Nick Against the World (99 Viewers)

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
117,299
Erik said:
Bruce Arena (can't get over how dumb that name sounds)
Despite being laughable, supposedly the name Arena is fairly common in Sicily, so says some ESPN football commentators. However, I have yet to see another "Arena."


announced his 23-man squad for the world cup, making him the first coach to do so. That's admirable to me, but also a tad risky. Play is still going on all over Europe and although you can still switch injured players up to the very first match of the tournament, those changes usually don't sit very well with the team (compared to just 1 final selection).

Code:
Marcus Hahnemann	doelman		Reading (Eng)
Tim Howard		doelman		Manchester Utd. (Eng)
Kasey Keller		doelman		Mönchengladbach (Dui)
Carlos Bocanegra	verdediger	Fulham (Eng)
Steve Cherundolo	verdediger	Hannover 96 (Dui)
Jimmy Conrad		verdediger	Kansas City (VS)
Cory Gibbs		verdediger	ADO Den Haag (Ned)
Frankie Hejduk		verdediger	Columbus Crew (VS)
Eddie Lewis		verdediger	Leeds United (Eng)
Oguchi Onyewu 	 	verdediger	Standard Luik (Bel)
Eddie Pope		verdediger	Real Salt Lake (VS)
DaMarcus Beasley	middenvelder	PSV Eindhoven (Ned)
Bobby Convey		middenvelder	Reading (VS)
Clint Dempsey		middenvelder	New England (VS)
Landon Donovan		middenvelder	LA Galaxy (VS)
Pablo Mastroeni		middenvelder	Colorado (VS)
John OBrien		middenvelder	Chivas USA (VS)
Ben Olsen		middenvelder	DC United (VS)
Claudio Reyna		middenvelder	Manchester City (Eng)
Eddie Johnson		aanvaller	Kansas City (VS)
Brian McBride		aanvaller	Fulham (Eng)
Brian Ching		aanvaller	Houston (VS)
Josh Wolff		aanvaller	Kansas City (VS)
I got this list off a Dutch site, but I'm sure you'll all get it...
There were a few surprises, actually. New England striker Taylor Twellman was not included in Bruce's list, which in my opinion is a big mistake. A player named Brian Ching is going in his place, and he really has shown me nothing apart from some good performances in the MLS. The stopper Berhalter was also left out of the squad for Conrad, which is another dubious decision in my eyes. Twellman and Berhalter are simply better players than those who took their place.

From this list of players I think the obvious solution to our formation conundrum is to play with a five man midfield which will include our best players. Reyna, Beasley, Donovan, O'Brien, and the potential secret weapon Dempsey form our best midfield ever, and I would not exclude one of them for another striker, such as Eddie Johnson. I also find it difficult to leave Bobby Convey out of the squad, because, as everyone knows, he was one of the major reasons for Reading tearing up the League Championship this season. We could use his speed and precision on the left flank, however I would still prefer to play Beasley instead. This midfield has experiance deep and youth and flair more forward. We can play the ball extremely quickly and the youngsters will cause almost any team problems. Dempsey could potentially be one of the surprise players this summer, as his form has been absolutely excellent thus far and his confidence is sky high...his quick feet and brilliant moves with the ball have made many defenders look foolish recently. And as I stated before I believe Europe will be calling for him after this World Cup, much like Beasley and Donovan last time around.

So, with all due respect to Bruce Arena, this is how we should line up against the Czech Republic on June 12th:


Keller

Cherundolo - Onyewu - Bocanegra - Lewis

Dempsey - Reyna - O'Brien

Donovan - Beasley

McBride


That looks perfect to me. Dempsey will have the right side of the pitch to release his terror, Reyna and Johnny-O will hold in central midfield, with Beasley out on the left flank and Donovan roaming behind our lone striker. We play the ball quickly and put loads of pressure on every single side we play.

The best way to beat the Czechs is to beat them at their own attacking game, something we could certainly do. We could run them off the pitch and if Nedved is off form we could have a bit easier of a time. Against Italy we should PRESSURE HARD and force them to make errors. If we play Italy like English clubs face Italian sides, we should cause them a lot of problems. We can run Italy off the pitch and this is something we must do if we have any chance of snatching this game from the Azzurri.

This United States National Team is better than that of 2002, however with younger and less experianced players. I think this injection of youth will help our cause to some extent, however the central pairing in defense may be a bit suspect. Onyewu is a fantastic young player and made Jared Borghetti look like a fool two times in the past. I believe in this side and we could yet again light up the World Cup and find millions of people with egg on their silly faces come June.
 

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
117,299
OMFG. I just looked at my grades and I just passed Calculus at Penn State with the most ridiculous professor ever with an 85 B average. WTF. How the fuck did I do that?

Sheesh. And I thought I was going to fail that class.
 

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
117,299
Well, I'm fairly wasted after the events of the day. I was able to attain a B in calculus-based physics, as well a B in calculus which is the highest grade in the class. This semester has went fairly well, and looks like I'm still on course towards being a meteorologist, one of the most difficult majors at Penn State. I think I have had enough for one day, and all I can say is..

Myself myself vaffanculo.
 

JCK

Biased
JCK
May 11, 2004
125,445
Our anti-Pessotto friend is in action today and he seems an anti-Birindelli as well. The worst thing is he rates Zebina higher than our two veterans.
 

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
117,299
Jeeks said:
Our anti-Pessotto friend is in action today and he seems an anti-Birindelli as well. The worst thing is he rates Zebina higher than our two veterans.
Hahahahaha what an absolute disgrace. I'll pounce on that crap when I'm sober tomorrow.

How is it going, my friend?
 

JCK

Biased
JCK
May 11, 2004
125,445
It's all fine, I woke up early and have nothing to do, but I'll take advantage of this time and plan more the Torino trip. Good to hear you passed your calculus course. Everything else is fine?
 

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
117,299
Jeeks said:
It's all fine, I woke up early and have nothing to do, but I'll take advantage of this time and plan more the Torino trip. Good to hear you passed your calculus course. Everything else is fine?
Everything else is going well, my man. I was able to receive an A in my meteorology course, however I only received a B in my public speaking course which is somewhat of a disapointment. The semester went better than expected, however I still should have done better. That calculus course owned me though.

Thats simply awesome you're going to the Delle Alpi this weekend...you better take some pictures and I hope you have a great time. I hope to make a visit within the next two years, as visiting Turin is one of my goals in the short-term. As being a college student I have not had the opportunity to do so yet, however that time will come for me. Good luck my man.

Please pardon the incoherence. I'm wasted.
 

swag

L'autista
Administrator
Sep 23, 2003
85,072
Andy said:
OMFG. I just looked at my grades and I just passed Calculus at Penn State with the most ridiculous professor ever with an 85 B average. WTF. How the fuck did I do that?

Sheesh. And I thought I was going to fail that class.
Congrats, Andy. In my own college experience, I was pleasantly surprised in the many tests where myself and others were convinced that we all got less than half the answers, and yet we ended up with legitimate grades.

WTF is right. :pint:
 

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
117,299
swag said:
Congrats, Andy. In my own college experience, I was pleasantly surprised in the many tests where myself and others were convinced that we all got less than half the answers, and yet we ended up with legitimate grades.

WTF is right. :pint:
Thanks, my man. I seriously thought I failed the final because it was easily the most difficult exam I have ever taken. I had a C average in the run up until the exam, so this was quite a pleasant surprise. Seeing that I need to pass three more calculus courses to successfully attain a degree in meteorology, this is good news.

But WTF indeed. :lol2: Penn State is the shit.
 

Slagathor

Bedpan racing champion
Jul 25, 2001
22,708
Andy said:
Despite being laughable, supposedly the name Arena is fairly common in Sicily, so says some ESPN football commentators. However, I have yet to see another "Arena."
Oh I've seen the name before in Italy. Some girl: Anna Arena :wallbang:

There were a few surprises, actually. New England striker Taylor Twellman was not included in Bruce's list, which in my opinion is a big mistake. A player named Brian Ching is going in his place, and he really has shown me nothing apart from some good performances in the MLS. The stopper Berhalter was also left out of the squad for Conrad, which is another dubious decision in my eyes. Twellman and Berhalter are simply better players than those who took their place.

From this list of players I think the obvious solution to our formation conundrum is to play with a five man midfield which will include our best players. Reyna, Beasley, Donovan, O'Brien, and the potential secret weapon Dempsey form our best midfield ever, and I would not exclude one of them for another striker, such as Eddie Johnson. I also find it difficult to leave Bobby Convey out of the squad, because, as everyone knows, he was one of the major reasons for Reading tearing up the League Championship this season. We could use his speed and precision on the left flank, however I would still prefer to play Beasley instead. This midfield has experiance deep and youth and flair more forward. We can play the ball extremely quickly and the youngsters will cause almost any team problems. Dempsey could potentially be one of the surprise players this summer, as his form has been absolutely excellent thus far and his confidence is sky high...his quick feet and brilliant moves with the ball have made many defenders look foolish recently. And as I stated before I believe Europe will be calling for him after this World Cup, much like Beasley and Donovan last time around.

So, with all due respect to Bruce Arena, this is how we should line up against the Czech Republic on June 12th:


Keller

Cherundolo - Onyewu - Bocanegra - Lewis

Dempsey - Reyna - O'Brien

Donovan - Beasley

McBride


That looks perfect to me. Dempsey will have the right side of the pitch to release his terror, Reyna and Johnny-O will hold in central midfield, with Beasley out on the left flank and Donovan roaming behind our lone striker. We play the ball quickly and put loads of pressure on every single side we play.

The best way to beat the Czechs is to beat them at their own attacking game, something we could certainly do. We could run them off the pitch and if Nedved is off form we could have a bit easier of a time. Against Italy we should PRESSURE HARD and force them to make errors. If we play Italy like English clubs face Italian sides, we should cause them a lot of problems. We can run Italy off the pitch and this is something we must do if we have any chance of snatching this game from the Azzurri.

This United States National Team is better than that of 2002, however with younger and less experianced players. I think this injection of youth will help our cause to some extent, however the central pairing in defense may be a bit suspect. Onyewu is a fantastic young player and made Jared Borghetti look like a fool two times in the past. I believe in this side and we could yet again light up the World Cup and find millions of people with egg on their silly faces come June.
I would disagree on how to handle the Czechs. Come out attacking is exactly what we did on Euro2004 and we all know how that ended :groan: In the WC qualification round, we let them come at us and focused more on counter attacks. Of course; that requires a great in-form keeper, which Van der Sar was at that point. Then again, it didn't really go wrong for us on Euro2004 until *after* Robben had been replaced for Bosvelt and we really focused on defending so you might be on to something here.

The Czechs are just tricky.

As for Italy; if you go out attacking, you might end up like Ajax and PSV vs Milan or Inter. Played better, should have won, but... ya didn't. :lazy:
 

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