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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (1 Viewer)

It feels like Bunbury and Agudelo have done enough to get the start against Egypt. This is the second game in a row they have come on in the second half and helped the team.

 
It feels like Bunbury and Agudelo have done enough to get the start against Egypt. This is the second game in a row they have come on in the second half and helped the team.
The thing that's really noticeable is that they appear to have fun playing with each other. Not just playing....playing off of one another, etc. They're very complimentary of each other, reminiscent of Davies/Altidore when Davies was really starting to make his mark in the Confederations Cup 09.
 
Interesting stat from twitter(I have not verified).

The 4 strikers Englang took the the WC last summer have scored a combined 6 goals all season.

 
England Jones got the start today and his touch seems awful. Announcers keep calling it nerves but it's freaking WBA. Anyway, clearly playing a deep lying defensive mid role for Blackburn.

 
England Jones got the start today and his touch seems awful. Announcers keep calling it nerves but it's freaking WBA. Anyway, clearly playing a deep lying defensive mid role for Blackburn.
I feel like I should post the history of FC St. Pauli or something
 
Poor call by the ref...Odimwingie goes down in the box and should've earned a PK, but the ref spotted it just at the top of the 18 and WBA squander the free kick.

 
And Atlético falls 1-0 to Sporting Gijón. What a disgrace. Another defensive breakdown to let the goal in. Then, when being down for the last 40 mins of the game they were pretty impotent on offense.

I just don't understand this team. It's like they WANT to lose.

 
Had an awesome time last night. We killed two 5 gallon stone kegs on the bus up. I was still focused and ready to scout at the kick. Shorty thereafter though it just turned into party. I was right in the supporters section behind the goal, and I'd be surprised if 5 minutes went by without some singing. I'm not sure if any of our excitement came through on TV. The seats on the sides were pretty bleak, but both behind the goal sections were very lively. The only thing that sucked was the lack of beer options and the beer prices. $13 for a 24oz beer is outrageous at a football game. I thought they would be more reasonable at a futbol game.

Also, FYI: there are full metal detectors at the Home Depot center. They even go low enough to catch a flask stuffed in a sock. :bag:

And, FYI: there is a nice tree right outside the gates that work as great storage for things like, let's say, flasks :thumbdown:

 
England Jones got the start today and his touch seems awful. Announcers keep calling it nerves but it's freaking WBA. Anyway, clearly playing a deep lying defensive mid role for Blackburn.
Wahl tweeted that Jones was voted Man of the Match.
Must have been Wahl, Christo*, and Jones who voted. Hoilett was the obvious MOTM. Jones wasn't great and he also made a bad foul in the box that should have been a PK (alluded to above by Tasker). I'm not trying to bag on the guy and I realize he hasn't played much lately but no way he was MOTM. As an addendum: The Guardian's answer when asked about Jermaine Jones.....He's been quietly efficient, I'd say, although that's a bit of doublespeak for "haven't really noticed anything particularly good or bad".* Christo, I realize you have no sense of humor, so let me clarify that this is a joke and in no way am I suggesting you had an actual say in whatever vote Grant Wahl references.
 
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prefontaine said:
NewlyRetired said:
prefontaine said:
England Jones got the start today and his touch seems awful. Announcers keep calling it nerves but it's freaking WBA. Anyway, clearly playing a deep lying defensive mid role for Blackburn.
Wahl tweeted that Jones was voted Man of the Match.
Must have been Wahl, Christo*, and Jones who voted. Hoilett was the obvious MOTM. Jones wasn't great and he also made a bad foul in the box that should have been a PK (alluded to above by Tasker). I'm not trying to bag on the guy and I realize he hasn't played much lately but no way he was MOTM. As an addendum: The Guardian's answer when asked about Jermaine Jones.....He's been quietly efficient, I'd say, although that's a bit of doublespeak for "haven't really noticed anything particularly good or bad".* Christo, I realize you have no sense of humor, so let me clarify that this is a joke and in no way am I suggesting you had an actual say in whatever vote Grant Wahl references.
How do you know I don't?
 
Pretty much agree with you guys on the US game... lot's of youth for both teams, not a lot of quality either way, but some interesting things to keep an eye on going forward.

Before I get into the team- that TV feed was absolute crap. Did anybody else notice that the camera view was pulled back way more than a typical game? We ended up seeing a lot of the stands across the way, and more of the field/game (which was interesting for watching the spacing and runs, which is harder to do in a typcial coverage)- but it made it almost impossible for me to tell who was on the ball at any given moment unless they had obvious phsyical distinctions (like Shea's height/tow-head). I never knew if it was McCarthy or Laurentawitz on the ball. I like the stadiums like San Siro that have the camera in the sky following action from above to give you that sense of what people are doing off the ball and thought I'd like this pulled back view more than I did. Hated it.

One main thing you guys didn't mention about the game- I thought, considering these that guys have never played together and outside of a handful of understandable errors as a result, they did a fantastic job keeping their defensive shape, especially in closing space between the back four and the MF. Chile had a fair share of decent possession in the first half, but the US limited their ability to push forward into dangerous positions. I'm going to go ahead and give credit defensively to the CBs Ream and Gonzalez plus the central MF pair of Laurentawitz and McCarthy. But the real credit, IMO, goes to Bradley for implementing a system and getting these guys to buy into it that has proven to work defensively.

That said- offensively, things were obviously going to be a little more ragged without the playing history. But I thought the guys were getting forward and spacing fairly well, particularly through the MF to forwards. So at least tactically, the team was trying to do the right thing even if the skills/familiarty weren't quite there. Wondo and Shea didn't seem to vibe up front, and I wasn't loving the runs either were making. Wondo seems to lack a burst and pace to hit the seams, although he's ok when he gets the ball (great turn/spin to open himself up for a well taken shot). Shea showed better of both, but looked a little out of control much of the night and faded after a very strong opening 20 minutes (strong enough to be worth more looks for sure). McCarthy- I think, although some of them may have been Laurentow- seemed to be in the middle of most of the positive moves forwrad for the US, but also put the US at real risk with some terrible clunkers which put Chile in it's best attacking positions. Or maybe it was Laurentowiz (stupid camera POV).

I'll come back to the players in a bit...

 
NewlyRetired said:
Sebowski said:
I'm not sure if any of our excitement came through on TV. The seats on the sides were pretty bleak, but both behind the goal sections were very lively.
for a game that was meaningless and devoid of any name players, I thought the crowd sounded pretty good on TV.
:lmao: although I still hate hearing pro-opposition crowd for home games, even in LA. The rousing series of "Ole" that CHile pulled at some point bugged the #### out of me.
 
Z Machine's Football Manager 2011 Update

2011-2012 Season info:

Team: Cockfosters

League: Molten Spartan Midland Premier Division

Final Position: 1st (Promoted) - Will play in Ryman Football League Division One North

Games Played: 44

Wins: 31

Draws: 11

Losses: 2

Points: 104

Goals For: 88

Goals Against: 24

Goal Differential: +64

Top Goalscorer: Ade Akinbiyi (29)

Top Assists: Mo Sharif (12)

Other Notes:

* Won London County FA Senior Cup by beating Haringey Borough 2-0

* Qualified for FA Cup (lost in 1st Rd. to Notts Co. 0-0 home draw, 1-4 away loss)

* Reached 3rd Round of FA Vase

 
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Pretty much agree with you guys on the US game... lot's of youth for both teams, not a lot of quality either way, but some interesting things to keep an eye on going forward.

Before I get into the team- that TV feed was absolute crap. Did anybody else notice that the camera view was pulled back way more than a typical game? We ended up seeing a lot of the stands across the way, and more of the field/game (which was interesting for watching the spacing and runs, which is harder to do in a typcial coverage)- but it made it almost impossible for me to tell who was on the ball at any given moment unless they had obvious phsyical distinctions (like Shea's height/tow-head). I never knew if it was McCarthy or Laurentawitz on the ball. I like the stadiums like San Siro that have the camera in the sky following action from above to give you that sense of what people are doing off the ball and thought I'd like this pulled back view more than I did. Hated it.

One main thing you guys didn't mention about the game- I thought, considering these that guys have never played together and outside of a handful of understandable errors as a result, they did a fantastic job keeping their defensive shape, especially in closing space between the back four and the MF. Chile had a fair share of decent possession in the first half, but the US limited their ability to push forward into dangerous positions. I'm going to go ahead and give credit defensively to the CBs Ream and Gonzalez plus the central MF pair of Laurentawitz and McCarthy. But the real credit, IMO, goes to Bradley for implementing a system and getting these guys to buy into it that has proven to work defensively.

That said- offensively, things were obviously going to be a little more ragged without the playing history. But I thought the guys were getting forward and spacing fairly well, particularly through the MF to forwards. So at least tactically, the team was trying to do the right thing even if the skills/familiarty weren't quite there. Wondo and Shea didn't seem to vibe up front, and I wasn't loving the runs either were making. Wondo seems to lack a burst and pace to hit the seams, although he's ok when he gets the ball (great turn/spin to open himself up for a well taken shot). Shea showed better of both, but looked a little out of control much of the night and faded after a very strong opening 20 minutes (strong enough to be worth more looks for sure). McCarthy- I think, although some of them may have been Laurentow- seemed to be in the middle of most of the positive moves forwrad for the US, but also put the US at real risk with some terrible clunkers which put Chile in it's best attacking positions. Or maybe it was Laurentowicz (stupid camera POV).

I'll come back to the players in a bit...
Ok...Players-

DEF

Rimado... didn't have to do much, hard to judge him. The goal wasn't his fault.

Lloyd... loved his energy, and desire to get forward. he showed flashes of decent skills mixed with hurried flubs. routinely seemed to get caught badly positioned- used his quick first step and good speed to try to shut it down after the fact, but he'll need to learn to position himself better, especially limiting players to get behind him.

Ream... quiet game, but I agree with Andy that he was the more productive or effective guy offensively. Nice composure and positioning with his teammates to keep the game in front of him and limit Chile's chances.

Gonzalez... looked good, IMO. yeah, maybe a little rough with his passing- but won every air ball near him, tackled well and positioned himself well, and paired pretty well with Ream. It'll be fun watching these two develop.

Franklin... fast? seemed fast. played a similar style as Lloyd on the other side, but IMO was a little less collected with the ball and even a little less well (badly) positioned. Made me nervous back there, but had good closing speed to self-correct the mental mistakes. Dunno about this guy.

Wynne... oof. I guess put him back in the MLS pot for some more seasoning. Same old, same old chicken with the head cut off performance and IMO was at fault for the Chile goal- got caught ball watching and not checking where the dangerous attacker was. Also felt the back line immediately lost its shape after he checked in, which got covered up by a ton of heart/hustle by his team-mates.

MF

Bedoya... seemed to work hard- other than a couple of flashes in a couple of games, I haven't seen enough from this guy to get too excited about. Seemed like most of the US's productive attacks didn't revolve arround or through him. But did the goal actually come through him in the MF? Maybe... another flash.

Dax... I really enjoyed the way this guy played for the youth US teams and he's continued it at the senior level... kind of. Thought his first touch was too heavy on the night for a holding MF, whcih immediately put him under pressure from the high pressing Chileans and limited the US's ability to go forward. But when he got things under control, he was able to be productive and find guys going forward or in good spots to go forward. Again- either he or Laurentwitz- seemed to have the occasional howler pass all night which prompted a number of Chilean attacks. Bad first touch and random terrible passes in the back aren't ideal for a holding MF, but he held his defensive shape well and did some good things with the ball. :banned:

Laurentowicz... worked hard? good positioning. ####- I couldn't tell if it was him or Dax most of the night on the ball.

Diskerud... color me disappointed, especially considering the guy should be in mid-season form (as compared to the US players). I got excited from his few minutes against SA, but he seemed to struggle on the night until Aguedelo and Bunburry came in. It was tough to tell if he was playing in the middle in front of the previous two, or out on the flank. Maybe was switching it up with Shea as a swing MF/2nd Forward? Just seemed discombolated with his runs and often took too long on the ball (which was the case with most of the guys). But again- picked up with the addition of the two young attackers.

Shea... Like I mentioned- worked hard, good pace and explosiveness, looked the most dangerous man on the field for the first 20 minutes and then kind of disappeared until getting subbed out. Hopefully, at still 20, he'll grow as a professional- he's got the potential to be game-changer, but he's a long way's away from that IMO. Was he a forwrad or MF on the night?

FORWARDS

Wondolowski... mentioned him already- a step slow and not enough of a physical presence to ply by himself up there. Needs to be able to hold the ball and not just play a two touch pass (which is my broken record for just about every US player). But he's got a nose for goal... and that's important too. Didn't do himself many favors IMO.

Bunburry... a little out of control, but showed some real explosiveness and pace and desire to do the unexpected. like how he partnered with Agudelo- they seemed to have some chemistry up top. Could be a decent counterpoint to Jozy.

Agudelo... I like him the more I see of him. He was the only player who went up in the air to win a ball and then hold it. Just knows how to go at goal, even when he doesn't really know- has that fearlessness we need from a forward- but also has some good skills and suprising strength (I just looked him up- listed at 6', 180- so I guess I shouldn't be too suprised) and good tactical awareness (although IIRC, he got caught on a few offsides), particularly in how to pair up with his team-mates. From what little I've seen of him and Bunburry, the future could be very bright for the US attack (with Jozy, and especially if Charlie Davies can come back to any semblance of where he was).

 
I am a big wrestling geek going back to the late 70's.

There is an adorable rumor (likely bogus) floating that Vince McMahon wants to purchase Newcastle United :goodposting:

 
Thanks for the breakdown Floppo that was a good read. Do you know if we can expect the same roster against Egypt in a couple of weeks?
I don't know- but IIRC, I remember reading that the next three games would feature our primary players... especially if the games fall on official international dates. Seems like Bradley (and maybe the rest of us) learned how important the Gold Cup is for the next WC, so I'm guessing he's going to go all out trying to nail down his lineup for it in these next few games.
 
More than 23k tickets have already been sold for the US Argentina match on March 26. If these are relatively close to the first team sides, this is going to be an enormous crowd.

 
So nobody else was bothered by the too-wide field of view of the main camera in the US v Chile game?

Just watched the Bolton v Chelsea game... don't think I've ever seen a professional team give the all over so cheaply and so many times out of the back. Thought Bolton played alright too- much better than the scoreline would indicate- but with Cech saving everything thrown at him and Bolton defenders passing the ball repeatedly to Chelsea players... bleh.

Holden worked his ### off as usual, and started to turn it on for a 15 minute stretch after the hour mark with some really confident touches and some cheeky Dempsey stuff thrown in for good measure.

And what a strike by Drogba on that first goal :goodposting: ... too bad he's compelled to go into histrionics every time he gets tackled.

 
Good no-call by the lineschick in the Wolves-Pool game. Cute too :lmao:
Andy Gray and Richard Keys suspended for sexists commentswhat tools
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish poked fun at Sky interviewer Vinny O'Connor at Monday's press conference by asking if he was OK that female journalists were also there.
:thumbdown:
LONDON (Reuters) - Sky Sports soccer pundit Andy Gray has been sacked after making sexist comments about a female match official last weekend, the broadcaster said on Tuesday.

Presenter Richard Keys and Gray, a former Scotland striker, were stood down temporarily after they were recorded questioning whether assistant referee Sian Massey "knew the offside rule".

Massey, 25, ran the line at Saturday's Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool Premier League match and was widely praised for making the right call on Liverpool's first goal.

"Sky Sports today terminated its contract with Andy Gray," Sky Sports said on their website (www.skysports.com).

"The decision, which is effective immediately, was made in response to new evidence of unacceptable and offensive behaviour," it added.

"The new evidence, relating to an off-air incident that took place in December 2010, came to light after Andy Gray had already been subjected to disciplinary action for his comments of 22nd January 2011."

Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports, added: "After issuing a warning yesterday, we have no hesitation in taking this action after becoming aware of new information today," he added.

Massey was due to run the line at Tuesday's League Two (fourth division) game between Crewe Alexandra and Bradford City but has been withdrawn to avoid the media spotlight.
 
From US SOCCER website- some comments from Bradley and some of the players.Didn't know Lloyd had been named MoM... a bit of a suprise, but I guess it had to go to somebody. Now that I think about it... maybe I'd have given it to Ream or McCarty.Also interesting seeing Diskerud talk about his comfort playing with Agudelo and Bunburry- it showed on the field.

U.S. Head Coach Bob BRADLEY On the game at the conclusion of January camp: “From the start of this camp we talked about how international games are faster so our movement needs to be better and things need to be cleaner. For the past few weeks we tried to establish an idea of what that's like and today that's exactly what we got. We had seven guys get their first cap tonight, so that's always positive. When you have a young group of guys in camp, at the end of everything you want to put it to the test and it gives you a good picture of where these guys are, and I think that part was excellent.” On what the staff sees from this game: “As a coaching staff we were just saying that we are starting to get to know these guys, and for the most part we saw a lot of what we know. When you talk about positives, for example we know that Zach Loyd is a very good competitor, so playing left back his pure ability to compete on plays in that part of the field and everything I thought was excellent. You see it in training, but now it gets put to the test and it’s great when it comes out during the game.” On the play of Agudelo and Bunbury: “Today they both did come on the field and give us a good lift. We had, prior to that, played along the lines of 4-2-3-1 with Mikkel Diskerud having a little bit of a free role and I think it was a good change at that point to give it a good look. They both seem to find good spots in terms of holding on to balls but also coming underneath, and as you work with these young guys in camp you see the potential. There still are little things that need a lot of work. A lot has to happen quickly for both of them. Hopefully we can keep moving them in the right direction.” U.S. Midfielder and captain DAX MCCARTYOn the team coming behind to get a result: “The World Cup team all the way down through multiple players on this team have a lot of character, and that comes from the coaching staff. We didn’t put our heads down. Even before their goal I thought that we definitely had the run of play, and we certainly created a lot more attacking opportunities going forward. It was one thing when they scored on pretty much their only chance of the half, but it’s another thing to have the heart and desire to want to come back and get a result and we did that. In the end it was a fair result, but you wouldn’t have argued with us getting a winner.” On his roles in the match: “Bob gave me a little bit more freedom to kind of express myself going forward a little bit more. Certainly in the first half, Chile had a little bit more possession than us, so I was trying to stay a little bit more disciplined defensively. In the second half we really wanted to try to push the game, push the tempo a little bit, and I was trying to get more involved in the attack and connect a little bit more with the forwards and play more underneath (them).” U.S. Defender and Budweiser Man of the Match ZACH LOYD On the game: “I felt it went well. In the first half they were definitely pushing the tempo, but I think in the second half we made a few subs and they brought a lot of energy and we pressed them the remainder of the second half.” On the speed of the game: “The first five to 10 minutes it’s really fast. It was my first cap, and I was all excited and after that you just get relaxed and your teammates are always talking to you and giving you confidence along the way. I’m thankful that I had the guys around me that I did tonight, and hopefully I can continue to go forward.” U.S. Forward TEAL BUNBURY On what he tried to do when he came into the game: “They were just telling us to go in there and try to make an impact. I was feeling confident going into the game. They were trying to pressure us and really go forward. I felt like as a team we did really well to attack and take advantage of what they were giving us. I knew that I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to make an impact. I feel like everyone stepped it up in the second half.” On his chemistry with Agudelo: “I don’t know about him, but I feel really comfortable playing up top with him. I feel like our chemistry is really growing and I’m just looking forward to more games with him and we’ll go from there.” U.S. Defender OMAR GONZALEZOn his start at The Home Depot Center and the game: “First and foremost it was definitely an honor to be playing with the national team tonight. Second, it was a fun game. The first half was so much fun and getting to see all of the new, young guys out there was fun for me and hopefully it was fun for everyone else. I thought that we did well. We wanted to win, but a draw is a good result so all in all I think that everyone did a good job.” U.S. Midfielder MIXX DISKERUD On the play of Agudelo and Bunbury: “It’s fun to play with those guys. We’ve been hanging out together here in California so we have a good connection and it shows on the pitch as well.” On playing with a higher work rate: “It’s something that the coaches wanted me to work on and I wanted to show that I could do that as well, so maybe it was a little bit more working than flair today. That’s no problem when we get the result. It’s not what we were hoping for, but that in the end was OK.” On the flow of the game: “The more the game went on in the first half, we started combining a little bit better. [Chile] had a weird style of playing soccer. I haven’t been through a system like that, so it takes sometime to get used to that. As time went on, I think we got a little bit more comfortable with it. In the second half after they scored a goal, I think that pissed off everybody so we gave it our all. We started pressuring them and that was when the game changed.”
 
Two US players we don't talk about much are playing well and getting some much needed field time.

Spector is now getting very solid minutes at defensive midfielder for West Ham and has even found the net 4 times in the last couple of months including a goal this past weekend against Everton.

Also, Ricardo Clark has started 4 games in a row for Eintracht Frankfurt including a start at center back in which he reportedly play very well.

 
So nobody else was bothered by the too-wide field of view of the main camera in the US v Chile game?
Just me?
I was watching a non HD Telefutura feed so it all looked bad to me :lmao:
But specifically that the camera viewpoint was pulled back further than your normal, EPL type of feed. I watched an early EPL game the morning after the US game and it was like... ahhhhhh. I can see the players in aroudn the play without having to see the entire field and stands.
 
The Asian Cup final is set.

Japan won a cracker of a game over South Korea to advance. SK tied the game at 2-2 in injury time and then proceeded to miss every PK they took to lose to Japan.

The Aussies blew out Uzbekistan 6-0 in the other semi.

Japan vs Australia for the finals. For those that don't know this is being played in Qatar. Game is Jan 29th.

 
So nobody else was bothered by the too-wide field of view of the main camera in the US v Chile game?
Just me?
I was watching a non HD Telefutura feed so it all looked bad to me :(
But specifically that the camera viewpoint was pulled back further than your normal, EPL type of feed. I watched an early EPL game the morning after the US game and it was like... ahhhhhh. I can see the players in aroudn the play without having to see the entire field and stands.
hard to say. It seemed similar to other games at HDC but I will pay more attention the next time the Gals are on TV to see for a difference.
 

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