Copa Semifinals | Page 4 | The Boneyard

Copa Semifinals

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ZooCougar said:
It still looked like he could have gotten to it. But as Landon noted, the passing and the touches were horrendous across the board.
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Looked like he thought about it, then decided he didn't want to chance a foul in that area and give Messi another shot. 20/20 with what happened, not a good choice (but then the other choice may not have been any better), but really the pass from Bradley is what started the problem. IMO
 
  • Our roster is just so damn thin. Bobby Wood hasn't played a game in the Bundesliga game yet, and the drop in talent to his replacement is Wondo. Tough to compete with the world's best like that.
  • Zardes played great for Zardes - he was fearless. We really missed the 'I don't give a F' toughness of Wood and Jones
  • Zusi, Beckerman and Wondo should be done. I'm getting very close to saying the same for Bradley
  • I think Jurgen put Birnbaum in to get him some game tape for European suitors. Whoops
  • Start the youngsters on Saturday
Were we really expecting anything more out of this lineup? Down three starters with MLS replacements
 
ZooCougar said:
This was a game that called for organization and possession. Wondo, Beckerman, Zardes and Zusi were not the right guys.


For some dumb reason JK sees Zardes as a wing player, even though he is a #9. Zardes would have been a better partner up top.

And Birnbaum! Wtf was that?

I still like Jurgen but that lineup was horrendous.
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Agree he should have started Zardes up top. That was a no brainer. The only explanation I can think of is that world class striker JK sees the entire squad as a bunch of punters so talent isn't how he decides who plays.

Birmbaum also fits this theory. If you want to open it up by going to a 3-4-3 then a center back is the way to go. That back should have been Besler unless youbare operating on the give everyone a chance to play plan.

Thathe also explains wondo. We knee he'd start Beckerman.

As far as I'm concerned, Beckerman and Wondo can have played their last match for the US. The young guys are clearly better. Zusi can fight for a sub role.
 
SubbaBub said:
Agree he should have started Zardes up top. That was a no brainer. The only explanation I can think of is that world class striker JK sees the entire squad as a bunch of punters so talent isn't how he decides who plays.

Then he damn well should have suited up and played next to Dempsey.

Birmbaum also fits this theory. If you want to open it up by going to a 3-4-3 then a center back is the way to go. That back should have been Besler unless youbare operating on the give everyone a chance to play plan.

Thathe also explains wondo. We knee he'd start Beckerman.

As far as I'm concerned, Beckerman and Wondo can have played their last match for the US. The young guys are clearly better. Zusi can fight for a sub role.
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Agree on the rest. Zusi has actually been a decent sub. His work rate is ok, he's good on set pieces and doesn't have the horrific give aways that Bradley does. Starters should be a full on youth movement at this point.
 
Zusi was awful last night. The 60 yard diagonal ball to the 4th row, and the one time he could have won a corner off Bradley's fine long ball he tripped over his own feet and the moment, losing it to a goal kick. Next up!

Him and Besler should have left MLS after WC2014
 
There is no denying that Bradley had a bad tournament, but I'm not ready to dump him yet. Jones isn't making it to 2018, just isn't. We have no viable replacement for him yet either.

He needs to play better and maybe take some of the burden off him. We still demand on lot from him on the field. Everyone's default play is give it to Bradley and let him deal with it.

Would still like to see Johnson at midfield. He is wasted at fullback, because none of the wings can carry or posseas the ball long enough for him to overlap.

Yedlin after a terrible start had a couple nice moments withat Zardes. That interplay on the wide edge of the box is how we need to play.
 
We couldn't string 2 passes together last night. Can't have a strategy with the lack of skill.

Where are the 19-22 yr olds? Who is starting in Europe aside from Yedlin and Pulisic in the next wave age bracket? We need guys playing against the best day in/out. I don't think we'll improve much in the next couple years...
 
LIuconn said:
We couldn't string 2 passes together last night. Can't have a strategy with the lack of skill.

Where are the 19-22 yr olds? Who is starting in Europe aside from Yedlin and Pulisic in the next wave age bracket? We need guys playing against the best day in/out. I don't think we'll improve much in the next couple years...
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Brooks is with Hertha Berlin, and rumors are that Manchester City is trying to acquire him.

Bedoya is with Nantes I think. He plays regularly.

Johnson is with Borussia Monchengladbach and plays.

Cameron is Stoke City. Don't know how much he plays.

Julian Green isn't on the current roster...but if he starts playing in Germany, could improve.
 
Cameron starts for Stoke. Yedlin starts for Sunderland.

Our entire back line starts in top European leagues. Bedoya plays in a very good league, Jones started for a Champions League team before the WC. Wood is on his way in Germany. Pulisic is getting a lot of time for a top flight German club.

It's not a surprise that the MLS guys get the most fan grief. With a few exceptiona they just aren't as good. Dempsey could have gotten the same money to stay in the EPL, same for Howard. Bradley wasn't getting the same money nor was he guaranteed a starting job. Altidore was a washout.
 
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HuskyHawk said:
Do you know anything about the 20 year old defender that signed with Chelsea?
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No, just heard about it, but I don't expect him to see the field with the big club anytime soon.

These big clubs sign a lot of kids on potential and most never make it. It's like baseball that way. Some develop, Some get loaned out others just get moved on. Watching what they do with him will tell you a lot as to how good he is.

Yedlin was signed by Spurs and it was clear that he wasn't ready to play with a top four club. They loaned him to Sunderland where he struggled at first then became their regular starting right back in the middle of a relegation battle that they ended up surviving.
 
SubbaBub said:
No, just heard about it, but I don't expect him to see the field with the big club anytime soon.

These big clubs sign a lot of kids on potential and most never make it. It's like baseball that way. Some develop, Some get loaned out others just get moved on. Watching what they do with him will tell you a lot as to how good he is.

Yedlin was signed by Spurs and it was clear that he wasn't ready to play with a top four club. They loaned him to Sunderland where he struggled at first then became their regular starting right back in the middle of a relegation battle that they ended up surviving.
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Thanks. Makes sense. That is where Julian Green is stuck for Bayern Munich right now.

Curious to see if Bobby Wood takes a step up in club, and whether John Brooks can be sold to Man City and play well.
 
meyers7 said:
No, that one was on Bradley for the poor pass.
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LOL. Nope. Birnbaum has to touch the ball, which he easily could have. I can't imagine why he just let it roll.

And one day someone will explain to me why Birnbaum was there as the back up instead of Omar in the first place.
 
CallMeBruce said:
A lot of guys' games don't suffer when they move to MLS, but Bradley's has completely gone to hell.
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I think it was more a case of his game was suffering, and he moved to MLS. It's time... If he is what we need to help get out of CONCACAF this cycle, so be it... but I'd like to see alternatives played in friendlies and gradually in the Hex from here on out. T
 
Bradley should be coming off the bench, F Johnsen is a better mid fielder IMO. And going forward,maybe develop Pulisic as our primary controlling mid. for the future.
 
I've railed on Zardes a lot before the Copa and during, yet that guy was the only one who didn't look afraid of the fact that they were playing Argentina. It was nice to see that grit and it was what was missing with Jones out. Dempsey was invisible and that's likely a side effect of Wood not being there to run behind the defense.

I think Zusi is still ok to be on the team and him starting was not something that bothered me. Wondo has no place on that team and Beckerman's time is over.

We looked like we had lead in our shoes and were moving in slow motion.

I wish we were able to start the same lineup we've been starting in the Group stage. I still think we'd have lost by 2 or 3 goals but it would have most likely been a game as opposed to a scrimmage for Argentina's first team.....
 
Yeah, we had really good chemistry in the early rounds, the yellow card suspensions were really destructive when you look at what little depth we have.
 
Watching the replay of the game and have to say, Yedlin and Zardes were actually pretty good. Two of our best scoring chances in the first half came from their hustle and poise down that right side.
 
LIuconn said:
Zusi was awful last night. The 60 yard diagonal ball to the 4th row, and the one time he could have won a corner off Bradley's fine long ball he tripped over his own feet and the moment, losing it to a goal kick. Next up!

Him and Besler should have left MLS after WC2014
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Neither of them had decent offers.
 
Jaker said:
Bradley should be coming off the bench, F Johnsen is a better mid fielder IMO. And going forward,maybe develop Pulisic as our primary controlling mid. for the future.
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Bradley is central and both Johnson and Pulisic are wing players.

The future center mids are Nagbe, Hyndman and maybe Zelalem.
 
UCFBfan said:
I've railed on Zardes a lot before the Copa and during, yet that guy was the only one who didn't look afraid of the fact that they were playing Argentina. It was nice to see that grit and it was what was missing with Jones out. Dempsey was invisible and that's likely a side effect of Wood not being there to run behind the defense.

I think Zusi is still ok to be on the team and him starting was not something that bothered me. Wondo has no place on that team and Beckerman's time is over.

We looked like we had lead in our shoes and were moving in slow motion.

I wish we were able to start the same lineup we've been starting in the Group stage. I still think we'd have lost by 2 or 3 goals but it would have most likely been a game as opposed to a scrimmage for Argentina's first team.....
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In MLS Zusi can be dominant. On the USMNT he is a glue guy. He's also been playing with a stress fracture and reaction since the last World Cup, his form dropped bad last year because the pain really slowed him down. But this season he's been gradually coming back.

If he didn't score that goal against CR we don't win the group.

Wondo is useless.
 
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