We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
The friendlies keep rolling on this week. Next up tonight - the improving U.S. side against fellow World Cup veterans Paraguay. Can we build upon that second half performance from Saturday night against Argentina? We'll soon see - join me from 8 pm onward on FSC.
posted by The Blue Devil @ 7:43 PM
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
87 Comments:
Nice build-up to the match now on FSC with Waldo and Chris Sullivan in the studio.
Here are the teams out of Nashville tonight:
USA: Hahnemann, Chandler, DeMerit, Ream, Bornstein, Bradley, Edu, Dempsey, Donovan, Altidore, Aguedelo
Paraguay: Villar, Cacares, Mareco, DaSilva, Samudio, Vera, Molinas, Perez, Cardozo, Riveras, Estigarrida
The U.S. get us started here at Nashville.
I've never seen this kid Ream from the Red Balls - good chance to take a look tonight.
First decent chance falls to Paraguay's Perez.
I suspect that this Honduran ref is going to get punked quite a bit by the Paraguayans tonight. DeMerit will have to watch himself.
A lot of hype on this kid Juan Aguedelo after Saturday, but if he keeps clicking along, you could definitely see him pairing up with Charlie Davies.
Kyle Martino's tip for Paraguay: "Early rhythm." What the hell?!
Fairly scrappy early doors - very different from the match earlier today which was full of good action right from the start.
Clash of heads there between Bornstein and Perez.
A lot of sloppiness already in the middle of the park between Edu and Bradley.
GOAL! Bloody hell - that was soft. Cardozo latches onto a loose ball from a corner and roofs it to put Paraguay into the lead.
0-1!
Decent response from the U.S. but we've been poor so far. Dempsey rises for a cross but he could never get over it.
Chandler's been lively on the right channel and wins a free kick.
Donovan floats it over but it's collected by the keeper.
I keep waiting for Jay DeMerit to improve but he looks to be nothing better than a journeyman footballer. And Tim Ream looks like a deer caught in the headlights.
Now Vera chops down Dempsey. Should be a card.
Finally Vera has chopped himself into the book. It's about time.
Half an hour gone and there's been very little pattern to the U.S. play to date. Kyle Martino seems to like what he's seen but he's a numpty.
Decent move down the right there but it ends with Dempsey hitting the corner flag with his shot.
DeMerit launches himself at a Donovan free kick and injures himself in the process. Bocanegra replaces him.
Good save by Hahneman from that long strike.
Into two minutes of stoppage time.
Martino again says it's been a good first half for the U.S. He's an idiot. This has been shockingly poor against a second-rate Latin side. We obviously got up for the Argentina match and have relaxed a bit too much tonight. I'm hoping that we can turn it around in the second half.
Half time.
The U.S. team coming out of the tunnel for the second half looking a bit ragtag.
Jermaine Jones coming on for the second half replacing Mo Edu. And David Yelldell is replacing Marcus Hahneman in goal.
Oh - Aguedelo went down looking for a penalty. Nothing doing from the ref.
Really impressed by Chandler tonight. He really adds some overlapping attack down the right flank.
Bradley spread it well to Bornstein but the fullback's ball was too close to the keeper.
Wooooooo hooooooo!
LUFC international Eric Lichaj coming on for Jozy Altidore. Jozy was abject again tonight.
Hello Bd. I am joining you . The telly is on in the other room so I will be going back and forth. How have you been?
I saw Lichaj come on just as I walked in the house.
I'm doing well, mate. Good to hear from you tonight. The U.S. performance hasn't been much to write home about, though.
Dempsey shot over after a great run by Lichaj.
Oh - LUFC international Eric Lichaj crossed for Dempsey who was always falling back.
Who is Yelldell in the Us Goal?
The disappointing Perez is coming off to be replaced by Martinez.
I will watch England vs Ghana later this evening unless it was a really poor match.
Landon shoots wide , but was flagged offside.
I just looked up Yelldell at the beginning of the half when he came on. He was born in Stuttgart and plays for MSV Duisburg. Sounds like an Army brat with an American dad.
Actually, the England v. Ghana was quite open and attacking. You'll enjoy it. I won't mention the score.
That was a poor free kick by Dempsey after he was fouled. Where was the card for the high boot?
I just can't see the U.S. side scoring at present. They don't really look threatening. Maybe a fluke set piece goal?
Thanks Bd. I think I remember Yeldell. He was playing in the lower divisions in Germany. I think Duisburg is in their second division.
Vera has had a catalog of fouls tonight. Surely it's time for his second yellow.
Paraguay is always strong defensively. They like to win 1-0.
Lichaj won a free kick that was taken by Landon and just eluded everyone.
Yeah - I just don't see the U.S. having the invention to break them down. If Italy couldn't do it....
Talking about army brats, Jermaine Jones, on loan to Blackburn is starting. Where are the Air Force Brats?
Oh - LUFC international Lichaj with a Rory Delap-style long throw that goes straight through to Donovan who rockets a shot up into the stanchion. I'm not sure why he thought he needed the power.
No kidding...or the DODDS brats.
That must have been the best chance of the match as Landon shot into the side netting off of a long throw by Lichaj.
Bornstein's coming off and Sasha Kljestan is coming on.
Yes , I forgot about the DODDS brats. I bet there are more of them playing football than anyone else.
There's a tradition of the military kids with American dads in the U.S. side. That was the story with Ernie Stewart. Even funnier was Thomas Dooley, who spoke with a broad German accent.
Klejstan came on for Bornstein.
I remember them. Dooley's was a sad story as I think his dad had deserted his family when he was a young child. I think Jones and Stewart may have similar stories.
The tv is on in the living room, so normal service is resumed.
Tim Chander coming off now. He's been excellent tonight. Great getting up and down and nice crosses.
Spector is on for Chandler, who must be a young MLS player.
Is Auguelo the player that scored against the Argies?
I've often felt that if we'd been born about ten years later, some of us might have ended up playing professionally. The key date was 1989 when the U.S. qualified for Italia 90 off the Paul Caligiuri wonder goal. By that time, we were all out of college.
I am not sure what infraction was supposed to have occurred when the goal was scored.
Yeah - there was a lot of hype about him before the match. He's been relatively quiet.
That is true, BD. I am sure Dave could have played professionally. My biggest obstacle was tat I did not start to play until I was eleven years old.
Decent ball over from Sasha but Landycakes just couldn't reach it.
More than 29K tonight in Nashville - that's a great figure for a non-soccer town.
You are correct,BD. Instead of 1-0 to the Arsenal it should be 1-0 to the Paraguay as that seems to be their favorite margin of victory.
Yeah - Dave, John, probably Kevin Brynie. They could have had journeymen careers for sure but it's a very hard life.
Yes that is an excellent attendance. a s Bradley forces a great save from the keeper
Bradley let rip and it was well tipped over by Villar.
Jermaine Jones volleys well over. I was not aware that Kevin Brynie played footer.
I could see Jermaine Jones playing a role as an extra holding man in a tough away match like in the Azteca against Mexico but otherwise he's fairly negative.
Yeah - Kevin was a classy center back, but he was so snobbish about it that he refused to play for the LHS side. He played for English teams.
There was so much hype about him when he first joined the US team, but he seems ordinary, IMHO. He was supposed to have a chance of playing for the German national team, but I don't see how he would make their squad. Stoppage time begins.
That is why I never saw him play. His dad was my cross country coach and was always great to deal with.
I agree. I was hoping that JJ was going to be a more dynamic midfielder like a Yaya Toure type that got up and down. JJ seems more like a sideways pass merchant.
Two minutes remaining.
That's right - I forgot that Mr. Brynie did cross country. I always enjoyed his science classes.
What a save by Vilar as the ref blows for full time and The Us end up with a disappointing 0-1 loss at home to Paraguay.
He was my Physical Science Teacher during my freshman year.
I agree - the commentators keep trumpeting the performance but I can't see it. After the manful display against the Argies, this was a let down.
We have a busy Saturday as both Man Yoo and Leeds play in early matches.
That's that, then. I looks to be an epic Saturday starting with the early one between ManYoo and West Ham alongside Leeds and Forest. I'll look for you then, mate. Have a good week!
Cheerio!
Cheers Bob. I will see you on Saturday . Have a great week.
Hey Guys,
Sorry I wasn't aroud for the match. Didn't miss much I guess
Thanks for the kind words about me.
As for Kevin Brynie, I remember playing against him when I was playing for Safepac and he was playing for Kingfishers. I played for English clubs until high school but I enjoyed my two seasons with AYA too. OF COURSE, HIGH SCHOOL AS WELL!!
I also met up with Kevin again in college during my freshman year. He was a year older than me and I took a year off so he must have been a Junior when I was freshman. He was playing for Cornell and I was playing for Cortland. We scrimmaged him pre-season... I tooled him one on one!!!
The parts were more promising than the whole tonight. Players like Chandler and Agudero continue to shine.
I was impressed that our players who don't feature much at their clubs were the ones really struggling.
Also noticed that Landon looks stale. He has enough player power to demand a loan spell back at Everton and he should spend it doing just that.
Why does Klestjan feature at all. I can't think of an instance where he's come on and been a factor. Now that we've discovered Chandler and Diskaruud, Sasha join Quaranta and Adu in the ranks of the tried-and-dismissed.
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