2009 Dynamo & USMNT Soccer Thread

[papabear]

I was really counting on Julius James to be the one to help shore up the back line, but Cameron and Hainult have been fabulous. Holden looks more and more comfortable each game replacing DeRosario. They had a stretch against Toronto a few matches back where they played some of best soccer I have ever seen from them...truly a joy to watch. Their linking up better on the runs and seem to finally have gotten on the same page.

Their ability to re-load and reshape the team in the middle of the season is amazing.

[papabear]

Rico's red card vs. Italy was B.S. Even playing a man down I still felt like we gave away the game. Brazil is going to come out angry after having to struggle to beat Egypt. Don't think we're going to make it out of the group stage....

[Keith]

Agreed on all counts. The group set-up was a joke. The other group is Spain and yuck, designed to give the host the best possible opportunity to advance.

With Italy and Brazil in with the U.S. and Egypt, hopes were dim, but they had promise at halftime. I feel bad for Rico. He is not a dirty player. It was a bit of a reckless challenge, warranted a yellow but not a red. Sadly, there have been some trigger-happy refs in recent World Cups, so something like this could happen in 2010. It's a good learning experience for him and the team. The U.S. has some decent midfield depth though, so Rico might have a hard time getting selected when it counts next summer.

On an unrelated note, I kinda wish Bob would give Adu more minutes. I can see it being hard since he wants Dempsey out there and Donovan is better suited in the middle, but Adu has some ability, and I think he may be a better dead ball kicker than anyone in the current starting XI.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by Keith

Agreed on all counts. The group set-up was a joke. The other group is Spain and yuck, designed to give the host the best possible opportunity to advance.

With Italy and Brazil in with the U.S. and Egypt, hopes were dim, but they had promise at halftime.

I thought our best chance to advance was to upset Italy and then beat Egypt. I'm not sure if the Brazil v Egypt match proves the Brazilians are vulnerable or that the Egyptians are much better than I thought. Probably a little of both. Even with a man down we had a couple chances that we really wasted to score more against Italy. We also had our usual instance of sloppy play wasting what I thought was a pretty good day of defense.

I feel bad for Rico. He is not a dirty player. It was a bit of a reckless challenge, warranted a yellow but not a red. Sadly, there have been some trigger-happy refs in recent World Cups, so something like this could happen in 2010. It's a good learning experience for him and the team.

One of my complaints is that he was tripped up himself right before the foul. It was just incidental contact, but it had him slightly off balance as he went in for the challenge. He caught the Italian high and that's probably what cost him the red. A yellow wouldn't have drawn much of a complaint from me, but even the Italians admitted a red was unwarranted.

The U.S. has some decent midfield depth though, so Rico might have a hard time getting selected when it counts next summer.

Rico is like Shane Battier to me. so much of what he does goes unnoticed. He just has a way of breaking up the flow of the opposition before they can ever get into an attacking position. I thought he was doing a good job until the red, and hope Bradley recognizes his value and tireless effort. He's just perfect in the defensive mid-field role IMO.

On an unrelated note, I kinda wish Bob would give Adu more minutes. I can see it being hard since he wants Dempsey out there and Donovan is better suited in the middle, but Adu has some ability, and I think he may be a better dead ball kicker than anyone in the current starting XI.

I like Dempsey and with his experience in England I understand why Bradley keeps throwing him out there. He just hasn't been playing well. Everyone wants to make Donovan the centerpiece and keeps telling me he's better suited to the middle, but for me his best games of late have come when he played out wide. I would love to see more Adu.

[Keith]

Okay, Donovan out left is good so long as he stays aggressive and stays wide. And I was ready to pile on Dempsey again until his goal. Actually, f- it, I'll do it anyway. If Dempsey isn't good enough to play forward, then he should sit on the bench. He is just not going to play defense. That limitation can be covered if he plays forward, but not at right mid.

btw, anyone really miss Bocanegra? Can't say as though I am. I guess he's still the worthy starter when healthy (plus he seems to have a knack on corners), but he's still overrated in my book. Onyewu is playing better though. Or maybe he isn't having to cover up for his teammates as much.

lil' Bradley has his good and bad moments, but I can't help but imagine what Adu would look like in his spot. Yes, Freddy needs to develop (and I wish he would play on a club that started him), but if he can't get the minutes in WCQ's and Cups like these, then when? Hopefully in the Gold Cup, but I'm not sure if they've officially announced the rosters yet. Hopefully Adu will get his chance then, but with Holden on the roster, I'm guessing it will have to be at forward. Hopefully Adu can show some improvement defensively from there. Just seeing Adu on the bench when Davies, Casey, etc. get their names called is a little frustrating. Altidore is there to win balls in the air (and Dempsey if Big Bradley keeps putting him at RM), so let little Freddy squeeze on in there.

And Rico ought to be a lock from now on. This squad is a different monster when Rico is in the middle. I'll be curious to see how he pairs with Stuart Holden in the Gold Cup.

Speaking of, Dynamo will be losing Andrew Hainault to the Canadian team. I guess I shouldn't complain too much given half of the Dynamo squad should be considered for call-ups, but Hainault is becoming a very effective player for the Dynamo. I think it's taken him a bit to get comfortable out wide and moving forward, but he's definitely upgraded the backline. It seems like Wade Barrett is a good guy and a great team leader and all, but it was rough watching him try to play against RSL on Saturday.

[Joel]

i like bradley. the player, i mean. i had high hopes for his dad, but he does seem to be getting into ruts with his plater selection.

altidore may have a bright future, but i think he pays immature, and slacks a lot. i agree that dempsey is a liability at any position that has defensive obligations. are we missing some mls strikers because of availability? twellman (& ching), for instance. whatever happened to eddie johnson?

beasley needs to be put down. that guy was always about potential, and now he's too old for that.

[papabear]

-I was literally opening the laptop to bitch to anyone who would listen about Dempsey. I couldn't believe they pulled Altidore and left Dempsey on the field....I can handle having poor games, but I can't handle someone being that lazy defensively. I don't know if he's worn out from his season in England, but it looks like he's just being lazy. After one of his ten+ completely pointless turnovers Egypt went racing down the field. He just walked/slow jogged back while his teamates had to cover for him. It didn't even look like he was paying attention to the game anymore.

-I'm not a Donovan fan, but there's no reason for him to not be out wide after the Egypt game.

-Rico is a beast. I don't think he has, but he should have the defensive mid-fielder role locked up.

-I think Altidore is coming along nicely. He still has his mistakes, and he can linger on them a little too long sometimes, but for the most part he works hard and does what the team ask of him. Hopefully he has been picking Chings brain when he has the chance because they seem to want to use him in a similar role. Praying he gets more minutes with his Club though.


-I was astonished that the cards fell right yesterday. Now we get the privilege of likely being embarassed by Spain. The crazy part is even though we won by three yesterday, we were still too sloppy with the ball (mostly Dempsey) for my taste. There have been times in the past where I thought the US national team was really ready to compete with the big dogs...and then I watch them get embarassed and remind me of how far away they are. I don't think we have a chance against Spain, but maybe I'm wrong again. I'm hoping they at least put up a solid game against them

I'm just not happy with where this team is. I was proud of the fact they came out and fought hard yesterday, which is more than you can say about some of their recent matches.