View Full Version : Bruce on Sanneh, Armas, O'Brien and more
SambaJ
14 Jul 2005, 07:40 PM
http://www.ussoccer.com/editorial/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=199824&itype=4129&icategoryid=77
In this article, he states that O'Brien will not be our left back anytime soon, Sanneh has some work to do, how he rates Armas and more.
On O'Brien: "He’s too good in his passing to even consider him for a left back at this point in time."
On Sanneh: "Tony Sanneh has played two games for us, and in all honesty, has had his ups and downs. He’s a little bit behind physically at the international level, and he’s going to have to make that up if he has any aspirations of staying with the national team over the next year"
On Armas: "Chris Armas, on the other hand, seems like he’s getting pretty close to the form he had before he was injured. His fitness is pretty good. The soccer has been pretty good, and he’s got a great work ethic. In both games he has been pretty solid....I think Chris can still help us at this level. You can’t have too many good players, so it’s good to see that Chris is moving himself back into the picture.”
-I think these were some of the more notable quotations, straight from Arena himself. I'm glad to hear about O'Brien. Some nice words on Conrad and Cherundolo, and it sounds like Twellman will get another shot, and would have been on the roster if not for injuries. He addresses the lack of quality forwards also. Bruce never ceases to surprise...
Heathens '87
14 Jul 2005, 07:52 PM
Interesting....Sanneh sounds like he's on the outside looking in, Armas just got himself into the mix, and let's add O'Brien into a crowded midfield picture with Landon, Beasley, Lewis, Pablo, Dempsey, Reyna, Noonan, Armas Ralston, Zavagnin, Gaven, Martino, Simms, etc... That's some quality depth......
XYZ1234
14 Jul 2005, 08:02 PM
http://www.ussoccer.com/editorial/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=199824&itype=4129&icategoryid=77
On Sanneh: "Tony Sanneh has played two games for us, and in all honesty, has had his ups and downs. He’s a little bit behind physically at the international level, and he’s going to have to make that up if he has any aspirations of staying with the national team over the next year"Sounds to me like a nice way of saying Tony is done.
On O'Brien: "He’s too good in his passing to even consider him for a left back at this point in time."I like the quote "at this point in time". When everyone is available maybe he will consider JOB at left back.
appoo
14 Jul 2005, 08:08 PM
doubt it. soundslike Arena is set on JOB as a midfielder
FC Tallavana
14 Jul 2005, 08:09 PM
Arena worries me with the JOB quote. Is it really a problem to have a left back that can complete a pass? At least his past LB selections now make sense.
appoo
14 Jul 2005, 08:11 PM
Arena worries me with the JOB quote. Is it really a problem to have a left back that can complete a pass? At least his past LB selections now make sense.
I think he'd rather put his best passing player closest to his finishers
XYZ1234
14 Jul 2005, 08:12 PM
Arena worries me with the JOB quote. Is it really a problem to have a left back that can complete a pass? At least his past LB selections now make sense.But "at this point in time" the US doesn't have all it's midfielders to push JOB to left back. If Lewis and Reyna and EJ and McBride were all here it might be a different story.
XYZ1234
14 Jul 2005, 08:13 PM
doubt it. soundslike Arena is set on JOB as a midfielderIf he wasn't ever going to consider it he wouldn't say "at this point in time".
sidefootsitter
14 Jul 2005, 08:23 PM
But "at this point in time" the US doesn't have all it's midfielders to push JOB to left back. If Lewis and Reyna and EJ and McBride were all here it might be a different story. I'd rather Eddie Lewis played the left wingback that JOB because John is better centrally.
Eddie can play a little on the right however.
ugaaccountant
14 Jul 2005, 08:25 PM
No mention at all of Quaranta :( I was thinking he at least somewhat impressed the other day, maybe he didn't make an impression at all.
Hope he gets another shot saturday.
Jonez
14 Jul 2005, 08:28 PM
“Right now Clint is inexperienced. The game is a little too fast for him right now. Only time will tell if he can adjust to it and figure some things out on his own. I think if he’s challenged more on a daily basis in the league, he will get better. Right now he gets away with a lot of sloppy plays. When he’s pushed to have to be better, hopefully he’ll improve and position himself to be better at the international level.”
Doesn't sound like Bruce is too happy with how Dempsey has played.
XYZ1234
14 Jul 2005, 08:34 PM
I'd rather Eddie Lewis played the left wingback that JOB because John is better centrally.
Eddie can play a little on the right however.Well we are talking about 4-4-2 and I can't off hand remember Lewis playing there. Lewis might be able to play left back.
The point is that JOB shouldn't be considered at left back now because the roster is too thin, lets see what happens when the full squad is together.
sidefootsitter
14 Jul 2005, 08:36 PM
... Doesn't sound like Bruce is too happy with how Dempsey has played. Clint is just very raw. Everyone can see that. The key is his improvement in the next 11 months.
DutchFootballRulez
14 Jul 2005, 08:48 PM
On O'Brien: "He’s too good in his passing to even consider him for a left back at this point in time."
Yeah, Bruce, umm, that whole Frankie Hejduk thing is really really not what you should be expecting. Left-backs can overlap AND complete dangerous forward passes...
They aren't mutually exclusive you know. I just thought that he should know, because he OBVIOUSLY reads BS.
WC2010Champs!
14 Jul 2005, 08:50 PM
Well we are talking about 4-4-2 and I can't off hand remember Lewis playing there. Lewis might be able to play left back.
The point is that JOB shouldn't be considered at left back now because the roster is too thin, lets see what happens when the full squad is together.
so in a 4-4-2 that would be lewis at left back, job at left mid and no dmb but if we went a 3-4-3 (although lewis probably couldnt handle the defensive responsibilities), that would give us a left side of lewis- job-dmb . . . .. . . . . . . wow that is a pretty nice left side
okiebear
14 Jul 2005, 08:55 PM
Everyone on this thread seems to think Arena knows soccer and soccer players. I read Arena's views the same way I would read the comments of any other college lacrosse coach discussing international soccer. This board is so valuable because some of you people offer the only intelligent discussion of the game to be found in the U.S. ;)
Joel Kennedy
14 Jul 2005, 09:20 PM
because he OBVIOUSLY reads BS.
I too was surprised to see BA raise the JOB to LB idea without overt prompting. However upon reflection I thought that the interviewer must have brought it up and then cleaned up the Q&A for publication ... but if (s)he didn't! :eek:
striker
14 Jul 2005, 09:30 PM
“Right now Clint is inexperienced. The game is a little too fast for him right now. Only time will tell if he can adjust to it and figure some things out on his own. I think if he’s challenged more on a daily basis in the league, he will get better. Right now he gets away with a lot of sloppy plays. When he’s pushed to have to be better, hopefully he’ll improve and position himself to be better at the international level.”
Doesn't sound like Bruce is too happy with how Dempsey has played.
Is this Arena's way of telling Dempsey to get the hell out of MLS?
Joel Kennedy
14 Jul 2005, 09:39 PM
Is this Arena's way of telling Dempsey to get the hell out of MLS?
that is exactly how i read it.
Bigrose30
14 Jul 2005, 09:56 PM
that is exactly how i read it.
That makes two of us.