I still haven't watched the first half but I would absolutely put Gatt above Shea because Gatt looks like he always has an idea (biggest difference) and executes at least as well as Shea and is at least as fast.
I agree that there's less 'deer in the headlights' to young Gatt. However, you get a few things with Shea that you did not mention above. Shea serves balls from the wing better than any other wing player in the pool. I think that's why JK keeps going to that well. Shea also will put in a solid 90 minutes of defensive work. Shea has size and a little physicality to go along with blazing speed. He really is a good dribbler and passer, its just that he lacks confidence on occasion. Actually, its kind of hard to know where he's at considering he was playing last season with a serious foot injury.
I really didn't see anything from Gatt in 60 minutes that indicated he either sucked or screamed that he had to have a place in the next teamsheet. Shea's hurt for a good while anyway so they aren't really in contention for now.
He's been surrounded by quality finishers with the Revolution and the last season with Fulham and during both stints put up good assist totals despite his passing style being more that of an orchestrater. His role in role in Spurs is obviously a work in progress. Have you been watching the previous 5 years of US matches? He's scored against England, Ghana, Brazil, Spain, and Italy with supporting casts of varying quality. Beasley was woefully out of form coming off injury. Dempsey was newly integrated into the and managed to be only player to score a goal during that tourney. Dempsey scored off an assist from Beasley in that match.
Dempsey is the 'second striker'. He had no problem being extremely productive with Fulham and the US playing out wide. I don't get why posters are using Spurs as some kind of touchstone on Dempsey's career. It's not as if he started playing professional soccer this season.
I truly believe Spurs (and Dempsey's) troubles begin and end with AVB. He is the type of coach who does not breed confidence. No, I'm not in the locker room or training ground, and I can only guess from the glimpses of the man shown on TV, and he looks scared half the time. Back to the Nats...I agree that Dempsey is and will be our second striker in the hole. GATT just got his first cap and really doesn't deserve, yet, to be in the discussion about where he fits. He showed a bare minimum potential on offense, (while not generating a chance on goal) and a willingness to recover defensively (albeit late with fouls). Shea has at least scored for the US and when his head and body were sound, looked the part of a tall, skillful winger. I think EJ may get into the picture again...he scored a great first time goal with Seattle last night and looks like he has shed the "Defense? Who me?" attitude of the past. So many question marks at this juncture. If anything, the friendly with Russia was a decent way to end the year for the USMNT and JK. A coupe of young players showed they should be considered for future selection. Altidore's effort should put him back in the team for the beginning of the Hex. We wait to see if Chandler's 1000% proclamation amounts to anything when the training camp for start of the Hex begins. We wait to see where LD's head is. We wait to see who will be offered the task of shoring up central defense. One thing for sure, it's been an interesting year, with an even better one awaiting.
False. Brek Shea has never scored for the U.S. national team. Or even the U23s. I agree he's a good player. I just want the facts straight.
My bad. Kitchen duty at O 400 hours tomorrow, sir! Ive got the image of Shea baring down on a Mexican defender and turning him twice with a feint to goal after he had just entered the match and the subsequent goal celebration (which was scored, I think, by Robbie Rodgers). After I peel the potatoes, I will scrub the floors with the toothbrush of your choice.
The USMNT CM counter-attack defense scheme is based on high press instead of a strong/weak rotation since both CMs (Bradley and Jones) are encouraged to attack.
I agree that we haven't seen enough from Gatt to really compare, but he definitely seemed more aggressive and willing to take people on than Shea has. He didn't always succeed, but away against Russia is a tough task. I remember in Shea's first NT game, Bob played a 4-3-3, indicating that he wanted us to attack, and Shea seemed reluctant and always backpassed. Shea's gotten more confident since then, and his contribution was strong in both of the recent Mexico friendlies, but it'll definitely be interesting to see how Gatt develops. I also don't know if the options are mutually exclusive given that Shea plays left and is left-footed, and Gatt plays right and is right-footed. The way Donovan's fitness/drive has been, we really don't know what to expect for 2014.
I think that Gatt and Shea can fill the role of a fast winger, and I think we will be a much better team to have some great speed even if they aren't great all around players.
This is an idea that should be carefully considered. Sometimes you can make a team much better by adding a player who isn't the best individual option. Charlie Davies never threatened for the title "best US player on the field" in any game he played for us, but he was the right combination of speed, strength and just-enough skill to be the missing ingredient. We played a LOT better with CD9, even though I think there were many better players who could have partnered with Jozy during those matches (including pushing Clint up top and starting a more creative CM like Benny). There is some merit to the idea of getting some pure wingers into the picture for the USA, even if the player choices aren't the best (clearly, though, Shea needs to heal first).
Sometimes . . . . but don't forget that Robbie Findley is very, very fast. What Shea and Gatt appear to have is a level of "just enough" skill to be effective with their speed. There are a lot of question marks for both of them, but I think they merit further inclusion simply because they represent the type of player the JK's system needs.
I do think from the limited viewings I have had of Gatt that he and Shea seem to have different personalities which can manifest themselves on the field much like Donovan and Dempsey have very different personalities. How that plays out long term remains to be seen of course.
Not sure yet about Gatt but Shea is much more skilled than Robbie Findley. Shea has at least demonstrated that he possesses the ability to dominate MLS. He'll have to work to do that with any consistency but that is something we never saw with Robbie Findley.
Shea has yet to scratch the surface. Once he gets his mind around the game, he'll reach another level. That's if he can get his mind around the game and raise his confidence. To do that, he has to be able to take risky situations head on and expect to come out on top. IMO, that's what a trip to Europe would do for him if he wanted it. When he first entered MLS as a youth, he acted quite intimidated when he came into matches with FCD. It was more pronounced than it was with his first games with the USMNT where he just back-passed and split. I have seen Brek outgrow that mentality to where he has reached a level of comfort in MLS. He has it within him to do the same thing on an international level.
I agree, his personality is definitely one that is timid and requires a level of adjustment to each level he is at. Personally I think he needs an offseason of super training to be physically fit for the entire season. If he does this, it will keep him fresh and fit for the entire season which will allow him to avoid niggling injuries and gain confidence.
His injury this season was serious. Turf toe can literally ruin an athlete's career. It doesn't sound like much, but imagine feeling like you have a piece of glass stuck in the joint of your big toe that stabs you every time you take a step on that foot. He had the worst kind of turf toe, which is caused by a piece of bone either floating in the tissue there or protruding as a spur. He had to have surgery to get that piece of bone removed. IMO, it's probably from playing on this hard Texas ground. If you wear cleats here (and you really have to), you're pounding the crap out of the bottom of your feet every time you play or train. I got a recurrent bone bruise on the bottom of my foot from wearing Copa Mundials here (which to all you whipper snappers was the shoe of the day...those and Puma Kings).
Not just last year which obviously sprung from the toe injury. That's an issue that can cause all sorts of issues balance wise and set everything off. I was also talking about the previous season where he faded.
One thing that, to me is getting a little under-weighted in this discussion is the strength of our opponent. A squad that is 4-0 & and unscored upon in Euro WCQ's. On the road. That is a formidable opponent. It took us 20 minutes to sort things out, But, after that we played really well. I'm not a fan of the 3 dmid formation (one dmid ain't enough jack, you better make it three)* But, you can't argue with the result. I'd love to see a more creative locksmith at the top of a CM triangle. But, until we find that guy, we played pretty well with a destroyer and two of the best workhorses around. ad: I don't know if/how he fits in, but I watched Anderlecht play ACMilan a while back and Sacha played wide left and played *exactly* like JK appears to want his guys to play.