OT: Boneyard "Other Football" World Cup Thread

[Mots010]

We don't have the same talent of players. We have some good players but not guys who are going to be starting for Germany or Belgium.

I dont think we have a single player who would make the 23 man on Belgium. Maybe Howard comes on as a second stringer (debatable who's the better keeper, Howard or Courtois).

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Sorry for you old dinosaurs, but soccer never goes away. Preseason games start in a few weeks. Champions League qualifying games have already started. EPL starts Aug 16th. La Liga Aug 23rd. MLS is midseason right now.

That's one of the great things about soccer, you don't have to wait for it. It's always there.

I just recently learned what the EPL is. Niche sport. Except once every 4 years.

 

[meyers7]

Odd that after his time off JK didn't have a problem using him in the Gold Cup (where he tied for the scoring lead).

Yea, he let him play with the "B" team. Donovan did a great job then. Allowed him to be let back into the "A" tryouts for the WC squad, where he stated he couldn't give 100%.

Was/is Donovan more talented than Davis? Sure. But he wouldn't have given 100%. And he wasn't competing with Davis (according to Klinsmann, he was being considered for a FW spot). So he was competing with Dempsey, Altidore, Wondo and Johannson. Wondo is the only one I'd see Donovan replacing. And I would have much rather had a Altidore backup (Boyd, Johnson, Agudelo) than Wondo myself.

The big thing though was Donovan came out and said he couldn't give 100%. What coach is going to take someone who says that?

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Other than some Yanks and some other people, the English Premier League, Barclays Premier League, or top English league is usually not referred to as the EPL. It's just been given an acronym not used so often in England, Wales, or other nations.

For the whiners with their panties in a bunch, the next US National team game currently is scheduled for Sept 3. US against the Czech Republic in Prague. The US roster for the match, just to further tighten 'em up, will likely be heavily European-based, and younger and less experienced. Nope, Landycakes is unlikely to participate. Onward, and upward!

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

It's over. Soccer will disappear now for the next 4 years. Can the BY get their act together now with the real football season less than 2 months away?

Premiere League season is only a month or two away! Go Liverpool!

You're missing out on soccer. It's a great sport. Maybe not quite as good as American football, but certainly better than the NBA or MLB.

 

[meyers7]

I dont think we have a single player who would make the 23 man on Belgium. Maybe Howard comes on as a second stringer (debatable who's the better keeper, Howard or Courtois).

Maybe Johnson (Hoffenheim) as a defender. Not sure how good Vanden Borre (Anderlecht) or Laurent Ciman (Standard Liege) are.

Yea Courtois is only 22 (and has played in a CL final). I'd take Howard before Mignolet though.

 

[meyers7]

Other than some Yanks and some other people, the English Premier League, Barclays Premier League, or top English league is usually not referred to as the EPL. It's just been given an acronym not used so often in England, Wales, or other nations.

I think it's used a lot outside of England (home countries). In England it's usually just Premier League. Only Barclay's because of the sponsor. So that will probably change someday.

For the whiners with their panties in a bunch, the next US National team game currently is scheduled for Sept 3. US against the Czech Republic in Prague. The US roster for the match, just to further tighten 'em up, will likely be heavily European-based, and younger and less experienced. Nope, Landycakes is unlikely to participate. Onward, and upward!

It will be interesting to see who gets called in for the next cycle. I could see Dempsey, Jones (maybe even Donovan) playing in the next Gold Cup (the one that really counts). I think Howard will step down (though he could probably play a couple more years) to prolong his club career like Friedel did. (ok maybe not that long)

 

[whaler11]

Yea, he let him play with the "B" team. Donovan did a great job then. Allowed him to be let back into the "A" tryouts for the WC squad, where he stated he couldn't give 100%.

Was/is Donovan more talented than Davis? Sure. But he wouldn't have given 100%. And he wasn't competing with Davis (according to Klinsmann, he was being considered for a FW spot). So he was competing with Dempsey, Altidore, Wondo and Johannson. Wondo is the only one I'd see Donovan replacing. And I would have much rather had a Altidore backup (Boyd, Johnson, Agudelo) than Wondo myself.

The big thing though was Donovan came out and said he couldn't give 100%. What coach is going to take someone who says that?

I promise last post but did you see Johannson? He was so awful that they couldn't even think about using him a second time.

He never said he wouldn't give 100%. That's not even close to what he said.

You know JK might be wrong about pushing guys so hard in training anyway... since it was his team that had all the hamstring and cramping issues and their opponents didn't. So the fact Donovan couldn't go 100% in training 10 days in a row really doesn't much matter if it's a bad idea anyway.

He did complain about the schedule and how the US lost a day of rest so at some level he does get the concept of rest, just doesn't like applying it to someone he doesn't like.

 

[SAMCRO]

So who has another WC left in them, and who are the guys waiting in the wings? Here's the names I see in the mix for 2018 (form the current roster). Doesn't mean they will mkae it, but based on age...
Forward:
Altidore is 24
Johansson is 23
Midfield
Bradley is 26
Diskerud is 23
Bedoya is 27
Green is 19
Zusi is 27
Defender:
Yedlin is 20
Gonzalez is 25
Besler is 27
Brooks is 21
Cameron is 28
Chandler is 24
Johnson is 26
Goal:
Guzan is 25

 

[whaler11]

Guzan is 29. Born 1984.

 

[Waquoit]

It's over. Soccer will disappear now for the next 4 years.

No, it won't. We have the Final 8. Then the best teams in Europe will be coming to a stadium near you in a few weeks to play in front of huge crowds. Then, a few weeks after that the Premier League starts. A few weeks after that, UConn starts the regular season.

 

[ZooCougar]

It's over. Soccer will disappear now for the next 4 years. Can the BY get their act together now with the real football season less than 2 months away?

No it won't. There is still Olympic Soccer, the Gold Cup, Confederations Cup. It never stops.

 

[rich1122]

I don't think so. I have written off Baseball and the NBA. Not interested in NFL so much unless the Giants can muster something. So the Fall will be UCONN and college football and English Premiere League. I think that NBC will ride the coattails of the World Cup and see viewership rise for Barclays. MLS should see a bump. The traditional sports have burnt me out with long games and too many commercials. If the SEC types try to branch off from the NCAA, then it's the tipping pint for me I'm out. I'' stop watching and buying tickets.

 

[Waquoit]

JK buys into the 'all in' concept?

Odd that after his time off JK didn't have a problem using him in the Gold Cup (where he tied for the scoring lead).

The anti-Donovan argument would make a lot more sense if the US didn't bring multiple guys who are and were totally and utterly completely useless.

But whatever - like JK too stubborn to see past his own biases for the good of the team, you guys aren't going to come to your senses. Well except when Zoo actually did during the friendlies one day.

Toughness is a big reason the team went through. Donovan never found a tough situation he couldn't cut and run from his entire career. But you had your hook early and you weren't going to let it go unless we won the whole thing. "Could have been" are great, you can never be wrong. It was tough for a moment when you were reduced comparing JK to a gambler rather than credit him for getting the team through the Group of Death. We had the last game on our poachers foot, but it was not to be.

 

[ZooCougar]

Here is what I have to say about yesterday.

This team has been in an offensive funk since the Portugal game ended. Whatever offensive courage we had against Ghana and Portugal has evaporated and in its place we have guys not trying to finish but instead passing the ball ONE MORE TIME. Yeah Bradley was out of position and so was Dempsey... but seriously we did have a #7 that was better than Tab Ramos was yesterday? We need more guys with Yedlin's mentality that are willing to make a run at goal.

Depth... The reason why Dempsey and Bradley were forced to play out of position is a lack of it. Bradley who may have had his best game of the tournament was also guilty of just passing it one more time instead of finding some space and drilling it.

Zusi.... absolutely worthless yesterday. At times yesterday it looked like the team had regressed to the point where we had 3-4 professionals on the field and 7 amateurs. Zusi was one of the amateurs.

Wondo... just no excuse to miss that shot. Almost unforgiveable.

Green/Yedlin.... Green has looked terrible in prior appearances. But yesterday we saw why JK is so excited about him. We got glimpse of his potential and we should feel good about him. Yedlin continues to impress, I don';t think JK intended to use him until later but we got another extra long look at him. He has the speed, the crossing ability and the intangibles. But a word of caution, Beasley and Donovan showed similar potential and fearlessness in 2002 and arguably that was their World Cup Zenith, both were about 20 then.

Tackling and defense in general... In 2002 that was a massively deficient area. Jeff Agoos and company were scary bad. Now I would say that it is a strength overall. The US did a decent job stealing the ball and dealing with crosses. I think the reason why Tim Howard was so busy yesterday had more to do with our lack of possession and not so much bad defense. If the other team is basicall in front of your goal all night then that is going to happen.

JK... overall a good tournament from him. I was listening to the English Sports Talk Radio last night and they were speaking as if the game was the best of the tournament thus far and most of the British fans calling in would take JK in a heartbeat. I think he had our team polaying with passion and pride. And yeah he made the US a better version of what it was already, but to be fair he hasn't had enough time to transform the team. Most of his subs were spot on. It wouldn't shock me if a big country tries to lure him away if they can buy him out, although I doubt he will leave.

 

[ZooCougar]

Yea, he let him play with the "B" team. Donovan did a great job then. Allowed him to be let back into the "A" tryouts for the WC squad, where he stated he couldn't give 100%.

Was/is Donovan more talented than Davis? Sure. But he wouldn't have given 100%. And he wasn't competing with Davis (according to Klinsmann, he was being considered for a FW spot). So he was competing with Dempsey, Altidore, Wondo and Johannson. Wondo is the only one I'd see Donovan replacing. And I would have much rather had a Altidore backup (Boyd, Johnson, Agudelo) than Wondo myself.

The big thing though was Donovan came out and said he couldn't give 100%. What coach is going to take someone who says that?

I honestly can't stand Landon Donovan. The guy just represents wasted potential. It's no wonder JK was never that impressed with him. JK was legitimately one of the best players in the world at one point and Donovan at times was acting like a Diva. It's not hard to see why JK did what he did if you can see it from his perspective.

Donovan on or off this roster is a mox/nix sort of deal, he would have been a role player adding depth that another player could provide.

And let's be honest. He is not as fast as he used to be. At his best these days, he is not even close to what he was 4 years ago.

Let Ms. Donovan go on another sabbatical, seriously I am so sick of hearing about him.

 

[ZooCougar]

I don't think so. I have written off Baseball and the NBA. Not interested in NFL so much unless the Giants can muster something. So the Fall will be UCONN and college football and English Premiere League. I think that NBC will ride the coattails of the World Cup and see viewership rise for Barclays. MLS should see a bump. The traditional sports have burnt me out with long games and too many commercials. If the SEC types try to branch off from the NCAA, then it's the tipping pint for me I'm out. I'' stop watching and buying tickets.

I have been an on and off MLS fan. But i just bought tickets for six Sporting KC games. Looking for an EPL side to become a fan of, I am open to pulling for any side but Arsenal, Man City, Man U and Chelsea.

 

[ZooCougar]

Guzan is 29. Born 1984.

I think you still might see Howard in goal in four years. I mean Brad Friedel is still starting in the EPL.. GKs have longer careers.

 

[spsct]

I have been an on and off MLS fan. But i just bought tickets for six Sporting KC games. Looking for an EPL side to become a fan of, I am open to pulling for any side but Arsenal, Man City, Man U and Chelsea.

Screw the EPL.... Bundesliga or nothing!

 

[meyers7]

He never said he wouldn't give 100%. That's not even close to what he said.

Not what I said either. "couldn't" That's what I said and what Donovan said.

You know JK might be wrong about pushing guys so hard in training anyway... since it was his team that had all the hamstring and cramping issues and their opponents didn't. So the fact Donovan couldn't go 100% in training 10 days in a row really doesn't much matter if it's a bad idea anyway.

Now that should be looked into. At least the hamstring issues. Most teams had cramping issues.

He did complain about the schedule and how the US lost a day of rest so at some level he does get the concept of rest, just doesn't like applying it to someone he doesn't like.

No reason to like him. Donovan left him and the team out to dry. And then there was the Bayern Munich thing. Can understand why Klinsmann may not trust him. Had let him down twice before. (at least in Klinsmann's mind)

 

[ZooCougar]

Screw the EPL.... Bundesliga or nothing!

The team I like in Germany is awful. I can't help but be an duck fan, but we'll never see them on TV in the US.

 

[ZooCougar]

Not what I said either. "couldn't" That's what I said and what Donovan said.


Now that should be looked into. At least the hamstring issues. Most teams had cramping issues.


No reason to like him. Donovan left him and the team out to dry. And then there was the Bayern Munich thing. Can understand why Klinsmann may not trust him. Had let him down twice before. (at least in Klinsmann's mind)

With Donovan, there was always something with him. He was homesick, he missed his sister, he missed the California sunshine. The sabbatical was the last straw.

Honestly, the problem here is that some people still think the 2010 Donovan still exists. He doesn't. End of story. JUST LET HIM GO.

 

[junglehusky]

Practice spelling Zelalem guys... Jurgen's next recruit.

 

[meyers7]

I just recently learned what the EPL is.

That's not soccer's fault. Just shows your lack of a sports mind. You've probably never heard of Eddie Merckx or Teofilo Stevenson either (let alone Sachin Tendulkar). There are lots and lots of sports out there besides the big three.

Niche sport. Except once every 4 years.

Only to dinosaurs. Which will eventually die off. Notice nothing from Deford and Rome has talked about it without actually dissing it. Just because "Jimmy Serrano" doesn't know about it, doesn't make it niche.

 

[meyers7]

Practice spelling Zelalem guys... Jurgen's next recruit.

And an Arsenal player.