Klinsmann snubs

1. Eric Lichaj
2. Mike Magee
3. Jonathan Spector
4. Benny Feilhaber
5. Matt Hedges
6. Kofi Sarkodie
7. Tim Ream
8. Dax McCarty
9. Seth Sinovic
10. Ricardo Clark
11. Amobi Okugo
12. George John
13. Chris Schuler
14. Will Bruin
15. Chris Pontius
16. Chris Klute
17. Conor O' Brien
18. chance Myers
19. Jack McInerney
20. Dillon Powers
21. Lee Nguyen
22. Greg Garza
23. Sheannon Williams
24. Nick DeLeon
25. Sam Cronin
26. Kelyn Rowe
27. Babajide Ogunbiyi
28. Andrew Wooten
29. Justin Morrow
30. AJ de la Garza

 

I'll focus discussion on 1-10

1. Lichaj
-probably the most obvious. We needed help at fullback, we saw what he was capable of doing at the Gold Cup, we all had him penciled in our projected line ups since nearly 2010 ended... And despite the desperate need for fullbacks, Klinsy went as far as calling in Tony Beltran and even putting JFT out of place to avoid calling up Lichaj. By far, the biggest snub and should questions Klinsy's judgment.

2. Magee
-even before he left for the Fire, Magee had been steadily showing his skills with the Galaxy. I honestly believe we missed out on a Zusi caliber player

3. Spector
-Same deal as Lichaj but even more talented and a lot more experience... Falls to #3 because of injuries but still should have played a bigger part.

4. Feilhaber
-another experienced WC vet who is playing out of his mind right now. To be fair, he struggled at New England.

5. Hedges
-when we looked at rebuilding our back line, Klinsy should have expanded past his usual cohort of old defenders and picked this up and comer.

6. Sarkodie
-I'll just say that I'd take him over Beltran any day.

7. Ream
-when he fell off Klinsy's radar; there was no coming back... Even though signs showed that he has improved.

8. McCarty
-Bradley-lite. My prediction for playing the Beckerman role next cycle of late bloomer who people wonder why he was not always included in the program.

9. Sinovic
-has been the best LB in MLS.... Maybe camp cupcake was his ceiling, but he should have gotten more of a look.

10. Clark
-probably should be a lot higher on this list... Maybe even as high as #2. Clark needs to go down as the most undeserved hated player in USMNT history. Clark is a player I rate as equally high as Beckerman and should have provided the man some competition.

 

Does Shawn Parker count? If so, he is 1 or 2...

Adam Henley and Jeremy Toljan may make the overall list too.

Note: I missed Justin Mapp..... He is right around that top ten category. Agree that he is better than Davis.

cooper could sneak on there too possibly in the later rounds

 

1-2. Completely agree. These are the only real snubs where I have serious issues with JK.

3. You said it yourself--Spector suffers from Whitbread-like injury woes. A fine player yes, but I for one am glad we never got too dependent on his abilities under JK.

4. I agree here too. While Feilhaber is a giant snub, we all forget that his form was not up to par in 2011 and much of 2012. It wasn't until the 2013 season that Benny start to shine, and 2014 shows that Benny is in perhaps the best form of his career. But first impressions run deep, and Klinsi may not have liked the 2012 Benny (Who was given a lackluster cap) and may have soured his perception of him. In my book, I would (currently) pick him over Jones, but I posit this: If Feilhaber had his 2014 form back in 2012, he would be a mainstay of the national team.

5-6. Agreed. Beltran, I feel, is a Martin Vasquez pick.

7. Yep. Furthermore, note that he was called up for the Ukraine match but left for "Personal Reasons". I have no idea what this entails, or even if Ream is on Klinsi's radar again, but whatever those reasons are, Ream looks to be a 2018 guy now.

8. I like me some Dax. If we are to blame anybody for Dax's omission, it's Sacha Kljestan. On paper, he was the better man for the "Bradley-Lite_ role, but we all know that Kljestan has no business wearing a US shirt. That's too bad, I'd rather we had looked at Dax over Sacha's ridiculous giveaways with every pass.

9. Sinovic is excellent but I feel he may be better for 2018.

10. I wouldn't rate Clark higher than Beckerman, in 2011 and now. Hate to say this, but as far as DM's go, we have better options--Cameron, Edu, Spector, Jones, etc. etc. And let's not forget Holden--We genuinely tried to get Holden back in qualification and the Gold Cup. With so many good options, it's completely understandable that Clark got crowded out. It wouldn't be a 2. I think 10 or 11 is fine, with Justin Mapp being my defacto #10 snub on my list.

 

He called in more then half of those guys while most of the other half don't belong near the national team yet.

 

I had Johnny Specs in my Gold Cup Roster Wish List. No one (to my recollection) said "good idea" or included JS in their Wish List Roster. If anything, there might have been a few "nope's." So, JS can't be considered a very big snub.

 

1. Eric Lichaj -Called In (My memories hazy he might not have been called in actually then he's a snub)
2. Mike Magee- Called In
3. Jonathan Spector- Called In
4. Benny Feilhaber- Called In
5. Matt Hedges- Snub
6. Kofi Sarkodie- Not ready (getting better though)
7. Tim Ream- Called In
8. Dax McCarty- Called In
9. Seth Sinovic- Called In
10. Ricardo Clark- Not Good Enough
11. Amobi Okugo- Not ready (struggled at the end of last year)
12. George John- Called In
13. Chris Schuler- Not Good Enough (Gonzo 2.0 but not as smart which is saying something)
14. Will Bruin- Called In and not good enough
15. Chris Pontius - Hasn't played well in over 1 year plus he's injured all the time
16. Chris Klute- Called In
17. Conor O' Brien- Haven't seen play but I don't believe he plays regularly for his club
18. chance Myers- Called In
19. Jack McInerney- Called In
20. Dillon Powers- Called In but had to skip camp due to concussion symptoms
21. Lee Nguyen- Not Good Enough (If people hate Torres they'll say the same about him)
22. Greg Garza- Should get a look
23. Sheannon Williams- Not Ready
24. Nick DeLeon- Not Good Enough
25. Sam Cronin- Not Good Enough
26. Kelyn Rowe- Snub
27. Babajide Ogunbiyi- Never seen play (Doubt many on this forum have)
28. Andrew Wooten- Never seen Play
29. Justin Morrow- Called In
30. AJ de la Garza- Cant Play for the USA

It's easy to second guess but really for the people who watch MLS all the time and get to see this guys play regularly, they're not as good as some of the hype around them suggests. I'd say the only real snubs are Hedges, Rowe and Mapp but regarding Rowe I can see why he hasn't been called in yet.

 

Damn. I had thought that Sinovic was 25 for some reason, and 29 is peak for a defender. 31 is not ideal for a fullback, but he will still be in the picture.

As highly as I regard Garza, I am not sure that JK is going to call anybody new into the NT picture into the World Cup fold as of now. I can see JK call in a player like Lichaj or Ream over Garza right now, but I would imagine that he will be on one of the first squads post-WC.

 

Paul Arriola

 

Note: from my list, the only players who I consider actual snubs are the ones I listed out in the top ten... And understand why a lot of these guys did not get a lot more playing time.

I do; however, really wish that Lichaj, Magee, and Spector would have received more looks as I think they could have had a legitimate chance to make a difference.

 

I look at these lists and really don't see 'snubs.' My issue is with some of the players he continues to invest time in.

Feilhaber has been given multiple looks but, I guess, doesn't translate to JK's style of play (similarly, Geoff Cameron, no matter his MLS form could barely break into Bradley's teams).

Lichaj, can't explain that one especially in a look for a competent LB. Not sure if it was an injury thing about timings for camps but that might be the most high profile, in which case, I'm OK with despite being left with DMB at the spot. Really, when I have seen Lichaj he seems to make Omar Gonzalez errors at his spot quite often. Not the most consistent.

I am a big Tim Ream fan, but lets be honest, he was a mess for most of last year. Even then. JK called him up last summer for Bosnia, mainly as roster fodder, but he made it in. He was also called in for Ukraine with an opportunity to play but withdrew due to the birth of his child. JK has been mostly fair with him. I think he has something to offer, but I just can't see him jumping Parkhurst and/or MOF at this point.

I thought Rico at least deserved a look last winter with his play at the end of the MLS season, but I'm not devestated that he didn't get called in.

Really a lot of puffing about nothing in this thread.

 

I think it's certainly valid to state that JK has "snubbed" or overlooked some guys that could have contributed. However, I think that it should be viewed in terms of who might actually have been a real contributor as opposed to "this guy is slightly better than this guy who JK did cap but ended up being a dud at international level".

Addressing the OP's listings:

Benny certainly could be a contributor. We've seen him do it in a WC and Confed Cup. He seems to be in his prime and in good form. I think this is a legitimate snub from JK, but it seems that Mix and Benny fill the same role in his system and Mix is higher on the depth chart for him. Mix vs. Benny is an interesting debate. If Mix performs well in the WC, then perhaps JK will be vindicated on this count.

Another snub for sure. Lichaj was clearly being integrated into the team by BB, and JK totally ignored him. I think he was rated more highly by many of us on BS than perhaps he actually is, but his resume and performances with the ants suggest that he would be a solid RB or LB option. While his speed makes him a more attractive option than Parkhurst for me, I can understand that perhaps JK sees Parkhurst as a safer, more tactically sound option now. However, I don't understand Beasley or Evans being in front of him. This is perhaps the most mysterious snub in JK's tenure.

His recent uptick in form is great, but he went years without looking good. CB is the spot that JK has been slowest to change, and Ream's improvement came too late. In my mind, his play is encouraging, but he hasn't done enough to supplant Goodson, Omar, or Besler. With Cameron and Brooks being integrated as CBs as well, the depth chart is too much for anyone to climb at this point. Ream as a LB is also a recent phenomenon, though it could have been interesting. The lesson for Ream is that if you want to be a defender for the nats, you need to prove your form over the entire cycle, not just the tail end. There's a double standard for defenders, absolutely.

A victim of the fact that we don't really use a creative attacking mid. In all honesty, he had no chance of being in any WC lineups, so I'm not too upset that he hasn't gotten his chance yet. With the way our system works, our central creators are going to be Donovan, Bradley, and Dempsey. AJ and Mix are also there. Rowe wasn't going to crack that depth. He will certainly be involved next cycle.

I've heard rave reviews, but I haven't seen enough to judge. He did get a chance, but apparently JK think he is still missing something, since he wasn't invited to the Mexico friendly.

Sure, probably better than Davis. This is a case of two guys that probably wouldn't do much at the WC though, so I'm not losing sleep.

I don't know. He's young and very talented. Early in the cycle, JK gave him chances, but then his injuries kept him out a lot. His club career is only now getting kickstarted. I understand the desire to see him for the US, but I understand also that JK is using consistency and club form to select AJ, Boyd, EJ ahead of Juan and his flashes of potential. Certainly will be a big player for next cycle though.

Again, neither is good enough.

Goodson is a very trustworthy backup option. Okugo is young, and experience is key for your primary backup at CB. Don't disagree that it would have been nice to see him over Orozco, but in the end, neither is going to the WC.

Showed great form in the playoffs last year. Definitely a legitimate claim that he was snubbed for a cupcake callup.

I don't think the rest of the guys have shown enough to be in the conversation at all. Babajide maybe, but I have never seen him, so I can't really say.

A general them is that JK has been very slow with changes at CB. Experience is definitely vital for this position, but giving young talent that experience is something JK has neglected. Hopefully this policy changes next cycle. While Gonzo and Besler are both young and could be a tandem through 2018 there are too many guys that could be good to not experiment a little bit. Many of the guys here (Okugo, Schuler, John) need to be brought in early in the cycle. Later in the cycle, some of the younger guys may also have a reasonable amount of pro experience (Redding, Miazaga, Palmer-Brown [very young, but who knows], Opare, etc.).

 

Unfortunately the U.S. coaching staff can often hide from criticism behind the fact that they are the ones who allow us to see if players are truly "international caliber" or not. Player selection for the U.S. national team is a lot more ambiguous than any country around or above our world ranking.

What does it really mean to be starting in MLS or for the Colorado Rapids? That could theoretically make you a young Cristiano Ronaldo.....or Freddy Adu. Between the amount of talent available to the league, and how much that talent is spread out thanks to the draft + salary cap + excessive amount of teams, club and league affiliation means next to nothing.

Whereas if you're starting in the EPL, or at Paris St. Germain, those things really mean something in and of themselves. It translates into the form of looks for a national team.

With the U.S. the coach needs to evaluate talent more keenly and remove themselves from bias. That's why player selection is the most important aspect of this job by a good margin, as opposed to the traditional powers for whom it's tactics probably. And I don't know if Klinsmann is doing it well calling up players who aren't worthy on paper and then having it proven repeatedly on the field.

I guess how Klinsmann himself is evaluated should all come down to how the team fares in Brazil. If they get out of a tough group, we can't exactly fairly complain about who he did it with, and reasonably speculate how others would have led to even better results. But if he doesn't get out of group, even a tough one, I think he's fair game for heavy criticism given the weird player selections on paper he's made throughout the cycle.

 

Benny was extremely important in South Africa, probably one of the five best players for the US. Him falling off the USMNT map still seems bizarre considering we will need his skill set, at least off the bench.

 

Didn't stop guys like Davis and wondo from cracking the roster. Or even Magee for that matter. And I'm too lazy to look but I would wager Evans is around that age marker

 

Great thread! I'll limit my list only to those I strongly feel have been notable snubs this cycle. Guys who could've been genuine contributors on the squad.

1. Benny Feilhaber - Benny was our X-factor off the bench at the 2010 World Cup. We started all 4 matches in a 4-4-2, and switched to a 4-2-3-1 / 4-4-1-1 at halftime during each match, with Feilhaber coming on as a sub for Robbie Findley / Herculez Gomez in 3 of 4 matches. He was a game changer both during the World Cup and in the 2009 Confederations Cup (who can forget his slaloming run against Spain). Quite simply, Benny is one of the best playmakers and passers in our pool, but he has been overlooked due to inconsistent club form prior to late in 2013, and a questionable work rate. I think he needs to be on Klinsmann's squad in Brazil as a 2nd half sub if we are down a goal and need an equalizer. I'm worried about our prospects without Benny there, because Klinsmann just doesn't seem to rate him. Mix Diskerud looks like a capable stand-in, but Benny has the experience on the big stage, and he has delivered each and every time.
   
   
2. Jonathan Spector - Johnny has been injured at several points during Klinsmann's tenure, but I've remained perplexed by his virtual absence from Klinsmann's line-ups since 2011. Back in 2009, Spector was playing Premier League soccer, starring in the Confederations Cup, and he looked like the heir apparent to Steve Cherundolo at RB. When healthy, he has started regularly for Birmingham City, and I think he should have earned a much closer look at RB in 2013 once Cherundolo went down. Foot speed, lateral agility and heading were never his strong suits, but Spector serves in a good cross and he is a good man marker.
   
   
3. Eric Lichaj - Eric was another guy that I thought would step up to play a much bigger role this cycle, after his performance in the 2011 Gold Cup. He has been a victim of a lack of consistent playing time during Klinsmann's tenure, and playing time is something that Jurgen really stresses when determining call ups. Eric is only 25, so he still has time to make the RB spot his next cycle and play a big role, depending on how well DeAndre Yedlin develops.
   
   
4. Ricardo Clark - I've long mused about the disappearance of Ricardo Clark this cycle. You figured that Jermaine Jones' decision to play for the US would have profound implications on Clark's role with the team, coupled with an expected continued emergence of Maurice Edu. Still, Ricardo was only 27 at the 2010 World Cup, so I would've thought he would hang around the team, play with the B-squad, and make the bench fairly regularly throughout the 2014 cycle. Instead, he has only earned a small number of caps and has been mostly forgotten, despite some solid play for Houston last year that saw him reinvent himself in a more advanced central midfield role. The thread I linked to comparing Ricardo Clark to Kyle Beckerman is worth the read, because it provides some context about why Klinsmann has trusted and preferred Beckerman as his 2nd string DM ahead of Clark since day 1 against Mexico in August of 2011. It really comes down to passing and distribution. Beckerman does it better, which fits Klinsmann's preferred system better. Still, one of the things I loved about Clark was his athleticism and ability to cover so much ground. When he was on, Ricardo was all over the field breaking up plays and protecting our backline. Jermaine Jones was always going to force him out of the starting line-up this cycle, but despite Maurice Edu's inability to stamp his claim to a consistent starting role, Klinsmann's preferred system relegated Clark in favor of Kyle Beckerman as a trusted backup in defensive midfield.

 

Feilhaber is the only one that I can see being called a snub at all. And it's not as if he hasn't gotten chances. Klinsmann has given him chances in camps and in games and has come away uninterested. MOre a rejection than a snub. The rest are some marginal MLS talents or lower division guys who would be fringe players at best. The sorts of guys that change depending who's the coach, not the kind of players you expect to get real minutes. The other guy who never has seemed to fit this team, who is similar to Benny in some ways is Sasha whose fine career in Belgium seems to have done him no good in the US setup, or in using it as a stepping stone to a bigger league for that matter.

 

Can we define snub first?

It seems to me a snub is a player who doesn't get a chance to shine when a lesser player is getting chance after chance.

There's been plenty of snubs IMO.

 

I've enjoyed this discussion, but hadn't posted until now.

I think at various times during JK's 3 years, there have been some snubs. But over the entire period I can really only think of two relatively minor snubs:

1) Lichaj. He's a solid Championship RB, with some experience in the Premiership, can fill in at LB, and is an ideal age for the World Cup. He had a really nice start to the cycle under BB and at the 2011 Gold Cup. An injury held him back for a while, but I think JK simply wasn't interested for some unknown reason. Early on JK over-used aging Cherundolo and ignored the defensive transition most observers knew was necessary. Then he used lesser players at RB -- Fiscal, Beltran, the emergency convert Evans, DelaGarza -- or lesser LBs -- Morrow, Loyd, and the defensively dodgy Castillo. Lichaj is comparable in talent to Parkhurst, but more athletic and with more success at a slightly higher European level, so if Parkhurst can be very close to making the 23, Lichaj could as well. Lichaj is a snub, not a major one, but a snub nonetheless.

2) Feilhaber. Not technically a true snub in that he did get several opportunities with the US under JK. BUT, I don't think Klinsi ever understood Feilhaber's best value, which is as a 2nd half change-of-pace or change-of-style sub. JK likes more physical, workers in midfield and he prefers subs who have the same qualities as the starters. Like for like. Feilhaber is different from most other mids in the pool, but JK isn't really interested in a sub who changes the style of play.