I believe he is going. We don't have enough depth for him not to. Besides he has great chemistry with the rest of the usual starting XI. He may not start but we won't know until the send-off games. Hopefully KARMA will reward him for this horrible season.
If Wondo starts in Brazil ..... I wouldn't know what to say other than "a Great PR coup for MLS". but hopefully JK can rejuvenate Jozy in time.
The old salts will tell you that strikers coming to the Prem are judged on their sophomore year because it takes a year to adjust to the EPL. People should concentrate instead on how Antiscore fits in to the USMNT line up. Is he a luxury we cannot afford? I believe so but others will have a different opinion. Personally, I think Dempsey and Jozy will be on top of each other and one of them should be on the bench so we can add a midfielder.
Wondo isn't even in it. Frankly, I am a giant Altidore fan, but with something like 1 goal in 25 appearances, Altidore has hit a brick wall. Whether the replacement is EJ or Wondo, Aj, or whoever it is, I just can't see anyone turning around that kind of disaster of season into a successful world cup. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd love to see if there are any others who've had that kind of season and then lit up the WC
But wasn't this Altidore's sophmore season? I don't think he is going to playing in the EPL next season... We already know who Klinsi is benching if he has to choose between Altidore and Dempsey.
Alot can happen in coaches mind in two months. Some of you seem to think that Klinsmann is infatuated with some players and will not bench them, I don't see that at all. These are probably the same people that insisted Altidore be benched last fall when he went on his tear with the USMNT. I also wouldn't rule out Klinsmann using Johansson at striker in atleast one game.
What type of physical shape is he going to show up in? That's the concern I have. He can't be dragging his heels 20 minutes in... But if he is... He can certainly come off my bench (Klinsi can disagree with my bench) after we make it thru 70 minutes. I can't see why not. When he's on, he's on. And fresh(er) legs against tired ones may be his staple this go around. As for the future. Rumor has it there's a couple new teams starting next year in MLS [wink wink, nudge nudge], each with 3 wide open DP slots - one team having stated they absolutely will use all 3. I wouldn't exactly rule out an MLS return. NY to return "home" maybe... Albeit not with the Red Bulls.
I think that's just the way he looks when he plays. He's fit, I'm not worried about that. I have no desire to see MLS spend DP money on Jozy. Love the guy, but he is worth about EJ money right now. A good year in 2014-15 and maybe he'll merit a DP slot.
The good thing about this is we don't need him to come in and be in great form right away. He will have a camp and some friendlies to work his way back into confidence. JK will have an interesting project ahead of him for sure. Really, it's the kind of man management task he is reputed to handle well. If it's not working, knowing when to cut bait will be the key. But we've seen Jozy pull himself into form before and I wouldn't count against it happening again.
I think his performances will pick up come the send-off series, and solidify his spot as the man again. Sland are an awful team with or without Jozy on the pitch (aside from yetserday's game). Playing again for the Nats will be a major, major relief for him. He'll be ready to go.
It's a shame that our so-called best striker is playing so poorly against the strong D of the BPM. He is little more than a back-to-goal post up man now and can't seem to hit the net for the life of him. I'm hoping that JK sees that we need more creativity and the ability to take on men up top. Altidore is not in form as a scorer or a guy who can take on folks, and we need someone with a creative spark, which is why I am proposing Agudelo to be included as that spark we need. He will combine well with the post up man altidore as sub late in relief for a tiring Dempsey. He brings the skill we need to actually take on someone and make an unpredictable play. Although he is not been in the rotation recently, his recent scoring in Holland combined with his youthful unpredictability and the unknown factor might make him a key player for JK to turn to if we need some magic late. Most of you favor EJ over him, but Ej is not the type of player to make a play all by himself and is rather clumsy with the ball at his feet. Such a lack of finesse will be eaten up by the champions league quality D of the last two teams we face. He is good in the air, I'll give you guys that. However, against Germany and portugal, i dont see how he is going to win those battles. He couldn't even hack it in the Championship.
I'm hoping Jozy will hit his stride after that monumental win against Chelsea (he drew the PK). Sometimes it takes just one little encouraging moment to get you back on track as Clint Dempsey is now showing us.
Agree with the criticism but Agudelo isnt the solution for me (as a replacement for Jozy) because he is not a mature starter yet. I would simply take Jozy off the starting lineup and have Dempsey play centrally like he does at Seattle lately and put some people around him like Seattle does with Obafemi and Neagle. Maybe Wondo and Johannsson? Instead of Altidore I would add a possession/passing mid which would be Donovan in the old days but when I think of the older Dono/Dempsey/Wondo/Jones playing in a tropical tournament with young Johannsson thrown in for good measure it kinda scares me. For me it looks like USMNT 2014 was not developed properly in terms of finding talent to replace people who we knew would be pushing up against the age barrier.
The answer to our problems at the striker position is clearly Chris (F'ing) Wondolowski. If that guy has to start a game for us Ghana, Portugal and Germany will be laughing their collective a$$e$ off.
I am just saying if the Ghana, Portugal and German defenders can't stop laughing, Wondo may take that as an opportunity to score, hard to defend when you are laughing your ass off.
I think we have a diverse mix of strikers. Jozy, Johannsson, and Wondo each bring their own methods of scoring which will create a good range of options depending on the type of defense we're up against.
If anything he may be able to use the "hey, when is the last time that dude washed his hair?" distraction angle seeing as his hair constantly looks like he bathed in the waters right after the Exxon Valdez spill.
As a former striker, JK seems just the type of manager to understand and motivate the psyche of a goalscorer lacking confidence.
In all honesty, I don't think Altidore will be one of our concerns this World Cup. I think, for him, coming into this camp and team will be a breath of fresh air after the season that he's had at Sunderland.
Right from the start I wondered if NYCFC weren't a perfect fit for Jozy. Kreis likes to play with the ball on the floor, Jozy plays best when the ball's on the floor, Reyna's got 3 DP slots to burn, and Jozy's name is somewhat of a draw.