It's not that we want goals in a specific way, it's that we understand that goals come to be in a process much more complicated than the last strike of the ball. Poachers are valued less because they contributed less value.

That's not to say that poachers don't get underrated way too often and way too much, though. As an elite poacher being in the right place at the right time is a skill in and off itself. Or making the runs that pull defenders OOP so your teammates have the space to shine and score a non-poached 'more valued' goal.

Off the ball stuff is naturally going to get underrated, because most fans watch only what's happening on the ball.

LOL klose sucks...

But yeah that's mostly right. It's important to note that Wondo is none of those things.

Very true, this is all just a narrow reaction to that odd chart.

I know nothing about Wondo. Not a surprise, since googling him reveals that he spent his entire career in the MLS. So, I guess it's safe to assume that he can't even hold a matchstick to Klose, much less a candle.

Wondo is this cycle's Hercules Gomez. He's a guy who nobody thought would get here. But it's awesome to hope he does well because he busted his ass to make it after he was overlooked even though he's scored 80 goals for his club in the last 5 years. He can put the ball in the net when he gets in position. But so can Aron and Jozy and they offer far more up top than Wondo. Still, I expect to see him on the pitch before it's over. It just seems destined to happen.

And yes, he doesn't deserve to be in the same sentence with Klose.

Wondo is also one of those guys who just seems to find himself inexplicably open. Like he goes invisible to defenses for a second or so at a time. A better German to compare him with would be a Muller fully admitting Wondo is nowhere near his level, just speaking to that one specific attribute. Obv that says more about Muller's ability to find open pockets and score goals even from MF but Wondo has that same sense of space. It's just tough to predict whether that will be valuable in a World Cup when defenses are focused beyond belief rather than against Chivas USA on a Wednesday in August or against Mexico in a friendly nobody really cares about.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/s...the-world-cup/

Was where I got that photo from.

And while it includes the Gold Cup, there are plenty of games he didn't play in.

Does anyone know why Lee Nguyen wasn't in the 30 man squad? Maybe the best MFer in the MLS. Very underrated player IMO.

Never hear him mentioned IRT to USMNT for some reason. Wiki says his last US appearance was 2007, LOL.

May be the best MFer in the MLS? Come on now. The answer to that question is easy, and it's not Nguyen

But it is someone on the 23!

Best MF is Bradley obviously, Cahill is close. You know what I mean. Point is he is way too good not to have had an appearance since 2007. Was it a personal decision?

Surprised that no one has decided that a tap in from 3 yards today doesn't prove Landy should be on the plane.

I've been touting Lee Nguyen for the national team for more than a year fwiw. One of the best players in MLS, would immediately be the US's ~2nd best field player.

Scored twice and got an assist.

It's all stupid, Landy still great, but whatever, it is what it is. Anyone that thinks Wondo is better is dumb.

You mean the Philadelphia Union aren't going to be as strong as Ghana, Portugal, and Germany? Damn

What are you guys looking for in the friendly vs Azerbaijan tomorrow? I'm probably going to the game and will be trying to fake like I know what I'm talking about.

it's embarrassing how little I know about Azerbaijan.





I'm mostly aware of Azerbaijan because the country is somehow a sponsor of Atletico Madrid? That seems weird, but I just checked Atletico's website and it cleared things up: "Much more than a sponsorship: The link between Azerbaijan and Atletico Madrid has a tremendous value, as the tool to achieve important goals, through actions of a different nature."

I think that's all I know. The SPI has them ranked behind Benin, which is a new noun to me and if you had made me guess "does the word Benin refer to a) an Adobe font, b) an african country, c) a banana republic khaki, d) a pepperidge farm cookie," then the only thing I would have got right is that all four were ranked ahead Canada.

The scouting report on Azerbaijan is that the back line can be confused by crowd support and flash photography but that their front line has developed overwhelming quad strength through a career of squat toilets.

Good question, really tough to say what Jurgen's gonna do.

I'm mostly going to be watching for wtf we're going to do at RB/LB. I'm interested in where FJ plays (if he does, he's been playing a lot of RB lately) but has also played LB and LW for us.

Also whether Cameron/Chandler/other will be playing RB, or if Cameron gets a run at CB.

It's tough to say what he has planned though. He could (probably will) put out a lineup that has very little to do with what he's planning against Ghana ultimately.

I'm looking most at the lineup, especially the back 4.

Agreed, but I think a back four with Brooks, Yedlin, etc. is possible. Basically, his lineup may either shed a lot of light on his Ghana-plans or no light at all depending on how he intends to handle these 3 friendlies.

Also, obv looking for Julian Green GOAT sightings.

How about anyone who thinks they know more about what happened than JK based on two quotes from BH players who got excluded?

It's not like JK is some unknowable entity.

I mean, as far as "why Wondo" I'm completely with you, but "why not Landon?" has plenty of obvious answers even apart from "Jurgen hates him."

On the flip side, I think it's a justifiable stance to hold that none of those reasons would be sufficient to leave him off the plane without the "Jurgen hates him" piece. (Especially given the value of the current allocation of the last three slots, which is where the specific player comparisons come into play.) Arguing the correctness of this stance gets into a thorny, mostly unresolvable debate weighing a bunch of different subjective pieces, but it's a stance I hold strongly.

Anyway, this is ground that's been tread before, but I think Bobbo's opinion is v likely to be based on a correct reading of the situation, and so it doesn't make sense to me to dismiss it.