Netherlands v. USA

Was Donovan on the pitch? I didn't realize he was, HD.

 

1. The uniforms are embarrassing.

2. Bornstein is such a shit player and must have pictures of Bob Bradley crossdressing or something.


3. Why was Findley passing to the keeper? The announcers called it a weak shot, but that's being kind, it was clearly a pass.

 

Hey everyone -- we're all watching this right?

Then lets all go to the chat room, lets all go to the chat room, let's all go to the CHAAATT ROOOM, and grab ourselves a snack!

 

At least it was a positive end to an ass-kicking for the first 85 minutes. Good header from Boca (even if unmarked). Torres w/a good shot in the first half, Jozy w/one in stoppage. Charlie Davies' college roommate (Bedoya?) nice little give and go that missed out on a pk by a yard. Fingers-crossed Stu isn't hurt too bad. Findley looked clueless, Bornstein beyond inept (is he really the best LB in the MLS?? really hard to comprehend if he is), and our best player should never play on the left side again (Hey coach, it's called halftime adjustments)

 

If that had been for something, I'd be livid.
It was to give some guys a chance.. Bradley's better than that.

I agree Bornstein's probably out. I think the guy's always been overrated.

On Beasley.. sorry, there's no 'designated hitter' in soccer. STILL gets pushed off the ball way too much.

EJ.. ah, well. Not enough time. And there never will be.

 

People who looked good: Holden (until he got hurt), Bradley, DeMerit, Boca

People who looked bad: Bornstein, Findley, Johnson

People I thought did OK: Edu, Beasley

People I am intrigued about and wished we could see more of: Bedoya

People I don't know if they existed today: Donovan

 

Howard - 8 stopped what was stoppable and controlled the box.

Bornstein - 5 yeah, he had a generally bad game defensively, but did pass well and helped stop the one-on-one after he moved to center mid. The '5' is an average of a few great moments combined with a poor overall. Shoulda been replaced at HT, but his best moments were in the 2nd half.

Bocanegra - 6 played ok and nice goal, but his lack of pace showed

Demerit - 8 great performance

Spector - 6 wasn't a liability, but wasn't a strength either

Bradley - 7 solid

Torres - 5 got fouled well, but his passing was awful

Donovan - 5 tracked back defensively well but invisible moving forward. I think his defensive responsibilities at Everton got into his head and made him forget that with Dempsey out, he needs to be the creative force.

Holden - 8 very good performance on both sides of the ball. I hope it's just a bruise.

Altidore - 7 did well with what little he was given

Findley - 3 worst player on the pitch; why didn't he come off at HT?

Edu - 6 did ok

Beasley - 6 did better than I expected, but his passing was off. Nice set piece delivery, though.

Johnson - 7 I thought he did pretty well and was bummed he didn't get more time. An improvement over Findley.

Pearce - 5 didn't notice good or bad

Goodson - 6 no mistakes

Bedoya - 6 looked dangerous moving forward, but was weak defensively. A possible supersub (Adu's former role).

 

Don,
I know Sneijder is a nice player, but our boys gave him a ton of space to operate. I was getting so aggravated at the fact that Jr and Torres/Edu were flat while giving 5-10 yards to the guy. He is too good for that, and we paid the price. Compound the laying off with the fact that it seems as though our defenders mark space rather than a player, and this team is killing us. How many times did we see their attackers running in between our defenders (not just this game, but countless others). I do not get it.

Sneijder actually pissed me off with the dives as well as the constant whining to the ref.

Overall, I was looking at our guys up top.

Jozy - had some nice moments given the fact that he was alone up there. I am hopeful for the future this guy has.

EJ/Findley - I have no idea why these guys do not use their speed. Both of these guys have it, so I do not get it. Also, neither one tries to create something on their own. They are possibly dangerous when they are facing the goal with ball (assuming they do not lose it), but that never happened either. We have no through ball game whatsoever, and we have some blazers. At least try to stretch the D.

 

I echo FFC24's comment: Bornstein has to have compromising pics of one of the Bradleys. In fact, that was my comment during the espn.com blog yesterday. He is BRUTAL. I don't love Bradley, but I feel he's been competent. However, if Bornstein sees one minute of the field in South Africa Bradley should be fired on the spot. Midgame. Hyperbole? I don't think so. I don't even want to think about what Aaron Lennon, SWP, or gulp, a drifting Rooney would do that imcompetent hack. Rant over.

On a happier note: Bedoya!!! Another Boston College guy representing! Long shot, but could there be TWO EAGLES on the plane?

I also liked Jozy's comment after the game, essentially saying he needs to step up and shoot more. That's the attitude I want to see in a striker.

 

And since you asked, here's my line up for 6/12. I'm going to assume, unfortunately, that Davies wont be ready to start (but hopefully can be an impact sub):

Howard
Spector, DeMerit, Gooch*, Bocanegra
Holden*, Edu, Bradley, Donovan
Dempsey*, Altidore

* assuming healthy

 

BC. I concur 100% with that roster (and the caveats).

 

i like that squad. Boca scares me a bit, but probably the best option. That would give us a couple other guys that can come in off the bench in the defense if there are any glaring problems and it wouldnt be too much of a drop off.

Demps up front makes me happy - let him do his thing up there. He is always up for a big game and he seems to find ways to be dangerous.

 

I know that Netherlands are one of the top sides in the world, but I seriously get tired of watching the US chase the ball against the top teams. I want us to be more like *gasp* Mexico and try to have some semblance of possession. Maybe even try to run at defenders once in awhile. When we were showing some attacking initiative, I liked what I saw... despite the fact that we don't know how to use a speedy striker not named Davies and the fact that we don't know how to finish from something that's not called a set piece.

I was impressed by Jozy. He is maturing a lot and I can't wait until he starts to find his scoring touch. DMB also impressed. I wasn't sure how he'd do but he surprised me. My only gripe with him is his free kick that was sent straight at the keeper.

I see so much potential from this group that it infuriates me when they don't fulfill it. I've spent my entire life watching and being a part of teams full of potential but never living up to it. Pisses me off.

 

Don. Milan is still VERY thin at center-back, so we may see a Gooch sighting yet.

 

But Don, he will be in the starting XI. Even if he has 20mins of PT before hand.

That's how national teams work.