I believe Arena learns from his mistakes. What do you think he most regrets about the squad he had in '02, and how might that impact his '06 selections? Here's what I recall: 1. "The WC is a young man's game." I believe this was more about fatigue/injuries/recovery time than it was about youth/speed. Fatigue and injuries took a lot of our vets out of play in '02: Stewart, JMM, Reyna, Agoos. In the later rounds, McBride couldn't go 90 every game even though Arena kept starting him. Implication1. Ching may still have a decent shot as the closest backup to a 4yrs-older McBride and may sneak onto the squad. Implication2. We'll need another defensive MF to back up the old Reyna, the fragile O'Brien, and Mastroeni. Right now, best guess is that Olsen has edged KZ. 2. We ran short on defenders last time because of yellow card accumulation, lack of trust of Regis's judgment, Llamosa's older legs (inability to go 90, but fine for a sub), and Agoos's injury. Implication1. There are 6 very solid picks at D: Dolo, Gooch, Pope, Gibbs, Boca, Lewis. Who to add? Arena is going to want the option to put in an experienced organizing central defender late in the game if we need to hold a lead. We only have Pope on the 6. So Berhalter goes. Implication2. We need more outside back cover. 1 will go of: Hejduk, Albright, Spector. Hejduk just gave himself a big question mark in the Jamaica match. Ballwatching on the goal + the Frankie special (ugly 2-footed tackle). He's still fit, but he's starting to show his age. I think Spector will go. He's looked his best at right back in recent Charlton games, and I think Bruce will notice. One last comment here. Related to Frankie and his intangibles, if Olsen goes as backup to Pablo for destroyer/holding MF, there's your veteran "locker room guy." Hejduk's less of an asset.
1. Young mans game - Tournaments always are. 2 things in favor of an 'older' US team, Germany should not be as hot/humid as Korea. It may be as hot, but it is less likely that they will be playing in 90+ temps with 80% humidity. Second, we have game times at 3:00 and 8:00, as opposed to the early afternoon starts. 2. Defense, in '02 besides Llamosa and Regis, you forgot Cherundolo's injury and not being able to play, taking up space. We should have enough D along for the trip with Boca/ Mastro/ Gibbs/ and whoever the winner of S/A/H contest being able to play multiple positions. Convey and O' Brien can even play D if necessary. Honestly this team really shouldn't bring ANYONE along to be a "locker room" guy. McBride, Reyna, O'Brien, Donovan, Keller, Pope, etc. There is enough veteran leadership. If Olsen and/or Frankie go, it is because Arena believes they can add something to the squad ON THE FIELD. Even the '02 intangible guys (Meola aside) Jones, Stewart brought something to the table.
Maybe I'm colored by all the hype Ching has been getting here in Houston but I'm increasingly thinking that Ching may be brought along for the McBride back-up role. He has a good rapport with Donovan (they roomed together before the Jamaica game, for example). And he's the closest to McBride we've got. EJ will still probably go because he's got the rare combination of speed, size, and skill that you don't often find in forwards. Twellman and Wolff are the two on the fence. If either one were tearing up MLS so far, I'd feel more confident about their chances. I think the next three weeks of MLS will be critical for Wolff, Ching and Twellman.
my only quibble here, you name boca as a sure thing. what's the real scoop with his injury/lack of time at fulham lately. and gibbs, personally him and gooch as the starting center backs would be great, but I read that he picked up a knock at den haag and came out at the half. how durable is he really going to be?
I don't get the thinking that takes us from "the world cup is a young man's tournament" to bringing Greg Berhalter. For the role of experienced central defender -- Pope and Boca both qualify. Also, I don't think our world cup problems have been a lack of experience in the back (see agoos, regis, llamosa) but a lack of speed and strength to bring in at the end of games. I think Hejduk is a lock and the battle in defense is another outside back (spector or albright) v. another central back (Berhalter or Conrad). Conrad v. Berhalter is a pure semi-final battle there: I think conrad has shown better, especially against Germany. But I think it comes down to Albright v. Spector for the spot. Both bring what the side lacks and might need - -rugged outside defenders who can run. Since Albright can't do much else (he's a terrible man marker), I think it's going to be Spector. In the back, we need wheels and versatility in our subs. JS brings both.
I don't understand why people think Olsen would play the defensive minded CM role. He's an attacking mid and doesn't really have the individual ball skills to really control the pace of the game like Reyna obviously does very well and Mastro is functional at. I think Olsen's best chance to make the national team is if JOB is left off the roster. Because after donovan we don't have a CM that can really threaten you offensively. The next best options are JOB followed by olsen and that is certainly a step down. If you want to look at it as being a clear cut attacking mid defensive mid situation the attacking mids are listed above: donovan, then JOB, the Olsen. The defensive mids are Reyna followed by Mastro, followed by Zavagnin most likely. My biggest problem with Hejduk the other day was how out of position he was at times... Playing right D in the first half I saw him on Albrights side of the field at least twice... due to camera angles I don't know what the right side of the field looked like at that point but I'm sure the defensive shape was out of whack. Second half he switched to left D and again was found on the right side of the field. On the goal in the beginning of the game I found it a bit odd that he was coming from the left side of the field and looked to be playing Center back... If he was covering for someone wouldn't he at least be coming from the right side of the field. I only saw it once and didn't get a great look at the Defensive shape so I could be way off base but to me he looked like he was all over the place and out of position on several occasions. I still believe he is the most fit player on the national team but that doesn't do too much when your 40 yards from your assignment.
He has been injured with a calcified contusion on his leg and has been unavailable since the Everton match. He is still unavailable this week, not even in training. But he's still their best defender and certainly a lock for Wc06.
I'm not really sure how you can say Hejduk is a lock and still talk about needing another outside back. Bocanegra is an outside back in my oppinion and won't see time in the middle of the field during the world cup. That gives us much greater depth at left back (a very shallow position and another strong arguement for leaving Bocanegra out on the perimeter) with both he and Lewis holding down the fort there. Then our four Center Backs would be Onyewu, Pope, Berhalter, Gibbs, and the right side of the D would be for Cherundolo and I think Hejduk (Bad game the other day but you don't leave him off the roster for it). If you Bring along Mastro you can use him in CB as well if needed. Where do albright and specter fit into this? I thought most of what I mentioned above was pretty universally agreed upon.
Because Arena often uses him that way -- like against Jamaica. On DCU, he plays a little more attacking role, but still does a lot of defending.
I think most people agree that Bocanegra is best as a CB; that's where you're off. He plays CB for his club and, in his more recent Nat appearances, for the USMNT. If Boca is primarily a CB, then there's a good argument for taking a fourth fullback.
I agree we cannot rely on McBride going the full game, every game. But, does this necessarily mean Ching? He is more McBride-like in his style of play, but we do not have to go with a direct, style-wise replacement for him. Also, if you follow the logic of younger is better, than your conclusion of Ching (presumably over Twellman) is rather odd. I agree that our center mids (Reyna, O'Brien, and Mastro) are much more likely to be injured, fatigued, or, in the case of Mastro, suspended than our outside mids (Beasley, Convey, Dempsey). Thus, although I think Noonan is a better player than Olsen, I'm beginning to lean toward Olsen as the last midfielder because he's more likely to be needed. Disagree with your conclusion. I don't think we sub in a defender, even if we're trying to hold onto a lead. I suspect we're much more likely to sub in someone like O'Brien, Reyna, or Mastro (depending on who's available) and fresh legs at forward, than take out a starting defender. Even if we wanted to add a veteran defender at the end of the game, Pope should be available. I think the young man's game principle strongly cuts against having both Pope and Berhalter. First, I think two of the three you listed go, unless Arena goes with 5 CBs. So, I like Frankie to go. Although old, he's generally been healthy. I also favor Spector for the other one because of his youth and versatility. Second, you can't have too many leaders and good locker room guys. Frankie seems like the guy to keep everyone loose. Is Olsen similar?
I see a dogfight brewin' between hedjuk vs albright for one of those outside back tickets. Chris has been getting on the end of a few set pieces and has performed well when given the opportunity at RB. Frankie is still coming back from injury and needs to regain eh, his form. Bruce likes his fitness and he has performed when it counted at the last WC. Watch MLS closely to see which one stands out.
if he's healthy enough to get minutes before the EPL wraps up, then yeah, I buy he's a lock. but if he's not getting minutes I don't know if I'd call him a lock. if memory serves, none of the friendlies pre-world cup come before the official roster has to be in, in my estimation, that puts Boca on a "must play soon" scenario.
Hedjuk topped out before he left for Germany, where he sat the bench. Even Hedjuk's staunchest supporters have been saying ugghhh! over his recent , um play. Meanwhile, despite his age, Jonathan Spector is starting in arguably the best league in the world, at multiple positions, for a coach who is seriously being considered for the England job and he is excelling. What the ...?
Outside backs the initiator of this thread is using a great tool here: that instead of predicting Arena's choices based entirely on his past behavior, we should acknowledge that Arena himself is using the past as a model both for what he should do and what he should not do. This is particularly made valid by Arena's comments recently (during the broadcast of the LA/NE game?) mentioned that he regretted some of the decisions he had made last WC, especially in taking players who were injured and not yet fully recovered. Anyway, on to the specific points we are discussing: I like Albright over Hejduk, because he can score a goal with that noggin. I think, though, that Arena likes Hejduk more. The complaint about his positioning should be directed at the players who went forward, for he was merely doing his job (and failing miserably) by covering while Pope was still up top. Hejduk has speed, experience, and endurance. His major defect, other than not being all that great, is that you can pretty much count on him to either give up a penalty kick, get a red card, or both, sometime during this tournament. That is a crazy risk to take. So, Spector then? I have no idea. I feel like I hardly know him.
Midfielders Olsen is sometimes used by Arena as a D-Mid because he is certainly a tenacious player, one again who doesn't get stuck up top, waving his arms pointlessly while the ball is being carried back toward the US goal. I think, if O'Brien goes, Olsen will not (though they are not necessarily competing for the same spot at all, but the numbers change with O'Brien's inclusion). Who else do we have at attacking mid? Well, Wolff started against Germany in that role, and though no Donovan, Reyna, or O'Brien, I thought he was okay for the fifteen minutes he was in there. When he was replaced our fate was pretty much sealed...I mean, who came in for him? Klein, or Zavagnin? I mean, that's a pretty serious drop.
Basically true, though Hejduk did start the last 12 games in a row one season as Leverkusen surged to second place and within a few points of the Bundesliga title -- which is a more impressive accomplishment than Spector starting half the time at left back and filling in at right back because of injury on a very mediocre Charleton team. Really, I am not fan of Hejduk and probably would leave him at home, but his play this year until the Jamaica game was pretty good, if against weak opposition. He is a spot starter on a mid-table team. Good accomplishment for a guy his age, but he is certainly no star yet. The fact that Curbishley, who has never won anything major, or even come close, is being considered for the England job, is more of a condemnation of the English coaching ranks than an endorsement of Spector.
Forwards I hope I hope I hope we don't bring Ching. He is not a younger version of McBride simply because he is big. That guy has the slowest feet I have seen on the National team during this whole qualifying cycle. If you send the ball to him, whether to his head, chest, or right on his foot, he will muddle around with it for over a second before he is able to move or shoot. That is why he hasn't been able to do anything for us in recent games. In that regard, I like Twellman more, but only a little tiny bit. He also should not go. In fact, I would probably prefer Conor Casey to either of them. I would definitely prefer a Wolff to either of them. Wolff at least does have some speed, not only in his legs, but in his feet and in his brain as well. People who should get a chance to play at forward: 1) McBride 2) Really, I'm already lost, because at this point I want to insert non-traditional forwards already. But here goes: Wolff 3) Beasley 4) Donovan 5) Dempsey (?) 6) Johnson 7) Casey 8) Twellman 9) Ching Now, I'm not advocating that we bring Beasley, Donovan and Dempsey as forwards. Well, maybe Donovan. But I am saying I'd rather see those people start than Johnson Twellman or Ching. They are soooo slow with the ball, and moving or deciding that slowly is not going to work against Italy and the Czechs.
Jamaica had launched a very quick counter after a US corner, so Pope and Pablo had gone forward for the corner. Frankie was supposed to be covering the center. Still screwed it up, however. He seems to have a lost a step or two, and if he's lost speed, his value drops substantially.
I like Spector and I'd include him on my final 23 (at least as of today). But, you go a little too far in your argument for him. First, Spector is a sporadic starter. By my count he's started 11, subbed in 7, and was an unused sub in 11 games (EPL only). Remember, this is for a mid-table team. Second, even if he were a regular starter for a mediocre team, that doesn't necessarily make him better than every MLS player. For example, McBride went from MLS star to good EPL player. Did he magically become better by switching teams? If not, than, while an MLS player, he was a lot better than many EPL starters. Finally, if you want to compare the two, the best and by far most relevant measure is how they play for the USMNT. Spector has looked adequate, but frankly I've yet to be impressed. Hejduk has usually done well, although I grant that he's had worse games in a Nat uniform than Spector ever has.
Albright was up for that, too. Headjunk took a look over his shoulder as he was chasing back, and the slight hesitation it caused allowed the Jamaican to run ahead, wide open. Meola made a bit of a meal of it, but I have sympathy for him because it's hard to stop soneone one-on-one when they have so much time and room. Anyway, I take Albright over Hejduk, not sure if I'd take Spector or Albright. That's a tough call.
Ricardo Clark. Arena still has 3 games to see what he can do, and IMO, he would be so much more valuable to the team than Olsen. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen. If only Clark played for DCU ...
Arena has said he will announce the final roster on May 2. The official deadline is May 15. There are no more games before the roster will be selected.