Optimum US Lineup? Klinsmann & Donovan at Odds?
Posted on March 3, 2012 3:04 am
The guys discuss the optimum US starting squad (when everyone is healthy), and clear up any misconceptions based on Ian Darke’s comments during the US v Italy match-up that may intimate a “conflict” between Jurgen Klinsmann and Landon Donovan. Also a quick word on the yahoo sports article regarding Chris Medley and Eric Wynalda’s Response.
“We don’t have a whole lot of strikers.”
We have strikers. We don’t have a coach who likes American strikers.
You know, guys who not only are big enough and tough enough to mix it up (one out of two for Jozy), who excel at direct, counterattack soccer (two out of two for all the people not selected by American managers who are good at both banging and passing and good in the air, a long list).
And we have Jozy. Silky ball skills. Can, on occasion, when he gets up the necessary gumption, and remembers from having been screamed at fifty billion times, that, as a large personage with ball skills, it might possibly be useful if he uses his body and his skill to play like a center forward, he, once in a while, acts like a center forward. Remarkably often considering skillful players like Dempsey are often too far away from him for him to be inspired to go against his natural instincts to prove he can outdo Nate Jaqua as an oversized wing miscast as a center forward.
The best formation remains 4-4-2. It was by accident, not Klinsmann design, that we managed to score. From a coaching perspective. From a player perspective, it was brilliant.
Let’s use those talents better. The problem in a 4-4-2 is where to put the Dempsey/Donovan/Guille/DeRo types – the brilliant-but-in-between types.
Well, as Sigi can tell you, putting Montero at wing is silly, unless it is to supply Montero.
Asking Montero to play defense is one thing. Making a formation that separates him from any creative possibilities with Johnson/Estrada/Ochoa is crazy talk.
Of course, if he really wants to play Torres and Donovan, then I am curious. A 4-2-3-1 that really is one, and that includes two of the best Americans ever in any attacking formation ever conceived, with a distributor of Tab Ramos or Claudio Reyna quality (as some purport with reference to JFT), might actually be pretty productive.
I forgot to mention with respect to the Landon thing, I think any negativity from Klinsmann is frustration that such a brilliant player is not available. He is not misusing the language. He wants Landon to think he is on thin ice.
Its a luxury that only recent results afford and may soon evaporate.
As for Landon, lung issues suck, whether viral or bacterial or worse, and can debilitate even the famously fit. So get better first. Klinsy can wait.
4-5-1 solves several problems.
The first is that I think you’re wrong about us “having strikers.” Bottom line on our striker talent is that a 4-4-2 puts a lower quality player on the field that you would see taking the field in that style of 4-5-1.
Second is it basically solves the Dempsey issue. It puts him in a space where he can get touches on the ball (as opposed to wide mid) and go at defenders, without us having to worry about not having enough defensive players behind (which you would if he played ACM in a diamond-4).
You could put him at withdrawn forward, but that’s almost a distinction without a difference from what you saw here–we’d struggle to get him the ball until he dropped back a bit to effectively the same spot he played anyway.
The only real hesitation I have about this formation is that it is not the most efficient at beating weaker teams, it’s the kind where you could rack up 65% possession and still not translate it into many chances.
(Now, within the formation, I’d do a little rotating–Donovan on the left, Chandler on the right, and Johnson at LB. So far Johnson seems to be more comfortable with the ball on his left foot than Chandler.)
You think Jones will get the start even when Stu is healthy?
Stu will have been out of the game for a long time. I hope he’s got it when he comes back, but the one game he played between the last injury and the current makes him a tough call right now..and who knows, maybe he comes back afraid of getting hurt again. He has spent 4x as much time in rehab than he has match fit since it all started in 09.
Or was that early ’10..at any rate..
That’s a fair point.
All things being equal, I take Stu over Jones any day of the week btw!
Stu is a big question mark with all his injuries. I hope he gets healthy and competes with Jones for a middle spot. Whether its bad luck or a tendency towards injury, I just have to wonder how it has taken a toll on his body. I only hope for the best. If he does return to form, it will be exciting to see all our CMs fight it our for a starting spot.
The split-screen is a horrible idea*!! Why must we suffer through constant splitting of the screen so folks who don’t know the game can get an education. I’m all for attracting fans, but consider how badly that would mess up the flow for you, being a passionate fan of the game.
*it would be fine in a digital delivery where it could be disabled. In that case it would be pretty cool, but across the board..please, dont!
IDK, i’m constantly surprised how many “fans of the game” aren’t fully up to date on some of the rules. I was surprised how many people were truly shocked at why Mexico’s goal against South Africa in the 2010 WC didnt count (the one off the corner). I honestly dont see a problem unless you are looking on a 17′ computer screen and even then i’ve watched a number of streams in the original size b/c the quality is poor if you make it full screen.
In the end I doubt you’d have to suffer through constant splitting screens. Most of the stuff Chris described in the earlier shows could be said while the game is going on with no replay.
When ESPN did their 30 at 30 splits i was irritated b/c the split had nothing to do with soccer.
I really am not offended by the split-screen idea if its only for 10-15 seconds to make a tactical point. With the giant TVs everyone seems to have these days, I hardly think it would be a huge distraction or take away from the game. But all of this is contingent on whether you agree with Chris Medley and you agree that its an important piece to attract more fans by helping them understand the real mechanics of the game. If you don’t think that it is important, than any kind of solution is unnecessary.
Split-screen? Seriously? I have to confess I’m upset about this discussion. I feel like soccer broadcasts in this country are FINALLY approaching the quality of European broadcasts. Premiere league broadcasts are fantastic. They clearly know what they’re doing. That should be the model.
Don’t you remember the early years of MLS broadcasts? They tried a variety of ways to educate potential soccer fans and make the game more accessible to “Americans.” By “Americans,” I mean that mythical breed of humanity that “can’t tolerate ties” and “needs more scoring.” Hogwash…
MLS tried the shoot-out and for years they beat us about the face with helpful, gee-whiz commentary. I like Wynalda and I like Twellman. I like the fact that they actually express real opinions, including (thank god) negative ones. If a player fails to complete an easy pass it’s not “a good try.” It’s a crappy pass, for chrissake!
It’s certainly true that most American soccer commentators suck. But it’s not because they’re presenting the game in a way that’s not compelling to “Americans.” It’s because they suck! McManaman and Darke are great. Maybe we just need to get our guys some training.
As I said before though, I think broadcasters (Fox and ESPN) are finally figuring it out. Not that it should have been so difficult in first place…
Dude from the video here.
THIS is what makes me crazy. Why do so many veteran or hardcore soccer fans assume that they know everything there is about the sport? The comments on my video are loaded with cocky statements from people claiming they know everything about soccer already.
Ask John Madden if he knows everything about (American) Football, and he would tell you F@#K NO! He couldn’t hope to learn everything about football if given 10 lifetimes. Not because football is so sophisticated, but because all sports are.
Every time I watch a baseball or football game, I learn something new, even after years of watching games. I probably know more about these sports (which I never played) than soccer (which I’ve played for 25 years). That ain’t right!
Soccer fans reading this…do you think you know everything there is about soccer? Do you know as much as Sir Alex or The Special One? What’s with the arrogance?
My video isn’t about educating newbies on the basics. Its about schooling everybody, newbies and superfans alike on some of the billions of working pieces that make up the beautiful game in the same way it is done effectively in other sports. God forbid, you might learn something that helps you to love the game even more!
I believe that one of the things needed for soccer to grow in the U.S. is an improved overall knowledge base regarding the sport. TV, if used appropriately, can serve as the best teacher of all, but the TV production needs to be re-calibrated towards this in the way it is in other sports.
One of my favorite things about Klinsmann is that he came out and said that it is time for America to define its playing style once-and-for-all. He is working to do that, vertically integrating formations and playing styles all the way through the US Soccer system. My feelings are that while we are at it, we should look to define our TV style once-and-for-all as well.
The reason you learn so much about football and baseball when you watch it is because the breaks in action are so long and happen so frequently that it gives the multiple commentators (and experts and statisticians speaking in their earphones) time to explain everything.
Yeah, it’s cool that Klinsmann is pushing for changes in the way US Soccer operates. And what he’s doing is enacting many practices that are currently the standard in Europe. TV should follow suit. Again, Europe is the model.
For example, US Soccer just instituted changes in the way youth teams operate. In particular, youth teams will play according to a calendar more in line with Europe’s. Right now, our elite kids play significantly less soccer than their European counterparts. That’s a huge disadvantage. It’ll be interesting to see the fruits of the calendar change in a few years.
I agree that there’s a unique American soccer style to be discovered. This is a huge country with a great sports tradition, lots of money, and a strong work ethic. The USA can (and should) be a top soccer nation. And as the quality on the field increases, so too will the fan base.
So do what Europe does. Go with what works. Develop players that can compete at the highest level and win. And the USA doesn’t need to win the World Cup to get there. It just takes one kid – one American kid that scores 35 goals in the Premier League, or one American kid that commands 100 million dollars on the transfer market, or an American FIFA Player of the Year. That’d do plenty to educate the American public about soccer. I think they’d quickly learn to love the sport as much as we do without any instruction whatsoever.
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