06-12-2010, 04:42 PM | #301 | |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Where Hip Hop lives
|
Quote:
Yeah, on Green, like I said, in hindsight it looks like a poor decision, but I figured going into the game he was the best choice given what we knew then. You're right that the real fault is that England is just not strong in the net right now. I wasn't trying to denigrate Heskey, so much as just point out that, of all his many skills as a creative forward of some talent, he is not a goal scorer. I'm not sure why Rooney never seemed to be in a position to make a play, but for whatever reason, that's what happened. So you're looking at your one truly dangerous forward being out of play, while your other forward doesn't really score goals. That's a problem for the offense, I think. And, yes, Cole is another option. I focused on SWP because that's who they put in and he appeared to be fairly dangerous once in the match. But, yes, Cole even better. I always thought he was a bit of an England darling--why wouldn't they have put him in the first place? I can definitely get behind the idea that England should have add a more conventional holding mid in the middle and allowed Gerrard (presumeably) to run forward at will. That would have caused a lot of problems and also given England more support at the back, which has obviously been out of sorts with the Rio injury and the Terry affair fiasco (and that was before King got hurt).
__________________
. . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. |
|
06-12-2010, 04:52 PM | #302 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Troy, NY
|
Unfortunately, have to root for nil-nil tomorrow.
__________________
Quis custodiets ipsos custodes? |
06-12-2010, 05:05 PM | #303 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Land O Lakes FL
|
So what changes does Bob Bradley make to the squad for the game against Slovenia?
__________________
"The blind soldier fought for me in this war. The least I can do now is fight for him. I have eyes. He hasn’t. I have a voice on the radio, he hasn’t. I was born a white man. And until a colored man is a full citizen, like me, I haven’t the leisure to enjoy the freedom that colored man risked his life to maintain for me. I don’t own what I have until he owns an equal share of it. Until somebody beats me and blinds me, I am in his debt."- Orson Welles August 11, 1946 |
06-12-2010, 05:19 PM | #304 |
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Amarillo, TX
|
|
06-12-2010, 07:21 PM | #305 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Whittier
|
|
06-12-2010, 08:09 PM | #306 | |
Coordinator
Join Date: Apr 2005
|
Quote:
What you said. |
|
06-12-2010, 08:09 PM | #307 | |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Massachusetts
|
Quote:
Give one of the other strikers a start. Not start Riccardo Clark (god he was useless).
__________________
If I've ever helped you and you'd like to buy me a coffee, or just to say thanks, I have my Bitcoin and Ethereum addressed listed below :) BTC: bc1qykhsfyn9vw4ntqfgr0svj4n9tjdgufryh2pxn5 ETH: 0x2AcdC5cd88EA537063553F5b240073bE067BaCa9 |
|
06-12-2010, 08:36 PM | #308 | |
H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Oakland, CA
|
Quote:
If you don't have a problem with illegality (and if someone modding this does, go ahead and delete my post), MyP2P.eu :: Free Live Sports on your PC, Live Football, MLB, NBA, NHL and more... is a fine solution. I DL'ed StreamTorrent... my stream did crash around the 70th minute, but I got it back, and it worked pretty well overall. As for the match itself, I'm with miami_fan and DaddyTorgo - the only real evidence that Ricardo Clark played today is that his name was on the teamsheet, and they're rarely wrong. |
|
06-12-2010, 08:39 PM | #309 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Apr 2005
|
I wonder what the ratings will be for today's match.
|
06-12-2010, 09:18 PM | #310 |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2003
|
Overall, I thought the US (and I say this as a neutral) played pretty well, though admittedly the Green howler changed it. I thought Altidore should have scored on the glanced header earlier, and there were a couple of other chances. That being said, they clearly lacked the cutting edge, and I would have predicted 2-0 if not for Green's Buckner-esque moment.
Some thoughts: - Gerrard is good. Heskey's place on this team makes sense no? That was a big guy holding up the ball perfectly. - Where the hell was Wayne Rooney in the first half? He came on in the 2nd half and looked very good, but when his link up involves running from his own half, you will have issues. - I was actually pretty impressed with Donovan. I genuinely think he can be a good no 10 / playmaking forward type for a quality team, albeit not at the absolute top tier. |
06-12-2010, 10:08 PM | #311 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Apr 2005
|
Did Green copy Mike Gundy and really say, "I'm 30. I'm a man...." in his post-game comments?
Last edited by Galaxy : 06-12-2010 at 10:09 PM. |
06-12-2010, 10:45 PM | #312 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Dayton, OH
|
I only saw the first half, caught the second half in part on the radio, and thought we were tentative. We had a couple of good chances, but we never seemed to get on the end of the crosses. Plus, I never felt as though we tried to force the issue. It seemed as though we played to build up, and then did nothing. Having a lot of possession is nice, but you have to do something with it.
My fear, is that by playing not to lose, we put a lot of pressure on our defense. It is not exactly our strength, and I think we play better by getting the ball forward and trying to hit Altidore on more crosses. Also, I hope Bradley does not put in Beasley (?) the other ST that played opposite Altidore. He seemed to do very little today. |
06-12-2010, 10:51 PM | #313 | |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Land O Lakes FL
|
Quote:
That was Robbie Findley. He could do nothing with his pace for most of the game. The one time he was able to put pressure on the English, Carragher absolutely muscled him off the ball.
__________________
"The blind soldier fought for me in this war. The least I can do now is fight for him. I have eyes. He hasn’t. I have a voice on the radio, he hasn’t. I was born a white man. And until a colored man is a full citizen, like me, I haven’t the leisure to enjoy the freedom that colored man risked his life to maintain for me. I don’t own what I have until he owns an equal share of it. Until somebody beats me and blinds me, I am in his debt."- Orson Welles August 11, 1946 |
|
06-12-2010, 11:31 PM | #314 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Dayton, OH
|
Yeah, I just realized that was his name.
The other thing that seemed odd, if you have a guy that you are playing strictly due to his pace, why not lay out some through balls for him, or play wider to allow for some more crosses for him. |
06-13-2010, 05:29 AM | #315 | |
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jan 2008
|
Quote:
they tried. england was having none of it. glad to see they were moving donovan around on the wings but as the commentators mentioned it would have been nice to see him more in the center. overall it was a very solid performance imo. |
|
06-13-2010, 06:33 AM | #316 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
|
as a neutral observer i agree. Of course if you are rooting for the US your expectations are higher, but a 1:1 draw on England is a great result and the play was definitely good as well. Not spectacular, but a lot of things went right. Your defensive midfield did a great job denying through balls and then did a good job when Rooney recognized that and went to the midfield (doubling him early and effectively) , you Centre Backs played a great 2nd half (Onyewu especially), the wing backs played a good game (Cherundolo more than Boccanegra) and Dempsey did a good job controlling the tempo and battling Gerrard/Lampard. Donovan wasn´t great but still was active and the same goes for Altidore. Overall i was pretty impressed. Maybe they can play better (you allways can) but as someone not being able to follow them outside the tournaments i thought they played a good game. Can´t wait for the german game tonight, hope Klose does well and scores. The guy has been taking so much crap this past year due to a weak season with Bayern, yet simply has been there for the national team for years with a ton of goals (10 world cup goals, 48 overall which is 2nd in german NT history and we had our fair share of world class strikers) and even in this crappy year managed to score the most important goal of the season against Russia. Plus he´s a class act and never complains and instead heads to the training ground to blow off steam. Hope he scores so bad ... projected starting lineup : -----------------------Manuel Neuer Philipp Lahm - Per Mertesacker - Arne Friedrich - Holger Badstuber ------------Sami Khedira - Bastian Schweinsteiger ----------Piotr Trochowski - Mesut Özil - Lukas Podolski ----------------------Miroslav Klose don´t like Trochowski in there at all, who just doesn´t have the quality but is held in high regard by the coach still. Would have liked to see a 2nd striker against a defensive team like Australia or at least a more dangerous midfielder like Müller. Badstuber starting in the world cup after 1 single season as a professional, what an amazing story in defensive midfield both can do sth offensively as well, Schweinsteiger only this year changed positions from AMR to DM and Khedira is known for good runs from deep as well. |
06-13-2010, 06:34 AM | #317 |
Quarterback
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: London, England
|
The stadium looks half full for the Algeria - Slovenia game.
|
06-13-2010, 06:35 AM | #318 |
Pro Rookie
Join Date: Jan 2005
|
Algeria forced a decent save from the Slovenia keeper early, if someone has to win this game I guess it's better if they do. But this is one of the rare times I'm rooting for a 0-0 scoreline.
|
06-13-2010, 06:40 AM | #319 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
|
the slovenian Keeper is amazingly talented, hope he does well here.
|
06-13-2010, 07:06 AM | #320 |
Pro Rookie
Join Date: Jan 2005
|
Zonalmarking.net is one of my favorite soccer websites, they've posted their tactical analysis of yesterday's USA - England game here.
As for changes before the next game I wouldn't mind seeing Torres come in for Clark. We won't be the underdogs and Torres is better offensively. I'd rather see Buddle or Gomez ahead of Findley, who I'm not a big fan of. Like in the other games, there have been a lot of overhit long passes and cross so far in Algeria - Slovenia. Maybe the ball really is an issue or it's the nerves of the first World Cup game for these teams. Last edited by Big Fo : 06-13-2010 at 07:07 AM. |
06-13-2010, 07:08 AM | #321 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
|
does anyone know a website where you can see advanced stats like how much space a player covered or what areas he was in how long (kind of like in FM) ?
|
06-13-2010, 07:15 AM | #322 |
Pro Rookie
Join Date: Jan 2005
|
FIFA.com shows both of those things if you go to the MatchCast.
MatchCast for USA - England, for example Just click on one of the players and you should see it. Michael Bradley covered the most ground for us last night, 11.7 km. Algeria 0 - 0 Slovenia at the half. A kind of boring game so far but I'll take it. Last edited by Big Fo : 06-13-2010 at 07:18 AM. |
06-13-2010, 08:00 AM | #323 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
|
now that was stupid by the algerian striker
Last edited by whomario : 06-13-2010 at 08:02 AM. |
06-13-2010, 08:05 AM | #324 |
H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Mar 2006
|
Great headlne in the Sunday Mirror (UK) today for the England - US game: "The Hand of Clod"
Last edited by Bisbo : 06-13-2010 at 08:06 AM. |
06-13-2010, 08:06 AM | #325 |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Syracuse, NY
|
slovenia goal, algeria is down to 10 men too
|
06-13-2010, 08:06 AM | #326 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
|
and now the GK joining in ...
|
06-13-2010, 08:09 AM | #327 |
Pro Rookie
Join Date: Jan 2005
|
Oh dear. Awful goalkeeping and not a good score for the US if it stands. Algeria are down a man and have ten minutes to tie it up.
|
06-13-2010, 08:14 AM | #328 |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Syracuse, NY
|
|
06-13-2010, 08:20 AM | #329 |
Pro Rookie
Join Date: Jan 2005
|
Yeah, the US should still advance, but everyone in the group having 1 point with the England game out of the way for us would have been nice.
I was pissed because 0-0 was the absolute ideal score imo and it was such a bad mistake for Algeria's GK to let Koren's shot get past him. I agree that England should beat both of these teams, neither have looked impressive. We should get two wins or a win and a draw against them as well. Last edited by Big Fo : 06-13-2010 at 08:22 AM. |
06-13-2010, 08:26 AM | #330 |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Syracuse, NY
|
yeah the goal was pretty shitty, played it with his hands and didn't get his body in front of it and it cost him
|
06-13-2010, 08:41 AM | #331 |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Back in Houston!
|
Ok, so what is the US National Team called? I mean, like in major sports, you have the Kansas City Royals or Houston Rockets. They aren't just referred to as Kansas City or Houston. And looking at the front page of ESPN, Slovenia is the Green Dragons. So what is Team USA?
SI
__________________
Houston Hippopotami, III.3: 20th Anniversary Thread - All former HT players are encouraged to check it out! Janos: "Only America could produce an imbecile of your caliber!" Freakazoid: "That's because we make lots of things better than other people!" |
06-13-2010, 09:13 AM | #332 |
Pro Rookie
Join Date: Jan 2005
|
We don't really have a cool nickname like Ghana's Black Stars or Cameroon's Indomitable Lions.
Last edited by Big Fo : 06-13-2010 at 09:14 AM. |
06-13-2010, 09:39 AM | #333 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Dayton, OH
|
The Next Great Thing?
|
06-13-2010, 10:12 AM | #334 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Whittier
|
It's not the end of the world for Slovenia winning, but the US needs a tie or win vs Slovenia and has to beat Algeria
|
06-13-2010, 10:35 AM | #335 | |
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Providence, RI
|
Quote:
If England had a decent holding mid fit, then the obvious thing to do would have been to play Gerrard on the left, which is the system that worked in qualifying. Given the choice between playing Michael Carrick and trying the old Gerrard-Lampard mess, I'm not sure Capello had a good option. |
|
06-13-2010, 10:52 AM | #336 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
|
good win by Ghana, impressed me with their play. Not spectacular by any means, but unusually solid in midfield and defensively. Serbia majorly disapointing... Tough break with the penalty, but that simply is the rule here.
Ghana going berserk celebrating a group win, very likeable if you ask me Can´t wait for the germany game !! Müller apparently starting over Trochowski, but no official word yet. Last edited by whomario : 06-13-2010 at 10:57 AM. |
06-13-2010, 11:25 AM | #337 | |
Head Coach
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Whittier
|
Quote:
USMNT In other news, Tim Howard might have some broken ribs! |
|
06-13-2010, 11:41 AM | #338 |
SI Games
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Melbourne, FL
|
About the England match - Green playing, I personally would have started James - experience counts in these type of matches and Green just doesn't have it (and whenever he HAS started for England against a half decent team he's looked unable to cope imho).
Wright-Phillips coming on the left made no sense imho, he's only 'natural' on the right and tbh even then he isn't the player he was before Chelsea messed around with him imho. I also couldn't comprehend why Carragher was brought on, tbh that was near suicide he's the slowest defender in the universe, I wouldn't have had him any where near the bench for that match for that reason .... his lack of pace left us exposed continually in the second half. On the bright side Lennon causes problems with his pace and Johnson was also very intelligent with his movement - on the downside neither could cross for toffee (I'm sorry but if you've skinned your opponent at this level and have a free cross you should manage to get it to a striker or at least somewhere near one). Kudo's to Team USA though, they were well organised and dangerous on the break as I expected* - but tbh I'm gutted ....... hopefully I'll feel happier after our next match *Oh and if you fancy swapping keepers let us know Last edited by Marc Vaughan : 06-13-2010 at 11:41 AM. |
06-13-2010, 11:54 AM | #339 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
|
I think the Slovenia win is benefitial to the USA. If England beats Algeria then the USA-Algeria match will be meaningless for Algeria, since with 2 losses and a draw elsewhere, they're knocked out (do the math, either Slovenia or the USA will be at 4 points and so will be England). If they tie (Eng vs Alg), the USA has a shot at gaining the group lead (with a win over Svn) and being in a draw is through situation vs Algeria. If Algeria beats England wins, the USA will still finish ahead of them (Alg) with a game 3 win and that could still put them after a win or draw vs Svn.
This result at the very least means Slovenia will be alive going into the game against England, which could turn that game into a playoff for the other round of 16 berth (together with the USA).
__________________
* 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail Last edited by MIJB#19 : 06-13-2010 at 11:57 AM. |
06-13-2010, 11:56 AM | #340 | |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Massachusetts
|
Quote:
I missed it, but that sounds a lot like Green yesterday
__________________
If I've ever helped you and you'd like to buy me a coffee, or just to say thanks, I have my Bitcoin and Ethereum addressed listed below :) BTC: bc1qykhsfyn9vw4ntqfgr0svj4n9tjdgufryh2pxn5 ETH: 0x2AcdC5cd88EA537063553F5b240073bE067BaCa9 |
|
06-13-2010, 11:56 AM | #341 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Whittier
|
I think Algeria came in knowing they didn't have a chance to move in so I dont think they will give up vs the United States
|
06-13-2010, 11:57 AM | #342 |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Massachusetts
|
yikes - really? that'd be the end of our chances
__________________
If I've ever helped you and you'd like to buy me a coffee, or just to say thanks, I have my Bitcoin and Ethereum addressed listed below :) BTC: bc1qykhsfyn9vw4ntqfgr0svj4n9tjdgufryh2pxn5 ETH: 0x2AcdC5cd88EA537063553F5b240073bE067BaCa9 |
06-13-2010, 12:00 PM | #343 |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Massachusetts
|
Johnson was great - he absolutely exposed Bocanegra continually throughout the game.
If SWP hadn't come on for Milner then Milner would have picked up another booking trying to keep up with Cherundulo.
__________________
If I've ever helped you and you'd like to buy me a coffee, or just to say thanks, I have my Bitcoin and Ethereum addressed listed below :) BTC: bc1qykhsfyn9vw4ntqfgr0svj4n9tjdgufryh2pxn5 ETH: 0x2AcdC5cd88EA537063553F5b240073bE067BaCa9 |
06-13-2010, 12:08 PM | #344 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Colorado Springs
|
|
06-13-2010, 12:20 PM | #345 | |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Massachusetts
|
Quote:
Seriously - that's true.
__________________
If I've ever helped you and you'd like to buy me a coffee, or just to say thanks, I have my Bitcoin and Ethereum addressed listed below :) BTC: bc1qykhsfyn9vw4ntqfgr0svj4n9tjdgufryh2pxn5 ETH: 0x2AcdC5cd88EA537063553F5b240073bE067BaCa9 |
|
06-13-2010, 12:30 PM | #346 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Troy, NY
|
Ummm, he's going to play whether or not he has broken ribs.
__________________
Quis custodiets ipsos custodes? |
06-13-2010, 12:32 PM | #347 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
|
1 hour to go !!
So it really is Badstuber and Müller starting, both in their very first season as professionals. Don´t think we ever had sth like that happen here in Germany. Will be interesting how they react, but then again playing for Bayern Munich should prepare you as well for this stage as anything can. |
06-13-2010, 12:35 PM | #348 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
|
that´s a bit simple right here. German No1 Keeper Adler is missing the whole tournament with a broken rib, it´s not like a bruise or sth. Especially for a goal keeper any injury to the ribs is fatal ... You might be able to go the rest of a game on adrenaline, but after a couple days it´s a different thing. Wish him well definitely, but wouldn´t go to "he´ll play no matter what" terrain yet ... Last edited by whomario : 06-13-2010 at 12:38 PM. |
06-13-2010, 12:36 PM | #349 |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Massachusetts
|
Seems like it may not be broken though, just bruised. More tests forthcoming.
__________________
If I've ever helped you and you'd like to buy me a coffee, or just to say thanks, I have my Bitcoin and Ethereum addressed listed below :) BTC: bc1qykhsfyn9vw4ntqfgr0svj4n9tjdgufryh2pxn5 ETH: 0x2AcdC5cd88EA537063553F5b240073bE067BaCa9 |
06-13-2010, 12:39 PM | #350 | |
SI Games
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Melbourne, FL
|
Quote:
Its 'possible' for a keeper to play with broken ribs - but in this day and age its increasingly rare ... not least because they're arguably more athletic these days than in older times. I really hope he's ok though as he was fantastic during the match and very brave going in for the ball which injured him. Incidentally my favourite keeper of all time is Trautmann (ex-Man City) who played nearly an entire match with a broken neck - now thats a mans man* *Or bloody stupid depending on how you look at it Last edited by Marc Vaughan : 06-13-2010 at 12:41 PM. |
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
Thread Tools | |
|
|