Friday, March 5, 2010

Friday Shootout

Here is your yank weekend schedule:

FRIDAY

David Yeldell and TUS Koblenz play RW Oberhausen.

SATURDAY

Clint Dempsey and Fulham play Tottenham Hotspur in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. (Dempsey is out injured.)
Marcus Hahnemann and Wolverhampton Wanderers play Manchester United.
Jonathan Spector and West Ham United play Stuart Holden and Bolton Wanderers. (Holden is out injured.)
Kenny Cooper and Plymouth Argyle play Preston North End.
Jay DeMerit and Watford play Derby County.
Frank Simek and Sheffield Wednesday play Leicester City.
Jemal Johnson and Stockport County play Charlton Athletic.
Zak Whitbread and Norwich City play Yeovil Town.
Ian Joyce and Southend United play Hartlepool United.
Jon-Paul Pittman and Wycombe Wanderers play Carlisle United.
Mike Grella and Leeds United play Brentford.
DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu and Rangers play St Mirren.
Oguchi Onyewu and AC Milan play AS Roma. (Onyewu is out injured.)
Ricardo Clark and Eintracht Frankfurt play Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04. (Jones is out injured.)
Michael Bradley and Borussia Moenchengladbach play Borussia Dortmund.
Daniel Williams and SC Freiburg play Steve Cherundolo, Sal Zizzo and Hannover 96. (Zizzo is out injured.)
Luis Robles and Kaiserslautern play Matt Taylor and FSV Frankfurt.
Charlie Davies and Sochaux play Toulouse. (Davies is out injured.)
Carlos Bocanegra and Stade Rennes play Monaco.
Freddy Adu, Eddie Johnson and Aris Salonika play Kavala.
Michael Hoyos and Estudiantes La Plata play Lanus.
Jose Francisco Torres and Pachuca play Monterrey.

SUNDAY


Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan and Aston Villa play Reading in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.
Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Everton play Jozy Altidore and Hull City.
Dominic Cervi and Celtic play Falkirk.
Benny Feilhaber and AGF Aarhus play FC Copenhagen. (Feilhaber is out injured.)
Herculez Gomez and Puebla play Pumas UNAM.
Marco Vidal and Indios de Ciudad Juarez play Edgar Castillo and Tigres UANL.
MONDAY

          Marcus Tracy, Chris Rolfe and Aalborg BK play Michael Parkhurst and FC Nordsjaelland.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

NP's 23 for 2010, March Edition

Taking into account the last two matches against El Salvador and the Netherlands, along with current club situations moving forward.  Here are the lucky 23:

SURE THING
Tim Howard- Goalkeeper- Everton FC- Easy call here.  Timmy is playing great in England and will be the starter between the pipes against England.

Landon Donovan- Midfielder- Everton FC- Despite the bomb he dropped against the Netherlands, he is the US's best player and will start against England.

Michael Bradley- Midfielder- Borussia Monchengladbach- Boy Bradley continues his solid play in the Bundesliga and continues to play well enough to continue to earn starts.

Carlos Bocanegra- Defender- Stade Rennais- Captain America will be there and should start on the left flank in the World Cup.

Josmer Altidore- Forward- Hull City FC- Proved his worth against the Netherlands but desperately needs Davies back. 

Jay DeMerit- Defender- Watford FC- Should be the starter in the middle come June.  Aggressive and fearless.

Clint Dempsey- Midfielder- Fulham FC- Once back from injury, he adds a second dimension to the US offense, which they sorely missed against the Dutch. 

Oguchi Onyewu- Defender- AC Milan- Once back from his injury, he and DeMerit in the middle is very intimidating and the best CB pairing the US has to offer.

GOOD BET

Jonathan Spector- Defender- West Ham United- He is the best right back in the US pool, and his crossing is invaluable.   Also able to play anywhere on the back line.

Steve Cherundolo- Defender- Hannover 96- Veteran leadership and gives a solid option on either flank is someone goes down.

Maurice Edu- Midfielder- Glasgow Rangers- Very well could be the starter next to Bradley is he continues to play well in Scotland.

DaMarcus Beasley- Midfielder- Glasgow Rangers- Back on the plane and he brings his 90 caps and great speed and service with him.  Welcome back Beas.

Clarence Goodson- Defender- IK Start- Cemented his spot on plane with the 4th CB spot.

Stuart Holden- Midfielder- Bolton Wanderers- Broken fibula aside, Holden is a spark off the bench, able to play anywhere in midfield.

PROBABLE

Ricardo Clark- Midfielder- Eintracht Frankfurt- Just coming back off a minor leg injury, Clark becomes another back up in a crowded central midfield.

Brad Guzan- Goalkeeper- Aston Villa FC- Big Brad, Version 2.  Seems to be Bradley's favored backup and only injury will keep him off the bench in the World Cup.

Benny Feilhaber- Midfielder- AGF Aarhus- Once back from his ankle injury, he is becomes another spark off the bench.

Jose Torres- Midfielder- Pachuca- Garbage match yesterday, but is too good to be left at home.

Brian Ching- Forward- Houston Dynamo- I concede.  Ching is better internationally than Casey, Findley, and Cunningham combined.

POSSIBLE

Heath Pearce- Defender- FC Dallas- The ultimate winner from the Dutch match.  While Bornstein crashes and burns, Pearce is preparing his bid.

Charlie Davies- Forward- Sochaux- Still a month away from full training, but I have faith that he will be back in contention come April. 

Marcus Hahnemann- Goalkeeper- Wolverhampton- Moves ahead of Perkins as a starter in the EPL beats out a starter in MLS.

Alejandro Bedoya- Midfielder- Orebro- Yep, you are reading this right.  After the failed attempts of Rogers, Findley, Cunningham, Casey, etc, it was Bedoya who stepped up against the Dutch and delivered.

Netherlands 2, USA 1: Lessons to be Learned

The unseasonably chilly Amsterdam weather was a forewarning of how the night would go for the United States.  Against a seasoned Dutch side, who was allowed to control the pace for 76 minutes of the match, the US looked sluggish in possession, desperate in wing defense, and pathetic on offense...for 76 minutes.

On a night where the US was missing many key regulars (Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Benny Feilhaber, Ricardo Clark, Charlie Davies), it was the substitutes who came on later who lit a fire under the US side.  Bob Bradley's experiment with Robbie Findley and Jose Torres stalled and his continued reliance on Jonathan Bornstein bit him in the ass.  Not to mention the ankle contusion suffered by Stuart Holden (which would've been a red card had a US player been the perpetrator) and all in all it was a night to forget for the Yanks.

The last 14 minutes for the US were easily the best soccer they'd played all game.  The insertion of Maurice Edu allowed Michael Bradley to march forward and get involved in the attack and DaMarcus Beasley and Alejandro Bedoya were threatening from the wings.  It was this hybrid 4-3-2-1 if you want to call it that, that produced the best soccer for the US, including setting up 5-6 set pieces in the final minutes of the game.

Some quick hits:

  • Abysmal night for Bornstein in particular, who, like MOST players from MLS, peaks against CONCACAF opponents.  He is the one man wrecking ball of the US back line.  The given penalty was well deserved, Bornstein clearly dragged down Wesley Sneijder in the box (sound familiar?).  Another would have been given had the referee spotted the clear handball in the box, and the second Dutch goal deflected in off Bornstein.  He was poor in getting forward, poor in his service, and for me, played himself straight off the plane to South Africa.  Heath Pearce is smiling, somewhere.
  • The Robbie Findley experiment should also be officially over.  I don't care how fast a guy can run, if you can't do anything with that speed then you sure as hell don't deserve to be playing.  Sure it works in MLS, but the Dutch defenders made mince meat of Findley.  The only player who can replace Charlie Davies is??.....Charlie Davies.  I've had enough of the endless rotation of "speed" guys who play in MLS (Cunningham and Findley).
  • Jose Torres earned just his third start in a US jersey and his supposed strength is his ability to possess the ball.  Torres just was off.  His touch was too strong at times and his teamwork with Michael Bradley was begging.  His singular bright moment was his 25 yard cannon which went just over the bar.  He's still in the 23, but after this showing won't be much more than a substitute.

Now, on to the good that can be salvaged from this match:

  • Jay DeMerit and Carlos Bocanegra are as hardy as central defenders come.  They played well together and DeMerit proved that he's not afraid of anything.  Bocanegra took the initiative in the 88th minute and scored on a great header.
  • If Maurice Edu continues to get good minutes with Rangers, he will be the starter alongside Bradley this summer.  Bradley's game got much better when Edu was inserted and able to take over the central destroyer role.  His SPL roots came out as he tackled hard, tracked well, and distributed smartly.
  • DaMarcus Beasley and Alejandro Bedoya, two names most wouldn't expect to make a difference, did make a difference.  Beasley took some time to find the game in the first half but soon looked like the Beasley of old, running at players and providing pin point set pieces.  Welcome back to the fold Mr. Beasley.  Bedoya, the least experienced player on the US roster, was brought on for the dormant Findley in the 62nd minute.  His hustle and quick play was on display and very nearly drew a penalty that could tied the game.  That said, probably too late to be considered, but now, everyone knows the kid is a contender.
  • Jozy Altidore with a workmanlike 94 minutes yesterday and acquitted himself well, though usually draped in two or three Dutch defenders.  His hustle was almost rewarded with a rocket of a shot late in stoppage time.
  • Clarence Goodson nearly became the hero in stoppage time as he nearly bagged what would have been a spectacular equalizer on an awkward side volley.  In his 10 minutes of play, he showed glimpses of why he's cementing that 4th center back spot. 
  • Great thing about Heath Pearce's 25 minutes?  We didn't hear his name called in the defending half, meaning he was doing what was expected of him.  Even got forward and provided some late crosses.

PLAYER RATINGS

Tim Howard (7)- Was himself for all of the match.  Can't be blamed for either goal and his stop on Rafael Van Der Vaart's shot was world class.


Jonathan Spector (5.5)- Aaron Lennon and or Theo Walcott are licking their chops after this one.  Was beaten for speed by Elia on a few occasions, but at least he tried different things when he found one way wasn't working.  His crossing wasn't up to par either.

Jay DeMerit (6.5)- The bruiser on the US back line, there wasn't much which came Jay's way that he couldn't handle.

Carlos Bocanegra (6)- The captain paired nicely with DeMerit, but was forced to cover for Bornsteins mistakes way too much, giving JB an earful in the process.  The goal was class too.

Jonathan Bornstein (2)- He started and played 85 minutes.  Those are his two points.  Everything else sucked.

Stuart Holden (6)- When he was in he showed why he had become a starter in the EPL, quick with his touches, and smart on the ball.  Was forced out by a should've been red card challenge from De Jong.  He will miss 6 weeks.

Michael Bradley (6)- Really wasn't able to find his game until the second half after Torres got yanked.  When that happened though, his runs into the attacking third became much more potent.

Jose Torres (4)- Another experiment that failed.  Torres looked lost and the touch that he supposedly possess' wasn't there.  His lone bright spot was the shot from 25 yards.

Landon Donovan (5)- Is this the same guy who has Everton fans up in arms about trying to sign?  Without Dempsey and Davies the US needed some creativity, Donovan didn't fit the bill.

Robbie Findley (2)- Again, started and played 60ish minutes.  Other than that, worthless.

Jozy Altidore (6.5)- Played well considering he was covered in Dutch defenders for the majority of the match.  His late blast was well saved by Stekelenburg.

SUBS:

DaMarcus Beasley (6.5)- Tapping into his 2002 form, Beasley showed that he is back and he punched his ticket into SA.  His set piece delivery has improved dramatically as well and the assist to Boca proved it.

Maurice Edu (6.5)- Once on, he changed the flow of the match for the Americans.  Allowed Bradley to push forward as he took sole responsibility for the destroyer role.

Alejandro Bedoya (6)- If he continues to play like he did, he may be able to sneak on to the plane.  Seriously.

Eddie Johnson (5)- Once on, didn't show much but was better in possession than Findley was.

Heath Pearce (6)- Better than Bornstein and didn't have any glaring screw-ups.  He is the ultimate winner from this game.

Clarence Goodson (6)- His ten minutes were enough to prove why he's the 4th CB.

Monday, March 1, 2010

USA vs the Netherlands: The BIG Preview

Amsterdam is calling.  In easily the US' most powerful opponent since last summer's Confederations Cup, this will also be the last chance for a few US players to prove that they belong in South Africa.  This will be a running preview that will go up until the starting line-ups are announced an hour before kickoff on Wednesday.

What can the US expect against the Clockwork Orange?
The Dutch employ their personally perfected 4-3-3.  Their likely starting 11?
Maarten Stekelenburg of Ajax will start in goal.

John Heitinga (Timmy's and Lando's teammate at Everton) will likely start at right back.  The legendary captain Giovanni Van Brockhorst gets the nod at left back.  The centerback pairing will likely be Joris Mathijsen from Hamburger SV and Andre Ooijer of PSV Eindhoven.  If there's a weak spot in this Dutch side its in their back four and the US will need to take their chances well if they're to have a chance to come away with a result.  I'm looking at you Jozy.

In midfield it could be any combination of Mark Van Bommel (Bayern Munich), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City), Rafael Van Der Vaart (Real Madrid), and Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan).  Yikes.  Those four are as close to a world class midfield as anyone could ask for and Sneijder is currently on a tear with his club team.  Expect Bob Bradley to employ his favored two deep center midfielders against the Inter Milan talisman.

Up top, look for Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool) and Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) will provide service for Klass Jan- Huntelaar (AC Milan).  This will give Bob Bradley nightmares.  Period.

What can we expect from the Yanks?
Look for Bob Bradley to use the 4-4-2 (as he has for most of the year).  Without the services of Clint Dempsey and Charlie Davies, the US loses two of its key offensive components and therefore can't use the 4-2-2-2 that the US nearly perfected in the latter three matches of the Confederations Cup.  Also missing is Oguchi Onyewu who is easily the best player the US has in the air.  Who gets the starts?

Tim Howard in goal.  This is easy as he is the unquestioned number 1.  There are movements out there that Guzan should get a start and pick up some experience should the unthinkable happen, but Timmy has been playing well and Bradley wouldn't have brought in Howard to ride pine.

In defense, Jonathan Spector will start at right back and be tasked with containing Arjen Robben.  Thrown into the fire as it were for the 23 year old.  Left back is a toss up.  Bradley could go with the logical choice Jonathan Bornstein to attempt to contain Kuyt, however, I think Carlos Bocanegra would be the better fit at left back for this game.  Kuyt doesn't possess great speed and Bocanegra is obviously the more experienced of the pair, so I'm putting Bocanegra in at left back.  Which means, in the middle we have Jay DeMerit and Clarence Goodson.

In midfield, the easy picks are Stuart Holden on the right wing, Maurice Edu and Michael Bradley in central midfield, Landon Donovan on the left wing.  That's a dangerous midfield facing the US and Edu and Bradley will need to track and mark Sneijder much like the Braldey/Clark combo did against Xavi.  Donovan and Holden will have to try and not get caught up field because the Dutch are masters on the counterattack.

Up top, Jozy Altidore and Eddie Johnson will be the pairing and I'll be very interested to see how this one works out.  Johnson has been playing well in Greece and Altidore recently has been breaking through in England.  Charlie Davies is still a month away from training and the US has yet to find a viable speed option up top.  Robbie Findley has speed to burn but doesn't seem to be ready for the top flight yet.

So the line-ups...

USA:
--------------------Howard

Spector-----DeMerit-----Goodson-----Bocanegra

---------------Edu--------Bradley

Holden---------------------------------Donovan

------------Johnson-------Altidore


Netherlands:

-------------------Stekelenburg

Heitinga-----Mathijsen-----Ooijer-----Van Bronkhorst

Von Bommel--------Sneijder----------Van Der Vaart

Kuyt----------------Huntelaar------------Robben



Rockin' the new training uniforms, you may spy some guys who aren't on official roster.  Onyewu and Cherundolo trained with the team but will not be added to the official roster.  The fact that they were invited to train however pretty much cements their place's on the South Africa roster.

Some more questions.

Does DaMarcus Beasley get the start in his first game back? 
While Beasley had a dramatic return to form with Rangers prior to his thigh injury, he has found playing time hard to come by since returning from it.  Beasley should get a solid 20-25 minutes in though.

Jose Torres doesn't start?
I'm a fan of Torres, don't get me wrong.  He and Benny Feilhaber are the two players on the team who excel with the ball at their feet in tight spaces.  But given the offensive capabilities of Wesley Sneijder, Bob Bradley will most likely go with Bradley Jr. and Maurice Edu.  Should the US fall behind, I can see Torres being brought on to spark the offense.

How much time does Alejandro Bedoya get?
With Robbie Rogers failing to impress after getting numerous run outs with the full team, it's now Bedoya's time to impress Bradley with the big guns.  Whether or not that translates to playing time on Wednesday is questionable.

Robbie Findley starts over Eddie Johnson?
Lets say no.  Findley is nowhere close to being able to compete with the Dutch back line.  While his speed is world class, his game is not.  That doesn't mean that Johnson's is, but Johnson is the more experienced of the two and has been playing well with his club side. 

How about Pearce or Simek? PT?
Bradley has seen all he needs from Bornstein, which is why I don't think he gets the start.  Pearce may get a run out of to see how he handles tip top competition.  As for Simek, this is his first time back in camp in over two years, but he has been playing very well with his club team.  Simek would be my third choice right back behind Cherundolo and Spector and seems to be close for forcing his way into the fold once Cherundolo moves on.

Some more points

  • Jermaine Jones drove up from Gelsenkirchen to meet the staff and players.  He will not participate in training, but this shows that he's serious about being a member on this team and is willing to go out of his way to do it.  Fantastic.

Weekend Yank MVP



An up and down weekend for the Yanks.  Lets take a closer look at the weekends events:

England

PREMIERSHIP
  • Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made six saves in Everton's 2-1 loss vs. Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. 
  • Landon Donovan came off the bench and played 27 minutes in Everton's 2-1 loss vs. Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
  • Clint Dempsey did not dress in Fulham's 0-0 draw vs. Sunderland on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made eight saves in Aston Villa's 2-1 loss vs. Manchester United in the Carling Cup final on Sunday.
  • Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 2-1 loss vs. Manchester United in the Carling Cup final on Sunday.
  • Marcus Hahnemann started, played 90 minutes and made six saves in Wolverhampton Wanderers' 1-0 loss vs. Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
  • Stuart Holden started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers' 1-0 win vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP
  • Jay DeMerit started and played 90 minutes in Watford's 2-1 loss vs. Newcastle United on Saturday.
  • Frank Simek dressed but did not play in Sheffield Wednesday's 5-0 loss vs. Reading on Saturday.
  • Kenny Cooper dressed but did not play in Plymouth Argyle's 4-3 loss vs. Sheffield United on Saturday.
LEAGUE ONE
  • Ian Joyce did not dress in Southend United's 2-1 loss vs. Charlton Athletic on Friday.
  • Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 1-0 win vs. Oldham Athletic on Saturday.
  • Mike Grella dressed but did not play in Leeds United's 2-2 draw vs. Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
  • Jemal Johnson started, played 77 minutes and scored a GOAL in Stockport County's 4-3 win vs. Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.
  • Jon-Paul Pittman started and played 90 minutes in Wycombe Wanderers' 4-3 loss vs. Stockport County on Saturday.

Scotland

  • Maurice Edu came off the bench, played 64 minutes, and scored a GOAL in Rangers' 1-0 win vs. Celtic on Sunday. 
  • DaMarcus Beasley dressed but did not play Rangers' 1-0 win vs. Celtic on Sunday. 
  • Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 1-0 loss vs. Rangers on Sunday.

Italy

  • Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in AC Milan's 3-1 win vs. Atalanta on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.

Germany

BUNDESLIGA
  • Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 1-1 draw vs. SC Freiburg on Saturday.
  • Steve Cherundolo did not dress in Hannover 96's 1-0 loss vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday. He is recovering from a shoulder injury.
  • Sal Zizzo did not dress in Hannover 96's 1-0 loss vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Jermaine Jones did not dress in Schalke 04's 2-1 win vs. Borussia Dortmund on Friday. He is recovering from a leg injury.
  • Ricardo Clark dressed but did not play in Eintracht Frankfurt's 2-1 loss vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
  • Daniel Williams did not dress in SC Freiburg's 1-1 draw vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday.
BUNDESLIGA 2 
  • Luis Robles dressed but did not play in Kaiserslautern's 3-1 win vs. Karlsruhe on Sunday.
  • Matt Taylor did not dress in FSV Frankfurt's 0-0 draw vs. Energie Cottbus on Friday.
  • David Yeldell dressed but did not play in TUS Koblenz's 1-0 loss vs. FC Augsburg on Saturday.

France

  • Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in Stade Rennes' 3-1 loss vs. Montpellier on Saturday.
  • Charlie Davies did not dress in Sochaux's 1-0 loss vs. Lyorient on Saturday. He is recovering from multiple injuries. 

Greece

  • Freddy Adu dressed but did not play in Aris Salonika's 2-0 win vs. Larissa on Sunday.
  • Eddie Johnson dressed but did not play in Aris Salonika's 2-0 win vs. Larissa on Sunday.

Mexico

  • Jose Francisco Torres started and played 90 minutes in Pachuca's 3-0 loss vs. Pumas UNAM on Saturday.
  • Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Tigres UANL's 3-0 loss vs. Morelia on Saturday.
  • Marco Vidal started and played 90 minutes in Indios de Ciudad Juarez's 3-0 loss vs. Toluca on Sunday.
  • Herculez Gomez came off the bench, played 64 minutes, scored a GOAL and received a yellow card in Puebla's 3-3 draw vs. Chiapas on Sunday.

Weekend Yank MVP is....who else, Maurice Edu.  Scoring in the fiercest rival in any sport anywhere in the world is no small feat.  Hopefully Edu can find that clutch-ness again on Wednesday. 

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Maurice Edu's Old Firm Stunner

Maurice Edu scored the goal of his career this morning as Rangers took a commanding 10 point lead in the Scottish Premier League in the 93rd minute.  For any who missed it, here is the goal: