âš½ 2015 Gold Cup Tournament âš½

[LongTooth]

No reason to lose that game. Very poor performance by the USMNT

the coach has to carry the cap for a lot of this one. poor lineup choices in the face of what they knew jamaica was going to bring. poor long term decision making regarding the desire to make bradley the linchpin of the offense. bad decision to put the slow beckerman up against the speed of the jamaicans. bad idea to put gordon in and have the team start playing long ball with 20 minutes left. poor center back pairing. gonzalez should have been paired with brooks over the inexperienced alvarado. these are all factors that can only be laid at the coach's feet.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

Long tooth is the cover2 of international futbol. We have ourselves a ringer folks!

 

[NCOGator]

How in the actual f*ck does a country of our size not field a soccer team good enough to beat Jamaica?

There are actually 3 1/2 reasons we don't have the best soccer program in the world. They are the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. Think about it how bad ass of a Soccer team would we have if we had an athlete like LeBron James, Kobe, Mike Trout, Percy Harvin, or any other athlete that is playing in one of our major sports programs. It is all about the money!!! Why play professional soccer unless it less than 1/10th of what they can make in other sports. The rest of the world only soccer in most cases.
The Women in the US only really have WNBA (yes there is Softball, but how many professional games are on the sports networks) that can take athletes away from the soccer program and therefore there are more likely to play professional.

 

[NCOGator]

the coach has to carry the cap for a lot of this one. poor lineup choices in the face of what they knew jamaica was going to bring. poor long term decision making regarding the desire to make bradley the linchpin of the offense. bad decision to put the slow beckerman up against the speed of the jamaicans. bad idea to put gordon in and have the team start playing long ball with 20 minutes left. poor center back pairing. gonzalez should have been paired with brooks over the inexperienced alvarado. these are all factors that can only be laid at the coach's feet.

Another Cover2ish analysis....thank you! Do you coach HS, Club, or just a fan?

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

Oh, I forgot to say this earlier, but despite the fact that he scored in this game, Michael Bradley is f*cking TERRIBLE.

 

[LongTooth]

Another Cover2ish analysis....thank you! Do you coach HS, Club, or just a fan?

several years playing AYSO up until HS. my little 1A school didn't have a soccer team so I switched to football in JV and basketball for JV and HS. got into a regional amateur league in college and had the chance to play with guys from all over the world, including dudes who had played pro and semi-pro ball in places like Australia, El Salvador and Finland. learned a lot from those fellas.

 

[NCOGator]

I knew you had to have some background of playing more than just with the Y.

 

[LongTooth]

Oh, I forgot to say this earlier, but despite the fact that he scored in this game, Michael Bradley is f*cking TERRIBLE.

he's terrible at what he's being asked to do right now as a central attacking midfielder. he's not fluid enough with the ball at his feet and can't always find the penetrating pass in the final third. i can't believe there hasn't been more criticism of his passing and possession in both the WC and the GC. i would much rather see him pushed back to use his athleticism in the holding position occupied by beckerman. bradley played that spot for AS Roma in Italy and was generally praised for his ability to read and influence the game from further back. for some reason, the powers that be in the USSF and the press have decided to elevate him to the playmaking role and work hard to avoid criticizing him, an approach i've never agreed with on any account. if anything, mix diskerud should be pushed forward and not asked to play the physical role behind bradley. he just can't do it. but he is more technical than bradley and would make a better number 10. bradley is a more bullish type player who could do well as a number 6 who snuffs out opponents' attacks and starts good american offensive sequences.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

long tooth is racking up the "likes" in this thread...

 

[MidwestChomp]

LongTooth's analysis in this thread =

 

[LongTooth]

my pleasure MidWest. USMNT footy and Gator football bring out the fanatic in me. not sure i'll catch the consolation match today. it's all too painful right now.

because we didn't win the GC, the Confederations Cup place playoff in October to see whether or not the USA or the winner of tomorrow's GC final will be in Russia in 2017 will be tricky because it comes one day before the U-23 squad tries to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. both the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia and the Olympics in Brazil are crucial to the teams fortunes in this World Cup cycle. The Olympics puts younger players in a tournament atmosphere and at least a couple guys prove themselves ready to step up and do the same service in the senior World Cup side. The Confederations Cup lets the senior side get a taste of the following year's WC fields, venues and atmosphere against the champions from the other global federations. Since the playoff and the Olympic quals are a day apart, either the senior side or the U-23s side is going to be short-handed.

 

[MidwestChomp]

Zardes, Brooks, and Yedlin are 3 I can think of that would be affected by the situation. I would think the Confederations cup would be more important.

Oh, and what another sad performance. Klinsmann didn't start Dempsey or Yedlin, subs them, and they connect for the tying score. Then they botch the PKs after extra time. It's sad when the USA can't win the second weakest region in the world.

And, for the soccer fans, the USA's world cup qualifying draw is rather favorable.

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

American soccer is pathetic and embarrassing. I can't believe this is the same team as last year. (well, technically it isn't, but it's crazy the difference a year makes)