The US Fan's Perspective: From Cringing to Leaning Forward

Correspondent Scott is especially prolific lately:

I know it's not the World Cup yet, but USA's 2-1 victory over Nigeria in Jacksonville has convinced me that US Soccer has finally, truly arrived. I'm not saying they are going to win the World Cup, but I think it is safe to say that we can now play with anyone and play the game well - maintain possession, utilize quick, one-touch passes, create opportunities and counter.

Let's face it, it wasn't that long ago that as a fan I would lean back and cringe a little at how we might keep the ball or make a technical error (anybody remember Jeff Agoos against Jamaica?).  Fast forward a couple World Cups and now I lean forward each time we have the ball, in anticipation of what we might create.

Yes, there were still a few cringe-worthy moments, usually defensively, but even those are far fewer than a decade ago.  Quite frankly, there's no way a Jeff Agoos even makes the team now. To be clear, I mean no disrespect to Mr. Agoos, who gave his all for our National Team.  He is just a dusty example of when our all wasn't nearly enough. But now, playing our best and not making any mistakes, we really do have a chance to beat the best in the world. And with the formation change yesterday that left both Beckerman and Jones providing cover for the defense, allowing Bradley to create going forward, we might have found our best chance of escaping the Group of Death.

Damage Control: Manchester United 0 - Sunderland 1

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The damage done to Manchester United under its former manager showed that it will take well more than a single week to undo, as a listless home side lost to Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday, the game and United's offense moving at a torpid pace throughout the afternoon.  Offering up a performance that looked as uninspired as it felt, the only silver lining for the club is that the most recent loss -- United's 12th of the season -- mirrored Tottenham's weak performance earlier in the day, and continued to insure that the Europa League will not interfere with the team's schedule next season.  

Herewith the individual performances in a match that will be glossed over very quickly in the season review DVD: 

De Gea: Uncharacteristically atrocious clearances in both halves. His best defenders after the interval were the goalpost and the bar. 5.5

Jones: Featured on offense as well as defense. 6.0

Ferdinand: Looked every bit of his 35 years today. 5.5

Vidic (c): Wide with his header and should've been dismissed for his tackle on Altidore near the final whistle. 5.0

Evra: He's trying but it just ain't there for him this season. 5.5

Nani: Consistently inconsistent and much too easily moved off the ball. 5.0

Carrick: Ventured further forward but lost Larson when it mattered most.  Too many poor, slow passes and turnovers to count. 4.5

Fletcher: Did next to nothing to stop the cross that led to Sunderland's opener.  It was an inspiring comeback, but it may be time to call time on his United career. 4.5

Young: A busy first half but unable to supply much quality. Looked better on the left than on the right, but we're using "better" in a relative sense. 4.5

Obsequious Fawning: Week 1 in the Barclay's Premier League

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Week one is in the bag, and farlieonfootie's regularly insightful and often irrelevant insights on the Premier League are back for your reading pleasure:

o Don't know about you, but we were left scratching our collective heads over the style of football that Sparky is attempting to play at Stoke City....  If "no possession and relatively few chances" are what the Potters' owners had in mind when they sacked Tony Pulis in search of a new footballing identity, then we guess they're well on track.

o After watching Sunderland lose at home to Fulham this Saturday, we're wondering if Jozy Altidore will live to regret his move from the Eredivisie to the Prem.  Racking up 30 goals a season will give a striker some confidence, and Jozy's recent play for the US National Team has shown that he was positively coursing with self assurance after his year in Holland. But playing for a Sunderland side that looks as if they could be relegation fodder could have a belief-sapping effect on the young American. Only time will tell, but we're already watching.

o And speaking of Jozy Altidore, his former employer -- the Hull City Tigers, for those paying attention -- were playing the role of sacrificial lambs for the love-in that was Jose Mourinho's to Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Looking more toothless than tiger-ish, Hull City showed the drastic gap in talent that often exists between the top teams in the League and those coming up from below.  And Steve Bruce, with his embarassingly obsequious fawning over the 'Happy One,' has just demonstrated once again that all great players do not turn out to make great managers. It's gonna be a long year at Hull.

Here Come the Americans! USMNT 4 - Bosnia-Herzegovina 3

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Remember the bad old days?  Apparently, neither does Correspondent Scott:

Now let's not jump to conclusions here, but that was a quality performance against a quality team. Getting the errors out of the way early, the US then settled down in the second half, maintained possession more and created chance after chance for an on-fire Jozy Altidore. Credit must also be given to Jurgen Klinsmann's tactical change and apparent pep talk at half time. And all without Clint Dempsey or Landon Donovan.

A demerit must be given to ESPN who mistakenly listed Bosnia-Herzegivina's Asmir Begovic in goal for the Americans on the pregame graphic. Come on, guys!  Everybody on staff should have been able to realize that the Bosnian-sounding name had erroneously usurped the perennial American 'keeper with the American name, Tim Howard.

If I was excited to see Altidore ply his trade in the BPL again before, I'll now be losing sleep until Sunderland's first kickoff.

Eddie Johnson's lackadaisical care for the ball just outside his own 18 was to blame for the home side's first goal, despite Howard's first-shot heroics. Although both central defenders are also to blame for beseeching for offside rather than hustling to cover their goal line.

The next error that led to the 2-0 halftime score line is one that DRIVES ME NUT!  On set pieces, you have to mark closely until the ball is COMPLETELY CLEARED. Second chance crosses that find now-open opponents will kill you every time!

But boy does 20 minutes getting spoken to harshly with a German accent make a difference (just ask every team our friend Olaf has coached)!  Although possession was starting to swing to the US toward the end of the first half, clear scoring opportunities were lacking. But that all changed with a revamped formation and a little more hunger. Although the US Haters have been flooding the internet with how BH "called off the dogs" when they made three subs to start the second half, I don't believe that for a second. Only one of the three subs was critical - one was inconsequential and the last involved trading out a defender so flummoxed by Altidore that he had to pick up a yellow. And when two more subs were made after the Americans pulled within one goal, I can guarantee you that their coach was more concerned about maintaining his home unbeaten streak than about reining in canines. And it's not like Edin Dzeko called it an early night.

We Agree on Some Things: USA 1 - Honduras 0

 

 

After a further review of his beer count, Scott remembered some additional thoughts he had on the American's 2-1 victory over Honduras Tuesday night:

 

The Farlieonfootie game-watching party at Coach Mark’s house was much as it should have been: mounds of chicken wings, oversized bottles of craft beer and soccer opinions flying around like mosquitoes after a fresh summer rain in South Florida.  Clearly the higher alcohol content favored by smaller production breweries contributed to the conviviality that saw United, Liverpool and Tottenham fans all putting aside their differences to agree on just about everything as it related to Team USA:

o Michael Bradley’s head should be in every wall formed by the US from now on.  If we get the rest of his body that is a plus.  But we at least need his head, which single-foreheadedly blocked one of the more ominous Honduran attempts on goal. 

 

o As a quick Google Images search revealed, Clint Dempsey’s perpetual look of disdain is clearly an effort to compensate for his default permanent grin, courtesy of his photogenic and paintily clad wife, Bethany.

 

o Jozy Altidore, recently interviewed by our host, Mark, as the pictures of his daughter and the Forward proved, is on a tear with four consecutive international games with a goal.  As his confidence grows, he is beginning to look like the strong scorer we’ve been expecting.  May his streak continue!

 

o After the photos of his daughter, next up from Mark were classic audio clips of commentary by the inimitable Ray Hudson.  Heads were nodding all around when it was proposed that Mr. Hudson is maybe the best at his trade.  If only Fox Soccer were of the same mind rather than enlisting the services of the enthusiastic yet hapless Gus Johnson.

 

o After the aforementioned nodding of heads, there was a communal scratching of those heads as we tried to piece together the mystery that is Cobi Jones having over 100 caps for the national team.  This was followed by a general, slow, side-to-side shaking of heads (accompanied by two forceful exhales and at least one eye roll) as we then reminisced about the thankfully brief Tim Ream experiment.

 

o Has Michael Bradley officially broken the American player in Serie A curse that began with Alexi Lalas?  Maybe.

Getting a Big Head: USMNT 1 - Honduras 0

Continuing our theme of not enough soccer and never enough beer, the farlieonfootie corporate staff gathered on Tuesday night to watch the US Men in action against Honduras at Coach Mark's bachelor pad.  The swanky soiree was catered with the best food that money could buy and a fairly decent selection of craft beers, as well: The Bruery (Mischief), Dogfish Head (75 Minute), and Lagunitas (Sumpin' Sumpin') were all represented. As was Goose Island (312 Urban Wheat), a beer which Correspondent Ed gets cranky about when we refer to it as a "craft," but as no one pays him any mind in the first place, his sulking in the corner brought no further disruption to the evening's festivities.

 

Despite the beer flowing liberally, we did manage to retain enough of our wits about us to keep at least some small impressions from last night's crucial 1-0 victory for the Nats, viz:

 

o Although we've always fancied the Great Gazoo to play the role of Michael Bradley when they make the movie about how the USA won the World Cup, Correspondent Ed made a decent case last night for Megamind.  We'll leave it up to you, our faithful readers, to make the final call:

 



Who Will Play the Role of Michael Bradley?  You Decide.



 

o Regardless of who plays the role, there's no denying the former coach's son has become an integral part of the US setup, and is probably our second most important player at this point -- trailing only the Deuce, Clint Dempsey.  He's definitely turned around our former thinking on the subject from a year and a half ago -- there's no denying that some time in Roma has helped our boy significantly "up" his game.

 

o Jozy Altidore has turned into a pretty decent center forward.  Scoring 24 golazzos in a single season in Europe will do that to you, we guess....  During the past month Altidore has displayed a depth and maturity to his game that we hadn't seen before, and his confidence has got to be sky high after his latest exploits.  His touch looked great, his runs were brilliant, and his hold up play was much better than average -- and that says nothing about his finishing, which is on a par right now with the best the US has ever seen. 

 

o Could it be be coincidence that the US offense has started to click under the tutelage of noted former goalscorer Jurgen Klinsmann, or could it just possibly be that the Nats' bossman might know a thing or two about putting the ball in the back of the net...?  Although we were early and ardent admirers of der Klinsi, many fans in the US camp needed some convincing -- and some still do.  To hell with his "inability to switch tactics in the middle of a game."  We're more interested in watching a team that looks as if it's beginning to understand how to truly play the game in the first place.  Did we ever see any sustained wide play under Bob Bradley? 

Well, That Was Better: USMNT 2 - Panama 0

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It's all Ed all the time around corporate HQ these days: 

My US national team assignment continues, this time from Seattle, Washington, where our heroes put in a dramatically better performance to defeat Panama 2 to 0 and move to first place in their World Cup qualifying group.  (By the way, thanks for putting me up in that slick Residence Inn, boss, really loved the gratuitous continental breakfast buffet.)  Of course, this was a home game against weak opposition, but even so the USA moved and handled the ball with much more confidence and tactical awareness.  In particular....

Michael Bradley.  Bradley played one of his better games, controlling the middle, handling the ball well, and working forward into space on breaks expertly.  He was the man of the match for the US, and was only stopped from scoring by an unfortunately positioned Clint Dempsey.  I recall much criticism of Bradley as only starting because he's the coach's son.  Well, that's not true.  Bradley is the best midfielder we have right now.  He lacks speed and isn't dazzling, but he's one of the few American's whose capable on the ball and has the vision of a coach's son.  He's also clearly a leader of that team.  At 26, he's coming into the prime of his career and in the next World Cup the USA will need him.

Jozy Altidore.  Altidore had a terrific game, but remains to me simply an old style number 9.   He uses his strength well, can finish, and is a threat in the air, but don't look for him to scare anyone when he has the ball at his feet in the way top strikers like Aguero or Van Persie do.  That said, he is also older now and is gaining confidence.

Geoff Cameron.  The press had the loss of Jermaine Jones due to a concussion as being a huge problem for the USA.  I see the value of Jones and think he's a solid player, but I've also felt that his touch is suspect in addition to his all to frequent lapses of judgment with hard fouls.  Geoff Cameron, it turns out, filled in admirably and seemed to be little different than Jones in this one, perhaps even better.

Damarcus Beasley.  Well, I've been harsh on Damarcus for some time, but he had one of his best games against Panama.  He was solid and defense and handled himself well on offense.  I'm sorry to say, though, that the lack of competition on that side seemed a huge part of his success, and I still can't believe we don't have someone better. 

Finally, a Match

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He's Good, But is He That Good?!  Ryan Giggs came out recently and said that Nani has become the new Cristiano Ronaldo, filling a void that United has felt since CR7's departure two years ago. Based on current playing form, Nani may indeed be able to hit Giggs' formidable target of 20 goals scored and 20 more created, although by my reckoning those two totals combined would still fall short of Ronnie's record 42 goal haul a few years back. I agree with Giggs' overall sentiment, though, and if Nani can become more clinical in the final third of the pitch, there may be no stopping him.

So Charlie Davies May Not Actually Be a Speed Merchant, Just a Liar.  I don't know which makes you want to question this guy's judgment more: that Charlie Davies was caught speeding 125 MPH last week in France a year after almost dying in a car crash that seriously derailed his soccer career, or that Davies now says a teammate was driving the car that got pulled over, and he switched places with him at the last minute so his teammate could avoid the infraction. If this latter story is true, it's even more amazing, as Davies was a passenger in the car that wrecked outside DC last October, so you'd think he'd be even more sensitive to riding shotgun in a car streaking through France at roughly the speed of light. Guess again. If you're the coach (are you reading this Bob Bradley?), one would think you would seriously question this guy's decision making process.

Speaking of Coach Bradley and the US Mens' National Team, they were in action last night in Chicago, playing the Polish National Team (hold your jokes), and drawing 2-2. Although I only managed to eke out second half viewing, several thoughts jumped out at me while watching:

Jermaine Jones Could Be Good.  Very good, in fact. Although he previously played some friendlies for the German National Team, because he was never capped in a true international Jones was allowed to switch his allegiance to his mother country from der faterland and join the Stars and Stripes. Based on his perfomance last night, the move agrees with him. Jones' sharp, incisive, and often long, pinpoint passes, which the US has lacked in recent years (let's be honest: forever), led to several scoring opportunities and at leat one goal. Well done, Jermaine.

Jozy Altidore is Not Sharp Right Now, But it's Not His Fault. Altidore did a nice job holding up the ball and imposing his physical style on the Pole's central defense, but he missed finishing several clear cut chances in front of goal. Unfortunately for the USMNT, Altidore is not appearing regularly (in fact, I think that's stretching the truth: I don't think he's appeared at all in La Liga) for Valencia, so he can't expect to be clinical with his finishing right now.  The chances last night were probably some of the first real "game condition" opportunities he's had since the World Cup. Playing in Europe may be great for Altidore's development IF HE ACTUALLY PLAYED, but if he's not in a regular lineup he should seriously consider coming back to the US and playing over here. At least he'd know what to do with the ball when he gets it.

Maurice Edu Played Out of Position Last Night, But Still Managed to Look Impressive. His regular football with Rangers in the Scottish Premier League must be helping, as Edu's fine World Cup form seems to have carried over into the Fall. I still look back in disbelief that Bradley started Ricardo Clark (are you kidding me?) over Edu in the fatal game against Ghana last June. For that mistake alone he probably should have lost his job.

Stu Holden Had a Nice Game. In addition to being a regular Tweeter (@stuholden), Stu has developed into a nice taker of US corner kicks. The second goal last night resulted from a dangerous Holden kick into the box, and he almost repeated the feat in the game's dying seconds. With deleiveries like that, did we miss @LandonDonovan last night?  Methinks not too much.

And finally, there's this bit of news:


Wayne Rooney Wants a Mid-Winter Break in the Premier League. And he probably wants it right now, so he can avoid the media spotlight a bit longer.

A glare that I'll gladly take from him. And that's farlieonfootie for October 10.