Agreed, I think Mix is best used as a sub. Though I'm still not sure why you always put a second X in his name.
Spector won't be on the 30 man list but at least he can cross. Evans does what? Turn his head after getting beat and passing sideways.
I worry about Beckermans ability to cover ground too. I like him but we will be facing some athletic midfields in each game. Danny williams and Edu both seem to offer more laterally.
Ghana is the only team in the group with a really athletic midfield (not counting wingers/strikers). Moutinho, Veloso, and Meireles are not especially athletic overall. I don't know who's first choice for Germany these days, but Ozil, Schweinsteiger, and Gotze aren't known for their wheels. Maybe Gotze a little bit, but he's not Kevin Prince-Boateng as an athlete. I don't know if speed/athletic ability are going to be huge factors in the midfield apart from the Ghana match.
For me, a CF is a guy who is a threat aerially, is physical, and can hold the ball up. Of the three you mentioned, only EJ fits the bill, and JK has deployed him wide an awful lot. And his pedigree is pretty iffy. Altidore is awful as a CF and needs a partner. Witness the last two year in England. He is awful in the air and is no threat. He needs the ball played to feet and a partner up top to be effective. Wondo is a poacher who also plays off another, target CF in SJ (Lenhart, Gordon, etc). A CF is someone who leads the line effectively. Neither Altidore or Wondolowski come close to fitting that bill. I must admit, I forgot about EJ when I was typing my comment. I should have said, I want an alternative CF to EJ in camp.
Are you drunk? Spector has been called into plenty of camps by JK. Get your facts straight, at least. Geez, he was even in the LAST camp. Ah, I see I was beaten to it. I believe 5 camps for Spector and 3 caps under JK (I stopped counting around the Austria friendly but added in the last camp). If you are going to play so loosey-goosey with the facts, the remove Editor from your username.
And Ghana's speed kills when the other side hands them the ball on an error in midfield, like a shanked clearance from Howard or Gonzo or a silly square pass from Fabian, a back pass from Bradley, etc. They will not send mids aggressively forward from the whistle because they dont want to get beat on the counter early.
My fault; I guess I was overlooking all 5 of the camps and 3 sub appearances throughout 3 years. They were just such impressive performances; I don't know what I was thinking. He was in the last camp because a guy got hurt and he got called in at the last second. This is not indicative of any sort of standing in the pool; do you really believe he's anywhere near the 30?
There are probably a whole bunch of guys who are in fact somewhere "near the 30" depending on any injuries that may occur to others in the next 4 weeks.
I would call Germanys midfield athletic to say the least. Maybe not the quickest individuals but they certainly not slow, if that is what we are using to measure athletic ability. Especially if they play a 4 2 3 1 with 3 more advanced midfield/ forward types. (Muller, ozil, schurlle, gotze type players). The speed of thought of these players will make up for this so called lack of athleticism. I agree with you about Portugals holding midfielders apart from maybe William Carvalho who looks like hes a beast. Moutinho and Veloso are not the most athletic but are intelligent enough to cause problems. Moutinho, in particular, who can be quite elusive in the final third.
Intelligence + skill does not equal athleticism. Yea, Germany has a lot of great players in the midfield. Great athletes though? No. Ghana is more athletic by some distance. Edu and Jones are more athletic than Schweinsteiger, Khedira, and Ozil.
I agree with on the Intelligence + skill doesnt equal athleticism. I just think at the level a team like Germany plays, its hard to suggest that these guys are not athletic or even great athletes. Surely a world class team would have world class athletes and intelligent athletes too?
Im less concerned about deep lying midfielders like Kheidra and Schweinsteiger. Beckermann, Edu, Jones are most likely going to have to deal with the likes of Muller, Schurlle, gotze, Kroos, Reus. All of whom are good to great athletes. Are marathon runners not great athletes? Speed is not the only measure of a world class athlete. Schweinsteiger certainly has proven to have a good motor throughout his career. Im sure he probably performs well in bleep test and the like. Sure hes not the quickest but he is strong and has a good motor. He also has adequate speed in relation to his position. I wouldnt class him a world class athlete but i probably wouldnt call Edu or Jones world class athletes at this stage in their careers either. The pair may be better athletes but im sure its by a small margin. Id build my team around Schwein regardless. Ghana does have some good athletes but i think they overrated by a lot of nat team fans. Muntari, Boateng and the like are good athletes but are not always game changers. I would be more worried about the younger players they have. Ghana has some young dynamic players that may be on the cuff. Those guys will hurt us more than the overstacked cms they may trot out. Plus, for some odd reason, coaches for African teams never seem to get the formula right and often pick bad lineups.
No, he's not that close to the 30, but it's not because he is being ignored but because he is a mediocrity - as evidenced by the fact that he is an average player on a bad team in a mediocre league.
Oh wow, I'm clearly not awake yet. Sorry about that; I read that as "its not because he's mediocre". Reading is fundamental.