Bradley to look at different options for

[Firefan1989]

our strikers? could this mean Johnson will not be starting anymore?

http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080609&content_id=164272&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp

Bradley, who plans to field as strong a team as possible against Barbados, also will try to find solutions to some of the a pair of his team's most pressing concerns -- getting more creativity from the midfield and finding someone who can score up front.


"When you play against a team like England or Spain, you don't expect to get a dozen chances in those games," Bradley said. "You get a couple. We had a couple in those games. We still feel there's a lot of improvement to be done -- understanding, timing, the right passes at the right time and just pure finishing. It gets worked on with the players that are in and there's a constant (search) for other players who we think are ready to step in and challenge for a position."


so do you guys think he will actually make a change now or no? If so, who would you like to see there?

[gutshot]

It looks to me more like the author of the article was reading into Bradley's words a bit. I expect we will see EJ get the bulk of the starts at forward, at least until Altidore is deemed ready.

[oldguyfc]

I'm sorry, but he sounds like he's speaking about a U-15 team.
He makes the decisions as to who plays and who doesn't. If he wasn't satisfied with the performance with England, then why did he continue to play the same way in the last two games? This was, after all, the platform to experiment.
Will he change anything? We'll see, his stone-cutter mentality to the game isn't very encouraging.
It's one thing to be stoical, it's another to be clueless.

[Allamerican1974]

Start Adu and Donovan. Instant MF creativity and scoring touch up front. Seems pretty simple actually

[galaxyfan03]

The fact that we didn't score a single goal in the three matches should tell BB that he needs to keep his options open!! Otherwise, he's an IDIOT!!

I'd like to see Cooper, Barrett, Ching get a look during the first 2 legs v Barbados & see what qualities they can bring!! Don't expect to see Jozy, though it would be AWESOME!!

[Manolo]

This is kind of silly, I mean wasn't the purpose of the last 3 games to try out options for different areas of the field? You certainly don't want to use WC qualifiers as "testing" grounds. This is truly a worst-case scenario in that Bradley didn't prepare different striker options, and the only option that was tried has failed - some may say miserably.

[onefineesq]

This is kind of silly, I mean wasn't the purpose of the last 3 games to try out options for different areas of the field? You certainly don't want to use WC qualifiers as "testing" grounds. This is truly a worst-case scenario in that Bradley didn't prepare different striker options, and the only option that was tried has failed - some may say miserably. Obviously you are a chicken little, like all the rest of us who mentioned that same rationale before and during this set of 3 games. There is a fairly easy fix, but now I suspect that he will be too scared to actually try them .......... since the results now COUNT.

[Maximum Optimal]

This is kind of silly, I mean wasn't the purpose of the last 3 games to try out options for different areas of the field? You certainly don't want to use WC qualifiers as "testing" grounds. This is truly a worst-case scenario in that Bradley didn't prepare different striker options, and the only option that was tried has failed - some may say miserably.

Bradley probably views Ching as a known commodity who doesn't need to be tested any further. He probably planned on giving some time to Altidore but an injury and significant career move intervened. The only plausible remaining forward that he can be criticized for not looking at is Cooper and yes it would have made sense to find a way to give him at least a half. Would have made sense to give Rogers at least a half too, but in midfield.

For the Barbados series, our forward corps is likely to consist of Ching, EJ, Donovan, Adu. I'm comfortable starting qualification with those four. Dempsey is available too. Under the right circumstances, it might make sense to take a look at Cooper in the second leg.

[sregis]

This is kind of silly, I mean wasn't the purpose of the last 3 games to try out options for different areas of the field? You certainly don't want to use WC qualifiers as "testing" grounds.

like it or not, in effect, wcq are always testing grounds- probably the best ones- in determining the final squad. some games certainly more than others. does anyone doubt we'll be seeing combinations of a core of 5 or more forwards in the next 2 years? i think it's entirely possible we'll see a forward not currently in the player pool go to SA.

[chad]

Maybe if he put in players who could create opportunities, more opportunities would be created.

Or it might be better to keep the twin deep mid structure and rotate in a selection of forwards all of whom are set-up to fail.

[oldguyfc]

Maybe if he put in players who could create opportunities, more opportunities would be created.

Or it might be better to keep the twin deep mid structure and rotate in a selection of forwards all of whom are set-up to fail.

Man, you can't be that obvious, it's just no fun.:cool:

[matador11]

The real question is not who Bradley will put on top as much as whether he will insist on going with 2 defensive midfielders against Barbados.

Frankly, if I were Gulati and Bradley started the Barbados game with 2 defensive midfielders, I would fire him at halftime. Period.

[Tonerl]

Maybe if he put in players who could create opportunities, more opportunities would be created.

Or it might be better to keep the twin deep mid structure and rotate in a selection of forwards all of whom are set-up to fail.

Yep.

Creaters create. Scorers score. There are very few, a very special few, who do both. Maybe we need to stop acting like we're creating all these great chances and Johnson isn't finishing when we're clearly not. I don't mean this to be a defense of EJ (whom I like, I'm just saying it's not the point). It could be anybody. He had two good chances (including the one on which he elected to cut the ball back in front of Abbondanzieri instead of shoot and the header from Lewis' cross) in these last three games. If we get our striker(s) two chances in three games, it goes without saying that we shouldn't expect much.

[Martin Fischer]

Bradley probably views Ching as a known commodity who doesn't need to be tested any further. He probably planned on giving some time to Altidore but an injury and significant career move intervened. The only plausible remaining forward that he can be criticized for not looking at is Cooper and yes it would have made sense to find a way to give him at least a half. Would have made sense to give Rogers at least a half too, but in midfield.

For the Barbados series, our forward corps is likely to consist of Ching, EJ, Donovan, Adu. I'm comfortable starting qualification with those four. Dempsey is available too. Under the right circumstances, it might make sense to take a look at Cooper in the second leg.

This is a very intelligent piece of analysis, a rarity here. Bradley has been trying out players for a year and a half, not just in the last three games. He hopes to get wins early so he can use qualifiers to do more trials, plus the Olympics. While the Barbados series is real, I think the USMNT is ready for them after playing England, Spain and Argentina.