USMNT v. Guatemala

One more thing. I was not sure if this was discussed already, but did anyone see that Neven Subotic decided to go with Serbia rather than the US? I thought he would do that once he found out that he could not be on the German National Team. It seemed like he was holding out for something better than the US could offer.

 

I was more surprised that Charlie Davies was not named to the squad than Torres. I thought his season had come to an end already.

 

Eric, I'm "linkily" challenged, but if you go to soccernet.com and then the us soccer homepage there are a couple of items about Subotic; In the spotlight section there is a live studio discussion under U.S.Abroad about Duece, Bradley, and Subotic. Also if you scroll down, there is an article entitled "Chasing Neven". In depth and it will make you want to strangle Thomas Rongen if the kid chooses somewhere else to play.

 

Sunil Gulati says that report is not true. At one point Neven also said playing under a crest for a team other than the US would be like backstabbing.


http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_i ... s-sub.html

 

Are you feeling a bit lonely on the subject of EJ Don? Just for the record I haven't written him off yet either and I am glad Bradley left him in England. I don't think Bradley has completly closed the door on EJ but he does need to start performing for his club and to do that he needs to be left there to fight for time on the pitch. Hopefully last weekend was the start of a string of good performances for him.

 

West Palm, Florida may sound nice, but there are parts you'd rather not find yourself in at night. I could be completely off-base, but I think E.J. has a longer acclimation period than most. Hopefully MSL was a good indication of what happens once he finds his groove.

 

My thought is that EJ is probably learning to be a "soccer" player now. He needs to develop more facets to his game than speed and power which can make it in the MLS, but are not enough in other leagues (as we have seen).

I hope he does well because he has the physical tools that can benefit FFC and the US.

 

Jozy and Cooper up top.....Adu and Sacha in the midfield.....me likey........

 

The offense - Altidore and Sacha were brilliant last night. Altidore's first touch was superb and Sacha cut the defense apart with his passing. Kenny Cooper didn't have a pretty match but he was effective. His timing looked a little off on some of his runs but he got into dangerous positions and seemed to work pretty well with Altidore.

The defense - The backline was rarely tested but Parkhurst looked good and Guzan's shot stopping was excellent late in the match. I was impressed by what little of Clarence Goodson I got to see. Thorington and Borenstien got forward well. Thorington should have earned the US a PK and was the more effective of the two in my opinion.

The midfield- I have had my complaints about Pablo but last night he did a great job of distributing from the back and I thought his yellow card was a bit weak. Ricardo Clark was effective in his role. Sacha I already mentioned but since he was everywhere last night he gets a second well done. He did a great job transitioning the ball from the back to the front.

Freddie - He gets his own category but I am not sure what to call it. He is still a bit of a puzzle I think. He had several stray passes in the first half. His corner kicks were anemic. His defense was virtually nonexistent and yet what an impact he had on the match. It was good to see him get his first goal on a well taken free kick and between Freddie and Sacha I saw more passes that shreaded the Guatemalan defense than I can remember seeing in one UNMNT match. He has a knack for creating chances and that is something that is hard to ignore but against a better team I wonder if we won't be punished by his lack of defense.

Overall it was an excellent performance by the youngsters and Pablo.

 

Drat... and if Canada could've held one of the two leads they had on Mexico in Edmonton last month, El Tri would be out.

 

We were on the opposite end for Freddie's free kick, but really looked like it should have been a save. Either way, it was a nice kick. our entire row kept making EJ references watching Altidore fall down at every challenge. With his size, we all felt that he should be playing a little more physical, especailly against a lesser opponent.

As far as the crowd, it was poor at best. The ends were full (cheaper tix). They obviously outpriced the fans for the middle. Denver did a terrible job promoting the game. The only thing you saw locally was a little ad in the paper. Someone said they heard something on the radio, but that was it. The MLS all star game was plastered all through downtown. I think they could have had better promotion for the game. But the 10 of us all had a good time.

 

Or, if our old friends Marlon King and Paul Stalteri could have conspired to let just a few more goals into the Canada net...

 

Born-too-hyped looked out of his depth and further cemented the fact that many of his fans had absolutely no idea what they were talking about 6+ months ago.

Next, don't get me wrong, I love his hustle, but Cooper is really not that good, mostly from a technical perspective.

Jozy and Adu were fantastic. Thorrington was decent as well, and that was defo a PK. Guzan was solid. Maestroni showed why he should always be a consideration in midfield when needed (and not suspended). And as long as Kljestan becomes less like Hedjuk, the better for him and for the U.S.

 

Cooper. Effective passer and shooter, but his first touch in not Euro-quality.

Bornstein. I suppose he's ok if we're facing a superior team with a pacey right winger. Otherwise, Pearce is better. Bornstein's crossing was atrocious.

Sascha. MOTM!

Adu. Still too much of an ego. He lost the ball dribbling when he should've passed.

Parkhurst/Gordon. Good pairing of skill and size.

 

Thats funny Hatter - I was thinking the same thing. I kept yelling at the TV, "Cooper you big dumb animal - do Something!"

Then he did and I had to laugh - sun shined on his behind a bit.

 

SO the hex is...

USA
Mexico
Costa Rica
T&T
Honduras
El Salvador

The Sallies will be doormats, I think Honduras can nick that 4th or even 3rd spot. And does Canada suck or what! Brutal.

Oh and if they can't be bothered to show up in Denver bring the games to Seattle. I'll make the trip to support the boys!

 

Send 'em to Houston. Hopefully this time I can watch without having to see someone get shot on the way out of the stadium.