The Soccer thread (Part II)

Agreed. Look at Spain's overall skill and it could have squashed the Americans.

TB, I wonder about the communication, too. A high school coach would have been upset at a back line that disorganized, never mind how Bob Bradley probably felt.

 

That Spain-USA game was boring. It looked like Spain was going through the motions and didn't really want to play aggressive. USA is just not very good against the top teams. Play them against Barbados and they look good, play them against England and Spain and they are outclassed. Most teams would be, but I would think that USA would put on a better performance than they have the last two games.

 

Is there a case to be made for getting Jimmy Conrad back in the center of defense? He always seems assertive, good in the air, not completely thrilled with his speed, but he seems to take charge well of those around him.

Shouldn't they give him and Onyewu a try back there?

By the way, I'm surprised no-one's mentioned Adu yet. I thought he was very bright in the first half. I don't know why he got taken off at halftime, but the ball over the top for Johnson to run onto and the wizardry in the penalty area were real flashes of what he could be capable of.

His performance may be the biggest plus to come out of the game.

 

Gooch is good against lesser talent, but he's too stiff against better players.

EJ. Oy. Freddy. Nice.

We panic so much out of the back. We get possession and the players are so worried about getting caught that the kick the ball 25 yards to no one.

 

About 65 minutes in, I thought Gooch was playing the game of his life. He blew up everything Spain threw into the box. I started thinking he should be getting a La Liga deal because those guys couldn't deal with him.
And then he gets schooled on the goal.
Most disappointing.
Almost as disappointing as trying to direct a point-blank header toward the post instead of powering it into the goal. Now, who could have been guilty of that?

 

Cristiano wants out.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/jun/05/manchesterunited.realmadrid

 

Why does he want to move there? Money?

 

Sir Alex laughs in his general direction.

 

Sounds like the Spanish goverment is going to have to do another shady loan deal to raise some Euros.

If he wants out that badly and the price is really 100 million Euros, you make the deal. 6 times a return on your investment, 2 EPL titles and 1 Big Cup isn't a bad 4 year run. You buy Villa, Benzema and two new fullbacks.

 

What more does he have to prove in Manchester? Premiership Player of the Year, League title, Champions League title ... should he stick around just to match the 1999 treble?

 

As a ManU fanboy, yes.

 

Does your fanboidom provide 15 mil/year?