They both also got runs out through the middle at various points of their careers. And LD would have been used more centrally if he came through the system now than when he came up in the era of US counter only. Of the 3 Pulisic is the best suited to play through the middle. It really doesn't matter if he's better or not. What matters is he's the best current player. We need to maximize ever ounce of his talent. Playing him as a 10 is the best way to do. Though tactics based on opposition will see him play both centrally and wide under Bruce.
Donovan famously played the 10 in a blowout of Ecuador in a friendly. But he was never a serious central midfielder at professional level. Dempsey played in central midfield during his first MLS stint. But like Donovan, he was not serious central mid at decent level of competition. Pulisic doesn't play through the middle for Dortmund. He's a flanker and off-forward. He has already played against Panama, Mexico, and Costa Rica, the other top teams of this cycle. So far, he hasn't been the best player. At international level.
Dispossessions among teens in Bund: Pulisic- 46 Havertz- 43 Dembele - 42 Unsuccessful touches among teens in Bund: Dembele- 51 Havertz- 40 Pulisic- 20 The ball was safer at the feet of Pulisic than any teen in the Bund last season.
Yes! Playing him out wide is a waste. He has had significantly less impact when out wide because he sees less of the ball. I'd much rather have him be able able to seek out the ball than expect the rest of the team to get it to him. His (and Bobby's) energy is the exact complement for the lower work rate Altidore and Dempsey. Both like to check back and it opens space for CP to run into. I'd keep him centrally the whole time and change tactics by taking off a forward, the combo of midfielders or asking him do more defensive work (which he has shown he can and will do at Dortmund). Somebody commented that the midfield would get run over, but we'd be fine with Bradley, Nagbe, and Williams playing behind him.
Quoting myself to post an update after the Group phase of the Gold Cup, one month after my original post. Starting XI (unchanged): ------------------Altidore------Wood--------------- --------------------------Pulisic---------------------- Johnson------Acosta-----Bradley-------Yedlin -----------Besler-----Brooks-----Cameron------ ------------------------Howard----------------------- Reserves (adjustments in red): -----------------Morris-------Dwyer---------------- ------------------------Dempsey-------------------- Saief---------McCarty------Nagbe------Arriola ------------Ream----Gonzalez----Miazga------ -----------------------Guzan------------------------- Most vulnerable spots: Arriola, McCarty, Saief, and Gonzo. Just missing the cut: Roldan, Bedoya, Hedges, Agudelo, Zardes, Villafana, Lichaj, Carter-Vickers, Danny Williams, and Haji Wright.
Acosta works well in a 2-man central midfield if we're on 30% possession. When having to compete for the ball against athletic sides, he has been found wanting.
Puli is an assister more than a finisher. He can score against weaker opposition, but against strong teams, he's the man who makes the pass for the goal. We still need someone who can finish. Neither Altidore nor Wood are particularly effective as strikers, though.
Bob Bradley moved Donovan out wide because as a central player, he would have seen less of the ball, especially against stronger sides. Why wouldn't the same principle apply to Pulisic who is a flanker/off-forward by training? A midfield of Pulsic fronting Nagbe, Johnson, and Bradley got run over by T&T. And as we don't exactly have any goal eating wide players, taking off an extra forward to accommodate Pulisic in a central position would likely be counter-productive. He is still developing, so maybe in the future, he will be able to play centrally in a 4132.
Pulisic and Landon are completely different players. Pulisic has the skill set required to excel centrally, Landon never did.
I agree. For me the point is: who passes TO Pulisic stationed in WHICH location, not which dufus Pulisic passes to.
When Pulisic develops into a central midfielder at Dortmund, hopefully, he'll be able to excel in the position for the US. Pulisic has more bite to his game, but the skill set largely overlaps with LD's.
Pulisic looks to me like a mixture of Landon Donovan's quickness, mobility, and passing plus peak John O'Brien's tight-space foot skills and mental/physical toughness. O'Brien was typically a flanker with his Dutch club, but had no trouble playing centrally for the USA. Of course, he was a bit more mature in 2002 than Pulisic is now. But Pulisic is playing at a higher club level. I think Pulisic can already handle the ACM role in the 4-5-1 or 3-5-2, since it is almost a second striker role with some freedom to find space. He may not be ready to play the ACM role in a 4-4-2 against stronger opponents, but then which US player is?
I actually think Pulisic's game is looking more like a LW than a CAM or RW. I thought he was more of a 10 a few years ago, but his game is looking more like a winger now, although I think he'd do fine in either role.
I think he is good anywhere but CF across the front but have always thought he's a bit better at LW. His left is really good but maybe he just feels more comfortable knowing he can cut inside and shoot with his right.
That is correct. Donovan was easier to mark out of games when played centrally and putting him out wide game him the space to make the impact. I suspect Pulisic will be used as an AM both centrally and wide depending on opponent, team mates around him, etc.
Pulisic would see more of the ball because he'd seek it out... huge LD fans have explained it to me that he "would let the game come to him". Pulisic is a talented attacking player that has played in the middle of the field his whole life and all over the place the last year and a half a level well above our national team. Then change Johnson, Nagbe, or Bradley. Pulisic got on the ball quite a bit against T&T and they struggled with him the whole game. He drew defenders to open space for others, circulated the ball, drew fouls, beat defenders to pass lines and unsettle the defense, made runs into the box, and made runs into the space that Jozy cleared while checking back... the last two resulted in goals. He had a number of other scoring opportunities as well. (I linked all his touches against T&T on the prior page). He's already excelled there... and if that is your criteria, then Pulisic is the only person close to being able to handle that role. The overlap is minimal. LD had higher end top speed, may have been of similar qualities in some areas, but CP is significantly better on the ball and taking people on. They are very different players.
I mean at the World Cup level, of course. All my posts in this thread are assuming we're playing a Top 10 team in the Round of 16 tomorrow. The "best team" to beat Cuba would be very different, but I don't care about that.
To me, Dempsey and Altidore play the same way, are the same type of players except for body composition. the difference is that Dempsey is about 3 levels above Altidore. Are we going to take both to the world cup? I wouldent.