Posted by Creaven on May 26, 2010 under USMNT, United States | 
Well, well, well. Bob Bradley decides to give bloggers something to write about.
Seeing Robbie Findley standing with his teammates this afternoon was head-scratching. Bradley is taking three forwards that essentially have the same resume: Herculez Gomez, Edson Buddle and Findley. All are relatively fast, athletic, are playing well right now (except for Findley) and none of them, compared to other World Cup forwards, are good soccer players.
So, is it really worth taking all three of them instead of two, or maybe even one? Well, here is my argument for and against the Findley decision.
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Tags: Alejandro Bedoya, Brian Ching, Clint Dempsey, Edson Buddle, Herculez Gomez, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Robbie Findley, Roobie Rodgers, Stuart Holden, United States
Posted by Creaven on May 11, 2010 under USMNT, United States, World Cup |
I set a low bar for Bob Bradley and he easily cleared it today when he named his 30-man preliminary roster.
Like I wrote yesterday, all I wanted him to do was:
1. Name only three goalies.
2. Don’t name less than 30 players.
3. Leave Frankie Hejduk in Columbus.
Pass, pass and pass. Plus, he surprised me and left Conor Casey out of the squad. There’s nearly a zero percent chance I’m going to have to watch Casey rumble around a grass field in South Africa this summer and that makes me very happy.
The big news from the roster is Davies’ comeback falling short, so let’s start there…
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Tags: Aaron Lennon, Adam Johnson, Alejandro Bedoya, Ashley Young, Benny Feilhaber, Bob Bradley, Brad Guzan, Brian Ching, Carlos Bocanegra, Chad Marshall, Charlie Davies, Clarence Goodson, Clint Dempsey, DaMarcus Beasley, Eddie Johnson, Edson Buddle, England, Fabio Capello, Frankie Hejduk, Heath Pearce, Herculez Gomez, James Milner, Jay DeMerit, Joe Cole, Jonathan Bornstein, Jonathan Spector, Jose Torres, Jozy Altidore, Kyle Beckerman, Landon Donovan, Marcus Hahnemann, Maurice Edu, Michael Bradley, Oguchi Onyewu, Ricardo Clark, Robbie Findley, Robbie Rogers, Sacha Kljestan, Shuan Wright-Phillips, Steve Cherundolo, Stuart Holden, Theo Walcott, Tim Howard, United States, World Cup
Posted by Creaven on May 10, 2010 under USMNT, United States, World Cup |
Let the Bob Bradley scrutiny begin!
In the next eight weeks or so, with an increasingly “intelligent” American soccer public, Bob Bradley will be under the microscope unlike any American soccer coach in history. Of course, it won’t compare to the pressure in England, Brazil, Germany, Argentina or most anywhere else for that matter. But thanks to a unbelievably favorable draw, Bradley is expected to get his team out of the group and if he doesn’t he won’t have a job come July.
The first of many dissected Bradley decisions comes tomorrow, when the preliminary 30-man roster is announced on ESPN News at 11 a.m. PST. The goal for Bradley when naming this roster should be a simple one: Don’t do anything stupid. That’s all I ask. If you name some player I’ve never heard of, fine, I’m cool with that. It’s your job to know something the rest of us don’t. But what’s not cool is if you do one of the following:
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Tags: Alejandro Bedoya, Benny Feilhaber, Bob Bradley, Brad Guzan, Brian Ching, Carlos Bocanegra, Chad Marshall, Charlie Davies, Clarence Goodson, Clint Dempsey, Conor Casey, DaMarcus Beasley, Eddie Johnson, Edson Buddle, Frankie Hejduk, Freddy Adu, Heath Pearce, Herculez Gomez, Jay DeMerit, Jonathan Bornstein, Jonathon Spector, Jose Torres, Jozy Altidore, Kyle Beckerman, Landon Donovan, Marcus Hahnemann, Maurice Edu, Michael Bradley, Oguchi Onyewu, Ricardo Clark, Sacha Kljestan, Steve Cherundolo, Stuart Holden, Tim Howard
Posted by Creaven on March 4, 2010 under USMNT, United States |
In six months, the United States-Holland friendly on March 3 in Amsterdam will be remembered by U.S. fans for one of two reasons:
1. People will vaguely remember Jonathan Bornstein throwing away any chance of a starting spot at the World Cup and the national team resurrection of DaMarcus Beasley.
Or.
2. People will vividly remember it as the match Stuart Holden’s 2010 World Cup ended before it began.
I really hope it’s No. 1. Not only do I like Holden, but I think he’s a critical player for the U.S. If it was up to me, he would be the starting right midfielder against England even if everyone is healthy. But that’s assuming Nigel de Jong didn’t snap his shin in half (see the previous blog post).
When it comes to the team’s performance, I thought it was a mostly positive 2-1 defeat. To the grades…
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Tags: Alejandro Bedoya, Alexi Lalas, Benny Feilhaber, Bob Bradley, Bob Ley, Carlos Bocanegra, Charlie Davies, Clarence Goodson, Clint Dempsey, DaMarcus Beasley, Eddie Johnson, ESPN, Heath Pearce, Holland, Jay DeMerit, John Harkes, Jonathan Spector, José Francisco Torres, Jozy Altidore, JP Dellacamera, Landon Donovan, Maurice Edu, Nigel de Jong, Robbie Findley, Stuart Holden, Tim Howard, Wesley Sneijder
Posted by Creaven on December 4, 2009 under England, USMNT, United States, World Cup |
This is how lucky the United States got Friday.
After the U.S. was drawn in Group C with England, if I could have handpicked a country from Pot 3 and Pot 4 I would have selected Algeria and Slovenia (if you don’t believe me, I worte it yesterday). For the U.S. to actually draw both those teams there was a 1/64 (1.5 percent) chance. It was the exact same odds a poker player has of hitting a runner-runner straight in Texas Holdem in an internet casino. In other words, the U.S. (and England too for that matter) hit the jackpot.
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Tags: Alexi Lalas, Algeria, Bob Levy, Brazil, Efan Ekoku, England, Fabio Capello, Ivory Coast, John Harkes, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Martin Tyler, North Korea, Portugal, Slovenia, teve McManaman, United States, Wayne Rooney, World Cup
Posted by Creaven on September 11, 2009 under Premier League, USMNT, United States |
It’s always encouraging when you field a bad team and win on the road. It took some luck — Cornell Glenn hitting the crossbar, Ricardo Clark turning into Steven Gerrard for a split second — but the United States beating Trinidad and Tobago 1-0, is a result the Americans probably had to get.
But let me reiterate, this team Bob Bradley selected was bad. If this exact lineup plays against Hondurus Oct. 10 the U.S. loses by at least two goals (I think U.S. is the underdog against Honduras no matter what the lineup is). That said, the Americans left the Port-of-Spain with three points and that’s what’s important.
To the grades…
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Tags: Argentina, Benny Feilhaber, Bob Bradley, Carl Edwards, Carlos Bocanegra, Charlie Davies, Clayton Ince, Clint Dempsey, Cornell Glen, EPL Betting Challenge, ESPN, Honduras, John Harkes, Jonathan Bornstien, Jonathan Spector, Jose Mourinho, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Oguchi Onyewu, Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden, Tim Howard, Trinidad & Tobago, United States
Posted by Creaven on August 27, 2009 under England, Premier League |
I’ve had multiple column ideas bouncing in my head the last couple days but haven’t been able to focus on one thing. So, to solve this, I’m just going to write about everything.
Here we go…
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Posted by Creaven on August 18, 2009 under England, Premier League |
Update: David Smith at Yanks Abroad did some actual reporting on this. Smith reports Steve Cherundolo and Michael Bradley’s absence from the Bundesliga last weeked was at least partly due to concerns over exposure to swine flu. When it come to Altidore, a Hull City press officer said Altidore is not with the club because of bureaucracy concerning the work permit; the team denied the delay has anything to do with a possible infection. That’s contrary to what the Hull Daily Mail reported Tuesday (read below).
Something very weird is going on with Jozy Altidore.
On August 10, it was widely reported Altidore recieved his work permit and was ready to start his Premiership career.
Then, all of a sudden last Friday, we learned (thanks to Altidore twittering) that, no, the work permit actually wasn’t completed and Altidore was still in the United States. So does Altidore have a work permit or not? If he does, why are Hull and Altidore pretending that he doesn’t? If he doesn’t have a work permit, why isn’t he in England so he would be ready when his work permit goes through? WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?
It looks like we have an answer, maybe…
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Posted by Creaven on August 12, 2009 under USMNT, United States |
So many of the United States’ players played so poorly, it’s somewhat amazing the U.S. was less than 10 minutes away from leaving Azteca with a draw.
But, predictably, the U.S. ran out of gas (altitude matters) to lose the Concacaf World Cup qualifier, 2-1, against Mexico. A draw would have been a fantastic result and would have kept Mexico’s World Cup chances in serious jeopardy. In the end, though, the loss doesn’t mean a whole lot for the U.S. — they’ll qualify anyway. But getting a point would have been a huge confidence boost.
To the grades…
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Tags: Benny Feilhaber, Bob Bradley, Brian Ching, Carlos Bocanegra, Charlie Davies, Clint Dempsey, CONCACAF, Jay DeMerit, Jonathan Spector, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Marcello Balboa, Mexico, Michael Bradley, Mun2, Oguchi Onyewu, Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden, Tim Howard, United States
Posted by Creaven on August 11, 2009 under USMNT, United States |
![estadio_azteca1[1]](http://intelligentsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/estadio_azteca111-300x174.jpg "estadio_azteca1[1]")
It’s easy to talk yourself into the United States having a real chance at leaving Mexico City with at least a draw Wednesday. The U.S. will field nearly the same team that beat No. 1 Spain and nearly knocked off Brazil; Mexico is struggling is qualifying, standing in fourth place in the six-team group; The U.S. has the best player on the field with Landon Donovan; All the pressure is on Mexico.
That all sounds good, but there’s one tiny-weeny problem — Mexico always wins at home. The U.S. has played Mexico away 23 times, losing 22 matches and tying one. In the last 40 years, El Tri has lost once in World Cup qualifying on Mexican soil; it’s the home field advantage of all home field advantages. Remember how good Costa Rica looked when it beat the U.S. 3-1 in June? Five weeks earlier Costa Rica had its date at the Azteca and Mexico cruised to a 2-0 victory. Which was expected, because — Mexico always wins at home.
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Tags: Azteca, Benny Feilhaber, Bob Bradley, Brian Ching, Carlos Bocanegra, Carlos Vela, Charlie Davies, Clint Dempsey, CONCACAF, Jay DeMerit, Jonathan Spector, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Mexico, Michael Bradley, Oguchi Onyewu, Ricardo Clark, Tim Howard
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