USA v. Brazil, ConfedCup

The match summary is simply that we were played off the pitch period. For the first time I am going to say that Bob Bradley looks like he is out of ideas. Our midfield, which was supposed to be a position of depth, is so thin that we are starting players who don't deserve a place on the bench right now. Bradley was grasping at straws by starting Beasley and Kljestan. Beasley has shown nothing in all of 2009 and Kljestan has shown nothing but inconsistency.

...........................................Match Stats
..................................United States.......Brazil
Shots (on Goal) .................5(0)..............14(8 )
Fouls..................................9...................8
Corner Kicks.......................3...................6
Yellow Cards.......................1...................0
Red Cards...........................1..................0
Saves.................................5..................0

The Good
Donovan - He played hard and is one of the few players to show a high work rate throughout the match.

Gooch - Put in a solid performance.

The Bad
Demspey - Got in caught in possession to often. He needs to find the heart and grit that made him a fan favorite for the USMNT and quit being such a nancy boy and falling down EVERY time a defender gets near him.

Jozy - Doesn't look ready to handle being a lone striker.

The Ugly
Beasley -Quite possibly the only player to get caught in possession more than Dempsey and he NEVER looked dangerous. The corner kick left me speachless. He has been poor in all of 2009 and looks to be in decline.

Kljestan - The only impact he had on the match was to send the US down a man.

Everyone else
Timmy, Demerit and Bradley - An OK performance by all. There was nothing exceptionally good or bad about their play.

Spector - Got beat for the first goal and Kaka skinned him once but his play was not horrible. He was the lone player that got back on Brazil's second goal and set up Feilhaber's crossbar shot. A mixed bag from him today.

Bornstein - I just don't know who else we have. He gets forward but his crosses are poor. He defended OK today but the best I can give him is a ho-hum.

The Subs
Feilhaber - Moved the ball around quickly. Hopefully Benny can step his game up a bit in the near future.

Casey - Way too stationary when he did not have the ball. Poor work rate.

 

Agreed, Spector has shown why he plays with West Ham and Donovan has been solid. I'd like Spector to put a decent cross in after his runs though - he does well to get up the field only to have cross after cross ping off defenders.

I know you're not supposed to lose your position to injury, so when 'dolo comes back can Spector play LB?

Bradley can't make up for the shitty play, but it's his JOB to put the team in the best position to win; his failure to make changes that work is hamstringing this team above and beyond the poor quality of players. And stretching back to February's qualifiers, he has been an increasing failure in this department. I think Mo was on to something in her earlier posts - Nowak was the ONLY brains behind this outfit. It's not just this match, it's a 6 month downward trend and I'm sorry to say it, again, but Bradley must go (AND NOT FOR KLINSMAN) or the US needs to bring in a technical advisor to supplement Bradley. THIS IS THE LEVEL OF PLAY THE U.S. WILL SEE NEXT YEAR and the team is so far off the mark right now that they should be thankful the WC is a year away.

 

The 2006 World Cup was frustrating. This has just been downright humbling. So yeah, I agree with Nev that we are clearly going in the wrong direction. :|

 

I usually tend to disagree with Carlisle, but I think his assessment here is pretty right on. Especially the idea of starting DeMerit. That way Boca can cover the black hole at left back. Bornstein does not impress me at all.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/st ... us&cc=5901

 

In recent qualifying and now Africa, watching the USMNT has felt very similar to watching Sanchez's Fulham teams. In looking at the stats, we played the most long balls of the 8 teams in Africa and had the lowest pass completion percentage. That could be why.

We need to get back to more of a possession game, hold the ball, then change the point of attack and find the opening. When this team has success, it's usually when they do that.

To me, the problem seems to be a lack of discipline. In possession, in positioning, in covering defensively and holding shape, and in playing as a team. This was exacerbated by the red cards and the absence of some starters, but it's been building for a while. I don't know if you dump Bradley or maybe Nev is onto something with the technical adviser/consultant idea, but either way I have little confidence that we'll fare any better than the last World Cup.

And for the love of mike, can someone learn how to cross the ball?

 

Does anyone have any confidence that anything will change in that timespan?

Whether wrong or right finishing both games with 10men and a 1-6 goals aggregate ultimately falls on the manager. If this was any other (respectable footy) country BB would be fired as soon as the Egypt match was over based on those two stats right there.

And people would be burning his effigy in the streets right now, but lets be thankful we at least keep it civil here...

[Edit/Addition] And yes I'm aware it was against Italy and Brazil and we're without or captain and best d-mid.

 

Ok, who's going to receive the inevitable red card in the Egypt match?

I gotta go with the favorite: M. Bradley, but I could also see B. Feilhaber in the mix.

 

I going with a long shot and saying Michael Orozco.

 

Do we have any more MLS CM's on the bench? That's been the theme for red cards so far.

 

:banana:

R. Clark will be back on the bench, so I probably shouldn't have overlooked his presence.

I may need to join a support/therapy group after Sunday...any recommendations?

 

I'm going to go with the really pessimistic view and say that Clint gets the red card against Egypt.

Glad I didn't remember to DVR this one.

 

Soccer support helpline

 

Crazy idea time.

Chris Coleman, USMNT Manager.

 

Bullshit, Don. You'll say you are a "realist", and "it is what it is", but that sounds like something totally different to me. And that is not the color of our flag.

 

Okay, I'm back from the ER. They were able to sew my jugular back together.

MY GOD. I dont know what to say yet. Still dased and confused. Agree with much of what was said but there are still loads more to say. Maybe when I recover.

 

Just wait 'til he comes back to Cali! :banana:


And, holy schneikes Mo! Was that a self-inflicted wound? I hope all is well.

 

Ok I know what many of your guys' positions on Bob Bradley are but we have to seriously start asking the question: Is he the manager to take us to the next level? I don't hate the guy by any means but I don't know if he can get us where we need to be on the big stage. It's not enough dominating CONCACAF..... which we don't have supreme control over the region anyway. Routinely dropping points in Central America pisses me off to no end. Now is Klinsmann the guy? I don't know. Until we do find a guy that can take our national team to these tournaments and COMPETE WELL, I'd keep Bradley where he is.... Maybe he'll surprise us a year from now......

Back on topic, I'm glad I missed the game.