***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (5 Viewers)

[El Floppo]

Nice stuff Pre ...

Looking forward to watching this tonight- will try and do a write-up as well.

Gotta feel for Bradley Sr, re: left back- Pearce and Jesus take turns stinking it up. One guy looks like he can play the spot one game and then goes all el-suck on us. Hopefully whoever it is can hold it together for 3+ games in a row in SA.

 

[bweiser]

is that young LW who looked so good in the Gold Cup out of the mix? I know that's a terrible question since I cant' remember his name, but I hope someone can figure out who I'm talking about.

 

[scoobygang]

is that young LW who looked so good in the Gold Cup out of the mix? I know that's a terrible question since I cant' remember his name, but I hope someone can figure out who I'm talking about.

Robbie Rogers? He's a fringe guy. He played the last friendly against El Salvador.

 

[bentley]

is that young LW who looked so good in the Gold Cup out of the mix? I know that's a terrible question since I cant' remember his name, but I hope someone can figure out who I'm talking about.

Robbie Rogers? I think he's got a decent shot at the team. He played OK in the B team friendly vs. El Salvador.

 

[Christo]

is that young LW who looked so good in the Gold Cup out of the mix? I know that's a terrible question since I cant' remember his name, but I hope someone can figure out who I'm talking about.

Robbie Rogers? I think he's got a decent shot at the team. He played OK in the B team friendly vs. El Salvador.

Wow, bentley's servin' up the futbol knowledge

 

[bentley]

is that young LW who looked so good in the Gold Cup out of the mix? I know that's a terrible question since I cant' remember his name, but I hope someone can figure out who I'm talking about.

Robbie Rogers? I think he's got a decent shot at the team. He played OK in the B team friendly vs. El Salvador.

Wow, bentley's servin' up the futbol knowledge

It scares me sometimes. I'd never watched a match a year ago. Today I told the staff that I was going to close the door all afternoon so I could work on an advertising plan that was due on Monday and spent most of the afternoon watching US/Holland.

 

[Christo]

is that young LW who looked so good in the Gold Cup out of the mix? I know that's a terrible question since I cant' remember his name, but I hope someone can figure out who I'm talking about.

Robbie Rogers? I think he's got a decent shot at the team. He played OK in the B team friendly vs. El Salvador.

Wow, bentley's servin' up the futbol knowledge

It scares me sometimes. I'd never watched a match a year ago. Today I told the staff that I was going to close the door all afternoon so I could work on an advertising plan that was due on Monday and spent most of the afternoon watching US/Holland.

Love it

 

[bweiser]

is that young LW who looked so good in the Gold Cup out of the mix? I know that's a terrible question since I cant' remember his name, but I hope someone can figure out who I'm talking about.

Robbie Rogers? I think he's got a decent shot at the team. He played OK in the B team friendly vs. El Salvador.

yep, that's him. liked what he did in the gold cup.

 

[The Z Machine]

I didn't see the game since I was in a 2 hour meeting during the match...

I've had a feeling for a long time that Edu and Bradley would be a very nice central MF duo looking towards 2014. Both should be in their primes and although they play similar games, I'm hoping that Edu can improve enough so that Bradley can put more pressure up top and work on his distribution to the wings.

I'm disappointed that Torres played so poorly or at least invisibly. But I don't think CM is where he is best played unless it's in a 5 man midfield, and he's the left side of the 3 players in the center of the park. I'd really like to see more of him playing on the left wing (where it seemed Donovan was playing, right?). I think he's got just enough to do some damage with cutting runs to the center of the pitch and playing on the ball on the wing. He's got a long way to go to get there though, and while playing and starting in Mexico for Pachuca, he needs to make the jump to a more physical league in order to improve his play against stronger competition.

BTW, we WILL get burned for at least 1 goal in the WC from the LB position. If the US limits it to only 1 we'll be extremely lucky, but that ####-up WILL happen. Teams have to be salivating about that. Who's likely to match up on the right wing for England? Walcott? Wright-Phillips?

 

[Sammy3469]

BTW, we WILL get burned for at least 1 goal in the WC from the LB position. If the US limits it to only 1 we'll be extremely lucky, but that ####-up WILL happen. Teams have to be salivating about that. Who's likely to match up on the right wing for England? Walcott? Wright-Phillips?

At this point Boca's a step slow out there, but he's still the best option out there if Gooch gets back to full health. The other option is putting Spector on the left and Cherundolo on the right. I do know you are entirely correct about that position costing us at lest a goal with either Bornstein or Pearce out there. Neither should be in the national team picture for any club looking to make a serious dent in 3 months.

 

[Steve Tasker]

Just finished watching my DVR of the game....and I have just 4 words for you all....

The Beas is Back

 

[Christo]

Egypt got two servings of NACHOS! today.

 

[Texas Football]

Just finished watching my DVR of the game....and I have just 4 words for you all....

The Beas is Back

He did amaze me by putting his head down and running into defenders(sweet move BTW)! He didn't hurt himself either.Seriously, that was a poor performance by the USMNT. Very unappealing brand of football. Is there a single creative player on the team? I understand it is difficult when you have possession 10% of the time.

I predicted a 3-0 loss and will eat that. It should have been a 2-0 loss. If the US can get 20-30 set pieces in the group stage we may just advance in SA.

My World Cup prediction for the USMNT: 0w-1d-2l. 2 goals scored and 6 conceded.

 

[prefontaine]

Just finished watching my DVR of the game....and I have just 4 words for you all....

The Beas is Back

He did amaze me by putting his head down and running into defenders(sweet move BTW)! He didn't hurt himself either.Seriously, that was a poor performance by the USMNT. Very unappealing brand of football. Is there a single creative player on the team? I understand it is difficult when you have possession 10% of the time.

I predicted a 3-0 loss and will eat that. It should have been a 2-0 loss. If the US can get 20-30 set pieces in the group stage we may just advance in SA.

My World Cup prediction for the USMNT: 0w-1d-2l. 2 goals scored and 6 conceded.

Hopefully you can get over the devastation of us playing better than you had hoped. But maybe if you keep wishing DMB or others can get hurt again. Good luck

 

[Texas Football]

Just finished watching my DVR of the game....and I have just 4 words for you all....

The Beas is Back

He did amaze me by putting his head down and running into defenders(sweet move BTW)! He didn't hurt himself either.Seriously, that was a poor performance by the USMNT. Very unappealing brand of football. Is there a single creative player on the team? I understand it is difficult when you have possession 10% of the time.

I predicted a 3-0 loss and will eat that. It should have been a 2-0 loss. If the US can get 20-30 set pieces in the group stage we may just advance in SA.

My World Cup prediction for the USMNT: 0w-1d-2l. 2 goals scored and 6 conceded.

Hopefully you can get over the devastation of us playing better than you had hoped. But maybe if you keep wishing DMB or others can get hurt again. Good luck

Nothing to get over. We played as well as expected, just the scoreline was off. I certainly don't wish any player to be injured (again?). Even DMB.We'll have to agree to disagree on the performance for the sake of the thread.

 

[Moe.]

Just finished watching my DVR of the game....and I have just 4 words for you all....

The Beas is Back

He did amaze me by putting his head down and running into defenders(sweet move BTW)! He didn't hurt himself either.Seriously, that was a poor performance by the USMNT. Very unappealing brand of football. Is there a single creative player on the team? I understand it is difficult when you have possession 10% of the time.

I predicted a 3-0 loss and will eat that. It should have been a 2-0 loss. If the US can get 20-30 set pieces in the group stage we may just advance in SA.

My World Cup prediction for the USMNT: 0w-1d-2l. 2 goals scored and 6 conceded.

Why do you hate America?

 

[The Z Machine]

I think it's quite possible that the US scores 3 goals or less in the WC.

 

[Moe.]

I think it's quite possible that the US scores 3 goals or less in the WC.

3 goals ought to be enough to do it, assuming England takes care of business. I don't see Slovenia and Algeria lighting it up against us.

 

[The Z Machine]

I think it's quite possible that the US scores 3 goals or less in the WC.

3 goals ought to be enough to do it, assuming England takes care of business. I don't see Slovenia and Algeria lighting it up against us.

It might get us out of the first round (which is the goal, at least for me), but that's only because we have a weak group.

 

[Moe.]

I think it's quite possible that the US scores 3 goals or less in the WC.

3 goals ought to be enough to do it, assuming England takes care of business. I don't see Slovenia and Algeria lighting it up against us.

It might get us out of the first round (which is the goal, at least for me), but that's only because we have a weak group.

smells like victory. not like we made the groups. really you could say it's possible for anyone to score 3 goals or less, not like that's a very bold prediction. the negative energy in here is going to derail our chances.

 

[Sebowski]

Sneijder dove.

 

[BlackMagic10]

2-1 was a bit flawed IMO. Draw seems like it would have been a fair result.

 

[andy_b]

I think it's quite possible that the US scores 3 goals or less in the WC.

3 goals ought to be enough to do it, assuming England takes care of business. I don't see Slovenia and Algeria lighting it up against us.

It might get us out of the first round (which is the goal, at least for me), but that's only because we have a weak group.

I must be the only one who thinks like this but I think getting out of the first round would be great. Lets face it, the US is not a deep team, and we are down 3 of arguably our 5 best players. Getting out of the first round when missing some of our best players will be very good I think.I am afraid the near miracle run at the Confed Cup has really altered everyone's expectations.I am thinking with the current lineup that a 1-1-1 record may be hard to achieve. If Dempsey and Gooch can both get back to full steam I will feel better. I think Dempsey will, I don't think Gooch is going to have the game time needed to get back to form.

 

[TLEF316]

i ended up fast forwarding through most of yesterday's game. I had other stuff to do and wanted to see the goals/final result.

The level of skill that the European players have on the ball in comparion to most of our guys just shines through in games like this. I'm not talking about spectacular moves that lead to goals. I'm talking about little turns, flicks and shielding plays. Simple stuff that allows them to keep the ball, dominate the possesion in MF and probe for attacking opportunities.

All things considered, yesterday wasnt a horrible result. Yeah, the US lost and didnt look particulary good. But the goals they gave up were kinda cheapies (a stupid penalty from a guy that probably wont be starting in SA and a fluke deflection)

Unfortunatly, we're just never going to know just how good this cycle of US players could really have been. Davies probably wont get back, Gooch will not be in top game shape and our MF will never get settled due to all the injuries and guys falling out of form. The US could probably put a decent MF together if all the guys available were in-form and we had a chance to try out combos. But it was not to be. I'm not saying we'd be Spain, but i think the group of Donovan, Dempsey, Beasley, Jones, Holden, Clarke, Bradley, Edu, Torres, Feilhaber could have been something decent if we could find our unquestioned best 4 and get them healthy at the same time.

In reality, the US' hopes to make an impressive run in SA were over the second that Davies got in that car. Without him on the field, the US just isn't dangerous enough going forward. Teams have nothing to fear unless we get lucky on some set pieces or Landon has an out of his world game.

We might get to the knockout stages, and i think we'll show well regardless. But we're not a threat to go any further IMO

 

[Sammy3469]

I think it's quite possible that the US scores 3 goals or less in the WC.

3 goals ought to be enough to do it, assuming England takes care of business. I don't see Slovenia and Algeria lighting it up against us.

It might get us out of the first round (which is the goal, at least for me), but that's only because we have a weak group.

I must be the only one who thinks like this but I think getting out of the first round would be great. Lets face it, the US is not a deep team, and we are down 3 of arguably our 5 best players. Getting out of the first round when missing some of our best players will be very good I think.I am afraid the near miracle run at the Confed Cup has really altered everyone's expectations.I am thinking with the current lineup that a 1-1-1 record may be hard to achieve. If Dempsey and Gooch can both get back to full steam I will feel better. I think Dempsey will, I don't think Gooch is going to have the game time needed to get back to form.

Sadly RB-Demerit-Gooch(out of form)-Boca is a better back-line then RB-Demerit-Boca-Bornstein. I can take getting beat in the run of play, but I can't take putting a guy out there that has a history of taking stupid penalties especially when the coach likes to play 2 "holding" MFs (i.e. two of our mid-fielders will come from Bradley/Clark/Edu/etc.). At a major international competition, I don't know how a coach can put Bornstein out thee. Against good teams (in games decided by handful of "moments"), he just takes too many stupid, stupid fouls.

 

[El Floppo]

oooh... really need some time to chime in on the game which I watched late, late last night.

one thing- the US played scared offensively. I hate to reference American Idol, but recurring judges' comments there have been along the lines of- you're not in this to win, you're just happy to be here. Ditto for the US when they had the ball.

 

[andy_b]

My friend just depressed me

He missed the game last night and asked me about it and I mentioned our need for one more defender and one more striker.

He then said, "you mean like Subotinick and Rossi?"

I should have kicked him

 

[El Floppo]

i ended up fast forwarding through most of yesterday's game. I had other stuff to do and wanted to see the goals/final result.The level of skill that the European players have on the ball in comparion to most of our guys just shines through in games like this. I'm not talking about spectacular moves that lead to goals. I'm talking about little turns, flicks and shielding plays. Simple stuff that allows them to keep the ball, dominate the possesion in MF and probe for attacking opportunities. All things considered, yesterday wasnt a horrible result. Yeah, the US lost and didnt look particulary good. But the goals they gave up were kinda cheapies (a stupid penalty from a guy that probably wont be starting in SA and a fluke deflection)Unfortunatly, we're just never going to know just how good this cycle of US players could really have been. Davies probably wont get back, Gooch will not be in top game shape and our MF will never get settled due to all the injuries and guys falling out of form. The US could probably put a decent MF together if all the guys available were in-form and we had a chance to try out combos. But it was not to be. I'm not saying we'd be Spain, but i think the group of Donovan, Dempsey, Beasley, Jones, Holden, Clarke, Bradley, Edu, Torres, Feilhaber could have been something decent if we could find our unquestioned best 4 and get them healthy at the same time.In reality, the US' hopes to make an impressive run in SA were over the second that Davies got in that car. Without him on the field, the US just isn't dangerous enough going forward. Teams have nothing to fear unless we get lucky on some set pieces or Landon has an out of his world game.We might get to the knockout stages, and i think we'll show well regardless. But we're not a threat to go any further IMO

Wow- great, great posting... or at least, I agree 10,000%.But, re: skills- you know well, that it's not quite as "simple" as you say. Another thing- it's the skills AND speed making decisions/playing the ball. Light years ahead of the US- and I think that's more a culture thing than a skill that you just go out and learn.

 

[andy_b]

oooh... really need some time to chime in on the game which I watched late, late last night. one thing- the US played scared offensively. I hate to reference American Idol, but recurring judges' comments there have been along the lines of- you're not in this to win, you're just happy to be here. Ditto for the US when they had the ball.

ironically the US only started to pick up offensively after Landon was subbed. He did not play well at all last night. The US can not afford to have him off his game at all this summer.

 

[TLEF316]

definetly a culture thing.

I was watching the under-16 WC a while back (when we played Spain in the opener). The us scored early and looks good. the athletes were pretty much equal.

But then those 15 and 16 year old spainiards (who have spent the last 7-8 years training at the youth academies of Real and Barca) just started going nuts. The moves they make are totally done on instinct. Its muscle memory to them. its like breathing. The american equivalent is watching a great PG handle the rock or make passes. They dont have to think. they just do it.

And by no means am i saying that stuff is "simple" to execute. I just meant its not flashy and doesnt make highlight films.

 

[scoobygang]

BTW, the challenge on Holden broke his leg. He's out six weeks, so it could be worse, but he won't have all those games getting experience at Bolton now.

From my vantage point, De Jong should have gotten a straight red.

 

[TLEF316]

BTW, the challenge on Holden broke his leg. He's out six weeks, so it could be worse, but he won't have all those games getting experience at Bolton now.From my vantage point, De Jong should have gotten a straight red.

knew he was seriously hurt. Thats too bad. The hits just keep on coming.

 

[El Floppo]

BTW, the challenge on Holden broke his leg. He's out six weeks, so it could be worse, but he won't have all those games getting experience at Bolton now.From my vantage point, De Jong should have gotten a straight red.

knew he was seriously hurt. Thats too bad. The hits just keep on coming.

oof.agree about the straight red. worse challenge, IMO, than the Shawcroft red v Arsenal.

 

[El Floppo]

oooh... really need some time to chime in on the game which I watched late, late last night. one thing- the US played scared offensively. I hate to reference American Idol, but recurring judges' comments there have been along the lines of- you're not in this to win, you're just happy to be here. Ditto for the US when they had the ball.

ironically the US only started to pick up offensively after Landon was subbed. He did not play well at all last night. The US can not afford to have him off his game at all this summer.

LD not so great last night- but it seemed like Holland was keeping an eye on him.IMO, the US attack picked up because of Edu pairing with Bradley... will get into more later.

 

[El Floppo]

I think it's quite possible that the US scores 3 goals or less in the WC.

3 goals ought to be enough to do it, assuming England takes care of business. I don't see Slovenia and Algeria lighting it up against us.

It might get us out of the first round (which is the goal, at least for me), but that's only because we have a weak group.

I must be the only one who thinks like this but I think getting out of the first round would be great. Lets face it, the US is not a deep team, and we are down 3 of arguably our 5 best players. Getting out of the first round when missing some of our best players will be very good I think.I am afraid the near miracle run at the Confed Cup has really altered everyone's expectations.

I am thinking with the current lineup that a 1-1-1 record may be hard to achieve. If Dempsey and Gooch can both get back to full steam I will feel better. I think Dempsey will, I don't think Gooch is going to have the game time needed to get back to form.

Totally agree Andy.Getting into the knock-out stages at teh WC is never a given (c: France), especially for the more fringe teams like the US.

eta: at full strength, it still would've been a great thing. At this weakened strength, it would be amazing.

Again- Algeria and Slovenia aren't Guatemala or T&T. They're as good a pairing as we could hope, but still solid teams.

 

[TLEF316]

if Jones is out, there's no doubt in my mind that Bradley/Edu should be the MF combo.

 

[andy_b]

This is pretty funny

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/sow_ex...?urn=sow,225434

 

[El Floppo]

From ESPN....

Perhaps the Yanks' biggest achievement on the night was to show that they could clog the passing lanes and disturb the offense of one of the best attacking teams in the world, relegating it to sending futile high balls in to its strikers. "It was a sturdy opponent, who organized well and played close together," Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk said of the U.S. "They didn't let us build our attack." One person not so impressed with the U.S. was Netherlands and Real Madrid playmaker Rafael van der Vaart, who came on in the 60th minute. "A robust side," van der Vaart said in Dutch, when asked what he thought of his opponents. "But not great in terms of quality. Hard to play against though. They played compact, we had trouble getting through. Soccerwise they're not great but they're hard to beat."

 

[TLEF316]

seems like van der Vaart's comment was pretty fair.

 

[prefontaine]

Shame for Holden. He was really coming on and we all know how difficult in can be to round into form and how injuries can do real damage to that for a player who isn't guaranteed playing time anywhere. Hopefully he can get healthy and get back at it at Bolton before the end of the year. But sounds like Coyle is going to extend him regardless (I do think they'll avoid relegation too).

As far as van der Vaart, he suffers from Arsene Wenger disease. He's right that we don't play beautiful football, but this isn't ice dancing and you don't get style points. You don't have to play beautiful football to win. You win by putting more in the net than the opposing team, however you can do it. Even with some pretty awful play by a few of our guys in the 1h, the Dutch did not get one single good chance (well, besides the pk). The single most threatening shot in the 1h was by Torres. But then again, like all madridistas, he'd rather play pretty football than win.

 

[scoobygang]

As far as van der Vaart, he suffers from Arsene Wenger disease. He's right that we don't play beautiful football, but this isn't ice dancing and you don't get style points. You don't have to play beautiful football to win. You win by putting more in the net than the opposing team, however you can do it. Even with some pretty awful play by a few of our guys in the 1h, the Dutch did not get one single good chance (well, besides the pk). The single most threatening shot in the 1h was by Torres. But then again, like all madridistas, he'd rather play pretty football than win.

I'm an Arsenal fan, but I'm completely sick of Wenger's whining. Everytime the Gunners don't play well, it's because the other team played anti-football. He acts like he manages the only team capable of stringing 5 passes together. I think many beautiful game teams give themselves too much credit. Beautiful football means doing something incisive on the ball, not just possessing it. I remember in the first leg of the CL semi between Barca and Chelsea last year, everyone complained about Chelsea. But I didn't think Barca played "beautiful" football in that game. I thought they aimlessly possessed the ball without trying to do anything dangerous with it.

 

[Moe.]

oooh... really need some time to chime in on the game which I watched late, late last night. one thing- the US played scared offensively. I hate to reference American Idol, but recurring judges' comments there have been along the lines of- you're not in this to win, you're just happy to be here. Ditto for the US when they had the ball.

ironically the US only started to pick up offensively after Landon was subbed. He did not play well at all last night. The US can not afford to have him off his game at all this summer.

LD not so great last night- but it seemed like Holland was keeping an eye on him.IMO, the US attack picked up because of Edu pairing with Bradley... will get into more later.

agree, those two are head and shoulders our best mf pairing right now. Add in the fact that they are both going to be around for a long time and it's really a no-brainer that they need to play together every game if healthy.

 

[Moe.]

Is Dempsey going to be back for any of the tune-up matches? Interested to see if Bradley moves him up front. With Holden out though who takes Dempsey's spot out wide? I definitely think that without Davies we gotta try Dempsey as the second striker. I'd rather see Ching than Findley, EJ, et al.

 

[Moe.]

seems like van der Vaart's comment was pretty fair.

I see no reason not to take it as a compliment. I'll take hard to beat.

 

[scoobygang]

Is Dempsey going to be back for any of the tune-up matches? Interested to see if Bradley moves him up front. With Holden out though who takes Dempsey's spot out wide? I definitely think that without Davies we gotta try Dempsey as the second striker. I'd rather see Ching than Findley, EJ, et al.

If Dempsey went up top, I'd guess we'd see Landon at RM and the Beas at LM.

 

[TLEF316]

seems like van der Vaart's comment was pretty fair.

I see no reason not to take it as a compliment. I'll take hard to beat.

it stinks of some slight arrogance, but they're a far superior side and they won the game. I'm not see how anyone can disagree with what he said

 

[prefontaine]

seems like van der Vaart's comment was pretty fair.

I see no reason not to take it as a compliment. I'll take hard to beat.

it stinks of some slight arrogance, but they're a far superior side and they won the game. I'm not see how anyone can disagree with what he said

I'm 99% sure he said it as a backhanded compliment.

 

[prefontaine]

Is Dempsey going to be back for any of the tune-up matches? Interested to see if Bradley moves him up front. With Holden out though who takes Dempsey's spot out wide? I definitely think that without Davies we gotta try Dempsey as the second striker. I'd rather see Ching than Findley, EJ, et al.

I'm really perplexed by who to bring as forwards. If LD or Dempsey goes up top that at least solves one problem and you carry Ching on the bench as a late sub when leading to kill the clock (pass the ball to him, let him make his death slow move but use his power to shield the ball, watch him get fouled and allow 30 seconds for him to get back up). But who is #4? We have to have someone else and at this point I'm thinking it's Jeff Cunningham or Conor Casey. Uggggh.

 

[TLEF316]

casey will get the call over cunningham at this point IMO.

At this point, i say Dempsey up top. Landon tracks back better on D. Plus, if Dempsey is up top, the other team wont have a breakaway when he botches a trick. (which i'm sure will happen at least once)

 

[The Z Machine]

oooh... really need some time to chime in on the game which I watched late, late last night.

one thing- the US played scared offensively. I hate to reference American Idol, but recurring judges' comments there have been along the lines of- you're not in this to win, you're just happy to be here. Ditto for the US when they had the ball.

ironically the US only started to pick up offensively after Landon was subbed. He did not play well at all last night. The US can not afford to have him off his game at all this summer.

LD not so great last night- but it seemed like Holland was keeping an eye on him.IMO, the US attack picked up because of Edu pairing with Bradley... will get into more later.

agree, those two are head and shoulders our best mf pairing right now. Add in the fact that they are both going to be around for a long time and it's really a no-brainer that they need to play together every game if healthy.

Edu has some more maturing to do, particularly on some decision-making for tackles and off-the-ball positioning. Those are things that come from experience. He's shown that he can shut down passing lanes and mark effectively, plus being an OK short passer. The best defensive MFs play with a tenacity and controlled aggression that makes them a true disruptive force in the opposing team's offense. I keep harping on it, but Marcos Senna is the best example playing right now. Dude is tough as nails and knows when to go in strong, when to make the hard tackle that might generate a yellow but stop a likely goal, and when not to give up a spot kick and let play go on.Edu also needs to work on his defensive organizational skills, so as not to get others out of position and mark the opponents effectively. Those are qualities that Edu has, but needs to work hard on to be the player that can play alongside Bradley effectively. I've seen them in him from when he was playing at the u19 or u21 level, but he's got to continue to refine them. Think about the world class attacking MFs that he'd be up against: Cesc, Lampard, Kaká, Sneijder and think about the skills needed to slow those guys down.

For Michael Bradley, he's the current workhorse for the midfield for the US, and that can't stop. His motor needs to go 100%, end-to-end, distributing the ball and getting the entire team working as a unit. That means getting Demps to play effectively on the wing 9including tracking back for D), springing LD or for a run, hitting Jozy posting up playing with his back to the net, and putting out the long pass to get the counter attack going. He does that, but he's too stuck in breaking up passing lanes due to Clark not being reliable or fast enough on D to do it effectively.

Edu is the future. Jones should be the present... What's the deal here? We need this guy.