Ummm. Damarcus Beasley 4 years ago? That worked out ok.
But Zusi is no Beasley. Bottom line I agree with you.
USMNT Talk
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Ummm. Damarcus Beasley 4 years ago? That worked out ok.
But Zusi is no Beasley. Bottom line I agree with you.
I don't get all the ire directed at Arena. Given all the injuries, who the fuck else do you roll out there?
The team should be built around its best player. Always. Jones is not that player, but Pulisic is. Pulisic needs to be in the middle as the attacking mid so that he can provide link play to both forwards while making darting runs behind the defense. Dempsey and Altidore were noticeably lacking in service because Pulisic was outside on either the right or left flanks which isolated him. Jones doesn't play a true attacking mid in the middle - he piddles around a bit as he pleases; he alone gave up a ton of Realestate in the middle - it was noticeable the vast tundra between the offense and defense when the ball was turned over. So with that said, Pulisic should have been in the middle with Jones sitting (since he cannot play wide). I hate Bedoya, but at the very least he could have played the wide Lletget spot like he did when deputized against Honduras. Arriola could have also played wide.
Defense was more limited, and I don't fault Ream as much as
Midas Mulligan does, but Zusi was atrocious. There is no way he is better than the pool's other true RB players. One of them, any one of them, should have been brought along instead. That was a massive roster gaffe by Arena. Still, it all started with a crap midfield hinged to Jones. He's he reason the forwards had barely any service and there was no linkup with Bradley through the middle.
The team should be built around its best player. Always. Jones is not that player, but Pulisic is. Pulisic needs to be in the middle as the attacking mid so that he can provide link play to both forwards while making darting runs behind the defense. Dempsey and Altidore were noticeably lacking in service because Pulisic was outside on either the right or left flanks which isolated him. Jones doesn't play a true attacking mid in the middle - he piddles around a bit as he pleases; he alone gave up a ton of Realestate in the middle - it was noticeable the vast tundra between the offense and defense when the ball was turned over. So with that said, Pulisic should have been in the middle with Jones sitting (since he cannot play wide). I hate Bedoya, but at the very least he could have played the wide Lletget spot like he did when deputized against Honduras. Arriola could have also played wide.
Defense was more limited, and I don't fault Ream as much as
Still, it all started with a crap midfield hinged to Jones. He's he reason the forwards had barely any service and there was no linkup with Bradley through the middle.
Great post, the displacement of Pulisic shouldn't have happened espcially not for a guy of JJs caliber at this point in his career. I know I already said it but I can't let it go the Zusi call is maddening. Areana called him in as a direct replacement for an outside back, this wasn't some situation where last second injuries forced his hand and he had to play a RM at RB, this was the plan. What about Zusi's game indicates that he is a good candidate for shift to RB at age 30?
Is he fast...no
Is he known for his high mobility/endurance/work rate....no
Is he known for his defensive skill....no
Sabo rightfully pointed out that DMB made the switch but there were attributes to his game that indicated he'd be capable of it including pace, high work rate and defensive skills. Has anyone ever looked at Zusi and said man that guy can run for days, I bet he'd be great on the over lap and have no problem recovering with his speed if he got caught out?
Zusi is maddening and should have been corrected before leaving the states. But even if not, having a functioning midfield would have nullified many pressure situations that our Defense was placed under; controlling the ball while feeding our forwards is step one, and step two is linking play with Bradley so that the vast oasis of spacewasnt left unmanned.Great post, the displacement of Pulisic shouldn't have happened espcially not for a guy of JJs caliber at this point in his career. I know I already said it but I can't let it go the Zusi call is maddening. Areana called him in as a direct replacement for an outside back, this wasn't some situation where last second injuries forced his hand and he had to play a RM at RB, this was the plan. What about Zusi's game indicates that he is a good candidate for shift to RB at age 30?
Is he fast...no
Is he known for his high mobility/endurance/work rate....no
Is he known for his defensive skill....no
In homage to Bill Maher.... New Rule: no USMNT midfielder can be played that is older than 33. Nor can a geriatric midfielder be snuck onto the field under the guise of a forward or defender while charged with midfield responsibilities. Further, no midfielders with man-buns are ever allowed to be played that can't backup their skill by being our 1st choice option at said position.
Zusi is so bad. He looked too old and slow in 2014. Arriola would have been a better choice, among those there. But there should have been better choices available/called in. It would make me feel better about Arena at least to know Geoff was injured the day of/day before so nothing could be done. In that instance, I still would go with Arriola over Zusi. And that's probably anywhere on the pitch. There is no circumstance in which I favor Zusi over Arriola.Great post, the displacement of Pulisic shouldn't have happened espcially not for a guy of JJs caliber at this point in his career. I know I already said it but I can't let it go the Zusi call is maddening. Areana called him in as a direct replacement for an outside back, this wasn't some situation where last second injuries forced his hand and he had to play a RM at RB, this was the plan. What about Zusi's game indicates that he is a good candidate for shift to RB at age 30?
Is he fast...no
Is he known for his high mobility/endurance/work rate....no
Is he known for his defensive skill....no
Arena's tactics and lineup were terrible,
Gotham Gator - Ream definitely doesn't deserve to ever be called in again. And I hope Gonzo is gonezo, too (but we know Bruce won't do that because Bruce). Plenty of better options that I'd rather ride with - Miazga, Birnbaum, Besler, even CCV, EPB. Hell, throw Jones back there for a game. Anyone but Ream.When I saw that back 4 I knew it was going to be an adventure. When I saw Bradley/Jones paired in midfield, I knew it would be an ugly one. They don't work together in a 2, never have, never will.
Not signing off on this until I know how old Cameron will be next summer. I'm holding out hope that reasonable US soccer fans everywhere get their wish and he takes over Bradley's spot.
Arrangement could change based on selections/tactics, but based on what I've seen of form over the last year, I want a midfield/forward line of Cameron, Acosta, Hyndman, Pulisic, Wood, and one of Johnson, Nagbe, Deuce (depends on what shape/tactics). There might even be a time when you slide Nagbe or Pulisic into one of your mf 3.
And honestly, if Nagbe is playing well, we really still might be better off with Fabian Johnson at LB. But it's only in favor of a Nagbe or other high-level technical player in the midfield that I'm okay with FabJo playing at LB - and even then, I'm pretty hesitant about it. He's been pretty productive when he's played a sub role this year.
eta: Geoff will turn 33 on July 11 of 2018. So he could play any of the matches except for the final and be in compliance. Just to be safe, I think we could draft the rule so that it is applied at the beginning of the tournament.
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I think either him or Nagbe would be fine playing the right side. Both have played RW/RM for their clubs. Johnson is two-footed and has played all three right side positions for club and country. I think my ideal lineup would have Nagbe on the left, CP in the middle, and FabJo on the right. Pretty easy to switch between a couple of formations (4141 like us, 4231, 442 diamond) and keep them in the same spots.
This is what I can't understand, if we took Belgium who was ranked number 1 in the world to extra time in the 2014 World Cup, why can't we blow the small nations in CONCACAF out of the water?
CONCACAF away matches are notoriously difficult for a number of reasons. Coming away with points on the road with the subpar roster we had is a positive.
I don't think any of the top 10 world teams would have a problem in CONCACAF countries. We can't keep making the same excuses.
Belgium completely outplayed us. Shots on goal was 26 to 9. Howard was great but I wouldn't confuse that with the teams being evenly matched.
Did you happen to notice that Argentina lost to Bolivia yesterday, 2-0? Argentina is ranked #1 and Bolivia is ranked #97.
Contrast that with USA ranked #30 and Panama is ranked #53.
Btw, Honduras is ranked #65, but we got to play them at home, in front of supportive fans, with a field that has been tended to this year, and with a ref that actually handed out cards. Last night's venue (shitty) & ref (biased/never going to protect our players) were stacked against us.
That can probably be attributed to whatever illness kept you from the CitY in the City event last night.
Based on what? I don't agree with it but I could understand someone saying "I think Zusi has the skills to be a decent RB based on what I've seen over the years so I'm okay with him getting a shot at it." But regardless of how you feel about him no one has seen enough of him at RB to flat out declare him our 3rd best choice. I'm honestly curious as to what information you're using to inform that statement.
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