Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By DAN ITEL
The U.S. Men’s National Team might have wished Wednesday’s friendly with Ukraine was canceled after all.
In a lackluster performance — highlighted by the disastrous center back pairing of Oguchi Onyewu and John Brooks — Ukraine jumped all over the USMNT in a 2-0 victory at Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in Larnaca, Cyprus.
For Ukraine, the highest-ranked team not to qualify for this summer’s World Cup, goals by rising star Andriy Yarmolenko and Marko Devic on both sides of halftime gave the Eastern European country something to cheer for after being wracked by weeks of violence and political turmoil. The protest-fueled violence led to the relocation of the game from its original location of Kharkiv, leading to doubts that the game would be played at all.
The USMNT lineup of mostly European-based players was largely punchless on the evening, with their best chance at a goal perhaps coming on a beautifully struck volley by second-half substitute Aaron Johannsson off an 87th-minute corner kick.
The U.S. defense struggled mightily, with Edgar Castillo, Onyewu and Brooks all having forgettable performances.
It didn’t take long for Ukraine to exploit the gaps present all across the USMNT back line. In the 12th minute Denys Garmash made a late run out of the midfield and easily broke the USMNT’s high line, collecting a long ball before firing on goal. Howard made the initial stop but without much help from his defenders, Garmash found Yarmolenko who finished into an open net.
Yarmolenko continued to torment the U.S. defense as he zigged and zagged his way past Castillo and Brooks on the right side of the field with quick passes and intelligent runs. The Ukrainians might have been denied a fair goal in the 16th minute when Garmash was ruled back for being offside. Video replay showed him level with the last defender though as the U.S. were slow to leave the box off a corner.
The U.S. were able to break in down the left side in the 32nd minute when Fabian Johnson found Castillo in space, but the Tijuana left back couldn’t find a teammate with a cross. The U.S. had two further chances before halftime but a free kick couldn’t find an American head and a corner kick was eventually headed over the bar.
Following the halftime break, the USMNT came closest to scoring in the 55th minute when Jozy Altidore fired a header from a Geoff Cameron cross just over the bar. Though the U.S. began to improve and were showing a few more positive signs, Ukraine struck again through the middle of the field to destroy the USMNT’s hopes.
In the 68th minute, the substitute Devic ran through the heart of the field, latched on to a long ball, and similarly to the first goal, had multiple attempts to finish, doing so with hardly any USMNT defenders in the area.
From this point on, the U.S. never threatened Ukraine’s goal outside of an impressive volley attempt from Johannsson off a corner kick in the 87th minute. Ukrainian wing back Oleh Gusev was able to clear the shot off the line.
———
What do you think of the U.S. team’s dismal performance? Who were you most disappointed with? Who were you impressed with?
Share your thoughts below.
I already preferred Beasley to Castillo, but that definitely reinforced it for me. Johnson still probably our best option though.
I actually like the idea of FJ at right back and Beasley at LB. I don’t think Beas is the best defender, but I lthink he does well enough. I’d rather see Cameron and Besler in the middle (until Gonzo regains the from from a year or so ago).
Doom and gloom time. Screw you rationality.
In terms of rationality, two steps back says to me that was nowhere near a first choice CAM and that maybe the game is at least a Bosnia two way goalfest if we have a playmaker on our side. The defense was the B/c team and that was going to be hard to overcome but I can’t imagine this is this bad if Bradley or even Mixx plays.
There’s a lot of negativity on here today. I was not pleased with the overall performance either. I’m not sure why so many are bashing Dempsey & Jozy though. Rather than playing poorly, I think they didn’t get many opportunities. Dempsey had to drop way back just to get involved in the game. He looked rusty, but not awful. Jozy missed a good opportunity, but my thoughts when it first happened was that he jumped a little too early and couldn’t direct the header down. At other times, I thought Jozy played decently. He had maybe 2 heavy touches and several nice layoffs. Geoff Cameron and Jermaine Jones were the two standout players and I thought Bedoya had a good game as well. Anyone who thinks Johannsson should start in place of Jozy doesn’t understand the difference between the two. I don’t ever see AJ as a target forward type of player and I would prefer that AJ and Jozy start up top together when playing appropriate competition. The only straight replacement for Jozy in my mind is Boyd and I think he should go to Brazil for that reason. Onyewu and Brooks were not good. Castillo looked out of position and Klestjan looked awful. There were many other issues, but that’s most of what I took from this game. Also, I thought Ukraine looked pretty darn good but we would have beaten them with our starting eleven.
Those are some good points, ETGoodyman, especially about Cameron and Jones. Both died have good games. And yet we have the Number One Timothy Chandler fanboy up above on his knees praying that Chandler can get healthy by June because Chandler is the best fullback in the USMNT player pool. I assume he means the same Timothy Chandler who has been in a funk for the 18 months on at the club level whose coach, Verbeek, was saying in December did not do enough to help Nurnberg and he wanted to bring in a better right back and the Timothy chandler who is a weak defender and who in the past two years and five months has played a grand total of two games for the USMNT and most likely if brought back into the roster in May would inject mega bad chemistry into the locker room. That’s just what the team needs for Brazil, a player like that on the roster.
Is this the same Timothy Chandler that made the Bundesliga eleven of the week for 2 straight weeks before he was injured, the same one that, at the age of 23, has been a starter for 3 years at Nürngerg, or is it a different Timothy Chandler?
Yes that is correct, biff is against Chandler because he killed his cat or something.
Both y’all are deliberately selective in your recollections
Finally, someone with some commom sense!
The most rational analysis I have seen on this thread so far. So many people are way over reacting. Put Besler and Gonzalez in the middle and it might have been a whole different game.
+1
That was an ugly, ugly showing today–like a slow motion train wreck or the wheels coming off the bus. Jozy showed absolutely no desire. Makes me wonder about Jozy being left off the roster for the Cup final on Sunday against Man City, whether Poyet might have asked for Jozy to be excused from international duty because of all the games Sunderland will be playing in a relegation battle but got turned down. In other words, maybe Jozy would have played if no international duty. I still cannot see how Poyet could have put Fletcher and the kid, Scologo or whatever his name is on the bench but no Jozy.
Nah, he probably rested Jozy so he wouldn’t get injured before his big move to Dortmund right?
lol. yeah, you got me…
Jones did a good job defensively today. He stayed home and covered behind the outside backs when they pushed up high. I wasn’t impressed with his passing when we tried to build from the back, but the TV angles were such that I couldn’t tell if the problem was him or his targets.
Our best passing combinations were Gooch to Howard, Brooks to Howard, and Jones to Howard. With service like that, we really need Howard to score more often.
Jozy and Clint are going to Brazil, but if they keep playing like that, they shouldn’t start. We can only replace one and still hope to make it out of the group stage, I suspect.
I don’t really care that the third string CBs gave up 2 (should have been 3) goals. It’s the lack of attack that scares me. Five out of six of the starting front six are going to Brazil, and three are supposed to be starters, yet we didn’t have much of an attack.
I didn’t think JJ provided enough pressure on the ball, but he certainly wasn’t alone in that regard.
Yea Jones looked good I thought a good part of the game. You could tell he’s not yet 90 minute match fit yet, but looked good. I don’t know why anyone is looking at him at fault for the first goal, he was almost on the ball when it was played…it was Sasha who was caught looking in space not tracking.. and the CBs.. but whatever
Edgar Castillo has shown, with his performance against Urkraine, all of the wonderful attacking attributes he has in his game and why he’s a valuable asset at the LB for the US to have on their 23 man squad, come this WC squad.
Really? Were we watching the same match? You mean the same Castillo who was continuously exposed over and over on the left?
He was exposed a few times, so yeah I guess the same. But he had nowhere as near as bad a game as the two CBs had, which affected the whole team, throwing the whole team shape off and tactics out of whack.
You can tell that the tactics called for Castillo to push up behind Fabian Johnson while he dried to get into the box and John Brooks was supposed to push up behind Castillo, but didn’t do it affectively enough tonight because his miscommunication with the back line.
However, he was of the best attacking players on the field tonight, and is going to get another game to build on this performance in Mexico.
you’re way off buddy. Castillo is out of his depth at the international level. he’s demonstrated it time and time again. he can’t defend at this level and his offense is a mixture of hopefulness and randomness.
he, Kljestan and Gooch removed themselves from consideration last night. several others did their best to do the same, but based on previous effectiveness are highly likely to get further chances.
let me just reiterate: Castillo sucks.
Sacha, Gooch, JAB, and Castillo showed they should not be on the helicopter to Brazil. Maybe JAB or Gooch makes it as a reserve if they put on a show with their clubs and in pre WC camp, but seems unlikely. JAB did get the chance to show off his impressive catch up speed, but clearly needs work on positioning, communication, and overall focus. Castillo and Sacha just don’t fit. They don’t do enough work defensively and make bad turnovers in dangerous areas.
The team as a whole did not come out with good intensity and did not put enough pressure on the ball. Possibly due to.weirdness of Ukrainian situation, but still not acceptable level of intensity.
The back line did not communicate well (not a huge deal since 3/4 of them will not be in Brazil).
We are in huge trouble if Bradley gets injured.
JJ is not in good form yet. Not great pressure from him and invisible offensively.
Dempsey needs to do more work off the ball and more ball winning like he did 1-2 years ago.
Jozy’s form is still off. He wasn’t as efficient as usual holding the ball and missed a good chance, not a gimme, but a solid chance.
Bedoya and Shea looked occasionally dangerous but both need to be cleaner and more efficient. I thought Shea actually made a big difference and looked to be a matchup problem.
Agudelo, Williams, and AJ did nothing to hurt their chances and might deserve a look at some point over the guys ahead of them. Maybe not yet, but I wouldn’t rule it out.
Fabian and Geoff were okay, but didn’t make the special plays that you hope to get out of them. Geoff was uncharacteristically way off on a couple easy cross opportunities early.
Timmy was great.
I can’t wait to see Klinsmann piloting the United States’ Brazil-bound helicopter!
Let me know when the US stops favoring brawn and size over soccer skill and brains.
This.
I do NOT understand why Gooch is still in the picture. Useless. Utterly useless. Brooks is young. What’s Gooch’s excuse? (crickets)
Give me 5 Orozcos and Beslers over a Gonzalez and Gooch, anyday.
The real question is, “when will the United States START favoring skill and brains over brawn and size?”
If there ever was a million dollar question……
Why not both? Does not have to onemover the other
After this match I bet there is some serious talk going on between Bayern’s management, and the Bundesliga’s as well.
Why?
What to do about Julian Green of course.
what dfference would this match make?
The U.S. National team did badly, lacked focus, and did not play very good as a unit. And their coach did not appear to be in the game.
You still don’t make sense. I don’t think Bayern Munich is counting on the usmnt or the german national team to develop its players…… What do they care?… I am guessing you think it would be bad PR to have the star of their youth team be associated with usmnt? That must be why Real Madrid is so upset about Gareth bale playing for wales….??? I hardly think that they care.
What dman said.
Also, I think Bayern Munich might actually want Green to choose USMNT to the chagrin of the DFB. Bayern is about to make a strong push into the US market. New office in NYC, US summer tour, MLS all-star appearance. Fox gets the Bundesliga rights next year=Bundesliga in a lot more households.
From a business/marketing perspective, having a USMNT player on Bayern would help their brand in the US considerably and make them a lot of $$$. Heck, look how much coverage relegation-threatened Sunderland gets because of Jozy. Imagine if it was the current champions of Europe with a USMNT player?!
See that’s interesting. Because six months ago, people were saying how John Brooks was the answer to all our problems. Some commenters on here said it was one of the great moments in the history of US soccer when he committed to the USMNT. Now, he’s lost his spot at his club and, while I didn’t see today’s game, it sounds like he was awful.
He’s only 20 and may wind up becoming a great player but I think we maybe we should try to find real solutions to our problems rather than just plugging in the Germerican of the month and expecting him to solve everything. Especially when Green has exactly zero first team league matches as a pro.
yeah, it’s true. but 6 months ago he was in really good form for Hertha Berlin. he’ll be fine and is still very promising, but today proved that he has to be more mature in his play. he needs to find that form from months ago.
Most of the people who post here lack context and perspective. I came to this website originally to get better insight and commentary. I think it has gone downhill, maybe because the WC has brought in a lot of people who don’t really know the game or the history of US soccer.
And goal.com
Well a lot of us interested in the brooks call ups were just hoping he would be an adequate third or fourth string centerback (besler and cameron being most people’s preferred partnership at the time).
Turns out he probably isn’t ready, but trying him out didn’t cost us anything. We still fall back on gonzalez and goodson, two known quantities.
I guess you could make a case that his minutes should have gone to ream, and ream would have been the answer to all our problems. But that seems unlikely.
Take a look at some of the other friendly results today. The results of these games mean nothing. This is like getting upset over losing a spring training baseball game. Individual performances may impact who JK takes to Brazil and, maybe, who he starts. So those matter somewhat. But that’s about it.
But the difference is the season’s baseball winner is crowned WORLD champions!
True but not on the basis of spring training results.
Just a little joke slowleftarm.
Meaningless friendly, sure, but I get upset when the team looks like crap.
There it is…. Sanity. Slow this makes twice today i agree with you. One of us is getting smarter, or one is getting dumber. :).
Thanks for the “step down off the ledge” speech. I think you have a good outlook on this onw.
Questions answered:
1. Not going to Brazil: Castillo, Onyewu, Brooks, Kljestan, Boyd
2. #3 & #4 CBs ATM: Goodson, Orozco
3. RB depth order, subject to change in April & May: Cameron > Evans > Parkhurst
Well said
1. disagree about Boyd. Boyd sat on the bench as back up which is normal for him. always in A team camps though.
2. Goodson and Orozco were fist pumping while watching Gooch and JAB.
3. FJ better than Evans and Parkhurst at RB too. if Chandler gets healthy, he jump above them all.
Clint Dempsey and lazy altidore are awful and shouldn’t be playing
. Klinsman has to have some balls and bench them. There are better players on the bench that should be playing like Johansen, brek Shea , even Boyd is scoring goals and actually aging and contributing to his club team. Just bc Dempsey is who he his doesn’t mean he should be an automatic starter. I would rather see Aaron johansen with Donovan up top. Two players that know how to finish and create and have the necessary skills.
I agree with everything you said but Donovan up top.
Put Shea up with AJ, and let Shea be the out and out striker since he can run and pull defenders out of position and beat them. AJ is probably the best finisher on the team.
Boyd should get more time to see if he can do it at this level. You can’t draw any conclusions about him due to his lack of playing time so far.
Donovan needs to go on the wings as speed and decision making are his best attributes.
Jozy Altidore needs to be benched and Aaron Johansson needs to start. And Brek Shea needs to come off the bench sooner. Those were the only 2 guys that played well. And we need to get Timmy Chandler back at Right Back as soon as possible. The defense looked atrocious.!
In other news the Womens team tied Japan…
IVES, you better give us the ol’ “Calm down folks” speech or we are going to lose it!
I pray Cherundolo can make it back. Cameron at right back is not the answer.
Dolo isn’t gonna make it back. pray for Chandler. and remember, FJ has been playing RB recently.
He had some aberrant crosses, but he also set up the team’s best scoring chance and didn’t give up anything significant to Konoplyanka.
Brad Evans was continually torched by S. Korea’s B-team.
You should watch Cameron play at Stoke. He;’s the best we have right now.
Maybe you can find the discarded prayer cards people were using for Holden because it’s roughly as likely. Your knees are gone you can’t play. It’s a running game.
It’s the jersey.
Well, that was a waste of viewing time.
Did ESPN run a 2 year old Klinsi in Europe game instead of the scheduled material? Like this should have aired on Classic?
After today, I see these guys getting a ticket 23:
GK: Howard*, Guzan, Rimando (3)
D: Cameron*, Besler*, Gonzalez*, Beasley, Orozco, Goodson, Evans/(Chandler) (8)
M: Donovan, Zusi, Bradley*, Jones*, Williams, Diskerud, F. Johnson*, Bedoya* (8)
F: Johannsson, Altidore*, Dempsey,* Agudelo/(Green) (4)
* JK’s Starters
My preferred Starting XI
———————-Howard———————
Cameron-Gonzalez-Besler-F.Johnson
————–Bradley-Jones/Williams———
Bedoya —————————— Zusi
——– Johannsson – Donovan ————-
Oops, forgot an * next to Donovan’s name
———————-HOWARD
CHANDLER-CAMERON-BESLER-JOHNSON
——————JONES-BRADLEY
———–BEDOYA-DEMPSEY ©-DONOVAN
——————–JOHANNSSON
Guzan, Rimando
Gonzalez, Goodson, Beasley
Williams, Diskerud
Zusi, Green
Altidore, Boyd, Johnson
A couple issues:
(1) This assumes Chandler is healthy. If so, I’m on board with that back-line.
(2) Jones’ inconsistency scares me
(3) You’re right that Dempsey makes the XI (as captain), but IMO, Dempsey hurts more than helps at this point.
(4) You don’t bring Altidore, Boyd and EJ. They play the exact same role.
Looks good Dinho. I also think this will be close to the final roster, if not the final roster.
If Green chooses US, he’ll go. Heck, that might be the (massive) carrot that JK dangles in front of him to pick the US. If Green does not pick us for now, it will be interesting to see what happens with that last forward spot that you have Agudelo in. Gomez might squeeze in there!
Also, will be interesting to see what happens with Beckerman and Williams. I think they are going for the same spot and think JK might take Beckerman over Williams. But if Williams is selected, that move to Reading will have been brilliant in hindsight.
This 23 has no sub for Jozy. I expect Boyd or EJ for that (though Dempsey could move there.) There is really no room for “spots for young guys” unless they have everything needed to surpass others. Not sold on Agudelo and haven’t seen Green, either will have to show better than Boyd, EJ, Wondo or Gomez before they make it.
Feilhaber might get added to the midfield in place of Mix or Bedoya, tiem will tell.
I think Williams is athletically better than Beckerman, but Beckermann is solid and I suspect the May camp will be used to decide between those two.
Agudelo for Jozy.
i can’t take Lalas seriously when he says Cameron didn’t do enough tonight to overtake Evans. he ABSOLUTIST did and he didn’t even have a great game.
Wait, Jeremy above says Lalas said he did enough, you’re saying Lalas said the opposite. Which is it folks?
Jeremy definetly heard wrong. Lalas said Cameron did NOT do enough to overtake Evans and that he thinks Cameron should only be considered at CB or as a #6.
I specifically logged on just to comment on Alexi’s moronic statements.. seems everyone beat me to it…
On the flipside, it’s a good sign that JK started him at RB instead of in the middle.. even if he was way off the first few crosses, he’s gotta be our starter there over Evans
have to agree. in looking at it all now I wonder if Klinnsman wanted Dolo there all along so chose Evans to keep it warm for him knowing he could drop Evans at any time really. That Evans had a run of good games is a credit to him whatever the circumstance but Geoff has emerged into the RB instead and perhaps Evans’ seat warmer role still worked out. some will say Chandler should be the guy now too
Lalas said he didn’t do enough.
Why would anyone care what Lalas says?
idk, ask ESPN! lol
When Alexi says it is white, think black and be right.
I thnk that was the point Lalas was trying to make. Nobody, including Cameron, did enough to unseat anybody who wasn’t there. My guess is that Lalas believes that Cameron is the better answer at RB over Evans but was hoping he would grasp the opportunity and make it clear that the spot is his…he didn’t do that today. Doesn’t mean he wont be the starter come June but he didn’t do enough to lock it down today.
No, that interpretation would mean Lalas was being reasonable, something I reject out of hand.
Ok, stupid Alexei Lalas just said Geoff Cameron has done shown enough to start at RB over Brad Evans. ????????????? Did Klinsmann pay him to say that?
Um…maybe he watched Cameron play in the EPL and you don’t?
Maybe he just watched him stink like the rest of us. Cameron got beat to the line for a couple chances, and hit punchless wormburner crosses when given a look. He left the door wide open for all RB candidates.
He will have as good of a chance as anyone at a backline slot but that’s because it’s kind of a least worst situation…….Beasley over Castillo because Castillo can’t even keep up. Gonzo over Brooks and Gooch and Goodson because none of them can defend. Cameron over the uncommitted and injured Chandler. Etc. etc.
done shown?
he didn’t say that. he said Cameron did NOT show enough……
OK, That makes more sense, Lalas is still wrong and world order has been preserved!
FUK ME LOOC DUMBB!!
I started off saying “he has not done enough” then tried to switch to “has not shown enough” and this happened. Gotta reread my comments prior to posting. Or risk sounding like Dubya.
But seriously, Lalas says he hasn’t shown enough. This guy has no credibility.
NOOOOOOOOOOO! Lalas actually said something that was not wrong, the world as I knew it is changing!
So Lalas did not actually say Cameron will start at RB instead of Evans. Whew! That had me scared for a moment that Lalas had actually said something that was not wrong.
I only saw the first 35 minutes but thought Dempsey looked ok considering he had very little to work with. Jones had a good game. The rest of the lot, now that is another story. In could not believe how poor Sacha was. He showed no heart or desire to fight for the ball nor did he move in to position to receive the ball. I have never seen him play at Anderlecht but am wondering what the disconnect is. I will echo comments above in that Brooks is simply too inexperienced and Gooch, well, it didn’t work out today. Again, reiterating my comments of yesterday, we are inside of 100 days to Brazil and I feel it imperative that our starting 11, and more importantly, our actual entire Brazil roster, be present for these last friendlies. Make no mistake, the fact that 1/2 the Spanish national team has been training together every day since they were teens at La Mascia cannot be underestimated. Chemistry matters.
It’s so ridiculously how little the full team actually gets to play together. It seems like we are always missing Donovan or someone.
Wait, I thought Klinsi was deepening the pool?
Well he has but like um. You don’t deepen the pool in Qualifiers unless you have to. We had to…. a lot.
-Brooks, Onyewu, Castillo, Dempsey, Kljestan are not national team material at the moment.
-Williams has shown more in in his short stint than Kljestan has in his 60.
-Altidore and Dempsey have comeplety lost whatever format they had.
-Fabian must play LB
-We must find a way to get Johannsson into the starting 11.
I agree Fabian needs to play left back. As a left winger today he was mostly bad to average. Looked lost, maybe because he has been playing right back. But I will say, he did not look much better when he took over at left back from Castillo. And for all the people hating on Castillo, he was not responsible for either of the goals and Fabain was involved in the second goal and should have done better. But the point is Klinsmann has finally gotta pull his head out now that we are only 100 days to WC 2014 and he needs to carve Fabian’s name in granite at left back. So stupid of Klinsmann-the-Tinkerer to be dinking around this late in the game and it could come back to bite him (and us fans) in June. A few of us have been pleading for the past year that Fabian should be playing left back for the USMNT. I just get it, what is Klinsmann doing? Is Martin Vasquez whispering in his ear?
All of these uncomfortable feelings are going to help us fans when June rolls around.
Castillo did give up on the goal that was disallowed after he did not respond to a simple give and go. Since the goal was arguably not off side his lack of good a good defending is not acceptable.
I think we might be getting ahead of ourselves with Dempsey. We have seen his form drop before and he finds a way to pick up his game. If we were Germany or Brazil, yeah we could easily replace one player with another, but we don’t have the depth to drop someone with Clint’s experience and playmaking abilities. He is in a bit of a slump, but I think he will come through. He will definitely be on the plane to Brazil.
That back line was a disgrace. I felt very bad for poor Timmy. Only 1 of those 4 makes it to Brazil, and that is only because he can play multiple positions.
I agree. hopefully we’ll see a Cameron-Biesler-Gonzalez-Johnson lineup. I think that’s the best we have now… The centerbacks failed to do their job…
Howard was phenomenal. That second goal, he gave the team TWO opportunities to clean up their mistakes, but the ball still found the net.
I can only imagine Howard in the locker room.
I bet he had a few words for his center backs.
Like you said, he totally saved them to keep the clean sheet and yet, somehow, they get scored on. That second goal was unbelievable. Truly, I don’t ever remember seeing anything like that EVER from the USMNT.
watch Edgar on that first goal. he will not enjoy the replay of that one
Seriously! I can’t believe it when watching the replay. He just watches Yarmolenko run past him with wide open space and only starts walking a bit faster when he sees the ball passed right before the goal. No spark, no hustle, no drive. It was like he didn’t care that a potential spot on the plane to Brazil was on the line in this game.
Did anyone think like I did? When the camera fixed on Klinsmann, he looked a little out of it, a little confused? That he had a question but didn’t have the answer?
Probably disappointed at the performance of some of the players he gave a huge opportunity to–Dempsey, Jozy, Onyewu, Kljestan.
Klinsmann was a striker that brought it hard in every game. He’s what, Germany’s 3rd leading scorer in history? 2nd maybe?
He probably can’t even imagine having a player be lazy during a national team call up.
That’s a good point Gerard, and that’s the message he keeps trying to pound home… it’s not in his DNA to go less than 100%, especially with a WC right around the corner
Agree and Agree. Reading your posts, I remember hearing the story from Eric Wynalda saying that Germans take their soccer seriously, so much in fact that when Wynalda was playing in Germany, after a loss, he made a joke about a shot on goal that he missed and a teammate got ticked and hit him in the head with his soccer cleats. I wonder if Klinsmann has any of that in him…I don’t think so as he seems like a pretty level headed guy.
I saw that also, Expat4455. Klinsmann had a look on his face like the stuff just hit the fan.
I have watched a lot of important football matches on the internet and Klinsi looked a lot different than other coaches whose sides were behind. Most coaches looked like they were into the game, not bewildered.
A friendly with half the startets,hardly an important game. Could have been helpful to some trying to make a case. But actually it eliminated some probably. Finally you have to think Sacha is out, along with Onyewu. Bad for them, but it clarifies the waters a bit.
The overwhelming trend is that an opponents through pass between the CBs leads to good chances against slow and lumbering defenders. We are better served playing CAMERON-BESLER tandem. CBs that are calm in possession, quick to recover and know the midfielder position to react to BRADLEY-JONES.
I just feel like when Cameron plays as a center back he gets caught up feild far too often and it often cost us. The result was different because Jozy had an amazing game but the Cameron Brooks partnership gave up 3 to Bosnia.
Right, and the common factor is BROOKS.
6 goals in 3 starts now I think,
Klesjtan shouldn’t be called up again. If Jozy and Clint don’t improve form VERY quickly they should NOT start at the World Cup. Castillo isn’t a LB. Brooks isn’t ready yet. Oneywu shouldn’t be called for Brazil. I still think we have plenty of depth. Johannssen and Boyd are in excellent form and should be given an opportunity to start. Donovan and Diskerud are in very good form. Williams, Torres and Corona are players that can give us possession. If either Gonzalez or Besler aren’t available, Cameron should be moved to central defense. Lichaj and Chandler are adequate at RB. Fabian Johnson is our best left back and should start in that position.
I’m happy Jozy had a shot on goal. I’m really not surpised with Dempsey. He’s been playing this way for a while now. We need to relax with our attack. We still have Donovan, Zusi, Bradley to factor in. Brooks (although he’s young) & Onyewu scare the ish out of me… Thank heavens we have Biesler and Gonzalez.
So we lost…I can deal with that.
It has occurred to me, that we may not find the net in this world cup. I don’t like to be such an alarmist, but I just don’t see where we will get them from. Altidore in so cold, and his back up is not the type of player we can plug in to his spot. The only player that can do the job we expect of Jozy is Eddie.
Just let that sink in for a minute.
My kingdom for a #9.
People need to remember the EJ of past years. His slump was waaaay longer than Altidore’s, like 4 years, and most of the goals he scored the last two years were against minnows, not against WC level competition. I think he can serve a purpose at the WC, but no way he is a starting target forward.
Hah, I guess that is what you were saying. Agreed, then!
I hate it when I do that on this site, and are unable to edit your post, so no worries Dc.
The only way I see us getting to goal this WC is if we line up 4-4-2. We will have to tell Bradley and Jones to stay home a lot, and protect our back 4, which is a real shame, considering they are 2 of our classier players. (And any of the teams in our group are more than capable over running them any way) If we play 3 in the mid, we might get 2 or 3 chances the whole game, regardless of who we post up at striker.
*running them over,* case in point……
EJ’s great year for the USMNT was 2005. He was young and had a wealth of potential, The problem is that he is pretty much the same quality now as he was back then.
I love how I get attacked, personally, for saying these same exact things.
However, you are right. The US will not score in the World Cup.
The team is a total mess and the only one to blame is the coach. He had enough time to get it together.
The players played poorly but for JK is “the” problem. Once this cycle is done, I hope he is out.
I don’t think a better coach is the answer. Do you think we would win our group with the best coach in the world? I don’t. We don’t have the class.
Yet.
For what it’s worth, these are problems I love to have, as I remember what our teams looked like as far back as Italy in ’90.
True. Half those guys would have trouble making the Gold Cup C squad…
Credit JK for deepening the pool.
I disagree. My beef with JK is he gets locked in on certain players and formations and he stays with it.
It’s not working but he won’t change. We have more talent than ever before but they are just being misused and he carries too much dead wood
You get personally attacked for making sweeping statements such as “The US will not score in the World Cup” and defending them as the only possible factual scenario.
It’s sad you can’t comprehend why you get attacked.
Also, I will not forget your little goal prediction come this summer.
Thank you Chris. I tried to explain something like this similar to usaalltheway in a previous blog post.
Ridiculous thought. He just got a contract extension.
I’m trying to remember who we had in the attack in 2010. Oh yeah, it was Altidore, Donovan, Dempsey and Robbie Findley. Amazing we scored at all then, I guess.
With Bradley, LD and a better CB pairing we win this game.
Without a war going on in their country, they’re even more focused and crush us. Come on, we can play the stupid “what if” game all day long, and what it comes down to is the players that were there should have been good enough to either win, or at least put in a non-embarrassing performance.
What a joke. Yeah, I’m sure they were distracted by the situation at home.
If anything it brought them together and made thdm fight harder.
On the positive side, I thought Cameron looked really solid. Sure, some of his crosses were off the mark, but he got forward well, he makes smart forward passes, and his speed and athleticism allow him to recover well on defense.
Although his performance could have been exaggerated by the poor performances of his defensive partners
He really has to work on those crosses… I think he hit the stands with two.
Very true, but he also sent in the one that Jozy should have put on frame.
That was a peach of a ball.
And he put in some okay ground crosses.
His work in the EPL on crosses has been solid. Many more good than bad when playing for Stoke.
Cameron was not as effective as one would want in the offensive third, but solid in defense. How many Ukraine chances came down the right side? Seemed they went through the middle and down the left. Cameron gave us at least one good ball into Altidore, and kept things generally clean on his side of the defense. I think that’s a decent international performance.
Cameron was the best of the starting backs by a wide margin.
As the TV guys said, JK was looking for answers, and he certainly got some, especially as regards the back line. I don’t think we’ll be seeing Gooch or Castillo again this year. JK also could not have liked Brooks’s terrible mistake at midfield that almost led to a goal.
From what I saw, Altidore was again disappointing, particularly in his hold-up play. Johannsson looked much more active and dangerous. Dempsey was enigmatic and unfocused in what is becoming a distressingly familiar pattern.
The MLS guys back home (Bradley, Donovan, Gonzo, Besler) and even Tim Ream may have gained ground just by standing still while others went backward.
I think Castillo gets another look in April, but it’s clear he’s not an international level defender. He actually showed some skill to get out of some tight spots, but only in the attack.
IMO, he and Fabian should have switched to open the match. Maybe wouldn’t have made much of a difference, but if Castillo has any place in this squad it’s at LM, not LB.
Williams continues to show well… He’s a more athletic and versatile Beckerman.
agreed.
Should have started 2nd half w/ Jones. I know they’re both Dmids, but Sacha might as well have been a ghost the 1st half.
SK was the worst I’ve ever seen in a US shirt. Soft would be the four letter word I would use to describe his playing style tonight.
Williams to Reading was one of the most underrated YA moves last year. It’s clear consistent playing time has sharpened his game. Reading probably won’t get promoted but he is the only “yank” getting consistent on a competitive championship side.
Id just really like to know if JK picks the players or that boot licking, suck up that is always attached to his elbow. I find Martin extremely annoying
Way to make ridiculous, childish assumptions.
Do you know what goes on behind closed doors when JK and MV are talking shop? Do you have superpowers that enable you to know exactly how the two men work together when out of the public eye?
Didn’t think so.
Going to have to agree with Alexi Lalas. The question MUST be asked–does Clint Dempsey even make the 23 man roster for Brazil.
“Clint Dempsey, I’m not even sure he’s in Cyprus right now”
– Lalas
Yeah, great idea. Why don we leave our best player home because he is in a slump? Maybe we should bring second and third rate MLS players just because they play together a lot, even if they don’t have the quality. We should be concentrating on getting our best players firing again rather than throwing our hands up and trying to promote Brad Evans and Kyle Be Kerman for the World Cup squad.
Slumps don’t last an entire season. Fact of the matter is that Clint Dempsey is not the same player he was at Fulham or even Tottenham.
Bingo… been saying that for a long time…. hes finished
But he has a running game where maybe he gets in shape and form and catches fire. Unlike Jozy who is running out of season to change his trajectory, Dempsey has plenty of soccer to play. I’d be more worried if he’s playing like this in May.
Best player? Have you actually heard anyone say that since he signed with Seattle? No.
Who do you think is better wise guy? A defensive midfielder or one of the other forwards who are not scoring? Or maybe you’re a supporter of the young kids with one or two years in the top flight of some second rate league? Which is it?
I will take the defensive midfielder. Next question.
Good luck getting goals.
At least you get a point with 0-0.
Herschel:
Donovan, Altidore, Iceman, Bradley are all EASILY better than Dempsey right now. There might be more players that you can add to that list.
“Right now” being the qualifier. But Form is fallacy. The original comment had to do w/ who we should take to Brazil. Only an idiot would leave home CD, just because his form is low right now.
Considering Dempsey’s form over the past year……. I would add bedoya, zusi, howard, besler and Johansson to that list.
Dempsey will be on the plane but JK needs to drop him from the starting 11. This move is way overdue. I would have dropped him for his antics alone a long time ago. I can tolerate Dempsey’s stupidity much more when he’s playing well.
Not our best player…..that would be Donovan sir!!!!
it was obvious there was no chemistry, especially between Gooch and Brooks. that was expected. but JAB and Gooch weren’t even communicating. what was JAB doing on that first goal? completely out of position and neither Jones or Kljestan tracked the run. truly awful.
on the 2nd goal, it blows my mind that JAB and Gooch were just standing around. Goodson was secretly fist pumping back home while watching those two. Castillo reminded everyone he was not joking when he said he is not a good defender.
Kljestan just gave up his seat to Brazil. Bedoya, the only bright spot outside of Howard, probably just booked his ticket. he was the only one doing anything or generating any offense.
Dempsey and Jozy just not getting the job done, but they also didn’t have a ton to work with. Both should have done better with the chances they got though. AJ was a nice spark. Shea kind of was but tried to do too much. Cameron and FJ were both okay, hard to fault much with them. Cameron should have done much better on a lot of those crosses though.
after this game, the Scotland game, and the Austria game, i’m not that optimistic. the South Korea game is irrelevant but i’m hoping for a much improved showing against Mexico. we need it.
Castilo oddly wasn’t the problem but no he is not a good defender. He and Fabian did well the first 15 minutes but after that nothing.
“Dempsey and Jozy just not getting the job done, but they also didn’t have a ton to work with. ”
I’ve said that before too, but I’m ready to stop giving those guys breaks. If you’re the leaders on your team, you have to be the ones to make things happen.
for sure. Jozy has to finish that cross Cameron sent him.
That was like a silver platter from Geoff. Unmarked header from the center of the six? Has to be in the net or at least on target.
It wasnt exactly unmarked…but he should have finished it.
+1, wasn’t unmarked or “silver platter”. still should’ve kept it down, at least.
He has got to finish that, not because it was easy, but because all of Cameron’s other crosses went directly out of bounds or two a defender. That was his only chance.
that is true. Cameron’s crosses were poor today.
On the other hand, Bedoya’s crosses from the standards were very good. He is the only player who improved his stock today. Jones and Cameron did not hurt their standing either.
Agreed
+1
not all bad in the assessment department when viewed from the perspective of guys playing their way on or off the team. lots of data today
This is why I need to scroll down before replying to comments. I just wasted 10 minutes of my life when bryan had already said it perfectly. Dead on, bud.
WE NEED CHANDLER!
YES!
Question: Why does Kjlestan keep getting called into the US team? He can’t connect a pass to save his life. He seems to play well for his club and then get the call, however he has never, ever, ever played well for the US in a top tier game, yet keeps getting an opportunity. Seriously he is no good at the international level.
after this game, Kljestan is off the team.
This is my first post ever on Ives. I just had to associate myself with your comment. Kjlestan should never be called in again. So many chances, so much evidence against him.
And for at least 6 mounts on this very site I read how Klinsmann was an idiot for not callin Sacha in. This is why he didn’t call him in!!! Homie is over rated.
But he is the only US player with the belief to regularly play in the champions league.
But he’s not a true champions league play-ah
I think he was 3rd choice for this game behind Bradley and Mixx but their sick days forced his hand and left us Doomed From the Start.
Since every lesson from this game seems to be negative, one can only hope that this silences the Central Kljestan calls. He got his chance and spent his time playing the ball backwards or giving it up.
just got home from work. forgeot my gate key so i spent 30 mins waiting for a neighbor to open it for me
what happened? I need clips to see about the game. what went wrong?
Centerbacks mostly. Both too slow mentally or physically. Sometimes both.
CB pairing totally inadequate for this level.
Castillo playing too far up the pitch as usual.
Poor finishing on limited chances. Jozy missing open header on goal when the momentum just began to swing in the USMNT’s direction.
Complete void in midfield for 1st half (Kljestan’s fault, mostly)
Great day for MLS.
Lackluster kits. Lackluster performance.
Wearing Brazil’s kit would not have changed the result. Contrary to the ancient maxim, the clothes do not make the man.
Pretty sure it was a joke
The kits preformed much better than the players.
Many scoffed at me when I questioned why Dempsey was a “lock” on many lists for the final 23 for Brazil, including the SBI 23, last week. Please defend your reasoning today…..
he’s still a lock. he can’t play badly enough for a long enough period of time to undue the goals he scored last year and the year before.
I want Mike Magee in Brazil. I want a 4-4-2 with Magee and AJ Up top.
Terrence boyd and agudelo have a better chance of starting than magee
I think people are just hoping he hits his stride at the WC. The old Clint we know and love. He can come back. I don’t think there is any way he deserves a starting spot just based on this year’s performances.
I don’t think this performance is enough to put him in doubt for the final 23. I think it’s reasonable to ask, however, whether Dempsey is a starter and 90-minute player at this level anymore. The trouble is, we are dangerously close to the World Cup, Clint is our captain, and a number of our other options to play underneath a lone striker are either too young (Johannson), too inconsistent in the CAM role (Donovan, Diskerud), or haven’t played the position for the national team (Bedoya, Agudelo).
If Dempsey doesn’t recover his form to start the MLS season, I’d consider shifting Donovan to the center and flanking him with Fabian Johnson on the left and Johannson on the right. But to a certain extent, all of these alternate line-ups for our front 4 (playing Clint or Aaron or Donovan in the hole, swapping out Altidore for Boyd or Agudelo) are really just shifting deck chairs on the Titanic. Our best combination in the attack is simply playing like crap right now and any boost in energy that you get from making switches is negated by a trade-off in terms of quality.
Happy Wednesday!
Donovan on the right, Dempsey on the left. Dempsey will float in toward the middle than will Donovan, who likes his space. FJ can fill any gaps out of LB for when Dempsey does float. Then you get all the advantages of what JK is trying to do without letting the other team orient toward that. The only question is who plays CAM. Maybe Mix. Whoever it is will have help because Bradley will be box to box and Dempsey will crowd anyway.
Today he wasn’t playing his usual position or role. It looked to me like he was trying to be the MB type player along with a little Donovan–going back to help on D and trying to distribute on attack. Those are not the strengths of his game.
I think we can all say this loss wasn’t all Jozy’s & Clint’s fault. I can say that Brooks and Onyewu aren’t going to Brazil…
ROP is right. worried about Clint and Jozy in the run up to the WC. are they so out of form, particularly Dempsey, that you start looking elsewhere in a hurry?
But, anyone who did not see a lopsided loss for this fixture, was not be realistic.
yes, Dempsey and Altidore have a ways to go to get it back and I sure hope they do.
However I am also concerned about our captain’s behavior. I like Clint as a player and as a person but think he is too prone to hotheadedness to serve as our captain, especially when stakes/tensions will be much higher in Brazil. We need someone who is can maintain composure and levelheadedness in the worst of times.
I’ll add that even Jones, who tends to foul irresponsibly, shows more composed behavior/fewer outbursts as far as I’ve seen
Jones surely realizes he is in for his One Shot. The shin problem cost him South Africa and by Russia he’ll be too old. He has every incentive to mind his ps and qs until we arrive in Brazil. Then all bets are off.
There are two reasons I’m OK with this.
1) Ukraine, the country, needed a win, their players gave it to them.
2) we found out what players shouldn’t be on the plane, and which shoudln’t be on the field. Castillo is the latter, maybe even the former too. Klejstan and Gooch shouldn’t be on the plain.
On the bright side, this was a much more calm and controlled performance from Jones. His long passes were excellent. It remains to be seen if he’s ready to really partner with Bradley but good things.
Also, Zusi, Donovan, Bradley, and Besler need to be there for this team to be competitive against quality sides.
Agreed.
I do, however, think Zusi isn’t a like-replacement for Bedoya. I think Zusi needs to be on the right side of midfield and Bedoya needs to be in the spot Clint was last night (which is where he plays for Nantes).
Exactly. This was an opportunity for guys to show why they DON’T belong in Brazil just as much as those who do. A number grabbed the former with both hands. Howard also probably put to bed any remaining questions about whether Guzan should be moved in front.
The loss is ho-hum because many problems can be addressed with the selection of first-choice players. Also, France took its first choice away against this team and lost by the same scoreline in the playoffs, so it’s not an epic disaster.
A lot of people seem to think Jozy and Dempsey are the biggest causes for concern. Certainly, we’d like to see better, but having MB on the pitch along with Dempsey/Zusi will help the attack significantly.
For me, the real alarms are still at the back. I didn’t expect much out of the Gooch/Brooks pairing, but this was really terrible and more than just a lack of experience playing together. Gooch is just a bit too old/slow now, and I can’t get comfortable with John Anthony Boumsong in the least for this summer. He would be directly liable for multiple goals, I have no doubt. Let’ reopen his case for Russia 2018 but playing him this summer would be a disservice to all involved.
Right now we have a few options… most agree Besler is in a position for one of the two, but we need to find out who the first choice tandem and very, very soon.
Gonzo. He’s improved over the course of his caps, and besides it’s not like there’s anyone else right now.
I would say he and Goodson are the only ones to state a case for the positive recently. Gonz has more upside and should really be moving into the “automatic selection” category by this point in his career but the lapses, while nowhere near JAB frequency, still inspire some worry.
Dude1, +10 for Pele.
Bradley, Mix, and Reams stock all rose, just for skipping this game.
Bradley’s stock is valued somewhere along the lines of Google + Tesla + Apple + Berkshire Hathaway, and that has nothing to do with this game. We are a completely different team without him, and we have been for years.
Or do we blame them for the disaster?
+1 You can Never blame the players that are not there. without Bradley, we lack vision out of a crowded midfield.
please stop acting like Bradley is a saint and can do no wrong, because he is not smh….there have been may games where all Bradley has done is pass the ball backwards, and lose possession so he is not exempt from getting criticized! JJ struggled slightly in the first half because in my opinion he is short of match fitness, but he was spraying balls left and right, on point I might add and that pass to Dempsey was world class! Jozy was horrible, Dempsey looks disinterested and chills way too much and I thought gooch played pretty well to be honest! He was never caught out of position, except on the last goal when he slipped but the middies didn’t track back at all to help cover and JAB was constantly out of position which quite frankly made gooch look bad!
Goodson basically entered lock status today as well.
Jones was our best player.
I think Brooks does much better when he’s not having to cover Castillo and Onyewu.
Kjlestan was really poor.
Dempsey embarrassed all of us and the crest with his performance and those antics.
Jozy needed to finish the open header Cameron set him up for. It was a gimmie.
Johannson, Johnson, Bedoya and
Ralph, we are all excited about Brooks, but it could not have been more clear that he is still a year or two away from making an impact on the international team.
That’s probably fair.
He’s still 20 years old, and in the centerback world that’s a wee youngster.
I doubt he was ever going to make this WC but in 4 years watch out.
Yeah, we’re pretty set at the back right now. Maybe he earns the 23rd spot?
Agreed, when Brooks had the ball he distributed nicely, but he was waayyyyy out of position too many times, not ready for the big time YET.
agree with everything. but i think Brooks is just too young and his HB coach was not joking about JAB not being a mature player.
Hopefully he’ll develop further.
Brooks can win headers right now. Other than that he is tactically naive and not up to task. The only question is do you put him in the camp/23 to keep him committed or do you judge him objectively as a liability and call in someone less presently hopeless.
Please God let the Jermaine Jones ‘experiment’ end…..and while we are at it enough of Edgar Castillo too…..
How is anyone disparaging Jones?!?!
He was our best player by a long shot.
No Joke why is bagging on Jones this game? He actually prolly had the best game on team.(Howard was good too.) He did his job and he did it well. He isn’t supposed to mark strikers…..
I think this game was lost when Bradley stayed home with a painful zit or whatever TFC’s excuse was. Kljestan looked poor and the other mids were anonymous.
Jones did his job but in Bradley’s absence (as well as Mixx’s, who probably gained by comparison) the central midfield looked punchless. Maybe one good ball forward to Dempsey where the keeper stuffed it. But blaming that on the DM is silly.
i certainly don’t think JJ had a bad game. he’s always the scapegoat. but neither him or Kljestan tracked back on that 1st goal.
but i agree, JJ was not the problem. his pass almost set up Dempsey.
Kljestan was a void the 1st half and was lucky to not get pulled. He showed OK after the break until he was pulled.
Jones was average in first half and our best player in the 2nd.
I disagree as Jones was the best U.S. player in the game. Yes on Castillo. On the first goal he was ball watching when the goal scorer (first goal) ran past him. Castillo didn’t start to move until the guy was several (like 5-10) yards past him and about to receive the ball to score.
Agree
Jones was the best player out there, by far. Castillo, I agree, but Jones was and has been fantastic. What needs to end is Kljestan being called in.
AGREEEEEDDDD! jones is terrible, Cameron and Bradley middle please!
Who is our RB?
Chandler
You’re kidding. Jones was the best US player on the pitch tonight (though Cameron and Bedoya had moments). Admittedly, that’s not saying much.
Blaming anything on Jones is just ridiculous. He had a solid game. A few bad touches, sure, but we are not Spain.
The Jones Experiment??? LOL. He’s one of our best players.
Edgar Castillo was one of the most demanding attacking presences the US had out their tonight. You don’t know what your looking at if you don’t see all the positives he brings to the table with his game. How many times was he fouled and earned one few number of set pieces we had tonight?
Having the technical ability to operate in tight spaces and the making difficult successful dynamic plays or being able to cut into the midfield from his position and land nutmegs on everyone is something that he does unheralded, yet still better then some of our best midfield players
The current game plan for Ghana, Portugal, & Germany = dribble around whatever traffic cone we put at left back and make sure goal difference doesn’t keep them from advancing out of the group.
If FJ isn’t playing left back in these games, we are going to be reliving france ’98.
If that’s the case, then FJ should start. But having Castilo is a great option to have to come on late to push forward for a goal. He created better some of our other winger options
Agree completely. JK has got to get away from this idea of using Johnson in the midfield. He’s the strongest LB (maybe ever for this team), while we do have other comparable options for wingers.
Put the absolute best four we can on that back line – save the creative impulses for the rest of the field, or Brazil will be the longest 270 minutes of three short games we’ve had in a while.
or Germany 2006
What he gives us on the attack is outweighed by his defensive liabilities, IMO. Last t8ime I saw him in League MX his defense was okay, but it’s clear it’s not up to international standards.
Are you kidding? He can’t defend. They routinely worked the ball up his side to create dangerous chances. I didn”t see the attacking upside you are suggesting…..until Shea came in.
We are playing Germany, Ghana, and Portugal. You do not stick red meat out there like that, even if you push him to mid.
Castillo was repeatedly burned all game. He proved he can’t defend at this level. Easily one of our worst players along with Sacha today
Yes, he got forward, but a LB’s first job is to defend well and he did not do that.
I think if he was even passably decent at the prime directive you could weigh the cost-benefit of a defender with attacking ability but defensive vulnerability. But he is so obviously vulnerable that it would have to pop out on tape and if he ever played teams would go after him. I mean, people don’t just fake him out, they blow right past him.
I think Jozy and Clint are real issues going into the World Cup. Neither is playing well and both are long term starters for the USA and part of the “spine.” I am very worried that JK has invested so much in them that he can’t bench them. They may not be his best options at this point though.
Before the game, I thought that Jozy and Clint were actually going to be good at the World Cup. But after watching that, I don’t know what it is with them. They seem completely disinterested and, Clint especially, scares the crap of of me when he is in the lineup.
For forwards confidence is the key, but they haven’t seen enough goals lately. You can see the frustration in their play (DEMPSEY and JOZY), demeanor (JOZY) and poor sportsmanship (DEMPSEY). It’s unlikely that a captain be benched heading into the World Cup, but JOZYs position may be up for grabs. Enter JOHANNSSON.
———————-HOWARD
CHANDLER-CAMERON-BESLER-JOHNSON
——————-JONES-BRADLEY
———–BEDOYA-DEMPSEY-DONOVAN
——————–JOHANNSSON
I’m also wondering if we don’t see the 4-4-2. We looked much better in that formation once Johannsson came on.
That’s never going to happen. Johannsson is not a target striker. You’ve got a much better chance of Dempsey leading the line then Bacon.
Anybody see some of the Austria vs. Uruguay game? Suarez had a break in alone on the GK and shot it straight at him for an easy save. What a lousy striker, they shouldn’t even bring him to the WC. A little over the top sarcasm. I’m not comparing Suarez to Dempsey or Altidore, but I keep saying we shouldn’t jump to conclusions yet. The whole US team looked poor and its hard to play well when your teammates aren’t doing their jobs. I’m as disappointed as anyone in this game, but it doesn’t mean we give up on the team.
No one is giving up, but I think people are right to be a bit concerned. It’s not like fringe players or even just a starter is looking poor; it’s two of our best players, and our two best offensive weapons.
I agree completely. I think Dempsey and Altidore should be replaced by Donovan and Johannsson. I know it would be psychologically difficult for many, but the enthusiasm for US soccer in general would take a big hit if they finished last in the World Cup again. Spain or Germany wouldn’t hesitate to bench their “stars” if they were performing so lamely game after game after game. USMNT is fortunate to actually have options up front this time out – use them, please.
Clint looked bad but the difference you can hope for is that he will go play for Seattle and he has more of a running game and maybe with a little fitness he finds sharpness. But Jozy is not an effort player, he’s a streaky poacher, and I’m worried that his current club situation has basically made his bed. He might do well to get loaned someplace if Poyet has lost faith.
I think you are right. If JK wants to replace those two, especially Altidore, without changing the style of play, Boyd and AJ (or Donavon) would likely be the replacements. Other than that, I think it would be required to change the style of play for instance either to more of a counter-attacking setup or or one based on wing play, if (big if) wings can be found (Zusi, Donavon, Shea, ?) to serve in crosses to EJ, Wondo, or ?.
I think it is kind of late in the process to make that kind of style change and it would be a desparation move. I think JK will use what he has set in motion so far. So Altidore and Dempsey simply must do better.
Looks like all that resting Altidore did with Sunderland didn’t help at all.
He still can’t perform the most basic of soccer moves.
Think his performance and touch indicated quite why Poyet dropped him from the gameday squad.
Silver lining: I won’t be waking up at the a** crack of dawn to watch Sunderland anymore.
I know Ives is a massive supporter of JOZY, but hopefully KLINSMANN will judge his performances over the stretch of six months and make the correct call. In just a short time JOHANNSSON was able to put a shot on goal and he understood that at the international level there isn’t always time to collect the ball so he hits it first time. That’s quality that we desperately need.
Yeah but he’s really more the Dempsey/Donovan type who plays off the 9. He’s too tiny to be the center striker unless you’re just going to give up on that and try two running forwards (which you might have to start considering if he looks this feckless…..people forget he got shoved aside as 2010 South Africa came to pass).
The Jozy Problem is from a tactical standpoint it would be better to replace like with like and there is no Target Option ready in alternative. Boyd is not ready. EJ is as sloppy. The other options are more like speed strikers.
+1
You could always give Boyd a shot! He is a hold up striker who is on form. Why JK hasn’t given him a shot by now is beyond me.
I think Jozy’s form has generally been so poor it’s worth a shot, and I’m also not a fan of putting all your eggs in a basket.
I also think we should be looking at a two forward alignment — which itself would deemphasize Jozy — because it simply seems to be what has worked this cycle. How many games have we won the last two years only after the sub and formation adjustments get made? Right up to AJ and the Panama comeback.
i’m with you on the eggs in one basket. now would be the time to try out a plan b. I would like to see AJ given more time and even if at Jozy’s expense and playing to the in form striker. with all of the player assessments, I’ve seen little comment on Klinsmann’s performance, which I thought lacked the tactical response that it needed, but it may have been due to wanting to see what the players would do.
I concur, Johannshon showed a lot more comsure on the bnall and decisiveness than Jozzy. Dempsey tried but he wasnot at his at mhis best either. The worse of all was our two cnter full backs. They were simply inept.
JS
+1000
Yet Klinsmann didn’t find a way to get Boyd any minutes and Agudelo only a handful.
Yes, I know he saw them all in practice and made his decision, but we know Jozy will be in the 30 man pre-WC roster 100%. Why not let the other guys get a look? At least they’re scoring.
At this point Altidore needs to stay on the field as long as possible to help him work himself out of that funk he’s been on. Looking at his situation with Sunderland it seems like the only PT he’ll get between now and the WC is with the national team.
He played most of the league games prior to the cup final.
He clearly wrote “seems like the only PT he’ll get BETWEEN NOW AND THE WC…”
Right, except that based on the fact he was playing regularly before the cup final, why won’t he get any PT from now to the end of the season? Has Poyet said he’s benched for good?
The cup final for a team this bad was the Match That Mattered. Sunderland also remains in a relegation position where I think the rubber hits the road in terms of side selection. Poyet has CYA’d in terms of man management by saying he cares but I’d pay more attention to his actions, ie, does Jozy play, is he transferred out when it’s all over.
I’m sorry but he has had way more shots than anyone at his position and If JK insists of playing the single forward and that single forward is Altadore…. we will not score at the WC. JK needs to sit him down and try something else. This is not working at all
In a lot of 4-2-3-1 schemes, the so-called striker really isn’t expected to be the scorer. They only call it striker because that’s easier than saying ‘the guy who keeps defenders honest while playing back to goal and laying off balls to midfielders.’
Only in England is that not understood.
And maybe Paul, therein lies our problem with Jozy. He doesn’t pester the defenders to keep them honest, he half jogs at them and tonight his layoffs to others were very poor. I agree it’s mostly a confidence issue, but I also think it was a wasted opportunity that could have been used to try a different formation that would actually create some fluid attacking options.
Well, I missed the game, but the problem with Altidore is I can too easily visualize what your describing.
Our quality tends to pick up when Klinsi transitions out of his 451 into a 442 and either sidelines Jozy or gets him a partner. How many games have we come back in the second half? Even going back to Gold Cup.
You want to go down with the lone striker ship — particularly one spot playing and not scoring — have at it. My experience watching us is that what works is combo play, including getting someone up there under Jozy for him to work with. I don’t think he has the back to goal chops to play alone.
England hasn’t rubbed off on him.
At what point does it become doubling down, in gambling terms? We shouldn’t be going home wearing a barrel because Jozy got too many chances and we never considered Plan B.
I’d have given Boyd 45 because you know Jozy is off form but will make the 23 regardless of how bad he plays. I’m not sure Boyd is ready but if Jozy looks this bad then maybe you give Boyd the chance to underline that it’s Jozy’s problem and not just us being generally overmatched.
It wasn’t even that they lost, but how they looked in and during the loss. What a lack of heart.
And class.
The overwhelming trend is that an opponents through pass between the CBs leads to good chances against slow and lumbering defenders. We are better served playing CAMERON-BESLER tandem. CBs that are calm in possession, quick to recover and know the midfielder position to react to BRADLEY-JONES errors.
It was not just the lack of speed, but also positioning mistakes. I agree that Cameron-Besler would be our best CB pairing, but I think Klinsi will use Cameron as a RB and use Besler-Gonzo as CBs.
Nobody should be surprised that we gave up 2 goals. Starting Brooks and Onyewu as our CBs is just a disaster and everyone should know that ahead of time. The real disappointment should be not scoring or creating enough chances.
+1 Onyewu passes to two people. Howard, and Howard
looking at his passing distribution on Chalkboard is hilarious.
I think you mean Howard and the ball boy
He passed it to Dempsey like three times in a row, when he was in the opponent’s half, but Dempsey kept one touching it to him, and eventually, Gooch kicked it out of bounds. A good example of both their games tonight: Gooch looked rusty, Demps looked lacking confidence.
watch Gooch on the second goal. He falls down. Brooks is caught in no man’s land. Gooch JOGS back. Closes down from behind in slo-mo. And watches the goal. Frightening lack of determination.
Who would u have played instead? Will packwood? The only other defender, tim ream, left the squad before the game
Good point. I don’t know who Will Packwood is, but maybe. I would have called in other players from North America. Pick best 22-26 year old MLS centerback not named Besler or Gonzales, or someone playing in Mexico.
Will Packwood would have been better than Brooks and complemented Gouch better in my opinion.
On Brooks and Gooch the benefit is they got their tryout in March and blew it and I wouldn’t even waste the camp call on them. Brooks should maybe get called to camp to go through the motions before cutting him so he doesn’t go AWOL.
I felt like Castillo was the bigger waste because it was basically reproving the summer lesson.
And I didn’t think Cameron played that well either…..just not pitifully bad like the rest.
In terms of scoring, I think the combination of B side and players needing matches showed. Kljestan rarely played a ball forward, Jozy looked lazy, and there just weren’t incisive enough of services or passes. Reminded me of the Early Klinsi period where there was lots of possession but not enough real chances and virtuosity. But a lot of these guys will be on the bench or cut.
Its not the pairing that matters. It’s that each player needs to know what to do even without communication. That comes with a lot of paying and knowledge wa anther playr can do.
I disagree, I thought the problem was you had 3 poor defenders, 2 of whom are immobile. Communication and positioning was their only hope, but from what I’ve seen from them lately, it was naive to hope they played well.
If you put some more athletic backs in there they can’t try the same runs. The supposed need for communication dissipates. More mobile backs can recover from their own mistakes and don’t need to have perfect offside trap timing or positioning or communication to try and cover their weaknesses.
Your delusional to refer to brooks as being “immobile.” I will be the first to agree that he struggled like hell, but to call him immobile is simply an asinine statement . Can you tell me one time in which he was ‘beat for pace?’ Certainly not on the first goal, which if you had any knowledge of soccer, would surely recognize. His mistake was positioning and failure to identify with the runner. If you had watched the game you would have seen that JAB actually showed some good pace. Particularly in the multiple times that he was forced to cover for Castillo’s defending and positional deficiencies.
Matt:
When people repeatedly run by you on breakaways, one might humbly suggest you have a pace problem. Or should they have waited up for him and run the race by IAAF track sprinting rules, blocks, gun, etc.? Ukraine clearly thought they could take advantage of our lack of speed.
The back line failed on a multitude of fronts: poor positioning, poor communication, slow though processes, and lack of pace. The least problematic of these is pace. Puyol isn’t fast. Bocanegra was never accused of being fast. Back in the day, Carlos Llamosa was very good for the US, and I’m pretty sure he was the slowest person on the field (including the linesmen) every time he stepped on the pitch.
Speed of thought and the ability to read and anticipate situations are critical. There were so many tactical flaws and execution flaws between Gooch and Brooks. They were out of their element. It’s alarming, but this was the best game for Klinsman and his staff to discover that.
Good insight Imperative Voice.
although Brooks has a lot of promise, most likely for next cycle.
Sad to see Gooch is done, his injuries have left him immobile, makes him tentative. unable to make that split second last push for a stop.
Thank you Gooch for all your USMNT service.
Generally, I’d say that when people claim players lack “heart” it’s because they don’t actually understand what’s going on.
Read my other posts before you start trolling Slow. And if you had any experience playing soccer, or any sports, you would recognize the half-baked effort out on the field.
As a rule I always stand on the opposite side of issues with Slow, but in this case, he is right. Who are you to judge the heart of a player on the other side of the world you watched on TV.?
I have plenty of experience playing soccer and I didn’t see the game because I was working. Just stating my opinion based on my general experience.
saying a performance lacked heart is not a dumb thing to say. to me, it’s saying that the performance wasn’t fully committed, or lacked passion. now, i don’t agree that we lacked heart, i thought we hustled as much as they did. they might have had a little more to play for as a team, with just missing the world cup, and everything that’s going on with their country, but i feel the loss is mostly to blame on them being better than us. with these squads, they had at least the two most talented/in form attackers, and better team chemistry.
I think no Bradley or Mixx hurt because it then became a more defensive contest for us and we had a defense that needed to be hidden. It’s probably just as well this got exposed now but I think from a competitive standpoint it hurt to transition from people who set people up going forward, to aimless possession types and lots of backpassing.
Mostly, this game was about answering some questions about who would be the backups to the starters in Brazil. What we found is no good answer at CB. Castillo did not help his case at LB. Bedoya did make a case to start over Zusi. Cameron probably moved ut to starter at RB (if you thought Evans was the starter before this game). The “spine” of the team did not have the best of games; Bradley was missing, Dempsey and Altidore struggled and Jones, while he displayed the toughness he is known for did not exactly rule the midfield. FJ was OK, but he did not really overwhelm his opposition and remains a likely backup at LM and is possible starter at LB. AJ looked good, and will go to Brazil, but it is not clear where he fits in in JK’s formation, he is probably in direct competition with Dempsey, Donavon or EJ for starting as the withdrawn forward or as a replacement if they cannot go, he did nothing to change that. I think for AJ to start he would have to simply outclass one of the “old guard” during the May camp.
From the perspective of the team, I thought the central defense, both backs and midfielders, had poor games, even Jones who did his usual tough guy defending got lost a couple times and he is not one who often makes great passes to spring an attack. It is hard to separate many of the other things out due to the defensive failures. Dempsey had to track too far back to get involved and Altidore was getting the ball only when he had 3 (or more) defenders to deal with. Jozy did make a couple nice passes out wide to relieve that pressure, but he also misplayed more balls than I would like to see. Bedoya probably had the better of it compared to FJ, but he had Cameron to support him while FJ did not enjoy the same safe support from Castillo (while Castillo did get forward, LBs need to defend first).