Three Games, One Goal
I knew it before the WC started. We can't score. And bottom line is: if you don't score, you don't go through. It's not complicated.
I don't want to hear about the penalty on Gooch - it was already 1-1. A draw would do them no good. As I posted directly below, I don't understand Arena's lineup. OK, it was a 4-5-1, but that's not good enough. He moves Lewis up to midfield - why??? Has he played midfield AT ALL for the Nats? How do you move him up? Even if you go with 4-5-1, why Lewis instead of Convey?
I hate to say it (and agree with Wynalda), but this is on Arena. You need to go AT LEAST with a 4-4-2. If not a 3-5-2.
Arena must go. Give him a gold watch for '02. But this team hasn't been good for a while. Bring on Klinsmann, PLEASE! He is willing to go for an offensive style.
MORE: The crowd was awesome. A totally pro-US crowd, and you could really hear them for the anthem. I am very proud of our fans - it was too bad that the team let them down.
I said this after game 1, but let me say it again: We need more players go to Europe. Dempsey played well and he is an MLS player. But I just don't think our team has enough experience at the top levels. If Landon Donovan wants to be something, he needs to go to Europe. He played badly, and I think that he simply isn't progressing in MLS. Maybe Germany is the wrong place, I don't know. Go to Spain maybe. But get the hell out of MLS.
Let me just say this about the refs: awful. I said above right after the match that it didn't cause out loss. That's right, but, look, this ref was just awful. He was very bad in the Australia-Brazil match (just ask Harry Kewell) where he called WAAAAY too many fouls on the Aussies. And he was horrid here. And it wasn't one-sided - the call against Essien was horrid also (you could see Essien walking away from the ref in disgust), and it SUCKS that Essien is going to have to miss the Brazil game. The reffing as a whole in the WC has been SOOO bad.
That said, Arena trying to blame the loss (in his post-game remarks) on the bad call against Gooch was just so weak. At least half of it is your fault, Bruce. Accept it.
Anothe of Bruce's mistakes: bring on Ben Olson??? No, you need to score - you can't waste of your three subs bringing on a defensive mid who is really not good enough for World Cup play. He didn't play terribly, but he isn't a threat, and you needed more threats. If OBrien wasn't going to come in there, he shouldn't have been on the team.
I don't want to hear about the penalty on Gooch - it was already 1-1. A draw would do them no good. As I posted directly below, I don't understand Arena's lineup. OK, it was a 4-5-1, but that's not good enough. He moves Lewis up to midfield - why??? Has he played midfield AT ALL for the Nats? How do you move him up? Even if you go with 4-5-1, why Lewis instead of Convey?
I hate to say it (and agree with Wynalda), but this is on Arena. You need to go AT LEAST with a 4-4-2. If not a 3-5-2.
Arena must go. Give him a gold watch for '02. But this team hasn't been good for a while. Bring on Klinsmann, PLEASE! He is willing to go for an offensive style.
MORE: The crowd was awesome. A totally pro-US crowd, and you could really hear them for the anthem. I am very proud of our fans - it was too bad that the team let them down.
I said this after game 1, but let me say it again: We need more players go to Europe. Dempsey played well and he is an MLS player. But I just don't think our team has enough experience at the top levels. If Landon Donovan wants to be something, he needs to go to Europe. He played badly, and I think that he simply isn't progressing in MLS. Maybe Germany is the wrong place, I don't know. Go to Spain maybe. But get the hell out of MLS.
Let me just say this about the refs: awful. I said above right after the match that it didn't cause out loss. That's right, but, look, this ref was just awful. He was very bad in the Australia-Brazil match (just ask Harry Kewell) where he called WAAAAY too many fouls on the Aussies. And he was horrid here. And it wasn't one-sided - the call against Essien was horrid also (you could see Essien walking away from the ref in disgust), and it SUCKS that Essien is going to have to miss the Brazil game. The reffing as a whole in the WC has been SOOO bad.
That said, Arena trying to blame the loss (in his post-game remarks) on the bad call against Gooch was just so weak. At least half of it is your fault, Bruce. Accept it.
Anothe of Bruce's mistakes: bring on Ben Olson??? No, you need to score - you can't waste of your three subs bringing on a defensive mid who is really not good enough for World Cup play. He didn't play terribly, but he isn't a threat, and you needed more threats. If OBrien wasn't going to come in there, he shouldn't have been on the team.
posted by Al at 1:04 PM
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