I'm just not sure if Dempsey can ever be the same Dempsey that he was with during his last year with Fulham or even with Spurs. Some player's careers fall off a cliff, and I am afraid that has happened to Dempsey. Its staggering how much worse he looks now than one year ago.
I agree, but how long is right to hold out hope with Dempsey? That is what I am not sure about. At what point do you give up and say Dempsey has fallen off of a cliff?
Deuce definitely won't be left off the roster. He showed in Costa Rica that even on really poor form he's still one of the few players that can manage a breakthrough (he had a poor game but hit the post with his left foot from about 23 or so yards). Could he be benched? Certainly, and that's another reason I could see Landon up top. Overall, I think even though Dempsey is dangerous to just about any defense when he gets service, Landon is so much more instrumental in tying together a team's raw elements and using them to his advantage. We have so few attackers that are evolved enough to really trouble a team without a slightly more developed and acute soccer brain to really see their benefits and utilize them. Donovan is truly excellent at this. I think Jozy especially likes his presence because he combines and moves the ball along the ground, completely different from what he's been dealing with at Sunderland. I don't think it's the solution to every match we'll play in but when Landon has been given that free role this cycle he's looked quite good.
Wondo's stock has risen significantly by being paired with Donovan up top. Landon draws so much defensive attention that every other offensive player has more space and options. I think he's also underrated in his ability to "hunt" defenders and force turnovers in the offensive third.
Wondo simply played a good game. His movement finally caught with the speed of play. It wasn't about LD. Donovan belongs in midfield; that's where he has been most productive in the Mundial. That's where he has been most productive against good teams outside of Concacaf. He can sit against Ghana and get the start against Portugal with some combination of Altidore, Agudelo, Diskerud, or EJ up top.
Both Chris and Graham have said how they like playing with LD. They both feel he makes those around him better players. It'll be interesting to see how JK utilizes his talents to best bring out the best in the rest of our attackers.
It's going to take an injury. From his actions and words, JK thinks of them as BradleyJones, the siamese twins who are the first names on his teamsheet and the last thing he would change.
6 months ago posters were blabbing on about how Zusi wouldn't be starting in that right mid slot. Now it's all about Donovan or Dempsey or Donovan on the left. Reality reaches some a bit later than others...
Zusi did do well on the left for KC. I think that, in the long run, I'd like Zusi to turn out as a more complete version of Torres. Able to dictate the game and control the flow of it by drifting from the flank and smartly spraying around passes, but also able to have a direct impact on the attack, especially with such impressive ball striking ability. And Landon worked well with Graham down that right channel against Korea, the same way he worked the left well in the Gold Cup. Both occasions were up top. I know people are skeptical about Deuce out left, which is kind of why it might be an option to leave him on the bench and go with a player like Bedoya, Johnson, or even Shea on that side. We were kind of missing something from that flank with Davis on the left. He has an undoubtably good left foot, but it was a tad redundant with Zusi on the opposite flank. We needed Someone there like Dempsey or Johnson who could be a more varied threat to run at the backline or pick good spots in the middle of the pitch and in the box ( in fairness, Davis did well on the first goal). Again, Landon is adequate there and will most likely end up there or on the right. I just think our full team should get a look with him up top because he just seems to really enhance us in that free role Juergen has used him in.
+1 And teams are scared to death of Landon. He can shred teams in so many ways. He always plays with his head up. His defense is better than Dempsey's, but he's so good in the box it's a shame to play him in midfield. We will score more goals as a team with him at striker.
He's just looked better these past few seasons as a forward. Even when we lost to Mexico, he scored a fantastic goal from up top. The next game the U.S. played was also against Mexico and the team began to really play when he was moved from right midfield to striker - and the team defended better with lesser players than they had in their last encounter against Mexico because they used a designated holder, something they didn't have before. He just gets the team to play when he's up front. The other problem might be that Dempsey will have to either be on the bench, out wide, or Donovan's strike partner. General consensus seems that Dempsey doesn't have what he had before that made him capable of the duties of a wide midfielder. The Donovan-Dempsey pairing has bad memories after the Costa Rica away match, and isnt really ideal anyways. That probably means Dempsey will have to be benched if Landon is up top, and that might be fitting of his form right now.