3reppom wrote:

Laley23 wrote: Brad Guzan is pretty much slotted in the #2 slot. I have NO CLUE why he is still at Aston Villa though. He cant see the field ahead of countryman Brad Friedel.

Friedel can't play forever. I know they say that goalkeepers age like fine wine but 40 has to be pretty frickin close to the limit

I agree, but he could be the #1 on a few of the EPL teams.

for sure. I wouldn't be stunned to see someone throw some money his way this summer

3reppom wrote: for sure. I wouldn't be stunned to see someone throw some money his way this summer

Neither would I, although I like Villa, and with Friedel surly in the twilight I hope he stays.

I really hope Holden can impress this WC so maybe he can find some minutes in the EPL. If not, I fear he may look to a lesser league.

So Bradley is announcing the 23 man roster tommorow. Any predictions for the seven going to get cut? I will go with:

Findley
Marshall
Klejstan
Beasley
Bedoya
Johnson
Rogers... although I thought he looked decent tonight.

Edu certainly didn't help himself in the second half, but I still don't know why he was moved to center back, I thought that was a terrible decision by coach.

I hope Bornstein doesn't make the squad but I know he will.

Is Frankie done for internationals for the US?

Rodgers should make it, he has played pretty good for the US. Notably the qualifer vs. Costa Rica in Washington, DC last fall...

I only want one guy cut, Brian Ching. The rest I am more ambiguous about, but Ching doesn't bring anything unique to the table. I would much rather see Buddle or Gomez up front with Jozzy. Even though neither of them can match Ching when it comes to his chosen skills of losing the ball at the first sign of contact from a defender or blasting the ball 10 feet above the cross bar when wide open from 18 yards out. Unfortunately he is the most capped forward on the provisional squad and will be on the plane, I just hope that he plays as many minutes in South Africa as I do

This team is awful, unfortunately.

The team playing last night may have been awful, but the team you will see in June will not be awful, they will be very good.

The team you see on Saturday will be very good. Last night, from the start, was something between a live practice and a game.

If you're that good, you beat a team that didn't qualify for the WC regardless of whether or not it was a scrimmage-like game.

This would be the equivalent of a mixture of the Cavs' bench players who rarely see the court, and the best players from their D-league team losing to a team who just barely missed the playoffs (Raptors). So you wouldn't say the Cavs team/starters aren't any good.

If we play all of our starters, we beat a team that didn't qualify for the WC regardless of whether or not it was a scrimmage-like game. Of the starters last night, I will guarantee half of them won't see time when the big stage comes around. You have Howard, Donovan, Dempsey, Altidore, Bocanegra, Clark, Bradley out there instead of the second team, it's a different result.

I understand, that isn't what I'm saying. Any team that is a REAL contender to even sniff the WC Final would have beat a non-qualified team playing the same type of roster strategy. All the hype building around the USA having a chance (which is more than normal) is a joke. I mean, I'll be rooting for them, but I still see us as pretty far behind.

Especially when, while scrimmage-like, these guys are playing for roster spots so it's not like there was no intensity.

SQ_Crazies wrote: I understand, that isn't what I'm saying. Any team that is a REAL contender to even sniff the WC Final would have beat a non-qualified team playing the same type of roster strategy. All the hype building around the USA having a chance (which is more than normal) is a joke. I mean, I'll be rooting for them, but I still see us as pretty far behind.

Who said anything about the WC final? You said they aren't very good, which we are disagreeing with...we're not saying they are WC Final good.

We're not a REAL contender to sniff the WC Final and we never have been. The realistic goal and expectation of this team is and always has been to make it out of the group stage; beyond that is gravy.

Should the expectations be raised? That's a different debate, but right now we don't have the talent to expect greater things.

I understand that too, and totally agree. I never thought we were a contender. But there are soooo many people who think we are going into this WC--of course, some of them probably are the greatest minds but they're buying into the hype. Basically, if those people have any brains, this should show them that we aren't.

That I can agree with. I'll be excited if the US plays four games, if they can get five like 2002, I'll be ecstatic.

Given the group we're in, I think it's realistic to expect a second-place finish and a trip to the knockout stage. Anything less and I'll be disappointed. Anything more and I'll be pleasantly surprised. I'll be pissed if people are trumpeting the failure of US soccer if they do make it out of the group stage but lose their first match (against probably Germany). Those are unrealistic and uninformed expectations.

Who am I kidding, it'll probably happen.

gorocks99 wrote: That I can agree with. I'll be excited if the US plays four games, if they can get five like 2002, I'll be ecstatic.

Given the group we're in, I think it's realistic to expect a second-place finish and a trip to the knockout stage. Anything less and I'll be disappointed. Anything more and I'll be pleasantly surprised. I'll be pissed if people are trumpeting the failure of US soccer if they do make it out of the group stage but lose their first match (against probably Germany). Those are unrealistic and uninformed expectations.

Who am I kidding, it'll probably happen.

And that's the thing. There is a sizable group of extremely passionate and knowledgeable fans and media members in this country. Unfortunately that group gets silenced every four years because the general public doesn't known and/or seek out the people who actually know what they are talking about. Instead they favor the people they know, the general all purpose columnist, people like Jay Mariotti or Bill Plaschke who pay attention to the sport every four years because they are obliged to professionaly. So you have prominent members of the media essentially talking out their ass for one month every four years about a sport they don't understand, but those are the people the average guy/girl takes their cue from. Which leads to a real lack of perspective

^Agreed. Well said.

This US squad is probably the most talented we have ever sent to the WC. I wouldnt be disappointing if we met Germany in the knockout stage because I think it gives us an incredibly good chance to advance. Im not sold on the Germans as a great team right now, especially without Ballack. They dont really have a ton of firepower up front, and imo, their best forward doesnt even start for them (Mario Gomez).

As for the USA not beating Czech...what the hell did people really expect. The Czech players are better than out bench, lol. If we played in Europe for qualifying we wouldnt even come close to ever making it. Hell, France barely made it because of how tough Europe is. Sweden isnt in it and they have a player who is tons better than anyone on our squad in Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It is the nature of the beast. Because of the draws in Europe, you will always have VERY good teams like Portugal, Czech Republic, Turkey, Sweden, Ireland, and this year ALMOST France etc who are left out. I wouldve been STUNNED if we had beaten the Czech last night. Itll be a different story, and I will be PISSED if we dont beat Turkey on Saturday.

Laley23 wrote:I wouldve been STUNNED if we had beaten the Czech last night. Itll be a different story, and I will be PISSED if we dont beat Turkey on Saturday.

Turkey beat the Czechs

gorocks99 wrote:

Laley23 wrote:I wouldve been STUNNED if we had beaten the Czech last night. Itll be a different story, and I will be PISSED if we dont beat Turkey on Saturday.

Turkey beat the Czechs

haha, I know. But if we played our second stringers vs Turkey Id expect to lose...thats my point.

MY DUDE HERCULEZ GOMEZ BETTER SEE TIME UP TOP WITH DOZY JOZY!!!

Laley23 wrote:

gorocks99 wrote:

Laley23 wrote:I wouldve been STUNNED if we had beaten the Czech last night. Itll be a different story, and I will be PISSED if we dont beat Turkey on Saturday.

Turkey beat the Czechs

haha, I know. But if we played our second stringers vs Turkey Id expect to lose...thats my point.

the turks are far superior than the US