Hope?
- Thread starter HuffyCane
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McKennie looked pretty ho-hum with Schalke last weekend. He actually looked lazy at times during that game. Gio Reyna got in as a sub vs Bayern yesterday. Did some nice things...drew a foul just outside the box that set Dortmund up with a chance. Guy who took the FK drilled it right into Neuer's gut. It was really a poor effort. Dortmund looked dangerous against Bayern and blew a couple of great chances. Bayern looked like Bayern. Dortmund got screwed, IMO, out of what should have been a PK for them. Didn't even appear that VAR got involved at all on what looked like a pretty intentional move to throw an arm in the way of a shot.
I’d like to return to the USA’s best kits from the last 20 years:So NIKE released the new USMNT and USWNT kits over the weekend: My take...whites are classic and clean. The navy blue ones are a hot mess that look like they were designed by 6th graders and the type of kits a youth club would use.
Paraguay. Red sash on white shirt. Looks dope. Our silver on white copy cat thing reeked weak. But Nike so whatever.
How surreal can it keep getting? I just watched Wolfsburg(w/John Brooks) vs Frankfurt(w/Tim Chandler) in an empty stadium in Wolfsburg. Not to worry, they pumped in loud crowd noise including singing, chants & boo-ing. Is this the near future for sporting events in the USA?
At least there isn't any colored smoke bombs, giant flags to obscure the view or anything thrown at the players. Both played well, although a mistake by Brooks on a cross in to the box cost Wolfsburg the match (2/1). Timmy Chandler played well. Got in to the attack & tracked back to help on D.
Either one of these on the MNT would be a plus for leadership & experience,IMO.
Brooks has been error prone the last few games. You wonder if he is hurt or high or out of position trying to cover for a teammate who is either or both.
MLS has been quietly piping censored and somewhat scripted crowd noise and chanting into select telecasts for several years now. Several supporters groups, mainly Hispanic, insist on shouting homophobic and violent cheers that aren’t suitable for television. So they mute them and put in the clean stuff. If you ever wonder why the USMNT hasn’t played lately or less frequently in certain soccer hot bed cities like Houston, Dallas, and Philadelphia, this is one of the reasons why.
In other cases, it’s just marketing, it gets loud in Seattle and Portland, but not that loud. The crowds in both cities do specific songs at specific times every single game. In the case of Portland it’s for a dead little boy. Sometimes you can hear the song on TV at the traditional start time other games you hear loud drums and inaudible chanting. That’s MLS and the networks playing around. It’s better than it used to be. DC would play at home to 2500 people and it would sound like 10,000.
MLS has been quietly piping censored and somewhat scripted crowd noise and chanting into select telecasts for several years now. Several supporters groups, mainly Hispanic, insist on shouting homophobic and violent cheers that aren’t suitable for television. So they mute them and put in the clean stuff. If you ever wonder why the USMNT hasn’t played lately or less frequently in certain soccer hot bed cities like Houston, Dallas, and Philadelphia, this is one of the reasons why.
In other cases, it’s just marketing, it gets loud in Seattle and Portland, but not that loud. The crowds in both cities do specific songs at specific times every single game. In the case of Portland it’s for a dead little boy. Sometimes you can hear the song on TV at the traditional start time other games you hear loud drums and inaudible chanting. That’s MLS and the networks playing around. It’s better than it used to be. DC would play at home to 2500 people and it would sound like 10,000.
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It's for Timber Jim's daughter. She was 17 when her boyfriend fell asleep at the wheel and she died in the accident. He was working a Timbers game when he got the news. Her name was Hannah.
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I've been impressed with Chandler although he is probably past his prime as an international level of player. I don't think he is a center back any more and it looks like he's been playing on the left. He's more athletic and physical than Tim Ream is so right there it would be an upgrade. Knowing the disaster the US backline is I would worry about Chandler venturing too far upfield and not being able to recover quickly enough against a counter like you see Yedlin, Adams, and Cannon capable of doing.
US just needs to kidnap Virgil, brainwash him into thinking he's a different person and a US citizen. We'd be set...except with the impending doom of the GK situation.
I've been entertained by the Bundesliga matches the last few weeks. I'm glad there is some actual sports going on. BUT, and maybe it is just the rust of little training and having a 2 month layoff, you can tell that the level of play in the Bundesliga is not anywhere close to the EPL. Outside of Bayern and Dortmund, I don't think any of the remaining Bundesliga teams would ever be favored in a 2 game aggregate against any of the EPL sides. Quality of passes, quality of 1st touches is just not anywhere close to what you see in EPL.
Every pro team on the planet would gladly kidnap Virgil if they could get away with it. Ha!!
He's just a rock solid player. He's a rare talent TBH but he rarely gets recognized because he's not the volume goal scorer. IMO, he's one of the top 5 players in the world but because he doesn't score goals no one gives him that type of credit. You always hear Ronaldo, Messi, Mbappe, Lewandoski, Neymar when talking best in the world. There's a reason why Liverpool has been the best club team on the planet the last 3 years and it's because that's how long they've had Virgil. They've had the Salah/Mane/Firmino triumvirate up top but getting Van Dijk was the move that put them over the top.
Watched Schalke vs Leverkusen yesterday. McKennie had a really solid game for Schalke. Ended up a 1-1 draw and honestly, neither team had many chances. Schalke's goal came as a result of a PK given and Leverkusen's goal was an OG.
Schalke nearly scored a winner in the 6th minute of injury time on a sweet header. Leverkusen's keeper made a remarkable save against his own momentum.
Schalke nearly scored a winner in the 6th minute of injury time on a sweet header. Leverkusen's keeper made a remarkable save against his own momentum.
How about that screamer early on from McKennie that, unfortunately was right in the gut of the Lev goalie. Just got all of it from about 25 yards out.
Yeah. McKennie was one of the really bright spots in Schalke's conservative attack. Their season has really done a 180 after starting pretty fast. I think they're winless in 2020 and have only scored something like 12 goals in this calendar year (maybe 16-17 matches). Schalke looks content to play out the string and earn single points for draws to stay above the relegation zone. They're 11pts clear with only 3 games remaining so they're safe for this year but they're limping home. So the end of the Bundesliga season should be fun. The top 3 look like they're safe for Champions league and Bayern Munich has all but won the title for the 7th straight year. There is a real race for the 4th UCL spot between Leverkusen and Gladbach (1 pt separates them) with the 5th place finisher ending up in Europa League. The bottom of the table also has some drama. Paderborn is relegated already. Bremen (Josh Sargent's club) and Dusseldorf are tied with 28 pts and 3 pts behind Mainz who dropped points at home to Augsburg. The relegation battle will be interesting and fun to watch.
EPL restarts this week! LFC needs 3 pts in their final few matches to seal the title.
Pulisic scores a goals for Chelsea off the bench today. It tied things up vs Aston Villa. Chelsea eventually scored a later game winner. Pulisic looked really good and healthy. His ability to deliver spot on crosses and passes to set up teammates is among the best I’ve ever seen from a US player. Good stuff.
Pulisic started today vs Man City and scored the opener for Chelsea. Two City defenders with a miscommunication on who was taking the clearance off a corner and Pulisic basically took it and went 65 yards beating 3 City defenders and slotted a nice shot past Ederson to the far post. Pulisic's burst with the ball at his feet clearly surprised the City defenders.
CP had a chance for a hat-trick after that stunner to give Chelsea the lead. A Man City defender(Walker?) stopped a CP shot literally inches from their goal & then he's in front of the goal & a defender used his hand to keep it out. Thus Willian's PK gives Chelsea the win.
CP's goal was spectacular-surely a candidate for goal of the year. The 21 yr-old is on fire!! Was Bla too modest to say Chelsea's win gives his beloved Liverpudlians the EPL title outright?
CP's goal was spectacular-surely a candidate for goal of the year. The 21 yr-old is on fire!! Was Bla too modest to say Chelsea's win gives his beloved Liverpudlians the EPL title outright?
LFC! LFC! YNWA
BTW, they LFC put together a great montage of clips intertwined with years past and frustrations, to this year's clips with YNWA being sung in the background by some squeaky dude who had recorded it. Montage ended with a high viewpoint shot of Anfield with a setting sun in the background with the normal Anfield crowd finishing YNWA in unison...that part always gives me the chills.
Watching EPL this weekend and the studio crew kept talking about how LFC isn't done yet. They still need to win like 6 of their remaining games to achieve the most wins/pts in a season, are close to the goal record, and one other. They want to erase ManCity from the record books! And to think, they were withing 2 ft 6" from being back to back. (A non goal was only such by about 2" last year that would have given LFC an add'l 2 pts with a win, AND ManCity's late stunning goal from Kompany from 25 yards out with about 8 minutes left in their match with Leicester that ended up sealing things for them, only ended up about 1 ft below the bar and another 1 ft or so inside the post.
CP still on fi-yah! No goals or assists in a 3/2 loss to West Ham but he can still influence a game in so many ways. For example, he charges into the box & gets up-ended. Willian makes the PK to tie. Later, he gets fouled about 18 yards out & once again Willian makes a stellar free kick to tie again. If I was Willian, I would keep CP in steak & fine wine for setting him up with all those goals.
Forgot to mention-2 goals & 2 assists in 3 & 2/3rd's matches since the restart. Oh, and Man of the Match in the 3 full games he's played in. Can you say Eden Hazard?
Forgot to mention-2 goals & 2 assists in 3 & 2/3rd's matches since the restart. Oh, and Man of the Match in the 3 full games he's played in. Can you say Eden Hazard?
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"The more things change, the more they stay........". CP gets body blocked in the box & you know who makes the PK vs Watford in a 3-0 win Saturday. Question. Does a PK call in the box get someone an assist if kick is made? I doubt it but would like to know.
from "the pride of London" website: "Man of the Match" once again despite not getting on the scoresheet. Pulisic's skill and ability on the ball are second to none on this Chelsea team". They are also raving about CP's ability off the ball to charge into the box looking for rebounds after shots or crosses. Well, duh!! We've known about his constant charging the net for years now. Welcome to the game of Christian Pulisic, England. And to top it off, Chelsea fans will be pleased to know that CP is constantly working on his technique & will only get better.
from "the pride of London" website: "Man of the Match" once again despite not getting on the scoresheet. Pulisic's skill and ability on the ball are second to none on this Chelsea team". They are also raving about CP's ability off the ball to charge into the box looking for rebounds after shots or crosses. Well, duh!! We've known about his constant charging the net for years now. Welcome to the game of Christian Pulisic, England. And to top it off, Chelsea fans will be pleased to know that CP is constantly working on his technique & will only get better.
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The NBS Sports pbp guy said Pulisic was the best player on the field the other day. When healthy, he is simply too much for one defender to handle. His pace, his touch, his delivery are all spot on and Chelsea is now reaping the benefits of a fully healthy CP.
Let’s hope the US gets to see some fully healthy CP when it comes to the qualifying cycle.
Let’s hope the US gets to see some fully healthy CP when it comes to the qualifying cycle.
Not bored. My son has been working out with Bryan Byars (FC Tulsa GK) and he and I were talking about Pulisic just yesterday. He said the same thing I said, when healthy Pulisic is in the top 10 players in the world. He continues to make Chelsea dangerous on the attack and with Chelsea adding Timo Werner, they'll be that much better next year.
Pulisic with a world class service to Giroud for Chelsea's 1-0 lead at the half against Norwich City. He also had a spectacular turn on the ball for a rocket shot that the keeper made a great save on.
Beerhalter needs to find some players to go with him. Out with Altidore and Bradley. Let's find a 6 who can not only defend but also hold the ball and pick out a runner moving forward.
That said there's a 17 year old kid who started for LA Galaxy last night. Fast, good feet. He's tiny though, 5'6" 123 lbs. He needs to put on some muscle or he's going to get beat on.
Beerhalter needs to find some players to go with him. Out with Altidore and Bradley. Let's find a 6 who can not only defend but also hold the ball and pick out a runner moving forward.
That said there's a 17 year old kid who started for LA Galaxy last night. Fast, good feet. He's tiny though, 5'6" 123 lbs. He needs to put on some muscle or he's going to get beat on.
I have always seen McKennie as an aggressive 6. The big question with him will be whether or not he wants to do that level of work required on the defensive end.
Not sure what Lampard is thinking but Pulisic is not in the starting XI for a match vs Liverpool today with UCL on the line.
And what does everyone think of the possibility of Ayo Akinola for USMNT? Apparently has a choice to make in terms of national side between the US, Canada, and Nigeria.
And what does everyone think of the possibility of Ayo Akinola for USMNT? Apparently has a choice to make in terms of national side between the US, Canada, and Nigeria.
Amen to that! Finally, after 61 minutes of futility, CP and Tammy come in. In less than 2 minutes, CP cuts through the Liverpool defense like a knife through buttah, slots a ball to Abraham for a tap-in, 4-2 Liverpool. 11 minutes later, CP does his thing to a defender & it's 4-3. It gets rather exciting then but L'pool scores again to make the final 5-3 & all Liverpool is currently celebrating their EPL championship.
A goal & assist ain't bad for 30 minutes work. Chelsea must get at least a point in their last game vs Wolves to gain Champions League next season. Frankie, not being a total idiot, will most certainly start CP in that last game of the season for Chelsea
Here's some musings from Beer?halter on MNT call-ups(whenever that will be). Young Reyna,Sargent,CP, but no mention of Adams or McKennie. The usual suspects such as Morris, Zardes, Lllettgettt, Yeuill and some guy named Aronson. Nagbe but Beer?halter isn't sure about him. He's apparently soured on Ream,Dest & Lovitz at left-back(halleluljah!) but mentioned no one to fill that spot.
Amen to that! Finally, after 61 minutes of futility, CP and Tammy come in. In less than 2 minutes, CP cuts through the Liverpool defense like a knife through buttah, slots a ball to Abraham for a tap-in, 4-2 Liverpool. 11 minutes later, CP does his thing to a defender & it's 4-3. It gets rather exciting then but L'pool scores again to make the final 5-3 & all Liverpool is currently celebrating their EPL championship.
A goal & assist ain't bad for 30 minutes work. Chelsea must get at least a point in their last game vs Wolves to gain Champions League next season. Frankie, not being a total idiot, will most certainly start CP in that last game of the season for Chelsea
Here's some musings from Beer?halter on MNT call-ups(whenever that will be). Young Reyna,Sargent,CP, but no mention of Adams or McKennie. The usual suspects such as Morris, Zardes, Lllettgettt, Yeuill and some guy named Aronson. Nagbe but Beer?halter isn't sure about him. He's apparently soured on Ream,Dest & Lovitz at left-back(halleluljah!) but mentioned no one to fill that spot.
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Yeah, I had a meeting for the start of the 2nd half so I didn’t see either of CPs involvements for Chelsea. On the play he assisted to Abraham, Pulisic beat the entire right side of LFCs defense and MF. 6 players he beat, and he was triple teamed at one point and still beat Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, and Gomez. I think Wyjnaldum was in there too and the pass beat the best center back on the planet. I know Lampard has a love affair with Mason Mount going on but Mount is nowhere near the player Pulisic is.
As for the rest of the USMNT...I’m more sold on Morris in that #9 role. It’s been almost 2 years but it looks like he finally has his speed and fitness back after his ACL tear. I’ve been impressed with his burst in the MLS tournament. Zardes has looked good but Nagbe is making Columbus really work. I’m not sure I’ve seen a ton of other American players that even make me open my eyes a little in the tournament. I will say I’d love if we could somehow make Andre Blake an American citizen. Dude’s a stud back in the goal.
"Captain America" has the London football crowd, particularly west London if not all of England, absolutely buzzing about his first 15 minutes off the bench vs Liverpool. This kid has done more to further Great Britain/USA relations than a summit with Boris & the Donald.
CP has forced the world of football to respect him & Chelsea fans to love him & it took way less time than many predicted.
"hugely important" when Frankie was asked how key CP will be next season & in the final 3 games to finish up.
CP has forced the world of football to respect him & Chelsea fans to love him & it took way less time than many predicted.
"hugely important" when Frankie was asked how key CP will be next season & in the final 3 games to finish up.
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