For JK's staring lineup, I could see him having: Dempsey slot up into one of those "?" (likely the left one, unless Gomez or maybe Torres takes that and puts Dempsey on the right). Bradley moves into the front of the center 3 triangle (to take "Dempsey's" spot). Williams (or maybe Edu) take the spot next to Jones. (Or Jones or Klejstan will be up next to Bradley with Willaims behind them as the 5th "defender.") The other "?" is filled by either Gomez, EJ or Klejstan or Zusi. (Although I'm thinking he'll opt for one of the latter two as a "midfielder" in that role, and leave a "forward" on the bench should the US need goal(s) in the second half.)
There is a huge difference between bunkering and being a break-out counter-attacking team. The Showtime Lakers probably lost the possession battle in nearly every game they played, because when they had the ball, they were often found flying up the court. The opposition, without those same type of skills, found themselves in half-court sets more often. That has absolutely zero to do with how defensive the Lakers were. Honduras will NOT be bunkering against us.
Guzan, certainly. (or maybe Davis or Evans?) What I like about JK's roster for at Honduras, is that it has both 3 Johnsons and 3 Brads.
Some explanations on exclusions from Klinsmann: Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City): "He also left a really positive impression in the [January] camp and he played a very decent second half against Canada. ... He's right there. ... We want him to become more of a pusher in terms of being involved in the game. ... Here and there it seems like he’s fading out and coming back in, a bit inconsistent. And he’s working on that. That has to do with the technical approach, but also the physicality of it, the rhythm and pace of a game. We are thrilled with that move to Kansas now. He will get pushed by Peter Vermes doing that. … We think that he absolutely has the qualities and he has the technical capabilities to be part of the inner circle of the national team." Joe "Benny" Corona (Tijuana): "It’s purely temporary [his absence from USMNT] because he’s dong well and we’re very pleased with Joey’s development. Very, very pleased. … We have a very, very close eye on him because I think he’s a very special talent that grows up there. … It's just a question of who do you select for a specific game. Joe will be back with us, definitely." Clarence Goodson (Brondby): "Clarence is in preseason right now in Denmark." Oguchi Onyewu (Málaga): "Gooch is not playing at all at Malaga." http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/02/04/klinsmann-gonzos-ready-feilhaber-has-be-pusher
OK, doing my poking around about the opposition. I see that Grant Wahl has them finishing just one place behind us in his Hex predictions: I did not follow their Olympic run -- didn't realize they'd performed so well. Will have to do more digging.
Agreed. I have to think Clint will be the sharp of end of the spear at this point; or if not, at least well forward. Bradley will be running the center and getting shit done in front of Jones.
AKA, Goodson is not good enough. Obviously, this is no scandal since I and a lot of others have argued he's not good enough in Klinsmann's entire tenure. But that specific justification is nonsensical. And the explanation on Feilhaber's exclusion is sort of a joke also. That being said, I liked this part of his statement on Corona:
What I like best about the line up is it is exactly the direct opposite type of line-up he proposed in the first 4 months. It is not attacking, dynamic, daring, skillful or even mildly interesting. It is a perfect line-up for a 4-4-2 empty bucket and speedy overlapping RB/LB play. I think it works like this: the more JK talks about attacking, the more he talks.
Pulis and Houghton are making two different sets of decisions in connection with two different player pools. Neither of which involves a Bradley Johnson versus Edu analysis. Further, I think merely pointing to a league and team pedigree without anything further can lead to all manner of erroneous or flawed conclusions. To wit: Michael Bradley could not hack it at a mid table EPL club Jonathan Spector was a key starter for an at one time EPL club Maurice Edu started in the Champions league on numerous occasions Neither Gerard Pique nor G. Rossi could hack it at a top level EPL club Lee Nguyen is a veteran of the Eredivisie All those things above are true to varying degrees but what they mean in the context of player evaluations is entirely dependent on further analysis. I mean, Oguchi Onyewu is one of only a handful of American players to have set foot in La Liga and has Champions league experience yet people seem to prefer a kid from Kansas City or La with virtually nothing beyond MLS experience ahead of him. Does Peter Vermes or Arena or BS know more than Manuel Pellegrini?
Danish Superliga doesn't start again until march and Goodson wasn't in the Jan camp as he was looking for another club. Makes perfect sense he wasn't called in for Honduras. Feilhaber has been slated for his approach going back to the previous regime. Nothing new there and JK is a harder coach.
He took a 2 day trip to Turkey, but has otherwise been training since mid-January just like the Camp Cupcake guys. I mean, I'm glad Klinsmann finally moved on from Goodson, but it's a disingenuous statement like this which causes me to distrust his judgment. And if I take his statement on Feilhaber at face value, then he shouldn't have been called in for January at all.
The respective league seasons have already started for all of the players called in save the campers. Goodson wasn't in camp and his league season isn't close to starting yet. Not difficult to understand his not being called in. He praised Feilhaber the previous Jan camp as well. The fact he brought him in despite the underwhelming MLS season shows he thinks Feilhaber has something to offer.
Moving the goalposts. As you say, "not difficult to understand his not called in" - as Goodson is not good enough, and I'm glad Klinsmann realizes this after wasting everybody's time for 18 months. But his statement doesn't make sense except as a CYA rationalization, and it's generally par for the course. And with Feilhaber, he's obviously trying to reject him without hurting any feelings. He could have just said this: And actually, the statement I really want to see is his justification for dropping Beckerman.
I saw that game, if memory serves me right, I think Canada's undoing was because they couldn't handle the heat/humidity, they looked ok for the first 15 minutes, once they were behind, they tried to attack more which Honduras was more than happy for them to get tired doing it, then they started to counter, by halftime, they where not countering, it was just an endless back and forth which Honduras was well prepared and Canada was not and faded as time and goals went by. So it doesn't surprise me that Honduras set the game at 2:30 their time, in the hottest hour of the day.
My Thoughts: GK: No problems here. DF: I have one big problem with the defense. He picked nine defenders. Unless there is a guy that is doubtful for the game, why the hell do you need 9 defenders? Why do we need two back up RB's? Why can't Klinsmann just pick between Parkhurst and Evans who the back up is going to be? I would have also picked Lichaj over Castillo, but no huge complaints there. MF: The personnel suicide continues. JK picked three defensive midfielders. Why is Edu needed? He has played like two or three games since September. Just because he found a club doesn't mean that he is in form and should be a lock for the roster. Another major problem is that we have 5 attacking/creative/box to box MF's, and 0 true wingers. I think Davis played poorly against a really weak Canada team, and showed he doesn't deserve the call up. However, my big problem with the midfield is Jose Francisco Torres. Why does this guy continue to get call ups? Klinsmann has a man crush on him. He has been awful every single time he has been called up, and he quite simply doesn't deserve another chance. He isn't good enough to play for the USMNT, and even someone who is blind could figure that out. Whenever Torres is called in, he starts. I have a bad feeling that he is going to get the start, and be his usual self(ineffective offensively, providing awful defense). FW: This is where the personnel problems are going to really handicap up. JK officially calls in 4 strikers. However, due to the lack of true wingers, its almost certain that Dempsey will line up as a winger or in a winger type of role. I also think that its a distinct possibility that Gomez or EJ get the start on the other wing since we have no true wingers. I assume that Altidore will start at CF, which leaves us with one striking option left off the bench. Just as an example, lets say EJ gets injured or tweaks a hammy in practice tomorrow, we will have no strikers off the bench. How can you possibly go into a game with two back up RB's, but one back up striker? Heck, lets say one of our wingers/strikers get injured early in the game, forcing us to bring on the last remaining striker. That would leave us with no striker options off the bench. Is this guy that dumb? Forgetting some of the dumb player decisions, just think about the personnel decisions. Two back up RB's, three defensive midfielders, 0 wingers, and one back up striker. Again, we could very well win this game, but eventually his dumb personnel decisions are going to cost us a game.
Goodson not being good enough is your opinion. You conflate your opinion for something profound. And whose time was being wasted? That statement comes off as incredibly narcissistically delusional unless you're Matt Besler or Omar Gonzalez. I also happen to think Goodsen is not really a top 4 defender in the program. But he had international experience, was already a part of the program, and was doing well in Denmark. The younger centerbacks were still developing. He was adequate. The team posted its best record last season. He however may or may not be a big part of team this year. No big deal. He invited him to camp! Then he gave him minutes. Seems like an endorsement. He didn't give Mix minutes. What are you going on about. How about there are other deep cms currently in higher level leagues and currently in season?
That Klinsmann stuck with Goodson for so long is a reason to distrust his judgment. That Klinsmann gave a polite excuse now for not calling him instead of saying, "Actually, I've realized that Clarence is a donkey." is not. The only time calling players out publicly can work is when there's a motivation issue. I don't think that's the problem with Goodson.
I think JK will start with only one forward and that will be Gomez. Jozy will be Gomez replacement at minute 75 or so. The wings on this game are not going to be your conventional wings, they will be more possession and crossing ability (EJ, Zusi, Davis) I think is going to boil down who is better prepared to defend in the heat which is why I think Gomez will start, he has a better engine that Jozy, Jozy has Jamaican roots but he has played in mild to cold weather for the most part.
Ya, the DM is so defensive it's hard to call him a Midfielder. And, the fullbacks are so important to the offense it's hard to call them defenders. W/ this travel squad, I'd go ------------------------------Jozy -----------------------------Gomez ----------Jones-----------------------------------Demps -------------------------Bradly ---Johnson--------------Edu-----------------Chandler ---------------------Boca----------Cam If we go behind, -----------------------------Jozy ------EJ-----------------------------------------Gomez -----------------Demps------------Bradley ---------------------------Edu Johnson------Boca---------------Cam---------------Chandler
Pretty happy with the selections. I would have liked to see Gatt and Corona called in instead of Davis and Evans, but I understand Klinsmann's decision. I mean, Davis is one of the best assist guys in MLS after Donovan and Beckham, and Evans looked pretty good vs Canada at RB. This is what I'd go with, and kind of expect Klinsmann to go with: ---------------Gomez--------------- ---Dempsey------------Johnson-- ------------Jones-Bradley---------- -----------------Edu----------------- Johnson-Boca-Cameron-Chandler -Chandler and Johnson provide the width while Dempsey and Johnson cut inside -Jones and Bradley as duel #8s
I never said they bunker. I said they counter. They move the ball forward fast and efficiently. They don't hold the ball for extended periods of time.