[GersMan]

The REAL DEAL - if someone would like to add ages in a reply post - fine.

AUGUST 2002 EDITION OF THE URSULINE 100

Best 100 Players in the USA now, by position, with an eye toward the 2006 World Cup (meaning youth players receive consideration - THERE IS NO AGE CEILING - if age causes a player to fall out of consideration, they will no longer be ranked).

Goalkeepers (10)
1. Brad Friedel
2. Kasey Keller
3. Tim Howard
4. Nick Rimando
5. Tony Meola
6. Joe Cannon
7. Zach Thornton
8. Matt Jordan
9. Adin Brown
10. Kevin Hartman

Defenders (30)
1. Tony Sanneh
2. Eddie Pope
3. Carlos Bocanegra
4. Greg Vanney
5. Steve Cherundolo
6. Greg Berhalter
7. Frankie Hedjuk
8. Carlos Llamosa
9. Gooch Onyewu
10. Corey Gibbs
11. Ryan Suarez
12. Mike Petke
13. Danny Califf
14. David Regis
15. Jeff Agoos
16. Jon Hunter Freeman
17. Ramiro Corrales
18. Steve Jolley
19. Jim Curtin
20. Phil Salyer
21. CJ Brown
22. Wade Barrett
23. Rusty Pierce
24. Chad Marshall
25. Jim Conrad
26. Charles Kauzlauskas (U20)
27. Nick Garcia
28. Alexi Lalas
29. Chad McCarty
30. Brandon Owens (U17)
(out: Chris Gbandi, Carolos Parra)

Attacking (5-hole) Midfielders and Wingers
1. Landon Donovan
2. Damarcus Beasley
3. Ernie Stewart
4. Eddie Lewis
5. Bobby Convey
6. Kyle Martino
7. Brad Davis
8. Chris Henderson
9. Steve Ralston
10. Sasha Victorine
11. Ben Olsen
12. Cobi Jones
13, Justin Mapp
14. John Thorington
15. Ned Grabavoy
(out: Raul Palomares, Guillermo Gonzalez)

Central, Holding and Defensive Midfielders (15)
1. Claudio Reyna
2. John O'Brien
3. Pablo Mastroeni
4. Chris Armas
5. Brian Maisonneuve
6. Richard Mulrooney
7. Pete Vagenas
8. Kyle Beckerman
9.Richie Williams
10. Kelly Gray
11. Diego Guttierez
12 Kerry Zavagnin
13. Jordan Stone
14. Francisco Gomez
15. Jeff Moore
(out: Mark Lisi)

Strikers (20)
1. Brian McBride
2. Clint Mathis
3. Taylor Twellman
4. Josh Wolff
5. Conor Casey
6. Ante Razov
7. Santino Quaranta
8. Jason Kreis
9. Jeff Cunningham
10. Joe Max-Moore
11. Chris Carrieri
12. Dema Kovalenko
13. Eddie Johnson
14, Edson Buddle
15. Jovan Kirovski
16. Mike Magee
17. Alecko Eskandarian
18. Marcus Storey
19. Freddy Adu
20. Ashley Kozicki
(out: Nate Jacqua, Chris Albright)

10 Wildcards (in no order)
1. Knox Cameron
2. Richard Frank
3. Manny Lagos
4. Craig Capano
5. Alex Yi
6. Devin Barclay
7. Grover Gibson
8. David Johnson
9. Frank Simek
10. Corey Ashe

Others to watch: Zak Whitbred, Kyle Helton, John D'Rimando, Nelson Akwari, Brian West, Jon Busch, Zak Kingsley

[dark knight]

Shall I merge this with Soccernethost's thread?

[GersMan]

No, because he has taken my list, made some changes to it, and called it the same thing.

Obviously he's free to make a list, but I'd prefer he call it something else.

I don't think it should be a big deal, how the list is done. I'm just doing it for fun. I figured if someone disagreed with the ranking, theywould just respond on the same thread with how they want to rank it.

[kingwho]

thanks again for the massive effort
i love the list


the most glaring "miss" for me would be kansas city's chris klein as an attacking midfielder

and secondly colorado's jeff stewart on defense

[appoo]

Originally posted by GersMan


Goalkeepers (10)
1. Brad Friedel
2. Kasey Keller
3. Tim Howard
4. Nick Rimando
5. Tony Meola
6. Joe Cannon
7. Zach Thornton
8. Matt Jordan
9. Adin Brown
10. Kevin Hartman

Defenders (30)
1. Tony Sanneh
2. Eddie Pope
3. Carlos Bocanegra
4. Greg Vanney
5. Steve Cherundolo
6. Greg Berhalter
7. Frankie Hedjuk
8. Carlos Llamosa
9. Gooch Onyewu
10. Corey Gibbs
11. Ryan Suarez
12. Mike Petke
13. Danny Califf
14. David Regis
15. Jeff Agoos
16. Jon Hunter Freeman
17. Ramiro Corrales
18. Steve Jolley
19. Jim Curtin
20. Phil Salyer
21. CJ Brown
22. Wade Barrett
23. Rusty Pierce
24. Chad Marshall
25. Jim Conrad
26. Charles Kauzlauskas (U20)
27. Nick Garcia
28. Alexi Lalas
29. Chad McCarty
30. Brandon Owens (U17)
(out: Chris Gbandi, Carolos Parra)

Attacking (5-hole) Midfielders and Wingers
1. Landon Donovan
2. Damarcus Beasley
3. Ernie Stewart
4. Eddie Lewis
5. Bobby Convey
6. Kyle Martino
7. Brad Davis
8. Chris Henderson
9. Steve Ralston
10. Sasha Victorine
11. Ben Olsen
12. Cobi Jones
13, Justin Mapp
14. John Thorington
15. Ned Grabavoy
(out: Raul Palomares, Guillermo Gonzalez)

Central, Holding and Defensive Midfielders (15)
1. Claudio Reyna
2. John O'Brien
3. Pablo Mastroeni
4. Chris Armas
5. Brian Maisonneuve
6. Richard Mulrooney
7. Pete Vagenas
8. Kyle Beckerman
9.Richie Williams
10. Kelly Gray
11. Diego Guttierez
12 Kerry Zavagnin
13. Jordan Stone
14. Francisco Gomez
15. Jeff Moore
(out: Mark Lisi)

Strikers (20)
1. Brian McBride
2. Clint Mathis
3. Taylor Twellman
4. Josh Wolff
5. Conor Casey
6. Ante Razov
7. Santino Quaranta
8. Jason Kreis
9. Jeff Cunningham
10. Joe Max-Moore
11. Chris Carrieri
12. Dema Kovalenko
13. Eddie Johnson
14, Edson Buddle
15. Jovan Kirovski
16. Mike Magee
17. Alecko Eskandarian
18. Marcus Storey
19. Freddy Adu
20. Ashley Kozicki
(out: Nate Jacqua, Chris Albright)

10 Wildcards (in no order)
1. Knox Cameron
2. Richard Frank
3. Manny Lagos
4. Craig Capano
5. Alex Yi
6. Devin Barclay
7. Grover Gibson
8. David Johnson
9. Frank Simek
10. Corey Ashe

Others to watch: Zak Whitbred, Kyle Helton, John D'Rimando, Nelson Akwari, Brian West, Jon Busch, Zak Kingsley

I think I agree with most. My poins of disgareement would be to put John O'Brien 1 infront of Reyna

It took balls to put McBride on top and the way he is playing recently i'd agree. But I think Wolff should be #2, and then Conor Casey, and then Twellman. About Mathis: has he scored since world cup? I'd seriously consider dropping him until he is healthy and proven. Might I add a siggestion? make a new category, playmaker. This would be a very short list.

1.Landon Donovan
2.Claudio Reyna
3.Kyle Martino
4.Bobby Convey

The reason being is that these are the Candidates for the #10. The playmaker. Just a suggestion though

[Ismitje]

I'm wondering if anyone has seen Jonny Walker more than once, and can speak to whether he is one of our top ten goalkeepeers? His name is the only one that jumps out at me off of this list.

[Martin Fischer]

Originally posted by GersMan
The REAL DEAL - if someone would like to add ages in a reply post - fine.

AUGUST 2002 EDITION OF THE URSULINE 100

Best 100 Players in the USA now, by position, with an eye toward the 2006 World Cup (meaning youth players receive consideration - THERE IS NO AGE CEILING - if age causes a player to fall out of consideration, they will no longer be ranked).

OK, using your criteria, my comments are relatively minor. I would be interesting to see how many players Arena uses from outside this list over the next two years (assuming he remains as coach).

Originally posted by GersMan
Goalkeepers (10)
1. Brad Friedel
2. Kasey Keller
3. Tim Howard
4. Nick Rimando
5. Tony Meola
6. Joe Cannon
7. Zach Thornton
8. Matt Jordan
9. Adin Brown
10. Kevin Hartman

Come on, throw a bone to the anti-MLSers and put Johny Walker in there at number 10. I would drop Jordan too and replace him with his younger backup the injured Countess.

Originally posted by GersMan
Defenders (30)
1. Tony Sanneh
2. Eddie Pope
3. Carlos Bocanegra
4. Greg Vanney
5. Steve Cherundolo
6. Greg Berhalter
7. Frankie Hedjuk
8. Carlos Llamosa
9. Gooch Onyewu
10. Corey Gibbs
11. Ryan Suarez
12. Mike Petke
13. Danny Califf
14. David Regis
15. Jeff Agoos
16. Jon Hunter Freeman
17. Ramiro Corrales
18. Steve Jolley
19. Jim Curtin
20. Phil Salyer
21. CJ Brown
22. Wade Barrett
23. Rusty Pierce
24. Chad Marshall
25. Jim Conrad
26. Charles Kauzlauskas (U20)
27. Nick Garcia
28. Alexi Lalas
29. Chad McCarty
30. Brandon Owens (U17)
(out: Chris Gbandi, Carolos Parra)

Phil Salyer better than Gbandi? I don't care if Gbandi has operation on three of his knees, he still blows away Salyer, who is just terrible. Gbandi will be a top 5 guy soon if he gets healthy and is eligible. Brian Dunseth also belongs on the list. Where can I find out who Hunter Freeman is?

Originally posted by GersMan
Attacking (5-hole) Midfielders and Wingers
1. Landon Donovan
2. Damarcus Beasley
3. Ernie Stewart
4. Eddie Lewis
5. Bobby Convey
6. Kyle Martino
7. Brad Davis
8. Chris Henderson
9. Steve Ralston
10. Sasha Victorine
11. Ben Olsen
12. Cobi Jones
13, Justin Mapp
14. John Thorington
15. Ned Grabavoy
(out: Raul Palomares, Guillermo Gonzalez)

Pretty good list here. I think Kirovski belongs here, and Thorrington should be slightly higher on the list.

Originally posted by GersMan
Central, Holding and Defensive Midfielders (15)
1. Claudio Reyna
2. John O'Brien
3. Pablo Mastroeni
4. Chris Armas
5. Brian Maisonneuve
6. Richard Mulrooney
7. Pete Vagenas
8. Kyle Beckerman
9.Richie Williams
10. Kelly Gray
11. Diego Guttierez
12 Kerry Zavagnin
13. Jordan Stone
14. Francisco Gomez
15. Jeff Moore
(out: Mark Lisi)

No Chris Klein? I think Gray will be a factor in the defense, though he is so versatile, who knows?

Originally posted by GersMan
Strikers (20)
1. Brian McBride
2. Clint Mathis
3. Taylor Twellman
4. Josh Wolff
5. Conor Casey
6. Ante Razov
7. Santino Quaranta
8. Jason Kreis
9. Jeff Cunningham
10. Joe Max-Moore
11. Chris Carrieri
12. Dema Kovalenko
13. Eddie Johnson
14, Edson Buddle
15. Jovan Kirovski
16. Mike Magee
17. Alecko Eskandarian
18. Marcus Storey
19. Freddy Adu
20. Ashley Kozicki
(out: Nate Jacqua, Chris Albright)

Kirovski is more of an attacking midfielder. Casey is problamatic given how he looked in the injury-plagued appearance he had for Hannover against Lazio on Monday. It appears to me that he will have difficulty earning a starting position for Hannover.

Originally posted by GersMan
10 Wildcards (in no order)
1. Knox Cameron
2. Richard Frank
3. Manny Lagos
4. Craig Capano
5. Alex Yi
6. Devin Barclay
7. Grover Gibson
8. David Johnson
9. Frank Simek
10. Corey Ashe

Others to watch: Zak Whitbred, Kyle Helton, John D'Rimando, Nelson Akwari, Brian West, Jon Busch, Zak Kingsley

Sure, why not. Actually, Grover Gibson should be on a real list given his resume.

[Short Corner]

My problem with this list and the previous variants is that it cannot make up its mind what it is evaluating. If we are listing according to current ability, McBride might be first among strikers, but Quaranta cannot be ranked above Kries (and many of the youngsters are overrated.) If we are giving the best possible current prediction of how good these players will be in 2006, McBride cannot be at the top (and many of the oldsters are overrated.)

Even if you are trying to do some compromise, such as "who I would call into camp first if I were Bruce Arena", you need to be more specific about what the compromise is. At present it looks like "here are the 100 players I most look forward to watching play over the next 4 years", and all I can say is I would sure rank them different. But until we agree on what we are ranking its not worth quibbling over your failure to fully appreciate Paul Broome, or whatever.

[Mason16]

Originally posted by Ismitje
I'm wondering if anyone has seen Jonny Walker more than once, and can speak to whether he is one of our top ten goalkeepeers? His name is the only one that jumps out at me off of this list.

I've seen him a couple of times on FSWE. He looks capable and has been put to the test in the Copa Libertadores against good competition. Maybe an argument could be made for spots 8 thru 10 but no higher.

[GersMan]

Originally posted by Short Corner
My problem with this list and the previous variants is that it cannot make up its mind what it is evaluating. If we are listing according to current ability, McBride might be first among strikers, but Quaranta cannot be ranked above Kries (and many of the youngsters are overrated.) If we are giving the best possible current prediction of how good these players will be in 2006, McBride cannot be at the top (and many of the oldsters are overrated.)

Even if you are trying to do some compromise, such as "who I would call into camp first if I were Bruce Arena", you need to be more specific about what the compromise is. At present it looks like "here are the 100 players I most look forward to watching play over the next 4 years", and all I can say is I would sure rank them different. But until we agree on what we are ranking its not worth quibbling over your failure to fully appreciate Paul Broome, or whatever.

*sigh* If I must explain....

I suppose it is a bit of a hybrid in that I'm including some young players based in part (but not entirely) on their potential. But it is definitely not "who I look forward to seeing." The youth aspect is trying to track, however imperfectly, whose development I think is on track to be to that level over the next 4 years. But I do not find myself able to guess whether an "old" player is going to remain at the same level or fall, so I don't exclude them based on age.

I mean, if Tony Sanneh continues to play at the same level, then he will be get picked, right? The young players I think I can at least take a stab at in terms of development. This is very imperfect, and of course is based in some cases merely on reports I've read. I know there are others out there who could merit attention under this format.

And please keep in mind, the list is subjective. You say I can't rate Quaranta over Kreis. Well, actually, yes I can, and I did, and that's not based on potential. I think when he's healthy he's better. You can respond I'm on crack (in a friendly, congenial sort of way of course :-) and that's fine too. The whole thing is supposed to be fun, something that some posters on here will enjoy discussing. Maybe you are not one of them, but you don't have to get on here and pronounce the thread "not worth quibbling over."

How about the rest of you, would you rather see just a straight, "who are the best 100 right now" and only mention youth players if/when they make that ranking accordingly? My preference is to incorporate youth players somehow. I guess I could just put in a "players to watch - youth" section along with the 100. What say ye?