not the right answer.... (altho he is) Robinho cost 33 million and has been a pro longer is the right answer
I agree; he's just not a striker. It takes away all of his creativity if you put him up top. And let's be honest, he's the only player in the US national pool who makes that 90th minute pass, except maybe Donovan.
Seems to me a creative coach would figure out how to get Donovan and Adu on the field at the same time and make it work. Right?
doesn't take that much creativity; just play a christmas tree. ---------------altidore ----------adu---------donovan ----lm-----------cm------------rm lb--------cb------------cb----------rb
Offtopic: OK, that's good, but then how do we fit both Bradley and Edu? Or do we not start them both?
You can't fit everyone on the field at once, and in my opinion you don't want them all to be there because in big tournaments there will inevitably injuries and card situations. A bench with good players that you can count on is definitely something we want to have (look at spain from Euro'08) I'd love to have some players develop so that the US can have Dempsey as a sub (since as many people have said he doesn't really have a position) when we need to up the offense a bit.
4-2-1-3 or you can call it a 4-2-3-1. it's whatever man. whatever the case, Adu needs to be in the middle and LD needs to be on one of the wings. ------Someone who can bloody finish Beasley-----------------------LD ---------------Adu ---------Edu--------Bradley
you don't play both edu and bradley at the same time. which is fine, because the primary concern is how to get both adu and donovan on the field at the same time, and have them be in positions to excel (ie don't stick one of them on the wing). i think the christmas tree achieves that. plus we've got the other midfielders to support them.
Or the current Ered standing. PSV in 3rd place! Huub must be brain dead. And Dortmund were a mess last year too. Hey, maybe you're right! It's the "Jinx of Benny." Billy Davies will never coach again!
I definitely agree. I liked the way the 4-2-3-1 worked against T&T. I like that beasley, adu, and donovan can all play anywhere in the 3 and can interchange. Put Altidore up top, and we have a guy who's strong enough to hold up the ball, but also finish chances when he gets gilt-edged chances from the midfielders.
Altidore still has to learn to play with his back to the goal and hold the ball up if he is going to be put in this role against better teams... He never was forced to do this in MLS and his tendency, when pressed, was always to drift wide.... this can not work in this type of system and is the main reason why a guy like Ching or even Twellman could get on the field for the US in this system...
----------Altidore------Donovan---------- Beasley-----------Adu-------------Dempsey ------------------Bradley------------------ If in 4-4-2 Diamond with the regular 4 defenders on the backline.
That's an obvious lineup. The obvious problem with it is that in world football today very few teams play with a one-way center mid like Adu. The USMNT could be the exception, you just need to recognize that very few coaches would make this choice. If this is the best choice, you probably need somebody with more of a physical presence than Bradley at the back such as Edu, Mastroeni or Clark.
Every formation will have it's pro's and con's. For the diamond mid, it puts Adu in a spot where he can create and above has what will probably be the most formidable striker pair. On the down side, I wonder if Adu has the physical stature to play 90 (or even 60) in the middle of the field against big boy competition. He will also have some defensive duties in the diamond and the above midfield puts a ton of pressure on the D mid in defense, probably more than you would want with a young Dmid. In a diamond, the OM's tend to get sucked in towards the middle a bit more than when flat, - maybe even a little more than MT bucket - where Beasley isn't going to be at his best. On attack, a premium is placed on using FB's for width which isn't exactly a strong suit although Pearce is looking better. If playing Altidore and Adu, I struggle with what would be the best line-up. ---------------------------Altidore---------------------------- ------Beas--------------- Adu----------------------Donovan ---------------MB------------------Edu ----------------- Not really crazy about this as Altidore isn't really a lone striker and Donovan at RM isn't best position. Could play MT bucket 4-4-1-1 with Adu in 2nd strker role but pretty much same issues. Adu at OM dosn't seem like a great idea except as sub. It will be interesting to see where Adu plays for Monaco and how he is used. Another year of physical maturation should help him, imo.
i like what scolari did yesterday in CL play. i believe he used a 4-1-4-1. ---------------anelka malouda---lampard--deco--cole --------------obi mikel this type of lineup could fit our style of going with players who are mostly midfielders but have attacking mentalities. ---------------ST Bease-----MB----Adu-----LD --------------Edu with this positioning, MB can play a little behind Adu but can still play in the role in which he performed so well with heerenveen. i still hold that LD needs to be on the wing in order to use his speed to keep opposing WBs from creeping too far forward, exposing on of our main weaknesses, our WBs.
By 2010, LD will have to play RM because Adu will play in center. There's no question around it. Unless Adu break his knee or dissappeared from the planet.
agree... ---------------------------Altidore---------------------------- ------Beas--------------- Adu----------------------Donovan ---------------MB------------------Edu ----------------- is the most probable wc 2010 starting line-up
Yep, that's it right there. Bradley (as in Bob) looks like he'll be up for it too as he played the same thing against T+T, 'cept with Donovan central and Dempsey wide, and Ching in Altidore's place. Bob's getting away from the empty bucket...
because adu is the only guy capable of filling that role... renken would be 16 in 2010, and i might think he has a very outside chance to be on the final 23... i'd think he's more an altidore scorer type, but he does have tons of playmaking skill too....
Nothing wrong with having two Altidore's in South Africa. Nor is there a problem having an Altidore/Adu hybrid. I'm okay with Renken becoming either of those^.
LD on the right is a failed experiment. I hope we don't see that. he needs to be withdrawn behind Altidore.
right now, i'd see davies as altidore's caddy.... and for donovan, i think it comes down to either cooper or dempsey, although i see both making the final 23.... kljestan is the real darkhorse there, there will be talented players left off the final 23...
It's failed when we don't get him involved, but with Adu, Bradley, and Edu playing around him he'll get enough service.
As soon as the USMNT's 2010 and 2014 World Cup lineups are settled someone might want to start a pre-game thread for Monaco's game this weekend. Don't know Freddy's status or whether or not it's available on TV in the US but Monaco visits Marseille in the final game of the weekend tomorrow, Sunday 9/21. If I read the livescore.com schedule correctly the game is at 4 pm Eastern time in the US.
That's right. LD on the right haven't had much success because there was no one in the center park to feed him. With Adu in the park, both him and Beaz (or whoever play LM) will get plenty of services and through balls to run into.