[Mise_Me_Fein]

Any thoughts?

Lalas was, and always will be for me one of the great defenders of the last 20 years. This guy was a general but also a fighter.....The reason you guys keep getting whipped, aside from the lack of imaginative support(USA USA USA, not enough) is that you have no fight.

Just my opinion. Am I correct? I´d like to hear from some Yanks on this.

 

[The Jackal]

Lalas was, and always will be for me one of the great defenders of the last 20 years. This guy was a general but also a fighter.....The reason you guys keep getting whipped, aside from the lack of imaginative support(USA USA USA, not enough) is that you have no fight.

You are absolutely correct about Lalas, and we have no one like him right now.

However, we do not keep "getting whipped." We have made 5 consecutive World Cups, are ranked 21st in the FIFA World Rankings, and in '02, we reached the quarterfinals of the WC, are best result since 1930. In that match, against Germany, even Franz Beckenbauer admitted that the U.S. were the better team over 90 minutes, despite the unfortunate loss.

So I think people are really taking it too far when they say we are in bad shape as a footballing nation. I don't expect us to beat England, we just don't have the talent. But despite the absence of a leader like Lalas, we will continue to qualify for World Cups's, and the fact that several of our starters are playing in Europe now can only be a good thing for us Yanks. :thumbsup:

 

[dough_ballz]

While I agree with everything that Porto&Guti said, I have to agree more with Mise on this one, especially his comment on fight.

I knew a guy at home called 'Thumper Sweeny', his father was the head of a tribe in africa (his mother was from thurles). Thumper used to get in loads of fights around the town and never lost. Ever ever.

Ever.

But one day he decided to stop fighting and start climbing mountains.

Do you see what I mean?

I think the same can be said about the US international footballing force.

 

[Jonny Knoxville]

coaches suck in the USA , they wont never win sh it unless that changes and the high brass too...US federation is a joke

 

[The Jackal]

coaches suck in the USA , they wont never win sh it unless that changes and the high brass too...US federation is a joke

I think you are a little bitter after the England loss. Arena led us to our best WC finish since 1930 in 2002, and in '06, we were very unlucky to not advance to the last 16. We were better than Ghana, but unfortunately Gooch had a BS foul called on him in the box, and Reyna slipped and injured himself. If you take away those 2 flukes, and the one bad game against the Czechs, we played well in Germany.

This is only Bradley's 2nd loss against a European team, and we didn't even have Donovan for this one. There is absolutely no reason to fire Bradley. We are the best team in the CONCACAF region, and will almost certainly qualify for our SIXTH consecutive World Cup in 2010.

United States Soccer has made remarkable progress, and Bob Bradley has done an outstanding job IMO. If we fail to get out of the Group Stage during the '10 WC, then maybe we fire him. But now? No way.

 

[Lorenzo]

Did somebody say "fighter"?

roud:

Honestly, the US doesn't lack any fighters. Players like McBride, Dempsey, and Bradley all have fighter's mentalities. The US's philosophy is similar to England's. All we ever do is run our heads off and play long ball football. With players such as Feilhaber, Edu, and Adu, we could play sound technical and tactical football. Instead, we're stuck with Bob Bradley's brand of football. That's playing defensively, and hoping we get something from a long ball counter attack. There needs to be a change in the way we approach football. One bright point is that we're changing in the youth system.

 

[Mise_Me_Fein]

I don´t like England really but they do have fighters.............you have a lot of talkers,........for me talk is cheap.

Mc Bride is not a fighter for me. What happened in that picture? Did he hit his head of the goalpost?

 

[Lorenzo]

I don´t like England really but they do have fighters.............you have a lot of talkers,........for me talk is cheap.

Mc Bride is not a fighter for me. What happened in that picture? Did he hit his head of the goalpost?

Most of the US team consists of athletes, and fighters. Hence, the results in WC 02. If they didn't have any fight in them, they would have bottled against Portugal and Mexico. It only took them so far though. England barley have any fighters. They're more like a bunch of prima donnas. Greece, on the other hand, have fighters.

McBride's much more of a fighter than most of the English players. He plays with aggression and heart. IMO, he's better than most of the strikers we have right now. A born leader for the Nats.

 

[Pista]

None of the players compare to Lalas, Wynalda, Harkes and Ramos. Balboa on that WC kick against Columbia..this is regression what we have today!

 

[naervod]

No offense, MMF, but maybe you shouldn't be talking about the US NT like this since you seem to have no idea of what you're talking about. While of course Lalas was one of the best "fighters" we have ever had, to say that we keep getting whipped (I'm not sure where you are getting that from, we are doing miles better than we did in the Lalas days) because we "lack fighters" is way off the mark. If anything, the reason the US does as well as it does is because we keep up the fight and put in alot of hard work to compensate for our other shortcomings. What we don't have, and the reason we can't win against the top teams in the world, are technically skilled players or a sufficient knowledge of tactics. I think looking at some players like Donovan would give you the impression that the US has no fight, but I think if you look at some other players you'll find that is not the case. Look at McBride, he's 35 and still giving his all (btw in the picture he had just gotten elbowed in the face by De Rossi after challenging for an aerial ball). Look at the Onyewu vs. Borgetti battle in that crucial World Cup qualifier back in September '05. Those are just two instances I can think of where we have shown fight. Surely we couldn't have come back to win the Gold Cup final last summer against a technically superior Mexican team if we didn't have any fight? I think you do not watch the US play enough, if that is the assessment you are coming away with.

 

[Mise_Me_Fein]

I´ve seen a lot of games on Satelite and I stand by my opinion. Your opinion on fight and mine seem to be very different. I recall in that game Vs Italy that the US played very dirty. This is not fight to me. I´m talking about people like Roy Keane from my country. People like Steven Gerrard, and to be honest.....Lalas is the only one I can put in that bracket.

2002 was a crazy world cup. America overachieved due to some lucky results. 2006 was a fair assessment of the team.

 

[Magic]

You know what, you're right. I hope we go back to playing like we did in the early 90's. We were so great back then. Wait a second, we didn't win a lot of games. We weren't the best team in CONCACAF. Let's compare that to now. We consistently dominate Mexico. We're the best team in our region. We consistently make it to the World Cup. We would've done better at the last World Cup if not for the failings of Bruce Arena. Tell me, what all did Roy Keane do for Ireland? The US is by far a better team than Ireland. And you're saying that the US played dirty against Italy? Take a look at how Italy played. You're a fool and have proved it with your postings here.

 

[Mise_Me_Fein]

Firstly, Ireland qualified for 2002 in a group containing Holland and Portugal, thanks to Roy Keane(probably the best player ever to raise the level of his team-mates). We would have got to the semis of that WC if he had played......you know he´s the most sucessful Man Utd captain ever....yep, that´s the guy.

America are so used to being the best at sports like Baseball and American football, so when they lose to teams like Greenland or Namibia in Saawkur, they get angry and play dirty.....the need to harness this and control it and play like Lalas......a legend.

 

[Lorenzo]

I´ve seen a lot of games on Satelite and I stand by my opinion. Your opinion on fight and mine seem to be very different. I recall in that game Vs Italy that the US played very dirty. This is not fight to me. I´m talking about people like Roy Keane from my country. People like Steven Gerrard, and to be honest.....Lalas is the only one I can put in that bracket.

2002 was a crazy world cup. America overachieved due to some lucky results. 2006 was a fair assessment of the team.

Luck always plays a role in football, especially in tournaments. Consistency is almost impossible. One could argue that Greece, or Denmark were lucky in the past Euros. With a little more "luck," the US could have potentially gotten out of its group in the WC 06. The US certainly did not overachieve in WC 02. They beat Portugal, Mexico, and hell, even outplayed Germany in the quarter-finals. What a laughable comment.

I'd hardly call Roy Keane a "fighter". He's more like a loose cannon, with ridiculous antics. Same for Gerrard, aka the diver. The 04 Greek team were fighters. They beat the likes of Portugal, Czech Republic, and France. Yet, the odds were stacked against them. As for Lalas, he was a decent player during his time, but nothing crucial for the US now. We've already gone on to bigger things without him and the 90's generation.

 

[naervod]

Yeah if you're going to say the US got lucky in 2002, you have to look at the fact that the US got a bit unlucky in 2006. We played dirty, I'll admit Italy played just as dirty as we did in that game. Did you not just see that picture of McBride? Ghana played dirty when they defeated us (thanks to a non-existent penalty) and we did not stoop to their level.

Quotes like "losing to Namibia and Greenland", while obviously exaggerated just show how idiotic your arguments are. We do respectably on the international stage, in fact WC 2006 has pretty much been the only blip on the radar since 2000. Up until the England friendly loss, which this post obviously seems in response to, we had won three internationals away from home (South Africa, Switzerland, and Poland - the latter two who will be participating in this month's Euro 2008...Ireland is not there). Furthermore, by ignoring our team's obvious deficiencies (I'm not afraid to say we have them, in fact I listed then in my previous post) and posting things like this, your credibility is not very high, especially for someone who claims to watch the United States a lot.

Keane is a ridiculous comparison. I like him a good deal, but as Lorenzo said, he's more like a loose cannon, more up Cantona's alley if anything. He's a good captain normally, but things like what he did in the WC 2002 are inexcusable for someone who's supposed to have your definition of fight.

 

[Magic]

Firstly, Ireland qualified for 2002 in a group containing Holland and Portugal, thanks to Roy Keane(probably the best player ever to raise the level of his team-mates). We would have got to the semis of that WC if he had played......you know he´s the most sucessful Man Utd captain ever....yep, that´s the guy.

America are so used to being the best at sports like Baseball and American football, so when they lose to teams like Greenland or Namibia in Saawkur, they get angry and play dirty.....the need to harness this and control it and play like Lalas......a legend.

I'm not doubting Roy Keane's greatness, but really, he got ireland to the 2002 World Cup. Congratulations. Then he went and made an ass out of himself. The US deserved to make it to the semi-finals on the World Cup in 2002. We outplayed Germany for the entire match. There was a blatant handball on the goal line that the referee missed. We would've gone on to face South Korea in the semi-finals, and we could've beaten them.

We lose to teams like Greenland or Namibia? Really, let's take a look at some of our more recent games:
USA 1-0 Switzerland (in Basel)
USA 1-0 South Africa (in Johannesburg)
USA 2-0 Sweden
USA 2-2 Mexico (in Houston, but was a Mexico home game anyway)
USA 3-0 Poland (in Krakow)
USA 0-2 England (in Wembley)

But obviously we still lose to Namibia and Greenland . And you say you watch the team a lot. Give me a break.

 

[Mise_Me_Fein]

Germany were a bad team in 2002. They had an easy path to the final.....we drew with them without Keane, which shows how average they were.

I predict you will win two of your next four games...........I think most of the American players would be happy with this....you will lose the other two.



Spain and Argentina will beat you but you will do the double on Barbados.

2002 was a crazy WC. Until America wins a WC game on European soil I cannot respect them asa team. If you had someone like Lalas on your team now you would have beaten Italy by now.


By the way, you know nothing about Roy Keane. What he did was and is respected in Ireland and it will benifit the team in the future....he wanted professionalism.

See you guys in 2010 WC. I´m sure you can beat Belize and Haiti on the way to qualification.....congrats

 

[Lorenzo]

Germany were a bad team in 2002. They had an easy path to the final.....we drew with them without Keane, which shows how average they were.

I predict you will win two of your next four games...........I think most of the American players would be happy with this....you will lose the other two.



Spain and Argentina will beat you but you will do the double on Barbados.

2002 was a crazy WC. Until America wins a WC game on European soil I cannot respect them asa team. If you had someone like Lalas on your team now you would have beaten Italy by now.


By the way, you know nothing about Roy Keane. What he did was and is respected in Ireland and it will benifit the team in the future....he wanted professionalism.

See you guys in 2010 WC. I´m sure you can beat Belize and Haiti on the way to qualification.....congrats

Germany still had a strong team with Klose, Ballack, Metzelder, and others. That's not an easy side to outplay regardless.

We have to win more games on European soil? Please, the next two World Cups are outside of Europe. There are continents outside of Europe ya know. It's absurd that we would have to prove ourselves in Europe. Lalas would not have helped the US against Italy. Lalas was a decent, but nothing special.

As for Keane, yes, he desires professionalism. He displayed that against Haaland. A true gentlemen.

Thank you. I can't wait to see Ireland in the Euro 08...wait a second...:angel:

 

[naervod]

Germany were a bad team in 2002. They had an easy path to the final.....we drew with them without Keane, which shows how average they were.

I predict you will win two of your next four games...........I think most of the American players would be happy with this....you will lose the other two.



Spain and Argentina will beat you but you will do the double on Barbados.

2002 was a crazy WC. Until America wins a WC game on European soil I cannot respect them asa team. If you had someone like Lalas on your team now you would have beaten Italy by now.


By the way, you know nothing about Roy Keane. What he did was and is respected in Ireland and it will benifit the team in the future....he wanted professionalism.

See you guys in 2010 WC. I´m sure you can beat Belize and Haiti on the way to qualification.....congrats

Of course Spain and Argentina will most likely beat us, they are some of the best teams in the world. I highly doubt we could have beaten Italy in the Lalas era or if we had someone like him on our team. As you have glossed over two or three times now, having someone like Lalas on our team would not solve our woeful attacking, tactical, or technical problems. If we solved those problems we would be much more likely to beat a team like Italy.

As for Keano, regardless of whether he wanted professionalism or not or whether Irish fans respected him or not, he acted in a completely unprofessional way. Attacking the coach like that, especially right before the World Cup, even if he was inept is no way to get your point across and severely undermines the team. There is also a difference between being a fighter and something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuxKrnTP-k

Keano was a great leader, but he was way too over the top sometimes as an enforcer on the field and with his comments. Very professional approach to managing though, I must say. I'm not saying he's a bad player or anything and most of the time he was a good captain, but he is certainly not the type of player that will improve the quality of the US NT.

Of course we will qualify for the World Cup in South Africa. We will probably not even face Belize or Haiti, but we will beat Barbados and we will beat Cuba, Guatemala, T&T, and then Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, etc.

 

[Jonny Knoxville]

Pope was better than lalas lol , Bring back pope!!