball)
I thought the 4-3-3 that Klinsmann was playing was pretty interesting. It seemed like Landon would shuttle between being level with the Torres, Shea, and Rogers in a 4-1-4-1 on defense and playing behind or just off of Altidore in attack. It was somthing like this: http://this11.com/topics/show/6698/usas-lineup-vs-costa-rica
I liked it a lot, actually, but part of the problem didn’t actually seem to be with the team’s shape. Instead, it was more of a problem to do with not such great decision-making in the final third. Juergen and the players he has brought into camp have all talked about having the freedom to express themselves. That was certainly on show last night, and it led to some very good plays. However, it also led to plays, particularly in wide areas, where the simple play was there, and we decided to overdo it. I like that the team is starting to get a rhythm and flow to their play, but we can’t throw simpler plays out the window.
The other thing I liked but also led to problems was our approach on defense. For most of the first half, we pressed and got in Costa Rica’s faces, making it difficult for them to get into the match. However, towards the end of the first half and for a lot of the second, our pressing faded. My guess is that the team simply got tired, which is very common for any team that presses like we did. The issue is that we kept playing a high line. Any time you play a high line, you concede space in behind, and any time you stand off of an opponent, you give them time on the ball. Basically, Costa Rica had time to play passes, and spaces to play them into – that is a deadly combination no matter how mediocre the team you face.
All of that being said, we showed a new approach to attacking, and a new approach to defending, and for a while there, we looked damn good at both. Our pressing didn’t give their attacking players time to expose our defense, and our ability to keep possession made it tougher for them to get the ball back anyways. I remember a post TSG had after Klinsmann’s debut how Mexico use their energy to win the ball back and possession to keep it so that they can mask their defensive deficiencies, and how the USA might want to at least try the same approach. I think we saw that approach is very plausible for the USA, and I honestly believe that if we bring in our best players with everybody in shape, we’re able to keep up that pressing for much longer, especially with options off the bench. I’m excited, not going to lie.
FOr the first thirty minutes I couldn’t beleive I was watching the US men. After that, the fouling succeeded in breaking the US rythym and we did not punish them on the resulting set peices. Considering the game meant NOTHING and Klinsmann is still trying to sort out a million things, I’m happy with the night, esepcailly if you look at it in terms of what we learned. Namely:
– The US can play an active, quick passing possession game.
– The US attacker clearly relished immediately attacking to regain possession when they lost it.
– Torres can conribute (but he needs to be a little sturdier in contact).
– Castillo is not the answer. Not trashing him, but he was bailed out by a couple of foul calls when he gave up possession very easily.
– The switching around was generally good, but it resulted in a tendency to try and take everything up the middle. I like attacking that way, but we need to mix in wide attacks to keep from being predictable.
The number one positive was that Klinsmann learned how Central American teams will counter the style he wants to play. He said after the game that passing needs to be even quicker to counter it. I think he’s right. In particualr, Robbie Rogers (who was oka for the most part) cost us at least two good chances by waiting too long to make the final pass, resulting in offside calls.
Random thoughts:
Chandler SHOOT when you get the chance
Brek Shea is on the left for a reason
Edu has become positively Scottish in his tackling. That is not necessarily a good thing.
Time to work Tim Ream with Bocanegra, and get Omar Gonzales into camp. Ream’s semi-sophmore slump has turned him into a whipping boy, but we will be exactly what Klinsmann wants from his backs.
Hah! For some reason they never answer my “feedback” comments when I make those same suggestions.
This all sounds like a remake of the movie Hoosiers. I think there is more at work here than we think and klinsi is trying to recreate the way this team plays. I will hold any and all judgement for a year. As for last night, I saw an American team that was making more steals, more agressive challenges and controlling the ball better than any other usmnt game I have ever seen. Howard rarely punted out from my recollection and we built from the back line. Go back and watch Hooisiers and the way the fans and players reacted. Anybody that expected an overnight change into total dominance was disappointed, but I was expecting to see better teamwork and hustle. An I got it. Now let’s work on finishing.
still dont see why Castillo gets all the crap (must be a LB curse) he was as good as anyone else except edu/torres. JK must like his explosiveness from the back which is evident.
Bornstein lover…lol…I kid I kid
Wasn’t impressed with who JK chose for his bench. Guess he wasn’t expecting to go down a goal. There wasn’t much attack to choose from.
Castillo and Rogers = Gold Cup and meaningless friendlies
I’m still a little nervous that JK’s plans are great for the long run ( get Claudio to work implement that style all the way down to the U-12s!) but I’m worried the USMNT’s current player pool isn’t technical enough to pull it off.
If an experimental CR side with an interim coach can come to the US and win against whatever team JK can put out there…it’s worrisome heading into WCQ.
I’m not saying I don’t like it. It just makes me nervous. As soon as CR started pressuring the ball the game turned. Won’t take long for the other CONCACAF teams to figure than out. Right, JK has until next June to figure it out. All that being said – I absolutely LOVED the first 30 minutes. Some of the most entertaining senior side football I’ve ever seen out of the US. There was actual off the ball movement – imagine that!!!
:'(
Why we only used 2 subs is beyond me. Shea was great but was getting heavy legs near the end. I hope Klinnsman is not the Hans Backe of the international game
meant to be a sad face. wow, that’s embarrassing. 🙁
absolutely embarrassing 🙂
If bornstein played the game Castillo did last night, he would get crushed. Castillo is not the answer, at least not yet.
Castillo look great in the team photo after that he looked horrible. He was lucky that the ref saved his butt over and over again.
I hope the guys at MLSsoccer.com watch that highlight package. Then maybe they’ll see that, apart from goals and really exciting chances, you don’t need to show 5 replays of, for example, every little innocuous dribbler to the keeper.
disappointing result, was really impressed with how we started. It’ll be interesting to see how we look with Holden and Demps out there.
team looked great the first 25 min. especially Castillo. robbie rogers does not belong in the USMNT. Break needs to buy himself a right foot. chandler ok.. bocanegra was fairly invisible/ quiet for being the captain. expected more from LD. liked edu/ torres. although i would like to see a CAM
woof.