Cugalabanza Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 U.S. vs. Spain Wednesday June 4 Estadio El Sardinero, Santander, Spain 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2, ESPN360 Ok, it will be painful to see our fellow Americans get dismantled by a first class side, but it will be fun watching Fernando Torres, one of the most exciting players in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Soccer sucks. It's been 15 years since he was funny. I hate him but I love to diss him on message boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Soccer sucks. It's been 15 years since he was funny. I hate him but I love to diss him on message boards. Soccer? I hardly knew 'er. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Soccer sucks. It's been 15 years since he was funny. I hate him but I love to diss him on message boards. see that's why he put in the thread title "Soccer reminder...." it really amazes me why people feel compelled to make disparaging comments on things they do not care about or do not like...or I guess "hate". But if you must you must, thanks for the contribution and even more so, bumping this thread up for even more exposure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 see that's why he put in the thread title "Soccer reminder...." it really amazes me why people feel compelled to make disparaging comments on things they do not care about or do not like...or I guess "hate". But if you must you must, thanks for the contribution and even more so, bumping this thread up for even more exposure. Dude, I was being sarcastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Dude, I was being sarcastic. A little slow this morning, eh ballofmalt? http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?s=&am...t&p=1010347 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Let's see if the USA has found a player in the past week who actually has the skill and confidence to attack a defender and try to make something happen...They had ZERO confidence against England...Every player was looking to get rid of the ball immediately after receiving it, and most of the time they were getting rid of it right to an English player. The sad part is, this US roster is their European-based players, who are supposed to be used to that level and speed of play. You could see a young MLS-based roster feeling overwhelmed, but these guys are supposed to be our legit players. I thought a few years ago that Dempsey had the chance to be a transcendant US player, with enough skill and confidence to take on some of the best defenders in the world. He seems to have peaked just before the '06 World Cup and hasn't played at that level since. He used to be electric every time he took the field...Now he looks like any old Joe Schmoe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHOUTBOX MONSTER! Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Just a heads up, but the game is going to be on live at 4 pm on ESPN360, but tape delayed on ESPN2 and started at 5:30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivier in france Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 U.S. vs. SpainWednesday June 4 Estadio El Sardinero, Santander, Spain 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2, ESPN360 Ok, it will be painful to see our fellow Americans get dismantled by a first class side, but it will be fun watching Fernando Torres, one of the most exciting players in the world. Did not know about that game... Santander is just about 2 hours from here... too bad it's tomorrow and can not change my plans now ...it'd have been nice to go ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 A little slow this morning, eh ballofmalt? http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?s=&am...t&p=1010347 Hey, I gave the expected response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Hey, I gave the expected response. I think that flew clear over my head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Just a heads up, but the game is going to be on live at 4 pm on ESPN360, but tape delayed on ESPN2 and started at 5:30. Cool. I'll be able to catch 2 naps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Let's see if the USA has found a player in the past week who actually has the skill and confidence to attack a defender and try to make something happen...They had ZERO confidence against England...Every player was looking to get rid of the ball immediately after receiving it, and most of the time they were getting rid of it right to an English player. The sad part is, this US roster is their European-based players, who are supposed to be used to that level and speed of play. You could see a young MLS-based roster feeling overwhelmed, but these guys are supposed to be our legit players. I thought a few years ago that Dempsey had the chance to be a transcendant US player, with enough skill and confidence to take on some of the best defenders in the world. He seems to have peaked just before the '06 World Cup and hasn't played at that level since. He used to be electric every time he took the field...Now he looks like any old Joe Schmoe. The good news: Ricardo Clark has been taken off the roster. Man, I'm tired of his lousy first touches and constistently terrible passing. The bad news: Still no Landon Donovan. Also, Josh Wolf is still on the roster for some unknown reason. Hopefully, he won't see the field. I still have faith in Dempsey, but he's not the player who can do it on his own. I understand Pablo Mastroeni is back. They could use his experience at midfield. I thought Eddie Lewis was about the only U.S. player that looked any good against England. I think Adu needs to start and play the whole game. He looked really shaky last week, but he's supposed to be a playmaker and you have to give him his shot. Probably Bradley starts again too. Forwards? I guess you gotta go Dempsey and Eddie Johnson, but that's not exactly striking fear into anybody. If it were up to me, maybe I'd sit Eddie down and have Beasley as a fifth midfielder, making runs forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Cool. I'll be able to catch 2 naps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Yeah, that was really terrific top-notch stuff. The insight, the wit, the originality. A-plus all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Yeah, that was really terrific top-notch stuff. The insight, the wit, the originality. A-plus all the way. Dude, I'm a fan of the sport and I've taken MANY naps during soccer games...I can only imagine the boredom if you don't really care...It's perfect for napping...You wake up 70 minutes later and it's still 0-0, or in the event of a goal, usually the announcer's yelling might wake you up to catch a replay. What can you do? There's plenty of games that aren't exactly riveting, especially if you don't really care about the nuances of the game. No biggie. It's ok to laugh at jokes every so often...Nobody needs to carry the banner for soccer fans on a football message board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 The good news: Ricardo Clark has been taken off the roster. Man, I'm tired of his lousy first touches and constistently terrible passing. The bad news: Still no Landon Donovan. Also, Josh Wolf is still on the roster for some unknown reason. Hopefully, he won't see the field. I still have faith in Dempsey, but he's not the player who can do it on his own. I understand Pablo Mastroeni is back. They could use his experience at midfield. I thought Eddie Lewis was about the only U.S. player that looked any good against England. I think Adu needs to start and play the whole game. He looked really shaky last week, but he's supposed to be a playmaker and you have to give him his shot. Probably Bradley starts again too. Forwards? I guess you gotta go Dempsey and Eddie Johnson, but that's not exactly striking fear into anybody. If it were up to me, maybe I'd sit Eddie down and have Beasley as a fifth midfielder, making runs forward. I'm really thinking we just need to overhaul this bunch of unmotivated, underachieving, no-balls bores. We MUST have some players with some talent who are also willing to leave it on the field each and every game. As I excited as I was for the England game, I was embarrassed watching it. We need some young blood, and we need players who are self-motivated. It's just really hard for me to believe that this is the best we have to offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 I'm really thinking we just need to overhaul this bunch of unmotivated, underachieving, no-balls bores. We MUST have some players with some talent who are also willing to leave it on the field each and every game. As I excited as I was for the England game, I was embarrassed watching it. We need some young blood, and we need players who are self-motivated. It's just really hard for me to believe that this is the best we have to offer. In Bob Bradley's defense, he's looking at WC 2010. He wants to look at these young guys to see who will be the future. In the England game, we learned that Ricardo Clark and Josh Wolf are NOT capable. I would really like to see Freddy Adu for a full 90 minutes against Spain. Against England, in very limited time, he started off terribly (bad touches, one incredibly poor free kick sent absolutely nowhere), but then showed some skill and even a decent shot on goal. As bad as the England game looked, I don't think it's time to give up completely. Replace Wolf and Clark with Donovan and Feilhaber and suddenly you start to look competent. I think the central defense (Onyewu & Bocanegra) is better than people think. Generally, they are solid, with occasional boneheaded mistakes. I think they will grow into something quite good. The midfield has lots of potential. Both Donovan and Dempsey can play forward or midfield. Feilhaber is hurt now, but he'll be back and has great instincts and toughness. Bradley (coach's son) shows lots of promise. I'd like to see him put in positions to score goals, not so exclusively in a defensive role. Adu, who knows? He seems to have the skills to be something special. But, what the hell is taking him so long? Beasley has had a lot of injuries lately. If he's 100%, he really brings something with his attacking speed. Forwards? I'm not so sure. Eddie Johnson has skills, but his laziness just kills me. I like Brian Ching a lot, but he has not been consistent enough. Dempsey can be great at times. Altidore, I just don't know. Past that, I just don't know. Not a lot of options here. I wish Brian McBride were about 4 years younger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 In Bob Bradley's defense, he's looking at WC 2010. He wants to look at these young guys to see who will be the future. In the England game, we learned that Ricardo Clark and Josh Wolf are NOT capable. I would really like to see Freddy Adu for a full 90 minutes against Spain. Against England, in very limited time, he started off terribly (bad touches, one incredibly poor free kick sent absolutely nowhere), but then showed some skill and even a decent shot on goal. As bad as the England game looked, I don't think it's time to give up completely. Replace Wolf and Clark with Donovan and Feilhaber and suddenly you start to look competent. I think the central defense (Onyewu & Bocanegra) is better than people think. Generally, they are solid, with occasional boneheaded mistakes. I think they will grow into something quite good. The midfield has lots of potential. Both Donovan and Dempsey can play forward or midfield. Feilhaber is hurt now, but he'll be back and has great instincts and toughness. Bradley (coach's son) shows lots of promise. I'd like to see him put in positions to score goals, not so exclusively in a defensive role. Adu, who knows? He seems to have the skills to be something special. But, what the hell is taking him so long? Beasley has had a lot of injuries lately. If he's 100%, he really brings something with his attacking speed. Forwards? I'm not so sure. Eddie Johnson has skills, but his laziness just kills me. I like Brian Ching a lot, but he has not been consistent enough. Dempsey can be great at times. Altidore, I just don't know. Past that, I just don't know. Not a lot of options here. I wish Brian McBride were about 4 years younger. I hope you're right, man. I want to get excited about this team, but you know how you can usually tell when your team is playing their asses off but just not quite talented enough vs. having talent but dogging it? I can't stop seeing them in light of the latter. Take the Bills for example. Last year I was pretty happy with their performance for the most part given the circumstances. Rookie QB, shitload of injuries, KE, etc, etc. I felt it was clearly a successful season that we'll build on this year. I didn't feel like guys were out there pussyfooting around just collecting paychecks. This soccer team just seems very wasteful to me. Not much heart, not much enthusiasm, not much drive to bring their A game. I couldn't agree more about Freddy. The kid obviously has a ton of natural talent, and the only way to coax it out of him is to let him loose against better competition. I didn't understand why DC United didn't play him much at all when he first came to MLS, and I don't understand why we aren't getting him more playing time on the national team. I'm not saying he's Wayne Rooney, but I seriously doubt anyone had reservations about playing Rooney when he was first getting his legs about him. Hell, the guy's still only like 22 or 23, and he's evolved into one of the best soccer players on earth. Free Freddy, dammit!!!! The one good thing is that I like Howard in goal over Keller. Not that it would have made any difference, but I would have rather seen Howard in goal for WC '06. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 This soccer team just seems very wasteful to me. Not much heart, not much enthusiasm, not much drive to bring their A game. Agreed. That's the part that hurts. Hopefully, in the next two games (tomorrow vs. Spain and Sunday vs. Argentina), we'll see some fuggin guts out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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