Top 50 Prospects for 2006

[voros]

An update now that the first three qualifiers are out of the way. It's getting more and more clear who is in the picture, who is lurking about on the edges and who is out. As such, I won;t be using any objective measures to keep guys in or out.

The listing is who I think Bruce is looking at for each position, not who I necessarily think should be there. Players will be put in the positions they most likely will play, except for cases where I'm trying to fit the right guys into the top 50. A hypothetical World Cup Roster is in Bold:

Goalkeepers
1. Kasey Keller
2. Tim Howard
3. Marcus Hahnemann
4. Jon Busch
5. Kevin Hartman

Left Back
1. Carlos Bocanegra
2. John O'Brien
3. Greg Vanney
4. Jonathon Spector
5. Ritchie Kotschau

Right Back
1. Steve Cherundolo
2. Chris Albright
3. Frankie Hejduk
4. Robbie Russell
5. Nick Garcia

Center Back
1. Eddie Pope
2. Cory Gibbs
3. Oguchi Onyewu
4. Gregg Berhalter
5. Chad Marshall
6. Danny Califf
7. Nat Borchers

Left Mid
1. DaMarcus Beasley
2. Eddie Lewis
3. Bobby Convey
4. Pat Noonan
5. Justin Mapp

Right Mid
1. Landon Donovan
2. Steve Ralston
3. Brian Mullan
4. Chris Klein
5. Brian West

Def Mid
1. Pablo Mastroeni
2. Kerry Zavagnin
3. Chris Armas
4. Ben Olsen
5. Ricardo Clark

Attacking Mid
1. Claudio Reyna
2. Clint Dempsey
3. Clint Mathis
4. Eddie Gaven
5. Kyle Martino

Forward
1. Eddie Johnson
2. Brian McBride
3. Brian Ching
4. Taylor Twellman
5. Josh Wolff
6. Conor Casey
7. Edson Buddle
8. Alecko Eskandarian

I only chose one d-mid because it appears Pablo has run away from his competition at that spot and Bruce seems alright with Reyna and Dempsey covering that spot as well. So it came down to Mathis and Zavagning, and I'm guessing Bruce would prefer to have the Mathis option off the bench in the WC.

We have the Gold Cup coming up and if someone wants to make a charge at getting in the picture, that would be an excellent time to do so. We are only 14 months away from the start of the World Cup.

After the GAM and McBride, the other forward slots are wide freakin' open for anyone to take advantage of. Interestingly, 6 of the 8 scored this weekend (Casey and Eskandarian being the exceptions).

[Ender]

Where are you getting the JOB at left back thing?

[Soulphish]

An update now that the first three qualifiers are out of the way. It's getting more and more clear who is in the picture, who is lurking about on the edges and who is out. As such, I won;t be using any objective measures to keep guys in or out.

The listing is who I think Bruce is looking at for each position, not who I necessarily think should be there. Players will be put in the positions they most likely will play, except for cases where I'm trying to fit the right guys into the top 50. A hypothetical World Cup Roster is in Bold:

Goalkeepers
1. Kasey Keller
2. Tim Howard
3. Marcus Hahnemann
4. Jon Busch
5. Kevin Hartman

Left Back
1. Carlos Bocanegra
2. John O'Brien
3. Greg Vanney
4. Jonathon Spector
5. Ritchie Kotschau

Right Back
1. Steve Cherundolo
2. Chris Albright
3. Frankie Hejduk
4. Robbie Russell
5. Nick Garcia

Center Back
1. Eddie Pope
2. Cory Gibbs
3. Oguchi Onyewu
4. Gregg Berhalter
5. Chad Marshall
6. Danny Califf
7. Nat Borchers

Left Mid
1. DaMarcus Beasley
2. Eddie Lewis
3. Bobby Convey
4. Pat Noonan
5. Justin Mapp

Right Mid
1. Landon Donovan
2. Steve Ralston
3. Brian Mullan
4. Chris Klein
5. Brian West

Def Mid
1. Pablo Mastroeni
2. Kerry Zavagnin
3. Chris Armas
4. Ben Olsen
5. Ricardo Clark

Attacking Mid
1. Claudio Reyna
2. Clint Dempsey
3. Clint Mathis
4. Eddie Gaven
5. Kyle Martino

Forward
1. Eddie Johnson
2. Brian McBride
3. Brian Ching
4. Taylor Twellman
5. Josh Wolff
6. Conor Casey
7. Edson Buddle
8. Alecko Eskandarian

I only chose one d-mid because it appears Pablo has run away from his competition at that spot and Bruce seems alright with Reyna and Dempsey covering that spot as well. So it came down to Mathis and Zavagning, and I'm guessing Bruce would prefer to have the Mathis option off the bench in the WC.

We have the Gold Cup coming up and if someone wants to make a charge at getting in the picture, that would be an excellent time to do so. We are only 14 months away from the start of the World Cup.

After the GAM and McBride, the other forward slots are wide freakin' open for anyone to take advantage of. Interestingly, 6 of the 8 scored this weekend (Casey and Eskandarian being the exceptions).



where are you getting Twellman over Wolff? Albright over Hejduk?

[PALE568]

An update now that the first three qualifiers are out of the way. It's getting more and more clear who is in the picture, who is lurking about on the edges and who is out. As such, I won;t be using any objective measures to keep guys in or out.

The listing is who I think Bruce is looking at for each position, not who I necessarily think should be there. Players will be put in the positions they most likely will play, except for cases where I'm trying to fit the right guys into the top 50. A hypothetical World Cup Roster is in Bold:

Goalkeepers
1. Kasey Keller
2. Tim Howard
3. Marcus Hahnemann
4. Jon Busch
5. Kevin Hartman

Left Back
1. Carlos Bocanegra
2. John O'Brien
3. Greg Vanney
4. Jonathon Spector
5. Ritchie Kotschau

Right Back
1. Steve Cherundolo
2. Chris Albright
3. Frankie Hejduk
4. Robbie Russell
5. Nick Garcia

Center Back
1. Eddie Pope
2. Cory Gibbs
3. Oguchi Onyewu
4. Gregg Berhalter
5. Chad Marshall
6. Danny Califf
7. Nat Borchers

Left Mid
1. DaMarcus Beasley
2. Eddie Lewis
3. Bobby Convey
4. Pat Noonan
5. Justin Mapp

Right Mid
1. Landon Donovan
2. Steve Ralston
3. Brian Mullan
4. Chris Klein
5. Brian West

Def Mid
1. Pablo Mastroeni
2. Kerry Zavagnin
3. Chris Armas
4. Ben Olsen
5. Ricardo Clark

Attacking Mid
1. Claudio Reyna
2. Clint Dempsey
3. Clint Mathis
4. Eddie Gaven
5. Kyle Martino

Forward
1. Eddie Johnson
2. Brian McBride
3. Brian Ching
4. Taylor Twellman
5. Josh Wolff
6. Conor Casey
7. Edson Buddle
8. Alecko Eskandarian

I only chose one d-mid because it appears Pablo has run away from his competition at that spot and Bruce seems alright with Reyna and Dempsey covering that spot as well. So it came down to Mathis and Zavagning, and I'm guessing Bruce would prefer to have the Mathis option off the bench in the WC.

We have the Gold Cup coming up and if someone wants to make a charge at getting in the picture, that would be an excellent time to do so. We are only 14 months away from the start of the World Cup.

After the GAM and McBride, the other forward slots are wide freakin' open for anyone to take advantage of. Interestingly, 6 of the 8 scored this weekend (Casey and Eskandarian being the exceptions).

This is a helpful list, but I have some minor quibbles:

I don't think the right full back depth chart is right. 'dolo was basically Frankie's deputy in the June-October qualifiers. I think Frankie may have started all the meaningful June-Oct qualies (although someone may want to check me on that.) It's true that 'dolo played in front of Hejduk in the Trini qualifier, but it's also true that Hejduk was out of season. And then he was injured for the Mex & Guat qualifiers. I think the right full back position remains a platoon for the time being, with Albright beign the wild card.

Why have you placed Twellman ahead of Wolff? I don't think that reflects Bruce's opinion. Twellman remains on the fringes of the national team & Wolff ALWAYS get selected when healthy.

[zcgf02]

Voros -- Thanks for the top 50. I wonder if you'd benefit from creating a "utility player" position, to put guys like JOB, Convey, Dempsey, Noonan, and even Reyna. Arena seems to like having guys who can play multiple position available, especially in the WC where your roster is limited and you play a lot of games in a short amount of time.

Other than that, I think you're pretty close. Left back and right back still seem very much up in the air. Depending on how he plays this year, I wouldn't be surprised to see Jose Burciaga Jr. get into the mix as a left-back candidate. So might Wade Barrett

And I might also drop Califf -- he wasn't even on the bench for SJ and has been often injured.

I could also make a case for putting Eskandarian a bit higher.

Anyway, not trying to nit-pick. Those were some things that jumped out at me from an otherwise pretty accurate list.

[Caulfield]

By 2006, I see:

Berhalter out & Marshall in
Donovan as our #1 attacking mid.
Dempsey behind Mastro
Right mid is wide open, in my opinion. I do not like Donovan out there at all.
Left mid- who starts here will be determined by the opponent
Armas & Olsen are done
The forward spot opposite GAM is very fluid now. Could be some surpsises there.

Also, I really like O'brien at left back, but as we all know, don't count on him.

[IMOX77]

Where are you getting the JOB at left back thing?

In all of our dreams

[WC2010Champs!]

[QUOTE=voros]An update now that the first three qualifiers are out of the way. It's getting more and more clear who is in the picture, who is lurking about on the edges and who is out. As such, I won;t be using any objective measures to keep guys in or out.

The listing is who I think Bruce is looking at for each position, not who I necessarily think should be there. Players will be put in the positions they most likely will play, except for cases where I'm trying to fit the right guys into the top 50. A hypothetical World Cup Roster is in Bold:

Goalkeepers
1. Kasey Keller
2. Tim Howard
3. Marcus Hahnemann
4. Jon Busch
5. Kevin Hartman

Left Back
1. Carlos Bocanegra
2. John O'Brien
3. Greg Vanney
4. Jonathon Spector
5. Ritchie Kotschau

Right Back
1. Steve Cherundolo
2. Chris Albright
3. Frankie Hejduk
4. Robbie Russell
5. Nick Garcia

Center Back
1. Eddie Pope
2. Cory Gibbs
3. Oguchi Onyewu
4. Gregg Berhalter
5. Chad Marshall
6. Danny Califf
7. Nat Borchers

Left Mid
1. DaMarcus Beasley
2. Eddie Lewis
3. Bobby Convey
4. Pat Noonan
5. Justin Mapp

Right Mid
1. Landon Donovan
2. Steve Ralston
3. Brian Mullan
4. Chris Klein
5. Brian West

Def Mid
1. Pablo Mastroeni
2. Kerry Zavagnin
3. Chris Armas
4. Ben Olsen
5. Ricardo Clark

Attacking Mid
1. Claudio Reyna
2. Clint Dempsey
3. Clint Mathis
4. Eddie Gaven
5. Kyle Martino

Forward
1. Eddie Johnson
2. Brian McBride
3. Brian Ching
4. Taylor Twellman
5. Josh Wolff
6. Conor Casey
7. Edson Buddle
8. Alecko Eskandarian

QUOTE]

Thanks for putting together the list, now my edits . . .

reyna will no longer play the a-mid in a 4-4-2
donovan will not play wide right again unless we are in the box
heydude is number 1
spector should make the squad for the world cup
marshall in for beerholder
and i agree with the idea of making a utility position

so its narrowed to 50 players (most likely) . . . interesting . . . cant believe germany is only 14 months away . . . GO USA

[Karl K]

Voros, nice job.

I would not be surprised to see only two members of the "old guard" -- Claudio Reyna and Frankie -- make the final squad.

Yes, that means no Pope, no McBride. I actually think that Pope is simply too brittle, and that McBride, while useful now, will see his powers erode. We have more options here. Marshall will provide cover.

I think Bobby Convey will make the squad, if only by virtue of his versatility.

I think Spector will not, unless he gets loaned to a real EPL side at the beginning of next season, starts, and plays (well) every game through the end of this year. But even that might not be enough.

I still put Freddy Adu's odds of making the roster at 1 in 5. If he is starting for DC by June 1st, and playing 90 minutes, the odds jump.

[Adam Zebrowski]

good list of names, although there could be some movement by june of 2006...

I see eddie pope becoming the 3rd central defender behind onyewu and gibbs..


the forward situation after EJ is a function of who performs between now and then...

as to reyna, let's call him a holding mid, not an attacking mid..

[Wahoo]

Forward
1. Eddie Johnson
2. Brian McBride
3. Brian Ching
4. Taylor Twellman
5. Josh Wolff
6. Conor Casey
7. Edson Buddle
8. Alecko Eskandarian

After the GAM and McBride, the other forward slots are wide freakin' open for anyone to take advantage of. Interestingly, 6 of the 8 scored this weekend (Casey and Eskandarian being the exceptions).

I think you're right that forward slots are very open except for Johnson and McBride.
However I don't think there is anyway on the face of the earth that the top 4 you list would ever be selected on the same team because they duplicate abilities way too much.
Part of the reason Wolff is often on the team - and I agree he should be in there above Twellman - is because he offers a counterstyle to the other players. Hes smaller, quicker, and more likely to make a slashing run and feeds off the others.
Personally I think he's a better option that Twellman, but in the end we'll see what Bruce decides.

[ttrevett]

good list of names, although there could be some movement by june of 2006...

I see eddie pope becoming the 3rd central defender behind onyewu and gibbs..


the forward situation after EJ is a function of who performs between now and then...

as to reyna, let's call him a holding mid, not an attacking mid..

I would agree with this, although maybe putting Pope at fourth if you can take Bocanegra out of the left back and put him where he belongs in the center. Pope would be a great great cover for the third group game if one of the two starters had a yellow card and was at risk for missing the second round game.

[ttrevett]

My take on the list is that Wolff should be above Twellman. I can't see Twellman making the final 24 man roster unless he lights up the MLS AND comes into camp and makes an impact in a meaningful game. I would love to see it happen because I think he could do it with his talent, but if the past is any indicator to the future, it won't happen. Over the next 6-9 months, Marshall will jump above Berhalter. One more MLS season under his belt, the Gold Cup, and another national team camp will boost him ahead of berhalter. Unless Mathis completely alters his attitude and lifestyle, I think Gaven will overtake him after this MLS season as well. On the "i hope this happens" list, I would love to see Esky and Buddle move up the depth chart. With another great year for DCU, Esky might just do that. Noonan seems to be higher than Convey on the depth chart right now given the past two matches.

All that being said, I think the vast majority of your list is solid.

[csctn]

Great list!

[Adam Zebrowski]

The older guys won't be getting any better, at best, they stay the same.

Interesting watching gaven play BOTH right and left mid in that wind tunnel saturday night. Even with the broken finger, gaven showed a flexibility, which arena looks for.


Personally, don't want mcbride to be on the final 23, because it means NONE of the emerging younger players has taken his job.

And that's a bad sign.

[bltleo]

The older guys won't be getting any better, at best, they stay the same.

Interesting watching gaven play BOTH right and left mid in that wind tunnel saturday night. Even with the broken finger, gaven showed a flexibility, which arena looks for.


Personally, don't want mcbride to be on the final 23, because it means NONE of the emerging younger players has taken his job.

And that's a bad sign.

hello Adam,
I´m agree with you the oldeer guyes won´t be getting any better.
It is experience we have in Germany. We used to play many international
games with our "old" boys, our super stars and did not give any chance
younger players. But during last games we tried some new players as well,
and they played very motivated. So the younger, the better. I think so.
Of course "my" Donovan is super young and will be in Germany in 2006.
Sometimes are "unknow" young player more motivated and playes better
then old stars.
bltleo
Leverkusen
GERMANY

[Adam Zebrowski]

bltleo, usa has a number of very young players, even younger than donovan who are very talented...

watch the u-20 tourney in holland in June and you'll see some of them...

gaven and spector and szetela and adu can be as good as, if NOT better, than donovan...

that's why so many american fans are excited about the future of american soccer.

[blech]

great list. very helpful to have a look at each position and see who may currently be on the depth chart. thanks.

as others have noted, flexibility to play multiple positions may become significant for some of the final spots. and, as close as it now seems, it's still a long way off. as an example, while eddie johnson might have made the bottom of the list 14 months ago, he certainly wouldn't have been #1, and he might not have made the list at all. even with as many youngsters as we currently have in this group, i could still see another 1 or 2 emerge in the coming months. but we'll see, especially with the u20 tourney this summer. (maybe that's the category that needs to be added - wildcard youngsters). in any event, this is a great starting point for now. thanks again.

[onefineesq]

I think you're right that forward slots are very open except for Johnson and McBride.
However I don't think there is anyway on the face of the earth that the top 4 you list would ever be selected on the same team because they duplicate abilities way too much.
Part of the reason Wolff is often on the team - and I agree he should be in there above Twellman - is because he offers a counterstyle to the other players. Hes smaller, quicker, and more likely to make a slashing run and feeds off the others.
Personally I think he's a better option that Twellman, but in the end we'll see what Bruce decides.you really think that McBride is a lock, Wahoo? In the previous round of qualifying, Casey AND Ching were started over McBride in the early games. In this round, Ching started over him again in the most recent game, and McBride got only limited, ineffective minutes off the bench against Mexico. Frankly, McBride is closer to being out of the squad altogether than he is to being a lock.

[Adam Zebrowski]

I agree with onefinesq about mcbride...

arena is looking for some one to take his job...

and that person has yet to seize it yet....

as I posted before, mcbride retaining the job is more a statement about OTHER forwards than mcbride...