U.S. Soccer (11 Viewers)
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Chiumiento was excellent in the season opener - dictated play, and set up both of the first half goals before picking up a hamstring injury and getting subbed.
Hopefully he'll be back soon - he's one of the few difference maker for the Whitecaps, no doubt about it.
Can't wait to see this Omar Salgado kid play.
Ha! Well I was at the home opener against TFC, and the atmosphere was fucking awesome. Little makeshift Empire Field (while they fix up the roof at BC Place) was rocking; it was packed, they've got all metal bleachers, the noise was crazy. Actually, I think the atmosphere at Empire will probably be better than it will be at cavernous BC Place (which is where the Lions play, was used for opening/closing ceremonies at the Olympics). It's also nice that their are snow capped mountains in the background... nice scenery.
The Whitecaps players sounded very impressed with the turnout afterwards (of course they did, but it was genuine I think).
I'll definitely follow the team, as a distant second favorite to Juventus. I actually was registered for season tickets, but my buddy who was going to grab the seat beside me bailed - he's getting married in June, and couldn't afford the extra cash. We'll probably try to grab some season tickets next year. Some decent pieces already, and Vancouver really does love their footy.
Couple US players for you to watch, as well buddy. DeMerit is pretty solid, and I haven't seen anything from Salgado yet... looking forward to that.
The Whitecaps players sounded very impressed with the turnout afterwards (of course they did, but it was genuine I think).
I'll definitely follow the team, as a distant second favorite to Juventus. I actually was registered for season tickets, but my buddy who was going to grab the seat beside me bailed - he's getting married in June, and couldn't afford the extra cash. We'll probably try to grab some season tickets next year. Some decent pieces already, and Vancouver really does love their footy.
Couple US players for you to watch, as well buddy. DeMerit is pretty solid, and I haven't seen anything from Salgado yet... looking forward to that.
So what did we learn?
1) A midfield consisting of Jones, Bradley and Edu won't work. As predicted. That should be very obvious by now.
2) A lone striker system won't work either. As predicted.
3) We should stick with the straight 4-4-2 as we seem most comfortable with it.
Much better second half from us. The 4-5-1 we used in the first 45 did a decent job of soaking up pressure, but we only managed to mount one notable attack. It was the typical "batten down the hatches" sort of half. I was obviously not happy with how we moved the ball around on the counter, which mostly consisted of a players looking up, fumbling around with the ball, and eventually losing possession again straight away. With having such limited technical skill at the back and in the central midfield three (Jones, Bradley, Edu), of course we'll struggle against a side that fights for possession until the final whistle. And even when we managed to get the ball forward, Jozy was all alone trying to dribble three defenders, a scenario doomed to fail. Because of these tactical failures, we couldn't take the pressure off of us, so the extra central midfielder didn't really help much. Another failed Bob Bradley experiment.
With Agudelo coming on for Jones at halftime, we switched to the usual 4-4-2 and Jozy had a partner to work with. And as predicted, we played a much better half. We had more possession, took some pressure off our defense, our side midfielders Dempsey and Donovan were able to roam further forward, all the while our central midfield still did a decent job coping with the Argie attacks (by decent, I mean they didn't let everything through). At the back, we still struggled with Messi and company, which is understandable, but thankfully Timmy came up huge several times, most notably Messi from point-blank range. The linkup play between Agudelo and Altidore looked very good; they seem to have a lot of chemistry together. It was nice to see us taking the game to them for a change because we shouldn't be afraid of their defense, that's for damn sure.
Overall, I'm pleased with the effort and how our second half looked. That was promising. Bob screwed the first 45 but at least he keeps bringing on Juan Agudelo.
Howard - 9 - Has to be one of the top five keepers in the world. Has to be.
Spector - 4.5 - Struggled with De Maria and Messi, as 99% of defenders would. But he was beaten too easily and looked out of sorts.
Gooch - 6.5 - Made some important challenges, especially in the second half. Looked a bit whacked out in the first 45 though.
DeMerit - 6 - Did an okay job. Positioning was suspect though.
Bocanegra - 6 - He was lucky Messi was running through the middle. But Carlos still did a decent job, especially in the second half. If Bornstein was playing he'd get destroyed. Another win for me over that idiot FSC commentator Warren Barton.
Dempsey - 6 - Might have had three touches first half, but I always love his fight and passion out there.
Bradley - 5.5 - Got stuck in, but didn't do anything special. Played the entire game again.
Jones - 5.5 - Expected better, especially when he had the ball. He has the ability to make solid outlet passes but didn't do that tonight. Defending was overall OK.
Edu - 6 - First half didn't do anything since he was playing out of position, but when he moved back next to Bradley he was much better.
Donovan - 5.5 - A tale of two halves once again, but I thought he could have gotten involved more.
Altidore - 7 - Can't play as a lone striker, but with Agudelo he was putting in some good crosses and one-twos. Second half was very promising. Lets see if it continues.
Agudelo - 7 - The guy is a natural in front of goal. He reminds me, slightly, of how Trezeguet would always be in the right spot to receive a rebound or loose ball. He also has a panache to him away from goal; knows how to hold onto possession and doesn't force play. So far, so good. What a promising player.
Chandler - 6.5 - Decent debut, but he was forcing the ball too much. Looked better than Spector though.
1) A midfield consisting of Jones, Bradley and Edu won't work. As predicted. That should be very obvious by now.
2) A lone striker system won't work either. As predicted.
3) We should stick with the straight 4-4-2 as we seem most comfortable with it.
Much better second half from us. The 4-5-1 we used in the first 45 did a decent job of soaking up pressure, but we only managed to mount one notable attack. It was the typical "batten down the hatches" sort of half. I was obviously not happy with how we moved the ball around on the counter, which mostly consisted of a players looking up, fumbling around with the ball, and eventually losing possession again straight away. With having such limited technical skill at the back and in the central midfield three (Jones, Bradley, Edu), of course we'll struggle against a side that fights for possession until the final whistle. And even when we managed to get the ball forward, Jozy was all alone trying to dribble three defenders, a scenario doomed to fail. Because of these tactical failures, we couldn't take the pressure off of us, so the extra central midfielder didn't really help much. Another failed Bob Bradley experiment.
With Agudelo coming on for Jones at halftime, we switched to the usual 4-4-2 and Jozy had a partner to work with. And as predicted, we played a much better half. We had more possession, took some pressure off our defense, our side midfielders Dempsey and Donovan were able to roam further forward, all the while our central midfield still did a decent job coping with the Argie attacks (by decent, I mean they didn't let everything through). At the back, we still struggled with Messi and company, which is understandable, but thankfully Timmy came up huge several times, most notably Messi from point-blank range. The linkup play between Agudelo and Altidore looked very good; they seem to have a lot of chemistry together. It was nice to see us taking the game to them for a change because we shouldn't be afraid of their defense, that's for damn sure.
Overall, I'm pleased with the effort and how our second half looked. That was promising. Bob screwed the first 45 but at least he keeps bringing on Juan Agudelo.
Howard - 9 - Has to be one of the top five keepers in the world. Has to be.
Spector - 4.5 - Struggled with De Maria and Messi, as 99% of defenders would. But he was beaten too easily and looked out of sorts.
Gooch - 6.5 - Made some important challenges, especially in the second half. Looked a bit whacked out in the first 45 though.
DeMerit - 6 - Did an okay job. Positioning was suspect though.
Bocanegra - 6 - He was lucky Messi was running through the middle. But Carlos still did a decent job, especially in the second half. If Bornstein was playing he'd get destroyed. Another win for me over that idiot FSC commentator Warren Barton.
Dempsey - 6 - Might have had three touches first half, but I always love his fight and passion out there.
Bradley - 5.5 - Got stuck in, but didn't do anything special. Played the entire game again.
Jones - 5.5 - Expected better, especially when he had the ball. He has the ability to make solid outlet passes but didn't do that tonight. Defending was overall OK.
Edu - 6 - First half didn't do anything since he was playing out of position, but when he moved back next to Bradley he was much better.
Donovan - 5.5 - A tale of two halves once again, but I thought he could have gotten involved more.
Altidore - 7 - Can't play as a lone striker, but with Agudelo he was putting in some good crosses and one-twos. Second half was very promising. Lets see if it continues.
Agudelo - 7 - The guy is a natural in front of goal. He reminds me, slightly, of how Trezeguet would always be in the right spot to receive a rebound or loose ball. He also has a panache to him away from goal; knows how to hold onto possession and doesn't force play. So far, so good. What a promising player.
Chandler - 6.5 - Decent debut, but he was forcing the ball too much. Looked better than Spector though.
No Cur, I went to a few games before he joined, back in 2007, but hadn't been to a game the past couple of years. Is he playing for a club near you now?
I wouldn't call myself a legitimate supporter of the Whitecaps, really, although I find myself getting sucked into it to some degree.
I've never had an opportunity to cheer for a club/team from the city that I live in (in any sport - I hold some pretty fierce allegiances), so this seems like it might be a fit (considering they hold zero competition for Juve).
Plus, I've got a couple buddies who will cheer the local team (Arsenal fans), tickets are pretty cheap, and MLS is definitely on its way up (IMO). Season tickets could be a lot of fun.
I wouldn't call myself a legitimate supporter of the Whitecaps, really, although I find myself getting sucked into it to some degree.
I've never had an opportunity to cheer for a club/team from the city that I live in (in any sport - I hold some pretty fierce allegiances), so this seems like it might be a fit (considering they hold zero competition for Juve).
Plus, I've got a couple buddies who will cheer the local team (Arsenal fans), tickets are pretty cheap, and MLS is definitely on its way up (IMO). Season tickets could be a lot of fun.
Ochocinco's desire to give the sport a shot has drawn criticism from the coach of the Bengals, Marvin Lewis, who said earlier this week in reference to his player's tryout: "What has he ever done that he's completed? What circle has he ever connected in any way?"
Ochocinco responded to his coach's comments via Twitter: "Marvin Lewis won't say anything bad about Carson Palmer, stays kissing his ass, but disses @ochocinco daily #smh," he wrote.
Greatness.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6257987&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines
Ochocinco responded to his coach's comments via Twitter: "Marvin Lewis won't say anything bad about Carson Palmer, stays kissing his ass, but disses @ochocinco daily #smh," he wrote.
Greatness.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6257987&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines
Paraguay in Nashville tomorrow night.
I'm wondering what we'll see in terms of lineups. Hopefully we won't see the 4-5-1 again with three DM's, but Bob seems to have his heart set on it, not sure why. I'd rather see something like this.
Howard
Chandler - Gooch - Ream - Boca
Diskerud - Bradley - Jones - Donovan
Dempsey/Altidore - Agudelo
Don't want to see Spector again, and I especially don't want to see Bornstein out left, but that will probably happen.
I'm wondering what we'll see in terms of lineups. Hopefully we won't see the 4-5-1 again with three DM's, but Bob seems to have his heart set on it, not sure why. I'd rather see something like this.
Howard
Chandler - Gooch - Ream - Boca
Diskerud - Bradley - Jones - Donovan
Dempsey/Altidore - Agudelo
Don't want to see Spector again, and I especially don't want to see Bornstein out left, but that will probably happen.
