Beasley, best defender for USA

[USA4Life]

One on one Beasley is the best individual defender for the USA. No one defends out on the wing like him.

Lewis can shoot and cross much better than Beasley, Bocanegra can head better than both therefore......

Beasley to left back, Bocanegra to center back, and keep Lewis at left mid.

Do you really think that teams would be looking to defend or attack a US side of the field that had both Lewis and Beasley lined up over there?

The best defense is a good offense.

[Beckham7]

One on one Beasley is the best individual defender for the USA. No one defends out on the wing like him.

Lewis can shoot and cross much better than Beasley, Bocanegra can head better than both therefore......

Beasley to left back, Bocanegra to center back, and keep Lewis at left mid.

Do you really think that teams would be looking to defend or attack a US side of the field that had both Lewis and Beasley lined up over there?

The best defense is a good offense.
I wish it was that easy.

[SteveMcCartney]

for a defender, he's not physical enough ..

[Indiana Jones]

Beasley is a great two way player, but his prowess at defending against his man in midfield doesnt mean he should be positioned as a fullback - as someone above noted, physically he is the opposite of what you want back there in defence. Cherondolo is small but Beasley is even smaller....
And of course IF you put Beasley back there you lose a lot of that ability to cause chaos in the opponents box in attack. Also because of his excellent defence in midfield he takes a lot of the presssure OFF the fullback behind him.....

[Iplayedforchelsea]

for a defender, he's not physical enough ..

I concur. Simple really. He's not heavy enough. (to do it full time anyway, he's certainly skilled enough to play there if he HAD to)

[IUtwins]

Beasley as a fullback is the funniest thing I have heard of all day. He weighs about 150 lbs soaking wet! I do also believe that a good offense is the best defense. I had the same idea watching US vs Guat. However, I think they should try Lewis as a left back and put Pat Noonan on the left midfield. Lewis could still make his great crosses and Noonan does a great job of taking men on 1 v 1. I think it would be a great combo. With this in mind, perhaps Beasley could run the right mid role and put Donovan back as the offensive center mid where he belongs.

[smith07]

PSV is ok a developing players and they play him on the left in an attacking position. Could we take a cue from them?

[sch2383]

*Sigh* Somebody brings this move up every few months... Yes DMB is a good defender when he is tracking back on the wing or his attacking midfield position, but whne he is standing still and needs to break up a counter, I don't think he will be so great. Furthermore, he is one of our best attacking players, a great finisher whose other skills are improving every week he is at PSV. Lets just make sure our left back can defend before we start worrying about how he will work in attack.

[United20]

Lewis is playing good for 3 games, but this does not mean DMB gets pushed back. It's not that easy like Beckham7 said. This Hex has a long way to go, and it will be interesting to see how many feel about Lewis when it's all over. I put my money on DMB not to play LB under Bruce.

[dfb547490]

Lewis to LB. Beasley to LM.

[LittleMaradona]

Lewis is playing good for 3 games, but this does not mean DMB gets pushed back.
Lewis has been a consistent performer for the USMNT for a long time. It's not like he just recently became good.

[Indiana Jones]

Lewis to LB. Beasley to LM.

Lewis is a good halfback but is NOT an ideal fullback for the same reasons mentioned for Beasley, he aint got stature.....

[Ackala]

Lewis is playing good for 3 games, but this does not mean DMB gets pushed back.

Playing good for 3 games? I may debate that, but regardless Lewis has played much better in qualifying than DMB. And while i don't know where i would put DMB, RM, foward, etc... Lewis gets the starts at LM. He fits Arena's system much better than DMB at LM.

[USA4Life]

Size is overated for outside backs.
Speed is critical defending the wings out in the open space. Especially when they play the offside trap.
Bocanegra has been tooled every time I see him one v one out on the wing.
Anyone that tries to go around Beasley is like giving him the ball.
I don't know where this great finishing ability of Bealsey comes from because he hasn't been doing that for Nats in quite a while.
Lewis is not a great defender, but can finish much better than Beasley.

[Indiana Jones]

Size is overated for outside backs.
Speed is critical defending the wings out in the open space. Especially when they play the offside trap.
Bocanegra has been tooled every time I see him one v one out on the wing.
Anyone that tries to go around Beasley is like giving him the ball.
I don't know where this great finishing ability of Bealsey comes from because he hasn't been doing that for Nats in quite a while.
Lewis is not a great defender, but can finish much better than Beasley.

Beasleys production has gone down because he plays in Europe now and doesnt get the starts that the MLS guys have been getting..........

[galaxy1320]

Isn't is odd how arguably our 3 best european field players (DMB, Boca, Reyna) are potentially not in our best 11 right now? I think all 3 of those guys just need some rest.

[CbR]

voice of reason, i agree

[USA4Life]

Playing good for 3 games? I may debate that, but regardless Lewis has played much better in qualifying than DMB. And while i don't know where i would put DMB, RM, foward, etc... Lewis gets the starts at LM. He fits Arena's system much better than DMB at LM.

Ackala, I'm with you.
Lewis is just better than Beasley right now. This could change in the future.
As for forward, I would rather have the size of Ching to draw the attention of the defense away from Johnson. The Beasley/Johnson tandem against Mexico was a complete failure.

Ralton vs Beasley at right mid....
Ralton can cross the ball with his right foot. Beasley struggles to cross with his good foot.

Intangibles: Beasley is the fastest player on the team and works his tail off. Defensively he is better than Lewis and Raltson. Teams don't seem to attack down his side of the field. He has plenty of experience and should be on the field.

Left back is a way to get him on the field without losing the great wing play that Lewis and Ralston provide.

Bocanegra has to be moved to center defense because he lacks the agility, skill, and speed needed at left back in Arena's 4-4-2 system.

With Bocanegra at left back and Beasley at right mid the US then has two players playing out of position.

My lineup:

---------------Ching----Johnson

-------------------Donovan
--Lewis--------------------------------Ralston
-------------------Mastroeni
Beasley----------------------------------Cherundolo
--------------Boca------Onyewu

-------------------Keller

[Iplayedforchelsea]

Beasleys production has gone down because he plays in Europe now and doesnt get the starts that the MLS guys have been getting..........

http://english.psv.nl/show?id=9720&dbid=626&typeofpage=22365

[DrBobC]

Beasley as a fullback is the funniest thing I have heard of all day. He weighs about 150 lbs soaking wet! I do also believe that a good offense is the best defense. I had the same idea watching US vs Guat. However, I think they should try Lewis as a left back and put Pat Noonan on the left midfield. Lewis could still make his great crosses and Noonan does a great job of taking men on 1 v 1. I think it would be a great combo. With this in mind, perhaps Beasley could run the right mid role and put Donovan back as the offensive center mid where he belongs.
why push him out of his natural position left-mid. In my eyes he did not do anyhing to lose his job, especially to noonan.