The Kool Aid

Oh No, I’m not drinking it!!!

I promise we’re not trying to be overly negative on this site. Both Mark and I are obviously fans of the USA and want to see the team succeed. However, right now that isn’t the case and it won’t be the case next year back in South Africa, assuming we qualify of course.

Coming into the tournament the Egypt game was the only realistic shot of winning. And that’s just what the Yanks did. I’m just confused as how that game became like the “flashy thing” in Men In Black and a lot of folks on the internets forgot about the serious problems that still plague this team, some of which still remained in the thrashing of the Pharaohs. 

Giving credit where credit is due, the team came out and played hard. But that’s what American teams are known for. And it’s just what they haven’t been doing over the past few months. Going back to the El Salvador game, the team was flat until an inspired last ten minutes salvaged a road point. The T&T game was a walk in the park. Since then, there have been three complete stinkers and a win over Honduras that I still feel would have gone the other way had Los Catrachos not taken their foot off the pedal after the first ten minutes.

So excuse me for not jumping up and down after this result. Plus, I’m lazy and the most you’d get out of me is throwing my hands up in the air for one of the multitude of waves you see in the South African stadiums.

Even in this win the flanks were lost for the U.S. Jonny Bornstein keeps getting sucked inside and, more often than not, it’s Clint Dempsey who isn’t tracking back to provide coverage for the wide attacker. Expect Spain to take advantage of this and see Sergio Ramos getting forward much like Maicon did on Thursday. One way Bob Bradley could counter would be to leave Jay DeMerit and Oguchi Onyewu together in the center where they’ve been strong and play Carlos Bocanegra, who reportedly trained at full speed prior to the Egypt game, out to the left where he plays for his club. But that would take some imagination in the lineup so don’t go holding your breath.

Much like the Brazil game, possession will be lost for the Yanks. To counter, giving Jose Francisco Torres a run out would help to not only even those percentages, but give the back line a few breathers rather than seeing Gooch play Route 1 all night. Apparently Bradley is not happy with the defense of either Torres or Adu, forgetting that while defense may win championships, you still have to score to win. Again, you’ll be blue as a Smurf if you hold your breath for this one.

Continuing on Bradley -- and yes, I am going to keep fucking talking about your dad, Michael -- two straight games he’s gone to the locker room at the end of the game with a sub in his pocket. In-game tactics aside, this is just foolish when you know for sure you have three games in seven days. Guys need breathers. In the three games Bob has used just 16 of his 23 players. Two of those were keepers, so just 14 of 20 outfield players have seen time. Bocanegra has been injured, but you have to believe he would have taken all 270 minutes from DeMerit if he were fit. But the other six guys got a lot of frequent flier miles, so they’ve got that going for them.

Two of the changes were forced due to red cards, but Sacha Kljestan and Ricardo Clark basically combined to take all of those minutes. A third (DaMarcus Beasley) was forced because FIFA won’t allow players to step on the field with a huge fork protruding from their back. Say all you want about Bradley bringing in fresh faces in his tenure, but unlike his predecessor Bruce Arena, he doesn’t use his bench nearly enough. That will come back to haunt the team as much as anything on Wednesday against Spain.

Plus, you can't tell me that bringing on Adu in the final ten minutes wouldn't have been the dagger for Egypt. They Pharaohs were tired, having used all three subs by the hour mark thanks to injuries. Adu's fresh legs and darting runs -- remember the friendly against Spain last year? -- would have put their defenders even more on their heels. Though the results held, another goal by the U.S. would have let Bushman slide off the edge of his seat for the final minutes.

Clint Dempsey was one of those guys who needed a breather it appeared. Yes, he went forward and got the winning goal -- thanks mainly to a beautiful cross by a right back, the first one of those we’ve seen from the USA since the Clinton administration -- but his work rate defensively has been off. Of course, through his rose colored glasses, that doesn’t matter to Bradley because the name on the back of the #8 jersey is not Adu or Torres. Meanwhile, Tim Howard, who hasn’t been great but does lead the tournament in saves, got a rest after a long season for Everton. Why the ‘keeper gets a rest while a midfielder/forward plays three full games in seven days is beyond me.

An aside on Dempsey: as pointed out by the USMNT blog, Dempsey is the second highest rated midfielder thus far in the tournament, trailing only Kaká. It’s a FIFA ranking, so I take it with a grain of salt, even though I said no salt for the margarita. Plus, Maicon is rated as the seventh best defender while two South Africans top the list. Once again, Moneyball doesn’t translate to soccer.

Look, I understand the problems for the national team lies deeper than Bob Bradley’s head. The player pool, as pointed out by a few, is not what it has been in years past. But by not putting Bradley on a hot seat after a sub par June is too complacent for where the national team is now. Remember Project 2010? Yeah, that’s still a decade off, at least.

Unfortunately, in the grand scheme of things, it appears that U.S. Soccer is more concerned about its finances than the play on the field. And until a World Cup is missed and their coffers aren’t refilled with those millions of dollars qualification brings, the status quo will remain.

- Pat Walsh