OT World Cup Thread

Curiously, of the eight groups, only two have all four teams still in the running. Up until yesterday, the pattern had been that one team moved on and one was eliminated every day. Of course, some of those undecided teams are looking pretty comfortable, like Brazil and Nigeria. Others are hanging on by their fingernails.

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Originally Posted by WindyCityGoldenEagle

Regarding benching him, he hasnt been very good for two games now - that i will agree with but he's arguably our best player so that's just ridiculous to bench him.

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I don't think it's ridiculous at all. This tournament is finite. You're only as good as your last game. And he's been a liability.

As far as going out, I'm more worried about the margin the US will lose by. This will be difficult to recover from.

Ok let's hear your solution? So you bench him...Who are you putting in his spot?

It's the hardest position on the field and if you've watched more than two games you know he is by far our best option regardless of two poor games.

He was much better today, yes the play at the end was bad, but overall today was much better.

Bradley was undeniably bad against Ghana, but I thought he had a lot of good moments today. He was consistently good on the attack, and did win his share of balls in the midfield. He also had a few ugly turnovers, with the last one being the most costly. As big of a Mix Diskerud fan as I am, you cannot replace Bradley for him. All the other possible options significantly lack Bradley's quality (and I do not even want to here fat Landon as a second guess option). Knowing Bradley's pride and conditioning, I expect a strong performance Thursday against a vulnerable German midfield and back line.

For as bad as Bradley has been, Jermaine Jones looks about as good as I remember. That goal he scored today was incredible, and he has no trouble being physical.

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Originally Posted by WindyCityGoldenEagle

Ok let's hear your solution? So you bench him...Who are you putting in his spot?

It's the hardest position on the field and if you've watched more than two games you know he is by far our best option regardless of two poor games.

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Thanks for the condescension. I'm willing to bet I watch more football than most here.

Getting back to Bradley, I think it's a question that needs to be asked. The margin at this tournament is so small that you can't just give him a pass on past performance. One mistake can mean the end of the tournament.

Who would I play? The play of Jones and Beckerman gives you a little more flexibility, as neither will shirk on their defensive responsibilities. I'd give Mix a look. Or play another forward with Dempsey, depending on what JK wants from the Germany game.

It's not an easy call, but at the very least worthy of discussion.

I am not as familiar with the personnel as some of you, but aside from that glaring, stupid turnover at the end, Bradley played pretty well. He more than held his own. You have to put the players on the field who give you the best chance to win. I would be surprised if that is someone other than Bradley.

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Originally Posted by MUfan12

Thanks for the condescension. I'm willing to bet I watch more football than most here.

Getting back to Bradley, I think it's a question that needs to be asked. The margin at this tournament is so small that you can't just give him a pass on past performance. One mistake can mean the end of the tournament.

Who would I play? The play of Jones and Beckerman gives you a little more flexibility, as neither will shirk on their defensive responsibilities. I'd give Mix a look. Or play another forward with Dempsey, depending on what JK wants from the Germany game.

It's not an easy call, but at the very least worthy of discussion.

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My apologies if that came off as condescending-wasn't my intent. I've heard many people say bench Bradley--but those people have only watched him play these first two games and I was simply implying that if you've watched more than the WC you know how good Bradley is and how important he is to our team.

While I get your point about a finite tournament and win now, I am still strongly of the mindset that benching Bradley would be ridiculous. Finite or not, just think about other sports - you don't bench your best player (imo he's our best but it's prob between him, demp and Howard) just bc he's had two rough games. We need him and klinsman knows this which is why the thought of benching him hasn't even crossed his mind.

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Originally Posted by MKE_GoldenEagleFan

I would assume those are odds of not advancing... Germany has way better than a 1/100 odd of advancing at this point.

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Obviously you are not a gambling man. 1/100 odds do not mean Germany has a 1-in-100 chance to advance. It means quite the opposite. To win $1 on Germany advancing at this point a bettor needs to wager $100. Portugal at 8-1 odds means a $100 bet would win $800 if they advance. I hope this gambling tutorial has been enlightening.:cool: