US v. Netherlands: Impressions? (Spoilers!!)

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US v. Netherlands: Impressions? (Spoilers!!)

Post by RobVarak »

Anyone have any thoughts?
<BR>
<BR>The first half was just miserable, but things understandably picked up when DMB and Mathis were in the side.
<BR>
<BR>I thought the Dutch actually looked a bit tentative at times. They had consistent success beating the US 1 v 1 (especially Hejduk), but were SOOOO deliberate in their build-up that I thought they may have cost themselves some opportunities.
<BR>
<BR>
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US v. Netherlands: Impressions? (Spoilers!!)

Post by JRod »

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<BR>On 2004-02-18 22:00, RobVarak wrote:
<BR>Anyone have any thoughts?
<BR>
<BR>The first half was just miserable, but things understandably picked up when DMB and Mathis were in the side.
<BR>
<BR>I thought the Dutch actually looked a bit tentative at times. They had consistent success beating the US 1 v 1 (especially Hejduk), but were SOOOO deliberate in their build-up that I thought they may have cost themselves some opportunities.
<BR>
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<BR>
<BR>I didn´t know Dave Matthews Band suited up for this game. <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_razz.gif">
<BR>
<BR>Well I think the score bodes well for the US men. Let´s face some facts here, the US men aren´t slouches but they aren´t in the league of Holland (who is probably not in the top 5 in europe but maybe definately top ten). this was a good showing.
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US v. Netherlands: Impressions? (Spoilers!!)

Post by Jared »

US had major problems keeping possession in the first half. That´s necessary if you want to play against world class sides. But the team defending was solid all game. Only player on defense that had a bad game was Hejduk (who was beat consistently...we need a new wing back to take his place).
<BR>
<BR>Good to see the spark from Convey and DMB, though they both need to work on their finishing. Donovan and McBride were uninvolved and needed to get more touches...but it´s tough to get the ball to the front line when you don´t have possession. We could have done better with possession and finishing, but I´m happy with the way our defense played.
<BR>
<BR>(And Gibbs looks solid...hopefully he´ll be in the mix for future friendlies/qualifiers.)
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US v. Netherlands: Impressions? (Spoilers!!)

Post by pk500 »

A few observations, totally extemporaneous:
<BR>
<BR>1. Hejduk played poorly. He was turned like a turnstile on the Dutch goal and committed way too many turnovers.
<BR>
<BR>2. Gibbs looked good for the U.S. Like Jared said, hope he gets more minutes.
<BR>
<BR>3. Convey played very well. Very active, but needs to finish better. Beasley also gave the U.S. a lift, but his finishing sucked, too.
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<BR>4. Donovan was missing in action. The guy was no factor, but it´s hard to make an impact without service. Mathis also was quiet.
<BR>
<BR>5. Reyna is the only player in the U.S. midfield who is capable of providing regular service to the strikers. That situation needs to be addressed somehow.
<BR>
<BR>6. Man, the Dutch played an incredibly dull brand of soccer. The deliberate buildup was snooze-inducing. This was not a game to show to someone curious about exciting football.
<BR>
<BR>7. Those who whisper that Jaap Stam isn´t one of the top three defenders in the world anymore are nuts. He´s every bit as good as Rio Ferdinand and arguably in Maldini´s class, too.
<BR>
<BR>8. How the hell can FIFA rank The Netherlands No. 4 in the world when the team didn´t even qualify for World Cup 2002? I know it was two years ago, but I don´t even think the Dutch are the fourth-best team in Europe, let alone the world. I´d put France, England, Italy, Germany and maybe Turkey ahead of The Netherlands.
<BR>
<BR>9. The new unis are hideous. The numbers on the front of the shirt look like bad European road signs. Typical Nike bullshit in which its attempts to be stylish and hip look stupid. The design of the names on the back of the shirts is a blatant ripoff of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey jerseys. Sadly, this is the new Nike soccer shirt pattern, as the Dutch had the same number scheme on their shirts.
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<BR>10. Rob Stone gets on my nerves. He´s way too much of a homer. I know this is the U.S. national team on a U.S. network, but Stone overhyped the U.S. performance and rarely acknowledged the Dutch at all.
<BR>
<BR>11. No way Van Nistelrooy is a better striker than Thierry Henry. Van Nistelrooy is an offside poacher who is strong on the ball in the box and has great finishing skills. But he has nowhere near the creative skills with the ball as Henry, in my opinion.
<BR>
<BR>In summary, a dull match. I´m always happy to see the U.S. national team play, especially against a decent European side, but the average English Premiership or Argentine League match has way more action than this match.
<BR>
<BR>Take care,
<BR>PK<BR><BR><font size=1>[ This message was edited by: pk500 on 19-02-2004 00:46 ]</font>
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US v. Netherlands: Impressions? (Spoilers!!)

Post by Naples39 »

I saw the game too and pretty much agree with everything that has been said.
<BR>
<BR>I was dissapointed by how boring the game was, especially the first half. Also dissapointed Mathis didn´t start because McBride was pretty awful. Sure he didn´t get any service, but almost every time he touched the ball in an attempted build up he passed the ball right to the dutch.
<BR>
<BR>As a matter of fact, the whole US team looked out of sync. I expected the US to stay organized on D, then try the quick counter game with Donovan and Convey, but they couldn´t get ANYTHING going, as Donovan was totally MIA. Even Convey, who had a energetic game making a number of good runs, had trouble connecting with his teammates. I think he is right on the cusp of being a great player. A lot of the time he´d make one great touch but then loose the ball on the double-team. He´s only 20, so just a little more polish and he could be money.
<BR>
<BR>Thank god for Reyna. The only guy we had today who was in the same class as the dutch. Also, let´s hope that´s the last we see of Hejduk in big internationals. He was Robben´s b*tch the whole game, and it was conceivable that if we had a better RB we could have kept the Dutch of the scoresheet (not to take anything away from Robben´s goal which was very well taken).
<BR>
<BR>EDIT: One other thing. Thank god for Gibbs. If he can consistently perform like that and give us the luxury of putting Bocanegra at LB instead of CB, that would fill a big hole for the US squad. As was mentioned though, not sure what Gibbs was thinking backing off on the Robben goal...<BR><BR><font size=1>[ This message was edited by: Naples39 on 19-02-2004 07:59 ]</font>
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US v. Netherlands: Impressions? (Spoilers!!)

Post by TheMightyPuck »

1. The false messiah was a dud. 2. It wasn´t the Dutch´s fault that the USA played really negative. Hell, a girl could get pregnant defending that deep. 3. The aptly named Dick Advocat can lick my aptly named balls--did you hear his quote about being bummed that they weren´t playing a worthy opponent like Germany. 4. Hey!!! Duck!!! 5. At least we didn´t get beat like our U-23s did in o limp dick qualifying. 6. Robben´s dad said he would shoot his son rather than see him play for Chelsea so he can just f**ck right off. 7. Same for Rosicky--grrrrrrrr. 8. Henry has blistering pace and can set up goals; Ruud is a poacher--so what, you can´t ignore his record of scoring massive amounts of goals. 9. Can we please win something. I´m stuck playing PES3 on 2 stars just to f**ck up the Dutch. It´s like porn--good in its own right but it ain´t the real thing. 10. Siberian Huskies are the coolest dogs ever <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_wink.gif">

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US v. Netherlands: Impressions? (Spoilers!!)

Post by pigpen81 »

Guys, you have to remember that this was the 1st time we have been together in a long while.
<BR>
<BR>Also, many of our players haven´t played competetively since the MLS season ended.
<BR>
<BR>The Dutch have been qualifying for Euro 2004....and destroyed a very good Scotland team in the process.
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<BR>They also have been knee deep in their professional seasons.
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<BR>and until we improve at MF and our CF positions, we are better off playing in a defensive shell and looking to counter.<BR><BR><font size=1>[ This message was edited by: pigpen81 on 19-02-2004 22:03 ]</font>

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US v. Netherlands: Impressions? (Spoilers!!)

Post by RobVarak »

<!-- BBCode Quote Start --><TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
<BR>On 2004-02-19 22:02, pigpen81 wrote:
<BR>and until we improve at MF and our CF positions, we are better off playing in a defensive shell and looking to counter.
<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE><!-- BBCode Quote End -->
<BR>
<BR>That´s 100% accurate, but irritating nonetheless. <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_mad.gif">
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US v. Netherlands: Impressions? (Spoilers!!)

Post by Naples39 »

The out of season excuse for the US doesn´t really apply.
<BR>
<BR>Reyna, Berhalter, Gibbs, Lewis and Keller all are in the middle of their Euro seasons.
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<BR>Mathis, McBride and Bocanegra are all back in game shape after their Euro transfers.
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<BR>Convey, Beasley and Donovan should all be in game shape after playing 3 olympic qualifiers the last few weeks.
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<BR>The only two players who haven´t played since the last MLS season were Armas and Hejduk. Granted this team hasn´t played together in a long time, but they shouldn´t be that rusty.
<BR>
<BR>It is true though that the US possession game simply isn´t good enough to keep up with good Euro teams. The US game plan for the foreseeable future will be to bunker in on defense and rely on the speed and skill of Convey, Donovan, Beasley and Mathis to grab the odd goal.
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