A Clue on How Arena Evaluates Players

[ursula]

An ongoing topic for debate on this board is the need for various players to get caps so that we can evaluate them. You know the line goes sopmething like this: "Twellman hasn't had a chance yet. He needs caps." (Of course there's usually more passion. :)

Then we read today this Quote from Arena in Wahl's column: (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/grant_wahl/08/17/us.rankings/index.html)

We had an opportunity to see some new players. Santino Quaranta is on the roster. So is Jimmy Conrad. We got the chance to see John O'Brien, Marcus Hahnemann and Matt Reis, so you can't argue with that.


Wait a minute, you say (or you should say). We didn't see Reis; he didn't play a game. He was called up to the pre-Gold Cup camp but then Arena released him back to the Revs.

Yep and now we have a little window on Arena's thinking process. Evidently in his mind seeing a player in camp is important to him. Of course we don't see those players who don't get capped. But it underscores the importance of just getting called in in Arena's mind; it's amost like there should be two sets of caps: one for the games and an additional one for call-ups.

[chad]

it's amost like there should be two sets of caps: one for the games and an additional one for call-ups.

Yes, because they are almost the same.

[DaMa]

Yes, because they are almost the same.


Obviously the implication isnt that a camp call in is as important as a cap. What, Ursula IS saying (and I agree) is that Bruce judges you not just by how you perform in a game, but how you perform in practices in front of him against the best of the best for our country. Making an impression there could easily weigh into how long it is until you get your next call in (and one has to assume that HAS mattered to such people like Jeff Cunningham and Clint Dempsey).

[chad]

In other news, 2+2=4. Next shall we start threads titled "A clue on Bruce's understanding of soccer", only to click on the thread to find out that Bruce knows that only 11 players can start for a team?

My point is that we need not disect and glorify everything Bruce does. No one has been parading around that Bruce doesn't use camps to evaluate players. What next? Shall we also learn that Bruce watches league matches to evaulaute players?

[ursula]

My point is that we need not disect and glorify everything Bruce does. No one has been parading around that Bruce doesn't use camps to evaluate players. What next? Shall we also learn that Bruce watches league matches to evaulaute players?


My point here is that when posters keep harping on if so-and-so gets a cap or not as if that is the only criterion Arena uses to form his pecking order- and many many folks around here are interested in that pecking order- then it's useful to point out that he uses practice too.

I am not glorifying everything that Bruce does, but I am very interested in how the team gets put together as opposed to coming up with my own fantasy team and then criticizing Arena when he doesn't do what I want. Like it or not, Arena is the most dynamic variable in forming the team. doesn't make him god, just makes him important.

It's great, just great chad that you fully understand the process, but it's obvious that other folks don't, including me. Maybe you can see threads like this and think, "Good. Maybe other posters can stop being so clueless and realize what I've know for years now."

[HartwickFan]

It's great, just great chad that you fully understand the process, but it's obvious that other folks don't, including me. Maybe you can see threads like this and think, "Good. Maybe other posters can stop being so clueless and realize what I've know for years now."

With all due respect, ursula, I have to agree with chad here. I doubt you would find a single poster on here who would be either surprised by or disagree with your sudden insight into Bruce's thinking, that "in his mind seeing a player in camp is important to him." Did you really think that how a player performs in camp plays no role in Bruce's evaluation of the player?

[MarioKempes]

In other news, the sun came up today...

[salange]

My point is that we need not disect and glorify everything Bruce does.

If we aren't going to dissect everything Bruce does in USA Men: News & Analysis, then what are we going to do?

Seriously, I think this was an interesting tidbit and worth reading for me. If it was self-evident to you, no harm done- just move on to the next thread.

[DaMa]

Again I have to agree with Ursula. Ive seen plenty of posts that have implied, for instance, that Taylor Twellman got called into camp but didnt see much if any game time and therefor nobody knows how he will perform. YOU may not... but Im guessing the coaching staff has an inkling. It may seem an obvious point, but if so a lot of people (and Im willing to bet some of the people in this thread) have missed it as evidenced by their decrying game time as the determinative factor.

[MLSNHTOWN]

Unless someone comes in here and provides practice reports, we are left at guessing based on MLS/club and USMNT performance alone. Arena doesn't speak much about each practice and who did/did not do well. So we can either just say.....all hail bruce he is always right because he sees all.....or we say...bruce was wrong about agoos...maybe his also wrong about hejdude/armas/whomever.

[Innocenza]

In other news, the sun came up today...

. . .and saw the chaos that was BigSoccer and hid behind a cloud.

:p

[RedMenace]

Again I have to agree with Ursula. Ive seen plenty of posts that have implied, for instance, that Taylor Twellman got called into camp but didnt see much if any game time and therefor nobody knows how he will perform. YOU may not... but Im guessing the coaching staff has an inkling. It may seem an obvious point, but if so a lot of people (and Im willing to bet some of the people in this thread) have missed it as evidenced by their decrying game time as the determinative factor.I think the big thing we can get from this is that ideally BS posters should call for their favorite player to be called into camp for evalutation, rather than clamoring for them to get a cap.