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US Men's National Team (27 Viewers)

NewlyRetired said:
Someone on reddit posted that there are still under 2k tickets left for sale.  I guess this indicates to me Orlando City must have a very diverse fan base in terms of nationalities.  I assumed this was going to be an easy sell out between US and Panama fans.
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Amazing.  I thought soccer had progressed further in this country.

 
Ned said:
That was the first thing I was screaming about last night after he scored. That touch couldn’t have been any better. :wub:  
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He also picked Baloy (number 23) from going after the initial header against Wood which put Baloy out of position once Jozy settled the ball.  The three of them overloaded that space all night and Panama never had numbers there to cope with it especially with all 3 moving so well.  

 
AAABatteries said:
Your face is wrong.  

You think those sloppy/lazy passes wouldn't have turned in to scoring chances if we were not playing Panama?  He had at least 3-4 just horrible passes and that's just not good enough IMO.  I'm not saying sub him out or that we have a better option but nothing from that game gives me confidence in him.
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I mentioned the couple of sloppy passes. Not good.

But other than that, the same calm, tidy, useful guy on the ball and off. You guys shooting on his game really don't appear to get what a DM needs to do and get caught up in the limited (yes, not good) mistakes he makes on the ball. Controlling space, linking lines, organizing, calming, fouling when needed... Mostly stuff off the ball. Thought he did all of that at his typically high level. 

Butagain.. he's lost a step and needs a CM who's either more of a two way guy (as good as CP was getting forward, he was that bad defending...which was hopefully the given role and not him ####### up), wide MFs who understand how to punch in and support better (Fab and Bedonka are better at this but worse going forward), or a second DM to help, which changes up the formation and personnel. 

 
El Floppo said:
I mentioned the couple of sloppy passes. Not good.

But other than that, the same calm, tidy, useful guy on the ball and off. You guys shooting on his game really don't appear to get what a DM needs to do and get caught up in the limited (yes, not good) mistakes he makes on the ball. Controlling space, linking lines, organizing, calming, fouling when needed... Mostly stuff off the ball. Thought he did all of that at his typically high level. 

Butagain.. he's lost a step and needs a CM who's either more of a two way guy (as good as CP was getting forward, he was that bad defending...which was hopefully the given role and not him ####### up), wide MFs who understand how to punch in and support better (Fab and Bedonka are better at this but worse going forward), or a second DM to help, which changes up the formation and personnel. 
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Sorry, GB, but I feel comfortable with understanding what a DM should be doing and I think Bradley isn't good at it at this point.

First, I remember watching him and loving his vision, his passing, and his overall game awareness. He's a completely different player now and not in a good way.

Yes, he does a lot of the things you mentioned and he's adequate at them. Not great, but good enough. I'll give him that. And he's still the best we have for that spot.

However, virtually every game he's making crucial mistakes in a bad part of the field. Those are unacceptable. He had two really bad passes yesterday that led to counters that better teams will bury in the back of the net. He simply can't do that from his position and he does it every single game now. 

There was another ball played to him later in the game that he waited to arrive and the Panamanian player simply beat him to the ball and started a counter. Again, unacceptable, as Bradley had no idea he was there. His game awareness strength somehow up and vanished like a fart in the wind.

And finally, his deliveries on set pieces are lacking. I used to have some hope we could score on corners or close free kicks and now I don't see it happening. Twice he delivered very poor balls yesterday, once into an area that had no US players but had a crowd of Panamanian origin.

I agree he plays just fine for 85-90% of the game and does what he is supposed to.  But the magnitude of the mistakes he's making are going to cost us dearly against quality teams. It's one thing to make those mistakes in our attacking area. It's another when he does them midfield or even closer to our goal and it's a regular occurrence now. 

Yes, he needed more help from the other defensive guys last night. But the common theme, no matter our formation, is that we inevitably say "Jesus, Bradley" when our DM virtually gives the other team an assist at least once or twice a game.

 
1. Regarding who can be the 'McSorley' for Pulisic, if I understand the term correctly, my vote would be for John Brooks. Based on the limited times I've seen him play, he seems to have the physicality for lack of a better term.  If not Brooks, then is Vinnie Jones eligible to play for the U.S.? 

2. Regarding Bradley, I counted at least 4 passes he made directly to Panama players (and thanks to @El Floppo, I get that he has bigger duties on the field as well), which was very un-Bradley like, so I'm willing to chalk it up to just having that part of his game being off last night; however, the other point about him losing a step but still needing to be on the field makes me think that getting him the right help supersedes even getting support for CP.  As much as I like Nagbe, if he's a liability on defense, then he's a situational starter at best. 

3. Regarding CP getting hacked, I have to admit I'm not a fan of him looking to the ref every time he goes down. Perhaps he needs to take a page out of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's book and lay out the next guy that hacks him.  To me, even though he's arguably the best player on the team, he's still young and some may feel that he needs to pay his dues/prove that he can take care of himself before he can get any star treatment. 

4. On that note, as much as I thought Panama seemed to be playing extra physical and chippy with the little extracurricular shoves and pushing, I think they did the USMNT a favor.  If they go on to Russia and the WC, they are going to have a target on their backs more than most of the other teams, simply because they're the U.S., and now that we're starting to reach more level ground with the rest of the field, we're going to be less of a curiosity and more of team to be taken seriously.  I know that's what we're striving for, but at this point, we're on dangerous ground, because we're just getting there and if they don't learn to endure and thrive in that kind of game, they won't truly get over the hump and onto a higher level.  The kind of game they had last night is going to be more common, and by more talented teams, where more often than not, we'll be on the wrong side of the rout. Unless, that is of course, they take to heart the lessons I hope they learned last night. 

5. Couldn't help but notice how good Zusi looked sitting on the bench; I think that's his spot.

 
Can we enjoy the win before we start to nitpick and #### all over Bradley?

Sure there’s a lot to fix, but damn they showed up to play last night. 

 
To be fair to Bradley he did more positive than Nagbe but I felt he also did more negative.  Nagbe was kind of a passenger - Bradley was at least involved but those mistakes will kill us against a better side.  

CP MOTM, Yedlin and Wood had really good games.

 
I think Ned mentioned this before the game, but the team speed was excellent last night.  With Yedlin, Arriola, Wood and Pulisic all starting, we had 4 legit burners on the field at once.   

Yedlin has learned how to use his speed better than any US donkey who had speed before him to be a solid player.  We can't say enough about Pulisic and having Arriola next to him while the defenders are busy trying to break his legs is going to give Arriola more and more space on the flank to really rake advantage of.  If he can sharpen his game in the final 3rd, he could really make a case to be a starter next summer.

 
AAABatteries said:
To be fair to Bradley he did more positive than Nagbe but I felt he also did more negative.  Nagbe was kind of a passenger - Bradley was at least involved but those mistakes will kill us against a better side.  .
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This is who Nagbe is.  He does this all the time at club level.   The better other players on his team play offensively, the more likely he is to disappear.  It is such a strange character trait of his.

 
So this is a pure speculation question.  I am not asking what you would do, I am asking what you think Arena would do.

If we assume no massive injuries, is Fab done for good with the US going forward?  There was speculation that Fab was going to retire from international play after the WC earlier this year.

 
If he won't play left back, then yes, he's done. The other options are better than he is in the midfield and he's too prideful to be a reserve

 
I can't recall many or even any games where the US played well offensively and the US full backs had very little to do offensively. 

 This was probably due to the formation and to the tactics Panama took.  If they had bunkered as expected we probably would have seen Villa and Yedlin have to overlap to try and break down from out wide.

 
One of the fun twitter debates this morning are all the people who are pissed the US played well because they wanted them to fail so that the whole system would be blown up.

While there are still a ton of things to improve, I am not willing to say blowing it up is the only fix, especially when blowing things up runs the risk of not improving anything.

 
gianmarco said:
Sorry, GB, but I feel comfortable with understanding what a DM should be doing and I think Bradley isn't good at it at this point.

First, I remember watching him and loving his vision, his passing, and his overall game awareness. He's a completely different player now and not in a good way.

Yes, he does a lot of the things you mentioned and he's adequate at them. Not great, but good enough. I'll give him that. And he's still the best we have for that spot.

However, virtually every game he's making crucial mistakes in a bad part of the field. Those are unacceptable. He had two really bad passes yesterday that led to counters that better teams will bury in the back of the net. He simply can't do that from his position and he does it every single game now. 

There was another ball played to him later in the game that he waited to arrive and the Panamanian player simply beat him to the ball and started a counter. Again, unacceptable, as Bradley had no idea he was there. His game awareness strength somehow up and vanished like a fart in the wind.

And finally, his deliveries on set pieces are lacking. I used to have some hope we could score on corners or close free kicks and now I don't see it happening. Twice he delivered very poor balls yesterday, once into an area that had no US players but had a crowd of Panamanian origin.

I agree he plays just fine for 85-90% of the game and does what he is supposed to.  But the magnitude of the mistakes he's making are going to cost us dearly against quality teams. It's one thing to make those mistakes in our attacking area. It's another when he does them midfield or even closer to our goal and it's a regular occurrence now. 

Yes, he needed more help from the other defensive guys last night. But the common theme, no matter our formation, is that we inevitably say "Jesus, Bradley" when our DM virtually gives the other team an assist at least once or twice a game.
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Will reply later when u have more time. But love the reply and don't disagree with most of what you said

ETA.. when I have more time. 

 
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NewlyRetired said:
One of the fun twitter debates this morning are all the people who are pissed the US played well because they wanted them to fail so that the whole system would be blown up.

While there are still a ton of things to improve, I am not willing to say blowing it up is the only fix, especially when blowing things up runs the risk of not improving anything.
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That's the thing though, Arena basically did that yesterday.  Besides for Bradley and Besler that was basically the youngest team he could have put out there (with Brooks and Mazda being the CB pairing).  If people want to be excited for the next 4 years, that's the reason why

 
AAABatteries said:
Sorry GB but put me in the you're crazy camp - I thought he was bad.  The rest of the team and how bad Panama were masked his suckiness.  
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Matthew Doyle has a pretty concise analyst piece today that sums up my thoughts on Bradley's performance last night, complete with a diagram of the amount of field he was required to cover to allow the US to consistently get 4-5 players forward.  He talks about how much Bradley was asked to do and called it a strategic gamble that paid-off for Arena.  I guess we just disagree on his performance.  I'm a lifelong center midfielder so I'm always watching those players with a keen eye, very critical.  Bradley hasn't been as good in recent years as he was back in the day.  But I don't think he's nearly as bad as some US fans seem to think.  His role has changed over the years to where he's less flashy, less noticeable, and his occasional giveaways are more detrimental, and he's not a traditional ball-winner destroyer holding CM like Patrick Vieira (or even Jermaine Jones), so it's easy to look at him and think he's not playing well, IMO.  From the article:

Bradley is not a perfect player, and a lack of consistency in formation and squad selection has led to some subpar passing numbers relative to what he's done in the past, and what he does on the weekly with Toronto FC. But you don't take this chance – you don't go full Mark Antony – if you have just any old defensive midfielder covering that spot. Your risk calculations probably push you in the other direction, toward a grit-and-grind one-goal result.

The US have had a lot of those over the decades, and Arena was particularly masterful at pulling them off during his first tenure as manager. His teams did so with such frequency that it was a point of unquestioned belief amongst the fanbase that he was a conservative, defensive manager first and foremost.

This win over Panama, and the 6-0 over Honduras to start his eight-game run-in as resuscitator of the program Jurgen Klinsmann nearly smothered to death, gives the lie to that belief. Arena's not an ultra-defensive manager; he's an ultra-pragmatic manager. And sometimes pragmatism demands that you're Antony in Caesar's tomb, vowing total war via all-out attack.

Not against Mexico, mind you, and not against Costa Rica either. Panama was a different sort of challenge and so it was a different sort of calculus for the manager and the players. But the idea of "let's make Bradley's job a lot harder so that the attack's job is a bit easier" was a worthy trade-off.
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Sammy3469 said:
That's the thing though, Arena basically did that yesterday.  Besides for Bradley and Besler that was basically the youngest team he could have put out there (with Brooks and Mazda being the CB pairing).  If people want to be excited for the next 4 years, that's the reason why
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I agree but the blowing up I was talking about are people who want to change everything, not just the senior team.  Some fans wanted to see the US fail to basically blow up MLS and US Soccer as entities and start over with promotion relegation and all those favorite issues some think are holding the US back.

 
If Pulisic is ready to go, I wonder if we will see a similar 11 on Tuesday.   Due to circumstances, Arena has typically made large scale changes game to game...

 
I am terrible at judging players unless they play awful or great.  So instead of giving my opinion of Bradley, here are some various player ratings on him last night.  I would not focus on the grades but the words.  The grades are too influenced by the result of the game (in both directions)

===================

M MICHAEL BRADLEY, 7: Did what he needed to do as the lone defensive midfielder, covering acres of space while winning loose balls

CM — Michael Bradley: 6 — He was asked to do a lot in this one — run the entire middle third of the field as the only truly central midfielder — which he struggled to juggle at times in the first half, but that’s an impossible ask. He doesn’t need to be a 9/10 performer every night for the USMNT succeed. In fact, they need him to play a smaller part more frequently, and allow every one else to carry their own weight. He can still be Superman when it’s asked of him, but it’s not necessary all the time.

MF Michael Bradley, 7 -- Left isolated in front of the back line until Dax McCarty's introduction, did what he could to slow down Panama. Pushed the Americans forward to establish tone in the first half

Michael Bradley played his typical box-to-box role. He offered supportive defense and played superb balls. It was pure soccer, nothing fancy or over the top. Grade: B

Michael Bradley (6): Guilty of a couple of cheap giveaways in the opening frame, the skipper kept it safer after intermission. Bradley covered a lot of ground defensively until the subs gave him some late help

 
NewlyRetired said:
One of the fun twitter debates this morning are all the people who are pissed the US played well because they wanted them to fail so that the whole system would be blown up.

While there are still a ton of things to improve, I am not willing to say blowing it up is the only fix, especially when blowing things up runs the risk of not improving anything.
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Yeah, this school of thought is nuts, especially given the make up of this group.

Obviously the past year hasn't gone well. But as that article on the last page explained the age group that should really be the core of this year's team just hasn't panned out. Add in a few key long term injuries and 1 or 2 bonehead tactical decisions and here we are.

But the bottom line is that we're still likely going to Russia and a lot can change in 9 months.  And even if this group is destined to crash out in the group stage, there are obviously some key guys that will be the backbone of the '22 team that could really use the experience and exposure.

Pulisic, Brooks, Wood, Yedlin, Acosta, Nipple and Morris are all under 25. They are all on the Russia roster barring injury. Do we really think the program will be better off with them NOT getting that experience. Add in guys like Mckennie, Miazga, Gonzalez, Palmer-Brown and Horvath (or even CCV)who are all potential starters 4 years from now (and could certainly be at the back of the roster for Russia) and there's simply no argument that we're better off "blowing up the system" (whatever that means) and missing the tournament. Its idiotic.

 
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NewlyRetired said:
If Pulisic is ready to go, I wonder if we will see a similar 11 on Tuesday.   Due to circumstances, Arena has typically made large scale changes game to game...
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Gonzo almost had ANOTHER brain fart last night. IMO, the only way Tuesday goes badly is if we give up a stupid fluky early goal. IMO, Cameron should be in for Gonzo to help prevent that.

 
TLEF316 said:
Gonzo almost had ANOTHER brain fart last night. IMO, the only way Tuesday goes badly is if we give up a stupid fluky early goal. IMO, Cameron should be in for Gonzo to help prevent that.
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I agree.  Gonzo's one on one defending skills are really not good enough at this level.  Arena did say that though that he considers the Gonzo Besler pairing to be the #1 right now so I am unsure what he is going to do.

 
TLEF316 said:
Yeah, this school of thought is nuts, especially given the make up of this group.

Obviously the past year hasn't gone well. But as that article on the last page explained the age group that should really be the core of this year's team just hasn't panned out. Add in a few key long term injuries and 1 or 2 bonehead tactical decisions and here we are.

But the bottom line is that we're still likely going to Russia and a lot can change in 9 months.  And even if this group is destined to crash out in the group stage, there are obviously some key guys that will be the backbone of the '22 team that could really use the experience and exposure.

Pulisic, Brooks, Wood, Yedlin, Acosta, Nipple and Morris are all under 25. They are all on the Russia roster barring injury. Do we really think the program will be better off with them NOT getting that experience. Add in guys like Mckennie, Miazga and Horvath (or even CCV)who are all potential starters 4 years from now (and could certainly be at the back of the roster for Russia) and there's simply no argument that we're better off "blowing up the system" (whatever that means) and missing the tournament. Its idiotic.
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In reading more, it seems to be coming from the group that has an over the top and some what illogical hatred of MLS.  That level of bias tends to make opinions over extend into the crazy area.

 
Man, coaching the Mexican National Team is the most thankless job in the world some times.

Mexico has a chance to become the first team ever in the hex to go undefeated (and also pick up the most points ever).

All that was trending on twitter last night was "fire Osorio" after the Mexico game.

 
gianmarco said:
Sorry, GB, but I feel comfortable with understanding what a DM should be doing and I think Bradley isn't good at it at this point.

First, I remember watching him and loving his vision, his passing, and his overall game awareness. He's a completely different player now and not in a good way.

Yes, he does a lot of the things you mentioned and he's adequate at them. Not great, but good enough. I'll give him that. And he's still the best we have for that spot.

However, virtually every game he's making crucial mistakes in a bad part of the field. Those are unacceptable. He had two really bad passes yesterday that led to counters that better teams will bury in the back of the net. He simply can't do that from his position and he does it every single game now. 

There was another ball played to him later in the game that he waited to arrive and the Panamanian player simply beat him to the ball and started a counter. Again, unacceptable, as Bradley had no idea he was there. His game awareness strength somehow up and vanished like a fart in the wind.

And finally, his deliveries on set pieces are lacking. I used to have some hope we could score on corners or close free kicks and now I don't see it happening. Twice he delivered very poor balls yesterday, once into an area that had no US players but had a crowd of Panamanian origin.

I agree he plays just fine for 85-90% of the game and does what he is supposed to.  But the magnitude of the mistakes he's making are going to cost us dearly against quality teams. It's one thing to make those mistakes in our attacking area. It's another when he does them midfield or even closer to our goal and it's a regular occurrence now. 

Yes, he needed more help from the other defensive guys last night. But the common theme, no matter our formation, is that we inevitably say "Jesus, Bradley" when our DM virtually gives the other team an assist at least once or twice a game.
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I don't really disagree with a lot of these comments, but I don't think you're giving him enough credit for the little things that he was asked to do, and did consistently, last night.

I can't stress enough how much field he was asked to cover.  The US played for an all-out attack.  3 attackers with two wingers consistently getting forward.  Bradley had a huge swath of field to cover, and was playing 1v2 in the central midfield for the entire game.  That is an incredibly difficult position to be in, and I thought he managed it pretty well.  I know Panama aren't a great team, but any of the top 5-6 teams in CONCACAF should be able to generate some possession and some real opportunities through the center against this US formation.  Panama didn't.....they didn't consistently generate anything.  Sure they had some chances, every team will have some chances.  But Bradley was 1v2 all evening and it was almost indistinguishable.  It's the little things like that which don't get any publicity.  It's hard to see, because it doesn't involve him being on the ball or making runs into space - it involves him understanding where he needs to be to disrupt any attack or any passing movement, and how to coordinate with the defenders to ensure they're all on the same page.

Really I liked his position as the "glue" last night.  He was the sole link between the defenders and the attackers.  I referred to it as "stabilizing influence" or something like that in my initial post.  He was dropping back deeper than the center backs to receive the ball and start to build attacks from the back.  He was up in the mix when the ball was in the final 3rd.  I understand that's the role of a center midfielder and nothing special, but what I really liked about his game was that he was the only one in that role.  The side-backs didn't get forward into the play often.  Arriola and Nagbe were playing pretty much playing offensive roles with minimal defensive responsibility.  Usually as a center midfielder you have assistance in being that glue, that building block....you've got another CM alongside, you've got side backs roaming up and down the sideline to build from the back.  The US didn't have that yesterday.....they just had Bradley.

I don't disagree about his giveaways.  Those are a problem.  He is not the player he once was, and I think it's certainly fair to say that he's on the downturn of his career.  But I think that when any measured attack - not a pure counter - is going through one single player, he's bound to have some giveaways.  He's always had giveaways, but a giveaway when you're forward up the field and trying to make a play means a lot less than a giveaway in your defensive third.  I do think that this isn't really a natural position for him, which is probably part of the problem.

I did curse at the TV on that particular play in the second half you're referring to, where he dogged it an the Panamanian player came out of nowhere to scoop the ball.  It was a lazy play, but it was in the attacking third and the US was up big, and I'm sure he was gassed.  Not an excuse to not move to the ball, but I'll give him a pass on a brain fart after how he had been playing.

Bottom line, he's not what he used to be but I thought he had a very solid "unsung hero" type of game last night.  Not great, but good enough to where I'm not gonna kill him for his mistakes.  He had a role, and he did it better than any other current US CM could've.  Do I wish the US had someone better, younger, better suited for that role?  Sure.  Then again, though, I maybe tend to overrate good CM play and overcriticize poor CM play, because it's the position I can understand and read the best.  Just my two cents.

 
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My thoughts, most of which have already been said and discussed, but I'll summarize:

1)  In years past, USA won games, especially against better teams, through defensive tactics and work-rate.  It's been the backbone of US soccer for a while now.  I think that time has come and gone.  While we still don't have near the quality of the top tier teams, we must start to rely on our offense and put the ball into the net more often.  If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time we've seen Arena put out the full array of attacking options like he did and it's our best chance to win against ANY team, good and bad.  Pulisic in the ACM role with Wood, Jozy up top and Nips/Nagbe providing support.  THAT is the strength of this team now and it has to be built around Pulisic.  Dempsey as a super-sub is ideal at this point. 

2)  Yedlin is crucial to the defense.  We REALLY need to find his twin on the other side because LB is a big liability right now.  Villafana isn't it.  I wish we even had an answer in the pipeline but I don't think we do?  Who is someone that we can potentially plug in there?  Is there someone we can move to that position to try? 

3)  Gonzo can't be in the lineup anymore.  He just can't.  Man, we need Brooks back to pair with Cameron in the center.  I really hope they are ready for next year.  Besler is ok, but only in a pinch and can't be counted on.  Why can't we get CCV involved? 

4)  I haven't watched him much but I was very impressed with Dax in his limited time yesterday.  I've made my thoughts on Bradley known.  I'd actually like to see Dax take over Bradley's role for now and see how it works.  It won't happen, but I think it has the potential to serve the team better.

5)  I think the US are REALLY close to putting a quality product out there.  Fix a couple holes and they could be a really fun team to watch that no one is going to want to play.  Still not enough to win consistently at the upper level with the elite teams, but good enough where they could beat quality teams without hunkering down on defense and relying on a few counters in a game.  I think Arena is building toward that little by little and I like what he's doing.  I'm glad in a must-win game he put out all the guns and let them have at it.  Even if Panama would have parked the bus, I think we still score 2-3 last night because they simply didn't have answers for the playmakers up top.  I'm excited to see what this team with that offense on the pitch does against non-CONCACAF quality teams.

 
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Steve Tasker said:
I don't really disagree with a lot of these comments, but I don't think you're giving him enough credit for the little things that he was asked to do, and did consistently, last night.

I can't stress enough how much field he was asked to cover.  The US played for an all-out attack.  3 attackers with two wingers consistently getting forward.  Bradley had a huge swath of field to cover, and was playing 1v2 in the central midfield for the entire game.  That is an incredibly difficult position to be in, and I thought he managed it pretty well.  I know Panama aren't a great team, but any of the top 5-6 teams in CONCACAF should be able to generate some possession and some real opportunities through the center against this US formation.  Panama didn't.....they didn't consistently generate anything.  Sure they had some chances, every team will have some chances.  But Bradley was 1v2 all evening and it was almost indistinguishable.  It's the little things like that which don't get any publicity.  It's hard to see, because it doesn't involve him being on the ball or making runs into space - it involves him understanding where he needs to be to disrupt any attack or any passing movement, and how to coordinate with the defenders to ensure they're all on the same page.

Really I liked his position as the "glue" last night.  He was the sole link between the defenders and the attackers.  I referred to it as "stabilizing influence" or something like that in my initial post.  He was dropping back deeper than the center backs to receive the ball and start to build attacks from the back.  He was up in the mix when the ball was in the final 3rd.  I understand that's the role of a center midfielder and nothing special, but what I really liked about his game was that he was the only one in that role.  The side-backs didn't get forward into the play often.  Arriola and Nagbe were playing pretty much playing offensive roles with minimal defensive responsibility.  Usually as a center midfielder you have assistance in being that glue, that building block....you've got another CM alongside, you've got side backs roaming up and down the sideline to build from the back.  The US didn't have that yesterday.....they just had Bradley.

I don't disagree about his giveaways.  Those are a problem.  He is not the player he once was, and I think it's certainly fair to say that he's on the downturn of his career.  But I think that when any measured attack - not a pure counter - is going through one single player, he's bound to have some giveaways.  He's always had giveaways, but a giveaway when you're forward up the field and trying to make a play means a lot less than a giveaway in your defensive third.  I do think that this isn't really a natural position for him, which is probably part of the problem.

I did curse at the TV on that particular play in the second half you're referring to, where he dogged it an the Panamanian player came out of nowhere to scoop the ball.  It was a lazy play, but it was in the attacking third and the US was up 4-0, and I'm sure he was gassed.  Not an excuse to not move to the ball, but I'll give him a pass on a brain fart after how he had been playing.

Bottom line, he's not what he used to be but I thought he had a very solid "unsung hero" type of game last night.  Not great, but good enough to where I'm not gonna kill him for his mistakes.  He had a role, and he did it better than any other current US CM could've.  Do I wish the US had someone better, younger, better suited for that role?  Sure.  Then again, though, I maybe tend to overrate good CM play and overcriticize poor CM play, because it's the position I can understand and read the best.  Just my two cents.
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I actually completely agree with everything you wrote.  And believe me, it's not that I'm not giving credit for what he did.  I'll also say that if Bruce will deploy that same offense and alignment going forward and if using Bradley in that role is what allows that to happen, then so be it.  But that's the only way I can accept it.

My problem is that he makes the same mistakes when the US is more defensive and compact and it's been like that for a while now.  You're right, he was asked to do a lot and did that part of it really well.  It's the really, really bad giveaways in a terrible spot on the pitch that are going to kill us.  And that's just who he is now.  When we're playing more defensively and not trying to score 4 goals, then we have no shot.  At least if that's who he is, then let him use his motor to cover space like last night and let everyone else go forward. 

I'd still like to see Dax in his spot and see what happens.  And I also wish we'd give set pieces to someone else.  I'd much rather Pulisic take the set pieces as he's not big enough/physical enough, especially in CONCACAF, to put those in consistently in front of goal.

 
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gianmarco said:
Just found this: USMNT defensive MF options

Those numbers show exactly what my eyes saw last night.  On paper, Dax can do what Bradley can do without the mistakes and lack of athleticism.  I don't know anything about Christian Roldan but I'm going to start to look more.  I'd love to hear about him from those of you that know.
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Roldan is a wonderful young player.  He is not a pit bull but he leads MLS in recoveries.  He just has a real good nose for loose balls.  He was on the Gold Cup squad this summer but did not get a ton of minutes.  He has scored 6 goals this year. 

He is 22, so he will be in his prime for the next cycle and will certainly be in the mix with Acosta, Gonzalez, Swag for the DM position.

He plays for Seattle with Dempsey and Morris if you want to check him out some time during the playoffs

 
NewlyRetired said:
So one of the big questions that continues is how does the US protect Pulisic?  I don't like the idea of he can only play 1 or 2 touch to protect himself.  His main use to the US is him on the ball running at players as much as possible.

But I also don't want to see other teams realize to just kick him constantly until he gets hurt.  Lets face it, he is not built to take that level of constant pounding.  Maradona got destroyed early in his career but his was built much more solidly than Pulisic is.
Click to expand...
lots of quotes from players and Arena on this issue with no solutions

How Does the U.S. National Team Protect Pulisic?

 
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gianmarco said:
Just found this: USMNT defensive MF options

Those numbers show exactly what my eyes saw last night.  On paper, Dax can do what Bradley can do without the mistakes and lack of athleticism.  I don't know anything about Christian Roldan but I'm going to start to look more.  I'd love to hear about him from those of you that know.
Click to expand...
Step away from the drank. I've always loved Dax... But he's a smaller, slower equally or more mistake bound version of Caillou. 

 
gianmarco said:
I actually completely agree with everything you wrote.  And believe me, it's not that I'm not giving credit for what he did.  I'll also say that if Bruce will deploy that same offense and alignment going forward and if using Bradley in that role is what allows that to happen, then so be it.  But that's the only way I can accept it.

My problem is that he makes the same mistakes when the US is more defensive and compact and it's been like that for a while now.  You're right, he was asked to do a lot and did that part of it really well.  It's the really, really bad giveaways in a terrible spot on the pitch that are going to kill us.  And that's just who he is now.  When we're playing more defensively and not trying to score 4 goals, then we have no shot.  At least if that's who he is, then let him use his motor to cover space like last night and let everyone else go forward. 

I'd still like to see Dax in his spot and see what happens.  And I also wish we'd give set pieces to someone else.  I'd much rather Pulisic take the set pieces as he's not big enough/physical enough, especially in CONCACAF, to put those in consistently in front of goal.
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This reply tells me you're still not appreciating the qualities Caillou brings... That Tasker laid out really well. 

 
How do people feel about making Pulisic a withdrawn striker that has freedom to go any where?  Play him off of Jozy like TFC does with Giovinco.  This could force Wood to a sub role but it should also free up a body to put next to Bradley.

I don't think it is reasonable to expect Pulisic to carry the entire offense and also be an important part of the defensive scheme.  If we push him a little higher up the pitch, he should still be able to roam and collect the ball where he wants, but not be worried about stranding Bradley alone.

 
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NewlyRetired said:
How do people feel about making Pulisic a withdrawn striker that has freedom to go any where?  Play him off of Jozy like TFC does with Giovinco.  This could force Wood to a sub role but it should also free up a body to put next to Bradley.

I don't think it is reasonable to expect Pulisic to carry the entire offense and also be an important part of the defensive scheme.  If we push him a little higher up the pitch, he should still be able to roam and collect the ball where he wants, but not be worried about stranding Bradley alone.
Click to expand...
I'd have to look back at my recent lineups, but Iirc, this is what I was trying to do. Regardless-  Love it. Let the kids create and attack, ideally in numbers, and not sweat covering the space in front of Bradley. Kind of like how we've used Deuce recently.

 
gianmarco said:
I actually completely agree with everything you wrote.  And believe me, it's not that I'm not giving credit for what he did.  I'll also say that if Bruce will deploy that same offense and alignment going forward and if using Bradley in that role is what allows that to happen, then so be it.  But that's the only way I can accept it.

My problem is that he makes the same mistakes when the US is more defensive and compact and it's been like that for a while now.  You're right, he was asked to do a lot and did that part of it really well.  It's the really, really bad giveaways in a terrible spot on the pitch that are going to kill us.  And that's just who he is now.  When we're playing more defensively and not trying to score 4 goals, then we have no shot.  At least if that's who he is, then let him use his motor to cover space like last night and let everyone else go forward. 

I'd still like to see Dax in his spot and see what happens.  And I also wish we'd give set pieces to someone else.  I'd much rather Pulisic take the set pieces as he's not big enough/physical enough, especially in CONCACAF, to put those in consistently in front of goal.
Click to expand...
@Beckerman with Quickness

 
Paul Carr‏Verified account @PCarrESPN

Jozy Altidore completed 89% of his passes last (23 of 26), his highest rate with the #USMNT since July 2013

 
NewlyRetired said:
How do people feel about making Pulisic a withdrawn striker that has freedom to go any where?  Play him off of Jozy like TFC does with Giovinco.  This could force Wood to a sub role but it should also free up a body to put next to Bradley.

I don't think it is reasonable to expect Pulisic to carry the entire offense and also be an important part of the defensive scheme.  If we push him a little higher up the pitch, he should still be able to roam and collect the ball where he wants, but not be worried about stranding Bradley alone.
Click to expand...
See the problem with this is you are essentially making a 4-2-3-1 (or a 3-5-2) and with the quick interplay needed to contribute with CP-forward, I'm not sure who goes on the left in the "3" (I guess that's a problem with their formation as well last night, but they overloaded the middle so much that a non-bunkering Panama couldn't contend with it).  Put it this way, I'm still not sure Nagbe is a good match on the left in any formation (and yes I realize he sprung CP on the second goal).  

My 2 cents...assuming we only need a tie to advance and CP can play, I pull Nagbe and slot Dax next to Bradley and play a skinny box MF or pull Wood for Dax and run a 4-2-3-1.  

Someone was asking about LB before and while I have no idea if they are better than Villafana guys like Morrow (ideally a wingback in a 3-5-2 I think), Sweat, Garza, and Vincent all play LB in MLS and are all solid-ish from what I've seen.    

 
NewlyRetired said:
Paul Carr‏Verified account @PCarrESPN

Jozy Altidore completed 89% of his passes last (23 of 26), his highest rate with the #USMNT since July 2013
Click to expand...
It was the first time he's translated his high level play at Toronto to the national team setting.  I don't think it's a coincidence either as that triangle setup is the same at Toronto with Gionvinco and Vazquez.

And FWIW, I wouldn't be surprised if Arena "stole" that setup from them.

 
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