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Started by mgk920, June 19, 2013, 11:50:55 AM

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CNGL-Leudimin

Don't ask me. The Netherlands have taken a revenge from us. And we scored first...
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.


english si

Some of the pitches are awful, and the refs even worse, but it's much much better than South Africa - only Cameroon haven't been playing positive attacking football for at least some of the match.

Only Greece and Cameroon haven't scored, every game has had three goals (Mexico having two stolen by the linesman) or more. No draws (something that would appeal to the US audience).

kurumi

Quote from: on_wisconsin on June 14, 2014, 04:35:00 PM
What do people think of the World Cup early on? Surprisingly little talk of it on here.

"Did you see that ludicrous display last night?"

More seriously, we took over a conference room on Friday and watched the ESP/NED game (1-5, bit of a shocker for Spain). Beautiful header goal that will be in the highlight reel for the entire Cup.

I have money on Deutschland, though.
My first SF/horror short story collection is available: "Young Man, Open Your Winter Eye"

DandyDan

As for the USA, they did well in the Nigeria warm up game, so I have to think they can beat Ghana, which is similar in style.  The best that can happen is if USA beat Ghana and Portugal and Germany draw (something that hasn't happened yet at this World Cup).
MORE FUN THAN HUMANLY THOUGHT POSSIBLE

english si

Quote from: kurumi on June 15, 2014, 03:05:50 PM"Did you see that ludicrous display last night?"
Moss from The IT Crowd: better punditry than ITV (the British network showing half the games, sharing with BBC).

english si

Well, that's how you do try and get a country bothered about soccer!

nexus73

Despite having a German coach, the Americans still can't play an Euro-style quality passing game as seen in the possession time and there is way too much room being left in front of the goal and goalie for some opposing striker to sneak in and score.  Talent-wise the USA team is as good as anyone but they aren't playing well as a team IMO.  They got lucky to get past Ghana.  Given the population and wealth disparity plus the millions of kids who have been hauled to practice and play soccer for decades, we should be beating the Ghanas of the world 10-0.

Oh well, the real 11 on 11 sport here is FOOTBALL!   

Rick 
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

english si

Quote from: nexus73 on June 16, 2014, 09:50:17 PMDespite having a German coach, the Americans still can't play an Euro-style quality passing game as seen in the possession time
They were ahead in under a minute, playing decent enough opposition, and lost their playmaker to injury. Soaking up pressure, as they did in the second half was a sensible tactic in the circumstance. That they could pounce and score a second in response quickly shows that they knew what they were doing. There was a need to win, there wasn't a need to win big: perhaps the first winning side to play a bit cagey and safe in the opening match here, but doing just enough is a common enough tactic. You reduce the effort needed if you aren't bombing forward all the time, you avoid further injuries, you still get three points and you are fresher for next time.

Plus a counter-attacking USA side is good practise for the next two games!
Quoteand there is way too much room being left in front of the goal and goalie for some opposing striker to sneak in and score.
You're holding the attacking players back in the middle third, else they'd be offside. You are giving yourself time to recover from a mistake, and one-on-one against the keeper isn't as easy as it seems. Playing a high line is a sensible tactic and what the USA did was create a wall with their two banks of four being fairly close together. It was breeched on lots of occasions, sure, (mostly on the wing) but they had the time to get back before a shot was sensible or a cross into the box happened.
QuoteTalent-wise the USA team is as good as anyone but they aren't playing well as a team IMO.
IMO they are a team with some decent players, but they play above their weight as they play well as a team. Just because their style isn't Spanish (it's more like a traditional German style, which makes sense) doesn't mean they aren't playing as a team.
QuoteThey got lucky to get past Ghana.
Maybe, 2-1 was a fair result as Ghana didn't do much with the ball - the Ghana of 4 years ago would have won with that possession, but then again the USA wouldn't have given that much possession away if Ghana were actually scoring with it (you'll note that after Ghana equalised, they didn't see anywhere near as much of the ball as the USA stopped letting them have it).
QuoteGiven the population and wealth disparity
But these are nonsense criteria.

Wealth has little to do with it - many the best players in the world grew up in slums in Brazil developing excellent skills as they were playing with cans on crappy surfaces, rather than balls on decent pitches.

And population - Ghana lives football, the US doesn't. Soccer is the 5th sport in the US, but first by a long way in Ghana. Population doesn't matter when people want to play football with their hands, or shoot some hoops, or use bats and sticks to hit balls, rather than have a kick about...
Quoteplus the millions of kids who have been hauled to practice and play soccer for decades
Hauled? don't get much football played at recess or in other non-formal settings then? no kick about with 'jumpers for goalposts'? They may play soccer, but they don't live it, unlike Ghanians.
Quotewe should be beating the Ghanas of the world 10-0.
"Team America - fuck yeah!" view of the world there.

10-0 is rather rare - the other team has to be awful, which Ghana isn't, and your team has to want it. I'm pretty sure that, despite teams like Liechtenstein, Malta, San Marino, Faeroe Islands, Andorra, etc in European qualification for the World Cup, we don't often see them conceding more than 8 (and typically only 5 or 6), even against the Germanys, Englands, Frances and Spains. England-San Marino, which I saw at Wembley (with more than the population of San Marino in the ground) was only 5-0 as England didn't play with much energy as they didn't need to (also, San Marino were given the ball a lot, though they only got through England and into the final third once). OK, these tiny countries are as-rich/more rich than the big ones, but they aren't concede double-digit countries (unlike some Pacific island nations).

Population gives your country strength in depth, if more of your potential squad gets injured before the tournament. Uruguay is a small country, but one that can bring 23 players of decent-enough quality to Brazil: who cares that England left Ashley Cole, Michael Carrick, Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, John Terry, etc at home - all of which have the quality to play in Brazil if there weren't a limited number of places, we're not playing "all your guys verses all of ours", but 11 v 11 with 3 subs.

nexus73

#58
Quote from: english si on June 17, 2014, 06:00:33 AM
Quote from: nexus73 on June 16, 2014, 09:50:17 PMDespite having a German coach, the Americans still can't play an Euro-style quality passing game as seen in the possession time
They were ahead in under a minute, playing decent enough opposition, and lost their playmaker to injury. Soaking up pressure, as they did in the second half was a sensible tactic in the circumstance. That they could pounce and score a second in response quickly shows that they knew what they were doing. There was a need to win, there wasn't a need to win big: perhaps the first winning side to play a bit cagey and safe in the opening match here, but doing just enough is a common enough tactic. You reduce the effort needed if you aren't bombing forward all the time, you avoid further injuries, you still get three points and you are fresher for next time.

Plus a counter-attacking USA side is good practise for the next two games!
Quoteand there is way too much room being left in front of the goal and goalie for some opposing striker to sneak in and score.
You're holding the attacking players back in the middle third, else they'd be offside. You are giving yourself time to recover from a mistake, and one-on-one against the keeper isn't as easy as it seems. Playing a high line is a sensible tactic and what the USA did was create a wall with their two banks of four being fairly close together. It was breeched on lots of occasions, sure, (mostly on the wing) but they had the time to get back before a shot was sensible or a cross into the box happened.
QuoteTalent-wise the USA team is as good as anyone but they aren't playing well as a team IMO.
IMO they are a team with some decent players, but they play above their weight as they play well as a team. Just because their style isn't Spanish (it's more like a traditional German style, which makes sense) doesn't mean they aren't playing as a team.
QuoteThey got lucky to get past Ghana.
Maybe, 2-1 was a fair result as Ghana didn't do much with the ball - the Ghana of 4 years ago would have won with that possession, but then again the USA wouldn't have given that much possession away if Ghana were actually scoring with it (you'll note that after Ghana equalised, they didn't see anywhere near as much of the ball as the USA stopped letting them have it).
QuoteGiven the population and wealth disparity
But these are nonsense criteria.

Wealth has little to do with it - many the best players in the world grew up in slums in Brazil developing excellent skills as they were playing with cans on crappy surfaces, rather than balls on decent pitches.

And population - Ghana lives football, the US doesn't. Soccer is the 5th sport in the US, but first by a long way in Ghana. Population doesn't matter when people want to play football with their hands, or shoot some hoops, or use bats and sticks to hit balls, rather than have a kick about...
Quoteplus the millions of kids who have been hauled to practice and play soccer for decades
Hauled? don't get much football played at recess or in other non-formal settings then? no kick about with 'jumpers for goalposts'? They may play soccer, but they don't live it, unlike Ghanians.
Quotewe should be beating the Ghanas of the world 10-0.
"Team America - fuck yeah!" view of the world there.

10-0 is rather rare - the other team has to be awful, which Ghana isn't, and your team has to want it. I'm pretty sure that, despite teams like Liechtenstein, Malta, San Marino, Faeroe Islands, Andorra, etc in European qualification for the World Cup, we don't often see them conceding more than 8 (and typically only 5 or 6), even against the Germanys, Englands, Frances and Spains. England-San Marino, which I saw at Wembley (with more than the population of San Marino in the ground) was only 5-0 as England didn't play with much energy as they didn't need to (also, San Marino were given the ball a lot, though they only got through England and into the final third once). OK, these tiny countries are as-rich/more rich than the big ones, but they aren't concede double-digit countries (unlike some Pacific island nations).

Population gives your country strength in depth, if more of your potential squad gets injured before the tournament. Uruguay is a small country, but one that can bring 23 players of decent-enough quality to Brazil: who cares that England left Ashley Cole, Michael Carrick, Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, John Terry, etc at home - all of which have the quality to play in Brazil if there weren't a limited number of places, we're not playing "all your guys verses all of ours", but 11 v 11 with 3 subs.

"Team USA" kicks butt in the Olympics.  Notice the other athletic powers chasing us are also Big Nations, not tiny bits of territory which are hard to find on a map with fewer people than Los Angeles County has.   This is hardly "nonsense criteria" as you put it.  We have a ton of high school programs feeding colleges which in their turn feed the pros.  There's more invested in athletics in the USA in one year than the entire GDP of Ghana for a decade.  That's why American teams generally do so well in global competition...we spend the money on it and have lots of people involved!

You lost track of what I said about the space in front of the goal.  I am referring to the American goal.  Having watched Paraguay last year demonstrate such a paragon of perfection for defensive play, the American setup is swiss cheese in comparison.   

Ahead or behind, if a team can maintain possession with quality passing, they will.  The American team did poorly with that.  You think because we got lucky in the last few minutes that the USA can just turn it on.  I beg to differ.  Had the Americans maintained possession with the same grade of play as the Spanish show, Ghana would not have even gotten the goal they did.  By giving the Ghanians all those chances with the ball it was almost inevitable that the African side would score.  They did.  We just got lucky.  In soccer you get several chances to kick or head in the ball but not many of those go in.  Counting on "one last hurrah" is a sure way to turn W's into ties and L's. 

In the end the Americans still show they're not up to snuff with the elites but it could be worse, we could be the Iranians and Nigerians...LOL!  That 0-0 match was the most dismal display of soccer I have seen on the World Cup level.  If so many people in so many nations dedicate their all to playing the game, you would think they would at least learn how to play it properly.  The NFL offers the highest level of play on the planet and even the weakest team can beat the strongest team on any given Sunday due to the structured-in parity.  Soccer?  Not so much even with the rest of the world being entranced with and invested in the game.

Rick

US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

english si

Quote from: nexus73 on June 17, 2014, 03:19:32 PM"Team USA" kicks butt in the Olympics.  Notice the other athletic powers chasing us are also Big Nations, not tiny bits of territory which are hard to find on a map with fewer people than Los Angeles County has. This is hardly "nonsense criteria" as you put it.
It is for soccer, where there's a global network of talent scouts and a ton of money spread across the world.
QuoteWe have a ton of high school programs feeding colleges which in their turn feed the pros.
Really, you still keep the American Sports Model for Soccer? You don't do club academies, etc?

Sure, the USA might have better facilities for training and a larger population, but that leaves out the fact that we're talking about a nation where soccer is only just starting to break into the big time, due to other sports dominating, and a nation where it is basically the only sport and is well established.

QuoteYou lost track of what I said about the space in front of the goal.  I am referring to the American goal.
So was I - you want that chuffing space between the goal and the defence, you want to not have much space between defence and midfield, so the gap between them cannot be exploited by 'hole' players and you have time to deal with attacks. You make a wall of players and you try to stop the other team's players getting through, and if they do, several players can get back and defend in the time you have before the shot gets off (plus the keeper is given breathing room to deal with shots).

Yes the USA weren't amazing at this, but they were reasonably good at it, forcing Ghana to attack along the wings and make crosses into a well defended box, rather than being able to run past them and have some decent chances. See this from The Guardian:
    But while Beasley was stretched at times, and occasionally needed interventions from the players around him, he was far from carried by those players — if anything he consistently reminded them of one of the macro strategies teams should remember when facing Ghana: if you can isolate the supply through the middle to Gyan, and force them out wide to deliver their crosses, they can be frustrated.

    Atsu at first looked confident as he ran at Beasley, then gradually looked puzzled as he was repeatedly forced wide then back inside to deliver balls into the box that the USA defence were able to deal with fairly comfortably.

    Eventually it was Atsu rather than Beasley who was subbed out. Ghana had sent in 30 crosses, mostly from areas the USA would have chosen as the least worst option. Atsu may have repeatedly run at Beasley, but he rarely ran past him.
QuoteAhead or behind, if a team can maintain possession with quality passing, they will.
And likewise quality teams can let the other team hold possession and not mind. These tactics against flowing attacking play can work very very well, as Chelsea know to both its joy (getting to Champions League Final in 2012, their away games against big Premier League clubs this season just gone) and it's annoyance (West Ham this year, with their 'bus').

Add to it that you didn't want more injuries nor needed to score another goal until the wall was finally breached, the let-them-have-possession-that-amounts-to-nothing tactics of the second half made sense for the Americans.

(Possession means nothing - I once saw Arsenal play a decent Roma side in Rome. OK, they had Thierry Henry at his peak, but with 30% possession, they won 3-0 as they simply were happy to let Roma kick the ball about but only threaten the goal on Arsenal's own terms, and pounce maybe 5 or 6 times, getting decent opportunities to score with each counterattack).
QuoteThe American team did poorly with that.
They played it right, kept it pretty tight, didn't worry about possession stats, and got the only stat that mattered - 3 points.
QuoteYou think because we got lucky in the last few minutes that the USA can just turn it on.  I beg to differ.
That they scored (it was hardly lucky but reliant on the tactical substitution made a couple of minutes before conceding, and the change in tactics made after conceding) shows they could just turn it on against Ghana. They only did when the needed to, and that's what is upsetting you - they didn't care about looking dominant.
QuoteHad the Americans maintained possession with the same grade of play as the Spanish show
You'd have ended up losing 5-1 ;)
OK, Ghana aren't the Netherlands, but the USA aren't Spain either. In both cases, roughly the same teams as narrowly lost 4 years ago won this time around.

You seem obsessed with Spain being the paragon of how to play football - they aren't, at least some of the time those tactics are wrong - they would have been against Ghana.
QuoteGhana would not have even gotten the goal they did.
No, Ghana would have been able to exploit it when you conceded possession, like you did successfully against them.

I guess they'd have not got the goal they did as Gyan would have run down the middle a couple of times and get a few shots in, playing to their strength...
QuoteBy giving the Ghanians all those chances with the ball it was almost inevitable that the African side would score.
Yes and no - you gave them chances, but not good ones.

Tactically the USA got it right, even if they were far from perfect in the execution of those tactics.
QuoteIn soccer you get several chances to kick or head in the ball but not many of those go in.
Only if the chances aren't good - like the ones you gave them, rather than like the one they let you have after conceding.
QuoteCounting on "one last hurrah" is a sure way to turn W's into ties and L's.
Yes relying on one last hurrah is bad, but you were one goal up for 80+ minutes and weren't relying on it until the last 8 minutes.

If Ghana had scored at 63 minutes, and the USA retook the lead 4 minutes after that, rather than all that happening 20 minutes nearer the end of the match, we'd not be talking about it being a last hurrah, would we?

nexus73

Well English Si, you make some good points.  Unfortunately soccer games don't have that many of 'em...LOL!  Today's matches I saw were Mexico-Brazil (0-0) and Russia-South Korea (1-1) and both were well-played.  I really appreciated the discipline of play shown by the Russians and Koreans and wish the Americans did the same. 

As we saw in the NBA Finals, the greatest player is not going to get the trophy, it will be the greatest team and San Antonio schooled the Heat as a result.  That's the kind of quality of play I want to see from all teams but very few deliver the goods despite the huge investment of money, time and energy.

The American who scored the first goal so quickly against Ghana was a tremendous 1 on 1 (or more) player but if he had been playing football or basketball, he would have been getting fed the ball lots to see him do it over and over and over again until the other side showed they could stop him.  His injury was just a broken nose.  In American football that doesn't even come close to being "injured".  Since he was nonproductive the rest of the way I wonder if this player is just a weakling or if the coach is afraid to play his trumps? 

No wonder the Germans lost two World Wars...LOL!  They showed the same mentality at Bastogne when six of their divisions had the 101st Airborne and one artillery brigade surrounded.  Time was short, the Germans needed to get to the fuel dumps behind the Allied lines ASAP and all the Germans could do was push one division at a time at the Americans.   The 101st held, the skies cleared, our bombers and ground attack aircraft got into the battle, the Germans ran out of fuel and the 1944 Ardennes winter offensive collapsed all because of overly cautious play.  That is NOT the American way!   

Anyways, thank you for an enlightened discussion of sports.  It has been a pleasure to do so :-)

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

DandyDan

Quote from: nexus73 on June 17, 2014, 09:33:17 PM
The American who scored the first goal so quickly against Ghana was a tremendous 1 on 1 (or more) player but if he had been playing football or basketball, he would have been getting fed the ball lots to see him do it over and over and over again until the other side showed they could stop him.  His injury was just a broken nose.  In American football that doesn't even come close to being "injured".  Since he was nonproductive the rest of the way I wonder if this player is just a weakling or if the coach is afraid to play his trumps? 
Rick

Clint Dempsey is most definitely not a weakling.  Comparing soccer to American football is stupid, too.  Having a broken nose may not be being "injured", but it most definitely hurts and I would think breathing properly is a prerequisite to playing professional sports at its highest level.

As for Spain, what in the world happened to them?  Did they all get old at once?
MORE FUN THAN HUMANLY THOUGHT POSSIBLE

realjd

Quote from: nexus73 on June 17, 2014, 09:33:17 PM
Well English Si, you make some good points.  Unfortunately soccer games don't have that many of 'em...LOL!  Today's matches I saw were Mexico-Brazil (0-0) and Russia-South Korea (1-1) and both were well-played.  I really appreciated the discipline of play shown by the Russians and Koreans and wish the Americans did the same. 

That Mexico-Brazil was one of the most exciting so far IMO. It was very different from the Iran-Nigeria 0-0 snoozefest.

Quote
The American who scored the first goal so quickly against Ghana was a tremendous 1 on 1 (or more) player but if he had been playing football or basketball, he would have been getting fed the ball lots to see him do it over and over and over again until the other side showed they could stop him.  His injury was just a broken nose.  In American football that doesn't even come close to being "injured".  Since he was nonproductive the rest of the way I wonder if this player is just a weakling or if the coach is afraid to play his trumps? 

And in soccer it didn't come close to being "injured" either. Notice how he wasn't subbed out and kept playing the rest of the game? I fail to see how his playing out the rest of the game with a broken nose makes him a "weakling" as you put it. And you rarely see a broken nose in American football because the players are covered up with pads and a helmet.

The reason he wasn't fed the ball over and over is that the US changed tactics. Of course a forward isn't going to see as much action if the team is playing in a defensive posture.

english si

Quote from: realjd on June 19, 2014, 01:08:51 PM
That Mexico-Brazil was one of the most exciting so far IMO. It was very different from the Iran-Nigeria 0-0 snoozefest.

And in soccer it didn't come close to being "injured" either. Notice how he wasn't subbed out and kept playing the rest of the game? I fail to see how his playing out the rest of the game with a broken nose makes him a "weakling" as you put it. And you rarely see a broken nose in American football because the players are covered up with pads and a helmet.

The reason he wasn't fed the ball over and over is that the US changed tactics. Of course a forward isn't going to see as much action if the team is playing in a defensive posture.

Quote from: DandyDan on June 19, 2014, 12:36:15 AMAs for Spain, what in the world happened to them?  Did they all get old at once?
Most of the team are around their peak age - only 2 are over 30, and they aren't kids no more.

Maybe their long Champions League runs/Spanish Cups Runs/etc caught up with them? especially as the top Spanish players have them every season. That's often an English excuse when our players look tired, and the one the British TV pundits were using. Thierry Henry said that season after season of 50-game seasons do wear you out come the summer.

But the non-Spanish players who play for Madrid teams/Barca/etc haven't had this (just as the non-English players who played for top English sides didn't have it in 2010 when pundits used that as an excuse, and were called out on it). OK, you can add in the World Cup, Euros and Confederations Cup runs in the summers of 2010, 2012 and 2013, but...

CNGL-Leudimin

Yeah, Spain is now out of the World Cup, and the match against Australia isn't going to be interesting either. At least it brings good news to me, as media won't be filled up with (Association) football...
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.

english si

Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on June 19, 2014, 04:27:24 PMYeah, Spain is now out of the World Cup, and the match against Australia isn't going to be interesting either.
Spain have been pretty boring, and now they are out, losing to Australia (as they will, given how the Socceroos have been unlucky to lose both their games, where as Spain have been far the weaker side) won't be interesting.

Plus Cahioill is suspended, so no more of his flashes of brilliance.

nexus73

Quote from: realjd on June 19, 2014, 01:08:51 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on June 17, 2014, 09:33:17 PM
Well English Si, you make some good points.  Unfortunately soccer games don't have that many of 'em...LOL!  Today's matches I saw were Mexico-Brazil (0-0) and Russia-South Korea (1-1) and both were well-played.  I really appreciated the discipline of play shown by the Russians and Koreans and wish the Americans did the same. 

That Mexico-Brazil was one of the most exciting so far IMO. It was very different from the Iran-Nigeria 0-0 snoozefest.

Quote
The American who scored the first goal so quickly against Ghana was a tremendous 1 on 1 (or more) player but if he had been playing football or basketball, he would have been getting fed the ball lots to see him do it over and over and over again until the other side showed they could stop him.  His injury was just a broken nose.  In American football that doesn't even come close to being "injured".  Since he was nonproductive the rest of the way I wonder if this player is just a weakling or if the coach is afraid to play his trumps? 

And in soccer it didn't come close to being "injured" either. Notice how he wasn't subbed out and kept playing the rest of the game? I fail to see how his playing out the rest of the game with a broken nose makes him a "weakling" as you put it. And you rarely see a broken nose in American football because the players are covered up with pads and a helmet.

The reason he wasn't fed the ball over and over is that the US changed tactics. Of course a forward isn't going to see as much action if the team is playing in a defensive posture.

Parse my words more carefully please.

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

realjd

Quote from: nexus73 on June 20, 2014, 01:09:49 AM
Quote from: realjd on June 19, 2014, 01:08:51 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on June 17, 2014, 09:33:17 PM
Well English Si, you make some good points.  Unfortunately soccer games don't have that many of 'em...LOL!  Today's matches I saw were Mexico-Brazil (0-0) and Russia-South Korea (1-1) and both were well-played.  I really appreciated the discipline of play shown by the Russians and Koreans and wish the Americans did the same. 

That Mexico-Brazil was one of the most exciting so far IMO. It was very different from the Iran-Nigeria 0-0 snoozefest.

Quote
The American who scored the first goal so quickly against Ghana was a tremendous 1 on 1 (or more) player but if he had been playing football or basketball, he would have been getting fed the ball lots to see him do it over and over and over again until the other side showed they could stop him.  His injury was just a broken nose.  In American football that doesn't even come close to being "injured".  Since he was nonproductive the rest of the way I wonder if this player is just a weakling or if the coach is afraid to play his trumps? 

And in soccer it didn't come close to being "injured" either. Notice how he wasn't subbed out and kept playing the rest of the game? I fail to see how his playing out the rest of the game with a broken nose makes him a "weakling" as you put it. And you rarely see a broken nose in American football because the players are covered up with pads and a helmet.

The reason he wasn't fed the ball over and over is that the US changed tactics. Of course a forward isn't going to see as much action if the team is playing in a defensive posture.

Parse my words more carefully please.

Rick

Reading it again, what did I get wrong? I agreed with you in the first block, disagreed in the second.

nexus73

Here's your clue:

"Since he was nonproductive the rest of the way I wonder if this player is just a weakling or if the coach is afraid to play his trumps?"

If you can't figure it out now I'm sorry to say I can't help you.

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

realjd


Alps

Quote from: nexus73 on June 20, 2014, 09:46:26 AM
Here's your clue:

"Since he was nonproductive the rest of the way I wonder if this player is just a weakling or if the coach is afraid to play his trumps?"

If you can't figure it out now I'm sorry to say I can't help you.

Rick
This type of post is non-productive. Either explain yourself or remain silent. This antagonizes people and will not be tolerated.

nexus73

Quote from: Alps on June 22, 2014, 09:13:33 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on June 20, 2014, 09:46:26 AM
Here's your clue:

"Since he was nonproductive the rest of the way I wonder if this player is just a weakling or if the coach is afraid to play his trumps?"

If you can't figure it out now I'm sorry to say I can't help you.

Rick
This type of post is non-productive. Either explain yourself or remain silent. This antagonizes people and will not be tolerated.

It was a "non-productive" post that showed me the poster didn't grasp what I said that led to me answering the way I did.  Hey, it's sports...LOL! 

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

english si

Quote from: nexus73 on June 20, 2014, 09:46:26 AMIf you can't figure it out now I'm sorry to say I can't help you.
He did, and said in reply
Quote from: realjd on June 19, 2014, 01:08:51 PMThe reason he wasn't fed the ball over and over is that the US changed tactics. Of course a forward isn't going to see as much action if the team is playing in a defensive posture.

US 41

Netherlands won 2-0 over Chile today. Spain won 3-0 over Australia (although that game didn't really matter, both teams are done I believe). Later Brazil plays Camaroon which should be an easy win for Brazil. Mexico and Croatia will probably be the most exciting game today. I will pick Mexico to win (and I hope they do), but if Croatia won I wouldn't be surprised.
Visited States and Provinces:
USA (48)= All of Lower 48
Canada (5)= NB, NS, ON, PEI, QC
Mexico (9)= BCN, BCS, CHIH, COAH, DGO, NL, SON, SIN, TAM

realjd

Quote from: nexus73 on June 23, 2014, 11:33:20 AM
Quote from: Alps on June 22, 2014, 09:13:33 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on June 20, 2014, 09:46:26 AM
Here's your clue:

"Since he was nonproductive the rest of the way I wonder if this player is just a weakling or if the coach is afraid to play his trumps?"

If you can't figure it out now I'm sorry to say I can't help you.

Rick
This type of post is non-productive. Either explain yourself or remain silent. This antagonizes people and will not be tolerated.

It was a "non-productive" post that showed me the poster didn't grasp what I said that led to me answering the way I did.  Hey, it's sports...LOL! 

Rick

I did understand what you were getting at, or so I thought. I just decided it wasn't worth continuing the discussion if you weren't going to try to clarify.

Then I replied with a "Well fuck" after Portugal scored their goal last night.



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