For a long time when I was a kid there were a couple numerical records that sort of always stood out. Lou Gehrig's Major League baseball consecutive games streaks was one. Another was how the finale of "M*A*S*H" owned the highest ever mark on the Neilsen ratings.* Amazingly in February 1983 60 percent of Americans with a television set decided to watch "M*A*S*H" sign off for the last time.
Figured this was semi-appropriate today, since the "Lost" finale ended last night, which certainly had a vastly smaller audience than ""M*A*S*H"
* Fun fact the highest single-time rating for U.S. shows in Germany: "Columbo", "Earth2" and "seaQuest DSV." "Knight Rider" didn't make the list. Take that Hoff!
Suffice to say, "M*A*S*H" was well before my time even as it lived on forever in reruns, usually airing before I got home from school and wanted to watch "MacGyver" or some such nonsense. Although "M*A*S*H" aired for nearly 11 years there's not much I could say about it. There was a cross-dresser in there, right?
Considering the only thing "M*A*S*H" means to me is the closing credits, part of me will be looking over the sky, looking for choppers and the strains of surprisingly soothing theme song -- "Suicide is Painless" -- Tuesday night when I attend the USMNT send-off match vs. the Czech Republic at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. (Connecticut is home to a big helicopter manufacturer -- Sikorsky.)
At this point in the game, barely two weeks before the mega-anticipated June 12 showdown with England in Rustenberg, injuries seem to the only story in the U.S. camp.
From my count, nine of the 30 players in the current U.S. pool spent a decent spell on the sidelines during the club season with varying ailments.
First and foremost is Oguchi Onyewu, who figures to play in his first game since October. All reports from the training camp at Princeton had Onyewu saying he was fine despite a noticeable hitch in his stride.
Unless Onyewu is completely unable to hack it, you have to figure he's in the center of the defense, which may allow Bob Bradley to play Carlos Bocanegra (who himself had secret hernia surgery, huh?!) at left back with Jay DeMerit sliding next to Onyewu. You know, the defensive lineup along with Jonathan Spector, that flummoxed Spain at the Confederations Cup.
No matter how you want to look at it, Onyewu is the linchpin.**
** No, I will not compare him to a certain physical aspect in the "Lost" series finale. Though, once you start to push the "frozen donkey wheel", Onyewu is the first piece that moves as the gears start to crank.
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I'm pretty calm about everything with the U.S. It's hard to get worked up over the spots Nos. 20-23 on a 23-man team.
If the U.S. is going to do anything of note in South Africa, the big players (Donovan/Dempsey/etc.) will probably have to do the heavy lifting, since the other big issue for the U.S. remains who's lining up at forward.
One good thing we've seen about the U.S. is ability to find ways to score, not always the prettiest ways, but they've gotten contributions from all over the field. Perhaps the U.S. is outgunned by England in the opener, but Slovenia and Algeria have one-goal matches written all over them.
As crazy as it sounds, goals aren't worrying me one bit about this team.
Keeping them out, definitely is.
Going back to the start of 2009, the U.S. played 26 matches only keeping a clean sheet in eight. Three of those were in the Gold Cup, another two came in qualifiers vs. Trinidad. Then again, the U.S. shutout out Spain, so the numbers don't exactly mean all that much.
We know the U.S. is usually good for at least a goal. More than one, or chasing an early one due to some slack defending is an issue. Too many times in CONCACAF did the U.S. defense leave a ton of gaps for attackers to pounce on and exploit. Teams trying to win an air battle with the U.S. proved to be folly, but going at them on the ground and with quick, diagonal passing worked very effectively.
And this was with healthy versions of Onyewu, Bocanegra and DeMerit.
Long story short, let's hope we don't see too many triage units or first aid spray in action in the next three weeks.
Miscellany:
* Stat quirk. The top U.S. forward in camp -- Eddie Johnson -- has as many international goals as Carlos Bocanegra, 12.
* Maybe this is a little too far outside the box, but roll with it. We know Bradley the Elder is playing a flat-back four, with Michael Bradley and (probably) Ricardo Clark sitting in front, with the pair hopefully channeling their inner Cambiasso-Zanetti from Saturday's Champions League final.
That leaves four spots up for grabs. Assuming it's Donovan, Dempsey, Altidore and player X. Couldn't the U.S. kind of float this guys around and interchange them, at minimum swapping Donovan and Dempsey on either side of midfield?
It's a little free radical style soccer, but it would be tough to contend with if all the parts are clicking on all cylinders.
At the same time, if Altidore can survive by himself as the lone forward, you could easily play Donovan, Dempsey and Stuart Holden behind him. In this scenario, a possible rejuvenated DaMarcus Beasley makes the most sense.
Hell, why not just use and embrace Mourinho's Champions League 4-2-3-1 completely. The U.S. has the personal for it.
* As cynical as I am, it wouldn't be totally outlandish for either Herculez Gomez or Edson Buddle to have productive World Cups, if given the playing time. Totò Schillaci was a so-so player and led Italia 90 with six goals.
The U.S. doesn't have a guy listed on the roster as a forward that is a pure creator. All Bradley needs is a guy who can finish inside the box, by hook or by crook. It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to go in. Donovan and Dempsey figure to be the guys setting up the chances, so Buddle, Gomez, Ching, etc. need only to put the ball in.
* One thing to definitely take note of in the send-off friendlies is set pieces and set piece delivery. This is an area, with its size and physicality, the U.S. can assert some dominance, although England, Algeria and Slovenia all possess some sizable and strong defenders, too.
This may be Beasley's best attribute to staying with the team, since he can still curl in balls directed toward a teammate's noggin. Dempsey's right foot, is the best option going direct at goal. At times he was the Texas Hammer for Fulham this year.
* Guess it'll be a bit therapeutic to see the Czech Republic in person, four years after they handed me one of the worst days of my life in Gelsenkirchen. More on this Wednesday.
* Even with a decent about of new-age Bohemians -- aka hipsters -- casting their irony-soaked gaze across all corners of Connecticut, this figures to be about as big a pro-U.S. crowd the USMNT can expect to ever have. The Czechs are fielding a B-/C+ level team and it's not like there are huge pockets of Czech expats in the Nutmeg State.
If the U.S. ever is getting a friendly reception on U.S. soil, this is the match.
Having said that, this game once again illustrates the fallacy of Sam's Army on insisting it's members to wear read. My best guess is the Czech's wear their red jerseys and the U.S. is in the white. Does it make sense for the supporters to dress in a color of the opponent? (Maybe I should devote more time thinking about important things?)
Lineup guess:
Let's assume this is the last chance to impress, while the games vs. Turkey and Australia are the times to hone the eventual starting XI. At the same time, Bradley probably needs how the fringe players fit in with core players.
Figure the Elder uses all six subs liberally. I've gotten beyond guessing Bradley's mind. I might only get two or three guesses correct in this spot. The only guys I'm pretty confident will start are Onyewu, Donovan and Altidore.
GK -- Howard/(Guzan for a half)
DEF -- Cherundolo -- Onyewu -- DeMerit -- Pearce
MID -- Holden -- Bradley -- Kljestan -- Donovan
FOR -- Altidore -- Gomez
Final thought:
Believe or not, as I write this I'm about ten minutes from leaving my house and driving up to the U.S. practice in East Hartford. Keep an eye on the Twitter, I may have some more nuggets, once, you know, I get out of my mother's basement and actually use my real reporters chops.
Whatever happens Tuesday night, we won't have a ton of time to gnash our teeth since Bradley the Elder will make his final cuts Wednesday morning.
It'd be nice for the U.S. to put on a show and carve up a weak Czech lineup, but with guys figuring to be nervous with the impending roster cuts.
For once, however, come Wednesday afternoon or so players will actually once want to see "the Turk", or at least the Turkish National Team in Philly over the weekend.
Figured this was semi-appropriate today, since the "Lost" finale ended last night, which certainly had a vastly smaller audience than ""M*A*S*H"
* Fun fact the highest single-time rating for U.S. shows in Germany: "Columbo", "Earth2" and "seaQuest DSV." "Knight Rider" didn't make the list. Take that Hoff!
Suffice to say, "M*A*S*H" was well before my time even as it lived on forever in reruns, usually airing before I got home from school and wanted to watch "MacGyver" or some such nonsense. Although "M*A*S*H" aired for nearly 11 years there's not much I could say about it. There was a cross-dresser in there, right?
Considering the only thing "M*A*S*H" means to me is the closing credits, part of me will be looking over the sky, looking for choppers and the strains of surprisingly soothing theme song -- "Suicide is Painless" -- Tuesday night when I attend the USMNT send-off match vs. the Czech Republic at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. (Connecticut is home to a big helicopter manufacturer -- Sikorsky.)
At this point in the game, barely two weeks before the mega-anticipated June 12 showdown with England in Rustenberg, injuries seem to the only story in the U.S. camp.
From my count, nine of the 30 players in the current U.S. pool spent a decent spell on the sidelines during the club season with varying ailments.
First and foremost is Oguchi Onyewu, who figures to play in his first game since October. All reports from the training camp at Princeton had Onyewu saying he was fine despite a noticeable hitch in his stride.
Unless Onyewu is completely unable to hack it, you have to figure he's in the center of the defense, which may allow Bob Bradley to play Carlos Bocanegra (who himself had secret hernia surgery, huh?!) at left back with Jay DeMerit sliding next to Onyewu. You know, the defensive lineup along with Jonathan Spector, that flummoxed Spain at the Confederations Cup.
No matter how you want to look at it, Onyewu is the linchpin.**
** No, I will not compare him to a certain physical aspect in the "Lost" series finale. Though, once you start to push the "frozen donkey wheel", Onyewu is the first piece that moves as the gears start to crank.
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I'm pretty calm about everything with the U.S. It's hard to get worked up over the spots Nos. 20-23 on a 23-man team.
If the U.S. is going to do anything of note in South Africa, the big players (Donovan/Dempsey/etc.) will probably have to do the heavy lifting, since the other big issue for the U.S. remains who's lining up at forward.
One good thing we've seen about the U.S. is ability to find ways to score, not always the prettiest ways, but they've gotten contributions from all over the field. Perhaps the U.S. is outgunned by England in the opener, but Slovenia and Algeria have one-goal matches written all over them.
As crazy as it sounds, goals aren't worrying me one bit about this team.
Keeping them out, definitely is.
Going back to the start of 2009, the U.S. played 26 matches only keeping a clean sheet in eight. Three of those were in the Gold Cup, another two came in qualifiers vs. Trinidad. Then again, the U.S. shutout out Spain, so the numbers don't exactly mean all that much.
We know the U.S. is usually good for at least a goal. More than one, or chasing an early one due to some slack defending is an issue. Too many times in CONCACAF did the U.S. defense leave a ton of gaps for attackers to pounce on and exploit. Teams trying to win an air battle with the U.S. proved to be folly, but going at them on the ground and with quick, diagonal passing worked very effectively.
And this was with healthy versions of Onyewu, Bocanegra and DeMerit.
Long story short, let's hope we don't see too many triage units or first aid spray in action in the next three weeks.
Miscellany:
* Stat quirk. The top U.S. forward in camp -- Eddie Johnson -- has as many international goals as Carlos Bocanegra, 12.
* Maybe this is a little too far outside the box, but roll with it. We know Bradley the Elder is playing a flat-back four, with Michael Bradley and (probably) Ricardo Clark sitting in front, with the pair hopefully channeling their inner Cambiasso-Zanetti from Saturday's Champions League final.
That leaves four spots up for grabs. Assuming it's Donovan, Dempsey, Altidore and player X. Couldn't the U.S. kind of float this guys around and interchange them, at minimum swapping Donovan and Dempsey on either side of midfield?
It's a little free radical style soccer, but it would be tough to contend with if all the parts are clicking on all cylinders.
At the same time, if Altidore can survive by himself as the lone forward, you could easily play Donovan, Dempsey and Stuart Holden behind him. In this scenario, a possible rejuvenated DaMarcus Beasley makes the most sense.
Hell, why not just use and embrace Mourinho's Champions League 4-2-3-1 completely. The U.S. has the personal for it.
* As cynical as I am, it wouldn't be totally outlandish for either Herculez Gomez or Edson Buddle to have productive World Cups, if given the playing time. Totò Schillaci was a so-so player and led Italia 90 with six goals.
The U.S. doesn't have a guy listed on the roster as a forward that is a pure creator. All Bradley needs is a guy who can finish inside the box, by hook or by crook. It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to go in. Donovan and Dempsey figure to be the guys setting up the chances, so Buddle, Gomez, Ching, etc. need only to put the ball in.
* One thing to definitely take note of in the send-off friendlies is set pieces and set piece delivery. This is an area, with its size and physicality, the U.S. can assert some dominance, although England, Algeria and Slovenia all possess some sizable and strong defenders, too.
This may be Beasley's best attribute to staying with the team, since he can still curl in balls directed toward a teammate's noggin. Dempsey's right foot, is the best option going direct at goal. At times he was the Texas Hammer for Fulham this year.
* Guess it'll be a bit therapeutic to see the Czech Republic in person, four years after they handed me one of the worst days of my life in Gelsenkirchen. More on this Wednesday.
* Even with a decent about of new-age Bohemians -- aka hipsters -- casting their irony-soaked gaze across all corners of Connecticut, this figures to be about as big a pro-U.S. crowd the USMNT can expect to ever have. The Czechs are fielding a B-/C+ level team and it's not like there are huge pockets of Czech expats in the Nutmeg State.
If the U.S. ever is getting a friendly reception on U.S. soil, this is the match.
Having said that, this game once again illustrates the fallacy of Sam's Army on insisting it's members to wear read. My best guess is the Czech's wear their red jerseys and the U.S. is in the white. Does it make sense for the supporters to dress in a color of the opponent? (Maybe I should devote more time thinking about important things?)
Lineup guess:
Let's assume this is the last chance to impress, while the games vs. Turkey and Australia are the times to hone the eventual starting XI. At the same time, Bradley probably needs how the fringe players fit in with core players.
Figure the Elder uses all six subs liberally. I've gotten beyond guessing Bradley's mind. I might only get two or three guesses correct in this spot. The only guys I'm pretty confident will start are Onyewu, Donovan and Altidore.
GK -- Howard/(Guzan for a half)
DEF -- Cherundolo -- Onyewu -- DeMerit -- Pearce
MID -- Holden -- Bradley -- Kljestan -- Donovan
FOR -- Altidore -- Gomez
Final thought:
Believe or not, as I write this I'm about ten minutes from leaving my house and driving up to the U.S. practice in East Hartford. Keep an eye on the Twitter, I may have some more nuggets, once, you know, I get out of my mother's basement and actually use my real reporters chops.
Whatever happens Tuesday night, we won't have a ton of time to gnash our teeth since Bradley the Elder will make his final cuts Wednesday morning.
It'd be nice for the U.S. to put on a show and carve up a weak Czech lineup, but with guys figuring to be nervous with the impending roster cuts.
For once, however, come Wednesday afternoon or so players will actually once want to see "the Turk", or at least the Turkish National Team in Philly over the weekend.
Labels: 2010 world cup, bob bradley, fox soccer, USMNT
One downside of the growing number of USMNT players going overseas to play their club ball - is the growing injury list when the big national tourneys (like the one in Southern Africa) roll around. When the majority of USMNT players were in MLS, there were injuries to contend with, of course. But, the Eurpean season features MANY more games than the average MLS calendar. Deuce (just forzample) has played 40, 41 and 44 games the past three seasons at Fulham, while the most he ever played at New England was 26. That adds to the fatigue and the chance of injury - plus the European based USMNT players are ending the long campaign while the MLS-based guys should be fresher with less than a dozen games played this season. In the past, it seems that the US has suffered less from the injury list than the teams with stars playing in Spain, England and Italy. Now ...