Thursday, May 29, 2008

Cooper for Spain

Alright, I'm officially starting the Start Kenny Cooper Against Spain campaign. Anyone else want to join?

Cooper and Brian Ching played on the same field Wednesday as FC Dallas hosted Houston. Cooper scored a goal in the 2-2 draw, and it really was an awesome goal. The long ball was splendid from Pablo Richetti but Cooper's touch, poise and finish were sublime.



Ching, meanwhile, was involved in both of Houston's goals. He did assist on the first one but his lack of aggressiveness in the box on that play is troubling. He slipped the ball to Corey Ashe but he shouldn't have let it go that far. He should have buried it. On the equalizer, Ching had problems getting to the ball. Such lack of aggression could be disastrous for a striker.

While Ching had the experience - World Cup, Gold Cup, WC qualifiers - Cooper has the talent and intangibles necessary to be a force. Throw him into the mix against Spain from the start and see what happens. After all, we already know what we can expect from Eddie Johnson, Josh Wolff and Brian Ching.

Everybody now: "Start Cooper, start Cooper, start Cooper..."

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I for one think he's better than Ching and Johnson. At this point those guys will never score outside of playing weak Concacaf teams.

Anonymous said...

I like the idea too, but is the Spain game on a FIFA date? If not, it's gonna be really hard to pry Cooper away from an FC Dallas that's teetering on the edge.

Anonymous said...

Cooper couldn't hold Josh Wolff's jock strap! LOL!!

The idea of starting Cooper is exciting and promising. Two things the USMNT is not.

He'll be left off. Bradley is afraid to piss off the MLS owners.

just another one of you said...

Cooper starting against Spain would be a boon for FC Dallas. Right now they have how many guys getting playing time with the USMNT?

I'm with you, Luis. Cooper is the only US forward currently playing himself into contention, the rest are relying on past accomplishments which are becoming increasingly irrelevant with each Cooper strike.

Time to let loose Coop up top

A.C. said...

Don't send Coop to Spain! :(
He's the only thing keeping my fantasy team gaining points. ;)

Anonymous said...

send him and Jozy.

And then leave them there to get ready/adjusted for the start of La Liga...

Unknown said...

Start Cooper!

Bravo said...

I'm with you! Cooper for the start!

Frank Macomber said...

Send him to Dpain, play him against Argentina as well. (with ching on the bench for both games as well) Bradley needs to weaken the rest of the west to balance out the hit the Galaxy takes.

Dan Haug said...

I'd like to see Cooper in Spain, but I think in order for him to be a real benefit to the nats he needs to develop his game as a target forward. Then he could play up top with LD behind him and we could put Duece on the wing.

starinyourfire said...

Cooper deserves to play with the national team, he's playing really good and he's taller than most of strikers that are currently called up and that's good for set pieces.

if he doesn't get called up he will still be making his case to get called up...while boasting my fantasy team too

Anonymous said...

The goal was nice and all, but that was some horrible defending by Houston. Cooper wouldn't be able to have that much time and space against Spain or Argentina.

Anonymous said...

There will be a big difference for any striker going against this Spanish team than against England. First, Spain has Iker Casillas in goal, then England may be known for its defensive line-up (at least from left to right center) but Spain has Puyol and Sergio Ramos, who few compare to at this point, as well as more choices for the other two spots. They are also better at possession and, even though I thought the U.S. wasn't bad at getting the ball back on Wednesday , that's going to be a much different story next week. The fact that the Spanish players are capable of a more fluid formation, makes them even more difficult -- when they are on. Last but not least they have Fernando Torres who is not only so tremendous on attack, but adds protection in the midfield as well.

Does anyone know why the U.S. had seven less players dress on Wed, was it Bradley's decision or a communication problem? Maybe having more choices in Donovan's absence would help.

Anonymous said...

they should send Cooper and Robbie Rogers. They are in great form and seem to want to, ya know, attack the goal once in a while.

Oh and while we are at it, can Bob Bradley send the horrible empty bucket formation back to hell and let his son play the kind of CM he has been playing superbly all year for his club team?

I am SICK of the GD empty bucket. Enough is enough.