USMNT Talk

[Midas Mulligan]

Watching the game got me to thinking about the quality of our players vs other country's in a position vs position basis. It's easier to do with England since I watch so my EPL.

I'd venture without thinking twice that Pulisic is better than any English player with the closest being Delli Ali who is also his like-for-like same position. I really just cannot think of any other player from both pools that I'd pick first in the schoolyard.

While England was the best CB factory in the world back in 2002, I don't think they have one that is better than Brooks.

And as sad as it is, an aging Howard is also a 1st choice over any of the English keepers.

It starts to get harder after that. I'm not sure if there's a more lethal poacher than Dempsey, and with his age it could be argued that he gives some away with slowing speed, but even then, what English forward is better? Vardy? Kane is the best comparison who is def faster and a lethal finisher but also is made of glass and can disappear. Tough one really with the different styles. Has Kane ever put the team on his back and carried it by himself (multiple times)?

Not sure if this is a fair comparison, Wood vs Sterling, but in a vacuum would have me taking Wood every time. Wood is more of a pure forward w/ better finishing and Sterling more of a winger w/ slightly better speed. Since Wood can play wide, he gets the nod.

Im not a Bradley fanboy, but considering Carrick is shopping for a retirement home, I can't think of a DMid that I'd take over him. Not Dier and not Jordan Henderson. Who else to consider?

Cameron is probably equal to, or better than, any other 2nd CB, definitely better than Stones and Cahill.

Even outside back is at worst a toss-up. Is Kyle Walker any better than Yedlin? They're slightly different players that both bomb forward into the attack with Yedlin being faster and Walker a bit more rugged.

England probably has the edge with a LM (Lallana) and LB (Danny Rose/Luke Shaw) but that's maybe it. And Fabian Johnson would definitely take issue with Lallana being rated higher.

I think other (European) countries would be harder to compare to because some of the obvious ones would smoke us hands down (Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Holland), and I'm just not familiar with others (Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Croatia).

I disagree with several of your picks, even some of your comparisons. But you're right in saying it's not a big gap. But I don't know that it means anything. England isn't exactly good most of the time.

 

[Paul]

What is so amazing about Dempsey's scoring is that not only is he about to become the all-time leader for MNT, but he'll do it having not been the go-to PK taker. Donovan padded his stats with tons of PK's - he also scored some memorable goals in the run of play, but not at the clip Dempsey does.

And Deuce has far fewer caps as well.

Donovan: 157 caps, 57 goals, 15 penalties
Dempsey: 131 caps, 55 goals, 6 penalties

 

[Ulrich]

I disagree with several of your picks, even some of your comparisons. But you're right in saying it's not a big gap. But I don't know that it means anything. England isn't exactly good most of the time.

I know the two you are referring to, and that's because you bleed red, and love Lalanna and Henderson.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

I know the two you are referring to, and that's because you bleed red, and love Lalanna and Henderson.

That's not even true. I didn't make it that far into your analysis. You lost me when said Bradley over Carrick. Now that I have though, Henderson and Lallana would walk into our national team. If you think Bradley and Bedoya are in the same universe, then you need better meds.

Sterling is a winger, and we'd damn sure make a spot for him. He's possibly the best player on either team at this exact moment. Would I trade Pulisic for him? No way, but in your playground today hypo, I would possibly take Sterling.

After Brooks, I'd take Cahill easily as the next CB. If we call Geoff a CB, then he's not way below Cahill, but still, he's definitely not on the same level as a CB from that Chelsea defense.

England has 2 keepers I'd take over Howard, even if you ignore Crazy Joe (Forster and Buttland).

You're definitely off the rails on the fullbacks, too. Rose and Walker have possibly been the best in the PL this year, especially Walker.

In short, I would say we have 2 players who would start for England, Pulisic and Brooks (some might even argue with Brooks because somehow people think Stones is not awful).

 

[EganSoccerWords]

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/201...dded-to-us-world-cup-qualifying-roster-panama

Right side player added. Orozco hurt which i didnt know.

 

[NYCFC_Dan]

It was an amazing game to watch.
We played some beautiful football.
We beat a team ranked 65th.
Relax.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

We beat a team ranked 65th.

That we had never beaten by more than 1 goal, by a score of 6-0, in a game we absolutely had to win to get on track to qualify for the WCF.

AND we went from bottom of the table to the playoff qualifier spot.

So I'm definitely going to relax like a boss while I bask in the glory of victory.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/201...dded-to-us-world-cup-qualifying-roster-panama

Right side player added. Orozco hurt which i didnt know.

You undersold this. Arriola coming in is great! He's been really strong most of this season, playing both as a wing and wingback.

 

[Ulrich]

That's not even true. I didn't make it that far into your analysis. You lost me when said Bradley over Carrick. Now that I have though, Henderson and Lallana would walk into our national team. If you think Bradley and Bedoya are in the same universe, then you need better meds.

Sterling is a winger, and we'd damn sure make a spot for him. He's possibly the best player on either team at this exact moment. Would I trade Pulisic for him? No way, but in your playground today hypo, I would possibly take Sterling.

After Brooks, I'd take Cahill easily as the next CB. If we call Geoff a CB, then he's not way below Cahill, but still, he's definitely not on the same level as a CB from that Chelsea defense.

England has 2 keepers I'd take over Howard, even if you ignore Crazy Joe (Forster and Buttland).

You're definitely off the rails on the fullbacks, too. Rose and Walker have possibly been the best in the PL this year, especially Walker.

In short, I would say we have 2 players who would start for England, Pulisic and Brooks (some might even argue with Brooks because somehow people think Stones is not awful).

Ok, first, I never mentioned Bedoya, so don't make him out as somebody I rate. He's shitty and he proved it again last night defending in circles like a headless chicken. Henderson would walk onto the team, but not the starting lineup, which was my premise.

Carrick barely plays for the national team, 34 caps and he's 35yo. In his prime he'd wipe the floor with Bradley, but he doesn't have the wheels for international duty any more. He also may not be physical enough for Concacaf hack-teams.

Sterling is definitely better than any winger we have, but we don't play with wingers. We play outside mids and single/double forwards. I prefaced the Sterling/Woods question by admitting I'm not sure it's a fair comparison because they play different positions. For the style we play, woods is the better player to have out there - I would absolutely prefer woods if we needed him to finish a goal, but I'd prefer Sterling to get the ball to the finisher from out wide.

Cahill is not the reason Chelsea has a good defense. He's been much maligned at the club level in past seasons. Their turnaround this year is because of Kante cleaning up in front of the back three and David Luiz playing out of his mind; Cahill is the beneficiary of that circumstantial praise just like Mata is with NYCFC's turnaround (along for the ride). Cameron is a much more physical/mobile CB with ball skills leaps and bounds better than Cahill, which is why he's able to play DMid so effectively. Cahill is probably only better in the air.

I wouldn't take either of those keepers over Howard. That's the one position where long-in-tooth isn't a liability, and his command of the box is unparalleled.

Yes, I'll agree that Walker is better than Yedlin.

Never said we had somebody better than Rose- he was one I singled out as being better. The other being Lallana.

 

[NYCFC_Dan]

That we had never beaten by more than 1 goal, by a score of 6-0, in a game we absolutely had to win to get on track to qualify for the WCF.

AND we went from bottom of the table to the playoff qualifier spot.

So I'm definitely going to relax like a boss while I bask in the glory of victory.

I'm not saying not to get excited. It was a hell of a game and I enjoyed every minute of it. People are making too much out of us beating Honduras. No different than with Jk, we get a big win and everyone gets on the bandwagon and over reacts and then we get brought back down to reality when we lose against teams that are expected to beat us and then we all bitch and moan.
You should win games that you're expected to win and fight to the last minute in games you're expected to lose. Which is why I'm not on the hype train over this victory.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Ok, first, I never mentioned Bedoya, so don't make him out as somebody I rate. He's shitty and he proved it again last night defending in circles like a headless chicken. Henderson would walk onto the team, but not the starting lineup, which was my premise.

Carrick barely plays for the national team, 34 caps and he's 35yo. In his prime he'd wipe the floor with Bradley, but he doesn't have the wheels for international duty any more. He also may not be physical enough for Concacaf hack-teams.

Sterling is definitely better than any winger we have, but we don't play with wingers. We play outside mids and single/double forwards. I prefaced the Sterling/Woods question by admitting I'm not sure it's a fair comparison because they play different positions. For the style we play, woods is the better player to have out there - I would absolutely prefer woods if we needed him to finish a goal, but I'd prefer Sterling to get the ball to the finisher from out wide.

Cahill is not the reason Chelsea has a good defense. He's been much maligned at the club level in past seasons. Their turnaround this year is because of Kante cleaning up in front of the back three and David Luiz playing out of his mind; Cahill is the beneficiary of that circumstantial praise just like Mata is with NYCFC's turnaround (along for the ride). Cameron is a much more physical/mobile CB with ball skills leaps and bounds better than Cahill, which is why he's able to play DMid so effectively. Cahill is probably only better in the air.

I wouldn't take either of those keepers over Howard. That's the one position where long-in-tooth isn't a liability, and his command of the box is unparalleled.

Yes, I'll agree that Walker is better than Yedlin.

Never said we had somebody better than Rose- he was one I singled out as being better. The other being Lallana.

Dude, you have some seriously RWB striped glasses if you don't think Henderson is better than Bradley. I mean, damn, dude.

I actually don't even need to respond to this stuff. It's literally so fringe of an opinion, there's no need to refute it.

I'll leave it with I'm glad you have original opinions.

 

[EganSoccerWords]

It was an amazing game to watch.
We played some beautiful football.
We beat a team ranked 65th.
Relax.

Sorry dan the hype train is coming. Hondrus is not a cupcake team. They have qualified for the last two world cups. Any time you beat a squad like that regularly qualifies its a good thing even if it is home. In fact goal differiential is a stronger predictor of how strong a team is than its record. I dont even what to go into a side rant about how bs fifa rankings.

 

[Gotham Gator]

It's USA Gameday!*

Some questions for the game.

- Does Jermaine Jr. play? If so, where?
- Who subs in for Lletget? One option would be to put Jones at the top of the midfield and move Pulisic to the right, but that might not be the best idea given CP10's performance on Thursday.
- How does Brooks' absence affect the back? Do we want to start the more offensively minded Zusi in an away game, to let Cameron start at CB? Or do we go with two backups at CB?
- Do we go with 2 at the front or just one? With Morris home, we only have 3 forwards on the roster, and you have to wonder if Bruce will want Dempsey to go another full 90.

* - or should I say GameNight given how fucking late it starts.

 

[joe]

* - or should I say GameNight given how fucking late it starts.

Hour earlier than last time, it's a walk in the park.

 

[Ulrich]

It's USA Gameday!*

Some questions for the game.

- Does Jermaine Jr. play? If so, where?
- Who subs in for Lletget? One option would be to put Jones at the top of the midfield and move Pulisic to the right, but that might not be the best idea given CP10's performance on Thursday.
- How does Brooks' absence affect the back? Do we want to start the more offensively minded Zusi in an away game, to let Cameron start at CB? Or do we go with two backups at CB?
- Do we go with 2 at the front or just one? With Morris home, we only have 3 forwards on the roster, and you have to wonder if Bruce will want Dempsey to go another full 90.

* - or should I say GameNight given how fucking late it starts.

I hope Arena is smart enough not to move Pulisic for the sake of JJ. JJ may not fit in a 4 man midfield if he doesn't want to play wide and can't stay grounded as a DMid; hell, Ozil sat for Germany the other day, so it's not sacrilege.

 

[Schwallacus]

I hope Arena is smart enough not to move Pulisic for the sake of JJ. JJ may not fit in a 4 man midfield if he doesn't want to play wide and can't stay grounded as a DMid; hell, Ozil sat for Germany the other day, so it's not sacrilege.

Maybe it will look a little more like a 4-3-1-2, just having Pulisic stay in the 10 spot, Clint and Jozy up top, with Jones, Bradley, and Nagbe/Bedoya interchangeably in the midfield. Allows Jones to make his runs upfield with one of the other two staying back. Only problem with that is a lack of width I guess, but having Jones & Pulisic on the field at the same time will require something different than last game's setup.

Özil sat due to an ankle injury picked up with Arsenal, Löw wasn't going to rush him in against a smaller opponent such as Azerbaijan, unless he was 100% needed.

 

[Ulrich]

Maybe it will look a little more like a 4-3-1-2, just having Pulisic stay in the 10 spot, Clint and Jozy up top, with Jones, Bradley, and Nagbe/Bedoya interchangeably in the midfield. Allows Jones to make his runs upfield with one of the other two staying back. Only problem with that is a lack of width I guess, but having Jones & Pulisic on the field at the same time will require something different than last game's setup.

Özil sat due to an ankle injury picked up with Arsenal, Löw wasn't going to rush him in against a smaller opponent such as Azerbaijan, unless he was 100% needed.

But didn't Ozil play as a 30min sub? So he was available.

To expand my point, JJ is a great player, but is he so good that we change what worked?

 

[Schwallacus]

But didn't Ozil play as a 30min sub? So he was available.

To expand my point, JJ is a great player, but is he so good that we change what worked?

In my opinion, no, we shouldn't change anything regarding trying to get Jones into the lineup. Don't think it will help, and I don't really want an old man being our most relied upon middie in the World Cup if we make it. Need to start looking towards people who will also help should we make it. I don't think Arena is on our side, and may be looking towards having his experience in the side. I think he does have a decent chance of playing, albeit against my opinion that he shouldn't.

Maybe Löw wanted to
1. get Özil some action with the team once the result was more secure. Maybe Arsenal didn't want him playing much or came to an agreement with the DFB/Löw to only give him a few minutes and not aggravate an injury.
2. Give playing time to some of the other German playmakers like Draxler and Sane to help look towards the future of the German attack without Özil.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Mexico gifted a game, yet again. Fuck Mexico.

 

[Seth]

It's USA Gameday!*

Some questions for the game.

So, uh, is it just me who can't find it or is this game not going to be on TV?