International evening

[usagullmichigan]

I like Dempsey as it happens, the rest are shi!te

I don't remember it as it happens, was it good back then ?

so Donovan or Tim Howard are no good?

[AustrianAndyGull]

Donovan is limited but i rate Howard. Holden at Bolton looks a good prospect too if he can sort the injuries out. What happened to Edson Buddle and that young lad a few years back Amoo or something?

[Glostergull]

This deserves it's own thread and allows me to release much joy. AUSTRIA BEAT FINLAND 3-1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HALLELUJAH - WE HAVE ACTUALLY MANAGED TO WIN A GAME OF FOOTBALL!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!

England came back well and the Phil Jones pass to Young for the leveller was exquisite but they were punished for switching off. Holland were pure class at times and their finishing was clinical. England all round don't have the quality and confidence IMO but they did ok tonight. Italy continue to piss me off as they lost 1-0 to USA. Surely a match fixing allegation in there somewhere? Not by me though in case any legals are perusing ( Matt! ). Germany losing 2-1 against France was a surprise. What wasn't a surprise was Wales' 1-0 defeat at home to Costa Rica and even less of a surprise was Chris Colemans excuses blaming the performance on the tribute night for Gary Speed. Speed's death was tragic but it has been and gone and you are employed to manage Wales to the best of your ability, sadly you don't have any ability as is proven by your record as a league manager therefore you choose to dismiss the game and blame sombreness for the defeat. You can look forward to this Wales fans as Coleman is taking you nowhere. John Hartson is the man to take you forward.

Anyway, Janko - Harnik and enigmatic Ivanschitz give the mighty Osterreich a 3-1 win over that footballing powerhouse Finland. Crack open the Steigl!

I can only assume you didn't see any of the match then. Wales played pretty well and went very close on several occasions considering many of the normaly considered first team were not in the side. No Bale. no Ramsey. No Hennessey. no Vokes.
New players drafted in to try them out and Chris Coleman has not properly taken control of the team yet.
One fly in the ointment though is a so called reported politics being played out behind the scenes with the Dutch Coach resigning in protest at Daves beong sacked and even Possibly Bellamy hinting he could resign from playing for his country. Not the best bequest that Gary Speed would have wanted for the squad. We wait to see what will happen in the future.
This was not a match to be taken seriously. It really was an emotional night and many had tears in their eyes. and it didn't stop after KO it went right on through the match. Not night I will forget.

[usagullmichigan]

Donovan is limited but i rate Howard. Holden at Bolton looks a good prospect too if he can sort the injuries out. What happened to Edson Buddle and that young lad a few years back Amoo or something?

Freddie Adu. Lost his way. Last I heard he was in the Porto reserves I think. Donovan is a great player and easily EPL (HA) quality.

[usagullmichigan]

I'm talking about the future. Not what they did 2 years ago, or even the current team (which is still pretty good - Dempsey deserves a crack at a bigger club than Fulham - and the 'star' player, Donovan, didn't even play against Italy). There are some players coming through now that are more skilful that has traditionally been the case, and you only have to look at the Americans playing in England (or who recently played) to know they can hack it at that level; Dempsey, Donovan (on loan), Ream now at Bolton, Holden when he's not injured, Jones at Blackburn etc. Also, I'm expecting Arsenal pick up a young US player in August (I hear that the deal is done but I dunno how reliable this bit is).

Yes, they got lucky against England but you can't tell for sure if they'd have scored anyway if Green didn't balls it up.
Since 1986 the USA has played in more WC tournaments than England (6-5 ok, easier to achieve plus hosting but still).

I've no idea what y'all are talking about

Thing is Chris, I think we are a little Americanized but I am sure you will agree the Soccer set up's over here are class and the prospects coming look class. It's only a matter of (short) time before the US is a soccer force and that is a FACT . I wish we could say that about England as I am english but there is no doubt the US will be one of if not the best team in a few years.

[Southampton Gull]

Never rated Donovan, Howard is no better than ok, prefer Friedel to be honest.

[Aussie]

Never thought much of Donavan, Kylie on the other hand has an incredably georgous arse!

[Southampton Gull]

Her arse looks nothing like George

[Aussie]

Her arse looks nothing like George

Morning!

[Glostergull]

Her arse looks nothing like George

His arse is better than Bungos though. Come to think of it, Better than yours too. Phew!

[AustrianAndyGull]

[quote="Aussie"]Never thought much of Donavan, Kylie on the other hand has an incredably georgous arse![/quote]


Shame about her face though

[Southampton Gull]

Shame about her face though

Wash your mouth out, she's fit as you like

[Aussie]

Wash your mouth out, she's fit as you like

[usagullmichigan]

Close your eyes mate and think of Pat Butcher.

[happytorq]

Never rated Donovan, Howard is no better than ok, prefer Friedel to be honest.

Donovan was brilliant in 2002, lost his way a bit in Germany, came back to the States with, and has been really good since. Two loan spells at Everton have shown he can do at a high level, too. In both of his loan spells he won Everton's player of the month.. Even if he is the singularly least charismatic man I have ever had the misfortune to try and talk to. Good grief, getting a half-decent quote is like getting blood out of a particularly stubborn stone.

Howard I think is an excellent keeper...Friedel is good but has retired from USMNT. Next american keeper you'll be hearing about is *probably* Bill Hamid; currently at DC United but I'd not be surprised to see him leave, either in August or next january (Klinsmann is including in US squads of late). There's also an American keeper at Aston Villa - Brad Guzan - although I think he's solid but not spectacular.

Amoo! Heh. Freddy Adu; got signed up by Nike as the 'American Pele' at aged 14 - never helpful - went to Benfica, then got loaned out to Monaco, and Rizespor (in Turkey). He came back to MLS last summer; he's playing in Philadelphia. He showed on a couple of occasions (notably during the Gold Cup) that he still has talent, but at this stage it'd take something special for it to ever be 'fulfilled'.

Like I said, you'll see a lot more American players coming to England in the next few years, for as long as the salaries in MLS are as abject as they are. Ream has already gone; Omar Gonzalez was probably next in line but he did his ACL while training at Nuremburg - Brek Shea joins Arsenal in the summer (you heard it here first), and there are a host of players waiting for their chance. in that respect the MLS having a march-november helps because after the season finished, players can go and 'train' at a european side, in what is essentially an extended trial.
That acceleration is only going to improve as professional football essentially abandons the 'draft' system - having guys start their pro careers when the graduate college at 22, 23 is no good; it's too late. MLS clubs all have academies now, and they're doing really well. (there will still be a 'draft', but it'll become less and less important every year). Plus below MLS there are at least 4 other leagues that are themselves improving all the time.

As my michigan-based compadre said, the set up for football here is phenomenal. The coaches are getting a lot better - they're slowly to get over the need to hire anybody with an english accent - the facilities are great, the enthusiasm is there. I know people think that the US isn't a fertile ground for football, but with 320 million people, you simply don't need it to be the most popular sport. Average attendances at MLS games were higher than basketball, ice hockey and baseball last year (slightly misleading due to smaller arenas and fewer games, possibly) and for a league that is just starting its 17th season, an average attendance of 17k is pretty impressive.