Isolated clip of LD on the 30 for 30 thing. He sounds like he's already been told he's not going to Brazil.

http://t.co/BDDsuce49Z

5/23/2014 8:41:58 AM

I was definitely surprised to hear he wasnt even on the final roster. I get that the idea is we are trying to build into a team that can actually do something in the world cup and sometimes you have to make tough calls like this.

In the end if you have two guys who are likely gonna ride the bench for most of it why not bring the guy who has helped put US soccer on the map the past decade and give him one more WC shot. It's not like we are expected to advance past the group stage either way.

I mean to be fair he has scored as many WC goals as Messi, Ronaldo, and Van Persie combined have in the WC so the guy knows how to get the job done obviously. I guess its just a shame to not get to see him given one more chance to help the US win some games. Hopefully the younger guys step it up and get the job done.

5/23/2014 8:57:36 AM

Here's what I think it boiled down to.

Klinsmann wanted to see one last time if Donovan was worth a starting spot with the full A roster. If not, he didn't see him as an "impact sub" type player because Donovan has never been that kind of player for us so he cut him. And in cutting him, he's created the extra motivation for the players that made the roster that have to listen to reporters and fans talk about how this World Cup is a lost cause and they're building for 2018. And they're probably thinking to themselves "Fuck that, we qualified without him."

So basically it's Landy's experience/influence on the bench in Brazil vs. the extra motivation from the reaction to his cut.

5/23/2014 9:06:45 AM

JK just wrote reams of bulletin board material for his own team.

5/23/2014 11:48:46 AM

Just in case anyone missed the first episode.

5/23/2014 12:25:08 PM

John O'Brien has more World Cup goals than Bale and Ramsey combined!

5/23/2014 12:34:39 PM

Quote :

"Not sure why Green made it over Donovan. Doesn't Green hardly play for his club team and has played less than one half for the U.S.?"

Because he is a phenomenal young talent and Donovan has had issues with his body for quite a while. Not to mention the WCQ debacle with Lando.

Green plays for Bayern Munich which is one of the top 4 clubs in the world and OVERLOADED with talent.

[Edited on May 23, 2014 at 12:47 PM. Reason : and he's 18. Germany wanted him badly.]

5/23/2014 12:45:25 PM

where's Flyin Ryan?

Thought he'd be all over this.

5/23/2014 12:47:50 PM

lol wow, I guess he was in worse shape than I thought.

5/23/2014 12:49:50 PM

^Holy Cow! When was that taken?

5/23/2014 12:55:00 PM

HAHAHAHAHAHA
https://twitter.com/DonovansGut

5/23/2014 1:02:58 PM

Kids and their social media.

5/23/2014 3:36:42 PM

I am assuming thats Jurgens kid? If so that was pretty dumb and any decent father would take away that kids phone and ground his ass till he was 18... automatically makes it look like your father or family had it in for him.

5/23/2014 3:42:14 PM

Quote :

"But the FIFA rankings are a joke. I'm not saying it to talk ugly to you, but most people know not to pay attention to them. At one point the US was #4 in the world before Germany 2006 and then they played Germany and got destroyed to show how good they really were."

Well no rankings are completely accurate but people are way too emotional to determine who the best teams are so we can never truly know. Getting killed by Germany that day didn't necessarily prove there were 4 teams out there better than us. They give you a good idea of how well teams are playing.

5/23/2014 7:02:51 PM

you nailed it Earl

5/23/2014 7:26:17 PM

Quote :

"Kids and their social media."

And adults too. No pro, or college athletes should be on social media. And their families probably shouldn't either.

5/23/2014 8:51:09 PM

^ That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Twitter is great, and used properly it's a wonderful tool for athletes to interact with fans, media, and other players.

Just like in any other arena, though, DON'T SAY DUMB SHIT IN PUBLIC.

5/24/2014 2:00:26 PM

^The problem is they seem to say dumb shit.

5/24/2014 5:31:46 PM

Who is they? 2% of athletes?

"2% of athletes say dumb shit, GET ALL ATHLETES OFF TWITTER!"

g
t
f
o

5/24/2014 5:40:32 PM

http://theshinguardian.com/2014/05/25/tsgs-usa-vs-azerbaijan-preview-1-a-d-after-donovan/

5/26/2014 8:51:12 PM

That article is unreadable. "Jurge Low" was the straw that broke the idontknowwhatthehellimtalkingabout camel's back.

5/27/2014 12:06:18 AM

http://instagram.com/p/oefA24qGb3/

5/27/2014 12:31:51 PM

Pre-WC Friendly #1 is tonight at 10 v. Azerbaijan

Don't think it'll be a beatdown like everybody is expecting. I'm hoping for no injuries, some solid defensive work, and for Jozy to play well. Also, I'd like Julian Green to score 10 goals so everybody will shut the fuck up.

5/27/2014 4:55:15 PM

10 PM start on a Tuesday night. Screw you west coast.

Also I'm curious why they decided to train in California. Isn't the heat and humidity going to be more like the east coast? Seems like that would've made more sense.

5/27/2014 7:18:20 PM

Should have trained in Miami.

[Edited on May 27, 2014 at 7:21 PM. Reason : pretty sure they scheduled it before the rigged draw. ]

5/27/2014 7:20:41 PM

Win or lose who the fuck cares

NO. INJURIES.

5/27/2014 7:57:30 PM

Deuce out.

Still time to hop on the Wando bandwagon...

5/27/2014 10:03:54 PM

surprised he went with Wondo over AJ. Not quite the same player.


goddamn it Ribs

[Edited on May 27, 2014 at 10:15 PM. Reason : .]

5/27/2014 10:06:30 PM

Ok San Fran, that national anthem was WEEEAAAKKK!

5/27/2014 10:19:37 PM

we look like shit but i can't get over the fact that we look like shit.

i'm convinced the jerseys were intentionally designed poorly not sure why but they had to be, right?

If you added stars to the blue and stripes to the red they might be decent.

[Edited on May 27, 2014 at 10:37 PM. Reason : or maybe just using the correct blue would be a start]

5/27/2014 10:37:33 PM

Not impressed with Bradley

5/27/2014 11:31:15 PM

i think this team will disappoint. all our eggs are in the altidore basket and he's having a bad year. i still have no clue how eddie johnson was left out.

[Edited on May 27, 2014 at 11:42 PM. Reason : peaked a year early]

5/27/2014 11:42:02 PM

At least we finally decided to score.

5/27/2014 11:55:02 PM

Quote :

"i think this team will disappoint. "

i mean, what qualifies as disappointing? the expectations couldnt be much lower.

5/28/2014 12:00:39 AM

Expectations couldn't be lower? A lot of people acting like bitches lately just because we are in a tough group. Ghana is a good team but losing to them and losing every game would be a fucking disaster. Make no mistake.

5/28/2014 1:12:03 AM

That wasn't a great performance, but I wasn't surprised since the US had to play against a bunker ball team. I was glad to see the early chances though.

5/28/2014 2:10:57 AM

^^So your only expectation is that we don't lose to Ghana an yet you disagree with my comment?

5/28/2014 7:14:17 AM

I don't think we played that bad. It looked like they were trying to work some stuff out to me. Most notably playing the ball from deep early when they could have easily passed it through the midfield.

If that keeper doesn't stand on his head twice that's a 4-0 cruise.

5/28/2014 7:48:00 AM

Yeah, I don't get the sky is falling mentality either. Seems most people have made up their minds already about this team. It wasn't great but if Wondo puts one of those headers away and we get that penalty, it's smooth sailing. I didn't expect us to come out after a long camp against a team with 11 behind the ball and batter them anyway.

I think it's clear Fabian Johnson is the best RB in the pool and why JK is moving Cameron and switching Chandler to accommodate. Also, all the "play Beckerman to let Bradley run the offense" people got what they wanted last night because Jones played a Beckerman role perfectly and it didn't go well. Jones is useful because he covers so much ground and you're limiting him by making him a true DM. Oh well. Wish JK wasn't married to the idea of Jozy up top. I think AJ/Dempsey could be interesting.

5/28/2014 8:06:10 AM

I am actually pretty worried we are gonna end up 0-3 still. Maybe thats just being a NC State fan spilling over into other sports.. if I just assume we go 0-3 then when we go 0-2-1 it will feel like a victory haha.

5/28/2014 8:57:39 AM

0-2-1 is also a big disappointment. 0-1-2 or 1-2 are pushes. Just because we lost to Ghana in the past doesn't suddenly make it acceptable. We should beat Ghana just as much as we should lose to Portugal.

5/28/2014 2:50:14 PM

You are acting like a bitch

5/28/2014 5:35:26 PM

1-1-1 is my hopeful prediction

5/28/2014 5:39:27 PM

That's what we'll need to do to have any chance of advancing. Lose to Germany, beat Ghana, tie Portugal and hope our goals for/goals against works out for us.

5/28/2014 6:36:54 PM

Yep, 4 is always the target. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. That's just the way she goes.

5/28/2014 6:46:53 PM

luckily we play germany last so we probably have the best chance in the group against them. at least we can hope for the smallest goal difference.

5/28/2014 6:56:21 PM

Holy shit, lol at the video.

(Nigeria friendly related)

http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/28/nigeria-goalkeeper-scores-mad-own-goal-amid-match-fixing-allegations-4743228/

5/28/2014 9:34:47 PM

Looks like a well placed elbow by the attacker right on the ball knocked it loose and in the goal.

5/28/2014 10:33:08 PM

So thoughts on Turkey? Looks like they called in a solid squad and beat Honduras and Ireland last two recent games. Should be a good challenge..

6/1/2014 7:56:22 AM

Yeah should be a good test for the diamond defensively and this back 4.

6/1/2014 1:25:06 PM