Same Story, Different Year

“They are who we thought they were!”

And, yes, the U.S. let Mexico off the hook. What started as a promising game after just ten minutes turned into an abysmal effort from the midfield where possession was non-existent.

Once again, the finger has to be pointed at Bob Bradley. No, this isn’t a loss that will get him fired as Sunil Gulati already stated BB would be on the bench next summer in South Africa. I’ve long felt the only way Bradley would be fired would be to not qualify. After yesterday’s results, that isn’t as certain, but it should still happen.

Though I’ve thought Bradley is better in these single qualifiers than tournaments, every game still has halftimes and that’s where Bradley loses. As something I looked at a few posts ago, the Yanks consistently are outscored in the second half against non-minnows. Same thing yesterday as the U.S. didn’t change anything at the half and Mexico’s domination of possession continued.

If Bradley really wanted to switch to a 4-5-1 to play more defensively, then why not bring on Torres for Ching in the 15th minute? At least then someone might have held possession in the U.S.’s midfield. The number of poor traps and passes that were even worse were uncountable. That’s something that happens to the U.S. players whether they’re in Azteca or their own backyards.

I should clarify: those traps and passes as they happened all to infrequently from a largely invisible midfield. Michael Bradley was AWFUL and should have come off in probably his worst showing in a USA shirt. I know Clint Dempsey was on the field because I saw the starting lineups, but otherwise he might as well have been back in England for the non-existent impact he made. Landon had the great pass to Davies (or Davis if you’re on Mun2) but otherwise was poor, especially on the final goal. Rico Clark was his typical self, which isn’t a compliment at the international level. Jermaine Jones and Mo Edu, where are you?

The defense still concedes possession on clearances all too easily. Granted, they didn’t have many choices to distribute to the midfield, but in the lead up to the first goal was Mexico advancing, Onyewu clear, Mexico win the ball and advance. Wash, rinse, repeat. I’m still hoping Onyewu can work on this at Milan because if he doesn’t, he won’t play for them much. I’m also not sure that Bradley will continue with Bocanegra at left back as he isn’t as good against top (read quick) opponents. However, I still think he’s the best option. On the other side, Steve Cherundolo should be playing his way out of that spot and giving way to Spector. Cherundolo had a so-so Gold Cup and was frequently abused on the flank, though kudos for him for being the only defender to not be booked.

Even Tim Howard doesn’t escape any criticism for me. Sure, that first goal was magical. And the second gave him little chance from a guy with that much space just eight yards from goal. But going back to the Confed Cup, he’s been getting beat too often on long goals. Some of that blame lays squarely on the midfield for allowing the opposition to have that much time and space. But unlike his predecessors Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel, he doesn’t make that big, game changing save as often as those guys. Sure, he’s a rock back there and rarely (if ever) lets in a softie, but the difference between T-Ho and guys like Iker Casillas and Gigi Buffon are making the saves that shouldn’t be made. If he saves Sabah’s shot, and it wasn’t unsaveable, that really changes qualifying in CONCACAF.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Charlie Davies. Man, what a finish by the BC kid. Sochaux must be grinning from ear to ear -- probably with several cigarettes hanging out of that grin since they are French. But you can see how wrestling helped him use his body and what that does for him in front of the goal. I just wonder if he would’ve had a few more chances if Torres was in the midfield and helped with possession.

So all in all, not a surprise to lose in Estadio Azteca. Probably the worst result was Grant Wahl losing his laptop -- poor guy and a waste of beer -- and definitely better than going to Duke and losing by 41. But in terms of qualifying, this is more of a loss of pride and a missed opportunity to step on Mexico’s throat a bit more. If the U.S. takes care of business at home against El Salvador and can win in Port of Spain a few days later, they’ll be on 16 points and essentially assured of a spot in South Africa with two match days left.

Of course, there is one guy that can prevent that scenario. Unfortunately he’s the coach. I doubt he’ll ever be in a Coors Light commercial though.

- Pat Walsh