Bedoya like Zusi is probably going to play outside if he plays, so not sure there. But yes, Benny can definitely play as an 8, but he plays in a very different style than Jones, Lleget and Acosta who are all either more physical and/or faster, he definitely appears to want a guy who can cover a ton of ground and win some balls in that role. Bruce mentioned he wanted to make the team faster and Acosta and Lletget definitely fit into that while Benny does not.
I think part of Benny's issue with the national team, under Bruce at least, is that he's a bit of a luxury player. He's an option as an 8 off the bench, but would be very unlikely to partner Bradley in a 2 man CM. He isn't a candidate to play wide in a 4-2-3-1 or in a 4-4-2. He's really only an option as a #10 in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, and it looks like we're probably going to play with 2 forwards. Bedoya and Lletget can play wide, as an 8, or as a 10. Jones and Acosta can play in a 2 man CM. Kljestan is really the only direct comparison, and even he wasn't picked until it looked like we might need to be ready to go 4-2-3-1, plus he's a more realistic option as a well-rounded 8 with his better lungs. So Benny is a bit of a one-trick pony. But I think he's very good at that one trick. He obviously felt frozen out under Klinsmann, but he doesn't sound that way in his recent comments even after being left off the WCQ roster. I still think he has a realistic shot at contributing in WCQs and possibly even making the WC roster. Those dancing on his grave at this point, I think, are a bit premature and are mostly doing it as a transparent (albeit indirect) defense of Klinsmann.
I found this to be a weird quote... "I think you look at some of the selections that Bruce made, and a guy like Kellen Acosta, he was in camp for I think maybe a week, about a week before he had to you know leave because he, I think he injured his ankle, and so he didn't get to see him too much in January camp but Kellen's had a wonderful start to the season, he's playing very well for Dallas in Champions League, in MLS, so he was hearing that call up."
The irony..... This is essentially what was said about Benny in the Klinsmann era (by those who understood his exclusion). I think Benny is talented....but at the pace/level of the game at NT level, he's a luxury player that doesn't cover enough ground or does enough WHEN HIS SIDE DOESN'T HAVE THE BALL to be effective/worth the scratch. As always, I hope I am wrong because at a different time he'd be a superstar for USA when the game wasn't so physical/demanding and more 'beautiful...
I agree with most of the four posts above, but ... While Feilhaber does not bring speed of foot, he brings speed of thought, and some added creativity as well. I agree his limitations make him a bit of a luxury, but with a roster this large and with the injuries we've had, he's a luxury we can afford/could have afforded. I would certainly prefer Feilhaber to Kljestan in many circumstances, particularly as a second-half sub, whether to help us score a goal or protect a lead. Feilhaber welcomes the ball, calms things down, and seems to play better under stressful conditions; while Kljestan seems tenser, and at times more frantic. Anyway, I hope Feilhaber keeps working hard, playing well, and that Arena takes notice.
I'm not really seeing the irony. I think his lungs are fine as a #10 in a 4-2-3-1. What I mean is that he's a luxury player in that he's really only an option in one role. Plus, I think Bruce is deliberately keeping the tactics simple for these games, or at least was going to before injuries to Wood and possibly Morris. It was going to 100% be a 4-4-2. No spot for Feilhaber without changing the tactics. As far as Klinsmann, we played tons of 4-2-3-1. We could have used Benny for sure. Much better attacking option off the bench than Zusi, Bedoya, Wondo, etc.
He does have a spot in a 4-4-2. Super sub at left mid, just like how Bob used him. He's a great spark off the bench and can add some creativity and calm on the ball towards the end of the game.
That was true but I'm not sure if that still holds true. I think there is a narrow 4-4-2 that he could work in but he hasn't done that for awhile, he is starting to get up there. His tenure with Sporting has seen him improve his defensive game and harness his attacking ability but I still see him best as a CM in a V or a tight A 3-man unit. Bruce has rarely played something like that, the closest was his flirtation with a diamond in 2014 and some rare forays into the X-mas tree or 4-3-3 since then.
At the time when Klinsmann was using the 4-2-3-1 with effect, MB was still playing at a pretty high level in the middle and Feilhaber was not yet at his level of two years ago when he was destroying MLS defenses. He was a luxury then and if we are going to need an all hands on deck performance then he is a luxury now.
I've always liked Benny. We're a team that hungers for the skill and composure he brings. I'd have liked to see him (or Donovan, for that matter) at the end of the Portugal game in 2014. Or in the Centenario. I'm surprised by his lack of inclusion by the Bruce, but none of us are privy to all the factors that went into Bruce's thinking.
fielhaber is one of the few us players who can effectively combine with a pulisic, morris etc.... good luck creating more than a few odd chances with bedoya and bradley and maybe mccarty. my starting midfield (given current availablity): ---------altidore--agudelo--------- nagbe ---- feilhaber----- pulisic --------------cameron----------
Benny is officially done with the NATs if Arena is coach. If arena wants to go faster then he better sit down Jozy, Bradley and Dempsey cause none of them are fast. As always has been the case, Arena has different rules for different people. Some are people too slow except the slow ones he keeps. Im sorry but bringing Arena back was a mistake. He is already repeating the same mistakes that got him fired before. I see no advantage to having him on the sidelines vs Klinsmann EXCEPT he won't play people out of position as much. Other than that, its the same ole same old. I am worried at this point that we won't even qualify
Yeah, I mean, you are right about how it played out. Nominally, he was a 10 in a 4-2-3-1 for at least a game or 2, which should have never happened, and wouldn't have happened if we had adequate attacking depth on the roster.
A story about Benny Feilhaber and Sacha Kljestan observed at the SKC v NYRB match on Wed May 3 that was probably not shown on TV. In the 51st minute a NYRB player was down for over a minute near the players/bench sideline after suffering a hard yellow card foul from Dom Dwyer. This accelerated the tension between the hard fighting squads as players from both teams (including Feilhaber) hovered around the injured Red Bull. Kljestan was on the sideline warming up to enter the game, about 10 feet away. Benny goes over to Sacha, smiles and starts some playful banter beginning with squirting some water from his bottle towards Kljestan (nothing hit Sacha). Sacha then hammed up playfully like he was gonna fight, and the two of them exchanged some pleasantries and left smiling. I watched this exchange from about 10 yds behind Sacha. On field tension between squads - diffused. Great leadership from two USMNT players who are competing for the same spot on the National Team. Country before club - and good sportsmanship before both. Definitely shows me that Benny is good at being a team player in terms of attitude towards his (USMNT) teammates. Sacha too, of course. As a US fan, I love seeing this. __________ Postscript: Sacha Kljestan enters the game in the 57th. In the 67th, Benny Feilhaber dribbles up the right edge to near the goal line just inside the penalty box. Benny threads a "can only go here to work" ground pass between 4 defenders - 3 of them sticking their foot out or sliding to almost block it - to Dom Dwyer for the game breaking goal against USMNT GK Luis Robles in a 2-0 win. Video below: https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...ty-vs-new-york-red-bulls/details/video/102276
Benny the Teammate - more short stories you won't find in the news media. Since 2014, Benny's attitude has moved totally to "team first". I attribute this to Feilhaber maturing with age (as we all do), his desire to improve himself, as well as having other things such as wife and child to balance him out as a person. I've posted before about the "Benny Feilhaber show" series on YouTube in 2014 showing his comaradarie between teammates. Here are some short snippets about Benny and Dom Dwyer, who might be his USMNT teammate in the Gold Cup. Benny and Dom have an arrangement on who gets to take PK's for their club team, SKC. They agreed back in 2014 that one of them would take PK's for SKC, until they missed two in a row. Then the other got to take over until they missed 2 PK's in a row. The arrangement was that Dom got to take PK's first. Benny has since taken over PK's for SKC the last few seasons - and has only missed one. But the two are good teammates even after this "competition", as witnessed by: Saturday, April 29 halftime show. The video show asked each Sporting KC player who the funniest person on the team is. Feilhaber, "Oh, it's definitely Dwyer. But he was funnier before he got married" (Dwyer married USWNT forward Sydney Leroux in 2015) Wed May 3, Feilhaber interview on local radio minutes after the SKC 2-0 win over NYRB with Benny feeding a beautiful assist on Dwyer's brace, his 5th goal in 5 games. "Dwyer is on a... wait, let me ask Dom how to describe this right (turns to Dom in background) - 'what would you say you are on?', (lots of laughter as Dom hesitates to answer). Dom is on a tear, I'm just trying to provide for him". Small stories, I just thought I'd share some local anecdotes about some players in our USMNT pool. Benny seems to get along great with Dwyer, and this goes back to way before Dwyer was even a blip on the USMNT radar.
Yes the Red Bulls got their asses kicked twice this week, but Luis Robles was at no fault for this. How he's not in the mix for the USMNT is a mystery to me.
Benny not being on the team in the last 5 years is one of the biggest crimes in American soccer history in my opinion.