"Not-so-Deep thoughts" - by Fern (aka LE BIX)
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Vol. 1, No. 9
22/June/1998

COSTA MESA, California - Not-so-deep thoughts goes deep.  My reply 
to Scott Tamashiro's post on HWCI WC98 forum.  This is all for 
not-so-deep thoughts.  No more updates until I recover from our 
team's loss. I haven't decided when I'll be back so keep an eye 
out for me.

Comments

In defense of the US players, it did not take them 395 minutes 
of World Cup play to score a goal (where the hell did you get 
this number?). It was more like 175 minutes. Yes, they had many 
chances to score, but this is true of every team. You should know 
this, Stat Man. Does every shot result in a goal? No. Do five 
shots result in a goal? No. It's more like every eight shots.

You also have to look at who was playing. McBride is almost 
useless with his feet and as for his heading ability, one does 
not go into a soccer match with the sole intent of playing the 
ball in the air. Is this his fault? No. Wegerle looked confused 
out there and passed the ball to the opponents more often than 
to his teammates. Plus, I don't remember him taking any shots 
on goal. Is this his fault? Well, yes and no. Look at Frankie 
Hejduk (damn you Hejduk!!!). Every touched ball was a lost 
possession for the U.S. I still do not understand why he is 
on the National Team. He is the most useless, unskilled, 
inexperienced player to ever put on a uniform for the red, 
white, and blue. He's damn ugly, too. But is this his fault? No.

Scotty, you mentioned that usually the coach is the fall guy, 
even if it's not really their fault. I agree with you here, 
however, I also believe that THE coach, Steve Sampson, is to 
be blamed for the loss to Iran. How so? His decision to play 
the following players: McBride, Wegerle, Hejduk, an injured Tab. 
His decision to play Joe-Max Moore as a withdrawn midfielder. 
I saw Moore in the back line and I went ballistic! You don't 
put a forward in the back. Why the hell was Hejduk playing and 
not Stewart? Who is the more experienced? Stewart. Who has 
played in a previous World Cup game? Stewart. Who has scored a 
goal in a World Cup game? Stewart. Who will listen to the coach 
if he says "jump off a cliff"? Hejduk. What a poor reason to 
start an inferior player over a much more composed, experienced, 
smarter player. And what was the reason for putting Maisoneuve 
in the game? Sampson took out a defender to put in...another 
defender? What gives? Why the sudden change back to the 4-4-2? 
This had a lot to do with the team's performance. Can you 
imagine practicing and playing a certain way for months with 
the same players, and to have it suddenly change on you? Sampson 
had believed in his own hype of the 3-6-1 formation, until it 
was put up against the Germany. So Sampson, thinking it was a 
bust, went back to the 4-4-2 and with different players, 
something the team hasn't done for months. But it's Germany 
for crying out loud. They are supposed to lose. Sampson should 
have stayed with his original idea and kept the same formation 
and the 3-6-1, but instead changed the tactical style, changed 
a few players who haven't been broken in, and we lost. That's 
it. I can't write anymore or I'll go insane. Be careful what 
you say to me or I'll go after you.

-fb-