re: USA 2-0 Mexico GAME

I knew they'd have a lot, but I'd say it was probably about 65-35 USA, I was thinking it'd be more like 75-25.

I agree. Liked that lineup a lot. I agree, too, to take out Ching, put in Altidore. I like Dempsey, though.

Ching did a great job in his role, target forward. His job is not to make tons of runs into space, that is for Donovan to do as the off forward. Ching plays a role and does it well. He keeps posession and allows our attacking mids to get forward.

Nobody made a run for Altidore in the 85 minute because IT WAS THE 85 MINUTE and we were up 1 - 0. You train your player on the ball to kill some time while your defense can rest and organize.

Hejduk was great, Pearce just okay. Dos Santos got around him quite a bit. I thought our CM's did a great job of combination in the middle third of the field and Donovan and Bradley did an excellent job of looking to play penetrating passes, particularly Bradley. I though Dempsey was awful, but he rarely got good service.

Great result by the US!

I think he gets into channels better than altidore. I agree altidore is a dangerous combination of size and speed, but gives us a bit less posession in the game. If Altidore was playing first team football in a the 1st divison somewhere, then I can see him starting.

quote:

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If Altidore was playing first team football in a the 1st divison somewhere, then I can see him starting

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whoa now

he would be starting in the MLS, like ching, if he were in the MLS

you can't criticize him for being good enough to be bought by a solid 1st division team of La Liga. that's ridiculous

Not a big soccer fan but I watched that entire game, it was awesome

Wonderful! I thought the game was tonight

--the mexicans always travel well--

Uh, bro, I hate to tell you this, but the Mexicans have travelled VERY well. Those 40,000 dudes in sombreros didn't fly in from Cancun for this game. They're here already, most of them illegally, in your town.

Ching spent most of the game, as usual, turning the ball over to the Mexicans. If his role on the team is to make a long touch that gives possession to the defense, then he is great at that role. If that isn't his role, he should be benched.

I'd like to point out that on the corner kick which scored a goal, three players touched the ball. Ching was not only not one of them, he was nowhere near the play. What? Is our only striker on the field as a decoy? Ching is a striker who can't score. That makes him a liability. If we are rolling out a strategy which calls for our striker not to score, well, that's a problem with the system, too.

I'm not saying the MLS starters should be our line up. No way, we would be terrible. I just want to see him keep developing and earning playing time overseas to be far better than Ching in the future. There is a reason Ching plays and i'm sure Bradley sees it in training. I'm not saying Ching is going to be our targer player come 2010, but he isn't as bad as people think.