USA 3, Trinidad & Tobago 0: A Look Back

                                                                               Photo by ISIphotos.com

You wanted more goals? Check.

You wanted a dominating victory? Check.

You wanted to see Michael Bradley have a great game? Check.

You wanted to see Eddie Johnson play well? Um, yeah, well, you can't have it all.

The U.S. men's national team put together a comprehensive 3-0 victory against an overmatched an uninspired Trinidad & Tobago team on Wednesday night and there were far more positives than negatives.

No, it wasn't perfect. The attack squandered chances and Johnson was, well, awful in 23 minutes, but there were enough positives to go around from the U.S. team's third World Cup qualifying won of the round.

You can start with the midfield, where Sacha Kljestan and Michael Bradley worked very well together. Kljestan has an attacking mindset that is considerably different from the other players Bradley has been paired with in the middle (Mastroeni, Edu and Clark) and this allowed Bradley to sit back a bit more and make him self available for all his teammates. He sprayed the ball around well and looked forward far more than in recent matches (T&T's lack of pressure also helped)

The back-line was dominant but it had as much to do with the toothless T&T attack as it had to do with the Americans. Oguchi Onyewu dominated when he had to but was barely tested. Tim Howard was also light on action, with a diving stop in the second half the only really tough save he had to make all night.

You had Beasley showing much more energy and verve than he showed against Cuba, though I still think he showed some signs of rust. What matters is he showed progress and after the injuries he has had to deal with that is a very positive step.

You also had Dempsey showing some life and some energy to make you think that maybe, just maybe, that goal against Cuba will wake him up. Of course he still needs Roy Hodgson to start playing him or else he will risk getting rusty. Luckily for the national team, there probably aren't any more crucial qualifiers this year and Dempsey will have a chance to leave Fulham in the January window to get some playing time if things don't improve.

Now he is my take on Brian Ching. He isn't a goal-machine, and he isn't making anybody forget Brian McBride, but he can still serve a purpose on this team. Some folks get caught up in him being a target forward and thinking that the current U.S. team isn't equipped to provide service from the flanks to make Ching effective. This ignores the fact that Ching is better with the ball at his feet that some realize, and he's great at holding up the ball for teammates to make runs off him. The job should eventually fall to a player like Jozy Altidore, but for now, Ching doesn't do a bad job.

Now it will be up to Bob Bradley to decide when to bring in the young players, the likes of Altidore and Adu and Cooper. I say do it ASAP. No, you don't have to bring in a team full of inexperienced players, but we all know the players who have been on the outside looking in. The Americans are set to face Cuba without star player Roberto Linares, who drew a red card against Guatemala. The U.S. team should be able to beat Cuba at RFK Stadium next month with a few youngsters in the lineup.

Back to last night's game. Here is a poll question for you. Which players performance impressed you the most?

poll by twiigs.com

And for those of you who missed it, here is my piece on the game for ESPN.com.

What did you think of last night's game? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

[Fred]

One thing I noticed is that the T&T forwards were basically traffic cones when the US had the ball in their third of the field. Zero pressure.

[Mas Gols]

I was at the game last night and it was a totally one sided affair. Kudos to M. Bradley playing well, now he just needs to have that perfomance in consecutive game.

[sean]

thanks for the analysis ives. glad to see that someone else is appreciative of the effort and tenacity the mike bradley brings to the US MNT. he's the type of player that we have been missing, besides the unpredictability a JOB-like playmaker we need as well. well done yanks

[KingSnake]

"Oguchi Onyewu dominated when he had to but was barely tasted."

I'm not sure I would want to taste him. But to each his own ...

[Joe]

I was actually disappointed in the performance. Who's idea was it to play at such a pedestrian pace? Sure TnT brought nothing but we played down to their level way too much for my liking.
Our passes weren't crisp and too often we stood on the ball instead of zipping the ball around poking and prodding for an opening.

I think Ching is garbage. I honestly feel Alan Gordon does a better job of holding the ball and laying it off. Yeah I said Alan Gordon. Ching looked slow and laboring through much of the match. Time for him to move on.

It's time for Bradley to broaden the pool a bit now. We don't need a huge changeover but we need replacements for Beasley and Ching. Lewis and Johnson aren't the answers either. If we struggle to breakdown a bunkering TnT, how are we going to compete with better teams?

That was an uninspiring performance and one that will find us at three and out come SA2010 if we don't find the next gear and quick.

[joe k]

i always expect a great game from bradley, so i can't say i was inordinately impressed.

kljestan surprised me-- he definitely exceeded my low expectations.

dempsey looked great out there. when he's on, he's one of the most exciting players on the field.

and i agree that ching is pretty effective. but seriously, let's see altidore! and sure, give cooper a shot.

[Fly t]

first!

[Tom]

Great game for US!! I loved to see dempsey on the wing!!! It seems to me he plays very well in that position and his willingness to hustle on defense in addition to his usual flair on the offensive side was evident throughout the game. He definitely has started to come back to life! I'm not positive but didn't he play the outside mid position during the ghana game in WC 2006? It seems like bradley took forever to figure this one out. Kudos to Ching as well for a solid game on his part!

[seamus]

Overall I agree with your assessment with just one bone to pick: Sacha took about 20 minutes to settle down. He gave the ball away sloppily at least 6 times in the first 20 minutes. Thereafter he was fine but a start like that should preclude someone from man of the match recognition.

[Ives]

My bad Seamus, I didn't make it clear enough in the post but the poll wasn't meant to be a straight Man of the Match performance. More a "whose performance surprised/impressed you?"

And Tom, I don't think Dempsey's performance was a product of positioning. I think that his form makes him capable of being put on the right flank. When he's flat and not in form you can't put him out there because he's a liability. When he's on and fit then he can play on the right wing.

[Joe is a Moron]

hopefully we can see a bit more of the klijstan-bradley midfield.

Oh, and Joe has an IQ of 68. Pretty low, I know.

[littlerockant]

The first good game I've seen from Baby Bradley in a national team jersey

[Andrew K]

@Joe

you make me laugh. i couldn't disagree with you more on each and every thing you said. so much so that i find your opinions comical.
I think you can rightly claim your place as the first and last person to ever suggest calling up Alan Gordon. hilarious.

[Gage]

At this point I am completely dumbfounded that there is someone actually willing to pay EJ to play soccer.

[DeLarge]

What about Bradley's horrible giveaway that resulted in a goal called back? He's in for a rough ride at M'Gladbach.

[Angel]

Well I did enjoy watching the USA win by 3 goals I though we could of done better, passes were a little bit slow and soft. Brian Ching poor guy he seem lost at front and miss a couple of chances to score. especially a pass that donovan did and he execute right. everybody did a fair game, standout were Oguchi, Dempsey (finally a good game), Donovan, Sasha, M. Bradley and Bocanegra and of course Tim Howard, The Subtitus were awful, eddie Lewis, eddie Jonhson (Poor guy he does have it anymore. only Clark did a good job in the middle. Please if we don't do something right awake in the Hexagonal we going to get kill.

[aatabak]

Bradley had a good game, he actually passed the ball forward, but little to no pressure was on him at all times. I like that B. Bradley finally put a more offensive minded player next to junior. I would still like to see how Edu plays next to a more offensive minded player also.

[Beckster]

Ives, agree with most of what you said with the following caveats:
- Bradley played a great first half but was back to being ineffective for the 2nd half when T&T had a much more spirited attack. Will he ever be able to put together a good 90 minutes.
- Totally disagree with you on Sacha. I thought weak. Passes were off. I don't think he can play at the international level.
- Dempsey really started to show glimmers of his past self in the last two games. He should stay on right wing and he needs playing time. Beasley too, needs playing time.
- Agreed on Ching and Johnson.

[Byron]

I hat to say it, but Donovan was the best National team player last night. I went with Dempsey from the options listed above.

[Angel]

Sorry for my grammer and spelling I writing with one had I have a broken wrist and I have a cast. but what meant to say about Brian Ching and that pass that Donovan did to him, he did not execute that right. and the Poor EJ he doesn't have it anymore please come back to the MLS and don't embarrasses urself in England.

[goio]

everyone here knows the positives. The negatives I saw were:

1) EJ. EJ just has no mojo, I ripped into him on FFF on Monday. He did not let me down, good ol' passback Eddie Johnson. This kid needs a kick in the pants.

2)When donovan acelerates and passes the ball he is top player we have, just wish he did that for 90 minutes.

3) Ching cant score with anything but his darn head.

4) Beasley needs to just settle down and regain that touch.

The rest of the team was fine. I think that Sascha made some errant passes in the first half but then settled his nerves. I have trouble calling Dempsey a forward.

[Christopher]

It's time for Bradley to broaden the pool a bit now. We don't need a huge changeover but we need replacements for Beasley and Ching. Lewis and Johnson aren't the answers either. If we struggle to breakdown a bunkering TnT, how are we going to compete with better teams?
-Joe

========================

Joe, you're an idiot. What did Beasley do to disappoint you? How many goals do we need to score for you to say that we didn't "struggle to breakdown a bunkering TnT?" That whole paragraph was ridiculous. Go support another team if you can't find anything good from that match. May I reiterate that you are an idiot?

[Tony in Quakeland]

Kljestan started slow I thought. But he did better as the game progressed. I think first start jitters, combined with a somewhat unfamiliar role (since he is normally a pure attacker) contributed to the early miscues. For people who miss the intelligence and vision of his game and don't think he can contribute...well, I don't know what to tell you.

[A.S.]

Ah, the Michael Bradley apologists (including Ives) represent!

I'm not going to repost everything I wrote on last night's thread. But the idea that Bradley had a good game is ludicrous. He had huge amounts of time to make passes, so it's no wonder he connected on a few. The one time T&T put him under pressure, he give the ball away for T&T's *only* good goal scoring chance of the entire match. The kid's just got no composure when under pressure. And there aren't going to be many matched where teams apply as little pressure on the ball as T&T did last night.

[BJR]

Optimism from this game should still be guarded. The score line was an improvement, but it was against a country with a population of 1.3 million and a depleted roster.

Ching has positives, but Cooper (not to mention Altidore) would have had 2 or 3 goals with the opportunities that Ching had.

After seeing Kljestan get time in the middle, I'd like to see what Holden could do.

[alexarmac]

Sasha twice in every game will find a spot that no one else can. he will either walk to that spot or run at full speed thirty yards to a spot. He is very good at two way playing. he and Bradley and eventually Edu in the back are the future of our center.

[Joe]

Somebody please explain how that half assed performance against a clearly unprepared crap side was so impressive? Mexico would have beaten our ass last night handily.

I couldn't care less if we won 1-0 last night. It has nothing to do with the score. What was disappointing was the lack of ideas and lack of pace we played with. How many times did you see somebody stand on the ball and take 3, 4, 5 touches and look around instead of keeping the ball moving? Harkes mentioned that numerous times. Bradley, Sasha, Beasley, Pearce, they did it constantly.

And my comment about Gordon wasn't so much he should be called up but that Ching doesn't belong on our national team.

How about playing with the best 11 instead of trying to squeeze players into a system? If we don't have a good target forward, don't use one, play a different style...

[Tony in Quakeland]

Ives:

Question, partly in response to your ESPN piece - I too believe Donovan needs to be in the middle (or up top) but recognize the issue with the right side. Who in the pool can you see emerging to take over the right? Or, can some one take over the left and let Beasley play the right?

[golfstrom]

Please let's stop harping on MB's 'giveaway', which was as much Bocanegra's fault for putting him in such a bad spot.

Ah, I see a fellow poster has posted the inevitable 'Kenny Cooper would've had 3 goals last night' comment. Who had 45 minutes in the pool?

[A.S.]

A few non-Bradley thoughts.

I think Ives is basically right about Ching - he is good at a lot of aspects of the game. He holds the ball well, plays defense well, etc. The problem is that he really isn't a good goal scorer (as witnessed by that chance where Landon put the ball right in his bread basket 5 yards from the goal and he screwed it up). And that's a big problem for a center forward.

I enjoyed Shaka Hislop's commentary, but ESPN ought to tell him to go ahead and speak even if JP doesn't ask for his thoughts first.

[Gino]

I agree with DeLarge about M. Bradley's give away that led to the T&T's offside goal. Just look at T. Ho's reaction. That was a big mistake. Granted, it happens to everyone and he probably shouldn't have gotten the ball, but I still think he coughs up the ball a bit too cheaply. I also think his high rate of successful passes is misleading because it doesn't take into account that about 5-10 times a game the receipent of the pass losses the ball because Bradley eased pressure on himself by dishing the ball to someone who truly wasn't open.

[brett]

lol, i guess there is no winning over some fans.... they'll find something to complain about regardless of how the game went....

anyhow, MB played very well... ive noticed MB plays better when he's paired up with someone more offensive minded (ie. Kljestan and Feilhaber)... i wonder if that takes some pressure off him and opens the field for him to make more runs and receive and deliver better passes...

our passing was great... it was the pace from time to time that i was worried about... from time to time US players came to a complete stop and sat on the ball... they should always move the ball around... swithc directions of attack... keep the ball moving and that keeps the defense moving...

T&T lacked offense that was for sure, but now we have Guat and Cuba at home... we will definately see some new faces... hopefully FCD hits a horrid funk (or continues it depending on your perspective) and BB feels obliged to bring up cooper... b/c if FCD make a run, i feel Cooper may not get the look....

jozy and adu will/should make appearances, especially in the up coming cuba match... but id like to see Holden and Rogers also brought up, while keeping Kljestan and Edu... send MB back to germany so he can rest... He's been playing WAAAAAAAAAY too much and needs to relax and work on his club game...

[gsh]

The horrible giveaway? Yes it wasn't a good play, but it wasn't entirely Bradley's fault. Pearce shouldn't have passed that ball back to him.

That said, all in all it was good game, and can someone please take EJ's key to the USMNT locker room away?

[SeaOtter]

Ives,

Just curious to here your inner coach's opinion.

If it were your team, would EJ been done in a Nats uniform....at least until he's scoring multiple goals in the Cola'ship?

For me, last night was the straw that broke the camel's back. Once on the field, he didn't even look like he wanted to be out there. Being demoted to Cardiff doesn't seem to have livened him up any at all.

Perhaps being left off the team is the only motivator left for him. That, or the threat of losing his paycheck.

[Robert Green]

klestan gave the ball away in the first half 6 times that i counted, and on simple passes to bradly. unacceptable and will get us killed against better opposition. bradley gave the ball away several times as well. CMs need to love possession, they need to be ENRAGED that they would EVER give it away. these guys just aren't there yet. i think they both may get there but anyone who watched last night and didn't notice that doesn't understand football. no offense intended. a little offense intended.

adu, as a CM does this much less often. he is therefore a superior player even at this stage in his career.

[brett]

golfstrom - some of us just want Cooper to get a shot at PT... i for one dont expect a billion goals, but then again the same could be said about anyone wanting someone else on the field (ie. adu and jozy)...

some fans feel some players deserve the shot, rather then saying "X would have scored 5 on Cuba"

[Tony in Quakeland]

brett:

There are people who would complain about the way Bob Bradley held the trophy after winning the World Cup.

[brett]

Gino- "I also think his high rate of successful passes is misleading because it doesn't take into account that about 5-10 times a game the receipent of the pass losses the ball because Bradley eased pressure on himself by dishing the ball to someone who truly wasn't open."

lol, name 1 person who doesnt make passes when a player is pressured?? quite a number of passes forward tend to be in that situation.... again, this is nothing more then nit-picking and trying to find something to complain about MB... sad truely

[LKD]

"What about Bradley's horrible giveaway that resulted in a goal called back? He's in for a rough ride at M'Gladbach."

Posted by: DeLarge

That one I totally blame a Boca. He made an ill-advised, lazy pass to Bradley in the middle, who was sandwiched by 2 T&T players. Boca should have found another option.

[brett]

Tony- LOL, "he held it up lop-sided...."

honestly i wouldnt be shocked by that....

[brett]

LKD- as tony pointed out about BB, people are simply going to find anything they can to complain and downgrade MB's performance...

[Johnny]

So Howard was barely tasted?

[Drew-ROC]

It's time for GAM to get a name change just like Ocho Cinqo. I think he needs to be dubbed: LAM. For the connotation that it carries of his sheepish approach and for the fact that it stands for LAZY AssMan.

[brett]

johnny- no, just gooch

[BJR]

Beasley, other than the assist on the Dempsey goal, did NOT have an impressive game.

golfstrom: that is the first time that I have ever made that claim. Were you impressed with Ching's finishing rate night? Especially the sitter he missed from 6 feet out?

[Johnny]

Sorry...Onyewu was barely tasted?

[Chad]

Ching > Johnson

[A.S.]

Enough with the idea that Michael Bradley's horrendous giveaway was Boca's fault. Could Boca have passed it to someone else? Sure. But Bradley had plenty of time to turn with the ball and start moving forward before giving it away. There was simply ample time to either (preferably) find another man and pass the ball or (in the event he couldn't do that in time) boot it out of danger. Bradley did neither.

[nico]

now that they are (virtually) in the next round, i'll be curious to see what other options Bradley looks at.

[jrnail23]

I think Donovan should be considered for most impressive in the match. He was the best player on the field... Dynamic, focused, and under control.
His free kick service for Bradley was dead-eye accurate, and he made lots of dangerous runs and passes. Maybe we take him for granted, but the guy's a really good player.

[kpugs]

Hey, let's all point out the same spelling error over and over again! Johnny if you're going to hop on the annoying bandwagon you could at least get the player right, it was Onyewu and not Howard.

Anyway, I agree on Ching. I think people tend to overreact (usually just the people hating on Bradley for no apparent reason). I don't think Ching is great, but it would be foolish to think he's terrible and can't be useful.

[Mike_D]

I like the 3 man central midfield/the 2 mids with Donovan playing centrally at support striker/attacking mid whatever you want to call it. You have Bradley/Edu for the one midfield position, Kljestan/Feilhaber/??? for the other, then you put Donovan or Adu at the attacking spot. The one role is slightly more advanced with good passing and movement as the key and the other slightly more defensive.

[jrnail23]

@Tony in Quakeland:
I agree about Beasley on the right... he's shown that he's not very dangerous cutting in from the left -- his right foot just isn't very accurate. I'd rather see him cutting inside toward his strong foot, and getting a shot on goal every now and then.
Hopefully someone can fill in on the left (Adu, Rogers, Lewis, Convey), and we can see if this works.

[eric]

As far as who should play on the right wing, Beasley has shown over and over for Rangers that he can be dangerous on that side.

I think the great under-represented disappointment in our player development is that none of our other prospects have taken the leap. A year ago, we had Rogers, Alvarez, and Holden looking like young guns, with still a hope that Bobby Convey would get healthy. It's a huge problem that we are 0 for 4 on getting returns from that group.

[NateinSF]

I'm getting pretty tired of all the MB hating. When Clark entered the game, you could clearly see a fall off in quality at that position.

My question is who would you rather see in that position? Edu? Clark? Mastro? No one is offering solutions, just making rants.

[brentmcd]

all in all, a satisfying victory. with maximum points and a five-point cushion, it's definitely time to bring in some younger players and play some experimental lineups for the last three qualifiers in this phase. a few thoughts on last nights game. just now getting online today, so i apologize if these have already been covered....

1. total jeckyll-and-hyde performance compared to the previous two matches. our boys looked great last night, especially in the first half when we simply dominated.

2. what a difference a dry, well-maintained, well-lit field makes! passing and trapping looked much crisper as the guys could be confident the ball wouldn't take a weird hop.

3. very impressed at our efforts to pass the ball out of defense and work it through midfield, instead of our all-too-typical american boot-ball style. i'm sure the condition of the pitch had a lot to do with it -- you don't take chances playing defense on the kind of field we saw in cuba. but i think credit should go to kljestan and bradley who both played outstanding. they were making good runs for each other and making themselves available to the other players for short, easy passes. when bradley was subbed out in the second half, it seemed that our quality passing game went with him. we still had it in spurts, but it looked a bit shakier with clark. maybe kljestan will be the midfield partner for bradley we all thought feilhaber would be?

4. very surprised trinidad gave us so much space to operate. that room to trap and control allowed us to make good passes and control the midfield. unfortunately i'm sure other teams in the region were watching and will quickly realize that playing a tight, fouling game a la guatemala is their best chance to beat the americans.

5. bocanegra and onyewu have really developed into an outstanding central defense tandem. they seem to know where each other will be and work together well. their positioning is improving, they're both strong in the air and strong on the tackle. they seem to be learning how to control their larger frames to reduce silly fouls and cards.

6. almost no need to mention howard. he is solid. probably our only world-class player.

7. i thought pearce looked good, but cherundolo makes me nervous. certainly he contributes to our offense with his runs up the wing, but he lets people get past him on defense. and he's so short! hejduk is more physical but at times even sketchier on defense. i'd be much happier if simek would step up to claim the right back position.

8. good to see the old dempsey back. he seems to be regaining his confidence and running at people again.

9. beasley is not there yet. he is still shying away from 50/50 balls. of course i can't really blame the guy as frail as he seems. somebody please get demarcus into a weight room!

10. landon seems to disappear for long stretches. at other times, it looks like he's just coasting out there. if he's going to be our go-to best player, he needs to demand the ball and move with intent. i'm glad bocanegra is the captain; landon doesn't deserve the armband unless he becomes a leader on the field.

11. ching's first touch looked off last night. i think he needs to be a bit more selfish and look for his shot. he seems to be looking to pass first. there were a few times last night where he should have just quickly unleashed on net. instead he tried to trap or pass, and the opportunity was lost.

12. eddie johnson (aka "mr. excitement") looked awful. when you're a late sub, your job is to provide energy, run at people, extend the defense, etc. he did none of those things. he seemed content to jog around wait for the perfect through-ball and get called offside. i think during the game, shaka hislop called him lazy which is dead-on. no excuse for ej. no more call-ups until he learns how to hustle for the team.

[Betinho]

Wow...one give away. I just wasted 20 minutes reading all these comments about 1 give away??? It truly was a good game for the US.

I agree with Ives 100% on Ching. He leaves it all out there. I also don't think Cooper can do the things Ching does (physicality-wise) and that's why he hasn't gotten the call (anyone been watching FC Dallas games lately?).

I'm bummed about EJ. I really was wanting to see him come out ready to play. He was so uninspiring. That should open the door for Coop and/or Jozy.

As bummed as I am about EJ, I'm stoked to see Dempsey playing like his old sself again. That was great. Hopefully he'll be off the subs bench soon at Fulham.

[brett]

eric- im puzzled by your post....

Rogers, alvarez and holden could all play the wing position without slowing the US down any.... in fact they may even bring a spark of life as they are all willing to take their man on 1 on 1.... while they may have poor games from time to time, so does everyone else

[LKD]

The USMNT already tried the Beasely at right wing experiment. Anyone remember the debacle that was the 2006 World Cup! Arena tried using him on the right so he could play Convey on the left. We all know how that worked out.

[jmac]

I would like to see what Holden can do at RM.

[eric]

Brett -

Really? Are any of these guys ready to jump in for the Senior Nats right now? I wish so, they are all good prospects, but you can't say that any of the 3 are tearing MLS apart this year. I'd feel so much better if one of them would make the leap.

[Sushant Rao]

Hi,

Given that T&T didn't have a full team and we were playing at home, I don't think that we're as good as the score seems to indicate :-)

That said, I'm more interested in the next 3 games. Since we are up 5 points on the 3rd place team, if we win the next game, we are guaranteed to go through as we'll be up either 7 or 8 points on the 3rd place team with only 6 points remaining.

So, what do we do for games 5 and 6?

I think we should take our 2nd team for game 5 and team 1.5 for game 6.

Any starter & main sub for the main team should be sent home for the 5th game (on the road at T&T). We should essentially play a combo of the olympic team and the our main subs. How about this for a lineup:
Altidore - Cooper
Davies - Adu - Klestan - ??
?? - Califf - Orozco - Wynne
Guzan

For the 6th game (against Guat at home), I would try to play a lineup that might be useful for WC'10 (no Lewis, no Ching, no Hejduk)
Altidore or Cooper
Adu - LD - Dempsey
Edu - MB
Pearce? - Gooch - Boca - Wynne
Howard

Now these are teams I'd want to see !!!!

[mig]

Hey Brett, I like your observations along with some of the others on this thread. I do, however, have an argument against the 'not enough pace' claims mentioned here and by Carlysle on ESPN.

Before the game got to 3-0, we got our attackers behind their defense 4-5 times. T&T came out very defensive and with a low pressure setup. While it's good to mix things up, there is no point in running hard at a team that's packed back. A more measured, probing attack works best in this case, and the fact that we kept sneaking balls through the last defensive line shows that it was the right approach.

I'll admit that the US slacked the pace even more in the second half but then again...we were winning.

Where I do have concern is that both Klestjan and Bradley got caught in possession more than I would like. Part of that was passes that arrived slowly and put them in a bad spot. Still, gotta move the ball...even backward. :)

Cheers,

[Ben]

Did Bradley really do that well? There was little to no pressure on him most of the time and he still had a handful of cough-ups. I guess his distribution was good, but anybody could have made most of those passes with the way T&T were playing.

People who see him at Man United, AC Milan, and Bayern need a reality check. He is nothing more than a solid link-up midfielder with some size and goal poaching abilities, a poor man's Lampard if you wish.

He's still the USMNT's best center mid option, but he's certainly not the budding superstar a lot are making him out to be.

[Betinho]

Eric - Robbie Rogers was an All Star this year. Is that taking a step?

[A.S.]

Betinho: "Wow...one give away. I just wasted 20 minutes reading all these comments about 1 give away???"

Yeah, I remember wondering after the Ghana game - why are people complaining about Reyna, he just had one giveaway. Not.

When you step up in quality from playing a team in the mid-80s to a team in the, say, mid 20s, those giveaways are buried in the net and you lose by a goal.

NateinSF: "My question is who would you rather see in that position? Edu? Clark? Mastro? No one is offering solutions, just making rants."

I'm certainly not saying Bradley shouldn't be among the guys considered for the team. He deserves a place. But he has started *every game* since January and leads the team in minutes played - and he is simply not deserving of that when there are 3 other guys who are just about as good as he is or even better. He's a good player, but not so good so as to be an automatic, no-brainer starter.

My personal belief is that, when he is on his game in the big matches (like against Argentina), Mastro is our best defensive midfielder. He is the only guy who is composed. Unfortunately, he gets a lot of cards for rash tackles (as does Bradley), and is inconsistent. But still, I think Mastro > Edu > Bradley > Clark. But none of them are so much better than the others so as to start every game.

[brett]

eric- i think they could come in and play competitively with the competition we are playing...

do i think their play would be flawless?? no, no player is, but they could use the experience seeing as they stand the best chance of taking Beasley's spot

[Betinho]

A.S. - You left out the next sentence which was the whole point of what I was saying. The game must have been good if we are breaking down one give away. It was after all one of two scoring threats they had the entire game.

[brett]

mig- i am not saying we lacked pace all game, i am saying there were times (even in the first) where the play came to a complete stand still and didnt even move... the T&T guy didnt pressure and the US player didnt move.... all im saying is they should keep moving the ball and keep the defense moving...this opens up new routes and opportunities for players to get scoring chances...

this doesnt require loads of running... as the basic american youth coach will tell you, let the ball do the work for you...

[brett]

Ben- lol, i saw 2 cough-ups....

so, when bradley has a bad game (regardless of the opponent) it's "he's crap".... and then when Bradley has a good game it's "anyone could do that"..???

the fact is he held the ball, kept it moving, made great passes forward, and got the 1st goal.... sometimes i wonder what you people truely want from him...

[A.S.]

OK, sorry Betinho. Misunderstood your point.

[Tim]

Well, I think everyone should be pretty pleased with this win. We TOTALLY dominated T&T on both ends of the field. Bradley had a great game. Funny enough though, he had one poor giveaway in the D that almost cost a goal had it not been for the offsides call.

Ching, though he scored, really wasted a fantastic ball from Donovan that he should have put in the back of the net. I think the delivery was so good that it caught him off guard. However, at least he was effective and posted the goal.

Beasley is still a step or two off. His timing on runs remains poor (4 offsides I think), and his finishing still leaves something to be desired. However, I'm glad Bradley gave him the full 90 minutes to continue to work on his form and get back up to speed.

Donovan looks really good, and he had some great first touches last night that allowed plays to develop. Sometimes though, I wish he would just shoot, instead of trying to make that one last perfect pass. He missed a few good looks.

Our back line was solid, and Cherundolo made some good runs forward that resulted in nice crosses into the box.

The game could have easily been 4 or 5-0. I think Beasley got hosed on a no-call take-down in the box that even Shaka Islop (T&T commentator) thought should have been a PK. Kljestan and EJ both missed chances late in the game that T&T's keeper came up with huge saves on at point blank distance.

Finally, EJ remains a disappointment. He came in, and didn't really try to create much or demand the ball. We really need to start giving other guys looks, like Kenny Cooper.

[brett]

A.S- i agree with you that Bradley needs to sit out the next quals... simply b/c we have the depth and we have the points... he's play WAAAAAAAAAAAAY to much intl' football in the past year or two... let him go back to germany and play with his club...

b/c we know he's getting the nod in the Hex... give him this little break...

i like Mastro.. and i agree he does well when on his game... but i dont know if he's really an option for 2010, however, i wouldnt mind having him in the quals simply b/c of his experience and pressure...

[Ben]

Next call-up should be:

1-Guzan
2-Wynne
3-Bocanegra
4-Edu
5-Onyewu
6-Bradley
7-Beasley
8-Feilhaber
9-Altidore
10-Donovan
11-Adu
12-Harrington
13-Bornstein
14-Cooper
15-Convey
16-Kljestan
17-Parkhurst
18-Seitz

[Mario in SJ]

Nice win. The boys played at the level of the opposition as far as mis cues in the passing department. We improved but still need to get sharper.

I agree Ching is the best we got right now but I do WANT to see Josie.

Enough chances for EJ. I think he needs to spend a long spell at Cardiff and see if he can accomplish something before he gets another shot at the Nats.

[eric]

True, Rogers was an All Star, but he's fallen off (especially finishing). And after the Olympics, who was shouting for him to start for the full team? Holden went the other way, started slow with a bunch of injuries but is now picking it up.

These guys are moving forward, but no one is pulling a Cooper on us, putting together long stretches of games that make us clamor for their inclusion.

On the list of things we talk about RE: Nats, it's forwards, central midfield, the defense. If our wing prospects were playing week in and out a high level, we'd be screaming for them,like we were last summer thru the winter, when they seemed to get jinxed.

[NOLA soccer fan]

it was great to see the USMNT play a good all around game for once. granted at times the "Soca warriors" looked as toothless as barbados. but i mean give credit where credit is due.

Michael Bradley didnt pick up a yellow and showed us some of the talent that made him a star in Heereven. Ching showed us that hes a stop gap and not a bad one at that. Donovan showed us he still has it, and hes closer to the form that made him the wunderkid of the US. Sasha, didnt pick up a stupid yellow either and he seemed to be a better defensive option than what Edu, Mastroni, and pretty much any defensive minded midfielder placed with bradley. Howard, a freaking wall. The defense had some holes, but luckily for us, we didnt give anything up.

Overall id give this game a B+. and if you think it was worse, you are just too damn pessimistic. We played well.

Now its up to BB, to call up some "inexperienced" players, and get them some USMNT experience. They are gonna be needed in 2010, so get them started now.

[mig]

The post by A.S. brings up an interesting point. Did you ever notice that if a striker buries half his real chances, he is regarded as a good finisher. But a defender or defensive mide has to make N number of good plays in a game and if he screws one up, he's villified.

Bradley made one lousy play last night and it is the talk of the board.

Not criticizing anyone, just noting it.

As to where Bradley could end up, at this point we don't know. He has succeeded wherever he's played (I know, I know) and right now, I believe he is the best option at central mid for the US team. He's 21. I can't see any reason why he wouldn't end up playing for a 'big' club in Europe in 3-4 years. He may not, he may not be fast enough, but other than that, he's improving by leaps and bounds so who knows?

[mig]

Brett: On the pace of attack, I get your point and I agree mostly. Ideally, the ball is kept dancing around. I just didn't see it as being as slow as you did (at times). Just saw it differently, I guess.

I DID like how Bradley and Sacha, once they crossed midfield, would push the ball forward to Donovan or Ching and they would push it back to the original passer. That probing back and forth gives the central mid more time to view the field. It's a good way to make space and time which Bradley (and to be fair, most middies) need to make a good attacking distribution.

[Isaac]

You guys love to kick MB don't you? I mean yes his give away was bad but seriously what player doesn't make a mistake for the entire match? The pressure of scoring a goal and trying to make sure you dont do anything stupid to overshadow it is larger than you think. Especially with Daddy on the bench(You may not think that BB will exclude Michael, but Michael sure as heck does,). I think Kljestan should keep getting called up. He got back well and thats what we want in a central midfielder. I think he should play more like a CAM so that he has a better chance of creating chances for other people. All in all Our central midfield tandem looked good tonight. Might just have been the best performance since Argentina.(Let the criticism begin.)

[Yossarian]

Positives:

1) Very impressed w/ Baby Bradley's workrate. He was all over the field, showed great finesse on his goal, and several fine, long passes.

2) Klejstan also worked very hard, got back and shut down several plays from behind.

3) Clint is clearly more comfortable on the right wing and LD is clearly better in the middle.

4) The whole team hustled and marked defensively. It seemed there were always two U.S. players around the ball.

Negatives:

1) This was possibly the worst World Cup related performance I've ever seen (by Trinidad). The man-marking, ball pressure, and passing was truly awful. The lack of effort almost makes me think the they were on strike or something. It makes me question whether we can truly take anything away from this performance at all. I feel like we finally saw the Michael Bradley that played for Heerenven last year but now find myself questioning whether he can only play like that (offensively) if he's given truckloads of space to play with and absolutely no pressure. I have to echo those sentiments for Sacha, given his propensity for turnovers in other matches.

2) The USMNT coaches fascination w/ EJ continues.

[Paul]

I just love reading some of these pessimistic posts. Play poorly against a weak opponent? It's your fault. Play well against a weak opponent? It's their fault. Score three goals against a bunkering defense looking to do nothing but stop you? Not enough. I think the only way to satisfy some of these folks would be to win 6-0 while floating three feet off the ground.

[Fumar]

Personally, I thought Beasley had a great game. He gave the ball away once or twice, but he was always going forward trying to take guys on and that ball he put into Donovan I think, that should have been a scroe. And the he won the free kick that Bradley scored off of. It's nice to see Beasley progressing, and knocking some rust off.

[Frankie Football]

First, I thought the US played well. Now its a given that that T&T were basically just standing there, but, the US came out inspired in the first half.

Second, I think its clear that pairing Bradley with a more offensive minded partner in the midfield is better for all parties. I thought the effect was that Bradley played better on offense, and Sacha played better on defense. That said, Sacha has to work on that passing, but, thats at least something that is acheivable.

Third, Brian Ching is Brian Ching. He is a one trick pony. He knows it, we know it, everyone knows it. But he does hold up the ball decently. However, If Jozy could fast track his holding skills over the next two years, he could be a real threat in a variety of ways in this formation, which seems to be what we will be using under Papa Bradley.

I thought Beasley played better, and Dempsey at least looked inspired for once.

Now...crazy idea, what about this....

-------------Altidore-------------
-Beasley----Donovan-----Dempsey----
------Bradley------Adu------------
-Pearce--Boca----Onyewu--Cherundolo-
-----------Howard-----------------

or think of it more like this....

-------------Altidore-------------
Beasley--Donovan --Adu--Dempsey----
------------Bradley---------------
-Pearce--Boca----Onyewu--Cherundolo-
-----------Howard-----------------

....just a far fetched thought....

[Isaac]

Hey Ives, not to question your patriotism or anything but are you planning on doing anything related to 9/11? Maybe a post with a few words from you? You don't need to but i think it would be kind of cool.

[Frankie Football]

Edit to my post.....Switch Adu and Donovan. Donovan tends to disappear, but he is undoubtedly our best player. Why not basicly have him play a sort of offensive minded d mid....basically serving as the only real box to box player...setting up the attack and being forced to drop back into defense to keep him on the ball....

[RYC]

Klejstan is great at giving the ball to the other team. He did play decent defense though, I'll give him that.

[nyc]

Beasley rusty? Everyone seems to forget that he never has showed the touch or skill as a world class attacking player. He is back in shape and doing a good job as an energy and defensive roamer.

Landon is an A level athlete and does provide some good set pieces but I'm not sure that Adu wouldn't be a better option based on his better skill set on the ball.

Ching sucks with the ball at his feet. Or maybe he's okay with it at his feet, but his lack of speed and quickness and his atrocious first touch means he rarely gets the ball at his feet. What is he bringing to the table?

Bradley and Klesjan kicked ass.

Thought Pearce and Dolo and the backs played okay. Excited about the possibility of Soumare and Subotic too. Demerit has shown flashes. I think the center back pool is great for 2010.

[Adam M.]

With Brazil and Argentina struggling to win even at home against far lesser opponents, it is helpful to remember how important it is to simply win. The problem with the U.S. is not that they aren't winning, its that they are doing very little to convince that they can win against better opponents and individual players are doing very little to make a case for their long term presence. One hopes that the team that soundly beat T&T is the eventual B-side to the team featured just next summer in the Confederations Cup. Because that is really where the U.S. should be -- its B side should be beating regional opponents and its A side should be competitive with more traditional powers. The question remains: Do we have an A side? Because this isn't one.

[Amit]

I don't think that there's a single U.S. forward that can be successful alone up top. Not Even JOZY! I think Brian Ching would score a lot more with a strike partner.

[the panther]

edu, clark, mastro, beckerman > bradley jr.

nepotimsm at its finest...disgusting

A player than can't keep possesion shouldn't be on the national team. Yes he has great potential, but he's just not ready right now.

[the panther]

Also, isn't it funny that after Edu's bad game he's immediately benched. After Bradley's numerous bad games he gets another full 90.

[brett]

geez another bradley basher... this is getting sad...

[Stanley Villa]

"""I was at the game last night and it was a totally one sided affair. Kudos to M. Bradley playing well, now he just needs to have that perfomance in consecutive game."""

Lil Mikey was offside by a country mile on that set piece (along with somebody else, Gooch?) and the 3rd "goal" was offside as well.

[Ed Dog]

I think the final squad for S.A.2010 will feature Donovan, Davies, Adu, Altidore, Rogers (i like his creativity), Beasley, Convey, Dempsey, Szetela, Bradley, Edu, Gooch, Bocanegra, Cherundolo, Demeritt, Cherundolo, Howard, and Guzan. What do you guys think?

[Ed Dog]

woops... i put cherundolo twice. my mistake.

[Peter]

I agree with what Adam M. We can beat poor teams in our region with ease but I am still not convinced we have the system and the players to regularly compete against much better competition. Hypothetically speaking, i dont think we finish above 3rd in any of the euro groups.

[mike]

Lil Mikey was offside by a country mile on that set piece (along with somebody else, Gooch?) and the 3rd "goal" was offside as well.
--------------------------------------------------
On the first goal MB was on but if Ching had gotten on the end of it he would have been offside for sure. I also suspect he was off on the goal he did score. Anybody could have accomplished what Ching did last night, except for EJ.

[Raghu]

Man, This was painful going through this thread today.

1. Beasley - he's never been a classy finisher (not his role)but he wins balls and creates free kicks - he moves very well off the ball - he completely harasses defenders on his side of the field and attacks them mercilessly- he takes a fair free kick - crosses well - and is our best defender which makes him our best 2 way player. Why wouldn't you start him??? It's ridiculous to see some of these posts.

2. The Klestan start was a really big deal. WE DID NOT START 2 HOLDING MIDS LAST NIGHT. A significant tactical shift.

3. One thing I do agree with all the whiners about on this site is that with breathing room to get through to the next round - I'm dying to see some of our young attackers.

4. Not sure how Freddy and Lando play off of each other. Freddy and Jozy play well together - and Lando and Beas play well together. Curious about how that works.

Maybe playing Donovan whre Frankie suggested would make some sense.

5. Boca/Gooch/HOward have really have been pretty solid.

2nd to last thing, people should recognize how far this squad has come along. Even 4 years ago the strategy was to tie away - and win at home. That's changed. It's a big deal - we're getting better. Folks should recognize it.

Last thing - I live in DC - will be at RFK for the next qaulifier. Open invite to join my crew for pre game brews before the game!

[DL]

panther, if you think that Ricardo Clark is better than MB, as good as MB, or even close to being as good as MB, you know nothing about the game of soccer.