Gold Cup roster finalized: Strange choices

[Scotty]

Just looked at the finalized Gold Cup roster (http://www.concacaf.com/news/article.page/1512) from the CONCACAF website and wanted to try getting some opinions on these choices by Arena.

1. Convey listed in defense - Is the Bruce going to continue with this experiment? So far he seems to give his best in midfield.

2. Wolff over Twellman (reserves) - I am a big fan of El Lobo. But is it too much too soon? He's hardly back to his old self. Twellman is the more in form currently - scoring immediately on his return from France - but got stuck with the alternates. And because of his recent illness he never really got his true shot at the Confederations Cup. What gives?

3. Adin Brown over Howard? - Timmy is facing possible passport hang-ups that could jepordize his status at Man Utd. Shouldn't he be getting these games under his belt to improve his status for a UK work permit? Or is it simply not Arena's job to worry about that?

4. Armas to the alternates - Looks to be Mastroeni and Mulrooney who get the nod over Chris for d-mid. Could this be a signal that his days are numbered. Maybe? Possibly?

Discuss

[realmadrid1086]

Convey: Where he's listed on paper doesn't necessarily mean he will play in that position. Donovan is often listed as a forward and plays in the midfield or vice versa. Hejduk is sometimes listed in midfield and plays in defense.

Wolff: Josh hasn't played for the Nats since the WC. After the confed cup, Arena said he needed more speed and better finishing from his forwards. That is what Josh brings to the table.

Brown: Beats me. Maybe Sir Alex thinks that he will definitely get Howard- with or without proper paperwork- and asked Arena to rest him for preseason. That's my best guess.

Armas: I have no idea. Maybe because Pablo and Mulrooney are more versatile than Armas.

my $0.02

[Ringo]

Originally posted by Scotty
3. Adin Brown over Howard? - Timmy is facing possible passport hang-ups that could jepordize his status at Man Utd. Shouldn't he be getting these games under his belt to improve his status for a UK work permit? Or is it simply not Arena's job to worry about that?


maybe keller's gonna get most, if not all, of the minutes so why have howard sitting on the bench? this gets adin around the program where bruce can see him train on a daily basis, which is a good thing. if howard goes to europe Brown could be our top choice when just domestic players/limited number of euros are called in.

[strider026]

Originally posted by Scotty
1. Convey listed in defense - Is the Bruce going to continue with this experiment? So far he seems to give his best in midfield.

I want to see Convey in midfield. If Arena has to play him at D to get him on the field so be it.

2. Wolff over Twellman (reserves) - I am a big fan of El Lobo. But is it too much too soon? He's hardly back to his old self. Twellman is the more in form currently - scoring immediately on his return from France - but got stuck with the alternates. And because of his recent illness he never really got his true shot at the Confederations Cup. What gives?

Twellman is still not healthy.

3. Adin Brown over Howard? - Timmy is facing possible passport hang-ups that could jepordize his status at Man Utd. Shouldn't he be getting these games under his belt to improve his status for a UK work permit? Or is it simply not Arena's job to worry about that?

Keller is going to play. Why have Timmy sitting on the bench?

4. Armas to the alternates - Looks to be Mastroeni and Mulrooney who get the nod over Chris for d-mid. Could this be a signal that his days are numbered. Maybe? Possibly?

They should be numbered. The USMNT needs to move beyond his skill level.

Discuss [/B][/QUOTE]

[Red Card]

I'm glad to see El Lobo back. The Mathis-Wolff combo is more than the sum of its parts. Each is 20% better when playing with the other.

I'm happy to see Mulrooney and Gibbs moving up the food chain.

I'm surprise Reyna is activated since he was recently reported to be not ready. Hopefully he will perform well and interest scouts for a transfer to a top division team. Having him play in England's first division is not good for the US or for him.

Wouldn't leaving Timmy Howard out hurt his chances for a work permit? Don't you have to play often for your national team in one of the work permit scenarios?

[Casper]

Originally posted by Red Card
I'm glad to see El Lobo back. The Mathis-Wolff combo is more than the sum of its parts. Each is 20% better when playing with the other.

I'm happy to see Mulrooney and Gibbs moving up the food chain.

I'm surprise Reyna is activated since he was recently reported to be not ready. Hopefully he will perform well and interest scouts for a transfer to a top division team. Having him play in England's first division is not good for the US or for him.

Wouldn't leaving Timmy Howard out hurt his chances for a work permit? Don't you have to play often for your national team in one of the work permit scenarios?

Even if he played every game in the gold cup, he still wouldn't qualify for a work permit via the "required percentage of international matches" rule. So it doesn't really impact whether or not he'd be able to play for Man Utd in the near future. Over the longer term, his eligibility is going to come from getting a passport, anyway.

[sch2383]

SAF doesn't always like letting players go to play games with national teams. It wouldn't hurt for Bruce to get in good with him early. And even if there is a work permit problem, Timmy can still go and train with Manchester Utd. Also, does he need to have a work permit to get loaned out to another club that is not in the UK?

[Davids26]

Yeah I think Bruce leaving Timmy off the roster is just a sign that the transfer is about to go down with or without a work permit. if it is without a work permit, the consensus is that he'd play in Belgium or Portugaly for a year while waiting for his papers to go through.

[Scotty]

Originally posted by strider026
Twellman is still not healthy.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but he's got 2 goals in 2 games since returning from the Confederations Cup.

[strider026]

Originally posted by Scotty
Correct me if I'm wrong, but he's got 2 goals in 2 games since returning from the Confederations Cup.

Correct. However he is not starting for the Revs due to health issues. He came in last week because of the injury to Harris.

I would love to see Twellman get a real shot in the Gold Cup.

[Bruce S]

Originally posted by strider026
Correct. However he is not starting for the Revs due to health issues. He came in last week because of the injury to Harris.

I would love to see Twellman get a real shot in the Gold Cup.
He has been playing very well, even off the bench.

[sljohn]

Originally posted by Ringo1725
maybe keller's gonna get most, if not all, of the minutes so why have howard sitting on the bench? this gets adin around the program where bruce can see him train on a daily basis, which is a good thing. if howard goes to europe Brown could be our top choice when just domestic players/limited number of euros are called in. On last night's revs games the commentators said that Adin would still be playing games for Revs even during the Gold Cup (which is easy to pull off, for example, on the day of the USMNT/Revs/GC triple-header).

Also among several other reasons that Arena said he choose Meola over Howard for Japorea was because he felt that Howard would improve more getting more games under his belt with his club instead of sitting on the bench in WC.

[Delta Blues]

Originally posted by strider026
Twellman is still not healthy.

Neither is Wolff. He's now injured again as of last night. What a surprise. :rolleyes:

Kevin

[strider026]

Originally posted by Delta Blues
Neither is Wolff. He's now injured again as of last night. What a surprise. :rolleyes:

Kevin

You are right. Tough for Wolff. So any word on his status? Will he be out? If so what is your guess as to who is in? I know who you would like to see.

[whip]

Originally posted by Scotty
Just looked at the finalized Gold Cup roster (http://www.concacaf.com/news/article.page/1512) from the CONCACAF website and wanted to try getting some opinions on these choices by Arena.

1. Convey listed in defense - Is the Bruce going to continue with this experiment? So far he seems to give his best in midfield.

2. Wolff over Twellman (reserves) - I am a big fan of El Lobo. But is it too much too soon? He's hardly back to his old self. Twellman is the more in form currently - scoring immediately on his return from France - but got stuck with the alternates. And because of his recent illness he never really got his true shot at the Confederations Cup. What gives?

3. Adin Brown over Howard? - Timmy is facing possible passport hang-ups that could jepordize his status at Man Utd. Shouldn't he be getting these games under his belt to improve his status for a UK work permit? Or is it simply not Arena's job to worry about that?

4. Armas to the alternates - Looks to be Mastroeni and Mulrooney who get the nod over Chris for d-mid. Could this be a signal that his days are numbered. Maybe? Possibly?

Discuss

I really hope that Bruce realize that the clock is ticking and the fans are getting very impatience with his extrange decisions and also we really hope he do not hold false expectation about Donovan and DMB to make up for any kind of bad choises or strategy and certanly his WC 2002 juice is running out......

[Heist]

I read in an article that Sarachan and Bruce agreed that Armas would only play in one of the summer tournaments.
Whether you like Armas or not he's good cover behind Mastroeni and is servicable player in CONCACAF games.
I don't think he'd do well outside the region though.

[Femfa]

I'm curious about kellar - with the recent focus on friedel and howard, is Bruce giving Kasey a chance at the plate - a final one, perhaps - to prove that he belongs on the top of our goalie list?

[Aalborg]

[QUOTE][i]. Having him play in England's first division is not good for the US or for him.


True maybe for the most part , but my opinion is that Reyna played against English first division quality/strength teams in the Scottish Premier week in week out (with one exception) and it really, again in my opinion, did not make his level of play go down, but maybe thats because he had a strong supporting cast at the Gers.....

[Crazy_Quakes_Fan]

I'm interested to see where he plays Mulrooney. Richard is a great defensive-mid at the club level (in my opinion, the best and most valuable in MLS) but he's not our best option at that position at the international level. I'd really love to see him get time at Right Back because I do think he's a better solution than either Califf or Cherundolo.

[Heist]

[QUOTE][i]0r