My son and future daughter in law have invited me up for the match. Really excited to see Clint play live again as it's been many years since the last time I saw him here on the east coast. Will be good to see Carlos again too as I've missed seeing him in the FFC team. Great man, good player. Only down side is that Cech will probably be in goal for the Czech Republic. Funny how the dark side follows you where ever you go.
I'm jealous you get to go and I don't. I am on the wrong coast to go tonight. I don't think you will be seeing Clint play tonight. That is just a hunch I have. I think you will see more of the fringe players play to see who makes the team. For your sake, I hope I am wrong and Clint does play. I would like to see our first team run out and start to mesh with each other.
Nope. Gonna watch it on DVR when I get back from choir practice tonight. I'll get to fast-forward through Harkes at pregame and half-time anyhow.
Well Tom you were right. Clint, Carlos, Landon and most of the regular starters didn't even dress tonight. EJ did start and was some what invisible. I would hate to be the coach that had to pick through that group. No one really shined and in truth I didn't see any real talent showing on the night. The biggest shame is I've seen a few players recently that looked much better but we all know that it takes some extra luck to be given a chance to play for your country. Same goes for a few of our FFC lads. I still think that they would show better than some of the picks that were made in the end but in a few weeks we'll all know whether they got it right or not.
I, for one, am glad that I did not go, The telly was painful enough.
Two goods things though, Eddie Johnson & Heath Pierce will NOT be going to SA. Heath will back on the bench in Dallas and EJ will take over the car park at Home Depot Center.
Quote from: YankeeJim on May 26, 2010, 11:10:36 PM
I, for one, am glad that I did not go, The telly was painful enough.
Two goods things though, Eddie Johnson & Heath Pierce will NOT be going to SA. Heath will back on the bench in Dallas and EJ will take over the car park at Home Depot Center.
Damn, YJ; hate the player AND the game. :005:
Quote from: YankeeJim on May 26, 2010, 11:10:36 PM
The telly was painful enough.
Two goods things though, Eddie Johnson & Heath Pierce will NOT be going to SA. Heath will back on the bench in Dallas and EJ will take over the car park at Home Depot Center.
Now this is the truth!!!
Quote from: YankeeJim on May 26, 2010, 11:10:36 PM
... and EJ will take over the car park at Home Depot Center.
Mr Jim,
Parking actually needs a certain degree of skill so not sure that he will last long at the Home Depot Center.
Quote from: finnster01 on May 26, 2010, 11:20:34 PM
Quote from: YankeeJim on May 26, 2010, 11:10:36 PM
... and EJ will take over the car park at Home Depot Center.
Mr Jim,
Parking actually needs a certain degree of skill so not sure that he will last long at the Home Depot Center.
LOL!!! :011: :011: :011:
You do know Eddie's momma would be upset by that.
It all comes downes to his debut. He pops in with a hat trick and a nation starved for a striker since McGod got old was agast. Too bad that was the end of it. I will say that if Charlie hadn't been hurt it would have been wonderful to see him blow by the chelscum guy and the manure guy for a brace in a 2 nil US win. Well, I can dream can't I?
Strike me down but I fear this lot we are sending to SA are three and out. Perhaps we can send Kobi and he can bag a few three pointers to keep us in the matches.
Quote from: YankeeJim on May 27, 2010, 03:50:28 AM
You do know Eddie's momma would be upset by that.
It all comes downes to his debut. He pops in with a hat trick and a nation starved for a striker since McGod got old was agast. Too bad that was the end of it. I will say that if Charlie hadn't been hurt it would have been wonderful to see him blow by the chelscum guy and the manure guy for a brace in a 2 nil US win. Well, I can dream can't I?
Strike me down but I fear this lot we are sending to SA are three and out. Perhaps we can send Kobi and he can bag a few three pointers to keep us in the matches.
Eddie looked lost and clueless on the pitch last night!
Quote from: Tom on May 27, 2010, 04:19:22 AM
Quote from: YankeeJim on May 27, 2010, 03:50:28 AM
You do know Eddie's momma would be upset by that.
It all comes downes to his debut. He pops in with a hat trick and a nation starved for a striker since McGod got old was agast. Too bad that was the end of it. I will say that if Charlie hadn't been hurt it would have been wonderful to see him blow by the chelscum guy and the manure guy for a brace in a 2 nil US win. Well, I can dream can't I?
Strike me down but I fear this lot we are sending to SA are three and out. Perhaps we can send Kobi and he can bag a few three pointers to keep us in the matches.
Eddie looked lost and clueless on the pitch last night!
He always looks like that. Anyone else going to Philly this weekend? I'm heading down Saturday morning.
Quote from: YankeeJim on May 27, 2010, 03:50:28 AM
You do know Eddie's momma would be upset by that.
It all comes downes to his debut. He pops in with a hat trick and a nation starved for a striker since McGod got old was agast. Too bad that was the end of it. I will say that if Charlie hadn't been hurt it would have been wonderful to see him blow by the chelscum guy and the manure guy for a brace in a 2 nil US win. Well, I can dream can't I?
Strike me down but I fear this lot we are sending to SA are three and out. Perhaps we can send Kobi and he can bag a few three pointers to keep us in the matches.
You can't be serious, besides the defense, who may surprise us ( they did shut down a favorite in Spain last yr) the mid is solid, and the strikers have massive potential. On top of that we are playing Algeria and Slovenia ( not exactly the 06 group of death Italy, Ghana, and Czech) should be atleast 6 pts ,so to say we're going 3 and out makes you sound a bit depressing and reminds me of the FFC fans who didnt want to play in the Europa League
A strong tounge lashing from James the American there :dft008:
I think the team is strong. Herculez Gomez will have a positive affect at some point in the tournament.... and I strongly believe that this tournament will be at least 5 games for us.
I find it quite hard to believe that anyone would not have us favored to go through the group stage, and not heavy favorites against Slovenia and Algeria.
Also, I believe this is the deepest and strongest team weve ever sent to the world cup in our history. There are no eddie popes, no claudio reynas, no mastroenis, no conveys, no eddie lewiss in this roster. We have upgraded in every one of those positions, and the players that are still on the roster from 2006 have all become much better players like clint, donovan, howard, and boca.
Tom,
Don't forget that outside of Argentina and Maradona you possibly have the stupidest head coach in the tournament.
Thats halarious Finn. Surely Domenech is more dense than our Mr Bradley.... but Bradley could quite possibly be in the top 5 idiot coaches in this tournament.... only time will tell how thick he really is!
You would have to agree that the US coaching staff is getting less and less daft as each cycle goes by though.
Bradley 1 star donkey
Arena 15 star donkey
Sampson 7 star donkey
Bora 3 Star donkey
who will be next.........
Quote from: finnster01 on May 27, 2010, 11:49:32 PM
Tom,
Don't forget that outside of Argentina and Maradona you possibly have the stupidest head coach in the tournament.
Why would you say that finnster? I wouldn't go that far. He isn't one of the best but he isn't the worst either. I would say that he is ok.
Quote from: clintclintdeuce on May 27, 2010, 09:03:16 PM
I find it quite hard to believe that anyone would not have us favored to go through the group stage, and not heavy favorites against Slovenia and Algeria.
The US team might well get thru, but unless they can overcome England in the opener, then they are likely only looking at 2nd place, and group D has Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana, with the former two as likely candidates, and Germany as #1, meaning that's who the US team will meet in the next round. Are they good enough to beat Germany is the question we should look at.
Quote from: Tom on May 28, 2010, 05:02:39 AM
Quote from: finnster01 on May 27, 2010, 11:49:32 PM
Tom,
Don't forget that outside of Argentina and Maradona you possibly have the stupidest head coach in the tournament.
Why would you say that finnster? I wouldn't go that far. He isn't one of the best but he isn't the worst either. I would say that he is ok.
He's just trying out a new club, Tom. The one he's been using to bash Eddie Johnson for two years is a little ragged.
Quote from: HatterDon on May 28, 2010, 02:28:40 PM
Quote from: Tom on May 28, 2010, 05:02:39 AM
Quote from: finnster01 on May 27, 2010, 11:49:32 PM
Tom,
Don't forget that outside of Argentina and Maradona you possibly have the stupidest head coach in the tournament.
Why would you say that finnster? I wouldn't go that far. He isn't one of the best but he isn't the worst either. I would say that he is ok.
He's just trying out a new club, Tom. The one he's been using to bash Eddie Johnson for two years is a little ragged.
lol, gotcha Don. Thank God Johnson did not make the final roster!
to be honest i would have rather seen EJ than Robbie Findley, Atleast EJ has shown he can play at the international level before ( i kno it was concacaf qualification and such but still) and he has played well in Greece lately
Quote from: AmericanJames on May 28, 2010, 10:22:33 PM
to be honest i would have rather seen EJ than Robbie Findley, Atleast EJ has shown he can play at the international level before ( i kno it was concacaf qualification and such but still) and he has played well in Greece lately
I agree, AJ, but I've given up on saying anything positive about Eddie on this site. All it does is increase the level of abuse he gets. I think he'll do well with the rest of his career, and I would have felt better if Ching and Eddie had gone along with Gomez and Jozy.
Seriously Eddie Johnson is pure sh1te, dont go getting all soft on him because he's sorta American. I dont go all doe eyed on English players just because they're English, if they're sh1te they're shite, end of.
Quote from: FatFreddysCat on May 28, 2010, 11:09:06 PM
Seriously Eddie Johnson is pure sh1te, dont go getting all soft on him because he's sorta American. I dont go all doe eyed on English players just because they're English, if they're sh1te they're shite, end of.
Im no getting all doe eyed on him because he's american, im talking sense because we have a smaller talent pool and with charlie davies almost dieing it is even smaller, and with 12 goals in 40 national team appearances , and 5 goals in 15 appearances in Greece I wouldn't mind having him as a 4th striker especially over robbie findley (who they only took because of his pace).
Quote from: AmericanJames on May 28, 2010, 10:22:33 PM
to be honest i would have rather seen EJ than Robbie Findley, Atleast EJ has shown he can play at the international level before ( i kno it was concacaf qualification and such but still) and he has played well in Greece lately
All I can say is, what the hell is Findley doing on the roster! EJ did not look good the other night.
Quote from: FatFreddysCat on May 28, 2010, 11:09:06 PM
Seriously Eddie Johnson is pure sh1te, dont go getting all soft on him because he's sorta American. I dont go all doe eyed on English players just because they're English, if they're sh1te they're shite, end of.
At this point and time, I have to agree with you Freddy.
Quote from: AmericanJames on May 29, 2010, 12:28:01 AM
Quote from: FatFreddysCat on May 28, 2010, 11:09:06 PM
Seriously Eddie Johnson is pure sh1te, dont go getting all soft on him because he's sorta American. I dont go all doe eyed on English players just because they're English, if they're sh1te they're shite, end of.
Im no getting all doe eyed on him because he's american, im talking sense because we have a smaller talent pool and with charlie davies almost dieing it is even smaller, and with 12 goals in 40 national team appearances , and 5 goals in 15 appearances in Greece I wouldn't mind having him as a 4th striker especially over robbie findley (who they only took because of his pace).
Of those 12 EJ goals for USA 11 of them have come against "quality" opposition such as Panama, T&T, Barbados, Guatemala, Jamaica, El Salvador and Honduras...He has scored once against quality which was against Argentina in a 4-1 US loss.
The stat that cements my banjo rating on him is not his 0 goals for Fulham in 7 appearances in the Prem, but the fact that he made 30 appearances for Cardiff in the Championship and managed to score twice... If that is your 4th striker, you have even bigger issues than we have in finding a single goal keeper able to catch a cold.
I often wonder how European sides would fare playing at CONCACAF venues on pitches made of corrugated cardboard in 90% humidity and fans throwing AA batteries at you. I also often wonder how European sides would perform at home if they were treated like the away side.
It is true, however, that we don't have to play against intimidating giants in CONCACAF like Malta, Andorra, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands.
Is anyone going to the game against Turkey in Philly today? We should see our first team playing today. I am interested to see if Dempsey is playing up top or his normal MF spot.
I missed the US Match today, but saw that Clint scored the winner. Good result for the US. Turkey is a good team.
Any match report and ratings from anyone? Cheers.
Quote from: finnster01 on May 29, 2010, 10:01:39 PM
I missed the US Match today, but saw that Clint scored the winner. Good result for the US. Turkey is a good team.
Any match report and ratings from anyone? Cheers.
First half line-up stunk. 4-4-1-1. Did better in the second half when we inserted a creative central midfielder and moved Clint back. Specter looked bad in the first half at RB. Cherundolo looked better. Thought we would draw when Bornstein came in and he almost made it happen. Clints goal was class. Hit the post on another chance. Findley looked fast, but ran out of ideas at the endline. His through ball to Donovan that set up the tying goal was class. Half the crowd was Turkish. Not as festive as some of the CONCACAF crowds except for a folk dancing troup. Donovan gave the ball away a lot, but had some brilliant moments. His corners and free kicks were aweful. Torres helped create when he came in. Apparently he has been teaching Clint Mexican goal celebrations like the African one Pantsil and Etuhu did last year. Boca was solid on the left Onyewu looked better this time. Demerit was solid except for 1 give away. Goodson was ok. Feilhaber is wasted on the wing. He didn't do much in the first half. Holden looked good when he came on. Jozy looked good later on. He took a while to get going. Our CBs let Tuncay have too much time on the ball. Michael Bradley didn't have any stupid fouls. That constitutes a good match for him. Too bad I couldn't make it to an Eagles game last year, the views are great from everywhere. I was high up. That's about all I've got.
Thanks, Mr. Mhatc.
I set my DVR for 2 hours of international football and got 5 minutes of pregame and that was it. :020:
Thanks, Mr. Mhatc.
I set my DVR for 2 hours of international football and got 5 minutes of pregame and that was it. :020:
Only half of the 60k crowd was cheering for Turkey? The best percentage we've had at a USA venue [outside of Columbus or Salt Lake City] in years!
I have one question though.
Capello has taken the England team to high altitude training in Austria to prepare for the SA. The England - US game is in Rustenburg which is at 1500m above sea level (i.e. close to a mile high).
Are the US doing anything similar? Don't they usually train somewhere in California that is pretty low altitude?
If they are not, they could be hit by a bit of the good old fatigue bug as can be witnessed by the home record by teams like Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, who all play at high altitudes and are very hard to beat away.
Just a thought. The devil is always in the details, and just like our FA isn't packed with rocket scientists (as can be witnessed by yet another "shoot-yourself-in-the-foot" event regarding our bid for the next WC on the table), I do get the impression that the US version isn't too far behind on the "useless" scale. Maybe it is just me over-analysing. Just curious.
Quote from: finnster01 on May 30, 2010, 01:00:42 PM
I have one question though.
Capello has taken the England team to high altitude training in Austria to prepare for the SA. The England - US game is in Rustenburg which is at 1500m above sea level (i.e. close to a mile high).
Are the US doing anything similar? Don't they usually train somewhere in California that is pretty low altitude?
If they are not, they could be hit by a bit of the good old fatigue bug as can be witnessed by the home record by teams like Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, who all play at high altitudes and are very hard to beat away.
Just a thought. The devil is always in the details, and just like our FA isn't packed with rocket scientists (as can be witnessed by yet another "shoot-yourself-in-the-foot" event regarding our bid for the next WC on the table), I do get the impression that the US version isn't too far behind on the "useless" scale. Maybe it is just me over-analysing. Just curious.
No, we trained in Princeton, NJ. We could do altitude training in Denver if we wanted. Hatter, this was the first time I have seen us outside of Columbus, so it was nice to see a huge crowd.
Quote from: finnster01 on May 30, 2010, 01:00:42 PM
I have one question though.
Capello has taken the England team to high altitude training in Austria to prepare for the SA. The England - US game is in Rustenburg which is at 1500m above sea level (i.e. close to a mile high).
Are the US doing anything similar? Don't they usually train somewhere in California that is pretty low altitude?
If they are not, they could be hit by a bit of the good old fatigue bug as can be witnessed by the home record by teams like Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, who all play at high altitudes and are very hard to beat away.
Just a thought. The devil is always in the details, and just like our FA isn't packed with rocket scientists (as can be witnessed by yet another "shoot-yourself-in-the-foot" event regarding our bid for the next WC on the table), I do get the impression that the US version isn't too far behind on the "useless" scale. Maybe it is just me over-analysing. Just curious.
Not over-analyzing, sir. Just good questions.
Our primary training ground is at Cary, NC -- a coastal area. Our preferred "soccer-only" venue is usually LA's Home Depot Center -- especially if we're playing Mexico. Our best high-altitude venue is either Salt Lake or Denver, but unless I'm totally off base about this, I think only our first match is in the mountains. Our other two first round matches will be near sea level. A greater concern -- if both England and USA want to approximate game conditions is the fact that it's approaching winter down there, and the high-altitude match might be played in snow or sleet.
USSOCCER's decision about where to play a match is hardly ever designed to find a venue where the USMNT has a built-in advantage. The exception is whenever we schedule Mexico for Columbus Crew's home stadium, or when we schedule a coastal nation to play at Real Salt Lake's Rio Tinto stadium -- about 6,500 feet there. No, we schedule matches near where we know there's a lot of support FOR THE VISITING TEAM.
We play Ireland in Boston
We play El Salvador in NY/NJ
We play Haiti in Florida
We play Mexico in California or Texas
We play Poland in Chicago
As to why we played the two warmup matches in Connecticut and Philadelphia:
1. The Connecticut venue is close to ESPN's headquarters, and both matches -- especially the first one -- were heavily promoted on ESPN. Most yanks figure a quid pro quo there.
2. The second match was in Philadelphia, the home of MLS's newest franchise. They've only played a few home matches so far, and drawing 68,000 for a come-from-behind victory over a very representative Turkey side was a god-send.
The major difference between the USA and all other top-25 rated nations [FIFA rankings] is that EVERY match is designed as a way to promote the sport and show stadiums filled with partisan supporters whooping it up. If the USA wins, that's fine, but it's not the major idea behind it.
68000 for a friendly is pretty impressive. Not many countries can do that, in fact even England on a bad day outside of Wembley.
But I do get your point Mr Hatter.
I hope the US go deep into the WC along with England.
Another reason behind playing on the east coast is that the flight to SA is shorter than from the west coast by 4 to 5 hours. We played on the west coast when it was in korea and japan and the east coast for germany.
