ho-hum half from Donovan/Dempsey... Clark looks too slow and obviously, our defense has problems. Maybe Cherundolo would be a better option than Spector... he looks lethargic or something, I'm not sure what it is

and it looks like a pretty clear-cut 4-4-2 to me, Dempsey is definitely playing as an out-and-out striker



but yeah, Turkey is a damn good team. I'm surprised they didn't qualify

[Edited on May 29, 2010 at 2:58 PM. Reason : .]

5/29/2010 2:53:21 PM

why does lalas love edson buddle and robbie findley so much? he's acting like these guys should be starting and are the reason we aren't winning right now. i'm not really surprised they're winning, i wish we were playing better but obviously arda turan and altintop are better than spector and clarence goodson

5/29/2010 3:05:39 PM

How many more balls in the box are we going to squander? We've had plenty of chances.

5/29/2010 3:16:00 PM

dempsey is diving too much, i dont want us to get that reputation


nice nice, great play by the team. maybe i was wrong about findley?

[Edited on May 29, 2010 at 3:22 PM. Reason : as]

5/29/2010 3:19:54 PM

damn that was pretty

GG usa

5/29/2010 3:21:57 PM

Wow was that Findley? Maybe he's not entirely worthless.

5/29/2010 3:22:14 PM

he's been all over the field, if he's gonna hustle like that , he deserves to play. we need a davies type out there

5/29/2010 3:23:40 PM

looks like I'll have to stop hating... Findley has been awesome in 15 minutes, that pass to Donovan was niiiiice

5/29/2010 3:24:40 PM

Yeah, but he's still showing that he's not Davies. Just put two playable balls out for goal kicks. Does he know you can play the ball backwards?

5/29/2010 3:27:02 PM

Nobody will be Davies


and I'm probably the biggest Davies fanboy ever (I was on the bandwagon before he was really contributing on the national team), but I think we might be building up Davies to be something more than he was. He's damn good but it's not like we're missing Rooney

agree with Harkes there, Torres is class

[Edited on May 29, 2010 at 3:30 PM. Reason : .]

5/29/2010 3:28:10 PM

i know that, i just meant a high energy forward who is going to run all over the field. torres has been looking really good out there too, a lot better than clark. his passing is on point.

dempsey is driving me nuts right now, i have such a love-hate relationship with him.

5/29/2010 3:31:28 PM

I'd like to see Gomez in for Altidore here

5/29/2010 3:33:32 PM

I was on the Hammarby Davies train.

Davies is not on the level of a Wayne Rooney, but it's not Davies' individual skill that's our biggest lost. It's how well he fit into the puzzle. He was exactly what we needed in that position. In that sense, he was almost our Rooney.

Dempsey is playing like shit.

That last run by Donovan reminded everyone how damn fast he is.

5/29/2010 3:35:30 PM

right but what Findley has done in the 2nd half is exactly the type of thing Davies does... and at least in this game, he looks like a suitable replacement. Davies isn't polished enough to not make mistakes either, like put a few playable balls out of play

BOOORNNNSTEIN!!!

5/29/2010 3:38:11 PM

Nice Dempsey!

5/29/2010 3:38:38 PM

bradley needs to bring on maurice edu for dempsey.

right when i type that, he scoreds an f'ing goal.

it was the bornstein effect that lead to the goal

[Edited on May 29, 2010 at 3:39 PM. Reason : as]

5/29/2010 3:39:01 PM

lol, right as I say Dempsey is playing like shit.


Davies is great on the touchline. He would not put either of those balls out of play like FIndley did.

Anyway, enough Davies talk. Findley, for the most part, looks good today.

[Edited on May 29, 2010 at 3:40 PM. Reason : .]

5/29/2010 3:39:02 PM

Dempsey! Niiiice


He's the type of player you just have to keep out there somewhere, no matter how he's playing because he always comes through with a goal or a big play

5/29/2010 3:39:08 PM

I feel like Dempsey always comes through right after I start talking shit about him...

5/29/2010 3:39:53 PM

Bornstein just got eaten alive. He's such a liability it's sickening.

5/29/2010 3:42:51 PM

classic bornstein defending there

5/29/2010 3:42:59 PM

oh man, no Gomez? Holden coming on instead


Torres plays so smooth

5/29/2010 3:44:14 PM

Agreed. Torres has been amazing.

5/29/2010 3:45:19 PM

I know he already starts for a good team in Mexico but he could have a breakout tournament if he gets enough playing time. I could see him contributing for a upper mid-level team in Spain

yes I said upper mid-level

damn if I were Bradley, I would have been greedy as hell on that chance

[Edited on May 29, 2010 at 3:50 PM. Reason : bradley]

5/29/2010 3:47:41 PM

Really Bradley? Why not give it a go there instead of throwing it back in to traffic?

5/29/2010 3:50:13 PM

This is getting ridiculous. FINISH. No need to get fancy in the box.

5/29/2010 3:50:50 PM

bradley has been so good this game, he's been great on offense and defense. probably the player of the game for me.

torres again, so sick

[Edited on May 29, 2010 at 3:52 PM. Reason : as]

5/29/2010 3:51:38 PM

^ agreed, Bradley was one of the few with a good first half too

That's a cheeky free kick from Torres, he's the man

5/29/2010 3:52:28 PM

Torres is giving me hope in our chances. I think our midfield is in pretty good shape. If only our defense could get their shit together.

5/29/2010 3:52:42 PM

Bornstein again. Terrible. How did this guy get on this team? Sweatpants has to be getting paid off by somebody.

5/29/2010 3:54:45 PM

defense worries me too, but gooch has looked prettty decent out there, same with demerit and cherundulo. hopefully gooch gets his fitness up in these next two weeks and can play most of the tourney. bornstein cannot play at all tho. he's the worst

5/29/2010 3:56:27 PM

I wonder what he'll change from today's XI

Gooch starts probably... Dolo over Spector? Edu, Clark, or Torres?

5/29/2010 4:00:32 PM

Choosing the starting XI is going to be the most important thing. We had 4 substitutions at the half that changed the face of the game, and used all 6 available. Obviously we're not going to be able to do that at the World Cup.

5/29/2010 4:05:26 PM

Quote :

"I know he already starts for a good team in Mexico but he could have a breakout tournament if he gets enough playing time."

This. I wish Gomez would have gotten in for the 2nd.

5/29/2010 4:07:35 PM

Quote :

"The other big news of the day, of course, is that the U.S. didn’t suffer any injuries that will knock a player off the team before it flies to South Africa on Sunday. It’s the first time since 1998 that a U.S. player on the 23-man roster hasn’t had to be replaced right before the World Cup for injury reasons."

http://worldcup.si.com/2010/05/29/usa-2-turkey-1-postgame-thoughts/

wow, didn't know that, although I wish Bornstein would have been "injured"

5/29/2010 4:13:09 PM

i like edu to start because of his defense, but the way torres was playing today, you can't keep him off the field. his passing was starting nearly every offensive chance we had. i still give spector the nod over cherundulo, but either one is pretty good.

5/29/2010 4:39:07 PM

I thought Clark especially was horrible. I liked Torres a lot, but honestly I am still worried about seeing if Onyewu can get back to where he was before the injury. He was horrible against the Czech Republic, and I can't think of anyone I've seen back there who wouldn't be a better option than a slow, weak Gooch. His best skill was his willingness to go up high, and when he got outjumped for that goal, that just showed that maybe he's not in proper form yet.

5/29/2010 5:17:42 PM

solid second half from the usa. i really liked the way torres played. to me it look like him and holden ahead of feilhaber to me. and wtf findley, where is that shit coming from? oh, and god help us if 2 of 3 of bocanegra, spector, and cherundolo go down. bornstein shat all over the field.

5/29/2010 5:19:09 PM

I just got back from Boston. I was riding in the car all day and had to miss this one, but I am glad we won. It was better than the shock I got when I got back from dinner the other night and saw we gave away the lead and lost 4-2. Now I have some faith in the team. I also happened to be in the bar when they announced the roster and I was like... ...NO BRIAN CHING!

5/30/2010 12:42:55 AM

feilhaber needs to sit, as does clark

let torres or holden play and have dempsey in the middlefield/forward like we did in second half

findley worked hard, which is fine with me

i still think you start onyewu, boca, spector, and demerit

5/30/2010 6:37:42 PM

Studio 90's been doing features on players in England

here's Jay DeMerit at Watford

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EFJjyHW0T8

Landon at Everton, part 1 and 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUAYlq2VxuQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sg95-f93Ig

Jozy at Hull

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW1K8Y0uNEw

5/31/2010 1:26:45 PM

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7786599/World-Cup-2010-England-told-they-have-nothing-to-fear-from-USA-says-Guus-Hiddink.html

Quote :

"In Landon Donovan, Jose Torres, Clint Dempsey and Robbie Findley the Americans possess a creative component sufficient in potency to trouble any, if only they are bold enough to trust it. The default settings of the first half suggest that Bob Bradley, the American coach, has a conservative instinct that will result in a team set up in counter-attacking mode --- Donovan and Dempsey can be a handful up front if given encouragement. Behind them, America is a land of opportunity for England. "

pretty much this

6/1/2010 9:20:37 AM

The B Squad is about to take the field. Buddle and Finley are the forwards. Gooch on the bench.

6/5/2010 8:39:16 AM

Pffft. First great chance of the game and Findley can't do anything one on one.

Not really a B squad. Jozy and Gooch obviously were'nt going to play due to injury. It was always possible Findley would get a nod.

Buddle just scored on a decent individual effort.

6/5/2010 8:45:15 AM

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLL! Edson Buddle!

6/5/2010 8:45:20 AM

Save it for the actual tournament, lol.

6/5/2010 8:49:04 AM

Damn did all the hard things and then missed a wide open net

6/5/2010 8:56:22 AM

OMG FINLEY YOU SUCK! He dribbled around the GK and had a wide open goal. Tried to put it in the corner instead of the center and pushed it wide!

6/5/2010 8:56:48 AM

LOL, Findley just missed an open net. Dribbled well past the keeper and put it wide from no more than 15 yards. He was probably offsides. It looks like the B squad refs. Probably from South Africa's PSL.

6/5/2010 8:58:03 AM

1-1 off a corner kick goal

6/5/2010 9:00:37 AM