Road to 2014 Begins: 23 for Orlando

World Cup qualifying is upon us. The US national team will convene in Orlando on May 15 with a squad of 23 players.

GK:
Howard
Guzan
Rimando

DF:
Bocanegra
Onyewu
Goodson
Ream
Cherundolo
Lichaj
Johnson
Castillo

MF:
Bradley
Jones
Edu
Williams
Torres
Corona
Dempsey
Donovan
Chandler

FW:
Altidore
Gomez
Boyd

GK: Howard, Guzan, Rimando

D: Cherundolo, Gooch, Boca, Johnson, Chandler, Goodson, Ream, Castillo

M: Bradley, Torres, Beckerman, Jones, Edu, Donovan, Shea, Adu

F: Altidore, Dempsey, Buddle, Gomez

No Cameron, eh?

Probably not enough room on this roster. Over Goodson? No. Over Ream? Doubtful. At the moment we haven't seen Cameron against any competition other than Venezuela and Panama. Sure he's a starter on a Camp Cupcake roster, but with the full national team getting ready for qualifying? Not sure he's there yet.

Please God, please no Beckerman.

Right now:

Goalies
1. Howard- Obvious
2. Guzan- I know JK likes Hamid here, and Hamid is the future, no doubt here, but hopefully JK saw what happens when you put all your chips on inexperienced people.
3. Hamid


Defense
RB
1. Cherundolo- Is the incumbent and coming off a great run of form, but will be 35 in 2014. JK needs someone else to step up here.... which is why I think ultimately...
2. Chandler will the starter here. He's too good to sit on the bench or play out of position. Also, in a pinch he can play on the left or in the midfield.
Others in consideration: Lichaj, Gatt, and Morales. All of these guys need to get playing and starting regularly. Is Gatt more of a winger?

LB
1. Johnson- Possibly the long awaited answer to all our LB woes.
2. Lichaj- The depth gets weak after Johnson, but Lichaj can play here, and if he is continuing to get starts in the EPL, then he should be brought in for his versatility.
Others in consideration: Spector, Pearce

RCB
1. Onyewu- With a healthy Gooch, our defense gets a lot better.
2. Goodson- Really the only other legitimate option here right now but not for the long term.
Others in consideration: Parkhurst, Gonzalez, Williams, Clark. Really we are waiting for Gonzalez to recover from injury to push Goodson for the back up spot to Gooch. Williams and Clark could probably fill in ably in desperate times.

LCB
1. Bocanegra- These should really be Boca's last qualifiers as a regular starter. Still gets the job done, but...
2. Ream should be able to push him out soon. He has been doing great at Bolton.
Others in Consideration: Whitbread, John. Stay healthy and play well, and one of these guys could even jump frog Ream.

Final defense
4. Onyewu
5. Goodson
5. Cherundolo
6. Chandler
7. Johnson
8. Lichaj
9. Bocanegra
10. Ream

CM
11. Bradley- Hopefully we have finally moved past the idiotic idea that we are a better team without Michael.
12. Jermaine Jones- Automatic starter for one of the best teams in Germany
13. Maurice Edu- Needs to get out of Scotland, but still one of our best options.
14. Williams- JK likes him, but has he lost his starting spot at Hoffenheim?
15. Torres- JK likes him, and he is playing again. It will be hard for him to find a full time spot in this group.
Others in Consideration: Beckerman, Holden, Klesjtan, Diskerud Get well Holden! We need you!

Wide Players/ Attacking Players
16. Donovan- Obvious
17. Dempsey- More than obvious.
18. Shea- Has been less than impressive as of late, but his potential and play of last year, means he probably needs to be a part of this team.
19. Adu- His play in the Olympics probably means he should be involved more at the national team level.
20. Beasley- Playing well in Mexico.
Others in Consideration- Chandler, Gatt, Castillo, Johnson, Corona. JK has some options here behind Donovan and Dempsey. Chandler and Johnson can both play in the midfield and do it well. Castillo is playing well in Mexico after a series of poor seasons. Corona has shown some flashes, and Gatt's speed has to be on JK's radar.

True Forward
21. Altidore- Obvious starter
22. Gomez- Quietly becoming one of the most under rated forwards in US history. Where was this guy before he turned Mexico into his personal playground.
23. Boyd- Why not? Really who else is there who isn't going to be about the same. He looked good in the Olympic debacle and could use the cap to tie him to us FOREVER.
Other in consideration: Agudelo, Buddle, Sapong, Wondo. Agudelo is injured and seems to have stagnated a bit. Buddle, meh? Sapong needs to get a look soon. Wondo could replace Boyd.

Gatt is not just "more of a winger" - he is a 100% full-blooded winger that somewhat successfully helps his team out at right back in a dire Norwegian league crisis. He is not a legit international right back candidate, let alone with the depth we have at that position.

And, also, he starts pretty much every game. There is not much more playing time he can get.

Same thing here: these two are not wingbacks that "can play midfield" - they are both natural wingers that "can play wingback" to some degree.

GK: Howard, Guzan, Johnson

RB: Cherundolo, Lichaj

RCB: Gooch, Goodson

LCB: Boca, Ream

LB: Johnson, Spector

Mid: Donovan, Dempsey, Chandler, Bradley, Jones, Adu, Torres, Mix, Beckerman

FWD: Altidore, Gomez, Boyd

I would have Beasley instead of Gomez, but not even Klinsmann IMO is likely to ignore what Herculez has been doing.

Howard, Guzan, Rimando
Bocanegra, Onyewu, Goodson, Ream
F Johnson, Cherundolo, Chandler, Spector
Beckerman, Edu, Williams, Torres, Bradley, Jones
Dempsey, Donovan, Shea, Gomez
Altidore, Buddle

Altidore
Buddle
Gomez
Donovan
Dempsey

Bradley
Jones
Shea
Edu
Beckerman
Torres

Bocanegra
Onyewu
Ream
Johnson
Chandler
Cherundolo
Lichaj

Howard
Guzan
Hamid

-Listed Herc as a forward based on the fact that JK has listed Donovan, Dempsey, Beasley, etc. as forwards in the past. This of course is assuming he gets a call-up in the first place.

-Have a strong feeling Beckerman will be back in; hopefully not to start.

-I just can't bring myself to put Williams in though he may very well be. Just don't rate this guy right now, his NT performances have been pedestrian at best and he doesn't appear to be anything special in Germany even at 23. When Donovan, Chandler, and Gomez are in the team there's no need for him as a warm body to plug into right midfield. Only way I think he deserves a spot is if you rate him more than Edu as a backup d-mid, which wouldn't be the craziest view to have.

-Agree with what Dignan said about Ream's emergence in England signaling the winding down of Boca's role as a clear-cut starter. But it remains to be seen if Klinsmann will be interested in playing Ream in defense if his starts at Bolton continue to be in midfield.

-In no way am I comfortable relying on Hamid in a real game if Tim gets hurt. Guzan may not play much, but he was somehow able to handle United, Chelsea and Stoke reasonably well without full sharpness earlier this year.

Ream's only played in midfield twice so far, and in the last game he was a CB so I assume him being CDM is only an emergency thing to fill in for the injuries there.

Like I said...if he continues to start in midfield. We should know Holden and Muamba aren't coming back anytime soon, the injury issues could linger.

I highly doubt Gatt gets released by Molde and OGS. Anyone else agree?

Howard
Guzan
Rimando

Cherundolo
Onyewu
Bocanegra
Johnson
Lichaj
Goodson
Ream
Castillo

Bradley
Edu
Jones
Torres
Williams
Chandler
Beasley

Dempsey
Donovan
Altidore
Gomez
Boyd

I think JK will try to have 2 players for each position, perhaps with one exception. Since Chandler and Johnson can play both fullback and wide attacking mid, I think JK will double count one of them. This will allow one "wild card." And by wild card I mean an extra player at one of the positions. This extra player is likely to come at the position we are deepest: central mid. Assuming good health on the part of everyone, I think we'll see all five of: Bradley, Beckerman, Edu, Jones and Torres.

In depth chart order with alternate in () and assuming we will play a 4-2-3-1

GK: Howard, Hamid, Guzan, (Rimando).
Hamid is out max 3 weeks so should be available

LB: Chandler, Lichaj, (Castillo).
Chandler still our starting LB

LCB: Boca, Ream, (Cameron)

RCB: Gooch, Goodson, (Cameron)

RB: Dolo, Spector

CM6: Bradley, Edu, Beckerman, (Morales)

CM8: Jones, Torres, (Mix)

AML11: Johnson, Shea, (Beasley)

CAM10: Dempsey, Gomez, (Adu, Corona)
If Gomez's form dips over the next month then Adu gets the call

AMR7: Donovan, Williams

CF9: Altidore, Boyd, (Buddle, Agudelo)
Buddle is not yet scoring and Agudelo is hurt and may not be starting

- Spector gets dropped to make room for Beckerman
- Williams can play CM68, AMR, RB, and CB (and has for club this season) so will be in game day 18 as a utility player.
- Edu can play CM68 and CB in a pinch (played CB in WC2010) so will be called up.

you should call up edu, but for christ's sake... quit starting him. let bradley and jones hold down the midfield. jones is way better than edu. he's far more aggressive, and the difference between their distribution skills is so huge it's comical. remember... jones was man of the match in the venezuala win, and he had almost no support in our 10-man victory against panama. jones ran the show in those games.

the point is... start jones and bradley. edu is technically weak, and a hazard to our defense.

beasley hasn't been convincing enough for a call-up. sure, he's scoring goals... but they're not really remarkable at all. compare his goals to gomez's.

i agree with real corona on the forwards we need to call up: dempsey, altidore, gomez, and boyd.

I really hope this idea of Williams as a wide player is shelved.

I agree that one of Johnson or Chandler will be classified as a wide attacking player when JK makes his list.

That gives us Donovan, one of Johnson or Chandler, Shea.

Who will be the fourth wide attacking player. Could be Beasley. I would take Adu, who can also serve as another option at the #10 spot.

Why is everyone calling Dempsey a forward? He's not in Klinsmann's core scheme. He's an attacking central Mid--the #10 if you must. JK's secondary scheme is a 4312. In the secondary scheme Dempsey arguably can play as a real second forward, but I dont recall JK using him that way in any of the friendlies. Am I wrong?

JK would be wise to call in four true forwards. There seems to be agreement about the first two. Not the other ones.

Until we find someone better at that slot he will stay #2 on the depth chart behind LD. Who do you have in mind?

Against Ecuador we played a 4-1-3-2(1-1) with Dempsey as a SS behind Altidore. That is the only time the staff has ever talked about Dempsey as a forward.

Dempsey's role has been consistent (#10-creator) since the second half against Belgium, his first game. In the first half he started as the #8 until everyone realised that Deuce plays very little (effective) defense!