Scholarship table
The thing I don't understand, is if Klins was so against LD, especially after the sabbatical/Cambodia trip, why bring him in to lead your Gold Cup squad and praise him around that time?If LD wasn't going to be on this WC roster, it should have been made known once the sabbatical took place, not now.
I think its more than JK wasn't as enamored with LD as everyone else was. And he wasn't a shoe-in for a WC spot like everyone thought. Still he was good enough to give a run. So he brought him in for the Gold Cup, as opposed to the WC qualifiers, and rightfully praised him for his play. This time around, LD wasn't playing great at the club level and was out of shape. In the past he probably would have made the squad based on legacy, but not with JK and the past they had. I see it more as LD was fine as long as he was playing well, but when he started to fall off a bit, he wasn't getting any favors.
Landon had a good pretty good weekend, wouldn't you say?
He had a good game against a bad team who has given up the most goals in the MLS this year. Its like a good player in the NBA being left off the All-Star team and then dropping 30 on the Bucks.But congrats to LD on the record, he claimed it from some pretty elite company
I'm not sure how you can describe that as a meltdown. Significant tactical and personnel changes took place at half that changed the character of that game. Yes the defense was exposed some, but the backline has always been questionable.That's part of the reason I'm surprised Jurgen is going to a 3-5-2, I get it tactically going forward(though I'm not sure if Jozy fits in that kind of formation) but defensively I think it incurs far too many opportunities to miscommunicate in the back.
Where was that 3-5-2 yesterday?
Yeah, they were bunkered in weren't they? We'll see on the first.
And your thoughts on Turkey?
Was only able to watch the last 30 minutes so missed the most impressive part of the game for the US. After catching some replays, the first US goal was a beauty and the pass from Bradley shows just how important he is to this team. From what I saw of the second half, the defense needs to be cleaned up. Also seemed to be several chances we missed on and to me it looked like we were playing tentatively there. Has Altidore rejected aggressive attacking play in favor of always holding the ball up front? There's a time for everything and his drought continues. good win though.
Was the foul on Jozy that took away his early goal justified?
The back four will be an easy excuse since JK has done the rare ignore a surefire starter for most of qualifying only to have him penciled in for Cup opener routine with Chandler. As for Jozy, I thought he did some real good things against Turkey. Perhaps some of his "troubles" come from knowing there is no one else for his role. Then again, there's never been anyone in his exact role pushing him and last year he did score in five straight matches so it's clear we can forget when he does well only to believe he's a waste in the grand plan.Wonderful to see Mix finding his niche off the bench. Still think Johannsson is the most talented forward we have in front of the net, regardless of his youth. And hope JK isn't truly considering Davis over Bedoya.
You think Chandler's inclusion/exclusion was based on JK and not on Chandler being indecisive?Jozy played well.I hate Mix playing on the outside. He should be playing in the middle, but I can't think of a way to get Bradley and Mix on the field at the same time without them running into each other.Agree on Johannsson. If Dempsey proves lazy or ineffective, I think Aron should be on the field after Ghana.
BTW, anyone still expecting us to play 3-5-2? I don't see that happening unless it's desperation time.
Play 4-3-3 with width provided by wing forwards. Then Bradley is the central midfielder and Diskerud is not obligated to stay outside sending crosses in but is not so pinched in that he runs into Bradley.