The Soccer Thread (Version 7.0)

16 points was the limit to avoid the Oceania playoffs the last two cycles.

 

I still view him as a likely liability in Brazil. He doesn't track back, and good midfields destroy him. He's good going forward, but he's going to hurt the team when we play competition better than Panama.

(Note: That statement is meant to be read in a vacuum. I'm not saying we have a better option. Just that he's far from a complete player.)

 

I think that Bradley has largely eliminated the things which made him a liability -- late game lapses and the penchant for stupid cards. He reads the game very well and is the type who players better with superior talent.

If he is allowed to sit back behind a more dynamic attacking mid, he does a servicable Roy Keane impersonation.

I still don't love our D. I really think that DMB is lost playing wide on defense. And our centerbacks had way too many sloppy clearances and allowed too many half chances against a pretty poor team.

 

Wow. Just ... wow.







Wow, man.

 

Again, I don't see a better option. He does a lot of things extremely well. He's one of our best 11, probably one of our best 5. But when you play him with Dempsey - and again, I don't think we have much of a choice - it leaves us hurting defensively.

 

Bradley can only go forward when there's someone like Cameron -- who stays at home and can be relied upon not to cough up the ball at regular intervals -- at the other D-mid spot. When it's Germany Jones, Kljestan or Edu, bombing forward like he did last night can only go badly.

I don't see your point about Dempsey -- Deuce plays up top, as a trequartista or out wide, never in the center of midfield. If he did, then yes, the US would have a Lampard-Gerrard situation. But Dempsey doesn't, so the primary issue with Bradley is whether he has a midfield partner who allows him to go forward and wreak havoc or if he has to hang back, either because the other D-mid is a liability defensively or the other team's midfield is so dominant the US needs two D-mids shielding the back line.

As Webster said, Bradley isn't the petulant little shit he was earlier in his career. He's matured and he's not only playing but succeeding in Serie A, one of the most tactically demanding leagues in the world. He's good on and off the ball, and the US midfield is far poorer for his absence (remember the Belgium game?). Maybe my DVR showed me a different game last night, but I don't buy for a second that Michael Bradley is a liability.

 

They are definitely in danger of it. They want no part of the qualifying play-in.

Breaking the cycle of "Mexico gets cherry group based on previous WC results, thus gets better WC results" would be nice.

 

Mexico's futility continues to make me smile. For all the talk of their potent attack, I can't help but wonder who actually believes it is true. With Hernandez being so limited as a player, they might be better if they took him off the field.

The USA played a nice game last night. They won handily and everyone seemed to step up. I was surprised at Cameron's versatility when they played him as a D-Mid. But, he had a very solid game.

I don't understand the criticism of Bradley. I think he'd do well on just about any national team. The only places that don't need a player like him would be Germany, Netherlands and Spain. Outside of that, I could easily see anyone taking him into the squad and giving him a chance.

 

For all of Mexico's troubles, they are in a qualification position right now and probably will be after Tuesday's games.

 

I'm on vacation and was fishing last night during the match. The highlights were pretty amazing. One of the few times I've seen ESPN show the crowd as a highlight. I hope Seattle becomes a regular stop in the USMNT rotation.

 

D-mid is Cameron's original position, innit? He was playing there with Houston before taking up center back and right back with the USMNT and Stoke.

 

Only problem is Seattle had some temporary grass surface that was shit. Lot of slipping and falling. But from a crowd perspective, Seattle is one of the few places that gives the USMNT a bona fide home field advantage. Portland, Kansas City, Salt Lake, Columbus are others.