I’m going to defer to Kartik Krishnaiyer who has been on the case from day one and has good knowledge of the sale, and it’s implications.  Take a peek.

-Max Zeger

Very Nice!

-Max Zeger

-To start off, I need to pimp three articles I have written for goal.com recently.  The first is the new outlook of the US World Cup Roster based on the post Azteca fallout.  The next is a catchup with Vincenzo Bernardo, and finally, a chat with Lee Nguyen who’s playing in Vietnam.

-Bakary Soumare is off to France to join Boulogne.

-Jozy Altidore scored a 30 yard blast in a Carling Cup match yesterday vs. Southend.

-Paul Oberjeurge with an in-depth look at the Landon Donovan to PSG rumors.  It’s quality stuff.

-Fifa.com has a fascinating feature on Thomas Rongen.

-And finally, a look at the unfortunate story in which World Soccer Daily has been pushed off the air.

–Max Zeger

One interesting thing to note is the notable difference in career path as opposed to Freddy Adu.  At 14, Adu was playing in MLS, and six years later, it’s clear that maybe he would have been better served developing in a European academy.  The path taken by Gyau and Renken as well as Lleget who joined West Ham, and Luis Gil who recently joined Arsenal, is far different.  They don’t have to deal with the pressures associated with being a young star being pushed to produce before they are ready.  For this reason, I support any US youngster’s move to a European Academy.

While I really should hold my tongue on this because I might jinx are chances, I’m really looking forward to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.  With many of our youngsters joining big European clubs, we may have the most talented World Cup roster yet come 2014.

That’s all for now, if you want more information, you can look here.

–Max Zeger

Jozy has fantastic skill.  We all know that.  He’s big, strong, quick, and he uses all of those tools well, but I think a tempering of expectations is in order.  While Jozy’s first touch in the Premiership was perfect, the rest of his performance was slightly less heartening.  Bolton’s defending was shambolic after the goal, and Jozy found himself in space numerous times.  Most premier league defenses are organized and disciplined, so Jozy will need to be on top of his game to get space and shots.

I like to think of England this way:  The top 14 teams are premiership quality.  The final 6 are in between Championship and Premiership along with the top 6 from the Championship.  Bolton is in that bottom 6, and when he goes up against the likes of Chelsea, or even Fulham, space like he saw saturday will be hard to find.

I love Jozy’s game.  I’m not hating on him, I just think the expectations need to be lowered.  Ten goals this season would be fantastic.  The real litmus test comes in a month when Hull face Liverpool.  Unless Jozy starts scoring goals consistently before then, I’ll wait and see how he battles against the big boys.

–Max Zeger

Summer’s ending soon, the high schools have started fall practices, and a lot of us will go back to college, so I thought I’d organize a big end to the summer while everyone was still around.

…So I challenged the NY Red Bulls* to a match. Seriously. I think we can take them.

If they show:

5:30 PM
2104 W. Rogers Ave

Bring:

Light/Dark Shirts
Water
Balls
Friends

See you there!

Bryan

*Baltimore Pick-Up Soccer is not responsible if the NY Red Bulls do not show or participate on Thursday. Baltimore Pick-Up Soccer can also not be held responsible if the NY Red Bulls show little soccer acumen, teamwork, or athleticism. The NY Red Bulls are not a soccer club; they sell energy drinks.

This really sums up the awful season that the Red Bulls have had.  They couldn’t even beat W Connection from Trinidad at home.  I really feel awful for the fans, and keep in mind that is coming from a DC United fan… I’m supposed to hate.

–Max Zeger

This would certainly be a great move for the youngster.

–Max Zeger

I’m getting out of here before I start dancing myself to some Eurobeats!

–Max Zeger

 Do I like this move?  Yes.  Sochaux have just sold a striker, so Davies at the very worst will be the third striker, but chances are, he will be starting in Ligue 1.  I also like that he hasn’t moved to a league that isn’t too big.  Davies, although talented, is not yet ready for the Premiership, or La Liga, but France is a stepping stone to those big leagues.  He will be in the shop window, and if he can prove his worth by bagging some goals, he could be in line for a move to a top European club in a few years.  

What do you think of the move?  Excited to see Davies finally take get his long awaited move to France?  Let’s hear it.

44′- Honduras with most of the possesion here at the end of the first half.

40′- Pearce with a yellow for swiping at the legs of a Honduran

38′- Medina with a yellow card for a pull on Rogers.  Free Kick gets knocked around until there is a shot from the US that bounces and goes over the goal.

36′- Adu with some fancy dribbling after Quaranta gets completely taken out.  Very, very dangerous play by the Honduran player.

34′- Adu with a snap header from eight yards… right at the goalie.  Good opportunity again generated by Robbie Rogers with the cross

33′- Dangerous Free Kick for Honduras, Perkins comes out and collects a poorly taken one.

31′- Honduras gets a one-on-one, but it’s put into the side netting.  US with a corner kick now… leads to a shot by Cherundolo which goes high.

30′- Good possesion from the US, but it’s not leading to many chances.

27′- Quaranta with some lovely work send Rogers down the wing, and he earns a corner.  Adu takes it, and Marshall’s header roles lamely wide.

26′- Robbie Rogers is getting killed out there.  He’s looked so dangerous though, they really need to shut him down because he is causing lots of trouble.

24′- Freddy Adu with his third bad giveaway on the night which almost leads to a good counter attack.  Luckily, Chad Marshall was there to clean up his mess.

22′- Ching was slipped in by Beckerman, but Ching can’t stick it in and it’s cleared off the line.

20′- A Honduras player takes a huge flop in the box.  No call, but what is it with all these Central American Teams, absolutely no class.

19′- Perkins comes out and takes the ball from an onrushing Carlos Costly.  That was close there.

17′- Honduras threatens, but the US is dominant in the air.

15′ Quality chance!  Freddy adu with a nice flick to Rogers who cuts it back, but a diving header from Quaranta goes wide.  Great play!

14′- US threatens with some nice passes in the attacking third, but no shots.

13′- Chad Marshall looks really good so far.  He’s easily handling Carlos Costly, and he is certainly a handful.

12′- Freddy Adu with a long range shot blocked.  The US has space on the left, and they need Robbie to exploit it.  Free Kick from the left goes nowhere.

10′- Rogers looks really sharp on the left side.  He’s the best player on the Red, White, and Blue half of the pitch so far.

9′- US with a good bit of possession there.  Things are looking a little better.

7′- Honduras the better team in the early going.

4′- Freddy Adu has already been knocked down twice.  He needs to get a bit more into it… aggressive.

3′- Honduras with a dangerous cross that is collected, but the ball gets away.  The US can’t let that happen many times or they will not like the final score.

1′- Game on, the USA with the early throw in.  Now a corner kick that results in nothing.

Pre Game- The USA is out on the field, anthems are done, players are shaking hand, game on ladies and gents’.

The US lineup is as follows: 

————–Ching—————–

Rogers——–Adu————Quaranta

———Beckerman—Pause———–

Pearce–Marshall–Parkhurst–Cherundolo

————Perkins—————-

Available Subs:

9-Charlie Davies
10-Stuart Holden
16-Jay Heaps
17-Kenny Cooper
18-Luis Robles
21-Brad Evans

25-Benny Feilhaber

No big shocks except that Benny Feilhaber doesn’t get the start.  Quaranta gets the start in front of the home town crowd which is nice.  This is a strong lineup, we’ll see how it stacks up to Honduras soon. 

I’ll be back at game time. Let’s hear your thoughts on the game.

This is the place for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game comments.