Howard= C+ Didn't really have a great tournament in my opinion for how great a keeper he is. I'm still glad he's our guy but needed one or two more spectacular saves for us to have a chance.
Cherundalo= B We need more creative backs like this in our system. But his physical deficiencies were abused against Ghana. I look forward to the days when we have his skills in a Maurice Edu body.
Bornstein= C I've never been a fan, but he played pretty well when called upon. I'm hoping we never need him again.
Guch= C Had good moments but definitely had some bad moments. If he's playing centerback in OT, I think he wins that long ball that resulted in Ghana's winning goal.
Bocanegra/Demerit= C All the heart in the world, but showed their weakness in conceding that last goal. For us to really make the next step, our defenders either need to be physically dominant (Edu) or more skilled (Cherundalo) and hopefully a blend of both.
Dempsey= B- Was typical Dempsey in this tourney= flashes of genius and times of absenteeism. Was a handful in many games when we moved him up top.
Bradley= B One of our best players and he had a great tournament. Bradley and Edu need to be center midfield from here on out.
Clarke= F This better be the last time I see him in a US jersey in any meaning game. Ever.
Donovan= B- I'm happy his demons were exorcised. He too was absent for long periods of time though. Regardless, the Algeria goal should make him a national hero.
Gomez/Buddle/Findley= D Our biggest question mark up from the beginning still went unanswered. Neither of these guys could do anything and we were a better team when dempsey was up top.
Altidore= B- No goals but was crucial in setting up a couple. There were many times he was too much for defenders to handle which resulted in many chances and free kicks.
Bob Bradley= B He's done a great job improving us from 4 years ago. I'm not sure he can do anymore for us though. Klinsmann sounds like he wants to be our coach, lets grab him quick.
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I'll just post mine on here:
ReplyDeleteHoward - B-: I mostly agree, but think he should be given a lot of credit for us getting a point against England. The first goal against Ghana was poor, but I can't fault him too much on any of the others.
Cherundolo - B: I agree. If he was a little bit bigger, he'd be among the top 20 RB's in the world. As it is, he's one of the best defenders we have produced.
Bornstein - C: Agree here as well.
Onyewu - C-: Clearly unfit for 90 minutes of play. Had a good second half against England, but not up to it outside of that. A fit Gooch would have helped.
Boc - B-: A little higher than a C, unfortunate on the last goal against Ghana, but solid for most of the tournament.
DeMerit - B-: A little higher for him too, imo. He made some bad errors, but was mostly pretty solid back there.
Dempsey - B+ - I don't think Dempsey gets enough credit to be honest. He runs all day long and at times can be super creative. He doesn't take over games all of the time, but he's very influential for us.
Clark - D - I agree. Poor guy was out of his depth, especially against Ghana.
M. Bradley - B+ - very impressive... I hope he finds his way to a bigger club in the near future
Edu - B - should have started every game... I think I said that from the beginning. He has defensive and offensive ability, something neither Clark nor Torres have.
Feilhaber - B+ - quite possibly the most influential substitute in the entire tournament. One has to wonder why he did not get a start.
Donovan - A- - He scored three goals for us, all of them massive. He didn't take over games, but that was probably because he was the guy who was being concentrated on by the other team's defense. He has grown in a big way in the past 4 years.
The Other Forwards - C- - the questions went unanswered. I'm not sure I can put too much blame on Gomez and Buddle since they didn't get much playing time, but this is a question that needs to be addressed, somehow.
Altidore - B - His hold-up play and his ability to draw fouls was absolutely fantastic. His pace was very good. His finishing needs to improve. If he can refine his finishing, he has the ability to become a top player.
B. Bradley - B+ - honestly, this is the best 4 year run the US has ever had. Gold Cup winners, Confederation Cup final, Round of 16 at the WC, and player development. There are holes in the back and up front (not helped w/ injury issues to Gooch and Davies), but there is only so much that can be done by the national team manager in that regard. That said, I'm not a big fan of keeping the same national team structure together for 2 World Cup periods. If we can bring someone in who understands the American game, I would be all for it. Klinsmann would be a very sexy and solid choice.
If Bradley moves on, I wish him the absolute best. He was never the most popular choice and had to suffer through a lot of criticism right up to the very end. He was not without fault, but his record is very impressive.
You might accuse me of grade inflation here.
ReplyDeleteHoward B
I agree with Bernardo but only to the extent that you have to take expectations and potential into account. Even still, when I think through the games, outside the goal vs. Ghana, he was solid all around- communication-wise, distribution-wise (LD's goal), handling crosses, and shot stopping.
Cherundolo B
He was solid defensively throughout and was huge when he came forward.
Bornstein C
Eh, he offered some speed and attack on that side (which Boc couldn't) but he's not a strong defender.
Gooch C+
He wasn't game-fit and that was clear.
Boc B
I've always been a fan. I think he's superb on air balls in the box and is versatile.
DeMerit B+
Hard-nosed, tough player who won basically every 50/50 ball that came his way.
Defenders in general- Yeah, it'd be great if we had defenders who had Dolo's attacking ability + Bornstein's speed + Gooch's size, but that's a little unrealistic. I think we have pretty good defenders who are in a good mold. Mistakes were made and our team defense was shaky at times but we also seemed to be absurdly unlucky on the percentage of our opponents' chances that went in. Slovenia- 98%, Ghana- 75%
Dempsey B-
This comes down to his potential vs. his performance. I think he's as talented as Donovan but that's apparent only 25% of the time. It didn't help that he was only played up top 50% of the time- clearly the position where he excelled.
Clark F
See Keith's comments.
M. Bradley A
He had a terrific World Cup. Period. IMO, he has the potential to be one of our best center mids. He's 22 and has matured tremendously in a short amount of time. He needs to go somewhere where he'll play week in and week out.
Edu A-
One word: solid.
Feilhaber B+
Good, creative play off the bench. Not sure why he didn't start every game.
Donovan A
He's a world class player, proved himself as a leader, and scored 3 clutch goals.
Midfield- We are stacked in the midfield and have an excellent core to build from.
Altidore B
He needs to play under a coach and system where he will learn things. He is a raw force and although he didn't score in 4 games (he should have), he created a lot of good things.
Other forwards C
Produced 0 goals. Not good. They played with life and spirit but that only goes so far though. Buddle should have seen more playing time.
Guys who didn't play: Davies, Spector and Holden- wish we would have seen them.
B. Bradley A-
I fear going backwards, a big name but egomaniacal coach (see: Fabio Capello), or someone who doesn't have a sincere interest in building for the future. Not only did Bradley have an impressive record, he gave a lot of guys a look/shot, identified new talent, and left others where they belong- @ home (Casey, Ching, Johnson, Kletisjan, Breckenridge, Adu).