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Congrats on your newly discovered team's victory. I didn't attend the match, but the Battery have been in sad form lately.Forgot to say..."Oooooooooooh yeah !!!!"Love crowing over a team I didn't know existed until about a week or two ago.
Yes. It is an excellent group of fans started in all places of Nebraska. I think it goes back to 2007 with a small group and now they have official chapters in 48 cities. When you see the supporters group at games it is now pretty much an even mix of SAMs Army and the Outlaws. The Outlaws tend to be younger and more progressive in their thinking. I highly recommend any one who is interested in supporting the US join either the outlaws or the army.
With Park at 30 already wondering if he has a future at United as his skills decline (I guess he feels 30 is old) and Giggs surely considering retirement as well, Young comes in and gives them a future at winger. PLUS, he is someone that can move up top if need be. And with all the injuries they had this year, youth and depth is something SAF may be thinking about.
I'm a bit of a n00b, but why doesn't someone put a little pressure on him to keep the ball out of the box, if nothing else?
It is a good question. I have no idea why he was not challenged close to midfield. It is not like they had everyone in the box either.
That's some classic English goal keeping right there. He'll fit right in with the National Team.
Probably a combination of the fact that it was late in the game and no one wanted to commit to the GK and leave one of the defenders uncovered.
I wouldn't call it classic. Up until the last 10 years England had exceptional goalkeepers. Gordon Banks, Ray Clemence, Peter Shilton & David Seaman.
You forgot David Seaman's Moustache & David Seaman's Ponytail.
Swashbuckling looks aside, he was pretty solid
I really like the Young signing. He's never really been given an opportunity to play important soccer with a world class side. I do agree that United now has too many wings, but I think Park's time at OT is about over. While what he offered in the way of work rate and effort will be difficult to replace, he was never a prolific piece of the attack. Also, while United has went on record saying they will not sell Nani, I'd be totally fine if they went ahead and got rid of him for top dollar. I doubt his value will be any higher. This almost assuredly will be Giggs last year also. United's biggest glaring concern is central midfield. I don't see them getting Modric, asking price is ridiculous. I don't think they get Snejidar either. But, they need to get someone in there quickly. Their attack and defense will be stout, but without a link to build through the middle, they are going to have trouble scoring, and moreseo keeping possession. Sure, they'll be flying down the wings all day with Young, Nani, Valencia, Rafael, Evra, et al....but this may not lead to goals, just lots of dangerous balls.
True, you cant deny what Berb meant to United to start the year. And I agree he should have been on the bench over Owen for the CL final. However, he never really fit in with the United style and his goals all came in bunches. If he scored it usually meant he would get three in that game. United are a fast break hit you in transition kind of team. Their speed is 2nd to none with Rooney, Chicharito, Nani, Valencia, Evra and I hope Young has the speed to burn. Berb is a more slow down and keep possesion methodical plodder. He doesnt have the speed to run like the others. It can be difficult to change styles when he comes on. BUT he did keep them going while Rooney was bad. They may need to keep Berb although if they do and Welbeck or Macheda shows something, Berb could be gone in January too.
I hope thats not the case. But if he doesnt learn to serve the ball at the right time, he will be sitting next to Bebe and Obertan!
now thats funny!
I have a rendezvous scheduled for tomorrow night at a watch party for the GC final. I'll let you know what it's like.
Slightly older girls do well with a "Red Light/Green Light" game. When I assistant coached my friend's 6 year old's team, I'd have the girls dribble the ball when I yelled "Green Light." They had to stop the ball when I yelled "Red Light." If the ball was far away from their body when they had to stop, they were "out." The girl that finished first (it was about 30 yards with maybe 3 calls of "Red Light") won.'newteech said:
This is not the first time I've heard this criticism in regard to Young, but the exact same has been said of Nani in the past too. A forward makes a run to a spot, only to see Nani fail to deliver a cross, and try to take the defender 1v1. Nani has worked out alright. Further, the forwards that United will employ are not necessarily space eaters that necessitate arial crosses to score, such as AV had with Carew and Heskey. Their goals are formed more in the flow of the attack with more passing into spaces, which I do feel fit Young's play just fine. Possible Rooney rips Young's throat out. I have just always happened to been a fan of Young and think this will work out. Still a huge concern with central midfield.'scoobygang said:
Make it fun.If you have any cones, knock them over and have her "wake them up" with her feet- one foot flips the cone slowly and with control back up... good for developing her balance standing on a plant foot for kicking. Then have her dribble the ball around and knock the cones down with the ball- it will get her thinking about small kicks vs big kicks and develop some control while she maneuvers the ball to each cone.Play a kind of flag-tag, where you have her chase you (without a ball) and try to grab a t-shirt/towel out of your waistband- gets her moving around and looking up, and hopefully a little competitive.Then have her chase you around while she dribbles the ball (call them "little kicks") and give her stickers or something every time she can hit you with the ball- I use the word chase lightly- you'll go slow and zig-zag ever so slightly as she gets used to dribbling so that she has the idea to look up and follow you while also changing direction while also dribbling. It will probably start with you hitting her kicks instead of the otherway around.Play a game of golf, where she tries to kick the ball at things you've layed out ahead of time (cones, toys, t-shirts... whatever, but ideally each one is different and distinct, like mini-golf)- you can keep score. Set up an obstacle course of some kind- first zig-zag through the cones, then jump over the cones, do a cartwheel or something she can handle and then give a big "hi-ya" kick into a goal. You can always change what she does, but try to incorporate agility stuff- rolling on the ground, jumping, etc- before the big kick. Always have her do a goal dance- see if you can find a youtube compilation of goal celebrations in case you need inspiration.Then there's always just having her try to score goals on you, while you look foolish trying to stop them. At least... my just turned 4yo son likes that.Mostly, like Christo says, just have fun- make it something you do together regularly so that she can expect it and hopefully expect to have fun. My kid started off quasi-interested, and now seems to relish this as a "dad" thing he gets to do. Also has started to want to watch games on tv with me (at least for a few minutes)- asks me to watch a game together... I couldn't be more proud :sniff:'newteech said:
all the way around. Seems like a good fit to me and I dont expect Sir Al to abide by any foolishness by Young, or he'll ride pine. I'm not a huge fan of Young's though- has always seemed inconsistent to me... kinda disappears, and yeah- doesn't always play the smart ball. But still should be a good move for him in the long run as a player.
Zonalmarking.net is a site that does tactical analysis and breakdowns of major matches across the top leagues in Europe throughout the season. Currently they have been doing reviews of the Gold Cup. For example here is their review of the US v Panama game.Jonathan Wilson is probably the best writer on tactics and theory going round at the moment. He writes for The Guardian and for Sports Illustrated. Here is his article list on The Guardian site. I would also highly recommend his book Inverting The Pyramid to anyone in this thread - it is essentially a history of football tactics and strategy from the roots of the game in the 19th Century up to when it was published in 2008.
The rest of the world is better than us because they love the game. If people don't love the game they won't work hard at it.That's why the US sucks at soccer, guy'Christo said:
Rules. Thank you!
This is an awesome post
yeah- wow. never even heard of that!btw... and I wonder if andy used the same formation as a kid- but my very first team when I was 10 (late 70s) used a 2-3-5. 5 freaking forwards, each with it's own name: left wing, left inside, center forward, etc. I still am not sure how 2 guys were supposed to mark 5... btw, scored a hat-trick in my first game
... seemed like it was a normal thing to do.
The best book every written in formations in my opinion was Flat Back Four, The Tactical Game. It really gives a wonderful historical and technical analysis of formations over time and shows how some of the great teams employed them.It is an older book (90's) but you can find it on eBay and Amazon pretty easily.
Yup, I certainly remember the 2-3-5. I think every youth team in the country used that in the late 70'syeah- wow. never even heard of that!btw... and I wonder if andy used the same formation as a kid- but my very first team when I was 10 (late 70s) used a 2-3-5. 5 freaking forwards, each with it's own name: left wing, left inside, center forward, etc. I still am not sure how 2 guys were supposed to mark 5... btw, scored a hat-trick in my first game
ok- off to birth La Floppolinha.
given the amount of kicking she's been doing the last bunch of months, it's pretty clear where her future lies... the 20th version of WPS playing for the Dubuque Diamonds.
. Wish you the best of luck on the birth!!!
this brings back a long stored memory.My father was an Italian immigrant. He understood libero, cattenachio and the various severe defensive formations Italy used in the 70's.Yup, I certainly remember the 2-3-5. I think every youth team in the country used that in the late 70's
Think about the soccer knowledge at the time in the country. They were literally clueless but god bless them. If the clueless dads did not help get youth soccer going during the Pele boom, who knows where we would be right now.
Really not that shocking. Americans put a premium on offense, so you overload there. Though I think my early teams were a 3-3-4, moving to a 4-3-3 as I got older.
