majerus mojo Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Just now, slufanskip said: His recent play has not been great. He had the initial great start with the USMNT but really hasn't been great since. Hmm gotcha. Letting him play through it not really a soccer thing huh? Especially when our other options are ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseOfTheBillikens Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 1 minute ago, majerus mojo said: Hmm gotcha. Letting him play through it not really a soccer thing huh? Especially when our other options are ... Most usmnt fans aren't happy with him not starting if that's what you were wondering. Berhalter has his favorites it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemalvoSLU Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 4 hours ago, BilliesBy40 said: We are now one bad result in sub-optimal conditions away from being in a risky spot for qualification. Last I checked, it is forecasted to be zero degrees on Wednesday. I understand wanting to reduce travel in the window, but we should be playing inferior opponents like Honduras in decent weather to reduce uncontrolled variables. Ask the SLU Men’s soccer team about sub-optimal conditions, right? UW had a Zamboni mow the lawn pre-game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 2 minutes ago, majerus mojo said: Hmm gotcha. Letting him play through it not really a soccer thing huh? Especially when our other options are ... Honestly, we don't have many options. My understanding for last night was we were looking for someone with better movement off the ball. I still believe Pepi is our current best option. I'd like to see Josh S get another look though as no one is just claiming the spot. They are all very young though. Sometimes we can look at Pulisic, Reyna, McKennie, Adams, Dest, etc... and feel like if other young player's aren't excelling equally they are failing which is very wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlebill Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 32 minutes ago, slufanskip said: Honestly, we don't have many options. My understanding for last night was we were looking for someone with better movement off the ball. I still believe Pepi is our current best option. I'd like to see Josh S get another look though as no one is just claiming the spot. They are all very young though. Sometimes we can look at Pulisic, Reyna, McKennie, Adams, Dest, etc... and feel like if other young player's aren't excelling equally they are failing which is very wrong. The only ball movement Zardes provides is to the other team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierPal Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 41 minutes ago, majerus mojo said: Hmm gotcha. Letting him play through it not really a soccer thing huh? Especially when our other options are ... The games are too important to let him ‘play through’ it. Get him in some friendlies if that is what needs to be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BilliesBy40 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 11 minutes ago, HoosierPal said: The games are too important to let him ‘play through’ it. Get him in some friendlies if that is what needs to be done. His playing through it is better than Zardes or Morris. Plus, it's not as though Pepi is in some terrible funk. RiseOfTheBillikens, stmdragons and Littlebill like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierPal Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 1 hour ago, BilliesBy40 said: His playing through it is better than Zardes or Morris. Plus, it's not as though Pepi is in some terrible funk. I know you know that Morris and Pepi don't play the same position on the USMNT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 2 hours ago, BilliesBy40 said: His playing through it is better than Zardes or Morris. Plus, it's not as though Pepi is in some terrible funk. Pepi has not been good lately. He hasn't scored for the USMNT in almost 4 months and I know he hasn't been scoring for his club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierPal Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 28 minutes ago, slufanskip said: Pepi has not been good lately. He hasn't scored for the USMNT in almost 4 months and I know he hasn't been scoring for his club. Believe me, I want Pepi to succeed big time. After seeing what Canada has up front, the US is lacking big time. But, as you stated, Pepi is in a slump and many pundits agree. The answer is just not apparent. Ricardo Pepi, meanwhile, hasn’t scored in 12 hours of game time for Dallas, Augsburg or the US. He has struggled. slufanskip likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 1 minute ago, HoosierPal said: Believe me, I want Pepi to succeed big time. After seeing what Canada has up front, the US is lacking big time. But, as you stated, Pepi is in a slump and many pundits agree. The answer is just not apparent. Ricardo Pepi, meanwhile, hasn’t scored in 12 hours of game time for Dallas, Augsburg or the US. He has struggled. That's the issue, no one has really separated themselves. Honestly, the US hasn't had a real just clear cut true #9 option since Brian McBride. brianstl likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheA_Bomb Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 3 hours ago, slufanskip said: That's the issue, no one has really separated themselves. Honestly, the US hasn't had a real just clear cut true #9 option since Brian McBride. What kind of 9 was McBride? Target Man? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 1 hour ago, TheA_Bomb said: What kind of 9 was McBride? Target Man? Yes. He was a guy you play the ball to. Strong, physical, extremely tough, could finish with his feet but very good in the air. courtside likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlebill Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 14 hours ago, slufanskip said: That's the issue, no one has really separated themselves. Honestly, the US hasn't had a real just clear cut true #9 option since Brian McBride. Altidore was pretty good for a long time, especially during that confed cup run and the lead up to 2014 slufanskip likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierPal Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Adams and Richards unavailable tomorrow. Word is Richards broke his foot at the last match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 1 hour ago, Littlebill said: Altidore was pretty good for a long time, especially during that confed cup run and the lead up to 2014 You're right. I think I'm guilty of downgrading Jozy because he was never quite as good as I or even people in general thought he could have been. He was also pretty inconsistent, but really a lot of goal scorers are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlebill Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 5 minutes ago, slufanskip said: You're right. I think I'm guilty of downgrading Jozy because he was never quite as good as I or even people in general thought he could have been. He was also pretty inconsistent, but really a lot of goal scorers are. I agree. He just fit in so well in that talent pool during the time I mentioned when we had so many dynamic attacking mid types - Donovan, Dempsey, even Holden (oh what could have been), Feilhaber etc. Peak Jozy would be awesome in this current set up and would really help us break down these low blocks. I also think we forget Pepi only just turned 19 last month. He hasn't been awesome production-wise, but the energy was so much better when he was in. He's also been pretty good for Augsburg as well. He's a 9 that relies on service and chances are just few and far between. Watch the games, he reminds me of Sargent last year (Haven't watched much Norwich this year). His worsrt right now is better than Zardes and it isn't close. Dike and Pefok should have been called in. (I know Dike got hurt but that was after the announcement. There was no excuse to not bring him in.) Pefok especially - his production has been very good and is at least a good aerial threat BilliesBy40 likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 11 hours ago, slufanskip said: Yes. He was a guy you play the ball to. Strong, physical, extremely tough, could finish with his feet but very good in the air. You know a guy was a pretty special player when a Fulham FC names the bar inside Craven Cottage after him the year after his five season Premier League career has ended. slufanskip likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmart23 Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 20 hours ago, HoosierPal said: The games are too important to let him ‘play through’ it. Get him in some friendlies if that is what needs to be done. He would have been better than Zardes. Littlebill likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 1 hour ago, Littlebill said: I agree. He just fit in so well in that talent pool during the time I mentioned when we had so many dynamic attacking mid types - Donovan, Dempsey, even Holden (oh what could have been), Feilhaber etc. Peak Jozy would be awesome in this current set up and would really help us break down these low blocks. I also think we forget Pepi only just turned 19 last month. He hasn't been awesome production-wise, but the energy was so much better when he was in. He's also been pretty good for Augsburg as well. He's a 9 that relies on service and chances are just few and far between. Watch the games, he reminds me of Sargent last year (Haven't watched much Norwich this year). His worsrt right now is better than Zardes and it isn't close. Dike and Pefok should have been called in. (I know Dike got hurt but that was after the announcement. There was no excuse to not bring him in.) Pefok especially - his production has been very good and is at least a good aerial threat You're not going to get an argument from me re: Zardes. I agree Pepi is very young with his best yet to come. I'd like to see Sargent get another opportunity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierPal Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 3 hours ago, hmart23 said: He would have been better than Zardes. Ah the ole Monday morning speculating quarterback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlebill Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 16 minutes ago, HoosierPal said: Ah the ole Monday morning speculating quarterback. In his 30ish minutes he was literally more effective than Zardes. Be more condescending next time stmdragons and BilliesBy40 like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierPal Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 56 minutes ago, Littlebill said: In his 30ish minutes he was literally more effective than Zardes. Be more condescending next time Both were more or less absent. Zardes didn’t do much, Pepi took an ill advised, impossible shot where a pass in front of the goal maybe would have made a difference. Picking one over the other is a coin toss. Neither heads nor tails changes the result of the match. I am guessing B will give Pepi the start tomorrow. And I hope he delivers if we can’t get three points against the worst team in the group, the entire team and staff needs to go I’m surprised there is no outrage that Zimmerman was left out of the lineup. Robinson and Richards didn’t cut it. With Z in the middle, where is he on Turners goal kick? Does he stumble as Richards did? EDIT: Okay, I just read this on Zimmerman. “Walker Zimmerman was held out of the match as a precaution because he had a slight hamstring issue leading up to the game, but he should be fine for the next game.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmart23 Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 1 hour ago, HoosierPal said: Ah the ole Monday morning speculating quarterback. He statistically WAS better than Zardes in his time on the pitch. Zardes is not at the level of an US international anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 8 minutes ago, hmart23 said: He statistically WAS better than Zardes in his time on the pitch. Zardes is not at the level of an US international anymore. Fixed this for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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