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Gold Cup 2019


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3 hours ago, canta15 said:

Can't believe Lovitz is on the team. Never knew he was playing this well

He has been very, very good for the Impact. He was earmarked early on as a player who would fit GB's system.

On one hand, it is funny to see him become a national team regular for the Americans. Really wouldnt have guessed that when he was in Toronto. On the other hand though, you can't say he hasn't earned it. He has taken his game to another level in Montreal. He has developed well and I wouldn't be surprised to see him start a few matches.

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1 hour ago, red card said:

As per most US fans, Lovitz & TFC's latest American OG shouldn't be anywhere near the team. They are limited ceiling players and plus OG has screwed up enough times with the US jersey on. 

So either GB has made poor selections and/or the defender pool for the US is more shallow than it seems. 

Naw, more likely segments of their fanbase are still deluded from the failed WC cycle.

Read the comments on Mlssoccer.com and you'll still see those suffering from what I like to call Bradley-derangment syndrome. Think of it as the Trump-derangement syndrome of the soccer world.

Michael Bradley could score a goal to win the final for the US and someone out there would find fault in it. 

This condition is also most commonly  triggered by Altidore, Gonzalez or anyone else they have decided to arbitrarily pin the T&T loss on. 

Lovitz has mostly played for Montreal & Toronto, which is the bain of MLS for sufferers of Bradley-derangement syndrome. So, he's just guilty by association.  😎

 

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Most of the US fan comments on the mls website or starsandstripes.fc site are barely even mentioning Lovitz - there is far more griping about Bradley, Altidore, Gonzalez and Will Trapp being called and Josh Sargent being left off both the Gold Cup and the U20 World Cup rosters. I think there is more discussion in this thread about Lovitz than in the comments sections of those two websites combined.

I have to say that on paper, looking at all of the 23 man rosters (though I haven't seen Costa Rica or Honduras yet) this looks like a winnable tournament for us - not that we are or will be favoured but its not beyond the realm of possibility to win the thing if we can improve as the tourney goes on and come together as a team by the time we face Mexico the 2nd time in the semis (assuming we get that far).  But the games aren't played on paper and without belabouring the point, we have to learn how to win the do or die games first.

 

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5 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

It must just be to make up practice squad numbers as he was not on the 40 man roster. I guess cheaper to fly in a CPL guy from the west coast since they are already on the coast? I wouldn’t have thought he was the top CPL prospect based on play so far. 

Based on his play so far he is definitely a top prospect. Just because the team isn't topping the table doesn't make him less of a prospect.

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21 hours ago, Obinna said:

For what it's worth, the players have repeatedly said Herdman is big on the details, though I get the sense that's referring to the mental side of the game.

I'm 100% okay with Herdman making us mentally stronger. Look at how we have greatly  UNDER performed, especially away.

0-0 away to El Salvador B-C team in front of an empty stadium last cycle... like common where was that killer instinct, just awful.

I literally could name a handful of results off the top of my head that scream disappointment, and I think the mental side played a huge aspect in that disappointment.

Atiba has always said as a team we lacked mental toughness and mental strength, especially after the 8-1 disaster.

I have been pleased with Herdman's set piece creativity and organization so far. Tactically so far he has been fine. Agree with everyone on here,  a true test will come this competition as we play vs stronger competition. I'm excited.

Edited by apbsmith
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What an opportunity for the young Pacific attacking midfielder to get a chance training with the senior team!

What I have seen of him has been mostly good with Pacific. I would not say he has been a league stand out, but I get the sense watching him that with his talent he has that potential.

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14 hours ago, shamrock said:

But if they were really good, they'd play for the Dutch. 

its a tricky situation to be in because all the World Class talent goes to the netherlands, but the "scraps" are still good. MLS level or above at least I'd argue, and have acquired a better tactical awareness.

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16 minutes ago, LeoH037 said:

Damn, starting to realize just how spoiled we are in attacking talent when seeing that Sargent, Altidore, and Zardes (and occasionally Wood) are the best the Americans can draw from for offensive talent

I think Sargent was overrated and I am not surprised he couldn't keep up the scoring pace at Werder Bremen. His first goal was late in the game off the bench, his second goal was in the same fashion. Eventually the magic was going to end. True that some strikers make a career on being in the right place at the right time, but if the goals dry up you quickly find yourself on the bench and out of the team. 

Contrast that to David, who also started hot before eventually falling off. The difference is that he found a way back in the team, in a slightly different role under a new manager. David is more of a complete player than Sargent and the comments coming out of the US suggest he needs to work on his strength and holding up the ball.

He'll be big for them in the future, but right now I am not shocked to find out Altidore and Zardes are more deserving.

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21 minutes ago, LeoH037 said:

Damn, starting to realize just how spoiled we are in attacking talent when seeing that Sargent, Altidore, and Zardes (and occasionally Wood) are the best the Americans can draw from for offensive talent

We are comparable but not spoiled.  The Americans can have a ton of injuries and still look okay.. if we lose Cav/Larin we are looking at Akindele, Hamilton, AJH, Ricketts etc. 

Our roster looks good because we had the most guys of any country to answer the bell.  To me, that is a win in itself though.  We are hungry. 

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3 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

While I still haven't seen an official CSA announcement about Johnson no longer being on the roster, this list of MLS players called indicates that he is not one of the Orlando players that has been called:

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/06/06/58-mls-players-named-final-rosters-2019-concacaf-gold-cup

 

Just when I thought Johnson was willing to commit to a Gold Cup after dropping out of the last few, he does it again. I confess I am angry and disappointed unless a truly valid reason is given.

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I feel like he was told he wouldn’t get much time and dropped out.  Seems to be a trend with him that he demands to be a key piece or not be involved at all.  

Enough is enough.  If it matters to you you’ll find a way to be there - if not you’ll find an excuse.  I’ve always liked Will, he’s a gamer and a proven winner but we can’t just have guys popping in and out and this is a trend with him.  This was realistically his last tournament - I’d like to hear why he’s not coming. 

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13 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Just when I thought Johnson was willing to commit to a Gold Cup after dropping out of the last few, he does it again. I confess I am angry and disappointed unless a truly valid reason is given.

Maybe Herdman told him that he was only going to play in a emergency at RB?  If he hadnt been included  I dont think many would have complained. There are good YOUNGER options and we play so few games.  Kind of sucks that he skips games when he was a regular and now he might be slipping into the Attakora, Ricketts, Straith, Akindele kind of spot where the team has moved on from their quality.  

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18 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

Just watched the highlights on the MLS site - not pretty viewing if one is a US fan even if it was an experimental line up. Some pretty scathing comments from Matt Doyle in his review. 

Jamaica looked really good and Bailey did not see any minutes. Got to hand it to the reggae Boyz. ..they get results. A lot of their players seem to perform better for the national vs club teams

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20 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Maybe Herdman told him that he was only going to play in a emergency at RB?  If he hadnt been included  I dont think many would have complained. There are good YOUNGER options and we play so few games.  Kind of sucks that he skips games when he was a regular and now he might be slipping into the Attakora, Ricketts, Straith, Akindele kind of spot where the team has moved on from their quality.  

I dont think we’ve moved on from akindele quality wise. If he keeps his scoring rate up this season, theres a decent chance we see him in nations league. Attakora, Ricketts for sure we’ve moved on from their quality. But a good MLS player, not yet. 

Edited by king1010
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@Bison44 @Olympique_de_Marseille @CanadaFan123

Am I missing something here? Do we have a source that he just left camp? The MLS article could have simply missed him. They aren't above making mistakes in their articles. They do it all the time.

If he did in fact leave, how do we know it is not due to injury?

And finally, if in fact he did just leave, I am not sure it was because he was asked to play right back. We already have two capable right backs. Herdman seems pretty amped to see him doing well in the midfield with Orlando. 

He wanted to call him back in but perhaps there was a personality or expectation clash. This was his first camp under Herdman, so perhaps something didn't work out, just speculating like everyone else.

Very curious to know what happened just like you guys!

 

Edited by Obinna
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1 hour ago, CanadaFan123 said:

We are comparable but not spoiled.  The Americans can have a ton of injuries and still look okay.. if we lose Cav/Larin we are looking at Akindele, Hamilton, AJH, Ricketts etc. 

Our roster looks good because we had the most guys of any country to answer the bell.  To me, that is a win in itself though.  We are hungry. 

correction,  we lost Cav/Larin, we still got David. Those are 3 very good strikers (yes even Larin, despite the fact he is not at his greatest right now). Our 3 best striker are arguably better than theirs (with 2 of them already in their prime)

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18 minutes ago, king1010 said:

I dont think we’ve moved on from akindele quality wise. If he keeps his scoring rate up this season, theres a decent chance we see him in nations league. Attakora, Ricketts for sure we’ve moved on from their quality. But a good MLS player, not yet. 

I agree, Akindele still has something to offer, specially if provided with the right support. Honestly, for me Johnson was always going to be a fringe player, specially now with guys like Piette, Kaye, and soon Eustaquio joining the fray

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King1010  LeoHo37:

I like Akindele more than the next guy, and will always be greatful for the gold rush that started after he chose canada.  But everyone wants to see  Millar, Tabla, Eustaquio....then throw in Piette, Tiebert, Kaye, Osorio, Arfield Hutch, Hoilett, David, Davies.  Going forward who are you leaving out to make a spot for Akindele? Hard choices have to be made, we cant move everyone to Fullback. 

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