Robbie Findley struggled yesterday in Holland. (Getty Images)

Do we chalk this loss yesterday to Holland as a bad thing. Uh, yes and no. Yes because its a loss and one that showed us exactly where we stand. No because it did help US manager Bob Bradley out in figuring out who exactly he needs to take with him to South Africa.

I felt like going into the classic good, bad and ugly theme for this recap. I gave it a day to mull things over and see where I think things stand. We did see some good, things we can take from the game and move forward with a positive attitude about. But on the flip side there were some negatives in this one and then some down right ugly items I hate even bringing up today. Continue Reading…

Not a bad showing by the US against Holland. (Getty Images)

I won’t go too into the match just yet, I have a plan on re-watching some of it later on today but I did want to give my initial player ratings from this afternoon’s 2-1 loss to the Dutch in Amsterdam.

WVH USMNT Player Ratings:

Tim Howard – 7
Jonathan Spector – 5
Carlos Bocanegra – 7
Jay DeMerit – 5
Jonathan Bornstein – 2
Stuart Holden – 5
Michael Bradley – 5
Jose Francisco Torres – 5
Landon Donovan – 4
Jozy Altidore – 6
Robbie Findley – 4

Subs:
Maurice Edu – 4
DeMarcus Beasley – 7
Alejandro Bedoya – 6
Heath Pearce – 4
Eddie Johnson – 4
Clarence Goodson – 5

Top Three Players for US:

1. DeMarcus Beasley – Off the bench he was very good today, probably much better than he’s been in recent games that I’ve seen him in. I like the idea of him still coming off the bench though instead of starting for the US.
2. Tim Howard – He made his usual few big saves but got unlucky with the PK and the other goal. Still can’t blame this loss at all on Timmy, he worked his ass off as usual.
3. Carlos Bocanegra – Got the lone goal on a great free kick by Beasley. He was so freakin’ open on that play it was ridiculous. He also did well in the back today for the US.

Overall it wasn’t a terrible game by the US. I thought Donovan was a ghost most of the game but that could be due to poor service from out of the back for him. Early on the US was too predictable in the midfield and in the final third. Robbie Findley was okay but really showed he has no shot at a roster spot in South Africa after getting over powered in this game by the Dutch defense. He has the speed to beat them but never really took people on like we would have liked.

Bad day for Bornstein though. First the penalty late in the first half and then the deflection for the second Dutch goal in the second half. I thought Bob Bradley should have subbed him at half for someone like Pearce but he’s got too much of a love fest for Bornstein.

Again, I hope to have more later on this game.

Brian Ching will be called to lead the Dynamo yet again. (Getty Images)

The 2010 season presents a challenge for Dominic Kinnear and the Houston Dynamo. First of all their top two stars from a year ago are now gone to Europe. Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark left a big hole in the midfield and some would even argue that the club is still recovering from the trade of Dwayne de Rosario from last winter.

Today we take a gander at where they are right now going into the new year. So far the Dynamo have shifted some players around drafted a couple guys that may never see time on the field and for the most part done very little in terms of player movement this winter. We’ve actually heard more news surrounding this club’s potential stadium deal than new players joining the roster this winter.

Let’s take a look at who the Dynamo have and where they still need to go before the new season starts next month.

Continue Reading…

Stuart Holden is on his way to Bolton. (Getty Images)

The day has some for those Houston Dynamo fans, their club no now longer has Stuart Holden. Bolton manager Owen Coyle has confirmed that the club will sign Holden as one of two winter acquisitions.

Holden joins former Dynamo teammate Ricardo Clark, who has signed with Eintracht Frankfurt, as Americans to make major transfer moves from MLS this winter.

How can a team recover from the loss of their two most important midfielders? It won’t be easy though having quality coaching in Dominic Kinnear, who has been a master at getting exactly what he wants out of players and deals with other teams. Also having some quality talent like Brad Davis and Geoff Cameron doesn’t hurt either.

But it is more than losing the likes of Clark and Holden that will be a game changer this winter for Houston and for that matter Major League Soccer. Clark we knew was headed overseas and the Dynamo easily knew last winter that they’d need to prepare for such a move. As for Holden there was always some hope that they could retain him even though his price tag was far higher than anything they could pay for.

Houston will have to recover fast here as the western conference is getting better each day with LA, RSL, Chivas, Seattle and even Dallas being major players for this coming season. If they don’t want to get passed up as the top dog in the west for good Kinnear will have to make some moves, which have to be expected at this point. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him go within the league for a veteran looking for a new home. Possibly a guy like Pablo Mastroeni would be a decent fit to replace Clark (just an idea floating in my head).

Houston is going to be down this year but I don’t think we can count them out just yet.

By now we’ve all all read and heard about the decision that Houston Dynamo attacking midfielder Stuart Holden has to make: Should he sign a new contract with the MLS and stay in Houston on a much better one then he has had the last few seasons, or taking the next step to get to the promised land of where the world’s best compete on a weekly basis? It’s the same dilemma that every young player has anywhere in the world.

Holden’s case is perhaps the most intriguing on any young American player in quite some time. First of all, being born in Scotland and holding duel citizenship opens doors without having to unlock any of them, especially in the British Isles where foreign players coming into the UK must provide the Home Office proof of having played in 75% or more national team games over the course of a calender year to obtain a work permit. Just ask Brad Friedel how many times he got turned down before finally getting accepted. Continue Reading…

Could it be the last time we see Stuart Holden on US soil for a while? Below is his New Year’s Day interview on Good Morning America. Not much to see in this interview as far as his upcoming trial with Burnley goes.

What's the best move for Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark? (Getty Images)

I won’t lie, I’ve been busy today with loads of last minute work at the office thanks to everyone taking their holiday breaks tomorrow and due to having to finalize all my Christmas shopping. Yes busy day and I’m partly to blame for the ladder of those two items since I put that kind of stuff off until the last minute.

But what I do want to discuss is from an article on Soccernet from one of my favorites Jeff Carlisle. Basically this link is all about how going to Europe for some young players isn’t what it use to be and boy this is dead on as well. I think too many times we see players go to Europe for the money and the “dream of playing” in Europe rather than actually looking at their situation as a player.

This is something I’ve been meaning to go into for a while. What I mean by it is take a guy like Stuart Holden or Ricardo Clark. They both have a chance to play in next year’s World Cup and could see plenty of playing time there too. Both are in a situation where they could go to Europe and play for a club and live that dream but potentially not see any playing time in the process, thus hurting their World Cup dreams. And also potentially putting their career in a bad situation where they don’t progress any further due to that lack of playing time. Call it the “Adu Syndrome” if you will. Quality player with a chance at something special but sees no field time to produce anything thus killing his National team chances.

And as Carlisle mentions we are seeing some of these players return to MLS because of this lack of playing time.

Now back to Holden and Clark, they are both in a situation where they need playing time to get on Bob Bradley’s roster next summer. Its coming down to either staying in MLS where the money is lacking or go to Europe and get paid but potentially just see the bench and possible no trip to South Africa.

Its a toughie.

Staying in MLS and making the World Cup roster isn’t a bad way to go either. Remember it’s playing big on the international stage that gets you that big pay day in terms of a transfer. If I were those two I’d stay in MLS for the first few months of the year and then look elsewhere in the summer after the World Cup.