US MNT vs Honduras -- terrible

That was a tough game to watch. Hard to believe that was our senior national team out there. No possession, no strategy, poor marking, sloppy tackling and incompetent finishing. My takeaways were:

1. Zusi's time on the squad appears limited. He doesn't have the game speed or attacking ability that we need in a winger to play Klinsmann's desired style of possession/attack-minded soccer.

2.Jones is not the answer at center back- too undisciplined and likely not fast enough at the next Work Cup (he'll be 36). Have to think that Omar or Cameron would have prevented that set-piece goal last night.

3. Bedoya has to show more than just a good work rate. He is not dangerous with he ball at his feet.

4. Guzan is our #1 keeper by a pretty wide margin. #2 spot is up for grabs.

5. The return of guys like Aron Johannsson and Fabian Johnson should make the team much more dynamic and dangerous in attack.

6. Garza and Yedlin are raw, promising talents who have a chance to develop their game and cement their spots in the lineup for a long time.

7. Bradley has no business playing the #10 attacking MF role (as he did in the WC) and Mix has no business in the #6 defensive MF role. Switch them.

8. Klinsmann seems all-in on Jozy but we'll have to see what happens with his club situation and whether a guy like Terrence Boyd or Johannsson can unseat Jozy as a starter. I'd like to see Jozy/Boyd pair with Johannsson but that would come at the exclusion of Dempsey.

Have to agree. In the WC and today, we have no attacking threat whatsoever. Jozy never was one.. What striker passes at the six? Clint goes absent for months at a time. I do like seeing Yedlin on the wing rather than defending, but we seem to lack any ability to move the other team at will..

Sure we can hang onto the ball by passing backwards, but there appears to be no purpose to our possession.. When we aren't forgetting altogether and just flushing it long (looking at you JJ).

This team has no identity. They should play a youth National championship and let the winning team play the next US match.

The whole identification process needs to be evaluated. IMO, it favors the kids who are born in the early months of the calendar year and all too often favors the "athlete" versus the "soccer" player, especially at the early ages

Also, until a player in the US can make insane crazy money by playing soccer, many top athletes will opt for the other high paying sports. I wonder how Kobe would have turned out if he stayed a soccer player?

Just read the tweets. I agree... 

Ok, this is my last cranky boy comment of the day. 

Jurgen Klinsmann is a tool. This is not in dispute. Nevertheless, he is correct about the quality of MLS versus, at least, BPL, La Liga, Ligue 1, and Serie A. He is correct that players who come to MLS, at the present time, are going to have to do something extra to keep their level of play at elite international quality. Garber looked like a hurt little boy. I know he has been dealing with health issues, so feel badly about criticizing him, even given my morning crankiness. But the best thing for him to do, if he felt like he really really needed to do anything at all, would have been to acknowledge the facts, and then detail how MLS is going to continue to improve over the next 2-3 years. Before the next WC. What Klinsmann said was a awkward, it was clearly meant as a jab at his players. Who could blame him after watching the last two games? Can you image how the training sessions preceding these games must have looked? I am guessing total horror shows. 

Look, Altidore at present is playing striker like a holding mid. This is not good. But that was not always the case. He walked into a terrible situation at Sunderland. He should have stayed put. Bet he did this because JK wanted him to. Pretty clear to see it was a mistake. But it is just wrong to say he is unskilled. He is very technical. He is great at holding up the ball. Has a good first touch. Has excellent control most of the time. Dribbles well. Also sees the field well I think. Is big, powerful, and fast. But his striker confidence is gone. Free Jozy!

Dempsey is also a very technically gifted player. Did you see the difference between him and every other MLS player when he first went to Seattle? Was pretty humorous. You would look out there and say there is one thing that just does not belong. He is just lazy. Making him captain was silly. Did you see his goal against Ghana? That was not luck (can you hear me Julian Green?). You cannot do what he did there without elite skill. I would remove him unless his work rate doubled.

I feel a bit sorry for Michael Bradley. It was so funny watching him drift deep the other night, even though he was allegedly the #10. Maybe he wasn't. He looks lost. JK has done something to him. He does not look confident in the least. Before the end of the WC preparation cycle he always looked so technically and tactically proficient to me. Now his touch is shaky, his decision making is suspect, and he plays in a way that is not consistent with his (assumed) assigned role.

But look, they are 3.5 years from the next WC. It does not matter how they look right now. We are getting too bent out of shape over these results. You should get bent out of shape over the USWNT performance, but cut the men some slack. But I will agree that they better find some skill over the next cycle. The players they are putting out there right now don't look like they could make the average DA squad.

i have to agree, his posts are always top notch, but the cranky zizou is award winning. needs his own blog -- "What made zizou cranky from last night.."
for that he has been given guest moderator status!

(guest moderators cannot see any registration information if anyone is/was concerned. they have powers to edit posts, move, flag, bump, delete, etc)

no doubt and zlatan agrees.

I remember this game so well.  His movement off the ball and vision was amazing and you see some incredible soccer.  As mentioned, what has happened?  Something happened, but I haven't seen this level of play from him since.

wow...very kind of you...not sure I want this level or responsibility...as it turns out I think I was just hungry and tired...could have had a snickers, but got a #6 Jimmy Johns instead, took a little nap, went for a run...then made choc chip cookies, movie-style buttered popcorn (with about half the salt and butter), and some french rolls so I would have something to put in kid lunches this morning...then made myself a rather tasty adult beverage and sat down to re-watch first 30 min or so of German dismantling of Brasil in WC Semis...that always warms the heart...now I feel great...

Yes! And remember it was really the first half of this game that was totally awesome...Bradley not only controlled the midfield he was the best player out there by a large margin during that first half...look at how fast, precise, and fearlessly he is playing...no hesitation at all...he knows everything that is happening before it even happens...sign of greatness...

And in response to parentsoccerfan, Bradley's transfer from Roma to Toronto FC was complete at the beginning of January (I believe) and this Mexico game was at the beginning of April. How many real games had Bradley even played with Toronto FC at that point? One?  Had he not been pretty much in pre-season/early season training and WC preparation mode at the time of this Mexico match? It is hard to know what to conclude other than this is not the same player. He was not the same player of that Mexico match during the WC. His role necessarily changed as a result of the Altidore injury. Maybe that was what accounted for the difference in speed and quality of play. It is not easy to change roles that quickly. Everything was different. Even professionals have a hard time adjusting to playing in a different part of the field. I am also willing to give him a pass on his play during that Honduras friendly. End of a long year, Toronto FC out of playoffs, meaningless match, etc. At one point I thought he was going to put on keeper gloves and hang out with Rimando. Never seen a midfielder drop that deep. If we should NOT give him a pass, though, it must only mean that the longer you play in MLS the more the quality of your play deteriorates.

Yup, Bradley's a real professional and you'll never hear him make an excuse. I'd bet this injury has been bothering him for some time.