Another Predictable Loss for United States National Team

I’m going to have to disagree with U.S. Soccer’s Man of the Match who was Michael Bradley for today’s 2-1 loss to the Netherlands in Amsterdam.

Are you kidding me?

He didn’t do anything. Can we all get over the blatant nepotism and look into the future and realize that the longer Michael Bradley is on the field the less a capable player like Maurice Edu or Jermaine Jones (once healthy) or Benny Feilhaber (once healthy) is on it.

We need very good players on the field, not guys who run around and do nothing for 90 minutes at a pop, game in and game out. Yes, Michael Bradley had a great year in Holland…years ago!

But we’ll keep seeing it and hearing about how good he is…it’s eerily similar to how another U.S. player is being shoved down our throats nowadays. Care to venture a guess as to who that is?

I’ll give you a clue…today against the Netherlands, he gifted them a penalty kick and then should have been called for another penalty kick shortly afterward and eventually had the Netherlands second goal deflect off of him.

Why wasn’t Jonathan Bornstein named Man of the Match? He did more than Michael Bradley…it was just for the wrong team.

The World Cup is too close and the U.S. still too far away from having a significant impact to keep screwing around. Coach Bob is not the right guy. Michael in the middle game in and game out no matter what is not the solution…if everyone is hurt, bring back Mastoeni.

He’s better than Bradley any day of the week. Or should we bring in Kyle Beckerman…now there’s the answer (that’s a joke). The Bornstein experiment had better be over…and we need quality players in the middle of the field who can hold the ball and pass it around under pressure (Bradley can’t do either of those at all)…so how about giving a guy named Freddy a chance.

If we can find that Freddy is somehow related to Bob Bradley will that give him a better chance at a look?

Forget the 2-1 loss…we all knew that was going to happen…but the larger problems continue to loom. Where will the goals come from? And even if we have a striker that catches fire, who will service them?

Lantron was useless and Holden went down injured early. It was actually DaMarcus who came in and had the biggest impact on the match. He would have been my Man of the Match if we really wanted that award to mean something.

The U.S. won’t advance out of group play without goals…right now there is no legitimate threat up front for them.  I can’t really even rate Findley because the ball doesn’t even get up there enough. Jozy is too easy to mark out of the game and his form has stagnated at the international level.

It’s time for Coach Bob and his staff to hunker down and come up with something good moving forward, because there are too many glaring weaknesses in the U.S. lineup that we keep getting shoved down our throats.

A different coach would not play Michael Bradley 90 minutes a game…every game. Enough said.

To the ratings…we’re going old school United States school grading style…A thru F…A being best (duh).

Howard – world class save on van der vaart in 82nd minute…goals weren’t his fault. Goalkeeping for the U.S. is nothing to worry about.  A

Spector – got baked by the Dutch on the wing a few times, but attacked well. He’s a better option than Steve…but may have to slide over to left back when Steve is healthy in order to keep Bornstein off the field. B-

DeMerit –  Boca scored, but I think Jay deserves the armband. He’s a tenacious leader. He needs to be on the field every minute of every game. B

Bocanegra – scored a nice header, though he wasn’t marked for the 15 minutes leading up to the goal. Still makes the silly mistake and can’t recover if players get behind him. He’ll have to do at center back for now. C

Bornstein – awful, horrible, terrible, outmatched…it’s almost like you can’t blame him for being out there it’s so bad…that blame goes to the coaches. Go ahead and book that surf trip for the summer Jonathan! F-

Holden – Got hurt early, but has tons of potential…he is the man to go to if Clint or Lantron can’t go. He needs more consistent minutes (the kind Michael Bradley gets) to get comfortable and get touches. C

Torres – wanted the ball and hit a great shot early on…he’s another kid we haven’t seen enough of. Why? Because the coaches don’t know what they are doing. I could live with he and Feilhaber in front of Edu. He needs more minutes…looks like MB might have to play less if we want good players on the field. Too bad it won’t happen. B+

Lantron – did he play today? Is this the same guy that has been a world-beater at Everton lately. Now he’s gearing down into Galaxy and USMNT mode so expect him to drift in and out of games for the next six months. Against big teams he never does anything and today was another shining example of that. D

Michael Bradley – do you get Man of the Match for just having a face and the same last name as the coach? Yes, you do. I can’t wait til Coach Bob gets fired and I never have to see him start again for the U.S. D

Jozy – all he’s gotta do is score goals…forget defending, let somebody else take the throw-ins…just score goals. He is not the answer for this summer, even though we look to be stuck with him. C-

Robbie Findley – the youngster from MLS defending champ Real Salt Lake has potential…but when you don’t really get the ball, what are you supposed to do. He’s good at getting behind defenses, but the best teams in the world aren’t going to let that happen very often. He needs another game to prove his worth or not. C-

SUBS –

Pearce – I can kick with my left foot too, but I don’t deserve to go to SA either. D

Goodson – I’m actually taking a bit of a liking to this guy…he’s gotten better since going to Norway and might be an option at center back. B

Beasley – DaMarcus…where have you been? He looked smooth and confident. Might warrant a free trip to South Africa. B+

Edu – He’s got to stay healthy and bump Bradley out of his spot…I’ll pay for some personal clinics if I have to for him. Imagine Edu, Jones and Feilhaber in the middle…or take out Feilhaber and insert Clark to go a little more beefy…I like it. C

Bedoya – I like him a bit too…mixes it up and seems eager to get into goal. Need to see him way more too. C+

Eddie Johnson – I want to get excited about it…but I can’t. If he starts scoring goals, I say bring him along…but he did much of the same that Jozy and Robbie did…not much. D

Coach Bob – we’re going with him whether it’s the right thing to do or not…because we all know the U.S. can’t afford anyone else or doesn’t have the resources within their own borders (both of those are sarcastic comments). I’m not saying bring back Steve Sampson…but get rid of Coach Bob. How about Sigi? Wait, I know…I know…that would make too much sense.

–-Mark Vincent Lincir