The Fulham boys certainly played their part tonight. It was a dire game and our players contributed fully to this. Perhaps that’s unfair. But watching the game was unusual; the first time I’ve been able to observe our players as a ‘neutral’.
Carlos Bocanegra is no longer our responsibility, but I felt that he looked slow and cumbersome tonight.
Clint Dempsey really didn’t get into the game. He had quite a lot of touches, but was unable to contribute much. His defensive work was mixed: a couple of nice headers and tackles, but a couple of times when he dwelled on the ball on the edge of his own box and could have been punished. Going forwards he linked up fairly well, but none of his shots were dangerous, he didn’t win any headers in the box, and his passing was not penetrating. Still, he’s put in a good shift for Fulham this year and has earned a summer break.
Eddie Johnson may well have encouraged Roy. In the context of the game – namely that the US really didn’t have much joy from the England defenders – Johnson did alright. He linked up nicely, made a nuisance of himself in the air, and took his best chance well. This was a tricky ball, bouncing, skidding, behind him, on his left foot… he swivelled and pummeled sweet half volley just wide of the post. Nice strike. The old concerns about his movement, his instincts, and his overall presence remain, but I liked what I saw.
Or is this just me encouraging the one player who hasn’t quite made it at Fulham? I do that sometimes.
I’m still adjusting to the new “England supporters.” I now understand what they do when they’re not booing their own players — they do the wave!
My MOM was Owen Hargreaves. The only man in the world who could play for ManU and be underrated.
England had something to prove, and the US lost their only potential difference maker in Donovan. Without him, Hargreaves bossed us off the ball time and again. I agree that Johnson had a pretty good match within the context of what was possible. Truth is USMNT has never really replaced McBride. The other truth is Bradley has troops preparing for the World Cup, recovering from stinking up the Toulon Cup, and playing league football. England, however, seems to have little to occupy their time this summer. A shame.
Comment by HatterDon — May 28, 2008 @ 9:20 pm |
I’m with you on Owen Hargreaves, easily my favourite non-Fulham player these days. He does so much so well with so little fuss.
Comment by weltmeisterclaude — May 28, 2008 @ 9:23 pm |
and Wembley’s a joke. Quiet, impossible to get away from, and expensive. I’ll be interested to hear what Bruce thought about it. It’s not exactly the place of legends it used to be. I loved old Wembley.
Comment by weltmeisterclaude — May 28, 2008 @ 9:24 pm |
agreed. thought johnson was the most ‘useful’ out of the current/ex Fulham contingent on display – including Eddie Lewis. however, i’m still too burned by my die-hard support for the hapless Collins John to be too enthusiastic about ‘Magic’. He needs to bag a goal or two…and soon.
Comment by Rob — May 28, 2008 @ 10:22 pm |
Only saw the second half, and as a USA fan I was very disheartened. We were outclassed in every sense of the word. The good news is that this game serves as only a learning experience for Coach Bradley and the squad. I understand that the US is, and can be, better than this. Unlike previous seasons, this US team has no team leader, no quality veterans who can keep the ship in the right direction. We miss McBride. The US needs to move on, shed the weight of players like Wolff and Lewis (who actually had a decent game I have to admit), and start training a team that not only has talent but knows how to play TOGETHER. Adu is quality, but it seemed he was playing for a different team – some of his passes only met with empty space. Hats of to England, who weren’t challenged, but still played to a level where every first touch was quality. Barry’s through ball to Gerrard was perfect. Also, any of those England bench players want to sign with Fulham….?
Comment by Bradley from Brooklyn — May 28, 2008 @ 11:38 pm |
Well, it was quite a boring match, in my opinion. Neither team played particularly well. England had the better chances and capitalized on our poor passing. We (USA) just looked lost out there. I can’t name one player who I thought put in a decent match other than maybe Guzan. I wasn’t as impressed with EJ although he did have a few decent touches. We have a dreadful lack of quality up front. We hardly created anything in the England half of the pitch. Their defence handled us quite well. I could go on but the bottom line is, we sucked. I hope we improve because we sure don’t look like we’ve made much progress (I know, I know, it’s only one match, and a friendly at that…but still).
Comment by BC — May 29, 2008 @ 4:57 am |
USA were really poor, but as has been said, Johnson was the one highlight. He is a good little player, and i hope he can fill the boots of our departing All American star.
There’s not much to say about the game – it was a pre tournament friendly, with neither team actually going into a tournament.
Don’t think i’ll get excited about an England game til we actually have a player playing for England, not the crappy (no offense) opposition!
Comment by Football Bets — May 29, 2008 @ 10:20 am |
EJ did have a good match, considering that he was playing as a lone striker (Wolff has lost a step or two over the last few years and can no longer create space with his pace). That left footed half volley was a difficult chance and he turned nicely on it. I thought that he held the ball well and won some aerial challenges with Terry & Ferdinand which was nice to see.
Dempsey did seem very cavalier with some of his clearances, but the one thing that I thought he did well was draw some fouls in good positions which could have been more fruitful if Beasley could have delivered some decent free kicks.
Hard to judge Bocanegra since the two US midfield (esp Bradley and Clark) got overrun by their English counterparts. This put Boca and Oneywu in many dangerous situations which they didn’t always handle the best.
Disagree on some of the comments about Eddie Lewis. He continues to show that he’s a clever player who can play a role in WC qualifying. I just wish he could have taken some of those free kicks instead of Beasley as those set pieces were our best opportunities.
Not to turn this into a USMNT blog, but if last night showed how important Donovan is to our side. I’m not a huge fan of his, but having him would have helped tremendously as a few of our starting XI looked out of their depth.
Agree wholeheartedly on Hargeaves. He played great. He’s not only a terrific holding mid, but can also hit a good cross as well as bang in a free kick when given the chance (which he’ll never get to do with England since he’s so far down in the pecking order).
Comment by George H. — May 29, 2008 @ 12:32 pm |
I thought EJ and Dempsey looked ther better of the Americam players. However, I may only have this opinion due to my Fulham connection. I thought Dempsey showed some good control and flair (if only he had more pace, can Nike not come up with some rocket boots for him?!), EJ looked useful and I feel would have done better with more support. As far as England were concerned, I was fairly impressed. Took control of the game and knocked the ball around well, I think you have to mention how well Gerrard and Rooney played! Both tireless as ever, even after the seasons they’ve had. I really do think Gerrard should be our captain, lead from example and all that.
Comment by AFJ — May 29, 2008 @ 12:54 pm |
What encouraged me regarding Johnson was his dramatically improved first touch. Whatever he is learning on the training gound, it appears to be working. Look for better stuff from him next year. He certainly appeared capable, if he had been provided service &/or support. Yes, Clint needs more speed. Not sure Nike has figured out that one yet.
I echo the sad state of the USMNT if in fact we must rely on Landy cakes to get us through. Not encouraging.
Yes Stevie G. had a nice goal, however the build up to the last pass was almost good enough to remind one of the Argentines from the last WC. For me Hargreaves is the man, simple enough.
Comment by Jim — May 30, 2008 @ 12:24 pm |
and one final response to wmc’s comment about “New Wembley.” I also loved the old stadium. I toured it twice — both times the morning of the evening I was attending something at the Empire Pool — and attended one match there. It wasn’t full, since the opponents were Cyprus, but it was a memorable night as Newcastle’s Malcolm MacDonald scored FIVE goals — that would be former Fulham player, former Hatter player, future Fulham manager Malcolm MacDonald.
For a football fan and for an American, being in Wembley was like being in Notre Dame cathedral or the Parthenon. Thirty-three or so years later, I haven’t lost the feel of being in that grand place. If wmc’s analysis of the new stadium is spot on, it’s a shame they messed it up.
Comment by HatterDon — May 31, 2008 @ 1:01 pm |