2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup: Trip to the CONFED CUP

[Zeno]

I guess the last thing that puzzles me is I see these youth soccer leagues all over the place. Tons of American kids playing the game. seems like they've been doing it for many years and why is it no great American players are coming from the ranks of our youngsters?

just a few questions from a neophyte....

thx

Believe it or not more US kids play soccer than Football, Baseball & Basketball combined but for some reason they don't develop the love for the game and they lack the high quality coaching. Most of the great soccer nations have soccer academies that recognize kids at a young age and develop them in a pro setting...the US is trying to establish these things with their developmental academies and MLS academies but we still lack the resources and experience. MLS is growing and getting better and that will help but we are at least 10-15 yrs behind being a serious contender to be champs. Realistically though, think how great Spain has been over the years but until the past WC they had never even reached the semi-finals.

 

[MrYeahBut]

Believe it or not more US kids play soccer than Football, Baseball & Basketball combined but for some reason they don't develop the love for the game and they lack the high quality coaching. Most of the great soccer nations have soccer academies that recognize kids at a young age and develop them in a pro setting...the US is trying to establish these things with their developmental academies and MLS academies but we still lack the resources and experience. MLS is growing and getting better and that will help but we are at least 10-15 yrs behind being a serious contender to be champs. Realistically though, think how great Spain has been over the years but until the past WC they had never even reached the semi-finals.

of course, I'm older than you so things were different for me. I grew up in Idaho and Wyo and I don't think I ever even saw a soccer ball, we just played baseball and football and some basketball in the winter. A lot of us preferred football in the winter because it was more fun in the snow. Soccer was unheard of.

 

[Stout]

One thing about Mexico, this is a new type of Mexican player, these guys don't give up and get dirty like previous Mexican teams. In previous years getting them down 2-0 would have resulted in hacking and cards...this group is much more resilient.

Well, let's be fair...they were still dirty as all get-out, but they hid it well

Seriously, as good as their forwards are, if Cherundalo doesn't go down, I think we definitely would have won. They had their initial push, but it was bottled up for a few minutes...when he went down, Bornstein came in, and Lichaj had to switch, that gutted our defense. That defense had gelled quite well in the last few games, but losing the best defender just killed it. That isn't to take anything away from Mexico's quality...and they do have great quality right now. Barrera really impressed me.

Of course, we had the typical Mexican little ****** stuff. Oh my God, I'm rolling on the ground in agony! Oh, you gave the yellow? I'll get straight up and jog off now! That, and the blatant kick to Adu's face, that should have been a red, were the most glaring ones.

 

[Dr. Jones]

The finals have been in Chicago, NY/NJ and now LA...they obviously want the final in a large stadium in one of the major US cities. CONCACAF is in it to make money (which is why they throw this tourney every 2 years and it happens in the US most of the time).

Mexico deservedly won...they have some very good young players too but lets stop with the Spain comparisons.

They are not Spain. I said they looked like Spain. I was referring to the drubbing in NE a few weeks back. We were getting killed vertically and couldn't stop it the entire game.

 

[DiabloPacMan]

Just wanted to say the I really hope there were more bans to users handed out than just to shzm13. If not, this is the most laughable forum I've ever been on and some of you are an embarrassment to US soccer fans every where. The amount of racially motivated remarks towards mexicans in this thread are appalling. Again, I hope more bans were given than just the one to shzm13. I would really hate for this forum and it's moderators to condone and allow such comments that make references to tacos, the crowd being full of illegals, INS being called in, etc.

Tell me I'm wrong moderators. Don't remain quiet, tell me more than just a Mexican celebrating the Gold Cup championship was banned. Otherwise, racially motivated comments are ok, right?

 

[Cheesewater]

Just wanted to say the I really hope there were more bans to users handed out than just to shzm13. If not, this is the most laughable forum I've ever been on and some of you are an embarrassment to US soccer fans every where. The amount of racially motivated remarks towards mexicans in this thread are appalling. Again, I hope more bans were given than just the one to shzm13. I would really hate for this forum and it's moderators to condone and allow such comments that make references to tacos, the crowd being full of illegals, INS being called in, etc.

Tell me I'm wrong moderators. Don't remain quiet, tell me more than just a Mexican celebrating the Gold Cup championship was banned. Otherwise, racially motivated comments are ok, right?

I thought you WERE shzm13...

 

[Zeno]

I didn't even know he was banned, thought he was taking the high road and not gloating. Whatever...doubt it is a perma-ban

 

[DiabloPacMan]

No, I'm not shzm13. And no, it wasn't a permanent ban. But regardless of the length of the disciplinary action, it is the fact that he was banned (albeit temporarily) while others who made those unfortunate comments don't seem to have been punished at all. That's the issue. Or do we only get banned for a comment if it goes against the US national team?

 

[Stout]

No, I'm not shzm13. And no, it wasn't a permanent ban. But regardless of the length of the disciplinary action, it is the fact that he was banned (albeit temporarily) while others who made those unfortunate comments don't seem to have been punished at all. That's the issue. Or do we only get banned for a comment if it goes against the US national team?

So, if you aren't Shzm13, how do you know he has been banned? How do you know he just isn't posting right now? I haven't heard anything about it.

 

[Dback Jon]

So, if you aren't Shzm13, how do you know he has been banned? How do you know he just isn't posting right now? I haven't heard anything about it.

It does say banned under his name...

 

[DiabloPacMan]

So, if you aren't Shzm13, how do you know he has been banned? How do you know he just isn't posting right now? I haven't heard anything about it.

It says banned underneath his screen name. I messaged him to confirm and he said he's banned for a week for "trolling the US board" when from what i saw and he told me, he clearly didn't. He posted a celebratory comment in the concacaf gold cup thread, which is meant to speak about ALL teams in the tournament, not just the usmnt.

 

[Cheesewater]

It says banned underneath his screen name. I messaged him to confirm and he said he's banned for a week for "trolling the US board" when from what i saw and he told me, he clearly didn't. He posted a celebratory comment in the concacaf gold cup thread, which is meant to speak about ALL teams in the tournament, not just the usmnt.

Good work eagle-eye! I read the thread and didn't notice.

But I thought you couldn't message banned users...

And finally, I don't know what you are so upset about. I got banned for 3 days just for calling the San Antonio Spurs troll known as ambchang "dumbchang"

Not so finally, you have to admit that it's a bit fishy that you are posting. The only other posts you have are from April (your join date month) and you came in to participate in a nearly identical circumstance: Trying to defend snotty fans of the Mexican team.

 

[Renz]

I didn't even know he was banned, thought he was taking the high road and not gloating.

Really?

 

[Zeno]

It says banned underneath his screen name. I messaged him to confirm and he said he's banned for a week for "trolling the US board" when from what i saw and he told me, he clearly didn't. He posted a celebratory comment in the concacaf gold cup thread, which is meant to speak about ALL teams in the tournament, not just the usmnt.

Have you read the rules of the forum?

Moderators' decisions are final. Our moderators are all unpaid volunteers who are looking out for the best interests of our members. We want to help each and every member get the best experience possible on our board, but there will always be individuals who choose to break the rules and be banned. THERE IS NO PUBLIC DISCUSSION ON THIS.

If you have a problem with a decision a moderator makes, please PM (private message) them and discuss with them the issue. We will be glad to discuss it with you there, but starting threads about it is not allowed. These threads will be closed or deleted.

Not only are moderators’ decisions final but so are their opinions as to what is offensive, inflammatory, a personal attack, profanity or just plain poor taste. Although we will make every effort to look into issues; we will not attempt to research a conflict beyond what we have seen. Otherwise you get into a circular round of "but did you go back and look at what he said to me last week".

Those folks who are unlucky enough to get a temporary ban should take their temporary ban like a man / woman and move on.

PM a moderator rather than waste our time please...thank you.

 

[Dback Jon]

To be fair to Diablo, he did report some posts, but for some reason, it is not showing up in my PM's like it should.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Didn't know. If you haven't been banned at least once on this board you aren't trying hard enough.

I'll talk to him when he gets back. You.... Are not contributing in any way to this thread.

 

[Mulli]

Ultimately, I think the US losing to Mexico like this should be good for the US team. It should expose some of the idiocy in the makeup of the squad. Not letting the younger players play consistently and learn on the job is a huge mistake, in my opinion.

Congrats to Shzm13 on a win that should have been expected.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Ultimately, I think the US losing to Mexico like this should be good for the US team. It should expose some of the idiocy in the makeup of the squad. Not letting the younger players play consistently and learn on the job is a huge mistake, in my opinion.

Congrats to Shzm13 on a win that should have been expected.

If there are any positives, it is definitely Freddy Adu. Not exactly sure why he hasn't been playing for this team when we trot out players like Clark out there.

I was shocked to hear that the US had no plans on bunkering after a 2-0 lead.

 

[Stout]

If there are any positives, it is definitely Freddy Adu. Not exactly sure why he hasn't been playing for this team when we trot out players like Clark out there.

I was shocked to hear that the US had no plans on bunkering after a 2-0 lead.

The worst thing about that 2-0 lead is that we got the second goal immediately after dropping Donovan back and putting Dempsey forward. So what do we do immediately on scoring? Switch it back!

And why in the HELL doesn't Dempsey start as a striker for us? It makes ZERO sense. He's proven to be a damn good international striker, and the best one we have...so he always starts in midfield. Huh?

 

[ASUCHRIS]

And why in the HELL doesn't Dempsey start as a striker for us? It makes ZERO sense. He's proven to be a damn good international striker, and the best one we have...so he always starts in midfield. Huh?

Duh, it's because we have so many spectacular strikers and no good mids. Plus it's not like he's an effective striker in the best league in the world...oh wait...

Also, Jones sucks. Edu is younger and better. Makes no sense to keep starting Jones.

 

[Stout]

Duh, it's because we have so many spectacular strikers and no good mids. Plus it's not like he's an effective striker in the best league in the world...oh wait...

Also, Jones sucks. Edu is younger and better. Makes no sense to keep starting Jones.

Yeah, I agree that Clark...er, I mean, Jones, sucks. Sorry, it's just so easy to confuse the two...neither one is any good and both make stupid giveaways followed by even more stupid fouls.

 

[Zeno]

Duh, it's because we have so many spectacular strikers and no good mids. Plus it's not like he's an effective striker in the best league in the world...oh wait...

Also, Jones sucks. Edu is younger and better. Makes no sense to keep starting Jones.

Edu rarely looks good in a US uniform, you can count his good performances on one hand. He is a better club player than US player for sure, there is hope and I am guessing part of it is that he doesn't have a lot of chemistry with Bradley...not sure. Same can be said for Jones...plus had B Bradley done the strategy he should have (played Jones & Bradley deeper covering more defensively) they may have been more effective, lets face it M. Bradley didn't look very good either(even with the goal), some terrible giveaways and poor movement.

 

[Zeno]

The worst thing about that 2-0 lead is that we got the second goal immediately after dropping Donovan back and putting Dempsey forward. So what do we do immediately on scoring? Switch it back!

And why in the HELL doesn't Dempsey start as a striker for us? It makes ZERO sense. He's proven to be a damn good international striker, and the best one we have...so he always starts in midfield. Huh?

Because simply Dempsey is NOT a striker, he is a mifdfielder, he doesn't play well with his back to goal, he needs the space to face up opponents. Moving him there at points in game makes tactical sense because it throws your opponents off and makes them adjust but if you keep him up top the whole game you are wasting him...he and Donovan were switching spots throughout the match whenever we actually mounted any semblance of an attack. I could see him playing a withdrawn striker role if we had a post up hold the ball big bodied striker--we don't have that either.

 

[Stout]

Because simply Dempsey is NOT a striker, he is a mifdfielder, he doesn't play well with his back to goal, he needs the space to face up opponents. Moving him there at points in game makes tactical sense because it throws your opponents off and makes them adjust but if you keep him up top the whole game you are wasting him...he and Donovan were switching spots throughout the match whenever we actually mounted any semblance of an attack. I could see him playing a withdrawn striker role if we had a post up hold the ball big bodied striker--we don't have that either.

I was getting ready to blast you because Dempsey plays striker at Fulham, in one of the top leagues in the world. But, while it is true that he does play striker there, he is listed mainly as a midfielder. Touche. He is still, without a doubt, the best striker we have. And, since we have such midfield talent, it is still a waste to wait so long.

He and Donovan WERE switching spots...whenever Donovan was forward, Dempsey was ineffective. They switched, and Dempsey immediately got a goal, and our idiot coach immediately switched out of it...see, we SCORED when he went up top. Our coach has just been too stupid to put him there. Altidore is supposed to be the 'size' striker. Dempsey would play well next to him, IMO.

 

[Zeno]

I was getting ready to blast you because Dempsey plays striker at Fulham, in one of the top leagues in the world. But, while it is true that he does play striker there, he is listed mainly as a midfielder. Touche. He is still, without a doubt, the best striker we have. And, since we have such midfield talent, it is still a waste to wait so long.

He and Donovan WERE switching spots...whenever Donovan was forward, Dempsey was ineffective. They switched, and Dempsey immediately got a goal, and our idiot coach immediately switched out of it...see, we SCORED when he went up top. Our coach has just been too stupid to put him there. Altidore is supposed to be the 'size' striker. Dempsey would play well next to him, IMO.

Dempsey rarely ever lines up as a true striker at Fulham. He plays behind them or on the wing and he has the freedom to move about (less than he does with the US though). Dempsey is more Gerrard than Rooney...all are capable of scoring goals but in different ways and from different spots on the field.

The switch between Donovan & Dempsey wasn't a coaching adjustment it was an adjustment based on where the ball was on the field, Adu went out wide...Dempsey pinched in and Donovan made a run from his left...they were cover for each other as they tried to do all game (with little success).