US at Costa Rica

Got no time to cry over spilt milk. They come in flying high, and I hope we come in pissed off and determined. If I'm totally honest Guzan will have to be the best player on the pitch for us to get a result.

 

Would like to see us get a rare win in San Jose, but I'm not holding my breath. The evil side of me wants to see Ruiz tossed around like a yo-yo, too, considering how soft he played for us. I think we miss Deuce and especially Cameron right now. Some guys really need to step up and start doing some special things to get us over the hump. We somehow always seem to manage to qualify for the WC these days, but that don't mean it's going to happen. If we don't, I guarantee that Klinsmann's gone, maybe even Gulati.

 

I'm curious to see how JK sets the line-up for this one. There seems to be overwhelming criticism of his initial formation for the Mexico match.

http://www.espnfc.us/blog/the-match...by-jurgen-klinsmann-needless-tactical-changes

 

7 straight losses in WCQ in CR, so it's going to take a moment or two of brilliance and all hands on deck. Expecting Fabian back at LB and Bedoya in. Hope JK isn't afraid to use Sacha, worried about Jones out for 6 months then attempting 3rd game of extended minutes in 10 days.

 

I echo SCJ's concerns on Jones' minutes but the US still needs that guy in midfield, especially with Cameron's absence (glaring, by the way, at this point). Well, Dos a Cero was broken so hopefully that putrid streak in Costa Rica ends today to achieve balance.

 

Well, that didn't go well. The question now is, do we have the balls to fire Klinsmann? People are already calling for Arena to replace him, but I'd hate to see that. Been there, done that. Need some new blood, desperately, to kick some ass and utilize tactics that make sense. Gonna be an interesting next few days at the USSF.

 

Putrid. Embarrassing. Perplexing.

My son turned it off after the 3rd goal.

Welcome to the de-evolution of the USMNT.

 

I am so glad this morning that I don't have BeIn so that I did not have to witness last nights match.

 

Of course there is a long way to go, but not without venting;

• The new National Stadium for CR is nothing like the old one where the crowd was on top of the field, so was pretty happy with the start of the match...

• Brooks looked like he was on ice skates all night, he was dreadful. Omar wasn't much better.

• Jozy seemed more intent on trying to draw fouls than attacking.

• We read reports of Chandler playing great in Germany, but I've never seen anything but underwhelming play.

Every country in the World would fire JK, but of course we won't. Last night I wondered if he knew we were losing only 1-0.

• With Bedoya out I could understand the same lineup, but would of preferred Zusi, Yedlin, Fabian back, and Besler (who did his best, but obviously not an LB) out. However, why didn't he PUT in Sacha after about 10 minutes in the second half? I found myself agreeing with Rongen (commentator) for Gawd's Sake!! Jones looked like he hadn't been playing for 6 months , Bradley looks like he can only play Sweeper effectively, so bring Sacha in while only down a goal!!! They score on a calamity of mistakes, and he then puts in Gooch in for Pulisic, I guess to cap tie him??

The next 2 matches are home to Honduras and maybe the biggest one the rest of the way at Panama. There needs to be a whole lot of soul searching starting with the guy at the top whom in Gulati I don't think has the guts to pull the trigger before it becomes a 5 alarm fire.

 

Then Gulati should be replaced too.

 

I'm not sure anyone told Chandler that he was in the back four. He must've thought we were still playing a 3-5-2 because I'm not sure I saw him defend at all last night.

The rest of the defense wasn't any better. I'm going to hibernate now. Please wake me when the US decides to play defense again.

I understand that the pitch was not in the best condition, but I have no idea why the entire team treated the ball like a hot potato. Rarely did the US players attempt to settle and control the ball. They kept trying to one touch pass a bouncing ball.

I also agree that JK waited too long to substitute and that his choices were a bit curious.

 

I don't understand the hesitancy, the delay. It pretty much has to be done. We've been trending downward since Brazil. It's obvious after 5 years, 4-1/2 months that Klinsmann's time is up. Questionable formations. Bad tactics. Unfathomable player selections. Disrespecting our league. Too much reliance on German-Americans who clearly aren't world class players. Playing players out of position. Experimenting with formations during WC qualifiers instead of friendlies. Failing to embrace the country's soccer culture.
Not developing youngsters given golden opportunities. The only possible explanation is Gulati's ego. Waiting will only make it worse, narrowing the window we have to get out of this hole, despite CONCACAF's lenient qualifying rules. If he's still our manager come March, we are in deep trouble. When your team quits on you, as we did in San Jose, you've got issues that anything short of sacking will not get solved. Pull. The. Trigger.
Now.

 

Wait, what?
http://www.espnfc.us/united-states/...cements-for-jurgen-klinsmann-for-year-sources

 

good read

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ccer-mediocrity-jurgen-klinsmann-sunil-gulati