Comments on: Arena Wanted To Stay

By: Adam

Adam — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 23:51:05 +0000

I think it’s safe to say that Keller is our best keeper. He is a fine keeper and had precious little to do with the goals that we gave up. You can’t blame our fall in the world cup to one goal, and that Koller goal certainly wasn’t his fault. I don’t know if you realize this but that Koller is 6′8. The cross was well above Koller’s head prior to reaching him. It’s fair to say, there isn’t a keeper in the world that could’ve reached it, esp with two American defenders next to Koller. He would have knocked his own defender down attempting to get to it, which obviously wouldn’t allowed him the elevation to reach it. What you think he should’ve done in the break-away is plain silly. He would’ve gotten a red card!! That would’ve been a foolish play without question and that is why you haven’t seen other keepers do that this WC. Keller was the right man.

Secondly, Keller isn’t a centerback or fullback, he isn’t responsible for their errors in judgement. Yes, he should make sure they stay organized, but what happens when they are organized but make a stupid play, that’s keller’s fault? I think it’s obvious you are just biased against Keller who is in fact a good keeper but was left high and dry on the goals he let in. Honestly, I don’t think even Cech or Buffon would’ve saved those.

By: Boyd Lalo

Boyd Lalo — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 05:36:14 +0000

Bruce wanted to stay???

We need to kick him out to make room for Jurgen!!

By: Galactico

Galactico — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 01:30:36 +0000

“However, all of the goals in this World Cup had more to do with serious mental lapses/errors than shaky goalkeeping.”

Mental lapses/erros = shaky goalkeeping. That, was my point, actually – that Keller’s shakey goalkeping, in other words poor decision making, came from mental lapses and errors. His initial move was always wrong, making his next move too late to allow him to cover.
For example, he shouldn’t have stood there on the line like that when he saw Koller bounding down on him for at least a good 5 seconds, everybody could see it, and then to still stand there when he knew the cross was coming in, he should’ve gone out and AT THE VERY LEAST have TRIED to punch the ball away, instead of waiting there and watching Koller have a CLEAN HEADER. Everybody could see it coming.
Also, sometimes, it’s better to go out and tackle the striker at the edge of the area and get a penalty rather than sit back and have the dude beat you with a shot – you never know, you might be able to make a save on the penalty. Keller was real slow on the take on that one.
Those are the kinds of poor first-time decisions that Keller made.

Anyways, I was certainly disappointed.

The problem with Arena that I had this time was that he was afraid to take a chance. He used to, but this time around, he could’ve taken a chance with a couple of younger players, give them the opportunity which would’ve been great experiences for the future, but Arena stuck to an old formula, and obviously, it did not work. He could’ve mixed it up a bit. Thinking about the future a bit too.
Twellman, for me, is that poacher forward that you mentioned.

C-ya

By: ETucker

ETucker — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 21:07:08 +0000

Galactico: good points. To be honest I’ve only seen Hahnemann play a few times (near the end of the seaon) and he did look solid, though not spectacular. Kellery definitely could have been more aggressive (and not passed to the Czechs beforehand) on the Koller goal and perhaps on the Ghana breakaway.

However, all of the goals in this World Cup had more to do with serious mental lapses/errors than shaky goalkeeping. It’s not like Keller pulled a Van Der Saar and missed a backpass

Arena’s forward selections were interesting but defensible. He had two target forwards and two forwards with pace. He also had two forwards with World Cup experience and two fresh faces.

The criteria is always experience, capability, and form. At the time, Twellman wasn’t looking so hot in MLS, had limited international experience, and never seriously challenged for a spot in his bundesliga adventure.

However, the US definitely could use a poacher forward (like Inzaghi or Crespo) who may not fit into traditional forward boxes.

Convey was easily the best left mid at Bruce’s disposal. However, if we had a left mid in form and playing well in the Bundesliga, that would be a better story.

However, while I think leagues can be important, I really think it all comes down to who is training better and working harder. Bruce’s old hierarchy had lots of success, but a new coach who will be cutthroat is a welcome breath of fresh air.

By: Galactico

Galactico — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 13:16:17 +0000

And, ETucker, I forgot to mention –

Bobby Convey was a Championship all star too! Now he’ll do his best to be a Premier League all star.

By: Galactico

Galactico — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 12:25:06 +0000

Yeah, I would’ve let Hahnemann play, over Tim Howard – anybody but Keller, is what I was trying to say. After seeing Keller’s performance, the other 2 would’ve done a lot better. It was the right time to do it, because now Hahnemann himself will be too old for the next World Cup. He may not make it to the next one. It’s like with the Germans – Lehmann over Kahn. Arena should’ve done the same thing.
Hahnemann is fine as a keeper. At least he was playing every week for a good team. Howard was basically on the bench most of the time, getting a little B-team play here and there, but that’s it. And, Reading has made it to the Premier League – Hahnemann was a huge part of that success story. He even has 2 more inches and 3 years on Keller, and would definitely have been a better match against the likes of Jan Koller.

The point is, we’re all wondering what Arena was thinking.

Where was Twellman? I saw Twellman play in 3 very good matches leading up to the WC and he was in form. A real killer instinct he’s got. Reminded me of the likes of Linenker, Rossi, that type of player, who does well on the big stages. What a shame.

What about Adu? Arena should’ve at least put the kid in the team and should’ve played him for just 5 minutes against his former country of Ghana. I mean come on, that was a perfect opportunity to build up a huge buzz, and Arena didn’t quite get it The hype may have been enough energy to have lifted the US through to the next round. I was at that game in Nuremberg, and we all felt something was missing.

But hey, I am glad Arena is gone.

By: ETucker

ETucker — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 03:29:20 +0000

Two Country Fan: good points. Arena should be applauded for all his accomplishments, but that being said, it’s time for some new blood. Players who Bruce seemed to favor (like Donovan) now have to prove themselves all over again, which is a good thing.

Galactico: Keller has always been terrible in the air and his passes/punts have no aim whatsoever. That being said, which alternative do you trust more? A backup EPL keeper or a Coca Cola championship all star? Keller was the best option, even if he was flawed.

By: Galactico

Galactico — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 22:31:49 +0000

Screw him! He picked the wrong team for the World Cup, and he knows it.
Why did he use Kasey Keller? It’s obvious that the dude had lost a couple of steps, and he was not the strong link in the back that everybody had thought. His decision making on punches on crosses and keeping his defenders to man-mark obviously did not work. The management needs to take Keller out, someone needs to talk to him and tell him to step down. One of Arena’s biggest mistakes of this campaign.

By: Two Country Fan

Two Country Fan — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 22:13:56 +0000

Eight years are a long time. Bruce deserves a lot of credit for his accomplishments and now it is time to raise the bar.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 10:27:52 +0000

Interesting, it sounded like he was ready to go after the Ghana game.