Who is going to be our attacking midfielder?

Discussion in 'USA Men' started by ktorp18, Nov 16, 2012.

  1. ktorp18

    ktorp18 Member

    Aug 31, 2012
    What are your feelings on our midfield trio packs as of late? It seems obvious that we need an attacking midfielder to play with Bradley and Jones/Williams. Having all three on the field simply does not work. With Jones or Williams as the man in front of the back 4 and Michael Bradley spraying passes from the midfield, who is going to be that attacking force through the center of the field? Klinnsman seems to think that Jones can do this, but it's easy to see that attacks that go to Jones end up dying. We need someone cool, calm on the ball who will make the right decisions. Here are what seem to be the best options for that spot:

    1) Zusi
    2) Kljestan - My choice right now.
    3) Corona
    4) Mix - Will probably be the long term option if Holden does not come back.
    5) Holden - If he's as good as he was 2 seasons ago when he comes back for Bolton, he's the first choice by a long shot.
    6) Dempsey - Could work but we need Dempsey near the goal.
    7) Jose Torres - Like him in a similar position as Bradley.
    8) Bedoya

    Thoughts? Do we even need this kind of player on the field?
     
  2. Mr Martin

    Mr Martin Member+

    Jun 12, 2002
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Torres is not an attacking midfielder. He's Reyna-lite. A ball circulator. He has no history as a creator or scorer of goals.

    Isn't Corona used more as a winger by his club team?

    You have to include Donovan high on your list. Yes, he is a winger/second striker type in general, but he is also by far the US's best goal creator. He wouldn't be a perfect CAM, but he has most of the necessary tools.

    I agree with Zusi, Mix, Kljestan as top options. Bedoya maybe, too. And any list has to have Adu somewhere. I agree that Dempsey needs to be father forward.

    My list:

    1. Donovan
    2. Zusi
    3. Kljestan
    4. Diskerud
    5. Bedoya
    6. Adu (but only as a sub)

    Knock on wood about Holden, but I can't include him on the list right now. Not a true attacking midfielder, but really another good-quality box-to-box multi-purpose CM, when in top form.
     
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  3. comoesa

    comoesa Member+

    Aug 13, 2010
    Christen Press's armpit
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Maybe Mix. Maybe Donovan.

    We don't need a anyone really ultra creative. Just someone who can maintain possession under pressure and get the ball to our wingers and midfielders who are crashing the box.
     
  4. jimmy2823

    jimmy2823 Member

    Nov 10, 2011
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    corona has played as a center midfielder all season for his club, i think he would be the long term option with mix behind him. i dont think zuzi is good enough to be there at the international level only against crappy teams of concacaf.
     
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  5. sacpasse87

    sacpasse87 Member

    Nov 8, 2007
    Beijing
    Club:
    Paris Saint Germain FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well the jury is still out on all of these players none of them even have a half's worth of experience against international level competition....
     
  6. sacpasse87

    sacpasse87 Member

    Nov 8, 2007
    Beijing
    Club:
    Paris Saint Germain FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Edit: Well besides Kljestan, Feilhaber and Adu and two out of three of these guys arent on the radar for now
     
  7. bmo180

    bmo180 Member+

    Jan 25, 2012
    In the middle we dont really have one, unless you count Donovan maybe? He plays as a CF on LA, maybe Diskerud or Corona but I havent seen that much of them yet
     
  8. Zycho32

    Zycho32 Member

    Oct 3, 2012
    Claudio Reyna in a nutshell, or in this case, the man dubbed in this thread as Reyna-Lite, Mr. Jones.
     
  9. Spursfan1

    Spursfan1 Member+

    Sep 7, 2010
    Atlanta
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Donovan is the only one anyone could even consider a poor poor mans version of a CAM.

    We have no one else who is even close to be considered a CAM on the international stage. Not good enough.
     
  10. yankeeRoyal

    yankeeRoyal Member+

    Feb 12, 2006
    Alexandria, VA
    Club:
    Bahia Salvador
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Adu (but only as a starter) :)
     
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  11. Clenbuterol

    Clenbuterol Red Card

    Aug 25, 2011
    Club:
    --other--
    Beat me to it.
     
  12. nobody

    nobody Member+

    Jun 20, 2000
    The attackers are in the front three. We're very unlikely to start playing an attacker in the middle three. We will have guys like Bradley who push forward and create things and get goals, but a dedicated attacker in the midfield three seems not to be in the cards. Maybe against some weaker squads, but against quality I don't expect this to happen.
     
  13. LongDuckDong

    LongDuckDong Member+

    Jan 26, 2011
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We don't have any international quality #10s. We have some skillful center mids, but guys like Kljestan and Bradley just aren't and never will be #10s.

    I had to laugh a little bit at the OP talking about how Bradley and Jones/Williams need to sit deeper while we deploy a more "attacking" player in front of them. Kljestan, Holden, Torres? They play the same exact position as Bradley/Jones. They're all box to box CMs.
     
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  14. Spursfan1

    Spursfan1 Member+

    Sep 7, 2010
    Atlanta
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We dont have the quality player to do it with the creativity. (cazorla, modric, ozil, xavi, iniesta, silva, kagawa, gotze, gourcuff, hamsik, sneidjer)

    player on that level and that level only should be accepted in that position.

    otherwise we diminsh the side.
     
  15. Spursfan1

    Spursfan1 Member+

    Sep 7, 2010
    Atlanta
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    exactly. we have none, we have developed none. if dempsey is the best we have there....oh god no....so bad. he is just so bad. today against arsenal it was painful watching him have no clue what to do with the ball.
     
  16. Aduesque

    Aduesque Member

    Atlanta United
    May 11, 2010
    Georgia
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  17. LongDuckDong

    LongDuckDong Member+

    Jan 26, 2011
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    1.) Dempsey's not a CAM, never was
    2.) He's playing much worse than he used to. He's picked up some really bad habits over the last few years.
    3.) You rip on Dempsey in every thread on big soccer. We get it. Now you can stop.
     
  18. Jumbalaya

    Jumbalaya Member+

    Apr 27, 2010
    Chicago
    Club:
    Sunderland AFC
    I'd like to see Conor O'Brien get a shot at some point.. seems like he's got some good attacking potential.
     
  19. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    Fabian Johnson would be obvious choice to pair with any two of Jones, Bradley, and Williams in a midfield trio. He he's lock starter in the highest level league of any midfielder. He has the requisite creativity and motor demonstrate with an excellent assist last season when played in midfield. Imo Castillo is a better pure defender than Johnson which is another reason I'd want to move the latter into midfield.

    Donovan - would be my second choice as an experiment. He has little experience in the role however.

    Dempsey - so long as the opposition isn't using a deep-lying playmaker. Did the business against Belgium in a midfield trio.
     
  20. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    Adu needs to improve his fitness to make in Klinsmann's program.
     
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  21. Eleven Bravo

    Eleven Bravo Member+

    Atlanta United
    United States
    Jul 3, 2004
    SC
    Club:
    Atlanta Silverbacks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    good analysis. i agree.
     
  22. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    Zusi looked better in a more in the wide positions on KC's 4231 than in center attacking spot.

    Diskerud needs more looks.

    Corona seems to no longer be starting for Tijuana
     
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  23. morange92

    morange92 Member+

    Jan 30, 2012
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    TBH (and this is 100% based on what i saw in the u23 qualifying tournament) corona to me doesn't seem the be the creator that u want from an attacking midfielder. I didn't think he contributed all that much to our possession either. If anything he reminds me a lot of dempsey, capable of being respectful in all those respects, but where his game really excels is making a play in the box. I would think about putting corona as a supporting striker or perhaps where eddie johnson/dempsey have been playing.

    I'd like to see holden in that spot (maybe not directly as "the guy" but perhaps in conjunction with bradley, assuming holden ever gets healthy and back to his old self). I like jones but i've always been a big holden fan. Alternatively diskerud could be an option but i still think it's too early, and zusi apparently looks better on the outside at sporting kc but i still wouldn't mind seeing him tried there as i think donovan should be on the RW. Alternatively maybe donovan could be played at the CAM and we can see how he does.

    It might still be too early for diskerud, though i think he will eventually take that spot. Adu at best i only want coming off the bench. And that's only if he starts performing at his club. (granted i think the team around him didn't help much, i think he was way too inconsistent with his play).

    Here's the lineup i'd like to see when everyone is healthy (im leaving holden out because right now he's too much of an unknown).

    4-3-3

    ------------------Gomez/Altidore-------------------
    Dempsey/E. Johnson-------------------Donovan/Zusi
    -----------Bradley------Zusi/Donovan-------------
    ------------------Williams--------------------------
    F.Johnson----Boca------Cameron------Cherundolo
    -------------------Howard-------------------------

    4-1-3-2
    -------------------Altidore/Gomez-----------------
    ------------Dempsey/Corona----------------------
    E.Johnson/Shea-----Bradley---------Zusi/Donovan
    -----------------Williams--------------------------
    F.Johnson-----Boca-----Cameron----Cherundolo--
    -------------------Howard-------------------------
    Potential Starters (Roster of 23):
    1. Tim Howard
    2. Fabian Johnson
    3. Carlos Bocanegra
    4. Geoff Cameron
    5. Steve Cherundolo
    6. Danny Williams
    7. Michael Bradley
    8. Landon Donovan
    9. Clint Dempsey
    10. Graham Zusi
    11, Eddie Johnson
    12. Brek Shea
    13. Joe Corona
    14. Jozy Altidore
    15. Hercules Gomez

    Bench:
    16. Brad Guzan
    17. Timmy Chandler
    18. Michael Parkhurst
    19. Sacha Kljestian
    20. Jermaine Jones
    21. Omar Gonzalez
    22. Clarence Goodson (ugh)
    23. Terrence Boyd/Juan Agudelo (depending on form)

    Other possibilities: Josh Gatt, Maurice Edu, Kyle Beckerman, Mix Diskerud, Chris Wondolowski, Edgar Castillo, Jose Torres, Joe Gyau

    Edit: didn't realize corona was benched, well replace him with one of my "other possibilites"
     
  24. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Yup.

    The USMNT doesn' play with a #10, because we don't have one.

    So we'll continue playing with a bunch of box to box midfielders, although they all have slightly different skillsets.
     
  25. nobody

    nobody Member+

    Jun 20, 2000
    If Holden gets healthy and back to his peak performance, this midfield gets really crowded again.
     

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