ADVERTISEMENT

GO USA!!

Bradley sucks. He has needed a good benching for a while yet Klinsmann not only keeps his sorry ass in but gives him the arm band. Weak.
 
Colombia Lost to Costa Rica... I'll admit.. USA won the group! That is not something I foresaw..
1 game at a Time.. SEATTLE PACK THAT PLACE!! WHY NOT!! USA ALL THE WAY!!!
 
I told you, Colombia is not the #3 team in the world because it is too dependent on a couple key players and has too many WTF games. FIFA ranking seems to be based on computer algorithms only, which is not good. There should be some human ranking input. Even winning (or going far in) a tournament is not enough because bad teams can play for the tie and win in penalties.
 
Bradley stepped-up for this game. I'll eat my words about him I posted earlier. Just hope he can keep it up.
 
Bradley stepped-up for this game. I'll eat my words about him I posted earlier. Just hope he can keep it up.

He had a solid game, no doubt. Everyone needs to play well if they want to win in Seattle on Thursday night.

PS. Brooks was a machine. ..he saved multiple goal situations.

Guzan had one of his best games also.
 
  • Like
Reactions: crambone
I think we have a chance against Peru as long as Bradley doesn't touch the ball much.
 
How good is Ecuador?
Decent. I mean, they tied Brazil, they tied Peru and they whooped Haiti. Had the refs on this tournament been instructed on how to call handballs, they wouldn't have made it to the second round. They look similar to Costa Rica so we can definitely beat them. Let's see which team shows up on Thursday for the U.S.
 
I Believe THAT WE JUST WON!!!

Soaked in Beer! American Outlaws is the best way to watch, but I really hate it when people get fresh buckets of beer, cause their beers are extra cold!


All in All..
The team played amazing.. Jones Red Card was TOTAL BS!! (I could curse for about 5 hours just on this subject....)

Defense was solid.. I would say 99% likely Argentina & Messi up next, and not Venezuela, but I'd like to be wrong..
Next game without Wood, Bedoya, AND JONES............ Will be interested to see who takes their places...

I'd Guess Zusi for Bedoya, Beckerman for Jones, and Yedlin for Wood, I know.. I know..
I see us pushing Johnson up, and Besler Behind him as a double cover, more like 5 in the back.. As we may need it vs the likes of the #1 team in the planet in Argentina.. Ugh..

Also I love America.. Remind me not to go to Russia in 2018 for WC..
One Outlaw just got back from France, said the Russians were wearing Mouthguards, and had brass knuckles, knives & kicked the crap out of the Brits... well in the streets..
 
  • Like
Reactions: jetsaholic
Still don't really understand what Jones did to earn his red card...but silly yellow cards in any of those 4 games will cause maybe UCF's 2nd most valuable player, Wood, to miss the semi-final games (along with Jones and Bedoya).

If USA plays Argentina...possession might be 80% or more to the South Americans...as maybe USA's best shot is to get it to penalty kicks if they can.

I still don't understand cheap shots, shirt pulling, etc...something I never did or barely ever witnessed during my long playing career...let alone "diving". (Ecuador Coach/Bench had a right to be upset about that late "dive" by USA player in closing minutes...something both announcers failed to even consider or admit. It's ok FOX announcers JP Dellacamera & Landon Donovan, USA players aren't perfect...and its ok to point out if they make a mistake or in this case DIVE).
 
Glad for the win. Now we get the privilege of getting destroyed by Argentina. I just hope we dont get blown out like Brazil did against Germany.
 
Donovan and Zardes are friends. They were teammates 18 months ago. Just about every move Zardes has is a clone of Landon circa 2004. Compare his game at Cal State Bakersfield and where he is now and you see a lot of Donovan influence. He isn't going to call his boy out on a dive on national television. John Paul Dellacamera (His name for the first 20 years of his career announcing US Soccer and I refuse to cal him JP) does not have the role to call out the dive and would be stepping on toes in the booth if he did.

In any event, throwing stuff onto the field to intentionally stop play merits a shower and two game CONMEBOL suspension regardless of the reasons why. For the record, Zardes was obstructed, but deserved a yellow for simulation.
 
So Wood, Bedoya & Jones are out. The only replaceable one is Bedoya. We don't have anybody worth starting behind Wood & Jones. So I'm assuming it will be Yedlin, Beckerman and Suzi.

Yeah, Argentina is going to make us die in death. At least we'll play for 3rd place. #silverlining
 
So Wood, Bedoya & Jones are out. The only replaceable one is Bedoya. We don't have anybody worth starting behind Wood & Jones. So I'm assuming it will be Yedlin, Beckerman and Suzi.

Yeah, Argentina is going to make us die in death. At least we'll play for 3rd place. #silverlining

3rd or 4th place in this tournament with like half a dozen top 10 teams is pretty good considering how the team has been performing preCopa. It would be nice to get your homeland in either the Champ or 3rd place game and knock the crap out of them.
 
3rd or 4th place in this tournament with like half a dozen top 10 teams is pretty good considering how the team has been performing preCopa. It would be nice to get your homeland in either the Champ or 3rd place game and knock the crap out of them.
I agree. And it's not like I think we could beat ArgenMessi with the 3 guys that are suspended, but I would feel better going into the match.

Still, a guaranteed 3rd-4th place isn't bad at all.
 
http://heavy.com/sports/2016/06/usa...es-fight-punch-video-highlights-copa-america/
Still don't really understand what Jones did to earn his red card...but silly yellow cards in any of those 4 games will cause maybe UCF's 2nd most valuable player, Wood, to miss the semi-final games (along with Jones and Bedoya).

If USA plays Argentina...possession might be 80% or more to the South Americans...as maybe USA's best shot is to get it to penalty kicks if they can.

I still don't understand cheap shots, shirt pulling, etc...something I never did or barely ever witnessed during my long playing career...
Jones threw a punch to a player's face (a weak punch but he connected). it was more like a tap but his fist was closed (see video from link.
Cheap shots: defensive players try to slow down and/or "soften" the creative players of the other team. Usually is repetitive fouls where they just trip them, kick his ankles, pull the shirts, etc. The main goal is to slow down the other (usually superior) and disrupt their way of playing.
The dives actually evolved from players "feeling" the opponent getting ready to foul them and jumping or just relaxing their body to minimize the damage (brazilian are really good at this). The fouls were real, players were just trying to avoid injury. Now they have taken a page from basketball and use the dives to get an advantage (free kick, yellow/red card, kill time, etc)
You didn't see it while playing because the US do the Fair Play thing and probably didn't get to international competition. When you are playing for your country, you do whatever is needed to win. It is good the US is playing Conmebol teams because they'll kick, punch, pull, bite, grab, cheat, push, dive, etc their way to the win if they have to
 
So Wood, Bedoya & Jones are out. The only replaceable one is Bedoya. We don't have anybody worth starting behind Wood & Jones. So I'm assuming it will be Yedlin, Beckerman and Suzi.

Yeah, Argentina is going to make us die in death. At least we'll play for 3rd place. #silverlining
Disagree somewhat. I think Wood is somewhat replaceable. Dont get me wrong, he has been fantastic in this tournament. I just think we have some options there. We have Pulisic and Wondo. I personally would go with Pulisic. Ive never been a big fan of Bedoya. I think it might even be addition through subtraction. Jones is a big loss. He shows up in big games like the veteran that he is. Too bad our petition wasnt heard.

That said it doesnt really matter. Argentina is going to steam roll the USMNT. I just hope we keep it respectable unlike mexico. [roll][roll][roll][roll][roll]
 
  • Like
Reactions: jetsaholic
What does the winner of this sewing tournament get for winning? Some coronas and pineapples and shit? Also, someone told me Messi was retarded or something. Is there any truth to that? Didn't Germany prepare his anus a few years back?

You're such a funny Nazi sympathizer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jetsaholic
Prior to the tournament, I expected 2nd place finish in the group and a loss to Brazil in the quarterfinals. They surpassed my expectations even if the loss to Argentina was a bad one. The South American teams are strong competition in world soccer, not just regional tournaments. This was a good showing by the US, even more so if they can snag 3rd in the consolation game.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jetsaholic
Prior to the tournament, I expected 2nd place finish in the group and a loss to Brazil in the quarterfinals. They surpassed my expectations even if the loss to Argentina was a bad one. The South American teams are strong competition in world soccer, not just regional tournaments. This was a good showing by the US, even more so if they can snag 3rd in the consolation game.
^^^This^^^

Anybody that thought the U.S. was going to win was either stupid or dumb. Even with the 3 guys that were suspended, Argentina still scores at least 2 on us. We just don't have the level of athletes that countries like Argentina do because soccer isn't the main sport of the country. And when you have young talent like DeAndre Yedlin taking money over playing time, it's impossible to develop those athletes. I don't blame him for going after the quan, but he was a starting forward in Seattle, opposite Clint Dempsey. He's never going to be in a better situation than that. Let's hope Zardes doesn't make the same mistake. He's a starter in pretty much the best team in MLS. Going to Europe to sit on the bench for more money doesn't do anything for his development.

Finishing 4th is good, finishing 3rd would be amazing but, regardless of the outcome on Saturday, this is a good showing for the U.S.
 
  • Like
Reactions: UCFRogerz
Well last night sucked. I was thinking it was going to be 5-0 but was hoping for 5-1. God we suck.
We're just not ready and we won't be ready for another 10-20 years. That is, if the infrastructure and training available now stays in place and improves and expands.
 
  • Like
Reactions: UCFWayne
We will never be ready so long as two things do not change:

1. Player bonus pay equals what is paid to other players of elite teams. This will never happen so long as the men's team has to subsidize not only the women's team, but also the women's club league and JK's absurd salaries. I start laughing when I hear the women talk about "equality." They generate 25% of the income and more than half of the expenses. They make more as salaried employees of the USSF (in addition to their club team pay) that meets or exceeds the pay for most Western football federation middle tier executives (before bribes where applicable). Meanwhile, all that cash is broken off from the pay the men should get. If you want to beat Rooney and Messi, pay the effing players what Rooney and Messi get paid. Otherwise, the players will take a pass during the primes of their careers (See generally, Brad Friedel). If you want to talk about equality, fine. Let's pay our men equal with other men around the world, then divide up what's left and see if the remainder is enough to reasonably match what the women take in and what other women are paid throughout the world. And how about we start deducting for the all the games that are net losers that the women schedule?

2. The mindset of this country is focused on education driven outcomes for athletes subsidized by monopolistic owners who want educational institutions to absorb labor development costs in exchange for free marketing.

We are trying to play the same game with different rules from everyone else. Rules that cause external pressures that other teams do not have to absorb. You either embrace that fact because we are Americans with American values and stand by the team regardless of result or you shut the heck up because the reality is that you are expecting results that can never occur without a fundamental change in how we do business. And that change will have to be ugly. (Signing kids to undisclosed pro contracts and giving them HGH, a la Messi. That's cool in Spain. Most Americans would say you belong in prison for doing that. As long as we play by our rules, the Messi's of the world will elude us.)

Cue tired discussion from people who know nothing about sports physiology and training or that played soccer at a high level telling me that LeBron James would be the greatest goalkeeper ever to live.
 
It all comes down to compensation. Kids today see NBA/MLB/NHL/NFL players making a ton of money. They dont see MLS players making money. I know most kids are more aware of the bigger European stars so there is hope some of those kids think they can make money overseas. But realistically, the base pay in MLS needs to drastically increase as well. Thats not going to happen any time soon. Thus the USMNT wont drastically increase in talent any time soon.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jetsaholic
We will never be ready so long as two things do not change:

1. Player bonus pay equals what is paid to other players of elite teams. This will never happen so long as the men's team has to subsidize not only the women's team, but also the women's club league and JK's absurd salaries. I start laughing when I hear the women talk about "equality." They generate 25% of the income and more than half of the expenses. They make more as salaried employees of the USSF (in addition to their club team pay) that meets or exceeds the pay for most Western football federation middle tier executives (before bribes where applicable). Meanwhile, all that cash is broken off from the pay the men should get. If you want to beat Rooney and Messi, pay the effing players what Rooney and Messi get paid. Otherwise, the players will take a pass during the primes of their careers (See generally, Brad Friedel). If you want to talk about equality, fine. Let's pay our men equal with other men around the world, then divide up what's left and see if the remainder is enough to reasonably match what the women take in and what other women are paid throughout the world. And how about we start deducting for the all the games that are net losers that the women schedule?

2. The mindset of this country is focused on education driven outcomes for athletes subsidized by monopolistic owners who want educational institutions to absorb labor development costs in exchange for free marketing.

We are trying to play the same game with different rules from everyone else. Rules that cause external pressures that other teams do not have to absorb. You either embrace that fact because we are Americans with American values and stand by the team regardless of result or you shut the heck up because the reality is that you are expecting results that can never occur without a fundamental change in how we do business. And that change will have to be ugly. (Signing kids to undisclosed pro contracts and giving them HGH, a la Messi. That's cool in Spain. Most Americans would say you belong in prison for doing that. As long as we play by our rules, the Messi's of the world will elude us.)

Cue tired discussion from people who know nothing about sports physiology and training or that played soccer at a high level telling me that LeBron James would be the greatest goalkeeper ever to live.
I agree money is key. Deandre Yedlin is the perfect example. They flashed a bunch of money in his face and he left a starting spot in a premier team in our league to go ride the bench for 2 overseas clubs so far. He's an afterthought in just 2 years of being in Europe. His development stalled, his stock dropped, but his pockets got fat as fukc. Can't say I blame him for chasing the money, but I would hope that these kids would think about what is best for them as a player and not as a person.

Now, as far as the league itself, I think the MLS is making a mistake in growing so much and in trying to mimic an economic structure by copying the NBA and the NFL. The pool isn't deep enough to spread a lot of talent around. They would be better served staying at 20 teams and having 5-10 teams be super amazing and rich while having the others suck monkey dicks, just like baseball. Have one really good team in New York, California, Texas, Florida and Seattle. Make sure those teams in those markets have a bunch of money to pay for good foreing players in their prime and to keep young, up and coming talent from leaving. When your best teams are in Oregon, Ohio, Utah, etc, it doesn't benefit the sport.
 
Last edited:
I mean, shit, La Liga has 2 teams: Barcelona and Real Madrid. That's it. And Barcelona's roster is pretty much half the roster for Spain's national team. Serie A has Juventus, that's it. A.C. Milan is an afterthought now. Bundesliga doesn't count because they pretty much play rugby but Bayern Munich's roster is 50% of Germany's national team roster. EPL is the exception where you have a lot of teams with a lot of talent. MLS can't compete by expanding and putting salary caps and stuff. I know this is Mrrrka, but soccer doesn't work that way.
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT