guzan chandler gonzalez cameron johnson gatt holden bradley shea boyd altidore works pretty well for me in fifa, anyways lichaj, edu, williams, torres, diskerud, agudelo as possibilities/replacements. i believe we have more young talent/potential than ever- the question is how to transition to some of the younger players (to prospects such as brooks, gyau, gil, etc) while maintaining ourselves (consistent wc qualifiers).
------Altidore------Wondo--------- --------------Adu----------------- ------Davis----------Bradley----- ------------Williams---------------- Johnson--------------------Lichaj -------Cameron--Gonzalez--------- -------------Guzan-----------------
International games are a completely different animal. Guys who are awesome with their club pee their shorts when they have the anthem played, and become conscious of carrying the hope of millions of countrymen and countrywomen on their shoulders. It's not enough for them to be playing good footie. You have to see if they have the psych makeup to stand the responsibility of international play. Many players take years to develop that (ex.: Leonel Messi). Others never do (ex.: Ricardo Costa).
Well, well, well, only Howard was available for this one after min 25. People who think JK has not done a good job are crazy.
And yet, this game gave me no comfort on how to win (which we didn't do) without TH, LD, CD and CB. Unless you liked Clarence Goodson on skates back there. And our finishing skills (minus Bradley). I'm still not comfortable going into the Hex without our best players. And that's not the takeaway we should have from yesterday.
I don't even know where to start.1.hard to win in russia, ask Napoleon. 2.we dont have best players, we have players available.3. you dont play best players you play players who get you the win. 4. Goodson was not that bad, most of the problem was dwilliams couldnt defend above cb's or ball win in transition. Goodson was almost always defending 2 players alone.Put it on the defensive coach.5.good leaders plan for the worst and JK has done that. Agudelo has been dry humping mediocrity all year, but JK pulled the rope and he was a game changer. We are all getting a lesson on how you transition from our best players to our best team.
Seems like we didn't win without those players. I think we can do without one of Landon and Dempsey, but both of them out leaves us really short on creative ideas in the attacking 3rd. Against good teams anyway............................... We can find a replacement for Boca, and we'd probably be OK with Guzan in there instead of Howard. (Although at times I think we vastly underestimate the importance of Howard.)
drop gatt and add dempsey.. donovan and gatt off the bench, and either agudelo or boyd, and i'd be happy with this team omar for boca eventually.. cameron will be fime with omar
To those saying we didn't have our best in Russia to you guys really think that that was Russia's best squad?
I never said tying Russia wasn't an accomplishment. But it was still a disjointed effort that showed me we still need the veterans for smoother composed play. The players "who get you the win" still include the players you have in the subject line. Goodson was awful. Bambi on skates. Williams was bad too, but Clarence hasn't impressed me, oh, ever. Agudelo was good. Still doesn't change: The players "who get you the win" still include the players you have in the subject line.
It has been a while since I seen LD in a NATS jersey but...I happen to like how we played without Dempsey, we moved the ball a little better and faster, with Dempsey is more a grind it out proposition with his usual hold the ball get foul and take a free kick plan.
I agree man. But recent history has shown us you cannot rely on specific players, you have to put your faith in the team. Goodheader...I mean his lack of footspeed has been a big issue, JK could have called in Spector? Whitbrittle? Edu as CB? He was there as back up and aside from one 50% mistake, he held up.
People who get all excited over friendly victories are .... well, crazy. The jury is still out on JK. His team has performed better in friendlies than previous coaches did, though previous coaches could point to "famous" friendly victories as well. But his performance in the first round of qualifiers was poor. The question that will be answered next year was whether the poor qualifier performance was a prelude to something better or just an indicator of real problems.
I am not overly excited about this match. Best player in US history, best player in US history in a real league, longest lasting field player in US history, and captain of several Euro teams. All absent. Yet we look competitive, relatively organized, and I think that is exactly the right move. He is preparing the team.
Yup. When the games have actually mattered.......................we haven't looked good under Klinsmann. That's regardless of whether we had Donovan or Dempsey or Howard. Remember, Bob Bradley beat the #1 team in the world in an official FIFA competition. He understood his players and tailored a counter-attacking stayle around that group that beat Spain. [When you look at that Spain roster for that game it's absurd. They brought Mata and Cazorla off the bench for Christ's sake.] It drove US fans crazy at times, because they wanted to play a more "possession" style.................but Bradley understand our player pool couldn't support that. Counter-attack and set plays. Counter-attack and set players.
Hey guys remember in 06 when we lost the the core of our team in McBride, Reyna, O'Brien, and Pope? Arguably some of the greatest American players ever. We did alright in 2010. Maybe we should look to that as some kind of example or model, of how things might shake out. Because since 06 we still seem fairly capable of qualifying for the WC.
Goodson has never, and I mean never, looked dominating. He can get the job done in a pinch, and he does good against certain CONCACAF or lesser teams, but there is a good reason why he was one of the few players not to get off the bench in South Africa. JK will eventually find the dominating players he needs back there, Cameron is obviously a lock. Then you have John and Gonzalez, plus Besler, and some of the rookie guys in MLS who look solid. If Brooks gets into the Bundesliga next year also, that could be good. I also think it is worth looking at Edu, Williams, and Jones here. And don't completely write off Gooch. So the future looks bright. The present and the game against Honduras, not so much.
The real question is, and the answer is "no," how to/can we win without Bradley? He has become the mainstay in midfield around which all else is built. OK, there are formations one can draw without him that might get the job done to some extent, but Bradley has become so steady that issues such as the frailties of Donovan's psyche and the ego-centric European aspirations of Dempsey are assuaged. I can think of several 'keepers who would do just fine between the pipes, as long as none of them are Nick Romando. While Agudelo may have impressed all with that singular header, maybe not, he still lacks the acumen to be a force 1 v 1. But there are Altidore and others who can fill in at forward, eg: EJ, Gomez, Boyd, and the newbie Gatt, give us enough hustle/bustle and a slick touch here and there (mostly there). There are several workmanlike midfielders with occasional flashes of brilliance that can be platooned strategically over 90 minutes that may just get the results needed (Zusi, Jones, Williams, Davis, and this Brazilian-American 11th grader I've seen play for the local HS who will be discovered at the end of 2013...its on the amended Mayan calender). We still have a paucity of backs, and that will be the crux of the biscuit, regardless of whether or not Dempsey, LD, Boca or THow play. My sixth sense tells me convert Chandler to CB, pray Dolo stays fit, and go with Dolo, Chandler (Steve can bark at Tim in German to keep him focused), Cameron and Johnson.
I think we would be better off playing Jones or Williams at CB if we really had to than playing Chandler at CB because he is no CB that's for sure.
Don't get carried away. There's plenty of cover in central midfield. The team won at Azteca without him.
That's a tough stance to adopt. Capelo would have had to go with zero of Russia's current starters for this to be anywhere near correct.
I was being sarcastic. Someone earlier said we played a terrible russian side. totally not true. we played a top 10 team in the world in their house and did enough to get a draw and almost a win. we are historically terrible in europe. we have been so much better in the past year and a half.
This game was the first time I have thought this to be the case since he took over (emphasis mine). I am suspending my judgement until I see who he calls into Camp Strudel (if we have one) and from there who is chosen for the WCQ calls in Feb and March. But no doubt, the Russia match made an impression on me. Please now can we see the squad in a game that matters with a keeper who can actually distribute?!?!