Seriously, June 12 Can’t Come Fast Enough
June 6, 2010
Sorry I’m a little late with this review. I actually had to work today during the game, and only just finished watching on ESPN 3. The good news, besides the U.S. getting the win, is that I managed to go the whole day without finding out the result before I actually watched it. Granted, it was only a friendly, so it wasn’t exactly the top story of the day. Still, I think it was an accomplishment, considering how many times I’ve had games ruined before. (Quick aside, what really makes me mad is when ESPN shows something on tape delay, usually a tennish match or something in Europe, and then actually runs the result of the match on their bottomline. Why in the world would they do that? I actually have to try to watch the whole match without looking at the bottom of the screen by accident. It’s almost as dumb as ESPN filming the ESPYs three days before they show it and actually announcing the winners on SportsCenter the night that they shoot it. Yeah, I totally can’t wait to watch an awards when I already know all the winners).
As for the match, I’m going to keep this pretty short and sweet. Partly because I’m late anyway, and partly because I’m sick of playing psychologist and trying to guess what Bob Bradley is thinking. For the most part, I’m not sure we really gleaned all that much from today’s match, and I’m starting to get the same attitude towards these friendlies that I get towards the NFL preseason by about the third exhibition match. Let’s just get started already!
Obviously, the first point of interest, as it has been for several weeks, was who started up top, and how they played. Despite what I said about Dempsey starting at forward before, I can’t really complain about the Buddle and Findley tandem. If this were the England match (and Jozy was still out) I would’ve been a bit surprised if Dempsey didn’t occupy one of the forward spots (unless Bradley went with a single striker formation), but for this match I liked getting both of those guys on the field. The bottom line is that there’s only so much playing time to go around once the Cup starts, and Bradley needs to decide what forward he wants to stick in there with 20 minutes left in a game when the Americans need a goal. Plus, there’s still a decent shot that one of them does get a start.
I liked what I saw from Buddle today, and he showed why he’s been scoring in droves in MLS. He’s in form and just seems to find the back of the net. He also showed a good first touch repeatedly, playing well with this back to the goal. He’s got some versatility. Like Jozy, he’s not really a pure speed option like Findley, but he’s definitely not a pure lay-off, physical striker either. He certainly lacks some of Jozy’s power, and I just don’t know what a Buddle-Altidore pairing would look like or play like. Unfortunately, nobody really does, and I’m not sure that we’ll see it. I wouldn’t be completely opposed to Buddle getting the start, but I find it hard to believe we’ll see it against England.
Findley didn’t have a bad game, although he certainly had some near-misses that’ll be haunting him for the next few days. Definitely could’ve done better and put away at least two point blank opportunities, but I still liked some of what I saw from him. I think he lacks some of the composure, sharpness, savvy that both Buddle and Gomez seem to exhibit, but as a spark off the bench Findley certainly has some potential.
Gomez only got a small cameo, and I had been thinking that minutes would be hard for him to come by. He has to be making Bradley think, though, since he just seems to find himself in the right place at the right time repeatedly. When he has a chance to tuck one way it just seems like 9 times out of 10, he’ll do it. Granted, he did blow a golden opportunity to play Findley for an open-netter a couple of minutes before his goal, but generally speaking, when he gets in the box he’s a poacher. I think he’s got a chance to get on the field in S. Africa in a situation role.
In the end, I think all of the forwards have shown themselves well. I actually expected a little more out of the Australian back line, but there’s no doubt that Buddle and Findley showed themselves capable of getting behind an international-caliber defense multiple times in the first half.
Gomez giving Bradley something to think about...and looking quite nice in that white sport-coat
The second big question coming into this match was Onyewu, and most analysts seemed to agree that if he was ready to go, he should get 70-90 minutes today. Obviously, Bradley doesn’t feel that way. I still haven’t seen anything to suggest that Onyewu is still actually hurt. He has looked a little tentative, but I don’t think his knee is actually still causing him pain or stiffening up while he’s on the field. Bradley must not be worried about his fitness, which seems strange considering he hasn’t played a full match in about 8 months. However, you have to think that if Bradley actually thought he wouldn’t be ready for next Saturday, he would’ve left Goodson in the game in order to give him as much playing time as possible to get ready for England. It’s really just a wait and see thing.
I was a little surprised that Bradley didn’t use more subs, but all that really means, I suppose, is that he pretty much knows what guys he plans to use. The time for trying out is over apparently, and from here, the decisions will be made based on strategy and what you’ve already shown. The biggest loser, to me, over the last few games, has to have been Edu. It seems, at this point, that he’s actually the third option to partner with Bradley, after Clark and Torres. I think it seems pretty likely that Clark gets the start (to my dismay), but I definitely think Torres sees the field, especially if the U.S. falls behind. I could also see Torres getting a start against Algeria or Slovenia, if Bradley isn’t too afraid to tinker a little.
I've resigned myself to Clark starting...or maybe I'm just trying to jinx him!
As for general thoughts about the game and the U.S. performance, I thought Australia showed the U.S. a distinctly different match-up than Turkey did. I actually think Australia is a much more favorable match-up for the U.S. defensively, despite the fact that each opponent managed to score one goal. The Aussies didn’t show anywhere near the speed or willingness to take on U.S. defenders like the Turks did, and, ultimately, that’s the biggest weakness for this U.S. squad. Despite some iffy moments on crosses and the goal scored by Cahill, their attacn method actually played into the Americans’ strengh defensively. The Aussies showed some skill crossing the ball and showed some savvy in finding space in the box, but I didn’t feel anywhere near the nervousness I felt for most of the game against Turkey. I still think if the Turks don’t wear down so much by the final third of the game, that could easily have been a different result.
Liked what I saw from Dempsey for the most part. He still seems a little off at times with his touch and his timing in the air, at least compared to what we know he’s capable of, but I liked the aggressiveness and involvement I saw from him all game long.
I’m still a little stressed by Donovan’s slow starts, and his difficulty getting involved, but at the same time you can always count on 4 or 5 class moments from him like we saw on the Gomez goal or the lead-up to the Findley’s shot off the post.
Lastly, I think Cherundolo probably locked up the outside back spot, if he hadn’t already. I think he looked pretty good defensively, and played a great cross in for Buddle’s header. I’ll do another post next Thursday or Friday with some final thoughts on the England match, as well as discussion of any news that emerges during the week.
Oh, one more thing. I can definitely see what the goalies have all been complaining about with the ball. The first goal by Buddle looked like it came out of a cannon. I mean, it could’ve just been a nice strike, but there were a couple of other occasions where the ball just looked a little light, seeming to carry or move with a little more speed than players were expecting. I’m not sure if it was the ball or the sun, but I counted over a dozen times when defenders or keepers went up expecting to get a piece of a ball in the air, and it just seemed to drift over them a little further than they expected.
