Parkhurst as a full-back option

I'd imagine he's more of an option for the next cycle there, mostly because I don't see Bradley sticking with the Specter CB experiment and because I don't think a little over a half a season will be enough time to learn an entirely new position.

It is very promising news though. Watching Parkhurst struggle during the Gold Cup against sides that were a good deal less talented than MLS sides he routinely dominated convinced me that he doesn't have a future as a CB in a 4 back system. I didn't think he would have the versatility to become a fullback though.

 

Parkurst is a step slow in the international level at CB...id imagine he'd get eaten alive at RB.

 

Yep. But I'd give Parky a chance after Dolo, Specs, Frankie, Simek, Wynne, Franklin, Alston, and DeLaGarza.

 

His speed is ok imo. I rather thought he got dominated physically during that Gold Cup.

 

He was toasted by the Nigerians in the Olympics and pushed around in the Gold Cup. He has shown the least of any of the players that fans call for. Goodson, Simek, Orozco, etc all have shown more in their appearances for the national team.

 

Yes he was beaten twice IIRC vs Nigeria, but pushed around in the GC?
The guy is playing for a now mid-table Danish club and if he shows progress at RB it is only golden for us. He'd move right into the spot behind Dolo and Spector (who is probably going to play only at RB, not CB or LB). Parkie is as fast as Boca is on the left and that's where we will probably see Boca if Demerit, and especially Gooch make it back.

Simek has yet to start for Wednesday. Goodson was as shaky as Parkhurst was at CB but doesn't play RB that I know. Orozco? Has he ever come back into the good graces of BB after that red card?

 

I think we'll probably see Parkhurst given an opportunity in a friendly.........and perhaps at camp cupcake. The added versatility of being able to play both CB and RB is a plus in his favor. However, right back is one of the few positions where we do have some depth.......both young and old. Spector and Cherundolo would appear to be our first options. Personally, I'd love to see Alston get the start following camp cupcake.

Parkhurst has always been a better player than his physical attributes indicate he should be. While somebody like Wynne (for me) is the exact opposite.

 

I was wondering the same. And he's got where he is due to a great soccer brain. Maybe we've been exposed to too many years of surfer dude running around to realize it's not all about having insane pace.

 

Parkhurst is not going to be a "rampaging down the wing" type of Right Back. He's gonna be a stay at home kinda guy. Speed matters less in that instance.

 

I'm not a PArkhurst fan at all but if he does well at RB for his club, I wouldn't be against Bradley giving him a look-see in some friendlies.
Depth is never a bad thing.

 

much slower. And I love Parky.

 

He would not be playing as a right back for an attacking minded team like FCN, if he was a very defensive minded 'stay at home' kind of right back.... Actually, in the link I posted, his coach is saying that he is good at going forward and make some good crosses... and then he goes on to say that Parkhurst also has been solid in defense. So it's clearly not his defensive skills that has impressed the most, since it's mentioned last.
.

 

Yes, but he does not say fast or very quick.... I think he is trying to say that he is quick enough to be the kind of attacking minded right back they want him to be.
.

 

I get what you're saying but I'm talking about Parkhurst playing for the USMNT. I'm not saying he's going to never, ever go forward, but he's not going to be Ashley Cole or even Frankie and people shouldn't expect that.

International Level > Danish Level

 

Not if we are talking about the average CONCACAF/Gold Cup level. Then it's the other way around
.

 

Can we all agree that Bob Bradley is not a Parkhurst guy? Wouldn't BB have pulled MP into the team for the Denmark friendly if Bob had even a sliver of interest? Or did I miss an injury or some other key factor along the way that made MP unavailable?

 

...and btw, it's not because I have anything against CONCACAF... You can also find NTs in Europe that would not be able to escape relegation in the Danish league... Infact, you will only find one or two players in the Faroese NT squad who are good enough to play in the Danish Superliga.
.

 

Faroes has 50K people total. Honduras is bigger than Denmark.

 

1. Bocanegra is an option at left back because the other options are much worse, as well as Bob wants to get Demerit on the field as well as keeping the teams's captain out there. There are plenty of other good options on the right.

2. Yes, Parkhurst is that much slower than Spector. Spector is bigger, longer, and faster than Parkhurst.

3. Parkhurst would not be able to get forward like every single other RB option for the US.

4. braun - horrible post. If you don't think Parkhurst played bad at the Gold Cup, why do you think he played less than all of the other CBs??? Those other CBs including Goodson whose only bad game was the Gold Cup final breakdown. Orozco has played for the national team since the red card, so I can't understand why you bring that up again.

As for Simek, this is the first time he has been healthy in like 2 years. He was part of the Gold Cup squad back in 2007. We have seen how Feilhaber and (hopefully) now Beasley have bounced back from extended injury layoffs. Simek has been getting playing time for Wednesday in a league in which a lot of people argue that it is the quality of the Danish league. I wouldn't make that argument, but Simek will still play against some very good teams if he stays healthy.

 

I'd say a good MLS side is better than all but the top 4 CONCACAF national team sides during any given cycle. That goes doubly for Danish League sides. And this is based on my doing some extensive research on CONCACAF rosters and finding starting lineups even among some Hex teams filled with MLS or USL washouts, or third division players.

The WC-qualified CONCACAF sides though are definitely international quality and would probably do alright in the Premiership or Serie A.

 

I'd like to think our team is a bit better than average CONCACAF level.

 

Yes, but your average CONCACAF opponents are not that good, so Parkhurst should do just fine going forward in games like that.