It's time to stop playing Freddy out of position

I don't really like Adu out on the wing in a 4-3-3. It isolates him too much, while to fully utilize his best attributes I think he needs to be more free to move left-to-right to find the ball and catch defenders off-guard. His best US performance was as the second striker under Altidore in Rongen's 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 hybrid at the U20 World Cup. Two true wingers and two good CMs around him, and Jozy up top to combine with.

That having been said, he had a fine game vs El Salvador, even as a right winger, and nearly carried the team into the semi-final on his back. But his righ-footed crosses were pretty mediocre and he dissappeared at times. Much better cutting inside to his left foot, but he can't do that all the time, either.

For the foreseeable future with the US, I think Adu should be Dempsey's backup as the second striker in a 4-4-1-1.

 

Against Mexico in the Gold Cup final, our front-running four were Donovan, Adu, Dempsey and Bedoya. Nominally, I think Donovan was supposed to the the 9. I guess false nine is the fashionable term. Adu was the 10, with Bedoya on the right and Dempsey on the left. In reality these four played very fluidly, following their natural tendencies and the flow of the game. Adu drifted more right as is his tendency. Bedoya seemed mostly invisible to me. I don't know if it was because he was of out of his depth in this match or because Adu was crowding into his space. But the point I would make is that if you have players like Dempsey, Adu and Donovan, you can play in a very fluid and unpredictable way. Maybe with Altidore as the fixed point, although he has his own tendencies to favor certain parts of the field.

 

fyp

 

Feeling is mutual don't worry.

 

I am not sure you know what a joke is...

 

Sorry but thats not true. The only thing Shea does well against top competition is help out defensively and provide an occasional cross. Adu brings so much more offensively that i'm wondering why theres even a debate. Adu's passing accuracy/complexity and skill actually accomplish the ultimate goal of a winger, which is to take on defenders and beat them.

 

Freddy will be Dempseys backup. Very little doubt

 

Adu doesn't have the skill to take on defenders at the highest level. He's never done it to date. He's not fast enough and he's even more one footed than Shea, who isn't as bad as some seem to think with his right foot.

 

Man, you have blinders on. The only thing Shea has on Adu is straight line speed. Adu is a very good dribbler, much better than Shea. His right foot is just as good if not better than Shea's.

Adu beat his man much more than Shea did during this qualification.

Shea could probably be a very good LB or maybe a forward (unlikely) but he is not a winger.

 

Again, feeling is mutual.

 

Adu didn't beat any Mexican defenders off the dribble in his one game. If you find me a highlight I will bow out and admit that Freddy is better than Shea. Adu's game is a great stationary left foot and he can distribute the ball excellently. If he had some different abilities in terms of defense and physical nature he'd be a good deep lying playmaker.

 

I guess I'll just take your word for it then.

 

Honestly I don't even see the need to compare them...at the highest level Shea is probably a LB and Adu is behind the striker.

I just find it ridiculous to say Shea is a better dribbler than Adu.

Shea is a horse; he gets up and down the field pretty well. He also is not helpless in possession and can see the passing lanes. But he has no guile or shiftiness on the ball when taking on defenders. Adu has this is spades compared to Shea.

 

Indeed

 

Half the time I don't think Adu ever knows what he'll be doing. He probably makes it up as he goes.

 

As far as call ups to the full national team right now, I think Adu is ahead of shea. Simply because Shea is abysmal at reading the game and making smart runs. Adu understands the game at a much higher level and is much more capable of making a killer pass or switching the field with a pinpoint pass. Overall I think Shea is a much better prospect, he has elite level size and athleticism with a killer left foot, but he NEEDS to get out of MLS. The guy really struggles to read a game and consistently make the smart play. As for all the knocks on Adu's athleticism, he really is in no way slow. He isn't Joe Gyau fast, but he is as fast or faster than Clint Dempsey. He also put in a decent shift in covering the right wing from a defensive stand point in Quals. he is definitley putting in some effort to improving that aspect of his game.

 

I don't get the Freddy is too slow does not work hard on defense
My lying eyes that have watched him the last 5 games with the u23s and Philly disagree He's busting his butt. If anything he's been too lax in possession sometimes and often unwilling to use the right foot But he is tracking back and thinking well and thinking fast
The problem is Nowak. He still has Freddy in the wrong position
Hopefully Klinsmann seed the obvious. Freddy comes on late for Dempsey when we need to hold onto the ball or comes in for the other forward when JK goes 4312 late in games with a lead

 

The guy who has played in every US game under the current coach is behind the guy who has played zero? I'm guessing that's your view of the subject, not your assessment of Klinsmann's view.

 

Klinsman has said that he was going to let Freddy settle in with the Olympic team. Now that that's over I expect you to see a lot more of him, along with guys like Mix and Boyd. Shea's game is quite simple and easy to shut down on an international level. He really needs to get out of MLS, he's about reached his plateau.

 

I don't know why everyone references Adu's ability to take on players- he isn't that good at it. He's better than Shea because Shea is terrible at it- but it is hardly Adu's game. Adu is not an optimal winger.

Adu is an old-school traditional playmaker, like Juan Roman Riquelme (not saying he's anywhere near that class). A true "10". Like Chelsea's Mata or Inter's Sneijder. Dempsey plays a lot like a pure "10" under Klinsmann. Adu's strengths are his dead-ball striking, passing range and vision. He's getting better at managing traffic, but he's not nearly as good at Dempsey at doing that yet.

The problem with Adu at club level is that he needs an entire team to serve him- feed him the ball and cover his backside. It's not the trend of modern football as a whole and is very hard to commit to as a team.

I don't think he'll ever be anything more than a super-sub for the U.S.

That said, he's a far better player than Shea, despite his shortcomings. Shea doesn't do much, other than track-back well. He is the bizarro DMB.