The Association Football Thread

#476
#476
If there was an injury, I wouldn't be too opposed to Donovan moving back up top, either. His performance in 2002 was far, far better than any offensive performance we could even hope to get from anyone sans Dempsey and Altidore.
 
#477
#477
volville said:
Agreed. Holden looks to be a solid option on the wing freeing Dempsey to play up top. He's one of the few creative players on the roster and isn't scared to take a shot. We need that up front.
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Who would you take out if you put in Holden? Feilhaber?
 
#478
#478
The commentators I have heard today seem to be pretty sure Dempsey is going to be a midfielder. Hope they're wrong, or we are being loose with the definition of the position.
 
#479
#479
IPorange said:
The commentators I have heard today seem to be pretty sure Dempsey is going to be a midfielder. Hope they're wrong, or we are being loose with the definition of the position.
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No, I think that's what's going to happen. I'm not happy about it. Altidore isn't going to be fine up there by himself. Dempsey and Donovan will have to get involved with the attack a lot.
 
#480
#480
I could see having Altidore by himself with Donovan as an attacking midfielder. That would open a spot outside for Holden or maybe even Feilhaber. Then the two holding midfielders could focus more on their defensive responsibility, which seems to be Bob's preference anyways.
 
#481
#481
volville said:
I could see having Altidore by himself with Donovan as an attacking midfielder. That would open a spot outside for Holden or maybe even Feilhaber. Then the two holding midfielders could focus more on their defensive responsibility, which seems to be Bob's preference anyways.
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Without Dempsey and Donovan getting extremely involved in the attack, we won't have much success. Altidore can create some chances, but he's not great with finishing and he's not going to be overly effective without teammate nearby. If Donovan and Dempsey are in the midfield, they need to make sure they're up a lot. Without them getting seriously involved in the attack, we're going to be extremely limited offensively. Also, when we're, not creating chances, we're usually struggling to keep them out of the net. We have to play aggressively, in my opinion. If we aren't focusing on scoring, we may still be able to get out of our group, but we're certainly not going to be getting any further. Period.
 
#483
#483
tvolsfan said:
Without Dempsey and Donovan getting extremely involved in the attack, we won't have much success. Altidore can create some chances, but he's not great with finishing and he's not going to be overly effective without teammate nearby. If Donovan and Dempsey are in the midfield, they need to make sure they're up a lot. Without them getting seriously involved in the attack, we're going to be extremely limited offensively. Also, when we're, not creating chances, we're usually struggling to keep them out of the net. We have to play aggressively, in my opinion. If we aren't focusing on scoring, we may still be able to get out of our group, but we're certainly not going to be getting any further. Period.
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Donovan is alot like Rooney. Both are good players but when it comes to the Cup both have been underachievers. I hope Rooney sticks on the same path and Donovan gets his head out of his backside when he's on the world stage.
 
#484
#484
hohenfelsvol said:
Donovan is alot like Rooney. Both are good players but when it comes to the Cup both have been underachievers. I hope Rooney sticks on the same path and Donovan gets his head out of his backside when he's on the world stage.
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Donovan may have underachieved in the last cup, but he most definitely didn't underachieve in 2002.

I think he'll be fine, but I'm worried about Bradley.
 
#485
#485
I'm also concerned with the attention being given to the England game. I hope the team isn't focusing on the game like the media and everyone else. That game is important, and it would be great to win, but that game definitely does not make our break our tournament, and win , lose, or tie, the US must be ready to close out the group stage with 2 wins. I'm just concerned the team will be too emotionally invested in that game, and they may not be able to recover from a bad performance or keep the same level of play after a good one.
 
#486
#486
tvolsfan said:
I'm also concerned with the attention being given to the England game. I hope the team isn't focusing on the game like the media and everyone else. That game is important, and it would be great to win, but that game definitely does not make our break our tournament, and win , lose, or tie, the US must be ready to close out the group stage with 2 wins. I'm just concerned the team will be too emotionally invested in that game, and they may not be able to recover from a bad performance or keep the same level of play after a good one.
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Well at least the fans are taking an emotionless, even keeled appraoch to that game...

US fans create horrific image to stir up World Cup rivalry | The Spoiler
 
#487
#487
It's a sure-thing that England will advance. I'm afraid Algeria will be the second team in our group. Slovenia is the only game I feel confidence in for USA.
 
#488
#488
Panthro said:
It's a sure-thing that England will advance. I'm afraid Algeria will be the second team in our group. Slovenia is the only game I feel confidence in for USA.
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Algeria has had some injury issues. I imagine they are in the same boat as us with depth. One of our starters gets injured, there is a big drop off. Do you even know anything about Algeria?
 
#489
#489
volball625 said:
Algeria has had some injury issues. I imagine they are in the same boat as us with depth. One of our starters gets injured, there is a big drop off. Do you even know anything about Algeria?
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We're better than they are, but assuming victory is a recipe for disaster for this squad.
 
#490
#490
Our team has more potential than people realize, but it has to be used right. Being overly conservative will get us eliminated very quickly. If this team wants real success, either Donovan or Dempsey must be playing forward, or at least be extremely involved. Jozy can create chances, but he isn't good enough to do anything by himself, and our other forward options seem incapable of contributing towards anything outside the CONCACAF region.


The thing about this team is that there isn't going to be any intimidation factor involved. We're good, but it's not like we're Brazil where we can play like garbage and pull out the win anyways. We're better than Algeria and Slovenia, and I really don't think it's that close, to be honest. That being said, the team is perfectly capable of blowing the game. Having all our emphasis on the England game could lead to a disastrous result in the other group stage games, at least in my opinion.
 
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#491
#491
volball625 said:
Algeria has had some injury issues. I imagine they are in the same boat as us with depth. One of our starters gets injured, there is a big drop off. Do you even know anything about Algeria?
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Not exactly. I know that I've watched Egypt play, and they've impressed. Algeria beat them to qualify. I also know that we didn't do too well last time we played an African team in group-play.
I really believe that the Algeria/USA game will be a winner-moves-on game. I just hope that we can play like we did late in the Confederations Cup.
Oh, and I've seen more than one website predicting an Algeria multi-goal victory over USA. I know that sites like southamericanfutbol.com shouldn't influence my opinion, but I've watched our team enough to know that we should never assume victory over anyone.
 
#492
#492
Panthro said:
Not exactly. I know that I've watched Egypt play, and they've impressed. Algeria beat them to qualify. I also know that we didn't do too well last time we played an African team in group-play.
I really believe that the Algeria/USA game will be a winner-moves-on game. I just hope that we can play like we did late in the Confederations Cup.
Oh, and I've seen more than one website predicting an Algeria multi-goal victory over USA. I know that sites like southamericanfutbol.com shouldn't influence my opinion, but I've watched our team enough to know that we should never assume victory over anyone.
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Did you know Egypt beat Algeria 4-0 a couple of months ago?
 
#493
#493
volball625 said:
Did you know Egypt beat Algeria 4-0 a couple of months ago?
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How is that relevant? The whole point was that Algeria shows up in the big games. They beat Egypt when it counted. The Charlotte Bobcats beat Orlando in the regular season, but got swept in the playoffs...when it really mattered. That regular season victory doesn't mean a whole lot right now.
 
#494
#494
Panthro said:
How is that relevant? The whole point was that Algeria shows up in the big games. They beat Egypt when it counted. The Charlotte Bobcats beat Orlando in the regular season, but got swept in the playoffs...when it really mattered. That regular season victory doesn't mean a whole lot right now.
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You used that same point to validate your argument. You said Algeria beat Egypt, which impressed you. Well, Algeria couldn't beat Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations when it counted.
 
#495
#495
To answer your question about why it's relevant, we hammered Egypt last summer. And Egypt hammered Algeria. Comparing results in soccer is much more significant than doing that with NBA games because each game is not taken that seriously.
 
#496
#496
I'm giving Algeria credit for stepping up and beating a rival team to get into the World Cup. I never said that Algeria was a better team than USA. I said that they scare me, and I only feel confident about the Slovenia match. I also know enough about our team to believe that we are capable of losing to anybody. That Ghana match keeps replaying in my mind when I think about playing Algeria.
 
#499
#499
The United States could be very good next time around. We don't lose much from our player pool in general. If the defense is ready and we have a competent attack, the team could be very good in the next two tournaments.

I'm really looking for Freddy Adu to be a factor. It would make a huge difference for him to be playing well. He could be great for us.
 
#500
#500
nickknx865 said:
Not advancing in group sets the national team back about 10 years, IMO. We'd have rethink how we put our team together.
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We'd have to start by firing Bob, especially if we continue the recent trend we've seen of the team while playing good teams.
 
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