USMNT vs Scotland

I thought the numbers on the new strips were gonna be blue or navy. You can't read them from distance.

 

So far, so good, btw.

 

Yea it's tough to read. Love the stripes but the numbers could be better.

 

Wow solid outing for Donovan! Hattrick already and there's still 20 mins left!

As I type this, Jones makes it 5-1!

 

Was just coming here to post this :handgestures-thumbupleft:

A thing of beauty!!!

 

Thanks for posting the highlights, Bradley's goal was an absolute cracker, but all the goals had some great team work. The uni's are still too barber shop quartet for my liking and agree that the silver numbers are fine close up, but no bueno from a distance. Glad to see on Carlisle's grades that Torres was really effective defensively (hit the crossbar on a free kick as well).

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/story/ ... f-carlisle

 

The Bradley goal is one for the career highlight reel.

 

All around great night, nothing to bitch about. That Donovan kid's still pretty good, eh? Can't wait to get Deuce back out there with these guys. Many, many good things to build upon and be excited about after this result.

 

:text-+1: And glad to see a post from you Barry, hope to see more.

 

I'm not going to get all giddy about this performance because Scotland brought zero to this match for whatever reason. Also, the US didnt keep up their frenetic pace for much longer than any of the other games under Klinsmann so I'm not sure it really represents any improvement, hard to tell with the way the Scots played.

One thing that concerns me is that Donovan did not really celebrate or look happy after any of his three goals. Maybe thats how he normally behaves after a goal, unless it's the World Cup, but it immediately stood out to me. There are rumors of him not getting along with Klinsmann so perhaps this is evidence of a poor relationship between the two. Not an ideal situation.

I thought Donovan, Bradley, Edu, and Jones were the players that made this a game the USA dominated. While Torres played well, I dont see how anyone could include him among the top performers in this match. I again saw nothing from him that puts him ahead of Adu. He has gotten so many more opportunities than Adu and still hasnt come close to making the type of difference in a match that Freddy has pretty much every time he pulls on a USA jersey. Yes, Torres hit the crossbar but Freddy did this

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LZdKeLeStU[/youtube]

I thought Boyd played fine and certainly seems to be good enough to be in the mix of forwards for the USA. I'm just still perturbed that the same criteria doesnt apply to him for a call-up. Fabian Johnson also did well at LB, let's hope it continues in games that mean something. I'm a fan of Geoff Cameron, but I'm not sure I've ever seen a worse own goal. Hopefully, Klinsmann will have the brains to put Gooch or Goodsen in that spot for the rest of these friendlies and qualifiers.

As far as the jersies I liked the subdued #s. I think a bold # in navy blue or something would look too cartoonish. I'm also happy that der Kaiser has allowed them to return to their old numbers and have their names on the back.

Brazil should be interesting.

 

Grant Wahl saying the numbers violate FIFA regs and will be changed to navy for the the Brazil game.

 

You can barely see the numbers.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hp ... 3808_n.jpg

(the image is apparently too wide to embed on here, hence the link)

 

Oh man, Mo. Torres is so much more deserving than Adu, it's silly. Torres has been a regular (when not injured) on a very good club in Mexico. Adu needs to pull his "S" together for a whole season, with the same club, and then he'll earn a call up. He hasn't accomplished that for the past 5 years. While I think he's a valued addition to the Nats given his Gold Cup and Olympic Qualifier performances, he hasn't earned a position over these other folks. A spot is there for Adu to take, he needs to make it happen.

 

Diggin' the field level highlights, big time! (And yes, it's much harder to shoot than it looks).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGaPSF4wFv4[/youtube]

 

Oh man, Nevzter you are so wrong its silly. I think the dingo got your brain. Go back and look at every performance Adu has had for the US senior team. I am not talking U20 or U23 when I say he has had way more of am impact than Torres; I'm talking the senior team. So Adu hasnt put it together for his club team consistently but he always has for the national team. At some point you need to pull a Klose and Podolski (German Nat players, well actually Polish) and say what the heck they always show up for the nats. When Adu performs better for the US than Torres I dont give a hoot about what Torres has done down in Mexico, a league Beasley and Gomes can rip apart and still not call-ups from der kommisar.

Or you could just simply point out what Torres has ever done that has made a difference. I'm not criticizing him; I'm not saying he has hurt the US cause. I just dont think he has helped it to the degree that many other players at his position have.

 

Interesting debate on Torres/Adu. Not sure that the team can have one but not the other. I certainly would of invited Adu to camp, but there are only 2 games this summer that really matter (and I'm including Antigua as one :roll: ) so if Freddy wants play his way into the team he certainly has time to.

Mo, I know you despise JK and that's fine (I'm not sold either way yet), but if he deserves all the criticism when the team loses, it's okay to admit the team played well w/out changing your opinion of the manager. Scotland were indeed poor, but the US helped in making them look bad (Caldwell and Beardsley on their backline start in the EPL).

As far as the Donovan goal celebrations or lack thereof, I would attribute it to the match being a friendly, not wanting to show up the opponent in a blowout, and this not exactly being his first rodeo. Interesting comments leading up to the match by Landon questioning his own hunger. For a player on his 4TH WC cycle with the marathon of qualifying just beginning it's totally understandable that he would wonder if he wants to go through this again. How many great players retire from international soccer so they can extend their careers? He's always been a diva so I'm sure he was pissed off w/Klinsmann's comments when Donovan didn't play in the Italy match, so maybe the relationship isn't ideal, but if he can patch things up w/Beckham there shouldn't be any reason he can't get on the same page as JK.

 

Going with Nev on this one. Torres all day, every day, seven days a week unless you need a late game goal scorer coming off the bench. Adu does some flashy things but plays with a forwards mentality. That is fine if you have the luxary of playing him up top but he doesn't hold shape at all defensively where he is a liability. Torres is not the goal threat of a Donovan or Dempsey but he is a nice replacement part that puts in a decent defensive shift and holds and distributes the ball well. Donovan's first goal started with Torres holding onto the ball on the left in the midst of two or three Scottish defeneders before slipping a deft pass to one of onrushing CM's (Jones I think) who slid it to Donovan.

There is a reason Adu hasn't been able to stick anywhere for any coach he has ever played for. They are not all blind. Adu is sizzle and flash but in this case I'll take some potatoes with my meal because Torres fills a slot and does it well without leaving a whole on the plate.