you realize that isn't really saying all that much. Both looked woefully ineffective last night

Oh, trust me, I know.

My rankings of player performances over the two games weighted by time played and the expectations I had for them going into the friendlies.

Jermaine Jones (great introduction to the team)
Steve Cherundolo (old man's still got it)
Stuart Holden (will start soon and probably let Deuce play forward)
Clint Dempsey (looks like a meth head, but balls outta control)
Eric Lichaj (looks like the new Dolo in a few years)
Clarence Goodson (should be moving on from Norway to a better league)
Tim Howard (not gonna fault him for 2 awful clearances)
Michael Bradley (all over the place, but not his usual self)
Carlos Bocanegra (still our best option a LB)
Heath Pearce (did better than haters want to give him credit for)
Maurice Edu (not his fault he had to play a new position)
Michael Parkhurst (solid in the middle, not really tested)
Brad Guzan (didn't do much, didn't have to)
Eddie Johnson (played better than Jozy in his few minutes)
Jozy Altidore (at least he scored once)
Brek Shea (a disappointing debut for the young player)
Benny Feilhaber (I gave him too much credit after Poland, did nothing by clog the middle)
Jonathan Spector (invisible)
Alejandro Bedoya (still not an international)
Oguchi Onyewu (way too rusty)

What was up with the attendance yesterday? Pretty unfortunate for a city on the fringe of the USA's hosting bid.

Was at the game last night, sitting in the 3rd row of the SOB section behind the goal (on top of the player tunnel). I have no idea what happened on the national anthem.

Since you guys hit most of the points about the actual game (and I had too many Hopdevils), the common reasoning for the poor attendance is best laid out on Goff's Washpo blog:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soc...am_ticket.html

Best part of last night: SOB chanting "GET HER NUMBER" when Julie Foudy was right in front of them.

Yeah, that was fun, until a few rows changed it to "dirty sl-t"

personally I loved hearing the fans using changing some Wu_tang and hearing USA ain't nothing to **** with

that's actually the one i lost my voice on

such a good experience overall, but sad that the turnout wasn't higher

http://avoidingthedrop.com/2010/10/1...b-bradley-now/

lol at that site

I'm not so sure why people take friendlies so seriously, especially when there's no major competition in sight.


Clowns.

What a stupid article. Just complete and utter fail.

ORLY? How the **** is he supposed to make them better he barely ever gets to train with them? Development happens at the club level. Obviously, a little coaching can happen with the Nats, but the National Team coach's job is generally to take a bunch of people playing in different systems and try to fit them into an effective tactical system. I'm not saying Bob's the best at that, but gtfo with the development stuff. How much do you think Capello has improved the individual players on England's national team?

What? Michael Bradley went from unheralded kid to one of the best players on our team. Landon Donovan went from a terrible World Cup and struggling mightily for both club and country, to reemergence as an extremely valuable National Team player and an effective starter in the EPL (where before Bradley he couldn't even crack the Bundesliga).

Charlie Davies, who wasn't even on anyone's map, not only got his first caps and experience from Bob, but became our best striker option and was turning heads in Europe and internationally before his accident."

I could go on.

Now, like I said, player development isn't really down to the Nat'l team coach...but it's utter nonsense to say no players have improved under Bob. Many players have improved tremendously.

This is so mindnumbingly stupid I'm actually dumber for having read it.

First of all, yes, I remember that goal. It happened because Slovenia's left back misplayed the ball and slipped, allowing Landon free on goal.

And you really think Bob is anti-speed? This is the guy who took Robbie ****ing Findley on the roster and started him against England, strictly because of his pace.

Lol at "He took it on himself to attack that way." So any failings of the team are down to Bob's tactical incompetence. Any successes of the team are down to players acting on their own with no help from Bob. I get it now.

And yes, author, I'm sure Bob was quite bothered that Landon scored in the ****ing World Cup you braindead fool.

HE'S TWENTY YEARS OLD

I would think he was leveling here if I thought he was intelligent enough to level. Easily one of our best three players through qualifying and the World Cup.

I'm just flabbergasted by the utter idiocy that characterizes the vast majority of commentary/ "journalism" on soccer in this country.

That guy isn't fit to report on a U12 girls rec-league game, and he's talking (presumably with some audience) about the USMNT as if he's an authority.

And then the comment section is full of people who agree!

I'm just sad.

If you check the "About" page of that blog you'll see that the guys who started it are all Deadspin commenters. They clearly come from the "hate everything so people get riled up" school of blogging.

He musta had tons of cash on USA on Tuesday. :P

It was so stupid I suspected (and still half suspect) that he's parodying the awful standard of soccer journalism on the USMNT. I hope so anyway.

USA have withdrawn their bid to host the WC in 2018 so it leaves them in the hunt for 2022.

England 2018
USA 2022

Thats how I see it

That's the most likely scenario from everything I've read too. I hope that's how it works out.

wow you're right stak that blogpost is really really bad.

lol I left a comment saying that article was an epic fail and now my comment has been removed.

OH SNAP!! Jozy actually scored!

Yeah it was against a 3rd division squad, but I don't give a ****!

So the next game is 11/17 at South Africa. Now granted this is a Wednesday and a FIFA date, but the big Euro leagues are back up and running that weekend, so I wouldn't be surprised to see some of those players passed on.

Because of this, I think there will be some more MLS players called up, and maybe some fringe players. However, the friendly falls 3 days after the MLS Cup semifinals and 3 days before the final, so we probably won't see any players from the final 4 teams.

Here are the potential callups from each matchup (and yeah, I'm going to reach on a few) with the team I think wins, and therefore doesn't have people called up, bolded
San Jose Earthquakes v. New York Red Bulls
SJ: Chris Wondolowski, Bobby Convey, Sam Cronin
NYRB: Tim Ream, Juan Agudelo

Colorado Rapids v. Columbus Crew
COL: Conor Casey, Marvell Wynne, Jeff Larentowicz
CLB: Eddie Gaven, Robbie Rogers, Chad Marshall

FC Dallas v. Real Salt Lake
FCD: Brek Shea, Heath Pearce, Jeff Cunningham, Dax McCarty
RSL: Nick Rimando, Kyle Beckerman, Robbie Findley,

Seattle Sounders v. Los Angeles Galaxy
SEA: none (Brad Evans is still recovering from injury)
LAG: Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle, Omar Gonzalez


I really really really want Wondo to get called up. Who knows, maybe we stop going with the strikers with all the physical skills and just play the guy who can't help but put the ball in the net.

No comments about Gooch laying the smackdown on that gumpy forward at milan?

Yeeahhhhhhh he did (nevermind the second paragraph)

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soc...=soccerinsider

D.C. United's Andy Najar turns down Honduras national team call-up for friendly vs. Panama

D.C. United's Andy Najar, the MLS rookie of the year, has turned down an offer to join the Honduras national team for a Nov. 17 friendly against Panama, his agent confirmed to the Insider.

The decision does not mean he has chosen to wait for U.S. citizenship and play in the American system. "Even if he had been interested, the timing was bad," said agent Chris Megaloudis, citing Najar's plans to travel to Toronto ahead of MLS Cup for league festivities and his schedule with a tutor in pursuit of a high school equivalency diploma.

Yeah I saw that, would be awesome if Najar chose us. It's always impossible to know how a 17 year old is going to pan out but he has so much potential.

Also, it's great for the National team that Edu and Holden are both starting every game now.

Stak - wouldn't it be awesome if he played for Honduras because he basically is Honduran?

Rossi is as American as Najar is Honduran and he chose Italy.

Deco is as Brazilian...and he chose Portugal.

And on and on and on we can all name plenty.

Najar at a relatively young age came to America for a better life. Now it's where he and his parents are living, and he's being trained. If he decides that he identifies with America and wants to play for the USMNT (or just, as so many others have done, make a soccer decision for a much better chance of playing in a WC etc.), I have no problems with it.

Unless we want to change the rules and say Deco had to play for Brazil and Rossi for us and Hargreaves for Canada and on and on, I have absolutely no problem with Najar playing for us, and welcome him in.