Having the core of the USMNT training together for a full month is very valuable. Mark my words. Chemistry is very important.
You mean pre-World Cup training? Every team has that. Because Camp Cupcake does not have the "core" of the team.
Are you talking about the January camp? I think it is important too but I don't know if I would go as far as saying it was the core of the team. I look at the core as the top 16 ish players. Missing are Howard, Bradley, Jones, Ajo, Dempsey, Jozy, Bedoya, Cameron, DMB, and Fab. That is a lot of what I would consider the core players for this coming WC.
Maybe for 2018, but six months will not destroy a players skills. And even that is iffy (2018) when you look at Donovan.
I'm only mildly worried about these player moves to weaker leagues. In the short-run of between now and the World Cup, I care much more about health and fitness. Injuries to prime-age guys like O'Brien, Gibbs, and (longer-term decline) Mathis gutted the 2006 Cup team. Onyewu's, Jones', and Davies' injuries reduced the peak potential of the 2010 Cup team. At this stage in the cycle it's about staying healthy.
I'm talking about the next cycle. I think that MLS will continue to offer meaty contracts to USMNT players and we will see more. They will also lose a lot less prospects than before. I think that in retrospect, JK would have loved to have Bradley and Dempsey in camp.
Health, and reps at game speed, and building towards peak form in June. That's all that matters. Bradley and Jones aren't going to all of a sudden suck in Brasil because they played in MLS and Turkey for 3 months prior.
No, I'm thinking more about Camp Cupcake (which will likely change it's name soon) and also the Gold Cup. Until now those were used for bubble players. I think no longer will that be the case.
I agree about age and fitness. We are going into this WC with quite a few of older players. Bradley, I am not worried about, as I think he will keep in shape. Jones appeared to be slowing a step in the last several US games, and I am not sure that he should be a lock at this point. It will be up to JK and staff to evaluate this (and he seems to like Jones). However, Jones, Dempsey and Donovan are all a little long in the tooth, and this may end up being our downfall.
Not worried a bit. Also don't consider a move to MLS a step backwards. They'll be physically inform, they'll be in highly competitive situations, and about the only worry is worrying about the different tempos of decision making they'll see in the world cup. But that's more of an issue for the middle-class MLS player - not guys like Dempsey and Bradley who already proved that they're as good as their European counterparts in speed of decision making. That's the thing. These our very best players. If the World Cup was comprised of National Team middle men, I'd be far more worried.
Agreed, and on the flip side, it's not like the late surges from Gomez and Buddle made a radical difference in our performance. That performance helped them make the roster over, say, Casey, but we still looked best with Altidore and a bunch of midfielders. Basically, I don't see anybody coming out of *nowhere* at this point unless there's an injury crisis.
I agree. But Donovan, Dempsey and Bradley, as well as our two starting centerbacks, I would consider a "Core" of the team. While they weren't together in Camp Cupcake, having these guys play a few matches on Non-FIFA dates will be a big help going forward to this summer. But I really do agree, Post-World Cup, Bradley's position on the National Team may take a hit.
Watch out for the fullbacks. People keep calling this the best USMNT ever, or at least the most depth, and yet we;ve never entered a WC with FBs this underwhelming. Our two starters don't even play defensive positions for their club sides.
It wouldn't be the first time for us: In 2002 Sanneh was lined up as much in midfield before a switch to fb for Nuremburg; Hejduk hardly played anywhere, but was largely considered out of position at left back. Both had brutal seasons the year before the cup. http://www.soccertimes.com/usteams/2002/jun19a.htm In 2006, Lewis started at LB then Bocanegra came in; neither were spending much time at fb In 2010, well Bornstein played two matches, but then he was a more natural left back; Boca started the first two matches and was playing more centrally or even defensive midfield at the time. Not saying any of those things are ideal, but it has been a common theme for the NATs,
Yea this is most likely true. Not just that but no European team will be willing to meet the price that the mls will want, let alone his wages. He just officially put himself in LD limbo. As far as ever moving back to Europe is concerned.
On the pitch, seems like a step back to Clint. What's the biggest difference between the Premier League and MLS? "The style of play is different. MLS has gotten a lot better since the first time I played here early in my career , but it's not there yet. So it was a drop in level. In Europe, players' first touch is better. The speed of play is quicker. People see the gaps and play passes immediately, which makes it easier to create chances. When you're playing on a team that has more depth, there's more competition for spots, but it's also easier to play with better players. "To be successful in any sport, you need time and space. So the quicker the people around you make decisions, the more open looks you're going to get. That played a role in my adjustment, but there are differences off the field, too. The travel is tough in MLS, especially when you start getting older. If you're sitting in a plane not moving for five hours, you can start tightening up. In England, the longest flight you'll take is 50 minutes. "But I'm glad MLS doesn't have relegation. Can you imagine having one bad season that can doom your club forever if you don't get it together? That's what's so cutthroat about playing in Europe. You have to always be on point. Every game matters a lot. That's why you see managers being changed all the time."
I would make the opposite argument to the OP. Bradley in MLS is largely a positive development for the NT. At Roma his role was limited to linking play and defensively cleaning up the mistakes of others. In the US team he is asked to do a lot more- create play and serve as the fulcrum- which is exactly what he will be expected to do in Toronto. He already knows the caliber of player and the speed of play he will be facing at the WC. He will not be phased in the slightest. Better to develop repetitions in the role he will be playing this summer than carrying water for the rest of Roma's midfield in spot duty.
Of course the Premier League is a better league than MLS. It has better players. But just as moving from MLS to the PL won't necessarily make a player better, moving from the PL to MLS won't necessarily make a player worse.
Ok but doing that, being the fulcrum, in the mls vs Europe is a very different story. And he may know the speed of play he will see but I'd rather have him training and playing at that level going into the World Cup than just memories. Yes leaving Roma is understandable and the right move but heading to the mls was not.
That might be a concern if the WC was two years off. But we're talking less than 6 months. He will still be the same player- only with more comfort going forward.
Poor, poor Michael! I'll bet every day he sits silently weeping into his glass of DRC Grand Cru blowing his nose with a c-note.