OT: The Football ( real football :P ) Thread

[Clare2904]

I sooooooo wanted Iran to win.

f***!

 

[bathroomSTAAL]

Shaq Moore and that Wright kid managed to be impressively awful in limited minutes. Awesome game otherwise

 

[ChaosAgent]

Shaq Moore and that Wright kid managed to be impressively awful in limited minutes. Awesome game otherwise

We need Sargent and Pulisic pretty badly. I imagine if Pulisic is out they throw Reyna out there for creative impetus. But as it is he is redundant in this team and is not as good as Pulisic or Aaronson, and lacks Weah's pace.

 

[Zirakzigil]

I sooooooo wanted Iran to win.

f***!

Again, I was hoping for both to lose.

 

[DanielPlainview]

Meh, everyone does it.

In that situation, not really. Not for so long and with just a goal lead. Protecting like that for such a long period of time is absolutely exhausting and you could tell by the 85th the guys were gassed. Against a better team they would have conceded

 

[Pens1566]

In that situation, not really. Not for so long and with just a goal lead. Protecting like that for such a long period of time is absolutely exhausting and you could tell by the 85th the guys were gassed. Against a better team they would have conceded

They didn't park the bus until zimmerman came in at like 83rd minute when they switched to 5 in back. It wasn't that long, and even the announcers made light of how we're used to being on the other end, etc.

Yes, it's exhausting and that a more offensive team would have broken them.

 

[DanielPlainview]

They didn't park the bus until zimmerman came in at like 83rd minute when they switched to 5 in back. It wasn't that long, and even the announcers made light of how we're used to being on the other end, etc.

Yes, it's exhausting and that a more offensive team would have broken them.

They started a little after the 70th

 

[Pens1566]

They started a little after the 70th

I just checked, they subbed off Weah for Zimmerman (and Dest for Moore) at '82 and that's when they switched formations.

Whatever.

 

[DanielPlainview]

That’s when they made some subs but they were protecting before that

 

[DanielPlainview]

Szczesny balling in goal for Poland today

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

That’s when they made some subs but they were protecting before that

I don't understand the futbol philosophy of subbing your best players at midfield and Defense. Dest and Adams were the US's best players in the tournament and Dest gets continually subbed. It burned them against Wales and almost the same situation yesterday.

I get putting in forwards who are fresher and can come back to help, but let the defenders who played a clean sheet keep doing it. That's like having a Left Tackle in football who kept Lawerence Taylor from getting a sack for 3 quarters and telling him he needs to sit in the 4th quarter

 

[DanielPlainview]

It doesn’t make much sense to me, ether. If he has to take Dest out at least sub in Joe Scally instead of Shaq Moore. Scally has been a workhorse and one of the better RBs in the Bundesliga and he’s only like 20 years old. They’ve got young legs.

With 5 subs now you can practically reload your attacking forces and continue to press.

Gregg’s lack of final third tactical know-how and his poor subbing are going to cost them on Saturday. This isn’t a great Holland squad, they’re beatable but we lack the manager to do it

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

It doesn’t make much sense to me, ether. If he has to take Dest out at least sub in Joe Scally instead of Shaq Moore. Scally has been a workhorse and one of the better RBs in the Bundesliga and he’s only like 20 years old. They’ve got young legs.

With 5 subs now you can practically reload your attacking forces and continue to press.

Gregg’s lack of final third tactical know-how and his poor subbing are going to cost them on Saturday. This isn’t a great Holland squad, they’re beatable but we lack the manager to do it

Eh, I'm not sure any coach is going to squeeze out a W vs Holland with this group. The US sucks at set pieces and has no finishers outside of Pulsic. While the former can be tagged as a coaching issue, the latter can not.

And for all the (deserved) props Puilsic gets, he's absolutely terrible at corners. If the US wants to win anything in the future, their set pieces and finishes have to improve markedly.

I consider a 0-1 loss a win for the US. They're outclassed here vs Holland

 

[DanielPlainview]

First they need to play Gio f***ing Reyna. Start him or sub him in. Wasting him on the bench is outrageous

If Sargent is done it’s possible we see Pepi or Pefok brought in, assuming they’re healthy. Can’t be worst than Wright

 

[xlm34]

I don't understand the futbol philosophy of subbing your best players at midfield and Defense. Dest and Adams were the US's best players in the tournament and Dest gets continually subbed. It burned them against Wales and almost the same situation yesterday.

I get putting in forwards who are fresher and can come back to help, but let the defenders who played a clean sheet keep doing it. That's like having a Left Tackle in football who kept Lawerence Taylor from getting a sack for 3 quarters and telling him he needs to sit in the 4th quarter

Dest is great at going forward but it’s kind of an adventure with him defending. So I get subbing him when you want to play more defensively and protect a lead. The problem is that Shaq Moore is not the guy Berhalter thinks he is.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Dest is great at going forward but it’s kind of an adventure with him defending. So I get subbing him when you want to play more defensively and protect a lead. The problem is that Shaq Moore is not the guy Berhalter thinks he is.

Well maybe that's my irritation: the players replacing Dest aren't appreciably better than him and it ends up a net negative.

And when you have the lead, possessing the ball is an extreme advantage when you need to play keep away.

 

[Pens1566]

I don't understand the futbol philosophy of subbing your best players at midfield and Defense. Dest and Adams were the US's best players in the tournament and Dest gets continually subbed. It burned them against Wales and almost the same situation yesterday.

I get putting in forwards who are fresher and can come back to help, but let the defenders who played a clean sheet keep doing it. That's like having a Left Tackle in football who kept Lawerence Taylor from getting a sack for 3 quarters and telling him he needs to sit in the 4th quarter

Subbing out Dest when you're trying to hold a lead isn't that controversial. He's an offense first left back. And he's tiny. Yeah he's fast, but when you're playing safe in the last ~10mins it makes sense.

The other swap was taking a tired winger off for an extra center back and changing to a more defensive formation.

Also, fitness issues. It's why McKennie was swapped out. Dude can't go 90 minutes right now.

Standard changes.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Thanks for the near cardiac arrest, Poland...
But they're through! First time in my life at WC.

Now France awaits

 

[Pens1566]

Eh, I'm not sure any coach is going to squeeze out a W vs Holland with this group. The US sucks at set pieces and has no finishers outside of Pulsic. While the former can be tagged as a coaching issue, the latter can not.

And for all the (deserved) props Puilsic gets, he's absolutely terrible at corners. If the US wants to win anything in the future, their set pieces and finishes have to improve markedly.

I consider a 0-1 loss a win for the US. They're outclassed here vs Holland

Yeah, he's been awful at corners. Just ridiculously bad.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Subbing out Dest when you're trying to hold a lead isn't that controversial. He's an offense first left back. And he's tiny. Yeah he's fast, but when you're playing safe in the last ~10mins it makes sense.

The other swap was taking a tired winger off for an extra center back and changing to a more defensive formation.

Also, fitness issues. It's why McKennie was swapped out. Dude can't go 90 minutes right now.

Standard changes.

Well these standard changes haven't paid dividends for the US. They blew the lead vs Wales and nearly did so vs a pop gun offense in Iran.
If I'm out to lunch w/ my personnel suggestion, that's fine but these "defensive tactics" leave the back line crumbling

 

[Pens1566]

Well these standard changes haven't paid dividends for the US. They blew the lead vs Wales and nearly did so vs a pop gun offense in Iran.
If I'm out to lunch w/ my personnel suggestion, that's fine but these "defensive tactics" leave the back line crumbling

I'm no fan of our coaches (for numerous reasons). But the Wales game was blown because of one boneheaded play. There was a lot going on yesterday that was feeding into the way the last 10-15 mins played out. One was your best offensive player was gone at half. The other was your best all around midfielder was subbed off at like 65'. Dest also has fitness issues as he was dealing with injuries leading up to camp.

To be honest, this thread is the only place I've seen remotely questioning they way yesterdays game went down.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Oh and eff these Iranian reporters. I know they are being fed questions by their gov't but what absolute a-holes. I was soooo happy we beat these dickheads yesterday

Iranian Press Pelted the U.S. Team With Political Questions

Tyler Adams and head coach Gregg Berhalter fielded questions on everything from Black Lives Matter to U.S. Navy ships.

time.com

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Subbing out Dest when you're trying to hold a lead isn't that controversial. He's an offense first left back. And he's tiny. Yeah he's fast, but when you're playing safe in the last ~10mins it makes sense.

Sure, but not for Shaq Moore, who is neither an offense-first nor defense-first, but rather a suck-first fullback. There are other options.

 

[Goalie_Bob]

I honestly wonder if Shaq Moore is related to a US Soccer executive. He is not a good player and should not be seeing the field for the US.

But the US always plays politics instead of puting the best team on the field. Especially because they kowtow to MLS way too much.

 

[Pens1566]

Sure, but not for Shaq Moore, who is neither an offense-first nor defense-first, but rather a suck-first fullback. There are other options.

I'm not sure who else you can bring on at that point based on their roster selections (part of the issue I have with the staff). Scally might be better in a vacuum, but he wasn't great in the friendlies and I get not wanting to give him his first WC appearance in that situation. Yedlin at 100% wouldn't be any better than a burned out Dest in that situation.

They knew coming in that Dest was not 100% and didn't put any one else that can play there with experience on the team.