giffenbone
09 Mar 2006, 04:03 AM
It seems that the US is very lucky in that we seem to be recovering from our bug, the injury bug, at the right time. Reyna and Gibbs are starting to see club action, Mastroeni and Johnson have seen international action, and our bubble players Dunivant/Noonan/Ralston/Jacqua/Albright all should be healthy before roster selection in mid to late April. Yet, some questions remain:
-- The obvious question is will Arena stick to his statement of not picking an injured player? Will he select O'Brien if O'Brien hasn't shown he is fit (let alone healthy)? O'Brien is a major factor in how our roster could be shaped, and when healthy, is certainly one of our most skilled individuals and quite a team player.
-- Will Reyna, Gibbs, Johnson, and Mastroeni be fit? They are healthy now, and Mastroeni and Johnson are fit, but at least EJ hasn't shown to be in form (no arguing he's still not the EJ from qualifying), and we've only seen one match from Mastroeni since his injury. Should any of them fail to be fit or get in form, it could be detrimental to the team with all filling such key roles at key times. We'll most likely need all 4 to be in form to be a serious threat to win all 3 of our group matches.
-- Certainly our bubble players will not be selected if there is any doubt of an injury, but how will that impact the positions. Namely, Ralston at right mid, Noonan in the mid, and most specifically Dunivant/Albright at the outside back positions. Should Dunivant/Albright BOTH fail to show to be in form or fit come roster selection time, how will that impact the defensive selections? My personal opinion is that we take 3 wingbacks (Cherundolo, Lewis, Hedjuk), and one CB who can fill in as left back, meaning Bocanegra or Gibbs. We then take 4 CB specific players.
That pretty much covers all our injuries and how they impact our roster. However, it can only be good that seemingly all but one of our players (O'Brien), should be at least healthy (meaning able to play, but maybe not fit or in form) by mid-April. But...is it good? Or is it possible that recovering now will lead to a little rust due to lack of recent game experience, or even less likely (since it Bruce wouldn't allow it) a lack of preparation or roster selection problems?
As of now, we are fortunate compared to a lot of other nations who seem to be suffering bigger injuries closer and closer to the WC. But it'll be interesting to see how it plays out for the US...hopefully all works out for the better...and (knock on wood), hopefully we don't have to worry about anybody else going down in the next 5 matches before the WC.
-- The obvious question is will Arena stick to his statement of not picking an injured player? Will he select O'Brien if O'Brien hasn't shown he is fit (let alone healthy)? O'Brien is a major factor in how our roster could be shaped, and when healthy, is certainly one of our most skilled individuals and quite a team player.
-- Will Reyna, Gibbs, Johnson, and Mastroeni be fit? They are healthy now, and Mastroeni and Johnson are fit, but at least EJ hasn't shown to be in form (no arguing he's still not the EJ from qualifying), and we've only seen one match from Mastroeni since his injury. Should any of them fail to be fit or get in form, it could be detrimental to the team with all filling such key roles at key times. We'll most likely need all 4 to be in form to be a serious threat to win all 3 of our group matches.
-- Certainly our bubble players will not be selected if there is any doubt of an injury, but how will that impact the positions. Namely, Ralston at right mid, Noonan in the mid, and most specifically Dunivant/Albright at the outside back positions. Should Dunivant/Albright BOTH fail to show to be in form or fit come roster selection time, how will that impact the defensive selections? My personal opinion is that we take 3 wingbacks (Cherundolo, Lewis, Hedjuk), and one CB who can fill in as left back, meaning Bocanegra or Gibbs. We then take 4 CB specific players.
That pretty much covers all our injuries and how they impact our roster. However, it can only be good that seemingly all but one of our players (O'Brien), should be at least healthy (meaning able to play, but maybe not fit or in form) by mid-April. But...is it good? Or is it possible that recovering now will lead to a little rust due to lack of recent game experience, or even less likely (since it Bruce wouldn't allow it) a lack of preparation or roster selection problems?
As of now, we are fortunate compared to a lot of other nations who seem to be suffering bigger injuries closer and closer to the WC. But it'll be interesting to see how it plays out for the US...hopefully all works out for the better...and (knock on wood), hopefully we don't have to worry about anybody else going down in the next 5 matches before the WC.