My buddy Suppe is a fan of the Oakland Raiders. Well, a fan isn't the right word. Perhaps unhealthily obsessed with the triumphs and sadly, many many setbacks in recent seasons of the famed Silver and Black.
Laugh at the Raiders, if you must. When a head coach is punching an assistant in the face and the owner makes Mr. Burns look spry enough to have dated Amelia Earhardt? Well, sir in the 2009-verse of Twitter, social networking, 1,001 sports blogs, talk radio and generally everything that's killing old media at least the Raiders although an easy punchline, at least stand for something.
The Raiders aren't simply some soulless corporate entity aimed at printing money from the NFL's insanely lucrative television contract, paid for with those oh-so-hilarious lite beer ads. They're outsiders, rebels, relics of a bygone era when the AFL challenged the NFL for football superiority.
The Raiders are to some an extent an idea as much as they are a pro sport's team.
This isn't the place to debate those merits, but it always reminds me of the best slogan in sports, "Just win Baby!"
Al Davis summed it all up about professional sports.
This isn't suburban activity-sport where everyone gets a trophy or at least a ribbon.
And that brings us to the U.S. National Team and its do-or-die CONCACAF qualifiers starting Saturday night against El Salvador (8 p.m., ESPN Classic) and Wednesday at Trinidad & Tobago.
So for once, the subplot for a match by the U.S. National Team isn't about other things.
This is about a must have three-points in the bank.
This is about Jozy Altidore actually finishing scoring chances, not the idea that he can create scoring chances in June 2010.
This is about Bob Bradley finding the right XI guys to toss on the Rio Tinto Stadium grass to beat El Salvador, not experimenting with guys who one day might help the team.
This is about the U.S. showing they can break down a defensively compact team through it's passing and possession.
There aren't any excuses, no mitigating factors for Saturday night. The U.S. is currently tied with 10 points with Honduras, two behind first-place Costa Rica in the CONCACAF Hex. A trip to Honduras looms on Oct. 10, followed by a match with the Ticos at RJK four days later. (The U.S. might be able to leapfrog into first place after this set of games if they take six points and Mexico wins at the Saprissa and beats Honduras at home.)
At this point in the U.S. program somehow slipping to fourth place and participating in that two-leg playoff with a South American team, which could conceivably be Argentina, would be a disaster.
The U.S. is better, stronger and faster than El Salvador.
The U.S. is playing on home soil in what hopefully is a pro-America crowd.
No excuses.
Just win, baby.
Where's Frankie?
One thing it is mildly surprising is that in crucial qualifiers, Bradley elected to leave stalwart Frankie Hejduk off the roster.
Look, we all know the surfer dude's warts.
Yet this is what Bradley and a lot of coaches miss. Yes, 90 minutes seem like a long time in a soccer game. Yet some many times superior teams are beaten when they step on the field and don't treat every minute like its the 90th of a losing match. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you have to pace yourself and it's a long time.
You don't want to be the U.S. walking into the Utah night Saturday wondering what the hell just happened? There are no do-overs in soccer, double that for World Cup qualifying.
A crafty, cagey veteran like Hedjuk? There is something to be said for intangibles. How many times have we seen in a big international a guy nobody figured would score, find a way onto the scoresheet or make a major impact? (See Euro 2004 Final.)
Hedjuk has been through the wars. He knows that every second of this match is precious and can't be wasted. Unless you're Brazil 70 or Spain 08, you need some type of veteran guile.
He did, after all, steal that point down in El Salvador back in March with his late header, which started this qualifying campaign on the wrong track.
Put it this way, wouldn't you feel more comfortable with Hejduk over a guy like Clarence Goodson?
[Update, to quote Mike Francesa, "I have taken a beating here" in regard to Frankie. I'll stand by his veteran professionalism would have been good in the locker room, although I guess he was injured, therefore not a viable option. My bad.]
Miscellany:
* Once again, Bradley's management skills will be put under the microscope. Do we yet have any confidence he'll pick the right XI to breakdown El Salvador? Will his devotion to the Brian Chings and Conor Casey's of the world continue to haunt him? Again, Bradley needs to put the best players out there, namely Charlie Davies and Altidore, and turn them loose.
* On that note, Bradley for this match at least, needs to shake up the holding midfield tandem of Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark. The pair were out-matched and out-worked last month at Azteca. This won't be a replay of this match. The U.S. should have the ball most of the time in the El Salvador half of the field. A midfield facilitator like Benny Feilhaber or even Jose Torres (who's lack of playing time over the summer looks all the more galling) to keep the ball moving around and peck apart the Salvadorian defense.
If El Salvador it's going to come by catching the U.S. out of position and advanced up the field, or maybe on a set play. You simply don't need two midfielders to shield the central defense in a match like this.
* Not to beat a dead horse, but an enormous aspect of coaching internationals is having the tactical acumen to expose and exploit the opponent. Has Bradley ever shown that he's a good Xs and Os guy? We'll find out Saturday in Utah.
* It would seem unlikely, but Clint Dempsey in a more central role either as a forward or playing just behind that line wouldn't be the worst thing. The U.S., as is its wont, tends to attack up the flanks and Stuart Holden's service on the right with Dempsey trying to get onto the end seems like a more prudent strategy.
* The defense, with Oguchi Onyewu suspended should be interesting. By necessity you probably have to play Carlos Bocanegra and Jay DeMerit inside with Steve Cherundolo and Jonathon Spector outside. Spector's deep delivery from the defense might be too much to overlook in this type of match.
* We'll get into this more next week, but Trinidad is using Bobby Zamora and Jlloyd Samuel for its qualifiers. I'm not exactly shaking in my boots, but Zamora and Kenwyne Jones could cause some problems, making Saturday's game all the more important.
* At the very least, there's no Marcelo Balboa involved, which is always a good thing.
Lineup guess:
My ideal XI:
GK -- Howard
DEF -- Cherundolo-- Bocanegra -- DeMerit -- Spector
MID -- Holden -- Bradley -- Feilhaber -- Donovan
FOR -- Altidore -- Davies
My guess on Bradley:
GK -- Howard
DEF -- Cherundolo-- Bocanegra -- DeMerit -- Spector
MID -- Dempsey -- Bradley -- Clark -- Donovan
FOR -- Ching -- Davies
Closing thoughts:
Three points. 'Nuff said.
Laugh at the Raiders, if you must. When a head coach is punching an assistant in the face and the owner makes Mr. Burns look spry enough to have dated Amelia Earhardt? Well, sir in the 2009-verse of Twitter, social networking, 1,001 sports blogs, talk radio and generally everything that's killing old media at least the Raiders although an easy punchline, at least stand for something.
The Raiders aren't simply some soulless corporate entity aimed at printing money from the NFL's insanely lucrative television contract, paid for with those oh-so-hilarious lite beer ads. They're outsiders, rebels, relics of a bygone era when the AFL challenged the NFL for football superiority.
The Raiders are to some an extent an idea as much as they are a pro sport's team.
This isn't the place to debate those merits, but it always reminds me of the best slogan in sports, "Just win Baby!"
Al Davis summed it all up about professional sports.
This isn't suburban activity-sport where everyone gets a trophy or at least a ribbon.
And that brings us to the U.S. National Team and its do-or-die CONCACAF qualifiers starting Saturday night against El Salvador (8 p.m., ESPN Classic) and Wednesday at Trinidad & Tobago.
So for once, the subplot for a match by the U.S. National Team isn't about other things.
This is about a must have three-points in the bank.
This is about Jozy Altidore actually finishing scoring chances, not the idea that he can create scoring chances in June 2010.
This is about Bob Bradley finding the right XI guys to toss on the Rio Tinto Stadium grass to beat El Salvador, not experimenting with guys who one day might help the team.
This is about the U.S. showing they can break down a defensively compact team through it's passing and possession.
There aren't any excuses, no mitigating factors for Saturday night. The U.S. is currently tied with 10 points with Honduras, two behind first-place Costa Rica in the CONCACAF Hex. A trip to Honduras looms on Oct. 10, followed by a match with the Ticos at RJK four days later. (The U.S. might be able to leapfrog into first place after this set of games if they take six points and Mexico wins at the Saprissa and beats Honduras at home.)
At this point in the U.S. program somehow slipping to fourth place and participating in that two-leg playoff with a South American team, which could conceivably be Argentina, would be a disaster.
The U.S. is better, stronger and faster than El Salvador.
The U.S. is playing on home soil in what hopefully is a pro-America crowd.
No excuses.
Just win, baby.
Where's Frankie?
One thing it is mildly surprising is that in crucial qualifiers, Bradley elected to leave stalwart Frankie Hejduk off the roster.
Look, we all know the surfer dude's warts.
Yet this is what Bradley and a lot of coaches miss. Yes, 90 minutes seem like a long time in a soccer game. Yet some many times superior teams are beaten when they step on the field and don't treat every minute like its the 90th of a losing match. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you have to pace yourself and it's a long time.
You don't want to be the U.S. walking into the Utah night Saturday wondering what the hell just happened? There are no do-overs in soccer, double that for World Cup qualifying.
A crafty, cagey veteran like Hedjuk? There is something to be said for intangibles. How many times have we seen in a big international a guy nobody figured would score, find a way onto the scoresheet or make a major impact? (See Euro 2004 Final.)
Hedjuk has been through the wars. He knows that every second of this match is precious and can't be wasted. Unless you're Brazil 70 or Spain 08, you need some type of veteran guile.
He did, after all, steal that point down in El Salvador back in March with his late header, which started this qualifying campaign on the wrong track.
Put it this way, wouldn't you feel more comfortable with Hejduk over a guy like Clarence Goodson?
[Update, to quote Mike Francesa, "I have taken a beating here" in regard to Frankie. I'll stand by his veteran professionalism would have been good in the locker room, although I guess he was injured, therefore not a viable option. My bad.]
Miscellany:
* Once again, Bradley's management skills will be put under the microscope. Do we yet have any confidence he'll pick the right XI to breakdown El Salvador? Will his devotion to the Brian Chings and Conor Casey's of the world continue to haunt him? Again, Bradley needs to put the best players out there, namely Charlie Davies and Altidore, and turn them loose.
* On that note, Bradley for this match at least, needs to shake up the holding midfield tandem of Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark. The pair were out-matched and out-worked last month at Azteca. This won't be a replay of this match. The U.S. should have the ball most of the time in the El Salvador half of the field. A midfield facilitator like Benny Feilhaber or even Jose Torres (who's lack of playing time over the summer looks all the more galling) to keep the ball moving around and peck apart the Salvadorian defense.
If El Salvador it's going to come by catching the U.S. out of position and advanced up the field, or maybe on a set play. You simply don't need two midfielders to shield the central defense in a match like this.
* Not to beat a dead horse, but an enormous aspect of coaching internationals is having the tactical acumen to expose and exploit the opponent. Has Bradley ever shown that he's a good Xs and Os guy? We'll find out Saturday in Utah.
* It would seem unlikely, but Clint Dempsey in a more central role either as a forward or playing just behind that line wouldn't be the worst thing. The U.S., as is its wont, tends to attack up the flanks and Stuart Holden's service on the right with Dempsey trying to get onto the end seems like a more prudent strategy.
* The defense, with Oguchi Onyewu suspended should be interesting. By necessity you probably have to play Carlos Bocanegra and Jay DeMerit inside with Steve Cherundolo and Jonathon Spector outside. Spector's deep delivery from the defense might be too much to overlook in this type of match.
* We'll get into this more next week, but Trinidad is using Bobby Zamora and Jlloyd Samuel for its qualifiers. I'm not exactly shaking in my boots, but Zamora and Kenwyne Jones could cause some problems, making Saturday's game all the more important.
* At the very least, there's no Marcelo Balboa involved, which is always a good thing.
Lineup guess:
My ideal XI:
GK -- Howard
DEF -- Cherundolo-- Bocanegra -- DeMerit -- Spector
MID -- Holden -- Bradley -- Feilhaber -- Donovan
FOR -- Altidore -- Davies
My guess on Bradley:
GK -- Howard
DEF -- Cherundolo-- Bocanegra -- DeMerit -- Spector
MID -- Dempsey -- Bradley -- Clark -- Donovan
FOR -- Ching -- Davies
Closing thoughts:
Three points. 'Nuff said.
Labels: bob bradley, concacaf, Jozy Altidore, Soccer, USMNT, world cup qualifying
If current form matters, and Bradley has always held the position that it does, then I don't see how he can keep Altidore on the bench for Ching.
Ching has gone scoreless in his last three matches - that's 270 scoreless minutes against RSL, Seattle and Colorado.
Altidore has one goal and one assist in three appearances with Hull - (roughly 150 minutes). It's true that his appearances aren't against the top tier of PL teams, but they have to at least be comparable to the three that Ching faced.
Start Altidore and Davies.
One quick problem with the post but overall it makes a lot of sense.
Problem - I think there was a contradiction in two neighboring paragraphs. You followed up your Where's Frankie paragraph ( I think Bradley should be praised for finally letting him go) with the statement, "Again, Bradley needs to put the best players out there, namely Charlie Davies and Altidore, and turn them loose." After reading you for years I assume you dont think Frankie is better than Steve, Spect, Demerit, Boca, Gooch ( Wed.) then maybe his teammate Marshall ahead of him?. Playing a less talented Ching or Casey is the same as playing a less talented Frankie.
I agree with the idea of playing an offensive minded center mid and Bradley. I'd prefer Torres cause I still can't figure out what he did in the first half against Costa Rica to be banished for the summer, so Bob is going to pick Benny. If he plays Clark thats a huge tactical mistake using two defensive mids in a must win.
In a must win game where the US clearly has the edge in talent... I think the goals have to come from the veterans Landon or Clint. Jozy and Charlie's job is to score that unexpected goal( Jozy-Spain, Charlie-Mexico) but learn to do so consistantly. They should start the last 4 qualifiers, unless the US needs to play a 5-5-0 to get a tie in the last game.
Wow, no Deuce at all in your best squad. That makes sense on some levels, since Dempsey has not exactly been on fire for the USMNT of late. You are likely right regarding Ching starting for Bradley the Elder. But still. Sigh.
Mike, Hejduk's been injured for awhile. He's getting back into form at the moment with the Crew. When the rosters came out Hejduk had only been back for a week or so.
HBO...
Good point, I guess I am talking out of both sides of my mouth, but I still think Hejduk's veteran presence could be useful. I probably should have clarified that Hejduk would have been useful if only for the locker room intangibles.
Again, valid, valid criticism.
30...
I've said 1,000,000 times, what is Dempsey's best position for the U.S.? If he doesn't move more forward and score he's bringing nothing to the table.
As always, the criticisms are appreciated.
Mike, another problem is that DeMerit is listed as day-to-day because of an injury (thigh?) either suffered during his last match with Watford or early in the USMNT training session this week. He was supposedly limited to individual training Tuesday and Wednesday, not joining the full squad pratices.
So no Gooch, and maybe no DeMerit? Hello, Chad Marshall.
Cardillo, you and I are in agreement re Dempsey. Maybe it is time to try going a different way. Maybe Deuce is the 'spark off the bench' guy. I would say that Dempsey is certainly one of the US's best 11 players, but that doesn't mean he has to start or even play. That being said, playing Holden instead of Dempsey is a gamble. But more of a gamble that wondering if the stud Dempsey shows up or we get the distracted, back-heeling, sleepy Deuce most often seen when not wearing Fulham gear?
Two Jozy notes:
He was on ESPN's First Take Thursday morning via telephone and the segment was entirely bland. The female reporter asked Altidore about what NBA team he follows rather than anything about the move to England. This is what soccer coverage from non-soccer people looks like.
Jozy now has even MORE competition at Hull for playing time up front. Hull City just signed former Celtic player Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink who was not under contract. I gather that means he can move outside the transfer window because he is not actually transferring. Anyway, I wonder how this will effect Jozy's minutes after his very promising start.
I'm hoping that Spector is considered if DeMerit cannot go, he has played all across the back line in his career and I think his experience in the Premier League will better prepare him for this game than Marshall's MLS and Gold Cup Experience.
As for HeyDude, I agree with most that his two-footed-tacking-time has passed, but like Cardillo clarifies; if ever there were a time when his intangibles would be beneficial it would be now. Dempsey could take a page out of his book and start cherishing each minute he's out on the field for the Nats.