World Cup 2010 Player Progression

[K-sWeise]

world cup begins june 11

adu 21
altidore 20
beasley 29
boca 31
bornstein 26
bradley 22
dolo 31
ching 32
convey 27
demerit 30
dempsey 27
donovan 28
feilhaber 26
howard 31
johnson 26
onyewu 28
pearce 25

i understand that this is out of nowhere but its something to talk about between now and our next game. Is the lineup too old/young/perfect for 2010, and will the players have played enough high level soccer to make us a contender? feel free to add anyone. i know i need Edu.

[StillKickin]

Beasley will be 28, not 29.

[Marko72]

That's a good age range, if you're just looking at that. I have a gut feeling that we'll be adding a couple more young guys to the list, though, after the Olympics at the winger position. That's becoming a problem area with Beasley's injury and Convey's poor post-injury form, and there's a lot of young talent in that area down in the U23's.

[Adam Zebrowski]

i agree, guys like beasley and convey are not complete locks for south africa...

alvarez has his u-23 shot and bradley with nowak will select the guy who gives usa best chance....

i'd suspect one of the beasley/convey pair end up not being on the final 23...

usa is reaching the point where depth exists so marginally performing talent won't make the roster

[Aaryque]

I agree that there will be some changes in personnel that might make the team younger but if we're talking about ages in general that seems about right. A couple young guys who will be your core for subsequent WCs. A couple older guys for leadership and experience. Then the majority of the players sitting right in the middle of the prime years of 25-30. As for the players I think, if healthy Beasley is a lock but I could very easily see Convey being beat out by the likes of Rogers, Alvarez or Holden. Not to mention Davis, Mapp, etc. Of the players with the most tenuous grips on their roster spot, Convey seems to be the one with the most up-and-coming talent nipping at his heals.
And yes, either Clark or Edu will probably be in there (unless you see Szetela making a big run) since I would assume we'll be bringing at least 3 CMs.
As for playing enough high level soccer I think we'll be fine. There are a lot of high profile games between now and then with the current 2008 schedule, a gold cup, a confederations cup, and hopefully more. And, even then, I think there's something to be said for a little naivety in the World Cup. Inexperienced players can obviously be a detriment but there's also the possibility that they go out there and (as I think was partially the case in 2002) play well simply because they're too young to know that they're supposed to be nervous or that they're supposed to be afraid of the big names like Portugal and Germany. In that way I think it's okay to have a couple players on the roster who don't have a ton of top-level international experience. That said, you probably don't want those guys on your back line or in the net.

[JohnR]

i agree, guys like beasley and convey are not complete locks for south africa

I'd be shocked if Beaz is healthy and not on the roster. Even if he doesn't start, he's a supersub with speed for the counter, and he's one winger who can be relied on to run box to box and help out with the defense.

He showed pretty well for Man City last year at times; I just don't think we'll be strong enough by 2010 to turn down guys who are good enough to show well in EPL.

[JohnR]

In that way I think it's okay to have a couple players on the roster who don't have a ton of top-level international experience. That said, you probably don't want those guys on your back line or in the net.

Agreed, although Mastro came up big for us as an inexperienced D mid in 2002, that's not quite back line but it is of course a critical defensive role.

[Smithsoccer1721]

Before Beasley got hurt he was playing well for the Rangers and if he is healthy and in form there is no way he doesnt start. He is a great two way outside midfielder. He plays excellent defense and is dangerous going forward especially with his speed and quickness.

[Aaryque]

Before Beasley got hurt he was playing well for the Rangers and if he is healthy and in form there is no way he doesnt start. He is a great two way outside midfielder. He plays excellent defense and is dangerous going forward especially with his speed and quickness.

I like Beasley a lot but I think there's a bit of exaggeration here. I can definitely see him not starting. I'm not saying it think that will happen but I wouldn't be shocked. Personally I think that Beasley's best role for the team (assuming a suitable starter came along) would be as a super-sub. 30 minutes of a fresh-legged Beasley against tired defenders could possibly be more influential than 90 minutes of Beasley. I know people don't like using other sports to accentuate a point but it's similar to the 6th man theory in basketball. He may be a better player than a starter or two but bringing him is later (against tired or 2nd choice defenders) might make him even more effective.
As far as Beasley's talents (and once again I am not getting down on him. I like him a lot. He is certainly first choice quality now and I believe will be in 2010), he is a great defender (or at least tireless and pesky) and dangerous going forward, not just because of his speed but also a great aptitude for combining with other players, but his crossing, shooting and ability to take people on 1v1 leave a decent amount of room for improvement. Thus it's not inconceivable that someone with something nearing Beasley's pace and defensive prowess but with a better shot and cross could come along and bump Beasley off his pedestal.
Of course, even if that player did come along Beasley would probably still get the start because of his experience. Heck, I probably wouldn't even put up a fuss about it.

[DaPrince84]

i wouldnt be surprised if Landon isnt starting

[Aaryque]

i wouldnt be surprised if Landon isnt starting

The reason that would surprise me is that he is our best option right now at multiple positions that don't have a lot of talent in the pipeline for the near future.

[passtheblizz]

I would consider Beasley the unsung MVP of our team for the last five years... If he is healthy we need him. He causes problems for our opponents with his speed and tenacious defense. He has also improved his offense markedly. Landon is going to start no matter what, and I think he is going to play well throughout the qualifying and tournament because he looks good these days. These are the two best, most experienced players in our squad. I think we are going to have a good mix come 2010.

[olephill2]

world cup begins june 11

adu 21
altidore 20
beasley 29
boca 31
bornstein 26
bradley 22
dolo 31
ching 32
convey 27
demerit 30
dempsey 27
donovan 28
feilhaber 26
howard 31
johnson 26
onyewu 28
pearce 25

i understand that this is out of nowhere but its something to talk about between now and our next game. Is the lineup too old/young/perfect for 2010, and will the players have played enough high level soccer to make us a contender? feel free to add anyone. i know i need Edu.
Check out my thread (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=652867)on the missing mini-generation as a reason for WC 2006 disappointment. I think it will lead you to believe that 2010 is shaping up to be a good distribution for us in the sense that most of our key players are going to be in that crucial 25-29 year old age range. A few of our key defenders (Cherundolo & Bocanegra, maybe Gibbs) will be a tad bit older, but defenders tend to have a slightly longer shelf life than midfielders anyway.


Also, I agree with passtheblizz that Beasley has been one of our national team's unsung heroes over the last few years, with the exception of 2006. The recent friendly with Mexico is evidence of how valuable he is to us.

[Adam Zebrowski]

my point about beasley and convey is i'd expect ONE, not BOTH to be on the final 23...

some of it may be how adu gets classified, as a forward or mid...

with dempsey, donovan, beasley as mids, if counted that way, then only one more attacking type makes sense, although roster flexibility, being able to play various roles makes a roster more diverse..

beasley strength, i think, is more his shut down defensive possibilities, mixed in with his speed in attack...

i don't like having a roster be too static over wc cycles, having new blood hopefully raises the overall level of play...

in that sense, convey might be more out than in

[K-sWeise]

i agree that a big part of being successful in the world cup is really having your players at the right stage in their career and having your younger players having the experience. so if altidore and adu can have that under their belts enough to perform well, and same goes for the u23s like bradley feilheiber then that would be prime. without anyone being washed up. i can try to post up some age averages for some other high/low level teams up soon, but i invite anyone else to post some meanwhile.

[Marko72]

my point about beasley and convey is i'd expect ONE, not BOTH to be on the final 23...

some of it may be how adu gets classified, as a forward or mid...

with dempsey, donovan, beasley as mids, if counted that way, then only one more attacking type makes sense, although roster flexibility, being able to play various roles makes a roster more diverse..

beasley strength, i think, is more his shut down defensive possibilities, mixed in with his speed in attack...

i don't like having a roster be too static over wc cycles, having new blood hopefully raises the overall level of play...

in that sense, convey might be more out than in

Assuming that Convey were the pre-injury, pre-WC2006 Convey who'd had a strong run of form in Reading's promotion bid and showed the ability to dribble at defenders in the WC tune-up friendlies, what we'd get out of him is the ability to play a pure traditional attacking wing role, a guy who could dribble defenders and whip in fairly good crosses, as well as pretty good left-footed set piece service. Of course Convey hasn't shown anything close to that form since his injury, and he hasn't adjusted his game to accomodate his lack of mobility since. I'm not going to close the book on him forever at this time (he could yet regain his mobility or adjust), but he has an uphill battle to get back into the picture, being that there are some talented kids who at this point look like they'd be an upgrade over his current form, and they're still very much on the upswing.

Beasley's been in this situation before, took a long time to regain form but did manage to regain it. Every injury is different, but my gut says that he can make it back. If I had to gamble on which one were more likely to be back in form by 2010, I'd say it's Beasley. What Beasley has given us is something that's somewhat irreplaceable in our pool; a guy who covers the left back (our traditional achilles heel as everyone knows) very well and provides attacking speed on the counter that is difficult for most teams to account for. If fit and in reasonable form (not a guarantee, but I'd wager on it), he makes the roster for sure.

I tend to think that ONE of them is going to make it. Adu will foreseeably make it, though probably not playing the same traditional wing role, and will probably be used in some combination up top and/or in a central attacking mid role. When Adu's ready, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bob finally begin to tweak his system a little bit to accomodate Adu's abilities. That still most likely leaves a spot for one or two others (probably two, as there isn't much else behind Donovan on the right). Mapp isn't totally out of the picture, and I assume will have some WCQ duty here-and-there, but he isn't a Bob favorite for reasons I can mostly agree with, despite obvious attacking skill. Davis is a veteran on the fringe, a set-piece specialist that could contribute to certain WCQ matches, but I'd be surprised if we took him to South Africa. And then there's the U23 guys. Holden, Alvarez, and Rogers are well-positioned to make a bid to become that guy starting with solid showings in the U23 competitions, with a few more on the fringe (Zizzo, who likely has time to become that guy in 2010 if he isn't it in this Olympics campaign, plus Hill, White, Smith, Nguyen...)

[Adam Zebrowski]

finding form is the key, because the best of beasley or the best of convey means both make the squad...

but i'm just playing odds here, than one or both get knocked up and we better go elsewhere...

to me, 2006, was all about key guys getting hurt and NO adequate replacements existed...

i see over all depth this phase being better and bradleys job will be to not hope an injured guy gets healthy but move on to the next guy...

arena was crossing his fingers in many ways...this time bradley doesn't have todo so

[Marko72]

finding form is the key, because the best of beasley or the best of convey means both make the squad...

but i'm just playing odds here, than one or both get knocked up and we better go elsewhere...


Probably. And probably. As to the rest... pretty much.

(Ain't agreement boring?) ;)