I certainly have no problem with that(And agree pretty much), but if he IS to be involved, it's pretty clearly off the bench.

JK probably just giving Castillo an extended shot, maybe this is dumb of me to say but I think the fact that he's Mexican-American and JK wants to change the style might have a bit to do with that (white people have it oh so rough). I don't think he'll stay with him given the performances so far. But this is why we do stuff like that in friendlies to figure out information like that. Maybe you could say the information was already there, but we're not exactly overflowing with attractive options at the back, and I was fine with giving him another game. He shouldn't start against Belgium.

I feel like you pretty much know what you're going to get from Rogers, he plays hard, is decent at a lot of things but great at nothing. Low variance, likely to be effective against some competition, unlikely to be effective against better sides.

I agree with the first paragraph, I'm fine with Castillo getting another shot, Mexico was a very difficult spot to make a debut given both the caliber of opposition and the fact that he's Mexican-American, so maybe he just had a stinker. I think we've now seen enough.

I actually think Rogers is strangely more likely to look useful against better sides than worse. When Costa Rica just stood off and let him have the ball, he couldn't do anything at all. Against a team which came forward more and let us counterattack, at least his speed could be useful.

I'm extremely worried at this point that JK just has no idea what he's doing given the rumblings from German journalists (see the Honigstein piece linked upthread) and what we've seen so far. I'm still just baffled by the use of only 2 subs last night, and the fact that Orozco Fizcal is ahead of Omar Gonzalez (seemingly) in the pecking order, and that Adu and Lichaj haven't been involved, and what's the point of calling up a guy like Laurentowicz, naming him as one of your subs, and not using him, and the fact that he's given bizarrely, blindingly upbeat interviews during and after both matches. I haven't given up on him yet, but I'm worried.

2 subs was bad.

this is what is bizarre to me. so far the era hasn't been amazing and yet judging solely by the interviews with him you'd think we look poised to take down the world cup

I kind of like that. He's not trying to play into the fact that we're in bad shape and he'll make it better or any kind of narrative like that.

It's admittedly an arbitrary distinction, but there's a difference between "upbeat" and "insulting the intelligence of everyone who's just watched"

can anyone summarize or provide english links to what they're saying about JK in Germany?

.

re the subs, there are a handful of players, including Landon, who aren't traveling to Belgium so these 90 minutes were the only ones available for them to play.

Too early to be negative. I have my doubts as well, but let's wait until the games actually mean something imo.

really neat the way you did that, but i obviously meant in light of recent US results LDO

not sure if old news or common knowledge but im listening to the football weekly extra podcast (guardian UK) and they mentioned something about a German international guy's book (philip lamb? or something..cant understand perfectly) who ripped into Klinnsman and said the players had to figure out tactics for their opponents on their own in practice sessions, that they got no input from the coach

Yeah, Lahm was talking about when JK was the coach at Bayern Munich, though those kinds of books you always take with a grain of salt. More worrisome from the same interview was the stuff about Martin Vasquez, who I'm slightly worried is a yes man.

edit: and regardless, everyone should be subscribed to football weekly, Mondays and thursdays, about 45 minutes each.

Lichaj out 4-5 months with what sounds like a hip injury, so no help at LB to be had there for a while

Where/how do i subscribe and what is this podcat focused on?

its on itunes or guardian website and its primarily english football but they talk about the other european leagues too...very humorous and informative at least from my point of view here in america since we dont get much soccer coverage

The other really good one is The Football Ramble.

Beyond reporting results nothing really, he's not that big a deal (or rather, him losing a friendly as coach of the USMNT is not that big a deal). as for general sentiments that article is still relevant.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...?sct=sc_t11_a0

oh man, Bob Bradley close to becoming the next coach of Mexican club Santos. Santos isn't making it official just yet, but all signs look like Bradley will indeed get the job (the club president took him on a tour of the facility and everything). Announcement is expected tomorrow morning.

Very interested to see how that works. Wouldn't mind more US players playing in the Mexican league - it seems like some guys go to mid-level European leagues and just disappear from the radar (e.g. a guy like Diskerud), and that league is probably reasonably comparable while allowing the USMNT coaching staff to see them more.

How do salaries of top Mexican teams compare to MLS?

smaller, especially on the top end.

Here in Mexico, we really don't give contract details at all, for coaches or for players. The only thing we really find out is how long the contract is for. but yeah, I'm pretty sure salaries are definitely smaller here.

This is your game reminder. Starting soon!