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US Men's National Team (11 Viewers)

I think all the MLS players will now join the US camp.  I expect the lineup against Bolivia/Ecuador to be much closer to a Copa lineup, depending on the health of Cam and Fab.

 
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I think Chandler is likely to be the last player in camp.

He is starting today for Nurnberg in the second leg of the promotion/relegation playoff in the Bundesliga.

 
NewlyRetired said:
I think Chandler is likely to be the last player in camp.

He is starting today for Nurnberg in the second leg of the promotion/relegation playoff in the Bundesliga.
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Can Chandler stay home and let Ream stay?  

Also on the broadcast yesterday I think they said Orozco has played LB at club level.  They definitely said someone has played LB at club level but the game was so boring I wasn't exactly hanging on every Twellman talking point written by JK.

 
Poke_4_Life said:
Can Chandler stay home and let Ream stay?  

Also on the broadcast yesterday I think they said Orozco has played LB at club level.  They definitely said someone has played LB at club level but the game was so boring I wasn't exactly hanging on every Twellman talking point written by JK.
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This might happen by accident.  Frankfurt is now up in the relegation playoff, but Chandler got a muscle injury and had to be subbed off.  Both Ream and Lichaj have played LB in the Championship. 

 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
This might happen by accident.  Frankfurt is now up in the relegation playoff, but Chandler got a muscle injury and had to be subbed off.  Both Ream and Lichaj have played LB in the Championship. 
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I know we're not supposed to root for injury, and these are guys just trying to make a living, but I still kinda perked up when I read this.

 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
This might happen by accident.  Frankfurt is now up in the relegation playoff, but Chandler got a muscle injury and had to be subbed off.  Both Ream and Lichaj have played LB in the Championship. 
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I'm not sure he's worthy of a thread nickname, but can Lichaj = Nehi?  When he came in yesterday I had no idea who 'Lehigh' was (other than the poster here).  FYI its pronounced LeeHigh.

 
Goal aside, I didn't think Ream covered himself in glory against Puerto Rico (and I've been on record as saying he's my choice at LB if Fab is going to play in the midfield).  I expect he'd be better against better competition when nobody would expect him to be fashioning chances in the final third.  It was such a weird friendly.  For a while it seemed as if the chief offensive tactic was crosses from Yedlin.  And for all he's improved, Yedlin is still an abysmal crosser of the ball (and Bobby Wood and Ale Bedoya aren't exactly your preferred targets in the middle either). 

 
Poke_4_Life said:
Can Chandler stay home and let Ream stay?  

Also on the broadcast yesterday I think they said Orozco has played LB at club level.  They definitely said someone has played LB at club level but the game was so boring I wasn't exactly hanging on every Twellman talking point written by JK.
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I don't think it is Orozco they were talking about.

1) he barely plays at his club (only 3 appearances in all of 2016 while being healthy)

2) according to whoscored, when he has played it has been primarily as a CB or a RB

On the expanded roster, Castillo, Ream and Lichaj have all played some LB at club level (Castillo is a primary LB).

 
Interesting timing considering the Chandler injury but JK has just added Keyln Acosta as a defender for the Ecuador game.

As an aside, watching Acosta play so well in the midfield against my Revs this weekend, makes me wonder why he is seen as a LB by JK?

 
NewlyRetired said:
Interesting timing considering the Chandler injury but JK has just added Keyln Acosta as a defender for the Ecuador game.

As an aside, watching Acosta play so well in the midfield against my Revs this weekend, makes me wonder why he is seen as a LB by JK?
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:deadhorse:   Really want to question JK and positions?   :deadhorse:

 
I'd absolutely hate to rely on Chandler for anything at this point. Dude basically gives up any time it gets over 65 degrees.  I'm surprised Jermaine Jones doesn't just knock him over and beat to death for being such a #####. And its not like he's any good anyway.

 
Interview with Landon


FTW: HAPPY MLS RIVALRY WEEK.


Landon Donovan: Is that a thing? Saying ‘Happy Rivalry Week?’


FTW: SURE. YOU CAN SAY HAPPY ANYTHING.


LD: OK then. Happy Rivalry Week.


FTW: RED BULLS WENT AND SMACKED NYCFC 7-0 THIS WEEKEND. IS THAT GOOD OR BAD FOR THE RIVALRY?


LD: I think it’s good actually. If I’m in that NYCFC locker room, next time I’m gonna remember.

I didn’t watch the game because I was traveling, but I watched the highlights. I don’t know how flattering the scoreline was or not, but giving up five set piece goals is pretty embarrassing. But at least that’s something they can look at and try to correct.


FTW: I WATCHED THE GAME. IT WASN’T GOOD.


LD: [Laughs.]


FTW: DID YOU SEE THE FIST FIGHTS BEFOREHAND?


LD: No. What happened?


FTW: SOME MORONS OUTSIDE THE STADIUM THOUGHT THEY WERE HOOLIGANS, A COUPLE PUNCHES WERE THROWN.


LD: Jesus.


FTW: I KNOW.


LD: The thing is: You want it to be real and passionate. I remember where we were 15 years ago when these rivalries were contrived. I mean, they really were. You want the fans to feel it in a real way, so on one hand, that’s good. You don’t want it to get to the point where people are throwing punches, of course, but it makes you realize that we’ve finally reached a point where people actually care about these things. In the past, it wasn’t that way. So part of me says that’s not the worst thing if that happens.


FTW: SOME OF THE KNOCKS EVEN NOW ARE THAT THESE RIVALRIES ARE TOTALLY CONTRIVED.


LD: Well, listen. How do rivalries come about? They take time. One of [MLS Commissioner Don] Garber’s big things when he came in the league was helping to build rivalries. It’s not going to be Real Madrid-Barcelona tomorrow, because they’ve been playing for 100 years. It’s hard to mimic that.

However, when you watch the games, you can tell there’s a little bit of a different feel. Especially with games like Colorado-Real Salt Lake, Galaxy-San Jose to a lesser extent, certainly Portland-Seattle, the New York rivalry, I think you can tell there’s a little something extra and different. Everybody of course wants it to be that way, and be genuine, but we’re getting there. Obviously it isn’t Boca Juniors and River Plate right? But it’s getting there and most certainly will get better.



FTW: YOU’RE OK WITH LAFC COMING TO TOWN AND IMMEDIATELY BECOMING GALAXY’S RIVAL? YOU DON’T THINK THAT UNDERMINES THE HISTORY WITH SAN JOSE?


LD: No not at all. We’re still so far in the infancy stages of Major League Soccer. Hopefully, people will look back in 100 years and say ‘Wow, LAFC came in at that point and now look at what the rivalry is.’ You have to look at it in the macro. The big picture.

Still, I can put it all into very good context. I saw when it was absolutely nothing. And it’s already improved by leaps and bounds and it’s going to get better.


FTW: PLUS YOU HAD THAT EXPERIENCE BEING A PART OF EVERTON-LIVERPOOL.


LD: Again, that takes 100+ years. You have people who are 80 years old at the Merseyside Derby who have watched that game 140 times, twice a year for 70 years. That makes it a little bit different than people who was seen it for twenty years.



FTW: WHERE ARE YOU AT WITH SOCCER RIGHT NOW? ARE YOU WATCHING A LOT OF GAMES?


LD: When I first retired, I was understandably ready to take a break. I really consciously made an effort to get away for a while. About six months after that, I started to find myself getting back into it. So now this year I’m really a full blown fan and someone who cares about the league and the national team games. It’s been nice to get back into it, from a healthy place now.


FTW: WHAT’S AN MLS TEAM THIS YEAR YOU’VE ENJOYED WATCHING THIS YEAR THAT YOU WEREN’T EXPECTING TO ENJOY?


LD: Colorado is the relatively obvious choice. I’ve known Pablo [Mastroeni] for a really long time, and I’m really happy for him. I’ve known Chris Albright and Earnie Stewart for a long time, too, so I’m really happy to see them do well in Philadelphia. You end up rooting for the people you know and like, and you end up rooting for them to succeed. So I’ve been really happy to see that.


FTW: ARE YOU HAPPY THAT PABLO GOT RID OF THE MUSTACHE?


LD: [Laughs] Yeah I think that was the turning point.


FTW: I MISS IT.


LD: I don’t think he knew how distracting that was when you saw it on the sideline all the time.



FTW: HAVE YOU READ THE NEW [JURGEN] KLINSMANN BIOGRAPHY?


LD: No. What is it?


FTW: SOCCER WITHOUT BORDERS. IT IS, UH, FAWNING.


LD: [Laughs] Nope. Haven’t read it.


FTW: IN IT THERE’S DISCUSSION OF HOW MUCH THE NATIONAL TEAM HAS CHANGED UNDER KLINSMANN. IF ONLY FROM A TACTICAL STANDPOINT, IS THIS TEAM REALLY PLAYING ANY DIFFERENTLY THAN IT DID UNDER BOB BRADLEY?


LD: Yes. I mean, well, I think what happened over time is that when Jurgen first came in there was real energy and excitement, and the team was very proactive in the way they played. I was still there, and I was part of that.

I think what’s happened over time is what happens to a lot of coaches, in that in pressure situations you have to get results. So for a while that new style wasn’t getting the results that Jurgen had wanted, so you get into games when real pressure is on the line. And I think when that happens you default to what you’re comfortable with.

There’s no question that Jurgen took the team out of its comfort zone to start, which I think is good. It was more progressive, more attacking and offensive minded. Eventually when you have to get results, you revert back to what you’re comfortable with. And that’s where we’re at now, something American fans are more comfortable with: We’re defending hard, working together, trying to get goals on set pieces and on counter attacks.


FTW: ARE YOU OK WITH THAT, WITH THE U.S. PLAYING MORE RESULTS-ORIENTED SOCCER?


LD: That’s the reality of the business. I lived it too. I played a lot of games that were ugly games. I knew they were ugly. But we got a result and we moved on. There’s two ways to look at it. From the micro picture, you have to go and get results. Looking at it as someone who wants the U.S. to win a World Cup one day, then I look at it from the macro picture and really want us to develop players and develop that style of play that pushes us to succeed.


FTW: SPEAKING OF THAT DEVELOPMENT, ARE YOU IMPRESSED WITH THESE YOUNG GUYS COMING UP, THE GUYS LIKE EMERSON HYNDMAN, CHRISTIAN PULISIC, GEDION ZELALEM?


LD: I’m cautiously optimistic. We’re always — or I hope we’re always — gonna have young guys coming up that are exciting and starting to produce. I think the good thing now is that these kids have seen enough iterations of these young kids coming up who are overhyped that were never heard from again that they can make really smart decisions and put this all in context, slow down a little bit and not get caught up in it. It seems, from afar, Jordan [Morris], Emerson, Christian Pulisic, the way they talk, the way they handle themselves on the field, they’re miles ahead of where the guys who might have come before them were.


FTW: IS THAT JUST A RESULT OF FAMILY, UPBRINGING? OR IS U.S. SOCCER DOING A BETTER JOB PROTECTING THESE KIDS.


LD: It’s a mix of things. Family life of course has a lot to do with it. I think they’ve watched enough, watched players around the world that they admire and now they understand how to carry themselves the right way. I think the media is so prevalent now that these guys take it with a grain of salt.

When I was coming up, if someone wrote an article about you, you’d read about it for hours or days. It was exciting. Now these kids have 100 people tweeting at them every time they score, so I think they can take it all with a grain of salt and can understand that it can be fickle and can be short-lived. I think that all contributes.

 

FTW: HAVE ANY OF THE YOUNG GUYS REACHED OUT TO YOU?


LD: I spoke to Emerson a little bit at the World Cup. I emailed with Jordan a little bit about his decision to stay here or go to Europe. I haven’t spoken with Christian. It is nice to talk to those guys, though, and let them know what to expect, and maybe to help them make that transition a little easier.


FTW: HOW’S DAD LIFE?


LD: It’s … interesting.


FTW: [LAUGHS] ARE YOU SLEEPING?


LD: Uh, we’re getting there. I thought running around a soccer field was hard. And it’s getting better, like everyone says. Every month it gets a little better. The first few months it was pretty rough, I’ll be honest. But we’re doing better now.

 
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LD: I’m cautiously optimistic. We’re always — or I hope we’re always — gonna have young guys coming up that are exciting and starting to produce. I think the good thing now is that these kids have seen enough iterations of these young kids coming up who are overhyped that were never heard from again that they can make really smart decisions and put this all in context, slow down a little bit and not get caught up in it. It seems, from afar, Jordan [Morris], Emerson, Christian Pulisic, the way they talk, the way they handle themselves on the field, they’re miles ahead of where the guys who might have come before them were.

FTW: IS THAT JUST A RESULT OF FAMILY, UPBRINGING? OR IS U.S. SOCCER DOING A BETTER JOB PROTECTING THESE KIDS.

LD: It’s a mix of things. Family life of course has a lot to do with it. I think they’ve watched enough, watched players around the world that they admire and now they understand how to carry themselves the right way. I think the media is so prevalent now that these guys take it with a grain of salt.

When I was coming up, if someone wrote an article about you, you’d read about it for hours or days. It was exciting. Now these kids have 100 people tweeting at them every time they score, so I think they can take it all with a grain of salt and can understand that it can be fickle and can be short-lived. I think that all contributes.
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Thought the bolded were both good points.

 
What time is actual kickoff?  My dvr shows it from 8-10, and ESPN is notorious for not scheduling enough time.

Usually it's 30 minutes of talking heads first, which pushes it past two hours.

 
Mjolnirs said:
What time is actual kickoff?  My dvr shows it from 8-10, and ESPN is notorious for not scheduling enough time.

Usually it's 30 minutes of talking heads first, which pushes it past two hours.
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ESPN2 has only a 2 hour window tonight on the schedule.  I think kickoff will be around 8:05pm or so.  But as always with live sports, extend 1 extra hour to be certain.

 
I expect this to be sort of like the Turkey pre-World Cup friendly.  A chance to see how attacking the US can play against quality opposition.  It might get ugly in the back.  But it's clearly the friendly that should tell us the most going into the Copa. 

 
El Floppo said:
was there anything else derived from that game? again- I certainly didn't take much away from it... but figured you guys would.
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not me.  The combination of the extreme heat and the competition did not make it anything more than a general scrimmage to me.

We did learn that JK knows who Lichaj is, so there is that...

Tonight should be a much better gauge of the team, even if Cam and Fab are out.

 
NewlyRetired said:
not me.  The combination of the extreme heat and the competition did not make it anything more than a general scrimmage to me.

We did learn that JK knows who Lichaj is, so there is that...

Tonight should be a much better gauge of the team, even if Cam and Fab are out.
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got it.

yeah- while watching, it felt like a lot of the US players were basically equivalent to the PR guys and not completely overpowering them with skills of ball or tactics. that said, thought Green looked snappy when he came in. liked Hyndman as well.

 
I usually don't give much credence to what Lalas says but I think he does have a point about the CB's.  It is time to find a pair JK likes and stick with them every game.  We have to develop some cohesion there.

 
JK implied in an interview this week that he has basically given up on the current generation of keepers (specifically mentioning Hamid and Johnson) and intends to look younger from now on (Horvath I assume is going to be the beneficiary).

Johnson's potential never came good but when Hamid has been healthy, he has been a very good keeper IMO.  But it is not JK's fault that every time a camp or opportunity comes, Hamid seems to get hurt.  I can see why he is frustrated.

I don't know if Hamid can ever kick the injury bug, but he is only 25, which is still VERY young for a keeper.  My guess is that even if JK has given up on him, that the next coach may still give him a look.

As a related note, Hamid looks to be finally ready to return to the field this weekend in MLS play.

 
NewlyRetired said:
I still think it is just pure shtick for the old foggies.  I mean does anyone really believe that there is a single person in the country, much less one involved in sports that does not know that soccer players are allowed to use both feet to kick?
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pretty sure Messi isn't allowed to use both feet.

 
Ned said:
He'd still be 100000% better than anything we got.
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How good would Messi be if he couldn't use his right foot?  How about his left?  

He'd have a real hard time getting past defenders, but he'd still have impossibly good field vision.  Maybe present day Pirlo?

 
This could be the starting back 4 in the Copa.  Here is tonights starters.  Formation is best I can approximate from the list of starters).

.........................Guzan

Yedlin......Birnbaum.....Brooks.......Fab

.........................Beckerman

.................Jones.........Bradley

Zardes.............Clint..................Zusi

..

 
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