Camp Battles

[lurking]

I didnt see this being discussed, so I thought Id throw it out there. Who is battling for a spot in the starting lineup over the next month?

Im going to start by listing who I think is a lock:

McBride
Donovan
Oneywu Cherundolo
Keller

The guys I figure fighting for a spot are:

Johnson: Can he win a spot in a 4-4-2? If hes playing up to his potential, its hard to keep a prolific scorer off the field.

Dempsey, Beasley, Convey: I see this as 3 guys for 2 spots. Beasley, once thought to be a sure thing has me wondering. He seems to be suffering a bit from this last club season. Normally I still would say hes safef, but I think hes competing against two players that are surging. According to Connnolly Dempsey is a man on a mission. Convey is coming off a great year. If DMB doesnt get his feet, can he justify keeping these two out of the lineup?

JOB, Reyna, Mastroeni: Reyna and JOB, thought to be mortal locks. Definately really skilled players. Reyna would be a lock... but is he really garunteed? I mean, if JOB is at 100% and playing up to shis potential, and you have to choose one or the other, do you go with Reyna for certain? Mastroeni in contrast offers a lot of bite though that the others done. Also some size, and it looks like we may have a short back line. While not on the same level as the other two, he may be chosen because of bringing a different set of qualities to the field.

Lewis, Gibbs, Bocanegra, Pope: First question, who plays on the left? Bruce has 3 choices with different pros and cons. And while Arena may really want Pope's experience, I could also see him going with Gibbs athleticism at center back.

And for themost part I think this is why Im feeling pretty good this time around. I dont feel like there are any positions that we have to run someone out there and pray, and there are a few where I think we are going to leave a guy I want out there on the bench... and yet I still wont have any problem with the starting lineup.

[NBlue]

Excellent analysis. I agree with your calls for the most part though I believe that Lewis is pretty much a lock to start at left back for the czech match at least and Reyna is a definite lock.

I think your assertion that Convey, DFB and Dempsey are likely starting for two spots is potentially correct though with the apparent healthy emergence of JOB there remains the possibility that either he, Reyna or Donovan could be slotted on the right in a 4-4-2 or DFB could be slotted on the right allowing JOB to play on the left in the same formation.

Moreover, if we were to go 4-5-1 there are any number of permutations that may favor Pablo, JOB, Reyna, Donovan lined up with only one of those three.

[asdf2]

Good analysis. I think Beas and Reyna are locks or almost locks though.

You know, a year ago I thought our frontline would be Ching and EJ for the WC finals. Maybe that might happen by the 2nd or 3rd game after all. McBride is like 34, can he really play 3 games in 9 days or whatever?

[CbR]

Good analysis. I think Beas and Reyna are locks or almost locks though.

You know, a year ago I thought our frontline would be Ching and EJ for the WC finals. Maybe that might happen by the 2nd or 3rd game after all. McBride is like 34, can he really play 3 games in 9 days or whatever?

I wouldnt worry about Mcbride's age as much as i would Reyna's. Mcbride has never been injury prone (knock on wood) and is a tremendous athlete

[Bruce S]

team balance comes into play.Convey, Beaz and Landon are midgets. Demps brings some size and power.

[jkl;]

I wouldnt worry about Mcbride's age as much as i would Reyna's. Mcbride has never been injury prone (knock on wood) and is a tremendous athlete

What?! McBride is a good athlete, as are all players of that calibur, but,

you must have only been paying attention since McBride went to England, because he was ALWAYS injured ALL THE TIME when he was with the Crew.

[MLSNHTOWN]

I honestly don't know that these decisions are all that interesting. In the end, Arena has shown a knack of using all of his roster. Sure McBride's a starter with Johnson if he is playing well, but expect to see Josh Wolff and Brian Ching definitely get some minutes. So while the battle for left back is interesting, I wouldn't be surprised to see Arena play Lewis v. Ghana for more of an attacking presence, and play Gibbs v. Italy.

The only players I would honestly expect to play 90 minutes in all three games are:
1. Cherundolo
2. Keller
3. LD

Though we are very deep in CM so I can honestly see LD getting a breather in the second game to keep him more fresh for the third. But that obviously depends on the score and/or circumstances of the group.

By the way, I don't see Gooch as a lock. Sure he is a physical specimen and a beast and we all love the way he plays. But let's face facts, he is pretty green and he is foul prone. That is a dangerous combination. While there is no doubt in my mind that he is the most impressive CB physically, he has a long way to go to being a lock. I think he will get more than his fair share of minutes (180+), but I can honestly see Arena using a lot of the other three center backs.

I also think we may be playing a lot of 3-5-2 with the players we have brought into camp.

Obviously three of Pope, Bocanegra, Gooch, Gibbs
Cherundolo, Dempsey, and/or Convey/DMB at right
DMB/Convey/Lewis on the left
2 of JOB, Reyna and Pablo (oh yeah...Olsen too...)
and LD
with two strikers....

It really fits our talent a lot more than I would say it did four years ago.

[monop_poly]

Czech game Locks barring injury:

Keller
Dolo
Gooch
Lewis
Reyna
Beas
Donovan
McBride

Open:

Other CB
Rmid/Forward
Reyna's compadre in front of the defense

[Ghost]

dmb has one big advantage -- he's the best defensive winger.

Gooch is a lock.

mcbride used to be nicknamed mcfragile. been very healthy the past few years.

[USA2010?]

The only players I would honestly expect to play 90 minutes in all three games are:
1. Cherundolo
2. Keller
3. LD

I also think we may be playing a lot of 3-5-2 with the players we have brought into camp.

Obviously three of Pope, Bocanegra, Gooch, Gibbs
Cherundolo, Dempsey, and/or Convey/DMB at right
DMB/Convey/Lewis on the left
2 of JOB, Reyna and Pablo (oh yeah...Olsen too...)
and LD
with two strikers....

It really fits our talent a lot more than I would say it did four years ago.

I don't quite understand your post. With two backs who can push forward and cross like Cherundolo and Lewis, I don't see us playing with 3 in the back. I think we will play with 4 in the back most, if not all, of the time. If we ever did play with 3, then Mastroeni would be a real defensive MF.

If JOB and Reyna are 100%, then we play them both of them. If they are healthy, they have way too much experience and talent to put on the bench. Of course, will they both be 100% healthy, that's the question. We could put one of them on the right with Beaz on the left, Mastroeni in the middle, with LD and a M/F with McBride up front. LD also tracks back very well for some defensive support in midfield. We might even try to put in Dempsey instead of Mastroeni and have Reyna play more defensively. This might be an offensively minded midfield, but with that talent, it does not scare me as our opponent would have to be extremely careful of our counter. With the service of JOB and Reyna, and the speed of LD, Dempsey, and Beaz, let our opponent push forward.

[SUDano]

I think they'll all start at least one game. So the battle isn't who will start but who will get more time under what circumstances and vs which opponent.

[Bruce S]

England66 made this point a long time ago : you can't start a team of midgets even if they are all best at their positions. Dempsey may play more than you think ( if he shows he can handle it) because size and physical power will be needed against 3 physically strong teams. A midfield of Reyna, Convey, Beasley and Donovan may be just too small! Gooch and Pope or Gibbs help, but 2 or 3 big players are not enough. Almost half of all goals in WCs are scored from set-pieces. Size matters.