USA vs. Spain

Looks like Bradley has kept a similar roster from last week's dour display at Wembley: http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewAr ... 20832.html

All we can hope for is the squad coming out and actually wanting to play. Otherwise Torres, et al are going to smoke us.

And if Ricardo Clark starts in the midfield I'm going to yell.

 

So true. Ricardo Clark is not the answer, if the question is "who should start in the USMNT midfield?".

Besides not defending worth a nickel and not being able to get a decent shot off, one thing in particular that kind of rubbed me the wrong way was Dempsey's attempts to get a laff in with Gerard after he was fouled by the Engishman (who wasn't having any part of such buddy-buddy attempts and dismissed Dempsey like some Freshman wannabe). Yes, I know it was a friendly, but if you can't understand the need to be much more serious and push yourself hard against the better teams in Europe, especially when such matches are too far and few between AND World Cup Qualifying is not that far in the distance, then just what the hell are you waiting for?!?!?!

Fucking frustrating!!

 

I'll agree the US is probably going to lose, but it's no excuse to look mostly terrible during the process. Simply, I hope more positives are taken from this match than vs. England, regardless of the outcome.

 

We will win by 5.

 

Don, who said we were going to win??

I just want The Guys to go out there and look like they are trying alot harder to get better. And that means many things, including but not limited to understanding the speed of the game, the communication needed, and the responsibility each has to not screw it up!

Be serious about the task at hand and be fucking professional!!!
Even if it is a Friendly.

 

Re: RE: USA vs. Spain

Thank you FFCinPCB, glad to know I wasnt the only one on here annoyed by Dempsey in the England friendly

 

With cream puffs like Torres it might be 6

 

Don -- its not about winning or losing, its about how you play.

Okay, thats a really cliche statement that I personally think is overdone, but in this instance it really applies.

Lets face it, the World Cup is two years away. [And for everyone who thinks we'll have a tough qualifying campaign, let me remind you that we're in CONCACAF. So there's no way we're not going.] With that said, its about now that the team should really be congealing, and us fans and the coaches should have a good idea of who is in and who is out. That doesn't mean the starting XI is already set in stone, but the constant roster flux is starting to worry me.

Honestly, can anyone predict who will be the starting come June 2008? Heck I dunno if Timmy Howard's role is secure.

And so this upcoming match against Spain, which we should lose under most circumstances, is bothering me because Bradley is still tinkering with the roster. Seriously -- Lewis and Wolff? And recalling Mastroeni and Hejduk?? They're all quality, but recycling veterans sends ripples of uncertainty. Where's Frankie Simek and Bobby Convey?

And so we're seeing a direct result of that where, oddly enough, the players don't really seem to care out there. Against England Dempsey was all convivial with prissy Gerrard; Donovan was, go figure, absent; and Bradley decided to go MIA.

If the match against Spain is going to be a bad date like the England match was, then we all have reason to be angry/depressed/whatever. If its not, and we still lose, then I personally won't mind.

 

Given the crap we saw at Wembley, I would consider making wholesale changes to get some effort on the field. I hope Bradley gave those guys a verbal lashing about fighting for the ball, and taking games like this seriously. If he didn't, then is someone going to give Bob a verbal lashing about fighting for the ball, and taking these games more seriously?

If we come out that way we came out against England, then we are going to get smoked.

I can only shake my head when I see that Clark is even on this roster. What a joke. I just do not get Bob's infatuation with this plonker.

 

Well the score can get worse, but the performance can't, can it? Even though Spain will be putting out a great side, I think our boys will show up and be repectable. I really think the Spain coach has 9, 10, or even the starting XI all set for the opener at the Euros so this might be viewed by the Spanish as a tune-up and testing out different combinations. Hopefully the conditions will be dry, because after watching slip after slip at Wembley a dry pitch won't hurt either. A loss for sure, but there will be some positives drawn from this one (insert fingers-crossed icon here).

 

We should do better against Spain. We are more used to playing against the South American/Mediterranean style; it is the Northern European direct style that we've historically had problems with.

Not saying we'll win, but we'll have an easier time giving a good account of ourselves.

 

If Donovan is out I am having a hard time seeing where our attacking bite is going to come from. The only player on this squad who remotely has the same ability to impact a game the way Donovan does is Adu and Bradley seems to see him more as a substitue than a starter. If this team is ever going to be successful on an international level Bradley is going to have to find a mix of players that can do more than just get back and defend and score off of set pieces. The old adage of the best defense is a good offense does not seem to be in the American soccer mentality.

 

Sounds like Torres has a slight ankle sprain. I wouldnt be surprised if he sits this one out to insure the ankle is 100% for the Euro. Too bad if he does, I would've liked to see the US try to handle him.

 

Spector and LD are dropped from the roster due to injury, and Bradley decided to leave Orozco and Clark at home.

I would like to see Freddy or Duece in the middle with M Bradley. We need some creativity with the ball. That Benny injury hurts, and in retrospect the Toulon tournament was a mistake to send Benny (I think at least). If anything, I think it made his attitude worse. But, in his defense, did you see any of those games? It was terrible play.

 

Toulon, yuck!

Glad Clark is finally out of the picture. Kid needs to work on his game, as well as his attitude, more.

Jen Chang has a fairly accurate take on our recent European Friendlies, in my opinion: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=soccer

And then he talks about Beckham and "premeditation". Stick to soccer, Jen, and leave the rules and legalities to those who understand them better.

 

Don, between our responses to the England game and the messages above here, have we all finally made our point that it's not necessarily about the result, but the effort? We know where we stand talentwise. We just want our guys to give a damn.
As for questioning why we're playing guys who won't factor in 2010, count me in this group. With that said, I'd like to see Adu combine with Bradley in midfield with Dempsey right in front of them. Let's see what happens. Too bad Jozy and Landycakes aren't available. I'd like to see Jozy, Dempsey, Adu, Donovan, and Beasley work together. Small and defensively shaky, yes. But again, let's see what happens.

 

What time is this match in the central time zone?

For some reason I can't find it anywhere....I am also not very smart.