Soccer thread 09/10 (contains spoilers)
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- pk500
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HORRIFIC. That ref should never call a World Cup game again. Edu was onsides and Bradley was raped on the third U.S. goal. How can a person judged as competent on a world level get it so wrong?
That bad call still doesn't erase these facts: The U.S. back four (or three, after the Gomez-Gooch substitution) still is shaky as hell. And who was running the engine room in the central midfield for the first hour?
It seemed like Donovan out wide was the only U.S. midfielder who wanted to assert any control in the first hour. Dempsey's elbows were the most prominent part of his game today, and Bradley seemed timid and ineffective until the switch to the 3-4-3.
Lord, I pray somehow that Algeria can manage a draw with England. That would be an Al Michaels "Do you believe in miracles?" moment.
That bad call still doesn't erase these facts: The U.S. back four (or three, after the Gomez-Gooch substitution) still is shaky as hell. And who was running the engine room in the central midfield for the first hour?
It seemed like Donovan out wide was the only U.S. midfielder who wanted to assert any control in the first hour. Dempsey's elbows were the most prominent part of his game today, and Bradley seemed timid and ineffective until the switch to the 3-4-3.
Lord, I pray somehow that Algeria can manage a draw with England. That would be an Al Michaels "Do you believe in miracles?" moment.
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Has he said what the call was yet? Both the coach and Donovan said after the match he would not tell them the call. After watching the replay numerous times I have yet to figure out exactly what he called. Regardless of how the US played, that call DID matter and cost them the match. Taking away a World Cup goal late in the game for no apparent reason is about as egregious as it comes in the world of sport. FIFA and the ref owe the US an apology. If the US does not make it out of the group stage due to a horrific call it costs the players quite a bit of money according to the performance-based pay scale released before the Cup. The team gets $2.8 million to divide among the players for getting out of the group stage, not to mention they get thousands each for every point in the group stage.
- pk500
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EXACTLY. As much as I hate xenophobia in sport, my wife may have put it best when trying to explain the call: "Honey, everybody around the world hates the U.S."toonarmy wrote:Has he said what the call was yet? Both the coach and Donovan said after the match he would not tell them the call. After watching the replay numerous times I have yet to figure out exactly what he called. Regardless of how the US played, that call DID matter and cost them the match. Taking away a World Cup goal late in the game for no apparent reason is about as egregious as it comes in the world of sport. FIFA and the ref owe the US an apology. If the US does not make it out of the group stage due to a horrific call it costs the players quite a bit of money according to the performance-based pay scale released before the Cup. The team gets $2.8 million to divide among the players for getting out of the group stage, not to mention they get thousands each for every point in the group stage.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
XBL Gamertag: pk4425
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- Naples39
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Great to salvage the result, but calling back the winning goal was shocking. Just indefensible.
Aside from that, and what else can you say, not a good game from Gooch. Caught flatfooted on both Slovenia goals. I also still dont like the Findley selection. Got one or two breaks and both times was afraid to shoot and made harmless passes. Torres also failed to make any impact.
Aside from that, and what else can you say, not a good game from Gooch. Caught flatfooted on both Slovenia goals. I also still dont like the Findley selection. Got one or two breaks and both times was afraid to shoot and made harmless passes. Torres also failed to make any impact.
One of the most pathetic things I see in sport is the blaming the ref syndrome fans tend to do. I can handle bad reffing if it is a matter of missed calls on both sides. I can even handle it if my team gets the short end of the stick due to missed calls. What I cannot handle is blatant favoritism and corruption. I think your wife may be onto something. I am wondering if that ref has an axe to grind with the US and decided to take it out on the pitch. Seriously, it was not just a few isolated bad calls, it was a freaking theme of the match. Even the foreign announcers and commentators were using words such as "nightmare" to describe this guy. Slovenia got carded for about half to a third of the fouls on which they could have easily been carded. The US is a pretty dirty team when it comes to clutching and grabbing away from the ball, but Slovenia took it to a new level. Maybe I am hopelessly biased or something, but what I saw today was an intentional screw job by the ref, not just some incompetent calls. Hope I am wrong.pk500 wrote:EXACTLY. As much as I hate xenophobia in sport, my wife may have put it best when trying to explain the call: "Honey, everybody around the world hates the U.S."toonarmy wrote:Has he said what the call was yet? Both the coach and Donovan said after the match he would not tell them the call. After watching the replay numerous times I have yet to figure out exactly what he called. Regardless of how the US played, that call DID matter and cost them the match. Taking away a World Cup goal late in the game for no apparent reason is about as egregious as it comes in the world of sport. FIFA and the ref owe the US an apology. If the US does not make it out of the group stage due to a horrific call it costs the players quite a bit of money according to the performance-based pay scale released before the Cup. The team gets $2.8 million to divide among the players for getting out of the group stage, not to mention they get thousands each for every point in the group stage.
- ScoopBrady
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Technically the winning goal was not called back. The whistle clearly blew before the goal went in. Not saying it was the right call because I still haven't seen anything worthy of a whistle other than Bradley getting mugged but I knew the goal wouldn't count when it went in because of the whistle.
You can also blame the unimaginative offense and lackadaisical defense for this tie. Still, if Englad wins out and the US wins Wednesday they'll advance.
You can also blame the unimaginative offense and lackadaisical defense for this tie. Still, if Englad wins out and the US wins Wednesday they'll advance.
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My time is water down a drain.
I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait.
My time is water down a drain.