***OFFICIAL USAMNT 2010 WC THREAD***

Originally posted by SacRock14:
No goals from a forward all tournament. Jozy is young, but dude has got to develop a killer instinct around the net. I want to see him attack the goal. Way too passive. Might have been hurt today.

Our interior defense is below average. DeMerit gets the blame for the first goal IMO. No way you can allow that guy to dribble right at you and not close off the shot. Terrible.

All in all, some good fight shown by our boys, but just not a consistent effort. Can't get punched in the mouth every game and keep trying to come back. They gave it a hell of a try, but just not enough.

I dunno about DeMerit with the 1st goal, I think it was a mix of Clark being over aggressive and Howard not trusting Cherundolo and DeMerit on the inside, but Bocanegra gets the blame on the second goal...almost as bad as the England goal.

Overall, I know we had so many chances to beat Ghana (Findley, Dempsey on the Donovan cross, and Bradley on the one-on-one), but Ghana played their game and forced the US to play their game and the US lost. The US fought until the end and I'll always be proud of them and wear my Altidore jersey with pride

I'm proud of the US squad and they did better than anyone expected originally (first in Group and kept a clean group stage for first time since 1930), just sad for guys like Dempsey, Donovan, Gooch, Cherundolo, Bocanegra, Beasely, etc. b/c this may have been their best chance to advance in a WC.

Hopefully the US can develop more players (specifically on the defensive end and another striker or four, lol) and be a force to reckon with in 2014 in Rio...VIVA USA!!!

I think it's important to point out that LD10 had an excellent tournament. I remember prior to the WC, I watch Lalas on ESPN saying that Landon had the youngster jitters in '02, the inability to handle the pressure to be 'the man' in '06, but that this would be a different tournament, with a savvy Donovan that wouldn't be out of context through this tournament.

Lalas hit the nail right on the head. While Donovan didn't precisely give us 400 minutes of excellent football, he was a difference maker for the most part, controlling the right wing and always presenting a sense of danger for the opposition. IMO he gave it his all, I'm not sure he could have done much more. He ran incessantly, passed the ball very well, and seemed to be on the right place for the most part. He was a leader. He had beautiful touch on dead balls, whether it was free kicks or corners, his crosses were on the money for the most part (within the box). He was clutch (goals vs Slovenia to start the 2nd and the infamous goal vs Algeria) I had never been much impressed with him until this tournament. I wish him well and hope he finds a starting gig for a solid team in a big European league.


ALL THAT BEING SAID ...

He needs help. He's not a true #10 (by my definition, a true creator, someone who you can play just behind the forwards and who can control the offense from that spot. Think Pele, Maradona, Zidane, or for more recent references think Ronaldihno, Riquelme, Totti). If he's gonna be that offensive force on the right this team needs someone equally as good (if not better) on the left side of as a true #10. Even more important is the development of Jozy and hopefully the breakthrough of another 1 or 2 deadly strikers. Pretty much the same concept SacRock's brought up in the previous page.

And most, MOST importantly, the defense needs vast improvement. You may be able to get another solid performance out of Howard in 2014, or maybe there's and up-and-coming GK for you guys, I honestly don't know. I like DeMerit and Cherundolo, Bornstein is just 25 hopefully he gets better, he's not too bad. Bradley is an absolute stud, 2nd best player for USA in the tournament (Howard gets honorable mention). But you need to solidify the backline and hopefully players continue to develop for you guys. This team gets better each year, I remember the times when I thought USA was nearly unwatchable (years ago), not anymore.

You guys went down giving it all you've got and that's admirable. BTW, I saw in the WC thread some people asking for a new coach. I buy into what BB has done, what do you guys think?

Originally posted by vrabbit:


You guys went down giving it all you've got and that's admirable. BTW, I saw in the WC thread some people asking for a new coach. I buy into what BB has done, what do you guys think?

i don't. just today. starting clark when edu was playing solid if not excellent. started findlay, when buddle played well. hell i thought maybe they should have come out with an extra defender, or midfielder playing a defensive wing. also i thought maybe altidore should have sat and been a late sub, he was sick and this was a short rest.

but i would not complain if he stays.

Originally posted by dobophile:
Now that it's all over I can say this . . . Landon Donovan is annoying as f**k.

This.

A couple of things.

We sorely missed Charlie Davies. He is a lethal finisher and works well with Altidore. Findley is fast but has no touch around the net.

Gooch not being 100% also hurt us, he is a stud in the backline when healthy. Lets not forget right before getting injured he was signed to a deal with AC Milan.

Probables for 2014 and Age now

Landon Donovan 28
Oguchi Onyewu 28
Benny Feilhaber 25
Charlie Davies 24
Jozy Altidore 20
Michael Bradley 22
Clint Dempsey 27
Brad Guzan 25
Maurice Edu 24
Robbie Findley 24
Alejandro Bedoya 22

Hopefully we develop some more young talent in the next four years. But Bradley, Davies and Altidore is a nice core. I really like Feilhaber also.

I think US Soccer Federation will push to build a winning side, due to the exposure this years squad received nation wide. Add the fact they are bidding on 2018 WC makes it more intriguing.

I was so upset/drunk after the USA loss that we randomly drove out to Vegas after the game.

Donovan to MAN City?

[ Edited by Hollywood49er on Jun 28, 2010 at 15:56:11 ]

Originally posted by Hollywood49er:
Donovan to MAN City?

He would be wasted there. The best situation would be at Everton, but they can't afford him unless they sell half the team.

Dempsey to AC Milan?

Wow, Top US Players getting lots of love over the past couple of years.
This will encourage more youngsters to play soccer for USA... I hope