All-Purpose, Never-Ending Soccer Thread

I only saw the second half and there was very little good there.  Convey was the best player.  EJ showed a sign or two.  Berhalter and Conrad were awful and Gibbs didn't do much.  Wolff may be OK in a limited role.  I don't see it with Klein or KZ.  Ching is toast.

One thing I noticed -- EJ kind of scores a goal and is on his back possibly hurt at the edge of the 18.  Not one of our players congratulates him or sees if he is OK.

 

Cherundolo got credited with the goal.
Ching was decent in the first half.

 

Yes, when half of your entire team is comprised of MLS players then you run into problems.

But go over that list again:
McBride - MLS first
Beasley - MLS first

So yeah, you listed out four guys (damn near half of a starting 11) as real good players from MLS. It is what it is. The league isn't that bad. It just isn't to the level of England's Premiership or Germany's Bundesliga. But, seriously, if you are able to come up with 4 (leaving aside those that left for Europe) MLS players that are good enough to be on the WC roster, what more can you expect from a league that is 10-years-old?

 

I am just not sure about Zavagnin. He seems to be on Bruce's radar. The guy has been around all this time.

Ching is definitely out. I don't see Wolff going either. I didn't see much need for him to be at this game, let alone anywhere else.

The first half was interesting. The US held up its end and fired back a few.

I didn't really notice that. It didn't seem like the cameras cut out wide enough.

 

You might want to work on reading comprehension, Crass.  Here, I'll help.

"Gotten their start" is not nearly the same thing as "currently playing in." I've made the point before that Beasley got by in MLS on his athletic ability - it wasn't until he went to the Netherlands that he truly became a skilled player. I know Donovan gets homesick and all that, but MLS is stunting his development as a player on the world scene. And once the final roster comes out, I'd be willing to bet that at least 75 percent of the players on it have spent some time playing in Europe.

 

Zizz, I've got you loud and clear. But, you can't really argue that spending the amount of time it takes to touch down, locate a bathroom and fly home gives you magic Euro-playing powers (Donovan).

Beasley has gotten better, but it isn't necessarily the result of playing in Europe. It is certainly possible that he could have gotten better here. (Although, I am not certain that this is true.)

It is arguable that sitting on the bench at ManU that Howard has lost a step.

Johnson would like to (and probably needs to) go to Europe at some point. But I don't think staying in MLS has hurt Donovan other than to feed into his someone cry-baby attitude.

Clint Mathis went over to Europe and fell apart. Is Heath Pearce some great stud or is he behind MLS players on the depth chart? So, simply being in Europe doesn't automatically make you a better player.

 

Coming late to the party, but:

Zavagnin has no shot at the roster. Arena is giving him every chance to succeed, and he just hasn't shown enough. As for Klein ask yourself this: If Noonan and Dempsey are available for today's roster, is Klein there? Nope.

Today was tough, but Germany had to have this game. I was shocked they didn't lead 2-0 at half, considering the statement they needed to make. I liken the actual result to last year's game against England: our B team just isn't enough to compete against quality European squads, even if they're not completely at full strength. But we're getting there. Does anybody remember Project 2010, the idea that we wanted to have a world cup contender by 2010?

MLS-related: I guess Garber is talking to media about a bunch of different things these days. Will be interesting to find out just what the story is on expansion and such (I saw Cleveland brought up a few pages ago here).

 

malcolm glaser is the anti christ

 

One of our SI-reading friends has joined the party.

 

Kpear, I don't get SI anymore. I presume that there is a story on Glazer in there.

And to this I must ask... Why?

 

Bruce: "Well, that was a dumb idea."
http://football.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-5706042,00.html

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Much has already been discussed here, so I'll keep my comments to a minimum.

• Brian Ching: No mas. How many chances is this guy going to get to underwhelm us? At least when Conor Casey runs into someone, they fall down, too.

• The U.S. is not comfortable playing three at the back. Arena tried it once before - the near-debacle against Cuba in the Gold Cup - and it similarly went kaboom. Juggle the midfield and forwards how you will, Bruce, but please keep four at the back.

• Convey vs. DMB: The difference between a winger playing with confidence and one without confidence is clear for all to see. Bobbinho took people off the dribble and made things happen down the left, something Beasley isn't doing much for club or country.

• If Germany wins the World Cup - hell, if he keeps his job - Klinsy owes Bruce big-time. An Oktoberfest bender and a couple St. Pauli girls could help settle things up....

 

What do you think that The Bruce does after WC 2006?  I don't see him staying as national coach, although the pressure is far lower than in other countries where there is intense media scrutiny.  Does he go back to MLS?  Try to latch on with a team in the EPL?

I have to say that I love his press conferences and quotes.  He is usually more candid than most coaches, and is both witty and acerbic.