I watched the whole game. The goalie was good. The first goal wasn't his fault and the 2nd one was just a great play by the opposition.
You were the only one on these board who did, but I'm sure your whole country were just as big pussies as you are
For the first goal Howard was on the ground BEFORE the shot! For the second, once again, he was moving before the ball was struck. Howard is all about show.
I believe I said: this draw is tough to swallow considering how close they were to a win Read more closely. You could've said any one of the midfielders were responsible for that cross but Bradley is an easy target because of that missed goal. The US were dominating possession in Portugal's half and Bradley was a big reason for that with his passes over the defense. He set up the offense multiple times but they couldn't capitalize on the counter attack or with their terrible corners. That missed goal sucked. But the whole team is to blame for the draw (not loss), not just Bradley.
Butthurt? Lol. Sorry bro, not at all. It was a great match, and I give both squads a lot of credit. But at least I can show respect for my opponent, no matter the outcome. The US should have won though.
What was that about then: Yes, the whole team is to blame, but some more than others and Bradley is one of them IMO.
Hey our first goal looked well really nice.. Maybe I'm way off, but it reminded me of the Messi goal yesterday. It was a just a player making a shot that could not be saved. That was nice to see. The passing definitely sticks out now that you brought it up.
First, not true, second, not the point. Howard's job was to close the distance to the attacker to make the empty net smaller. Instead he is guessing where the ball will go, and acts on that guess. The result is that split second delay in shot landed him on the ground. If he to do what he was supposed to do, there would've been at least a 50/50 shot at stopping the goal. He does this guessing thing all the time. Watch Ghana's goal again -- Howard was falling back and to the right before the shot, making the net bigger and that's why his left foot didn't reach the ball. Same shit on that "great" save. Again, he was moving - falling - to his right, before the shot. That's why all he could manage were fingertips. I'm telling you, Howard is good on long shots, but he is completely awful in key situations.
I'll give you that. You caught me on my hyperbole in my first post. It was a team effort and Bradley deserves just as much blame as anyone else. But to target him and Howard as the reasons for the loss as you've been doing makes me think that you only watched the highlights of the game i.e three major plays instead of the game as a whole. And to blame Howard on those two goals makes me think this is the first soccer game you've watched.
It was a THREE ON ZERO in front of the net. If Howard doesn't flop the player can still pass it out to one of two open teammates lol. I don't really know why he flopped on that other than maybe he was trying to dare him to put it high or guessing it would be a shot or pass on the ground but still that was basically an impossible situation the minute it happened. Blaming him on the second goal is also silly when it was Bradley who coughed it up and somehow one Portugal guy got past three defenders. As Alexei Lalas pointed out, he was the only guy in the box, there was only one thing that could happen on the play and the defenders still ****ed it up.
I've been watching futbol for close to 40 years, playing it and then coached. Trust me, it's not my first game.
If someone (probably the majority of fans watching this WC) only watched games in this World Cup you'd think Bradley was an awful player.
Then you should know blaming a goalie for a three-on-zero or for another one-on-one situation in front of net is the height of being nitpicky. I actually agree on the goal in the Ghana game, near post one-on-one is a bad goal to allow but blaming him for anything today is stupid. Especially considering it could easily have been four goals this awful defense allowed.
You're are not hearing me. Yes, it was a great pass, and chances are those goals would've been scored regardless. I'm telling you that Howard is not a top goalie because his fundamentals are crap. Goalies are supposed to react, not guess (exception PKs). Great goalies react faster and know tendencies of each individual attacker. The actions of the goalie before the shot is taken are targeted to minimize possibility of a goal. Howard does none of this things. In close encounters he falls back -- opposite of what you're supposed to do. He guesses all the time. And acts on this guess instead of reacting to the shot. Edit The way you handle breakaways is you run toward the attacker, I teach kids to yells like their ball are being torn off while doing it. It makes the net smaller and maybe, just maybe, confuses the ball handler for a split second. Against decent players this works maybe 10-15% off times. Falling on your ass backward while trying to guess where the ball will end up fails 100% of the times though.
Read post above. IMO Howard is crap not because they scored, but because all his actions increased chances of the goal being scored.
US played well, but DAMN we were the better team. Even being down 1-0 I knew we would get in and score. What a bullet by Jones...That really helped us, and honestly we played excellent in the second half...Bradley also had a terrific shot that should have gone in...He was much better but yes people will blame him for that turnover but Portgual player I think William made a excellent tackle on him and obviously the fault I think is on Beasely for not fouling Ronaldo who had the space...We got beat by the best player in the world on that play. He pulled a rabbit out of the hat. If you truly look at the performance you will note that the US have a great shot to advance and are clearly better as a unit then Portugal who are suffering injuries and lack a proper defense. I will take the draw but it just blows that we gave up the goal in 95th minute...Ugh. US vs Germany could be a backbreaker if Germans play for their life but I think both teams will play it safe and keep a eye on the Portugal vs Ghana game on the sidelines...No team wants to risk it, but it would not surprise me if Jurgen really preps the team to play attack minded against Germans. I just hope its a smart game...He has made great choices the first two games. P.S. The Ghana game vs Germany is a lesson...Get ready because I think we will see Julian Green on the wing in the second half of Germany I think...You never know with soccer. Germany probably will advance but US may jolt Germans for the top seed. Anyone know the stipulation for Ghana to advance? Portugal is out. NO WAY they beat Ghana by 4 goals
