re: Offical USA vs Mexico thread

My thoughts: We played more attacking soccer in that last half than I can remember under bob and it is really refreshing. Jurgen gives you the feeling that he really knows what is going on with the team. When he comments on players he doesn't say the generic "I like him, he is a good player/competitor/hard worker" stuff which leads one to believe that he can evaluate talent beyond the metrics.

I was concerned in the first half particularly when we would try to work out of our end on the wings and immediately bog down. Players didn't seems to being coming to the ball or sitting in space. They seemed like they were afraid to make a mistake and I attribute that to Bob's rigid style. In the second half it was good to see a more fluid attack and some good 2 touch passing. When shea started warming up I wondered how he would fit it. Surely he would be the CB who could make those rampaging runs through the center, I thought. My second guess was CDM. I never thought he would end up on the side/wing. His physical presence and defensive abilities obviously came in handy. I can't wait to see more. Contrary to what the commentary said, I think Juan was the best player on the pitch. He had pace, effort, touch and was able to set other players free on quick breaks. Landon was a more energized version of his recent self but still gave away 3-4 balls that could have hurt us. shite, juan and brek even made robbie look good.

The defense was particularly impressive especially for being sort of makeshift and having almost no time together. Castillo could serve as a backup in the future as he didn't get abused defensively. They never really fell asleep and even the goal was well contested.

Other obvious stuff, probably penalty and definite red card. JFT welcome back to the fold. Buddle was bad.

Overall I was very satisfied.









And frick mexico

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Seriously are they good for anything other than margaritas, food, and beaches?

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manual labor/ house keeping

The Beckerman fan boys need to realize that Stu Bear is on another level than Kyle. He did well tonight, but get fricking real.

I dont' think anybody's saying Beckerman > Holden (maybe I just missed it), just that he did quite well and could be a solid member of the squad in the years to come. Certainly over Rico and maybe over Edu.

I'm not sure they would even be fighting for the same position. Holden is more box to box (or even the attacking mid in a 4-2-3-1) while Beckerman is solely a deep lying central mid that breaks stuff up and tries to keep possession. He's more in competition with Rico, Edu, Jones, maybe even Baby although I think Baby is more box to box too. It depends on what we try to do tactics/formation wise.

I think he's a squad player when everyone's healthy but that rarely happens, and that would be more than he was under Bob.

I need to rematch this game. I'm hammered. Edgar Castillo sucks.

frick I can't type

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I would rather see a Holden/Bradley combination than any combination involving either Rico, Edu, or Jones at this point.

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I agree.

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I agree that's the best combination, they'll just have to work out something as far as who gets forward at times. Both I think are at their best in box to box type roles but someone has to provide cover at times.

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Jurgy has to make sure that Holden goes forward more than Bradley.

sums up my thoughts on mexico though