Klinsmann has already explained why he doesn't play Jones there. The matter has been gone over any number of times on BS.
Jones can make some nice passes from deep for us, but I think he is served better when asked to do less. JK is never going to do this, but I'd move Jones to the 6 (with Williams backing him up) and put another two-way (or even attacking) mid to pair with Mikey. Sacha is a possibility, or even Landon or Clint.
He has, and I disagree with his reasoning. I think he's asking Jones to do too much and it is resulting in erratic play. Not out of control, just erratic. Maybe this is still the best option, but I think the US would improve with Jones as the 6.
This is incorrect. Just watch it again. Williams clearly was deep for the vast majority of time. Bradley was higher up the pitch along with Jones 80% of the time. Early on there were some moments when Bradley was deeper but it was mostly circumstantial.
A more interesting question was what they heck were they once Cam came out? --------------Aguedelo.............Boyd ----Mix---------------------------------------Sacha --------------Jones----------------Bradley ------------------------------Edu ----------Johnson--------------------------Chandler ---------------------------Goodson ??? It looked like some version of the 3 5 2. In that case, the Dmid (Edu) becomes a CB when needed. Usually there are two wingbacks (not the CBs) but I couldn't tell who they were. Where they Jones and Sacha or Mix and Sacha? I saw Jones out wide a lot but couldn't tell if that was by position or just the run of play. Mix, I thought is normally an 8, but I think so are jones, Bradley and Sacha (for club) I got why they went to a 3 5 2, but I had a hard time figuring out and seeing their roles. Anyone else? There ar
Yes as he often does. It was also part of his responsibility to support attacks and get forward when he could. He did score. Williams was never that high up.
When Russia was countering Williams often had to vacate his spot in front of the backline to slide over and stop the ball, that's his job. What was worrying is that Jones and Bradley were caught out, simultaneously, multiple times. A more talented attacking team would have been able to create higher quality chances than the Russians did. They still were able to get a lot of shots from these unbalanced situations but we were able to keep them from getting any golden chances. There was one counter in particular where it was Williams and our backline against 3-4 attackers. Johnson slid over to mark the guy on the ball, Williams had to slide over to cover, and Chandler prevented a potential goal by moving far inside and challenging the trailing Russian runner on his first touch.
Organization and movement was poor. There needs to be a understanding of who is doing what. There needs to be a leader. All of these players are talented enough to succeed. Bradley plays like a general, but does not lead like one. This was a problem with the whole team too.
I've said this elsewhere but without the creativity of Dempsey and Donovan from the "wing forward" positions Bradley and Jones are going to be asked to do too much.
No. Williams played higher up but played a more positional manner like Edu or like Holden's partner Muamba. Bradley played the deep position but played a much more dynamic role popping up all over the field. He did the same against Scotland and Brasil.
The way some posters were building up Russia's fullback attack I was expecting the Marcelo of the Steppes to be terrorizing the US flanks. But really JK could've just gone with a diamond/triangle midfield. ---------------------Altidore ---------------------------Herc ------------Jones----Bradley----Diskerud -----------------------Williams Though obviously he wanted to run the rule over Gatt.
That is not at all what I saw and it doesn't fit what they have 1) played most recently for JK and 2) play for their clubs. Williams was a dmid with Bradley and Jones playing dual 8's in front of him in a 4-3-3
I would have to see the heat map. I don't care what the formation diagram shows. Otherwise we will have to agree to disagree, which is fine.
Two important numbers in this discussion: 32 and 25 Jones will be 32 at WC14, and Williams will be 25. We need a fit, in form, natural 6 capable of playing multiple games on short rest. Williams is in the driver's seat. Jones is the veteran sub. This, and Jones's tendency to roam beyond his 6 role when he plays for the US, are leading JK to groom DW for the 6.
If Jones was a little more disciplined, he would be a great 6. Michael Bradley is still improving a lot each game. It is getting borderline scary how good he is when he gets into the zone. Are we sure he is American?
I would also add that Sacha looks nothing like the person who was struggling at Chivas. Teams he play for tend do better when he is on the field for some reason. It might be the stache. Hopefully he doesnt shave it like he did with his hair.
Please see the linked chalkboard: http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2012-11-14-rus-v-usa/chalkboard Click on Bradley, Jones, and Williams on the left, then click on Distribution on the right. It is CLEAR that Williams is playing more centrally and deeper, while Bradley and Jones are playing higher up on the left and right, respectively. Jones does have quite a bit of activity on the left wing, but that obviously came late in the game when the base formation changed.
I think people are underrating how well jozy played. he looked much better despite a few hiccups. there is a difference between being a little tentative and not even showing up.