USMNT: To Rüssia With Love
- Thread starter Titans Bastard
- Start date
Backline cant string two passes together without losing control. Just terrible. No composure.
Two main takeaways:
1. Get well soon, Geoff Cameron
2. I get it if Kljestan still can't breathe with the broken nose, but this seems like exactly what happens when you take out the guy who was providing link-up play and replace him with an unfit 35 year old.
1. Get well soon, Geoff Cameron
2. I get it if Kljestan still can't breathe with the broken nose, but this seems like exactly what happens when you take out the guy who was providing link-up play and replace him with an unfit 35 year old.
The thing I hate about how we play was totally encapsulated around the 40 minute mark. We cannot keep the ball close to the Tico goal at all, Pulisic has the ball on the sideline about even with the top of the box, he gets doubled so he passes it back about ten yards . The motherfucker that receives the ball turns around and he passes it all the way to Guzan! Wtf? We can't even get the ball out of our end so how about when we finally do we don't turn around and retreat.
Watching the replay of the goal at HT, it was a nice all-around team breakdown. It started with a bad backpass from Jones, which put Brooks under pressure. Brooks' subsequent pass was off the mark, so CRC regained possession. Then Chandler had his Chandler Moment Of The Match (tm) and was nowhere to be seen on the right flank which forced Gonzalez to pressure Bolaños out wide. Gonzalez for some reason didn't seem to want to fully commit to the player and thus did nothing to prevent the cross while also taking him out of the game as far as defending aerially. Brooks was left somewhat stranded and beaten to the near post by Venegas.
I blame Brooks most of all on that one - he was jogging in and had plenty of time to get position on Venegas, but instead lazily let him go near post with no angle left to him as a coverage option (or even to force a shot towards Guzan's near post). Venegas beat Guzan because he could put it back across the net, because Brooks was so far behind him that he had the full range of angles.
Chandler looked like he thought Jones had sustained an attack, rather than turned it over. He was 40 yards downfield and didn't appear particularly concerned about tracking back. He's a close second on the lead pipe list there.
edit: at least Gonzalez was trying to do his job, even if he did it poorly and didn't fully close out
Chandler looked like he thought Jones had sustained an attack, rather than turned it over. He was 40 yards downfield and didn't appear particularly concerned about tracking back. He's a close second on the lead pipe list there.
edit: at least Gonzalez was trying to do his job, even if he did it poorly and didn't fully close out
FIU hired Butch Davis and he's speaking only to Al Jazeera's sports channel? I'm sure he's going to run a clean program.
Our mid fielders kick it right to the other team every time they try to go forward
Senseless to have Chandler in the game right now. Not the best option and is going to have us down a man sooner than later.
If Bradley can't put a corner even remotely into a useful region of the box, what exactly is he good at?
I thought Chandler might've gotten fouled on that 1-on-1 with Vanegas, but he just got out-muscled, lost his balance, and didn't read the ball accurately. Couldn't even get himself between the ball and the goal. He needs to get subbed for Birnbaum, who will at least not embarrass himself.
I thought Chandler might've gotten fouled on that 1-on-1 with Vanegas, but he just got out-muscled, lost his balance, and didn't read the ball accurately. Couldn't even get himself between the ball and the goal. He needs to get subbed for Birnbaum, who will at least not embarrass himself.
I said it last game and I'll say it again - I just don't see it with Chandler. He's my new Jeff Agoos.
Johnson at LB and Yedlin at RB should be among the most set-it-and-forget-it lineup moves. Endless tinkering is maddening there.
I had a more Marcelo Balboa vibe. Except maybe Timmy is too poor to even score an own goal.
I feel really bad for Pulisic. He isn't going to get to make his WC debut until age 24 at this rate.
Pulisic out, Chandler still in lol. DONE DONE DONE with this idiot. Defended him for a long time. Done.
WTF did you want Guzan to do there? He almost saved a point-blank free cross to the 6. He's not the problem.
Subbing off Pulisic, who's the only person out there with offensive link-up ideas, that's not what we need either.
Captain Bradley took about 5 min to extract Wood from his scrum with 5 CR players. Good leadership.
Someone suggested to me that Bruce Arena should be brought in to save qualification. I tried to put together an argument against it, but couldn't.
Calm down. Costa Rica and Mexico are our peers. Honduras, T&T and Panama (sorry Trekfan!) aren't. I won't panic till we drop points at home to those 3.
But yeah I'm starting to turn on Klinsmann too. Ugh what a farce this is becoming. I may just turn it off.
edit: they subbed off one of the two guys, besides Johnson, who was still giving 100%.
Body of work? I thought it was more straight on as opposed to his right but was corrected with the replays.
And ya, why sub off the best player.
Besler not even in the screen for that one at LB, Ruiz has acres of space, Chandler can't fend off Bolaños for the goal. Guzan got a hand to it, but it wasn't enough. A great GK makes that save, but it's hard to pin that on Guzan.
US being undone by a decent start for the Whitecaps (Bolaños) and a bench player for the Impact (Venegas).
I'm really tired of the US being less than the sum of its parts whether it's a tough road game in Costa Rica or a home Gold Cup game against Haiti or Jamaica.
Welcome to the long winter of discontent. The pressure will be on for the rest of the Hex. No room for error.
3-0 now.
US being undone by a decent start for the Whitecaps (Bolaños) and a bench player for the Impact (Venegas).
I'm really tired of the US being less than the sum of its parts whether it's a tough road game in Costa Rica or a home Gold Cup game against Haiti or Jamaica.
Welcome to the long winter of discontent. The pressure will be on for the rest of the Hex. No room for error.
3-0 now.
At some point Gulati has to start re-considering his blanket "no manager changes during the Hex" policy right?
OK good, now we've got the other guy who was giving 100% off the field. This should improve things.
edit: yup, definite improvement. TV is now off, see you in january camp guys.
edit: yup, definite improvement. TV is now off, see you in january camp guys.
Love how we both called out the FJ sub and had to amend our posts immediately to reflect the improvement
The offsides trap worked perfectly with Besler trailing 5 yards behind Brooks when he stepped up
The back line was such a solved problem this summer. Nothing to do about Cameron, but wrecking the fullback situation was not needed.
Any guesses as to whether Klinsmann will take any personal responsibility for this result post-game?
This back four is lost without Cameron. I think the best thing to do when the best CB is injured is to play your best LB at RM and leave an in-form RB on the bench.