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  1. #141
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Quote Originally Posted by CDu View Post
    I actually like Pulisic on the left wing more. It allows him to really use his pace and cut in on his right. But even if he might be better behind the striker - a debatable point - it certainly isn’t a problem to have him on the wing. And Reyna is great at either the 10 spot or the wing, and plays both spots for Dortmund. I don’t see that as a problem to have him there either. His hamstring injury is a bigger problem, as he missed the Canada match. I think the formation might be an issue, with a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 being preferable to the 4-3-3. But since it is a 4-3-3, realistically Pulisic and Reyna have plenty of leeway to venture in behind the striker.

    As for striker, yeah, injuries have made an already light position more problematic. No Dike, Zardes, and Altidore (not that these guys are great, but they are better than Sargent and Pefok right now) forced Sargent and Pefok on. That isn’t ideal.

    As for the defense, I don’t see a huge problem there. They gave up a goal to Canada when Davies (one of the fastest wings in the world and a mainstay for Bayern) beat Yedlin. No shame there, but otherwise the defense has been fine. No other goals allowed. Good keeper, good central defense, and good defensive mid in Adams.
    You are giving the US too much credit. They tied El Salvador and Canada (at home, no less). They should be crushing every team not named Mexico with the talent they have.

    Also, if Dikes, Zardes (who?), and Altidore are your best options up front, that is a huge problem.

    4-4-2 is solid, cus it’s basic and allows you to have attacking midfielders, which the US has. Everyone grew up with the 4-4-2; it’s not particularly creative, but it’s great when these players haven’t played much with one another.

    I see defense as a problem. Brooks is nice, but he’s not Dias (ie able to singlehandedly defense the back four). They need more.

    I like the US talent, but there are a lot of midfielders and attackers and not a lot of center backs, full backs, or strikers.
    Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill

    President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club

  2. #142
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Quote Originally Posted by Skydog View Post
    We also lack athleticism in general. No players as fast as Donovan or Beasley, no players up front who would win a physical battle (whatever you thought of their play Altidore, Dempsey, McBride, Zardes, Buddle, etc were all 6’1”’ish and muscular to boot). And in the back - well Brooks at least looks like a proper cb - but Dest? Our best matchup with Davies is a munchkin? The fact that Davies didn’t score vs Dest was pure luck because Davies ran over, past and through him repeatedly.

    In this must-win qualifier to my knowledge we fielded only one standout athlete- Pulisic has world class first step acceleration. But otherwise he is small, easily knocked off the ball and lacks true breakaway open field foot speed. Give him a bit more size, strength and Donovanesque dribbling speed and he would be unstoppable, even at the international level.

    So Brooks, Pulisic and a bunch of guys you probably wouldn’t pick for your side in a bar fight. Where are our athlletes? I guess one of them, one we really need, is in Italy partying his butt off.
    A lot of US players are small, but that’s soccer. What Dest,Reyna, and Pulisic lack in strength they make up for in technique. I’d argue that no US player has been as technically gifted as Reyna nor Dest.

    Height in soccer isn’t always an advantage; but you do have a great point that the US team doesn’t have balance. They don’t, and that’s a problem moving forward.
    Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill

    President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club

  3. #143
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    NC
    Quote Originally Posted by flyingdutchdevil View Post
    You are giving the US too much credit. They tied El Salvador and Canada (at home, no less). They should be crushing every team not named Mexico with the talent they have.

    Also, if Dikes, Zardes (who?), and Altidore are your best options up front, that is a huge problem.

    4-4-2 is solid, cus it’s basic and allows you to have attacking midfielders, which the US has. Everyone grew up with the 4-4-2; it’s not particularly creative, but it’s great when these players haven’t played much with one another.

    I see defense as a problem. Brooks is nice, but he’s not Dias (ie able to singlehandedly defense the back four). They need more.

    I like the US talent, but there are a lot of midfielders and attackers and not a lot of center backs, full backs, or strikers.
    I didn’t give them any credit or not. I just don’t think Pulisic and Reyna at wing are a problem. And I don’t think defense is a problem.

    Yes they should have scored against El Salvador and more against Canada. That is a striker problem, like I agreed. But the defense is fine.

    Are they a world class team? No. But they have plenty of solid center backs, a few good fullbacks, and a very good defensive mid. And really strong goalkeeping. And they have very promising attacking mids and wingers.

    They “just” have a huge problem up front. And that is really the entire list of problems at the moment.

  4. #144
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Skydog View Post
    We also lack athleticism in general. No players as fast as Donovan or Beasley, no players up front who would win a physical battle (whatever you thought of their play Altidore, Dempsey, McBride, Zardes, Buddle, etc were all 6’1”’ish and muscular to boot). And in the back - well Brooks at least looks like a proper cb - but Dest? Our best matchup with Davies is a munchkin? The fact that Davies didn’t score vs Dest was pure luck because Davies ran over, past and through him repeatedly.

    In this must-win qualifier to my knowledge we fielded only one standout athlete- Pulisic has world class first step acceleration. But otherwise he is small, easily knocked off the ball and lacks true breakaway open field foot speed. Give him a bit more size, strength and Donovanesque dribbling speed and he would be unstoppable, even at the international level.

    So Brooks, Pulisic and a bunch of guys you probably wouldn’t pick for your side in a bar fight. Where are our athletes? I guess one of them is in Italy partying his butt off. But where are the rest?
    Pulisic is absolutely as fast as Donovan. And more talented. He plays at a level Donovan dreamed of, having had success at top-tier clubs in the EPL (albeit brief in 2020) and Bundesliga. Yedlin is blazing fast too, as is McKennie.

    Davies is a handful for anybody. He is one of the best winger/wingbacks in the world.

    Dear isn’t big, but he is an extremely gifted player who plays for one of the best teams in the world. Adams plays for one of the best teams in Germany. McKennie plays for one of the best teams in Italy. Aaron son is a riding talent who just moved to Austria and will likely go to Germany at some point. Several others play in the EPL. Reyna plays for one of the best teams in Germany, snd might be the best US player ever when all is said and done.

  5. #145
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Quote Originally Posted by CDu View Post
    I didn’t give them any credit or not. I just don’t think Pulisic and Reyna at wing are a problem. And I don’t think defense is a problem.

    Yes they should have scored against El Salvador and more against Canada. That is a striker problem, like I agreed. But the defense is fine.

    Are they a world class team? No. But they have plenty of solid center backs, a few good fullbacks, and a very good defensive mid. And really strong goalkeeping. And they have very promising attacking mids and wingers.

    They “just” have a huge problem up front. And that is really the entire list of problems at the moment.
    Then you and I are at odds on the defense. It’s a US issue for sure.

    Brooks is nice. That’s really all they have.
    Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill

    President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club

  6. #146
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Lynchburg, VA
    McKennie violated team COVID protocols two different nights. He invited an unauthorized guest to his room and spent another night outside of the team hotel. SMH

  7. #147
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    NC
    Quote Originally Posted by flyingdutchdevil View Post
    Then you and I are at odds on the defense. It’s a US issue for sure.

    Brooks is nice. That’s really all they have.
    Yep, we are at odds on the defense.

  8. #148
    Quote Originally Posted by CDu View Post
    Pulisic is absolutely as fast as Donovan. And more talented. He plays at a level Donovan dreamed of, having had success at top-tier clubs in the EPL (albeit brief in 2020) and Bundesliga. Yedlin is blazing fast too, as is McKennie..
    First I never said anything about who was better or had a bigger career. I said that imo- in open field dribbling, a breakaway for example - Donovan was faster and I stick by that.

    As I said Pulisic is world class in first step acceleration. Plus he has moves that he can use to beat his first man with surprising regularity - something Donovan didn’t even try that often. Those 1 v 1 skills and his quickness to loose balls in the box are why Chelsea paid $70+ million just to sign Pulisic.

    But I have watched both play for years. I almost never saw LD get caught from behind on a true breakaway. At least not when he was in his 20’s. On the hand I’ve seen Pulisic caught from behind often. He smokes his guy, is ahead of the pack for 10 yards or so and is caught from behind and fouled or forced to pull up. Ive seen it at Chelsea and Ive seen in US games, including the last round of WCQ. When Donovan got loose on a break defenders often couldn’t even catch him to foul him.

    And Charlie Davies was even faster. You won’t hear Spanish defenders warning each other about Pulisic’s speed like they had to with CD. And Mexican defenders were left in Donovan’s dust so often it wasn’t even funny.
    My bad, actually it was. Funny that is 😆

  9. #149
    Quote Originally Posted by CDu View Post

    They “just” have a huge problem up front. And that is really the entire list of problems at the moment.
    Well that’s an “interesting” take.

  10. #150
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Anyone else tuning in to the Honduras match? I'm streaming on Paramount+, which is the only way to get the English broadcast for whatever reason. The Spanish broadcast is available on Telemundo and Universo.

  11. #151
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by Acymetric View Post
    Anyone else tuning in to the Honduras match? I'm streaming on Paramount+, which is the only way to get the English broadcast for whatever reason. The Spanish broadcast is available on Telemundo and Universo.
    Estoy viendo en español. No es ideal, pero es útil. ¡Necesitamos tres puntos!

  12. #152
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    Estoy viendo en español. No es ideal, pero es útil. ¡Necesitamos tres puntos!
    Los cuernos son malos.

    Edit: Y eso tambien.

  13. #153
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by Acymetric View Post
    Los cuernos son malos.
    También ese ggggooooooooaaaaaallllll.

    Oy vez.

  14. #154
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    At least with this camera angle we get to feel like we're right there on the pitch!

  15. #155
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    The "Honduras dive team." Do the officials ever penalize these ridiculous over-reactions?
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  16. #156
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    Estoy viendo en español. No es ideal, pero es útil. ¡Necesitamos tres puntos!
    Los Americanos pueden jugar futbol en Concacaf como puedo hablar Espanol: con pequeños resultados.

  17. #157
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by cato View Post
    Los Americanos pueden jugar futbol en Concacaf como puedo hablar Espanol: con pequeños resultados.
    Riendo a carcajadas.

    (It abbreviates better in a English tbh).

  18. #158
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Lynchburg, VA
    That was a brutal 1st half. The formation isn’t working. Adams at right back isn’t working, at least in part due to the poor play of Sands in the midfield. Sargent on the right wing isn’t working. There are no overlapping runs to put pressure on the Honduras back line. We need major halftime adjustments.

  19. #159
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by mph View Post
    That was a brutal 1st half. The formation isn’t working. Adams at right back isn’t working, at least in part due to the poor play of Sands in the midfield. Sargent on the right wing isn’t working. There are no overlapping runs to put pressure on the Honduras back line. We need major halftime adjustments.
    We need some foreign players.

  20. #160
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    My fútbol is not looking much better than my football these days.

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