USMNT v Mexico @ Crew Stadium

Yeah, it's a home boy thing. People forget, but the only reason Kasey Keller lost the GK job at Tottenham was that Paul Robinson was the future England GK. He could have been there for a good spell, but Tottenham wanted the England golden child between the sticks.

Oops.

 

Thanks for the extended recap, Andy. That was fun.

 

Well, there's that, but also didn't people (in England, at least) believe that Robinson was going to be really good? My point being that I think it was more a case of poor talent evaluation (or poor player development, I suppose) than it was of homer decisionmaking.

 

That is what I said. They believed he was the future. They wanted the England #1 on their team and not some other team. He wasn't better than Keller, but they thought he'd grow into a stud... but didn't.

So it was poor scouting on their part and England's, but Keller had to go if he was to going to have an opportunity to improve.

It's the same stuff you hear about Joe Hart. The soccer chattering class in England hates that Man City brought in Shay Given cause now Hart isn't going to play, unless he moves to a smaller club.

 

Mexican Assistant Coach

http://www.univision.com/content/video. ... tid=161668

He slapped Hejduk.

 

I used to be on the "What the hell does Ching bring to the table" bandwagon, but I have slowly walked away. He really does do the "little things" that don't show up in the box score once you watch him more closely, while Jozy is a much more "flashy" player.

Like jmh said, I would compare him to McBride (although he is a poor man's version, although that is still pretty good). Jozy struggled the couple times he tried to hold up the ball last night, while Ching is good at this and is not bad at getting the ball to our more creative midfielders (Remember his great pass to Sacha for his third goal against Sweden? That was also after making a great play to win the long ball against 2 or 3 defenders. Plus, he won the free kick that resulted in Sacha's first goal of the night).

I think Jozy will become the starting striker for the USMNT in time once he gets some more experience, but Ching is holding down the fort for now.

Plus, with last night's weather (sloppy field leading to unpredictable play rather than technical play) and the rivalry, I think Ching's style and experience was better suited for the match.

 

Good analysis by LAX and others. I like Ching and think he should be selected based on the opposition; although he does deserve his PT. Jozy is the -near- future though.

 

US v Mex TV Ratings

USA-Mexico game shatters viewing records

 

Re: US / Mex fan comity

MOM obviously Bradley; I dont think he made a mistake. I thought Hejduk was great too and despite my wishes to see Marvel I am glad that Bradley gave the start to Frankie.

Watching it in person, I thought it was a great game that the US dominated. However, when I watched my recording, it didnt appear that way at all. Mexico looked a lot more dangerous (Sven should not be losing his job, but I'm not sure he would really care). I also didnt see the gaffes by Boca and Gooch, didnt notice Landon wimping out time and again with the slightest push, and didnt notice Dempsey's diving. On TV it did look sloppy but it was totally due to the conditions.

In support of Ching, I echo what others have said. Also, with Landon nagging the ref for a foul all the time you need someone in there that doesnt give up even when he is being knocked around. There were several free kicks that were the result of fouls on Ching. The corner that led to the first goal was one of them. Ching has been the most under appreciated player on the USMNT for some time (in part due to McBride). We all want to see Jozy play, but he dives also and does not make the one touch quick passes to players making runs as well as Ching. I have always liked Ching and was very disappointed that he did'nt get a single minute in the 2006 WC so I am glad to see him getting PT now.

If you wondered what I was talking about, read anypalmer's post. The parking situation was an utter disgrace. Local youth soccer tournaments handle parking 1000X better than this match and they do it for two straight days not a few hours. Unless that situation is corrected, I dont think they should ever ever hold the USA-Mexico match there again. Totally embarrassing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And to think we had to pay $10 to park for that type of treatment.

Despite the parking, I thoroughy enjoyed the game. The crowd was great - hats off to you andypalmer for what you endured. We sat close to midfield so we werent near Sam's army and the others, but I found it cool that even where I was, people stood for the entire match. It was incredible that the weather calmed down during the two hour window of the match. I think this is because I found a way to reverse the curse that I seem to be putting on my teams when I see them in person lately (FFC - Sunderland being one). My husband found some sort of Mexican Futbol press pass on the ground, and as soon as I put it around my neck the rain stopped.

 

Re: US v Mex TV Ratings

It's happening, and there is just no stopping it now. :3d smile:

 

Re: US v Mex parking

Mo, the parking situation is a constant cause for griping .. for a reason related to the problem you saw. The near field parking is on dirt. Because of the weather parking was shifted away to the paved areas south of 17th. Otherwise, there would have been many cars stuck in the mud if it had rained a little more.

Perhaps this will get the fairgrounds people off their asses and do something about paving the nearby general parking. Prev, they have wanted Crew Stadium to pay for it all.

 

Good points all on Ching. And I'm not trying to disparage him. I wasn't aware that he'd netted 9 times (I missed the Sweden match as well). And I see the value in what he does. But as he develops, Jozy has the potential of doing both. His initial run and holding off the defender setup the 2nd goal. That and his performances in Spain this season (when he's found the pitch) would indicate that he's improved a bit. That said, the game conditions on Wed were much better suited for Ching's game.

Wasn't questioning the decision to start him, but I would like to see Jozy start one soon to see how much closer that future is.

 

I'll echo Mo's comments about the Mexican fans. While there was a lot of chanting back and forth, trash-talking, etc. before and during the game, they showed a class after the game that their team lacked. Walking out, there was no animosity and a lot of "good game" and hand-shaking going on. On the field I saw ONE Mexican player shake the hands of American players after the game; the rest just walked toward the tunnel.

I'll also echo Mo's comments about Crew Stadium - I won't attend another game there until they've proven they can get their act together. It was embarrassing.

I look forward to the USA-Costa Rica game at RFK in October - they know how to handle an event of this importance.