Since I've already had my post-dicey-win freakout, I'm now able to do the deep breath thing and add some points that don't rip the Americans for failing to make me happy. In no particular order...
- While the Canadians did get robbed on the offside call, it's not like all the officiating went against them. As pointed out on du Nord (somewhere in there), four minutes extra time was pretty generous - and the ref went over to boot. Also, nicely as Iain Hume rounded out his evening, it started with several reckless, uncautioned fouls (whoops....thanks to Throughball.com on that - and it's a great post besides).
- Pitchinvasion.net posted a depressing photo gallery of the crowd - or palpable lack thereof - for the first, "Mexico-less" half - of last night's double-header. He gives props to the passionate, but small Sam's Army contingent...but it's hard to get around the fact that it was small...
- On the happy side of things, I feel like I should draw more attention to something I noted in response to a comment on my freakout post: the subtle, if as not yet entirely unfulfilled, improvement to the U.S. attack. Between DaMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan, and Clint Dempsey, the U.S. brings a more complete, complex attack than we ever have. Sure, we're missing reliable, even periodically useful, forwards, but it's worth noting improvement where it comes. The best news about this: Beasley and Donovan are 25 and Dempsey, only 24.
All for now...on this anyway...
(#########)
Showing posts with label Clint Dempsey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clint Dempsey. Show all posts
Gold Cup Goodness + How U.S. v. China Got Interesting
Unbelievably, the CONCACAF Gold Cup is just a week away, which could be why things like rosters of all the teams and scouting reports of Mexico (who look pretty scary...till you consider the Jedi mind-trick the Yanquis have working on 'em; whoops, and hat-tip to du Nord) are trickling out lately. I'm hoping there's plenty more to come. For instance, I read of a scouting report to come from Fox Soccer's site (which means I'll have to bookmark it...again) and I see they've got a pretty snazzy spread for the tournament already laid out (as well as more power-rankings for me to mine - yippee!).
But, as all y'all no doubt know, there's that game against China for an appetizer of sorts. About a week ago, I confessed to an utter lack of interest in this Saturday's game, but, with the appearance of some weird, new names on the game-day roster (Davies, Hill, and Nguyen; and hats off to the Sacramento Bee for paying attention to the California Victory), I'm suddenly thinking this could be worthwhile viewing; so, here's to Bob Bradley for making good use of a friendly.
In a related piece, Jeff Carlisle did some roster day-dreaming for ESPN. While that's worth reading for its own sake, he mentioned a couple angles that got wheels turning in my head. First, there's this bit about Dempsey:
Loathe as I am to play the "build-yer-own-line-up" parlor game, I have to say here, "yes, yes, YES!" I like a free-role for Deuce, which I think he'd get at forward; his defending's not so hot in any case. Just a thought...I'm not sure it will happen.
The big thing for me, though, is what Bradley does with the second 45 minutes - or however much time he opts to devote to experimentation. I'm all for giving the first-choice Gold Cup team - or as much of it as is feasible - time in a live-game situation to play together. But by the second half, I want to see some young guys getting a sniff - and the more the better. Put another way, I'm watching this to see Charlie Davies and Lee Nguyen, guys I've heard decent things about but have never seen. If not for yourself, do it for me, Bob. Thanks. I'll be watching now.
Hmmm....one last thing: I'm finally seeing the reason why China is playing half of MLS after the U.S. Men: they've got the Asian Cup looming - and a poor result to wipe out. That should help raise the level a bit. Good stuff.
(#########)
But, as all y'all no doubt know, there's that game against China for an appetizer of sorts. About a week ago, I confessed to an utter lack of interest in this Saturday's game, but, with the appearance of some weird, new names on the game-day roster (Davies, Hill, and Nguyen; and hats off to the Sacramento Bee for paying attention to the California Victory), I'm suddenly thinking this could be worthwhile viewing; so, here's to Bob Bradley for making good use of a friendly.
In a related piece, Jeff Carlisle did some roster day-dreaming for ESPN. While that's worth reading for its own sake, he mentioned a couple angles that got wheels turning in my head. First, there's this bit about Dempsey:
"The absence of the team's MLS contingent means that the U.S. only has youngsters Charlie Davies and Kamani Hill, as well as veteran Ante Razov available, although the likes of Dempsey could slide up top."
Loathe as I am to play the "build-yer-own-line-up" parlor game, I have to say here, "yes, yes, YES!" I like a free-role for Deuce, which I think he'd get at forward; his defending's not so hot in any case. Just a thought...I'm not sure it will happen.
The big thing for me, though, is what Bradley does with the second 45 minutes - or however much time he opts to devote to experimentation. I'm all for giving the first-choice Gold Cup team - or as much of it as is feasible - time in a live-game situation to play together. But by the second half, I want to see some young guys getting a sniff - and the more the better. Put another way, I'm watching this to see Charlie Davies and Lee Nguyen, guys I've heard decent things about but have never seen. If not for yourself, do it for me, Bob. Thanks. I'll be watching now.
Hmmm....one last thing: I'm finally seeing the reason why China is playing half of MLS after the U.S. Men: they've got the Asian Cup looming - and a poor result to wipe out. That should help raise the level a bit. Good stuff.
(#########)
So...I Like Dempsey More than Liverpool
This one's made the rounds several times over, but it appears on this site as part of an ongoing acknowledgement that pretty much anything associated with the American game and its improvement holds my interest over my old EPL flame, Liverpool FC.
Yes, it's another link to the winner Clint "Deuce" Dempsey scored over Liverpool; here's to hoping it's a life-line for Dempsey to stay in England. And, for the record, I saw this first on MLS Underground.
Dig the Arabic script on the video itself. And do note the "GOOOAAALLLL" celebration; turns out it's somewhat universal.
(#########)
Yes, it's another link to the winner Clint "Deuce" Dempsey scored over Liverpool; here's to hoping it's a life-line for Dempsey to stay in England. And, for the record, I saw this first on MLS Underground.
Dig the Arabic script on the video itself. And do note the "GOOOAAALLLL" celebration; turns out it's somewhat universal.
(#########)
Coleman Sacked; Open Arms Await Deuce
If you read MLS Underground's short post on the Fulham FC's sacking of Chris Coleman, you'll get to the answer that immediately follows for the Americans on the roster - to wit, "Is it safe?" (That site's "take," which comes at the end, is pricelessly worded.)
The same post points out that none of Fulham's Yanqui delegation has the worries of Clint "Deuce" Dempsey. The other two seem safe enough: Brian McBride would onlystruggle if he's forced to move, but that's due to age; where Bocanegra is concerned one gets the feeling he'd get picked up somewhere, a step down in divisions if nowhere else. But Dempsey doesn't seem to have caught on. And, courtesy of a piece in Soccer New England (hat-tip: du Nord), one wonders whether he ever will. Here's the arresting passage:
There's more in there - and more that ain't credible psycho-babble, too - but Deuce has long seemed like a confidence player. His willingness to try things - one slick move here, a diving header there - made his game. And it's not that people haven't noticed a certain gun-shyness to his game (I cut him slack, but I'm the type to); think back to those 2007 U.S. Men's games and think to yourself whether he's the same player; I suspect the majority of fans would say no.
Perhaps the way this unfolds will continue the "go-abroad, son" debate that surrounds promising, young American bucks like Dempsey and Landon Donovan. First, should Dempsey come back if Fulham drops him? More important, if Dempsey does come back how many will brand him a failure? How many teams will want him? Will we all roll our eyes and give the next guy named "Clint" extra scrutiny before falling for him?
Stay tuned. Sounds like this one's just starting.
(########)
The same post points out that none of Fulham's Yanqui delegation has the worries of Clint "Deuce" Dempsey. The other two seem safe enough: Brian McBride would onlystruggle if he's forced to move, but that's due to age; where Bocanegra is concerned one gets the feeling he'd get picked up somewhere, a step down in divisions if nowhere else. But Dempsey doesn't seem to have caught on. And, courtesy of a piece in Soccer New England (hat-tip: du Nord), one wonders whether he ever will. Here's the arresting passage:
"First, the whole process of making the move to England was not easy. Dempsey is a family man for whom transferring overseas must have come hard, given his preference in his early career to surround himself with relatives."
There's more in there - and more that ain't credible psycho-babble, too - but Deuce has long seemed like a confidence player. His willingness to try things - one slick move here, a diving header there - made his game. And it's not that people haven't noticed a certain gun-shyness to his game (I cut him slack, but I'm the type to); think back to those 2007 U.S. Men's games and think to yourself whether he's the same player; I suspect the majority of fans would say no.
Perhaps the way this unfolds will continue the "go-abroad, son" debate that surrounds promising, young American bucks like Dempsey and Landon Donovan. First, should Dempsey come back if Fulham drops him? More important, if Dempsey does come back how many will brand him a failure? How many teams will want him? Will we all roll our eyes and give the next guy named "Clint" extra scrutiny before falling for him?
Stay tuned. Sounds like this one's just starting.
(########)
U.S. v. Ecuador: First Impressions
U.S. 3 - 1 Ecuador
Do you feel the goosebumps? Me too - I think. Here are some questions that come to me as I review what just happened in my head; I'll compare notes with the rest of the world tomorrow.
Good Test? - About midway through the first half, I thought to myself (for the rest of my family doesn't care about such things) this game looked like a very good, very real test for the U.S. Men's National Team (hereafter, the Yanquis). Ecuador, as a team, was big, athletic, and quick; they pressured our players well and, usually, the minute our guys hit the middle third, an Ecuadoran player attached himself to his hip, back, etc. They also showed a capacity for breaking down, or getting around, the U.S. defense. The second half made me wonder a bit, though...
What About Bob? - How hard will it be to fire Yanqui head coach Bob Bradley? He's compiled a 3-0-0 record, with two of those games coming against what the overwhelming majority of observers would dub quality opposition (no offense intended to the Denmark B-Team); by the end of the day Wednesday, he's likely to have a 4-0-0. By my estimation, this should guarantee Bradley the reins for the Gold Cup and Copa America: see how he manages this team through a month-long tournament and you should have some sense (with the hiring of Steve Sampson the exception that proves the rule) of how he'll perform on the biggest stage.
More below....
Who Spike Landon's Wheaties? - This is what U.S. fans want to see from Landon Donovan. He was everywhere, he played aggressive yet loose and and kept his head through three - almost four - top-quality finishes. Even if this is what he can do, there's no reason to expect him to do it every game. Still, it had definitely been a while, so, yeah, this was refreshing, even exhilirating to see Donovan rip the opposition.
Oh, and how many records will this kid hold before his career is over?
How well will this defense gel? - OK, we all got our wish (dammit! we didn't...where was Jay DeMerit? How much longer do I have to endure speculation without hard evidence?): the defense Bradley fielded was basically our best. But they did look pretty haphazard for much of the first half. One of the yo-yos in the booth said something about them still finding their roles - and I think he's right - so I'm thankful they've got three years in which to do it. The only guy who looked totally solid: Jimmy Conrad. I never thought I'd write this - and feel no regret in doing so - but is Conrad the Yanquis' best defender?
And, yeah, Onyewu got cooked on Ecuador's goal...don't blame him too much, though, 'cause it was a slick little move. And seeing him with his shirt off before the game - good Lord, he's massive.
We know the MVP, but who deserves honorable mention? - I liked what I saw from Clint Dempsey; not everything, but he had a pair of good, slashing runs and a pair of effective defensive scraps. Obviously, I thought pretty highly of Conrad. DaMarcus Beasley had a good enough game that I'd like to think he played himself back into everyone's good graces. Ching battled and, if I'm not mistaken, sent Donovan through on the run for the second goal - though he was otherwise a bit marginal.
Who doesn't? - Happily, most people had a good game. If I had to pick somebody, Benny Feilhaber sprayed some bad passes around the middle of the field. But, for all that, he didn't look like he didn't belong.
All for now. Talk more about this tomorrow.
Do you feel the goosebumps? Me too - I think. Here are some questions that come to me as I review what just happened in my head; I'll compare notes with the rest of the world tomorrow.
Good Test? - About midway through the first half, I thought to myself (for the rest of my family doesn't care about such things) this game looked like a very good, very real test for the U.S. Men's National Team (hereafter, the Yanquis). Ecuador, as a team, was big, athletic, and quick; they pressured our players well and, usually, the minute our guys hit the middle third, an Ecuadoran player attached himself to his hip, back, etc. They also showed a capacity for breaking down, or getting around, the U.S. defense. The second half made me wonder a bit, though...
What About Bob? - How hard will it be to fire Yanqui head coach Bob Bradley? He's compiled a 3-0-0 record, with two of those games coming against what the overwhelming majority of observers would dub quality opposition (no offense intended to the Denmark B-Team); by the end of the day Wednesday, he's likely to have a 4-0-0. By my estimation, this should guarantee Bradley the reins for the Gold Cup and Copa America: see how he manages this team through a month-long tournament and you should have some sense (with the hiring of Steve Sampson the exception that proves the rule) of how he'll perform on the biggest stage.
More below....
Who Spike Landon's Wheaties? - This is what U.S. fans want to see from Landon Donovan. He was everywhere, he played aggressive yet loose and and kept his head through three - almost four - top-quality finishes. Even if this is what he can do, there's no reason to expect him to do it every game. Still, it had definitely been a while, so, yeah, this was refreshing, even exhilirating to see Donovan rip the opposition.
Oh, and how many records will this kid hold before his career is over?
How well will this defense gel? - OK, we all got our wish (dammit! we didn't...where was Jay DeMerit? How much longer do I have to endure speculation without hard evidence?): the defense Bradley fielded was basically our best. But they did look pretty haphazard for much of the first half. One of the yo-yos in the booth said something about them still finding their roles - and I think he's right - so I'm thankful they've got three years in which to do it. The only guy who looked totally solid: Jimmy Conrad. I never thought I'd write this - and feel no regret in doing so - but is Conrad the Yanquis' best defender?
And, yeah, Onyewu got cooked on Ecuador's goal...don't blame him too much, though, 'cause it was a slick little move. And seeing him with his shirt off before the game - good Lord, he's massive.
We know the MVP, but who deserves honorable mention? - I liked what I saw from Clint Dempsey; not everything, but he had a pair of good, slashing runs and a pair of effective defensive scraps. Obviously, I thought pretty highly of Conrad. DaMarcus Beasley had a good enough game that I'd like to think he played himself back into everyone's good graces. Ching battled and, if I'm not mistaken, sent Donovan through on the run for the second goal - though he was otherwise a bit marginal.
Who doesn't? - Happily, most people had a good game. If I had to pick somebody, Benny Feilhaber sprayed some bad passes around the middle of the field. But, for all that, he didn't look like he didn't belong.
All for now. Talk more about this tomorrow.
It's Designated-Player, not "Players"
In high school, one might sometimes think young girls call one another to coordinate outfits. In a related vein, one has to wonder whether pundits email one another to coordinate colums.
Today, two of soccer punditry's heavy-weights weighed in on the fizzling, petering disappointment once celebrated as The Beckham Rule - e.g. the newly-minted designated player rule - and they reach similar conclusions through different paths. Paul Gardner, writing for the New York Sun observes that the Beckham Rule may have done all it can - e.g. bring in Beckham, a move that rather abruptly shined a spotlight on a league that probably doesn't know the word "spotlight." Ives Galarcep, in an item posted on NewJersey.com, mainly laments the designated-player rule's current inability to bring in trick-footed foreign players to Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs' youth development programs time to catch up.
The columns come together in the world of lamentation: i.e. is this all there is?
The more I think about it, the more I think it's both right and wise to say, yes - on one level at least. The more time passes, the more it seems that getting Beckham was a fluke, one built on his rather unique media profile and what that means to MLS. I can honestly think of no other player in the world who enjoys the level of celebrity as Beckham - e.g. the kind of celebrity that goes beyond soccer and into U.S. pop culture (e.g. "Wasn't he in that movie that starred that Indian girl from E.R.?). There are better players out there - plenty of 'em by my count - but those are players whose signing would be significant only to existing fans. Even if it were possible to sign as many world-class players as there are individual owner-operators in MLS, how much marketing upside would we get for all the money this would certainly take? Not enough by my count.
Assuming Beckham is a one-off, where do we go from here? Here again, I think both pundits would agree - and, for what it's worth, I'd nod along with them: since we can't realistically compete with Europe, let's just find any players we can to raise the level on the field. Their names might not mean anything, even to long-time, deeply-geeky fans of MLS - and the list both Galarcep and Gardner produced contains great examples and not a little crossover: Mauricio Cienfuegos, Christian Gomez, Carlos Ruiz, etc. etc. The trick, I suppose, is finding these kinds of players all over again and, when you find them, taking some risks on them, breaking the bank where you have to.
We're at a point where the names don't matter. Beckham's did, but that's done; It's all about what these players can do on the field. That said, when Beckham finally retires from the game, I'm all for finding the closest thing to him and showering him in money...
On a personal note, it's my understanding that the league has placed restrictions on how the New England Revolution can spend money from the trade that sent Clint Dempsey to England's Fulham. If the team can only spend $500,000 of $2.6 million on a player, I say they dump a big-assed chunk of that to flying scouts to Argentina, Brazil, England...I don't care where...till they can find a good way to spend that $500K.
(#########)
Today, two of soccer punditry's heavy-weights weighed in on the fizzling, petering disappointment once celebrated as The Beckham Rule - e.g. the newly-minted designated player rule - and they reach similar conclusions through different paths. Paul Gardner, writing for the New York Sun observes that the Beckham Rule may have done all it can - e.g. bring in Beckham, a move that rather abruptly shined a spotlight on a league that probably doesn't know the word "spotlight." Ives Galarcep, in an item posted on NewJersey.com, mainly laments the designated-player rule's current inability to bring in trick-footed foreign players to Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs' youth development programs time to catch up.
The columns come together in the world of lamentation: i.e. is this all there is?
The more I think about it, the more I think it's both right and wise to say, yes - on one level at least. The more time passes, the more it seems that getting Beckham was a fluke, one built on his rather unique media profile and what that means to MLS. I can honestly think of no other player in the world who enjoys the level of celebrity as Beckham - e.g. the kind of celebrity that goes beyond soccer and into U.S. pop culture (e.g. "Wasn't he in that movie that starred that Indian girl from E.R.?). There are better players out there - plenty of 'em by my count - but those are players whose signing would be significant only to existing fans. Even if it were possible to sign as many world-class players as there are individual owner-operators in MLS, how much marketing upside would we get for all the money this would certainly take? Not enough by my count.
Assuming Beckham is a one-off, where do we go from here? Here again, I think both pundits would agree - and, for what it's worth, I'd nod along with them: since we can't realistically compete with Europe, let's just find any players we can to raise the level on the field. Their names might not mean anything, even to long-time, deeply-geeky fans of MLS - and the list both Galarcep and Gardner produced contains great examples and not a little crossover: Mauricio Cienfuegos, Christian Gomez, Carlos Ruiz, etc. etc. The trick, I suppose, is finding these kinds of players all over again and, when you find them, taking some risks on them, breaking the bank where you have to.
We're at a point where the names don't matter. Beckham's did, but that's done; It's all about what these players can do on the field. That said, when Beckham finally retires from the game, I'm all for finding the closest thing to him and showering him in money...
On a personal note, it's my understanding that the league has placed restrictions on how the New England Revolution can spend money from the trade that sent Clint Dempsey to England's Fulham. If the team can only spend $500,000 of $2.6 million on a player, I say they dump a big-assed chunk of that to flying scouts to Argentina, Brazil, England...I don't care where...till they can find a good way to spend that $500K.
(#########)
(W)Revs Wrap, 02.27.07: The New Guys
Posted, as always, on The Offside. Today's topic: trying to divine how the New England Revolution's new-boys are doing based on a sentence of three.
The sub-text: how much will we know about these players by the end of the year and is that a good thing?
My comrade-on-blog, Sabin, posted an item on the restrictions that Major League Soccer's honchos are placing on the Revs as they seek to spend cash out of the "Dempsey Fund." I'm comfortable saying this is kinda BS, but, it terms of simply replacing Dempsey, surely they can find someone using the designated-player rule...
....speaking of which (dang it...see above).
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The sub-text: how much will we know about these players by the end of the year and is that a good thing?
My comrade-on-blog, Sabin, posted an item on the restrictions that Major League Soccer's honchos are placing on the Revs as they seek to spend cash out of the "Dempsey Fund." I'm comfortable saying this is kinda BS, but, it terms of simply replacing Dempsey, surely they can find someone using the designated-player rule...
....speaking of which (dang it...see above).
(#########)
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