I just finished watching the US Men’s B team beat the Swedish B team 3-2. Yes, I realize this game was almost two weeks ago but the match up wasn’t anything to get the heart racing. The event itself lived up to my expectation.
I have a hard time getting excited about the USMNT under Bob Bradley. What made the Chicago Fire work under his tenure? Peter Nowak. It’s that simple. He also had a spark plug in DaMarcus Beasley and an in-form Ante Razov, so his somewhat reserved game plan was balanced out by the amount of talent he had, not to mention the not-so-great level of competition in MLS. This all changes at the international level.
Here’s what I learned while watching this game: I don’t dislike Brian Ching as a player, I dislike how he has become a target player under Bradley. In the first round of qualifying, the mentality was to hoof it up to Ching who would hold it up, lay it off, or get a foul. Then you bring up your big center backs for the set play, lump it into the box, and hope something works out in the mix. This is not pretty to watch.
Worse, this US B team looked damn flat. Charlie Davies was nothing, and I was disappointed in Robbie Rodgers too. Kenny Cooper? John Thorrington? It’s not that these players were bad, it’s just that they were making up the numbers. Even when you go up a rung on the ladder, I just don’t think guys like Maurice Edu, Ricardo Clark, Heath Pearce, and Danny Califf are going to hold up outside CONCACAF.
Maybe it’s saying something that the US can win the Gold Cup with a B team, as I do think this US team could beat the towering powers of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Belize. But when you look at the senior squad, even guys like Freddy Adu and Josie Altidore haven’t made a splash. With 2010, erm, next year, I find it really hard to envision a scenario where the US gets out of the first round. Yes, it’s way too early to be saying that. But I’m saying it anyway.
A sad but mostly spot-on article on Spurs and their transfer dealings here. I’m not impressed with Twitchy’s buys and I don’t think you can just hit rewind. Watching Man Ure vs. Everton last weekend, it underscored the fact for me that Tottenham is still recovering from the loss of Michael Carrick. He was the midfield presence they needed, and without him they’ve consistently looked like a boat adrift. I think everyone expected Tom Huddlestone to fill those shoes, but he hasn’t.
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I’m reading Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin of Inequality and I can tell you it’s better than Leviathan. This class on sovereignty and modernity is thought provoking, but the reading sure is a slog…
Current Mood: A Bit Mushy Brained | 
2 Comments
Brian Ching couldn’t hold up the ball with a gun. If you want somebody who can actually keep possession of the ball once you chuck it downfield, I think, given the options, you’d have to prefer Altidore. If you’re just playing for the foul, well, you suck.
I don’t get why Bradley hasn’t experimented with Altidore and Adu. Or even Edu if he’s that good and I’ve missed something. These guys are “playing” in Europe, but in order to really be playing in Europe you need to be at least logging minutes on the pitch and touching the ball every one in awhile. Why not give them some USMNT minutes? I mean, is John Thorrington really going to force his way into the midfield? I don’t see the point in bringing him in.
The mistake is thinking that having 30 or so above average MLS players gives the US a deep bench. Yes, there are a lot of guys to choose from, but that doesn’t really matter if none of them can fight for a starting spot.