ajzepp

Watching the halftime show, it's good to hear Lalas saying some of the things that have been bothering me for a while....this team is lacking in the execution of BASIC SKILLS. It's absolutely infuriating! I won't even use Brazil and Italy as the example...how about friggin Costa Rica? Watch that team and you get a sense that their passing has a purpose. They are using their brains as they set-up an attack, and they exhibit basic soccer skills that should be a given with any player at this level. We're getting outplayed so badly on an individual basis that all they're doing is kicking the ball anywhere it'll go, with no forethought or specified direction. How did we get here?? I can't watch the second half....just can't do it.

I was avoiding this thread until I could sit down and watch the game....I'm 25 min into it and am about to turn it off. This is absolutely ridiculous. Complete lack of coordination, no effort on D whatsoever, no offensive presence....what the fug is the point of showing up?

+1

I wanna be like Van Der Faart lmao

I don't care if it is either, as long as there is enough of an audience that we continue to have access to a reasonable amt of television coverage. I love the fact that I can see every WC game in HD....same with the Champions League final or, as we're watching now, the Confederation Cup. I was kicking around a soccer ball at age 4, and I'll love this game for as long as I live. Nothing will change that. And as far as the rest of the country, I'm convinced that there are more people today who love watching this game than there were five and ten years ago, so that makes me happy.

You mean something amazing like this? Thanks for the reminder!

Well, he was more present during the Italy game, but overall I feel he should be playing at a higher level by now. I agree about Jozy....aside from the fact that I think he needs to take some lessons from Wayne Rooney on how to use his stature to his advantage, the kid has a bright future. All I know is that this team has basically been shut out two games in a row....time to put the ball in the net, boys.

If marijuana were legal and it wouldn't impact my job, I'd be smoking it for sure. But if I can go w/out it for the past eighteen years, then these millionaire primadonnas can go w/out it while they're playing football, too.

Don't you think that overall this guy is a huge under achiever? I remember back before WC2006 reading all these articles that were touting him as a future "special" player. At this point, I'd take "consistently very good" over special. How many times do we have to watch opposing strikers maneuver unchallenged until they create an open shot while our defenders are seemingly standing around? Where is his presence on corners? I admit, in the Italy game there were maybe two times in the first half where I had an Onyewu sighting, but aside from that, teams often have their way with us. This is why I, like some of you guys, get so frustrated with the Adu situation. I'm sick of the Freddy-phobia....this kid is one of the few on the team with the ball skills to perform on the big stage, IMO.....and what do we do? We keep his ass on the bench. If this was really all this team was capable of, then that's one thing. But there are building blocks here to create a dynamic team that should be able to compete with the best....I'm just not sure we have the leadership in place brave enough to do what needs to be done.

Tell her to convince them that their heads are WAY up their asses if they don't get Klinsmann in here dammit!! lol

There's no way I'll ever believe that TO wanted to sign here. It was likely the only plays he had, and if he's suddenly presented with options again (i.e. if he has a drama-free, productive sesaon), I just can't see him remaining in Buffalo.

That's one of the biggest things I miss about Philly. I used to pay like $30 for a monthly pass, and that got me to campus, the airport, downtown center city, to the sports complex, etc, etc.

I think what bothers me is that I'm consistently seeing teams doing things that the US squad simply can't do. The skill level of our players, while better than it was 15 years ago, still isn't up to par with the mid-to-top tier teams. I shouldn't find myself getting this excited about a midfielder who can properly lead a striker, or a shot that is actually on goal instead of heading off on some crazy trajectory nowhere near the target. Great, Donovan knows how to make a PK....what else can this team do on offense? Jozy has the potential to be a very physical player, but instead of using his physique to his advantage, it seems like he's playing up the dive more than he should. On the play where we ended up with the PK, what I would have rather seen was him get himself turned square and put a shot on goal. I have the same issue with Onyewu. This guy should be overpowering people right and left. He should have no problem establishing position and winning the ball. With a couple exceptions, this team is too damn soft. They appear to become winded much earlier and more often than their opponent, and until someone gets these pussies in shape and gets them back to basic winning soccer, we're going to be perpetually disappointed with their performance on the world stage.

Yep, the Italians proved why they are the best....too bad that one Rossi kid is a friggin TRAITOR!!! lol What a strike on that second goal, though....just perfect in every way. There's nothing you can do about that other than just give them props for being the best.

There's no way he'll sign here after this year, no matter how well it goes.

Okay, I want this Spector kid on the field at all times....yeah, it's great we had the PK....but just before that, the ball he fed Jose from mid-field was a thing of BEAUTY. That's the sort of precision and THOUGHT that we need, and that has been missing, IMO. Too often it just seems like this team is playing peewee ball and kicking it wherever w/out looking or thinking about what they're doing. Spector led Jose perfectly, and I want to see more of that.

Thanks Gringo....watching now. Amazing that over 15 min have gone by and we haven't given up a goal yet....wtf???

I think tonight we'll really see what D.Howard and the rest of this team are made of. After coughing away the game on Thursday, this will be a true test of character. If they can find a way to shut down LA tonight and win convincingly, then there's still hope for them, even when the series moves back to LA. If not, it's all over. Personally, I'm dying to see what impact the last game had on them.

I was actually loving the last two mins, cause at first there were NO fouls....it was just a back and forth exchange for like an entire minute, lol. Pretty cool. My man Robert Horry has nothing on D.Fisher....the guy was clutch. Clutch wins championships.

Come on what? You said the same thing I did lol. I said I hate watching teams that can't finish...Orlando can't finish! Obviously LA is the better team.

There's nothing more infuriating than watching a team that just can't finish. The better team winning is fine when they're the ones dishing out the beat down....but when you benefit because the other team gets more piss on the seat than they do in the toilet, then it's really unsettling.

Geezus, it's almost as if the Magic players are looking at each other and thinking, "hey man, how do you win?"...."I dunno man, do you know? Maybe he knows, cause I have no idea." Up by 5 pts with less than two mins to go....Lakers get a basket to cut it to three, and then D.Howard gets sent to the line....all ya really gotta do is sink one of them....what does he do? He goes Shaq on us. Lakers take the ball, pass here, pass there, find Fisher with Nelson in VERY soft coverage (like a dumbass), *bam*, Lakers tied up. If Orlando loses this game after OT, they will be able to look back and pinpoint exactly why they lost the championship. It's not rocket science. You have the chance to END someone, you do it.

Lakers will get CRUSHED tonight. CRUSHED, DAMMIT!!!!