Saturday's U.S. national team performance in a word: flat

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I’m wondering if perhaps what Bob Bradley needs most today is a calendar.

Not a little desk model, but a big ol’ sucker that he can plaster up on the locker room wall. Then he needs to turn it to June and circle the date of departure for South Africa.

Because there are a bunch of guys in the national team pool, apparently, many of them just hanging around the fringes of World Cup consideration but in the picture nonetheless, who have forgotten what’s at stake.

That’s the only thing I can assume based on Saturday’s evening of raging disappointment at the Home Depot Center.

The U.S. “B” team looked like a “D” team in the 3-1 loss to Honduras. Read it carefully, now – that’s “Honduras,” not “Holland.” Kicking off such an important year with a loss at home to a little brother from CONCACAF that was missing some of its top players: lame. 

Jonathan Bornstein was the only starter who seemed to get it, who seemed attuned to the fact that spots are still up for grabs. Ironically, Bornstein is one of perhaps two players, along with Benny Feilhaber, whose spot is reasonably secure.

The rest of ‘em? Are you kidding me? That’s the response Bradley and U.S. fans get from a bunch of players who need to be fighting their way onto the roster? That’s what you get from guys who have the opportunity of a lifetime?

A bunch of U.S. players had a chance to speak, an opportunity to “say something” to Bradley and make an impression.  Instead, most reported to the Home Depot Center with a big ol’ bag of nothing.

(And by the way, I suppose it was a bad night for a whole bunch of folks in Carson. Because a couple of the media reports, in my opinion, were a bit kind, way too forgiving. This one hit the right note, along with these ratings, both from Soccer America's experienced writers.)

Outside of Bornstein, I can’t say that anyone did themselves any favors. On the other side?

Marvell Wynne – good heavens. The next good cross he hits will be his first. Jimmy Conrad may have mis-played his way out of contention. Yes, the penalty kick was a tad soft. But for me that’s not the point. Conrad simply cannot do something like that. To hook a guy in plain view of the referee, inside the penalty area, especially when he’s carrying a yellow card? He simply has to know better.  He’s a veteran.  If he is not going to make smarter choices, who will?

Chad Marshall’s positioning was poor on two goals. Neither Feilhaber nor Beckerman provided any midfield ideas. Sacha Kljestan, who really needed a big game, delivered a performance that wasn’t bad, necessarily, but was surely muted. Robbie Rogers rarely seemed to have a plan when he started moving forward.

 And those two forwards? Yuk and yuk.  I’ve said before that Jeff Cunningham’s big MLS season was just as much a product of two or three FC Dallas midfielders operating at an exceptionally high rev over the back half of the season. Cunningham could always finish, but he always struggles to combine with teammates. Who could argue that point after watching 45 minutes from Cunningham on Saturday that defined “ineffective?”

I could go on.  Bottom line: From a team level, the match didn’t mean much, so there’s nothing really lost.  But from an individual performance standpoint, it’s hard to see how the night could have brought more disappointment.