The Hex

Is Klinsmann taking qualification for granted? And giving some younger/unproven players time in higher profile matches? I'd like to think so, since the alternative is that he's got his head up is a$$.

 

I would not read too much into.Dolo being left out. It is possible that the contract extension he signed the before Sunday's match had something to do with the.injury report. He would not be the first player to recover from no longer being out of contract.

 

Klinsmann has now called in Brad Evans. Makes a tremendous amount of sense to call him for midfield or right back cover and NOT Donovan, Cherundolo or Lichaj. :sad-roulette:

 

Watching a little bit of the El Tri at Jamaica match, the Raggae Boyz were the better team in a scoreless first half, but Mexico just took the lead on a header from a pinpoint cross from Carlos Salcido. Before they scored I was going to comment that the Mexico manager had to be feeling the heat from their inability to score so far in The Hex...Wow, back to back great saves by Corona, should be 1-1.

EDIT: 1-0 Final for Mexico, Raggae Boyz on life support, they have to have 3 points on Friday, which should lend itself to plenty of goal scoring chances for our boys.

 

I thought both teams looked pretty bad tonight.

 

I'm not quite sure the Boyz are on life support yet, two or their four matches have been against Mexico and they've played Costa Rica away. I'm not giving up hope on my second favorite team in the hex yet.

 

They have played better than their last place position suggests, but a home draw v Panama was a killer and now add a home loss to Mexico and they are close to toast. Their next 2 are against the US at home, and then at Honduras. They need 4 points from these two or else it might be time to roll a :banana-stoner:

 

Jurgen Klinsmann has Brad Evans as USMNT starting right back ahead of Jamaica qualifier

An interesting read in my opinion.

 

Interesting because it is insane and illogical.

So let me get this right, you like Cameron but wont play him at CB because he cant win that position at Stoke. He does however play right back at Stoke, but you wont play him there because you want to play a guy who has NEVER, EVER played right back for his club, which is in a weaker league, even though he cant beat out a rookie at that position. And it is BS that Stoke played Cameron in a traditional RB capacity - he got forward all the time. Klinsmann is a kookoo bird

 

Oh please Mo, get off your Klinsman soapbox on this one. This is perhaps the one of the most logical position changes that Klinsman has made and is no different than giving Beasley a chance on the left. Evans won a chance at the position based on his MLS onfield play and a recommendation from Sigi. He was only given the chance because Cameron has shown with his recent play that he is a nightmare at right back, Chandler won't get on a plane, Parkhurst has been injured/is not playing regularly and Dolo refused to come over to give his body time to rest. I keep hearing people call for Lichaj but I am not sure why when he couldn't get off the bench for Villa to get any meaningful minutes. Lichaj is simply a case of he must be better than what Klinsman is doing because we haven't seen him play and ignores the fact that he didn't break through under Bradley when given a chance. I refuse to accept that someone not getting playing time overseas is a better choice than an MLS regular. Evans has been a consumate professional in the MLS and there is no reason to moan about this change. I doubt Klinsman sees Evans or Beasley as a long-term solutions but someone has to play on either side of the CB's tonight.

For the record I find the "can't beat a rookie out" comment a bit of a cheap shot. DeAndre Yedlin is a talented, young, American player that looks like he could be something special if properly groomed and Seattle is giving him time. Isn't grooming young, American talanet what everyone has been dying for the MLS to do? I for one will applaud Sigi for this and hope Yedlin, or some other youngster, will step up and replace Dolo in the near future.

 

Some big match ups tonight::

Panama v Mexico: Panama has been preparing for awhile, how much will El Tri have left in the tank after a tough match in Kingston?? Panama is the one team in the Hex that no one really talks about, but a win tonight and they are on top of the group.

Costa Rica v Honduras: This is a huge rivalry, this is being played at the Estadio Nacional, but not sure if it's the same home for Saprissa which has that artificial turf and is crazy loud. At least we don't have to worry about Bryan pulling a hamstring :roll: Not really sure what result to pull for, I'm thinking that a Costa Rica win is better, but only slightly.

 

HD, Not sure about the other two guys, but JK has been quoted on multiple occasions that he didn't want Shea to go to Stoke.

As far as Evans goes, if he does start it is a big risk. but Cameron has looked bad out there for few matches now.

 

Sorry Don but we will have to agree to disagree about Lichaj. Your claim that he was the first call off the bench is off the mark because Lichaj only made a total of 8 substitute appearances on the Premier League season and if my understanding is correct better than half of his 17 total appearances were on the left where he greatly struggled. If he had made a big impact on the Villa defense he probably would not have been released.

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Joe is also correct that Klinsman has publically stated that Shea did not consult US soccer about his move to Stoke and that he would have advised him not to go there. I will also agree with Joe that Cameron has been bad at RB for a string of matches at this point. Belgium was just the rotten cherry on top of a yuck sundae. I wouldn't argue about Cameron starting ahead of Gonzalez at CB however.

I will completely agree that it is Klinsman's job to get the US to Brazil in 14 but I will say I think it is probably fairer to wait until after the Jamaica match before panning players like Evans. I would like to give him the chance to step up and put in the same kind of performance against Jamaica as he did against Germany before deciding how "insane" it is to play him there. I won't lie, the back four scare me but at least Klinsman is trying to fix it by recognizing that Cameron and Gonzolez don't play well together.

I do believe that premature Klinsmanation really should be treated.

 

My point is that it makes no sense to say you wont play Cameron where you prefer him because he doesnt play that position for his club and then play Brad Evans at a position he doesnt play for his club. Especially when you consider the fact that Cameron plays RB, the position where you are playing Evans, for his club in a league that is better than MLS. Especially considering the fact that Cameron played RB in the recent World Cup qualifiers in which we beat Costa Rica and tied Mexico at Azteca and also considering the fact that Evans has NEVER played in a World Cup Qualifier. What happened the last time Klinsmann did that at RB? Timmy Chandler vs Honduras? To qualify that I do expect Evans to do better than Chandler did in that game an no that is not a cheap shot at Chandler.

How exactly did Sigi recommend Evans to play RB? Saying he has all the tools to play that position is not the same thing as saying he is ready to play RB today for the US in a World Cup qualifier. It is not the same thing as saying I agree, out of all the players you have available to you at RB, Evans is the best choice to start. Also Sigi is obviously fond of Brad Evans. What would you expect him to say? Do you really think he would say anything to Klinsmann that would discourage him from giving Evans an opportunity for a call-up and a cap. If Klinsmann has been toying with this idea of Evans at RB for so long then why didnt he play him there in the Canada friendly? Also consider the article was written by Evans' employer - MLS.

I dont need any lectures on Yedlin as I have followed his career both at Akron and Seattle. He is playing RB for Seattle for the sole reason of being better at it than than anyone they have. If Sigi was just nurturing his potential then Yedlinn would be a sub, would be playing for the reserves, and would be playing for Seattle's U23s - not starting. The rookie reference was not a cheap shot but a valid comparison. In Evans' case you have a seasoned MLS veteran, liked and known by his coach, who cant command a starting spot over a rookie in the league. In Cameron's case he is a league rookie who cant command the starting spot of Klinsmann's preference over seasoned European seasoned veterans of that league.

In nine world cup qualifiers Klinsmann has had nine different starting back four combinations. This includes five different LB, four different LCB, three different RCB, and four (soon to be five) RB. And we wonder why our defense continues to be a problem. I wish Evans all the best if he starts tonight; he appears to be a great hardworking professional. However, not many teams can field the type of speed that Jamaica has at it's disposal. Defense coordination and positioning will be critical and I just dont see how putting EVans at RB with a defense that has hardly played together is anything but insane. No if you look at it incrementally from one game to the next insane is too strong of a word. But if you look at Klinsmann's body of work with our defense in World Cup qualifying matches, insane is the right word

 

I understood your point. Your point just fails to recognize that Klinsman made a change because of how poorly Cameron has been playing and you fail to acknowledge that Evans was tested against a tough opponent prior to the qualifier. If players are playing poorly they should be removed from the starting lineup regardless of what league they ply their trade in.

More to the point, you are criticizing a decision before you even see the results of the change. Just because you haven't seen a player in a position doesn't mean he can't succeed there and do try to keep in mind that Evans was widely considered to have turned in the top defensive performance in a FRIENDLY prior to the qualifier. Evans was given a chance to succeed in a match that didn't matter and he did. If he had flopped and still started a qualifier then I could understand the criticism but he didn't. Evans earned his spot today and if he starts playing poorly then he should be pulled.

I am sorry but how is saying a player has all of the tools to play a position not an endorsement? I never implied Sigi said he was the best man for the job but saying a player has the tools to do a job is an endorsement no matter how you spin it.

The problem is that Evans is a starter it's just that he starts in another position. Your statement makes it sound like they were in a head to head competition and Evans lost out which is untrue. Thus it sounds like a cheap shot at Evans talent.

Your thoughts on how Sigi nurtures players is different than mine. Sigi has a history of letting young players like Zakuani, Rodgers, Gaven and Chad Marshall grow and mature into positions with on the job training. It is something I have and will continue to applaud him for. Too few coaches are willing to roll the dice the way Sigi does. I was happy to read tonight that Yedlin was called up for the U20 World Cup and Sigi deserves a small portion of the credit.

I am against change for change sake. I don't like the way Klinsman dropped Boca right before qualifications and went with an untested CB pairing against Honduras especially on the road. I don't like that Donovan was left off the roster and I am sure the list for a lot of fans could go on and on. However, I am glad that Klinsman did not shy away from pulling Cameron because his play warranted being sat on the bench. Either Cameron or Omar needed to sit in my opinion. The back line still scares me but it scares me less without Cameron and Omar playing on the same side of the pitch. Players who are playing poorly should be told so by being sat down.

I understand that Klinsman fumbled the interview. It sounds to me like Klinsman was trying to dodge a press question about Cameron losing the position to Evans without embarrassing Cameron and messed up with his answer. Whatever he was or was not doing in the press doesn't change my opinion that Cameron needed to find a seat on the bench.