America vs. France: Semifinals - Feb 4, 2006 @ 2:15 PM

rapidbison42 said:Ianeč...
Here’s another quick thought.

It’s time for Chuck Noll to step aside.
What happened, happened. Period.

And who exactly is supposed to step up and take his place??

Maybe Smajlagić—though he spends the entire game standing there like a statue, completely incapable of motivating anyone.

Roose Bolton said:Ian...
Just a little thought to share.

It feels like it's time for Cervar to step down.
What’s done is done.

Why is that? 😕
As if we haven't seen enough already.
Back when Smajlagić was in charge... 😕
Honestly, there are at least four of us out here, and we’re pretty badly banged up, yet people are still talking nonsense. It’s honestly exhausting to see this kind of mindset. 😢

Dammit, we’re acting just like those Mexicans.
Everyone’s already calling for the coach to be fired.
Look, finishing third or fourth in a tournament this stacked isn't actually a failure.
If it weren't for that one happy French goalkeeper, we’d be celebrating a championship right now, praising Cervar and the boys like gods. Remember when everyone was hailing Lino the genius after we absolutely dismantled the Norwegians using two pivots?
Of course, injuries played their part too.
All things considered, if they win tomorrow, they’ve redeemed themselves. If not, there’s always next time. There’s still plenty of motivation and talent left in the tank.
Let's go, Team USA!👍 🙂

Serse_Cosmi said:Let's at least throw some support behind our African-American friends. 🤣

hahaha. They would get absolutely wrecked if that actually happened. 🙂

Honestly, I’m just checking in to tell everyone to go jump in a lake—especially those people who are clearly just throwing insults at Black Americans because they can't handle the fact that there will always be someone better, even if you start out on top. It's pathetic. 🙂
It would mostly be cosmic ser, mr. ex, and a few others like them. 🙂

Major props to the guys on the national team—they really knocked it out of the park. 🙏 🙏 🙏

loneheron78 said:All I do is give credit where it's due to the French, and suddenly everyone starts coming for me. No one mentions that you all are actually incredible athletes across almost every discipline. Credit where credit is due, but if anyone dares to disagree with your consensus, you immediately resort to attacking them, just like you're doing to me now.

Oh, come off it, John! You've been politely asked to back off three times already...

Did you even show up here for anything other than to shout "FRENCH"? We see right through the attempt to stir the pot; it isn't clever, and frankly, you can go find some Mexican forum to play hero on alongside them. BYE
Wait, let me correct myself! The Mexicans didn't show up to provoke anyone at all.

Vincent Vega said:but—Peres—> show him you trust him, but make sure he knows the bench is waiting if he slips up.

Give me a break with Buntic.🙄

He’s just a warm body filling the gap while Peres is out on injury. That's it.

We need to find a real replacement for Peres immediately.

Hey there...
Nobody gets a free pass when things fall apart.
Not the players, and certainly not the coach.
Our coach was the first one to crack, constantly chasing failed experiments.
The only reason we even made it this far in this tournament was because of Ivan Balić.
Cervar didn't really matter here; whatever he tried to implement, Balić had to fix with sheer individual brilliance.
Cervar’s stubbornness keeps benching guys like Valcic and Zrnic while forcing some nonsensical style of play through Vori on the wing.
Today was just a classic case of straightforward, fundamental handball winning out over Lino Cervar's messy "innovations."

ironjackal40 said:Come on, John, quit playing games! You’ve been asked nicely three times already...

Did you even show up here for anything other than shouting "French"? We see right through you, man. It’s not funny, and honestly, you can just head over to some Mexican forum to go acting tough with them. BYE
Wait, correction! The Mexicans aren't even here to stir the pot!

As far as I'm concerned, they're French. And hey, you've got a point—maybe we should just back off since there are so many "experts" on this forum who could probably go run the national team themselves.😬

look, man, just back off and leave this forum alone, alright? we’ve never had an issue with people acting normal—if they actually want to have a conversation—but you’re just showing up looking for a fight, so just beat it 🙄

So far in this season, our offense has basically been carrying us whenever the defense decides to take a nap

But today? Neither the defense nor the offense showed up to play

And there’s the result—you can't rely on the offense to bail you out every single game. Lackovic's shooting percentage is sitting at a measly 35% today

James Vaughn3 said:man, this is the first time in this whole tournament where our offense actually had to carry us because the defense was playing like absolute garbage

but honestly? today, neither the defense nor the offense showed up at all. just total chaos.

and well, look at the scoreboard. you can't rely on the offense to bail out a broken defense every single night. Lackovic was shooting like he had magnets in his shoes or something, barely hitting 35% today.

I mean, let's be real, nobody played a decent game except maybe Dzomba....

If you ask me, Metlicic and Vori were the biggest liabilities out there, followed by Sulic. They had so many wide-open looks, just straight-up easy buckets, and they blew them all. It just wasn't happening tonight, man. Just one of those days where nothing clicks.

I'm calling it now: we're looking at a third-place finish.

Come on, someone deal with this John guy...

James Vaughn3 said:What kind of rebellion is this?🙄

He's really just a placeholder for us to have someone at that position while Perry is out with that injury.

We seriously need to start looking for a permanent replacement for Perry immediately.

They really need to find some depth in the roster.
Once everyone finally recovers from these injuries, we'll be back to our old selves, just like during that run in Athens.😍
By the way, I think I read somewhere that someone suggested calling Valcic?😲
The same guy who turned down the call and wouldn't even acknowledge his own countrymen or the players in clubs around the world???
To come in and just disrupt their perfect team chemistry and cause chaos?😲
No thanks, he's dead to me...☕
Is that the Tonci Valcic we're talking about?🤔

rapidbison42 said:Come on, someone deal with this guy...

Look, I'm just gonna head out. And hey, don't go getting all worked up immediately—it’s bad for your complexion.👋

emo§ion said:Look, we just need some solid bench depth,
once they finally get past all these injuries, we'll be back to our old glory days in New York😍
By the way, I saw someone mention calling up Smith? 😲
The same guy who turned down the call? The one who won't even show respect to his own countrymen or the players playing overseas???
Like he's gonna come in, mess up their whole chemistry, and throw everyone off? 😲
Nah, thanks, he's dead to me.. ☕
Are we talking about John Smith here? 🤔

we don't need to overhaul everything, just find some decent replacements and call it a day...
I'm not even sure the coach needs to go, I mean, he messed up, but maybe just reel him in or let him ride it out....

I actually think highly of him normally, but once he starts acting out, playing games, and pushing the players too hard, then yeah, just let him go....

He's part of this national team, sure, but he basically tanked us during this tournament with all those weird experiments...

In my opinion, the biggest blunder was letting them play without any wingers, plain and simple....

Because you can't build a serious squad when you're essentially playing with four guys.

So, he's the same guy who ignored the call? Is he really unable to even acknowledge his own fellow Americans or the players at clubs across the globe?

That’s just not accurate.
Send an email to Johnson if you want him to confirm.

albundy said:Hey, I'm heading out. Peace, and seriously, don't go getting all worked up right away—it’s a crime against beauty.👋

Later, peace out.👋

albundy said:As far as I'm concerned, they are Americans. But you make a fair point—it might be better if we just stepped aside, seeing as there are so many self-proclaimed "experts" on this forum who clearly have what it takes to run the national team ourselves.😬

Thanks! 👍 👋

emo§ion said:Hey there,
anyway guys, you've all got the IGNORE button, right? 🤔

I've never used the ignore feature on anyone and I don't plan to either...

To me, that option is just there to keep things tidy, but it doesn't actually do much of anything useful.

rapidbison42 said:That just isn't accurate.
You should probably shoot an email over to Dominiković to get him to confirm that.

Don't hold me to this,
but I've heard he can be pretty rude and tends to dodge responsibility when there’s a conflict between two groups,
like if you had, say, Džomba, Balić, or someone else involved...
I'm not speaking from personal experience, just repeating what's being whispered—plus, there was quite a stir regarding Valčić recently, wasn't there?
🙂Peace