Hey there Soccer Fans. I’m the new kid on the block and since my first day on the job is just two days after USSoccer defeated T&T I’ve got some thoughts.
My original thinking was that the US squad had too much power for the Soca Warriors. Well, I was wrong. The “power” for the Americans came from Ricardo Clark. Ricardo who? That’s right, Ricardo Clark. He’s not a bad player, but he’s not a usual suspect either.
Think about it. The one goal that was scored (when I thought the game was going to be 3-0 or 4-0) was a ball played out by Clint Dempsey (a monster) to Landon Donovan (THE fixture) and THEN to Ricardo Clark. Needless to say, I’m confused.
Here’s the problem. Anybody will take a win, especially when you’re one win away from qualifying for the World Cup, but please don’t tell me that you feel “good” about beating T&T 1-0.
Yes, it’s good that Landon and Clint were in on the one and only goal, but if the US Team wants to carry its momentum then the big players need to be ON.
Believe me, I’m all about this team, but when Ricardo Clark is quoted as saying about Landon Donovan “He’s just a machine out there, man. He’s on his game.” and Landon only has 1 assist against an inferior team…something is wrong.
(Yes, I know Soccer is a possession game and scores stay low, but not with a mismatch like this.)
Landon’s got to show up in every game all the time. This team is like the Bulls of the 90’s… no MJ, no title. Same thing here: Landon should be the man all game, every game…serving as THE Fixture ALL the time! Period.
Now I’m not saying there aren’t other good players on the US Team(Clint Dempsey I’m talking about you!), but we need to start questioning where this team is going, if it’s going, and who’s in charge on the field. Is the torch being passed? Was it dropped in a Track and Field Relay-style disaster? There needs to be a higher level of expectation placed on this team in this country. Scrutiny brings out the best in highly competitive athletes…where’s the scrutiny?
Personally, I don’t know. If you know, I’d like to hear it. In the meantime, I’ll get back to you on that one…
