UConnDan97
predicting undefeated seasons since 1983
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2012
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Seriously guys there's not another board for the soccer nonsense?
You guys are crazy. If Klinnsman had kept LD he would have been doing it only to satisfy LDs fans. The guy is the greatest American player in history but he's 32 and he is not as fit as he needs to be.....even by his own admission. Klinsman kept the guys that fit his plans for the WC. I respect him for doing what he felt was best instead of simply satisfying the fans.
No matter the result US soccer needs to keep him around.
Seriously guys there's not another board for the soccer nonsense?
You guys are crazy. If Klinnsman had kept LD he would have been doing it only to satisfy LDs fans. The guy is the greatest American player in history but he's 32 and he is not as fit as he needs to be.....even by his own admission. Klinsman kept the guys that fit his plans for the WC. I respect him for doing what he felt was best instead of simply satisfying the fans.
No matter the result US soccer needs to keep him around.
It was never gong to be easy to have the USA advance, Dropping LD is a move that I understand - you need to develop new horses. With or without Donovan, the USA faces a tough road. But it is time to turn the page - the 2006 squad is past their prime - this group has a chance to become the core for 2018 and possibly 2022.
Let me play devil's advocate for a second: How much development are the new horses going to get on the bench?
I would wager money that there will be at least 2 or 3 people from the 23-man roster who don't even see the field at the World Cup, and likely more than that. That's the point that I was making about it being a mistake to not take him. You are limiting your attacking options as well as creating an off-field distraction for the team...
LRock34 said:You guys are crazy. If Klinnsman had kept LD he would have been doing it only to satisfy LDs fans. The guy is the greatest American player in history but he's 32 and he is not as fit as he needs to be.....even by his own admission. Klinsman kept the guys that fit his plans for the WC. I respect him for doing what he felt was best instead of simply satisfying the fans.
No matter the result US soccer needs to keep him around.
Seriously guys there's not another board for the soccer nonsense?
My position is this: If you need a goal in the third game of the round robin to advance, and there are 20 minutes left in the game, are you grabbing Donovan off the bench, or Johannsson?
Look, there's no question that Donovan lost his mind for a bit there, and was not in proper shape or form to be in the starting 11. From that standpoint, I agree. But to leave him off the 23-man roster is foolish, IMO. If you need a goal, where the hell are you going to turn? The quality off the bench is not there. I don't care how many goals Wondo scored in friendlies, he's just not the quality that's going to be able to finish against teams like Germany or like Portugal. Landon is. So that means that leaving him off the plane is a mistake...
It's about time for Jozy Altidore to step up and finish on the service - no?
He didn't deserve to start, but he didn't deserve to be left at home either. We have a poor defense, and will need goals to advance, and we just decided to leave (arguably) our most dangerous weapon off the bench at home. I hope this decision doesn't come back to haunt us and Klinsman.
Well, yes, but Jozy's expectations shouldn't change the 23-man roster. That's why they allow 23 men to come along. The first 11 don't always get it done...
I don't know why everyone seems to think that Donovan is the only player that can score goals in world cup competition.