@approxinfinity said in Generic soccer thread:
Going to be an interesting week for USMNT
You think this week is Berhalter week? Or something else going on?
rockchalkjayhawk
2485 posts
Does Big 3 count for summer league discussion? :)
I see Mario Chalmers vs Darnell Jackson on the TV now.
I'm laughing at the internet right now.
All the ridiculous stories listing absolutely unrealistic coaching candidates to take over for GGG include Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. c'mon, man!
Hey, that Brazil game was one if the best so far.
Well that didn't go well. I'm all for it. Down with GGG. I hope by the time i wake up tomorrow he'll be out the door. I wonder if he'll actually resign.
Per the game...generally it was a nice effort vs a quality team. We had a few chances, but shit the bed in the box with a lack of composure, and skill.
Can GGG take Chris Richards with him to Malta or whatever country he'll coach next? He lacks skill from what i've seen lately.
Speaking of skill, our midfield needs a revamp. I honestly like Adams and Weston, but they don't contribute much on offense in a 4-3-3.
I'd like a new coach to explore a different formation if we stick with those two defensive-minded guys in the mid. They have skill in other areas. Play em on top of each other some how.
We couldn't score, but otherwise a well played game. Kinda.
Geez, now for the production values on TV! Wow. Soooooo bad. I was about to think i was going crazy watching ants march on the field from a mile away, but then the broadcasters actually complained about it too. So weird. It got better as the game progressed. Who makes these decisions? I had the same complaint the other day with a Copa match. I wonder if these big stadiums in the US don't have prime camera spots for soccer.
Sucks.
oh that's right, the Uru coach suspended because the team didn't make it out on time for halftime? crazy.
Musah and Gio in the lineup. I'm gonna fire up the bbq, then fire up the game!
For you BBQ eggheads, i'm experimenting with grilled pesto chicken tonight. No clue if that will be instantly combustable or what! Hoping for some robust flavors.
@BeddieKU23 said in 2025 Recruiting:
KU won't be losing many NIL battles unless a collective is going to reset the market on kids and overpay.
That is one of the new and highly annoying things about college hoops for us fans. Teams are now apparently working under a mysterious salary cap.
I wanna know what we have to work with! I wanna know about all teams actually, and who’s getting paid what.
Not that I want more government interference in our lives, but at some point will government jump in and demand transparency?
And wow! Didn’t realize Arrowhead is ground zero for the massive US game tonight. Great. We need some Arrowhead magic for sure.
Think we’ll win? I haven’t looked, but maybe we get lucky and Uruguay benches its top guys.
We can win this game. Need to start and finish energized. Go USA!
Cheap ass goal sends France thru! But they are the better team and likely deserving.
Catching up on Brazil now. Entertaining game.
I thought that straight red to the Paraguay guy was uncalled for. Seemed like a 50-50 leg tussle.
Any discussion of a DUKE player in a Kansas roster thread should be grounds for suspension! :)
Colombia is pretty strong. how's the game? violent yet? i'm growing weary of the aggressive play. maybe i'm getting old!
@approxinfinity I was shocked that dumbass GGG brought in Cardoso over Musah. Musah was exactly what we needed at the moment. Toughness, defensive presence with some offensive ability to go forward. I semi understand bringing in Pepi. His one great quality is the effort he puts in up and down the field on defense, which again is what we needed for long stretches. But taking out Flo was odd. He was in the groove. maybe tired. I would have considered taking off Puli. he offers nada on D).
That game just pissed me off. Weah is a freaking idiot of epic proportion. within 17 minutes he was pissed enough to kill? wtf!!
I really thought he'd switch two a 4-4-1 ish thing with Pepi instead of bunkering down totally. That just confused our already confused defense even more. I'm really down on Richards at this point. CCV was extremely lucky not to be sent off. Another brilliant decision by a US player.
On a positive note, the Flo goal was very nice. As was Weston's effort that was called back. Both lefty shots?
I really would prefer to advance, but tough call. GGG is a dolt that needs to go.
I recommend watching the US-Panama game only if you’re already pissed off and wanna be more pissed off.
Disaster in every way. I was pretty pleased coming off the Bolivia game. Now I’m back to thinking that half the time they just don’t give a sh*t and put zero effort in.
The defense was dazed and confused. They just watched as unmarked guys ran freely in space. Grrr.
I could go on and on. Now we pretty much have to beat Uruguay to advance.
McCullar would actually be a great fit for the Warriors. May be the only guy on that team to play defense.
that'd be crazy if Furphy and McCullar end up on the Pacers!
Damn, wasn’t he invited to the Green Room??!! Stupid NBA.
So i have done a ton of reading on STAR bonds after reading the two combatants above!
There's no simple answer. They are both right, with some chaos by both thrown in as well.
The good: It brings new and exciting things to the community. I imagine lots of people in Kansas are happy that these new things exist in their communities. That's hard to put a price tag on. You can argue it doesn't cost the tax payer a thing if successful. It eventually brings in a new taxable base for the city/county.
The not so good: You're basically for free publicly financing work that a gazillionaire could do privately. Depending on the STAR bond, most if not all of the taxes collected after the project opens go directly to pay back the bond. So none of that taxable base would go toward city/county coffers for other use. And if it works out, the payback for the bonds could be 30 years for the Chiefs project. So you're losing out on tax money for a long ass time. If there's a default, that's a problem.
So i dunno. I like nice things. There's lots of not so good in there, but if the bonds are eventually paid off as promised, no harm no foul?
@approxinfinity i agree that a MAR midfield makes more sense than having MMA. At least Reyna thinks “offensively”.
Both Musah and McKennie can bring some toughness to the midfield. Adams is tough, but lacks size. I’m fine probably with either slotting in. But I’m losing some faith in the lackadaisical McKennie. He better start stepping up.
Jedi was a @$#*%!! machine today! ⚽️ Nary a bad touch :)
USA USA! Whew. always nice to get the first one out of the way. If only the squad would play with that kind of energy all the time (see Colombia). Keep it up, lads!
I was pretty happy with the effort today. Pulisic was inspired. Adams is back! IMO the team is way different without him in there. Very happy he's on the field. hope he can stay healthy. And another game without much complaint about Gio.
Yea, @BShark there for sure was stuff to complain about today though. Hard to do so after a win, but i guess it's normal to critique play. that's why they have player ratings! Hmm, i may have to start my own player rating review after the games just for fun.
We should have scored at least 5 today. There was some very sloppy play and finishing all over the place, that's for sure.
Goalie Turner: 7 -- Made some saves, but nothing brilliant was needed today. No major flaws with his feet and distribution today either.
Defense: 6. As a whole, they played well, but weren't tested.
Scally: 7 -- effort was there. nothing stands out otherwise.
Richards: 5 -- Yikes on the passing and decision making. Starting to wonder about him in a starting role.
Ream: 6 -- Also some scary passing at first. More than a few give aways today. Connected on some long balls.
Jedi: 10!!!!!! -- OK, maybe not 10, but he was all over the place for 90 minutes. Love that guy.
Reyna: 6 -- Played well, but got lazy a few times with passing and defense. He seems a bit slow and a step behind on making decisions what to do with the ball. Overconfident?
Adams: 7 -- A welcome sight in the middle. A little rusty.
McKennie: 4 -- I used to love Weston. Now I don't think he fits into a 4-3-3 formation at all. What position should he play? In front of the defense IMO. He barely puts effort in. I have not seen him play well for the national team in awhile. His role needs refining and rethinking. But i always loved his toughness and tenacity previously.
Pulisic: 10!!! -- Ha, i know. but that was the most motivated and active i've seen him in like forever. Great goal.
Balogun: 7 -- His goal was very. nice. Otherwise doesn't seem to be playing to his potential.
Weah: 8 -- I really like his effort as well. Didn't score, but was up and down the field.
SUBS
Pepi: "A" for effort, but F for finishing. cmon, man!
Musah: 9 -- I really think he should be starting most games. Effort, ability, intensity, powerful, skilled. Doesn't mind knocking over other players.
GGG: As @approxinfinity would say, why is he still coaching! His main flaw today was roster construction. Adams and McKennie don't match up well in a 4-3-3. Both are mainly defensive minded, and defensively skilled. Not much offensive talent, playmaking ability between em. That limits our ability to push forward and make plays to get the front line involved.
KU hoops
Chiefs
Both US soccer teams
International soccer like UEFA, Euro, World Cup, etc.
KU football is growing on me
Golf
I stopped watching baseball years ago, and i don't miss it at all. Formerly the Red Sox were near the top of my list.
@wissox said in Generic soccer thread:
@rockchalkjayhawk Ecuador lost a guy early to a red card, but scored and held the lead til 2 late goals allowed Venezuela to win. This Mexico-Jamaica match is a thriller too.
The Equador-Venezuela game is a prime example of what i absolutely HATE about soccer, even though i love soccer. That game was dive after dive after dive then roll on the ground like your head was cut off. Some were legit very hard fouls though. Then surround the ref. They need to do better to remove that from the game. The yellow cards were in the ref's pocket mostly. For those of you who haven't watched (ha), don't!
The Mexico game was a good one. enjoyed that. I even kinda like their peacock unis.
Wow, i am now officially fascinated with STAR bonds. I've been reading like a madman the last day or so. (i don't live in Kansas).
I'm sure i'll have some thoughts eventually, but these state documents provide some base knowledge.
Some basic facts can be found here in the STAR bonds annual report. I find it lacking in some details (re: ROI on STAR bonds), but has project basics like bonds issues, outstanding, tax revenue:
This doc is older (2021), but very interesting reading. Points made by the a non-partisan audit division of the Kansas government. Very interesting point/counterpoint/responses at the end from communities involved in STAR bond projects.
Enjoy! I have.
@mayjay said in NCAA proposal to expand NCAA tourney to 72 or 76 teams.:
@rockchalkjayhawk said in NCAA proposal to expand NCAA tourney to 72 or 76 teams.:
I’m all for some version of all 351 Division 1 basketball schools in the tourney.
Well, except that it excludes independents (are there any now?).
There actually was one independent last year! Ha. Chicago State. But anyway, take away the subjectivity and let’s get some Hoosiers-style NCAA tourney action! 🏀
I personally don’t think it goes far enough.
I’m all for some version of all 351 Division 1 basketball schools in the tourney. I haven’t thought through the minutia, but what the hell. Get rid of the useless conference tournaments and have at it! And no, I don’t care about the money involved.
I didn’t realize until tonight that Copa America started! Argentina vs Canada was entertaining. Oddly competitive.
But it was Rough, very rough. The ref tonight was not calling clear fouls and cards. Weird. I was surprised guys escaped without broken bones. Messi, who I thought retired from playing for his country, missed a few.
Can’t wait for USA on Sunday!
I’m catching up on some Euro games this morning! 2-0 Deutschland already.
Did you say he goes to 11? 🎸
I always love looking at the different player ratings after the games. This one has me absolutely baffled. ESPN. Did they watch the same game? I even reluctantly admit Scally was better than a 3!
@BShark said in Generic soccer thread:
"USMNT follows up a 5-1 loss to Colombia with an impressive draw against Brazil. Gregg Berhalter is a Kirk Ferentz-level savant at doing just enough to save his job, but not enough to get poached."
Nicely put!
Ha, that reversal was comical @approxinfinity !
I still don’t understand how they continue to let players swarm the ref. Thought they made a rule.
Otherwise what a game! But I’m with you about GGG. The game plan, for once, was pretty good. Quite the opposite of last game. I guess that puts him back in good standing. The Copa result may be make or break.
We actually should have won. More than a couple close ones missed.
The good: just about everything! An oddly patient approach out of the back made me nervous as hell, but mostly worked. Wow, that blistering shot from Musah early on!!! Wow. Nearly broke the crossbar. Puli’s free kick goal must have been drawn up. Worked brilliantly. Gio actually worked hard today. He was consistently helping Scally handle Vini. Seemed to be there when needed. (I can’t believe I just wrote that). The blob 10-man defense was very effective in cutting down space to create.
The so-so: I crap my pants every time Matt Turner decides to handle the ball and distribute with his feet. He makes at least one bad decision per game doing that. Looks clumsy. I was hoping to see a backup get a chance today. But OK. He played well. It’s really too bad that Aaronsen has zero offensive skill. He had a wide open field and dribbled right into a Brazilian defender. Shook my head.
Nice game! See what a little effort can do?
Either way it says the result was not GGG’s fault! Ha.
Yea, Goal website is very aggressive if you have any ad blockers, etc. i also think it sorts content by country you’re in as well.
Man, not even sure I want to revisit yesterday by writing something!
But agreed, so many self inflicted wounds. Like they’d never played the game before. Dribble into the corner alone, get trapped, turn it over, rinse, repeat. The back line was comically bad. I was just praising Jedi and seconds later he did that slide turnover goal thing.
Colombia had a great game plan, and GGG could not adjust. Playing a high back line with the slow footed Ream left everybody on an island trying to recover. We were just overwhelmed.
Did Weston actually play? Didn’t even see him touch the ball, or defend. I dunno how we could continually make so many bad passes straight to our opponent.
Grrrrr! Fire GGG! (and I continue to be anti Reyna)
If you’d like to be less disgusted and way less angry, do not under any circumstance watch the US vs Colombia soccer game.
Demoralizing. Colombia looked dangerous, and the US looked incompetent.
I’m all for firing GGG after this result (5-1).
Yea, the wing position has like zero depth at the moment, right? Passmore will have to get his shit together pretty quickly to help.
I haven’t really figured out what position Jamari fits into yet. Doesn’t really have the body for that spot yet.
scary! jeez.
Some good and sad news from the Chiefs today.
Looks like they are resigning Mecole Hardman.
But sadly a second year defensive lineman went down with a serious medical emergency at practice today. yikes.
Well there ya go, the roster appears set.
Current likely depth chart. Positions a bit murky.
PG Harris — Moore — Mayo
SG Storr — Mayo — Passmore — McDowell
SF Griffen — Passmore
PF KJ — Clemence
C Dickinson — Bidunga — Clemence
Main Bench: Mayo — Passmore — Moore — Bidunga
Redshirt: Elmarko — Shelby
Oh man, that sucks.
Another year of Dajuan without a backup? Eff. I hope Self has his eyes on an NBA draft dropout.
@Woodrow said in Keeping track of the ever changing 24-25 roster:
Elmarko is out for the year with a torn patella tendon. Terrible news.
For real? Oh no!
I was very impressed with the new USWNT coach. She did a pregame chat the other day. Great intelligence, composure, demeanor and personality. She only has a few games or so to get her system in place before the Olympics. I’m hoping her first game was telling of future success.
some good looking numbers! like em. Bidunga at 40. Was Kevin Young #40?
This should be an interesting puzzle for Self. Does he put Zeke in the starting lineup for some quickness?
We will be worse.
PG: Harris -- More of the same
SG: Storr (who is not known for defense) -- worse than McCullar by a long shot
SF: Griffen -- maybe better than Furphy? He had effort at least
PF: KJ -- same
C: Hunter -- same
So really one position where we'll be worse than last year. But that's a big one.
@Gorilla72 said in 2024 Portal Madness Thread:
So no Furphy. I heard Jaxson Robinson stayed in the draft. Most draft withdrawals are either returning to their school or looking for starter minutes, IMHO.
I wonder what HCBS is planning?
That’s what I read as well last night. Looks like something changed, or a bogus report.
Any insiders have any names we should be excited about now? Hard to keep track.
Time to go fishin. Hope the hook is baited.
Drat.