This Sunday with no TV coverage. Are the ratings that low that they won't stick it on ESPN2? Seems like they'd atleast try to make money in the long run by getting people interested in soccer before the world cup coverage begins.

Actually soccer ratings are pretty good. especially those of the national team. I have no idea why it is not being aired. It will probably be on HDnet.

One reason is probably Canada. They stink. Despite the common border, we don't have a rivalry with them in soccer.

I guess Jamaica is a rivlary......

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I guess Jamaica is a rivlary.

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I don't know about rivalry, but they're certainly better competition and a more interesting team to watch.

Jamaica sorta is a rivalry.

Maybe a different example is needed. The USA-Canada is not going to be shown for the same reason that A&M-Citadel game won't next year.

Soccer does do OK, but I'm thinking the NFC and AFC Conference Finals have something to do with it as well.

more reason to show it on espn right?

my bad

[This message has been edited by Eugene4x (edited 1/20/2006 9:26p).]

[This message has been edited by Eugene4x (edited 1/20/2006 9:26p).]

[This message has been edited by Eugene4x (edited 1/20/2006 9:27p).]

Game is underway right now. 25 minutes in. Still tied 0-0. Canada leading in shots 4-3

0-0 at half. We're not using our best roster. Looks like we have some people in there to test them out.

0-0 final.

Eddie Johnson gets hurt; Adu gets his first cap.

[This message has been edited by 1 (edited 1/22/2006 9:01p).]

Final was 0-0.

Freddy Adu came on as sub in 83rd minute. Got a yellow card a few minutes later for diving. Not even 17 years old.

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Eddie Johnson gets hurt

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This better not be serious. We can ill afford to lose him as our depth up top sucks.

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Adu had replaced Johnson when the forward went down with a right calf contusion, which was confirmed by a negative MRI test after the match.

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Looks like it might not be too bad

http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=297451&itype=113&iCategoryID=0

Score: 0-0.

One would think this game would have been very entertaining to watch. The USA getting ready for a World Cup, players trying to prove themselves, and creativity in the attacking third. While the game wasn't boring, I was very disappointed at the USA performance. Stadium of 6000 was full, and we watched as Canada was the more exciting team. DeResario and company attacked the flanks and really should have won the game. "Goal Scoring Opportunities" was along the lines of Canada 5, USA 3.

GK - Reis (6) - made the saves he had to, one great save on DeResario. Doesn't look great with his feet.
DEF -
Pope (6) - won air balls consistently and chased down a breakaway for a goal-saving tackle at the top of the box. Solidified the middle defense.
Conrad (5) - No mistakes. Played alongside Pope in the middle defense.
Hedjuk (3) - Was out of position several times and when he wasn't, he didn't mark. DeResario had a field day down the left side.
Pearce (3) - Was out of position several times and when he wasn't, he didn't mark. This guy is not the solution for left back.
MID -
Olsen (4) - worked hard. Held mostly in the middle, breaking out to the right occasionally. Kerry Z subbed in for him at half.
Donovan (4) - invisible in a game he should have starred in.
Dempsey (6) - most touches of anyone on the US team. Dug the ball out of the back. Attacked from the middle and the left.
Wolff (5) - most creative US forward. Had a goal called back (offside) because Twellman dished it too late.
Twellman (4) - fired an open shot from 17 yards out straight-on, over the goal. Held onto the ball to long when he shouldn't and flicked balls on to no one when he should have held onto it. Squandering National Team auditions. The next Jason Kreis, good in the MLS, not good at the next level.
Ching (4) - served as a target but pretty worthless. His footskills are not World cup level.

SUBs -
Zavignan (4) - in for Olsen at half. Average performance.
Klein (4) - in for Hejduk. Average performance.
Johnson (Inc) - came in for Twellman. He is a physical specimen, fast, quick and tough. Hopefully he stays healthy.
Rolff (Inc) - came in late for Wolff. Why is this guy even sniffing caps? A 5'5" forward?
Adu (Inc) - came in for Johnson (injury) with 6 minutes left. 1st cap for the National Team. Wow, he looks quick. Got more touches than Johnson and Rolff in less playing time. His first touch resulted in a yellow card. He took a cross into the box, chested, touched by a defender and went around the defender but was slightly clipped. He then dove. The ref gave him a yellow for diving. Should not have been a penalty, but he was touched, and therefore should not have been a yellow either. A huge Canadian defender then went up to him and put a finger in his face. Adu did not back down, yet was mature, smiled and walked away. The crowd was nuts when he got the ball in the box, had he scored on this first touches in the 85th minute, it would have been awesome. Final note, the entire crowd BOOED the US performance after the game... Until next week, there is your report...

I didn't see the match, but I am disappointed in this performance. I know Bruce is experimenting with players and formations, etc, but Canada is simply not a good team. Even our third-stringers should be able to score on them.

The good news is that at least two of those scrubs who started up front won't even be on the squad in Germany, much less starting. Hopefully Bruce has finally seen that it's time to forget about Ching and Twellman for now. I don't like Wolff much better because he rarely finishes, but at least he occasionally shows some ball-handling skills.

I've said it before and I certainly hope I'm wrong, but I think that if Eddie Johnson is not healthy come June, we're totally screwed. Nobody else up front can consistently put the ball in the net.

And what's the deal with Donovan? More often than not, he seems like he's just coasting. I don't know if this was the case tonight because I didn't see the game, but there often seems to be an indifference in his play. I don't think this will carry over into World Cup play, but it's annoying nonetheless.

Finally, it's a bad time for Adu to be making his national team debut. Few would argue that he's ready for competitive international football at this stage, and he's just a distraction we don't need this close to the WC.

We have at least five more warm-up matches before the World Cup, and I certainly hope Bruce starts to put together something that looks like a lineup we could actually field at the finals. It would be nice for the expected starters to get a few minutes to play together before the real deal. Czech Republic and Italy will not allow any chance for our players to get comfortable or learn as they go.

</rant>

Isn't Adu about 5'5" ?

It's January people and this was a friendly. Those two things alone answer and explain some/most of your concerns. By all accounts the game was crap...more crap than it should have been. But if you had any other expectations that were much greater, well I think you could be at fault for expecting too much. If the US is tanking it in March or, god forbid, May, then you will have cause for concern but to worry now is ridiculous.

Most of the players on this roster will not even sniff the rosters in March and May. This camp is what it is...a chance for a few players to shine and prove they belong on the roster. Of the players in camp, only Donovan is a shoe-in to be in Germany and I'd wager that at most 3 other players will join him. Don't expect to see a roster that looks anything like what we will have in Germany...at least not until March. I will say that it's disappointing to hear that Pearce played poorly. I love Eddie Lewis, but I don't trust his defensive skills against the likes of Italy and the Czech Republic.

In regards to Donovan, the fact that he disappeared for long stretches doesn't surprise me. He knows when a game is relatively meaningless and he plays accordingly...always has and always will. And this game was completely meaningless for him. He knows he's going to Germany and he knows most of these playders will not be. He also knows that the result is relatively meaningless...ergo his performance.

As for our forward situation, I am concerned as well. Ching and Twellman haven't impressed me at all. McBride and EJ (when healthy) are just fine though. I'd like to see Rolfe more to be honest. I had no problem with Adu playing. I don't think you can really say he's a distraction. I mean who exactly is being distracted by him? Moreover, he was capped so we don't have to worry about him changing his mind at some later date and playing for Ghana.

I did have a HUGE problem with his dive. He even admitted that he wanted to "put the ref in a difficult position." Hey, guess what Freddy. You're developing a reputation as a player who dives more than Greg Louganis and putting yourself in a difficult situation. Getting a reputation as a diver is never a good way to get penalties and is playing like a ***** to boot. Stop doing it.

If anyone wants links to the video highlights here they are:

http://www.ussoccer.com/editorial/content.sps?iType=9943

Not sure what chances of Adu playing for Ghana were, but at least we've put that to bed. I think it was great time for his debut. Meaningless game, at home, below average opponent. Just 10 minutes of action will help. Make him work that much harder.

I just watched the highlights and I saw a few good things from a couple of the guy's you bashed in your ratings. First of all Twellman was 20-22 yards out and while he did shank his shot it would have taken a great one to go in from where he was. Also, with Pearce, they didn't really show him marking, but he served in some great long balls to the forwards that would really open up our game if we used the box midfield in Germany. I'm liking Pearce more and more. He seems like he'd be a better defender than Convey or Lewis and he sends in balls from the back that are just as good. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the World Cup roster.

Convey is a much better player than pearce...but pearce does have potential. The problem we have with twellman's wide open shot from 20 yards out, is he didn't even put it on target. For most people, doin that every now and then is no problem. He has made a habit of it in every national team appearance.

I agree that overall Convey is a better player, but what I'm saying is that if I made a depth chart(and I'm saying this without having watched much of Pearce, but just on reputation and highlights), I would put Pearce above Convey at that position. I would do that because of Pearce's experience playing everyday at that position in a league comparable to Convey's and looking good doing it(an offer from a Bundesliga team) and because he sends in nearly the same quality ball from the back as either Convey or Lewis.

As for Twellman, it's hard for me to evaluate what he can do b/c I think he needs constant good service to put in a goal and so far he hasn't gotten much time with the first team, so I just don't know what to think about these near misses. I'm on the fence with him right now. I'd almost say instead of him you take Rolfe and the forwards would look like this: McBride, EJ, Wolff, Rolfe, Donovan(maybe a game or two when tactics allow for it).

I honestly, would rather have convey not play defense, I think he'd be much more effective at outside mid, but I dont know who you would drop for him...and I think a lot of people have forgotten that we still have Steve Cherundolo. Im also kind of interested in seeing us go with a 3-5-2 with donovan as the attacking mid, or 3-4-3 with mcbridge the target forward and ej and donovan running off him. If john o'brien comes back, and dempsey keeps makin progress, ej gets health, I think we really have a shot at being an offensive force.

I would also like to see a 3-5-2. I think it works well with our personnel, assuming everyone is healthy. I think we talked about specific personnel that could work in this formation a few months back. Anyway, I would like to see:

McBride............EJ
........Donovan.......
Beasley..Reyna..O'Brien..Ralston/Dempsey
Boca/Hejduk...Gooch...Cherundolo/Gibbs
..........Keller.......


That personnel group is a little light on defense, but I think it would be fun to watch.

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If john o'brien comes back, and dempsey keeps makin progress, ej gets health, I think we really have a shot at being an offensive force.

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We need all of those players, but unfortunately having all of them available throughout the World Cup is looking less and less likely.

Soccer America came out with their report card so I wanted to post it. For the most part, they watched the same game I did. I'm not sure why SA put Canada's attack up the flanks on Pope and not Hejduk and Pearce. I'm surprised at the 3 point discrepancy on Dempsey, surely he had the most touches of US player. I'll watch him even closer if he plays in LA.


STARTERS:
7 Matt Reis
5 Frankie Hejduk
4 Eddie Pope
5 Jimmy Conrad
5 Heath Pearce
3 Clint Dempsey
4 Ben Olsen
4 Landon Donovan
4 Brian Ching
4 Taylor Twellman
6 Josh Wolff
SUBS:
5 Kerry Zavagnin
4 Eddie Johnson
6 Chris Klein
NR Chris Rolfe
NR Freddy Adu

I also think the 3-5-2 best fits our 1st team, but I'm not sure that our defense would be strong enough. One change I'd make to your lineup is:

McBride - EJ

Donovan
Beas - Reyna - JOB - Cherundolo

Boca - Gooch - Gibbs

I'd want Cherundolo to be more of a wingback but with a little less defensive responsibility, but I wouldn't want him to get forward quite as much as a true right mid.

I just think dempsey has a chance to be a real special player for us. This world cup has a chance to be real frustrating, unfortunately.
Reyna, mastroeni, ej, obrien all hurt to some degree. So we are either depending on some excellent players to get healthy and in match condition...or some young playes with star potential to step up the development.

Word is Conor Casey will be fit enough to challenge for a 1st team spot with Mainz in about two weeks...just finished his first full practice scrimmage with Mainz yesterday and had no problems.

Now I wasn't terribly impressed with him in the few looks he has gotten with USMNT but considering the lack of options up top, I'd love to see him get semi-regular PT by mid Feb and then get called in for a look for the March 22nd friendly.

That's good news. Personally, I'd rather have Casey on the bench as a substitute ahead of either Ching or Twellman. I might even give him a chance ahead of Wolff, given Wolff's absolute refusal to put the ball in the net.