USA vs MEXICO Gold Cup

[astrosfan64]

These games are always fun.

Have they mentioned who they are starting for Hejuk and Bradley? I would rather see Tim Howard in goal and I hope he gets the start.

I really wish they would start Brian Ching, I think he is our best finisher on the team.

[bulletsponge]

what time is the game. it should be on one of the spanish language channels

[Ajaxab]

The US has to be careful about that short guy with the black hair. And that other tall guy with the black hair. Otherwise they could be in some serious trouble.

[Big Fo]

Yeah, I'll second the notion to start Howard today. Ricardo Clark and Jonathan Spector might be the ones to come in for Bradley and Hejduk. If not Spector, Frank Simek will play right back.

Going up against Mexico is always a special occasion it being the final I am hyped up for this one. If we lose it could be a rough summer for the national team having had a look at the Copa America roster.

Kickoff at 3pm ET btw.

[MrBug708]

Mexico had three player drop out for the game I believe

[rowech]

Game is on Fox Soccer Channel for those of you that have it.

[bulletsponge]

im betting it will be on some mexican channel

[astrosfan64]

The US has to be careful about that short guy with the black hair. And that other tall guy with the black hair. Otherwise they could be in some serious trouble.

:)

[DaddyTorgo]

game on

[DaddyTorgo]

mexico is really bringing it early in the first 5 mins here. they've had all the chances. US building up now

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm disappointed this isn't available in HD here. I'm glad to see the lineup changes today.

[DaddyTorgo]

wow. That was some beautiful short-passing in the attacking 3rd there. Just too bad it didn't end up in the net. Great save by sanchez.

[Eaglesfan27]

You could see that one coming.

[bhlloy]

Again, not impressed with Onyewu at all. He had a terrible header earlier in the game across his own goalmouth, and just let the Mexican player walk to the byline on the goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

WOOT!!

[DaddyTorgo]

sets up an exciting end to the game, that's for sure

[Eaglesfan27]

Ouch.

[SirFozzie]

OH!

What impact, especially the Mexico player's as he hit the ground

[Eaglesfan27]

What a goal!!! That was a great shot!

[SirFozzie]

What a jet from Benny!

[MJ4H]

OMFG i did not expect that. pretty.

[MJ4H]

haha off the post sickening. my wife thinks im nuts with all of my screaming

[SirFozzie]

greatplays by twellman and Beasley

[Eaglesfan27]

Big save by Howard. Scary stuff. This could be fun...



Beasley, how can you blow that!

[MJ4H]

im vomitting all over everything

[DaddyTorgo]

how could beasley blow that...how could ching blow the one off the post earlier...

should be 4-1

[DaddyTorgo]

we'll be lucky to get out of here with a win at this rate. The way fate goes it wouldn't surprise me if mexico takes it down and scores, and then scores again in extra time to win it all, since we blew those 2 chances that my 2 year old niece could score

[MJ4H]

winnar. im drained.

[SirFozzie]

gee gang, Mexico's getting muchbetter..

they're only losing to us 2-1 rather than 2-0 ;)

[bulletsponge]

ok countdown till the Mexican press starts the "fire the Mexican Coach" routine they do after every game vs the US :D

[SirFozzie]

considering they lost to Honduras,required 3 Costa Ricans being sent off AND extra time to defeat Costa Rica in the Quarters, Life and Deathed Guadaloupe in the semi's.. then lost to the US..

that's not a hotseat the coach is on.. it's made of lava.

[MrBug708]

ok countdown till the Mexican press starts the "fire the Mexican Coach" routine they do after every game vs the US :D

They are unhappy with him before this game. Poor showing in South America and he's not invited back.

Great game by Donovan IMO. Seems to make plays and make players better. (Or at least gives them a chance to play well right Beasley?)

[Chief Rum]

Woot! Won me some 20 bucks today, courtesy of one of my Mexican compatriots at my second job. :)

I was really worried at halftime.

[astrosfan64]

They are unhappy with him before this game. Poor showing in South America and he's not invited back.

Great game by Donovan IMO. Seems to make plays and make players better. (Or at least gives them a chance to play well right Beasley?)

Well Donovan did blow one the other day that Beasly gave him.

I'm happy with Ching starting, I watch him alot here in Houston. That guy has game.

I though Gouch playe well today and bochangra (spelling) was fantastic. This was a great game of soccer all around from both sides. I hope that guy from Mexico is ok.

[bulletsponge]

considering they lost to Honduras,required 3 Costa Ricans being sent off AND extra time to defeat Costa Rica in the Quarters, Life and Deathed Guadaloupe in the semi's.. then lost to the US..

that's not a hotseat the coach is on.. it's made of lava.


maybe, but they would have forgotten all about that if he would have beaten the US. now his days are numbered

[astrosfan64]

Well Donovan did blow one the other day that Beasly gave him.

I'm happy with Ching starting, I watch him alot here in Houston. That guy has game.

I though Gouch playe well today and bochangra (spelling) was fantastic. This was a great game of soccer all around from both sides. I hope that guy from Mexico is ok.

dola

Oh and HOWARD was great. I think it is time, he is our starting keeper for good.

[astrosfan64]

maybe, but they would have forgotten all about that if he would have beaten the US. now his days are numbered

That guy is done.

[DaddyTorgo]

Well Donovan did blow one the other day that Beasly gave him.

I'm happy with Ching starting, I watch him alot here in Houston. That guy has game.

I though Gouch playe well today and bochangra (spelling) was fantastic. This was a great game of soccer all around from both sides. I hope that guy from Mexico is ok.

ching sucks

[astrosfan64]

ching sucks

I think he is better then any striker we currently have here in the US

[Big Fo]

They are unhappy with him before this game. Poor showing in South America and he's not invited back.

Great game by Donovan IMO. Seems to make plays and make players better. (Or at least gives them a chance to play well right Beasley?)

Beasley had a really good aside aside from that miss, shame he couldn't have gotten the goal. One of the worst misses I have ever seen.

[rowech]

Can someone please explain the fascination with Onweyu? I don't get it. He's good in the air but he is nowhere near a complete defender. Ching and Dempsey left a lot to be desired. Dempsey's usually there but he wasn't today. Some terribly blown goals.

On the flip side, I'm glad to see the guys at least care. They worked hard.

I wonder how many guys INS could have rounded up just by going through the stands.

[DaddyTorgo]

onweyu+ching=BLECH

dempsey didn't really play a great game either

[RPI-Fan]

Can someone please explain the fascination with Onweyu? I don't get it. He's good in the air but he is nowhere near a complete defender. Ching and Dempsey left a lot to be desired. Dempsey's usually there but he wasn't today. Some terribly blown goals.

On the flip side, I'm glad to see the guys at least care. They worked hard.

I wonder how many guys INS could have rounded up just by going through the stands.

When Gooch first bust onto the U.S. seen, he played with a chip on his shoulder. Arena took forever to give him a chance and when he first got one, he was flat-out dominant. But, since he's become a regular for the U.S.A., he seems to lack that fire. He has the athleticism of a wide receiver and the strenght of a linebacker, but plays so tentatively lately. Maybe that awful, awful, awful P.K. called against him v. Ghana is still in his head, who knows.

[Big Fo]

I was screaming for Eddie Johnson to come on for Ching seconds before he won the PK, other than that moment and the nice dribble before hitting the post he didn't offer a whole lot.

[cthomer5000]

Again, not impressed with Onyewu at all. He had a terrible header earlier in the game across his own goalmouth, and just let the Mexican player walk to the byline on the goal.

Onyewu has seriously turned into a piece of shit. He has been TERRIBLE all throughout this competition. He's seriously terrifying to watch... no idea why he was a regular throughout the entire competition.

[cthomer5000]

I think he is better then any striker we currently have here in the US

At this point in time, Twellman is playing much better. Dempsey clearly plays well up there with Donovan on the wing, so I like Donovan out wide, Dempsey + Twellman up front.

I was very surprised to see Ching starting, he really has not been playing at 100% of his ability lately. I like him, I just don't think he's one of the 2 best US strikers.

[bhlloy]

Onyewu has seriously turned into a piece of shit. He has been TERRIBLE all throughout this competition. He's seriously terrifying to watch... no idea why he was a regular throughout the entire competition.


I'm glad it's not just me. He seems to have no positional sense whatsoever.

On the flipside, Bocanegra was immense in the first half (I had to leave so didn't see the second) He's turning into a world class defender IMO - maybe needs to tone the dirty tackles down a bit so he doesn't see so many cards, but I have been impressed with him a lot.

[bhlloy]

DOLA - completely agree with you on Twellman. Yeah he's too small/not physical enough, but the guy always seems to pop up in and around the box. Against Denmark at the Carson Center last January he was dominant, and then he got dropped for apparently no reason.

[SirFozzie]

BTW, here's the YouTube of the GOLAZO..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qETrlNYxjyM

[cthomer5000]

I'm glad it's not just me. He seems to have no positional sense whatsoever.

On the flipside, Bocanegra was immense in the first half (I had to leave so didn't see the second) He's turning into a world class defender IMO - maybe needs to tone the dirty tackles down a bit so he doesn't see so many cards, but I have been impressed with him a lot.

It's almost as if someone has wiped Onyewu's memory and he knows nothing about the game. He's always out of position, always has no idea where the ball is when it's in the air, and always plays way, way too physical for the way things are called at the international level. This seems to be tied to his arrival at Newcastle, where he was a mess from day one.

I actually thought Bocanegra's yellow was a good yellow. It came after an escalating series of tackles and one blown call on what should have been a foul committed on Beasley. I thought it was a nice sort of "statement" tackle to show Mexico, the ref, etc that they weren't going to put up with that crap. Bocanegra is the defeinite de facto captain at this point and I totally agree. He's one of only a few players that is an automatic first-team selection right now. In general though I agree on the cards, I thought our team as a whole was picking up too many throughout the tournament.

Im a little less excited for Copa America than I was before the squad was published... eh, it will now take a literal miracle to get out of the group stage, while before it would have been merely shocking.

Still, I like the way Bradley handled the team throughout this tournament, and they got the result which puts them in the Confederations Cup in 2009. Now they need to make everything they do about improving the team for WC 2010. I dont want to see any more bogus friendlies between now and then. More road games, more tough teams is the key.

[ISiddiqui]

HA HA... silly Mexico. I always love beating them... especially when the crowd on US soil is incredibly pro-Mexico.

[Critch]

It's almost as if someone has wiped Onyewu's memory and he knows nothing about the game. He's always out of position, always has no idea where the ball is when it's in the air, and always plays way, way too physical for the way things are called at the international level. This seems to be tied to his arrival at Newcastle, where he was a mess from day one.

That's happened to a lot of defenders who have played in Newcastle.

Onyewu certainly hasn't done his search for a bigger team much good over the Gold Cup, he's looked athletic but lost a lot of the time.

[Wolfpack]

More road games...is the key.

So, they should schedule some games in LA, then?

[cthomer5000]

So, they should schedule some games in LA, then?

Seems to be the way they had been doing things, but I think Bradley is looking to change that. First off the Copa America games are big ones (Argentina, Colomubia, Paraguay), then the next 3 friendlies are @ Sweden, @ Catalonia (in Spain), and @ Switzerland.

I think he has seen what the issues are and seems to really be making a concerted effort to change them. Hopefully the 2010 USA World Cup team will be a much more road-tested and deeper squad. I'm optimistic.

[Wolfpack]

I appreciate the full response, but the initial remark was in jest, considering the only time it seems the US actually has a home advantage is in Columbus in January or something like that. Shoulda added a smiley. :)

Incidentially, I thoroughly enjoy hearing every time the US beats Mexico at soccer because I just know it irritates so many people south of the border, that we keep beating them at a game that most of the people in this country could care less about. Makes all those idiocies the team suffers from the hurling of coins to the "Osama" chants seem almost worth the effort to suffer.

[cthomer5000]

Well, to be fair... i have no idea when the last time we beat Mexico in Mexico was. It's a pretty even rivalry. Our win over them in the 2002 World Cup was teh biggest "in your face" win of anything recent.

[RPI-Fan]

After being completely anti-Bradley when he was named interim coach, I am very, very pleasantly surprised what he has done thus far. Getting Feilhaber in there, helping Dempsey find his form, getting Donovan to play like 2001-2002 Donovan.

One thing I hated about Arena was the fact that he would wait a little too long to bring young, promising prospects into the fold. Bradley isn't having that issue. Arena also held onto "his boys" way too long (e.g., Agoos, Pope). Time will tell how Bradley deals with those situations.

Oh, and no 4-5-1's so far -- yay!

[ISiddiqui]

Well, to be fair... i have no idea when the last time we beat Mexico in Mexico was. It's a pretty even rivalry. Our win over them in the 2002 World Cup was teh biggest "in your face" win of anything recent.

Before the Gold Cup Finale:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/23/AR2007062300987.html?nav=rss_sports

The last seven years, the Americans have seized the upper hand with an 8-2-1 record against El Tri (the Mexican moniker). That includes a 7-0-1 mark at home, in which they've outscored Mexico 13-0. The last time the Mexicans scored against the Americans on U.S. soil was during a 2-1 win in 1999 in San Diego (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/San+Diego?tid=informline).

The 2 losses are, IIRC, to Mexico in Estadio Azteca during WC Qualifying for WC '02 and WC '06.

Though maybe that's Mexico's fault for playing us in the US all those times ;). Though, to be fair, games in LA (and in Chicago) were basically Mexican team homegames.

[MrBug708]

The US has offered to play more games in more Pro-Mexican cities in the US if they would consider playing games outside of Azteca.

I think we are still waiting for a call back from the Mexican FA

[ISiddiqui]

The US has offered to play more games in more Pro-Mexican cities in the US if they would consider playing games outside of Azteca.

I think we are still waiting for a call back from the Mexican FA

:D

Quite frankly, seeing how the Mexicans still have problems with the US team with major pro-Mexico sides in games in the US, I wouldn't give up Azteca either. Its the ultimate home field advantage.

[Butter]

Echo what ct has said about Onyewu. How many times yesterday was he barging over somebody in the back while the ball was in the air, with no idea where it was going? He was lucky he didn't give up more free kicks in danger zones.

I have always been wary of Bocanegra, but he was an absolute force in this tournament. I have also never liked Ching, but he showed up in the 2nd half yesterday. Even that miss from 15 yards I can forgive him for.

Beasley and Donovan maybe played the best I've ever seen them both play at the same time. Outstanding. If only the US could show up like this in a big road game against tough opponents, this team might well become very, very good. The young players are all exciting and promising. Now, if we could just get a couple of more young strikers in the fold with some creativity (paging: Jozy Altidore, white courtesy phone).

[Critch]

Well, to be fair... i have no idea when the last time we beat Mexico in Mexico was.

The US has never won in Mexico, 1 tie and 22 defeats in 23 games.

[cthomer5000]

Beasley and Donovan maybe played the best I've ever seen them both play at the same time. Outstanding. If only the US could show up like this in a big road game against tough opponents, this team might well become very, very good. The young players are all exciting and promising. Now, if we could just get a couple of more young strikers in the fold with some creativity (paging: Jozy Altidore, white courtesy phone).


I have a feeling Altidore might have gotten called up if he wasn't about to participate in the U-20 Championships. I kind of doubt he'll get called up for the fall friendlies, but maybe. If not I think we'll hear his name in early 2008. I think he could be a major factor in there by the time we hit 2010.

[GoldenEagle]

Mexico has some amazing young talent coming up. These games are going to be fun to watch in the future. They are going to be even more competitive. You are already seeing some young players with Mexcian descent having the choice of playing for Mexico or US and that is going to continue to add to the rivalry.

It is good for the game, good for both countries, and good football for the fans.

[Mr. Wednesday]

Can someone please explain the fascination with Onweyu? I don't get it. He's good in the air but he is nowhere near a complete defender.
Watching it at Soldier Field, he looked outstanding. Not only did he pick off every single ball sent his way in the air (which is, in itself, a valuable asset in some situations), but he also was relatively strong any time he was sent to chase a through ball. The only issues were one-on-one with Nery Castillo, but that guy made a lot of our players look stupid.

[astrosfan64]

Watching it at Soldier Field, he looked outstanding. Not only did he pick off every single ball sent his way in the air (which is, in itself, a valuable asset in some situations), but he also was relatively strong any time he was sent to chase a through ball. The only issues were one-on-one with Nery Castillo, but that guy made a lot of our players look stupid.

I thought he played very well also. That was a bad matchup him going out wide. He had to do that because our outside players were already beaten.

[cthomer5000]

Im sorry, but I thought he was consistently the worst player on the field for the USA in the whole tournament. He looked that bad in his few Newcastle games as well.

[moriarty]

I agree on Gooch. He's completely lost his confidence ever since that ill fated spell at Newcastle. He's just not the same player.

On the plus side, I really like Bornstein's speed down the left. I was disappointed in the Mexico match w/ Spector. I'd like to see more of Simek on the right (but playing Hedjuk doesn't really help us for the future).

Feilhaber is going to be a stud once he removes the errant passes from his game. His vision seems to be excellent.

I hate to be a Ching hater, but he got lucky the dude grabbed his shirt on the penalty. Other than that, he would have been yanked off with another ineffective national team perfromance. I can't understand why we can't produced a decent stirker. Maybe the young red bulls guy is out hope. At this point, we'll be dragging McBride out of retirment for the next WC. :)

[cthomer5000]

I see where you guys are coming from on Gooch, but he definitely controlled the middle for most of the game; his ability to clear with his head was very important. Think about how effective the Mexicans were at crossing the ball, and by my eyes most of that came down to Gooch.

Castillo beat him badly wide (to be expected) and at times he looked lost but to call him the worst player on the field is not fair. I think he was a big part of the win.

Ok, if Gooch was not the worst US player on the field during the tournament, who was? It has to be someone.

[MrBug708]

Hopefully Dempsey played better in the previous games otherwise I'd pick him :)

[cthomer5000]

His performance was poor. I stand by my assesment.

People seem to be letting him off the hook for the glaring errors, when those are precisely what differentiates a good defender from a bad one.

[cthomer5000]

Back to Standard Liege in Belgium as far as I know. I think we all agree he stunk up the joint at Newcastle, so I don't know if any of that prior interest (Chelsea, Marseille) will emerge again immediately. There is some word that Birmingham City is interested.

If Birmingham doesn't happen immediately, his best hope is probably to put in a good showing, especially in the UEFA Cup, and hope for another loan spell somewhere after the winter transfer period.

[Mr. Wednesday]

His performance was poor. I stand by my assesment.

People seem to be letting him off the hook for the glaring errors, when those are precisely what differentiates a good defender from a bad one.
If you're talking about the whole tournament, I agree with you, he looked really shaky in some of the earlier games.

If you're talking about Mexico, though, I don't — I just didn't see any of the glaring errors. He was all over everything in the air (except for the stuff that Bocanegra handled), and was only beaten one-on-one by Nery Castillo, but there's no shame in that as I don't think there was anybody on the back line who didn't get beaten by Castillo one-on-one at least once.

[Mr. Wednesday]

On the plus side, I really like Bornstein's speed down the left. I was disappointed in the Mexico match w/ Spector.
Why were you disappointed with Spector? What didn't he do that you wanted him to?

[moriarty]

Why were you disappointed with Spector? What didn't he do that you wanted him to?

The entire first half he was getting schooled on the left side (US's right). There's a reason why Mexico spent most of the first half attacking that side. He also didn't get forward much, but that was probably more due to Bradley's tactics.

Second half he looked a little better (until his injury). I thought he looked ok in earlier games in the tournament, but he looked outclassed vs. Mexico. I'm not sure who lost the marking on their goal ... Spector looked like he picked up the man in the middle (which was probably the right guy) but it was the left wing that scored.

[Butter]

I'm not sure who lost the marking on their goal ... Spector looked like he picked up the man in the middle (which was probably the right guy) but it was the left wing that scored.

Onyewu was the guy who let the Mexican get to the end line. He may have been out of position and trying to cover, but he got beat badly in a way that your last 2 men should never get beat.

[moriarty]

Onyewu was the guy who let the Mexican get to the end line. He may have been out of position and trying to cover, but he got beat badly in a way that your last 2 men should never get beat.

Yeah, he got beat at the point of attack. He was way way too slow to keep up with the guy. But ultimately the person who scored was left all alone on the left wing. I'm thinking it was Dempsey at the time that had the responsibility (if not Mastoroeni).

[Mr. Wednesday]

I'm not sure who lost the marking on their goal ... Spector looked like he picked up the man in the middle (which was probably the right guy) but it was the left wing that scored.

I spent a fair amount of time watching replays of the first goal, trying to figure out who screwed up. The sequence goes something like this:

* Mexico throws the ball in, with Bornstein tight on the back of the player receiving the throw.

* The ball is passed to an overlapping #7 (Medina), who is uncovered. I think that either Beasley should have picked up the overlapping run, or he should have had Bornstein drop to pick it up. The result of this is that our left back is now trailing the play and Mexico has a numbers-up break.

* Bornstein takes off after Medina, but doesn't catch up to him when Medina passes the ball off to Nery Castillo. Bocanegra picks up Medina. The problem with this is...

* Onyewu is now isolated on Castillo. Not a good matchup, because it's inside the box so Gooch can't afford to foul him, and Castillo's a good bit quicker than Gooch (and just about everyone else on the roster). If Bornstein or one of the dmids were in position to pick up Medina, then Bocanegra could double down onto Castillo, or he could help Spector. Speaking of whom...

* Meanwhile, there are two Mexican trailers making runs, and Spector is running back in the center channel with his head up. He sees both runs, and elects to cover the near post. Guardado is unmarked.


There are no individual breakdowns on this play that I can see — Onyewu got beaten to the endline, but I feel like that's about the least dangerous play he could have given up as he was at least in position to pressure the cross. Blaming him for not stripping Castillo one-on-one is harsh, considering that he beat just about everyone on our team one-on-one at some time or another. Mexico scored more because Guardado was unmarked at the back post than because Castillo got to the bye line. The only individual error that I can tentatively identify is Bornstein failing to catch up to Medina, and I figure there has to have been a reason for this because he started the chase.

There are multiple team breakdowns. First, Medina gets free down the sideline, where he should have been picked up by either Beasley or Bornstein IMO. Then there are two cutters in front of goal with only Spector to pick them up — someone (Donovan, Dempsey, Mastro, or Benny) probably should have been in position to cover out there, or to cover centrally so that Spector could cover the back post. At the end of the play, we have three players around Medina — Bocanegra, Feilhaber, and I'd guess Mastro — but only Bocanegra was in any position to get involved with the front three Mexican attackers and I don't think Medina was covered quickly enough that Bocanegra could release him and double Castillo or pick up the near post run.

[Blade6119]

I may be in the minority, but i think many of the defensive shortcomings the US faced derives directly from bornstein's lack of defensive ability. He is a solid offensive wing back, but he simply does not cut it defensively at this level. Rightly or wrongly, i think his shortcomings are leaving the central defenders in tough spots(such as in the play above). I know he was a chivas boy, and will get preferential treatment for it, but he just isnt good enough.

[moriarty]

I may be in the minority, but i think many of the defensive shortcomings the US faced derives directly from bornstein's lack of defensive ability. He is a solid offensive wing back, but he simply does not cut it defensively at this level. Rightly or wrongly, i think his shortcomings are leaving the central defenders in tough spots(such as in the play above). I know he was a chivas boy, and will get preferential treatment for it, but he just isnt good enough.

I don't know. Bornstein made some mistakes, but I really like his speed (now if we can just get Wynne up to task on the right side) and his ability to get forward.

Whom do you suggest is a better option at this point than Bornstein?

[Blade6119]

I think pearce is much better defensively, and is certainly bornsteins equal attacking-wise. He is on the copa roster, but im worried thats not exactly a fair test compared to bornstein getting the copa. Isnt heath coming off back to back top defender in the danish league awards?

I think bornstein is simply getting the nod due to Bradley being the one who drafted him and groomed him at chivas, where as pearce is the better player groomed in europe and is somewhat getting the shaft.

[GoDukes]

The commentary was cringe-worthy. "Benny and his jets!" barf

[cthomer5000]

The commentary was cringe-worthy. "Benny and his jets!" barf

Max Bretos makes me want to kill myself every time I listen. Also, it's clear that his partner, Chris Sullivan can't fucking stand the guy. He ignores so many of his retarted comments/questions that it is hilarious.

[Butter]

Also, it's clear that his partner, Chris Sullivan can't fucking stand the guy. He ignores so many of his retarted comments/questions that it is hilarious.

Chris Sullivan is actually pretty good, I think. Bretos is basically the beneficiary of longevity.

[Critch]

Max Bretos makes me want to kill myself every time I listen. Also, it's clear that his partner, Chris Sullivan can't fucking stand the guy. He ignores so many of his retarted comments/questions that it is hilarious.

I'm guessing there's a few of them at FSC who don't think much of him. In one of his special reports he spent 10 minutes calling on the English FA to relax work permit approvals so that more Americans can play in England.

You'd think one of them would say "Ummm, Max.....the English FA doesn't control the work permits, it's a legal requirement from the British Government" if they were not quite happy to let him talk crap and look bad.

[cthomer5000]

Chris Sullivan is actually pretty good, I think. Bretos is basically the beneficiary of longevity.

I agree. If I was in charge, I would clean house with that announcing crew and Sullivan would be the only guy to stay. I like him, I think he's insightful, and I appreciate that he clearly barely tolerates Bretos.

[moriarty]

I think pearce is much better defensively, and is certainly bornsteins equal attacking-wise. He is on the copa roster, but im worried thats not exactly a fair test compared to bornstein getting the copa. Isnt heath coming off back to back top defender in the danish league awards?

I think bornstein is simply getting the nod due to Bradley being the one who drafted him and groomed him at chivas, where as pearce is the better player groomed in europe and is somewhat getting the shaft.

I haven't seen enough of Pearce yet to form an opinion (i've only seen him play twice and my opinion was mixed). I'm definitely looking forward to seeing him get some playing time in the Copa. Hopefully he gets a good look.