Bradley is going to be 34 when 2022 rolls around. Williams will be 33 These guys are on the wrong side of 30 when the next WC hit. Sure they can still help us and may have some parts in the USMNT for the next 1-2 years, BUT NOT at the expense of taking away significant play time from guys like McKennie, Adams, and whoever else might show up in our CM/DM pool. So that mean, they should not be 'auto' starting 11 going forward.
The only names in ink on a best XI are: 1. Pulisic (somewhere) 2. Brooks (if healthy) Steffen & McKennie are getting close. And Yedlin is still the incumbent at RB. Jozy is our best striker but we may be moving on. Everything else is up in the air.
I think we need all the help we can get. I would not turn away anyone who can plausibly help us. In qualification or at the Cup itself. Iniesta is 34 for Spain. They do not seem to mind. Now, you are correct that there is no way MB & Williams should be auto starting & taking time away from younger guys. Williams, Trapp, & McKennie could work in MF with Trapp/Williams as 6 or 8, especially if we go defensive vs a stronger opponent.
Meh.....Eddie Johnson had four goals in his first two games. Both games he came on as a second half sub. So, 4 goals in about 60 minutes. Not impressed.
Jesse Gonzalez is in good form and has potential. I'd like to see him in upcoming friendlies. Bono has less potential but good focus, has sustained success for Toronto, and kept a clean sheet for the U.S. I'm fine w/ circling back to Guzan so long as he's a backup since that's what he ideally is for the U.S. w/ his lack of range and distribution. But we have to establish a #1 and hopefully another alternative so Guzan is nothing but an emergency option, especially in his later years.
I mean, the thread title asks for current best XI. That's pretty straight forward. Age doesn't matter, just how good someone is at this moment
Iniesta? You mean that once in a lifetime player for Spain? Wake me when we get our first one of those but in the meantime lets use comparisons of the same fruit. Good bye Bradley. Been fun. Altidore, as a 2nd or 3rd option until Weah and Sargent grow up but no more WC's. Stop hanging on to comfy MLS names because they do good in league. We know what they can't do in international play and if we go young at least there's some intrigue to go along with a much higher upside than the crap we've been forced to watch for too many years.
With you on this. I'll gladly take Iniesta on my roster, even if he's 40. I'll take an 18 or 19 year kid who's getting regular minutes in the BL, over a 28-30 year old experienced vet whose comfortably plying his trade in the MLS. Yeah, there's still a difference in level of soccer quality between MLS and the Top 4 leagues....a significant difference. You can choose to ignore it, but it won't go away.
He could play for us until he's 50 I bet. And for me it's not so much an MLS thing. I'm not a fan but not a hater because when I do watch I can see more talent on the field than I ever have before even if it's not US talent for the most part. And I see Steffen, Bono, Adams, Carleton as hopes for the future for the US. But there are more than 4 leagues overseas that play superior soccer and have superior coaching too. I just can't see the logic with the clingers to mediocrity; Bradley is mediocre at 30 so let's pencil him in for 4 more years? And we wonder why after all these years the US is still an afterthought on the international soccer stage. Why fear clearly talented unproven youth when if you don't you're stuck with middle age mediocrity? Time to sack up and move past that generation and take your lumps while the pups grow. Give me some hope USMNT. Move on. You are the one program I truly care about.
What would life in america be like if Presidents, Presidential candidates, congressfolks, and BS posters didn't make egregious use of strawmen.
I think the current Best XI looks something like this: ———— ????? —— Zardes -— ????? -— McKennie —- Pulisic ——————— ????? Robinson—Brooks - Miazga—Yedlin ——————— Steffen Those question marks are pretty critical. And the next couple of years should be a quest to fill them. Finding another attacker and finding a 6 must be a priority. You build your base around your best, though. And the best players on next cycle’s US team are Pulisic and McKennie. In the back, it is Brooks and Miazga, with some strong competition. I suspect Sargent will be among the best before the cycle is over, but right now the best forward in the US pool is the oft-maligned Zardes.
Pulisic is at his best on the left, not right. We need to find a right wing attacker, and right now Weah shows the best hope.
Yes on both counts. Love what should be coming soon. It's why I'm not invested in the 'best 11' in June 2018. I'm looking for the best in 2020 or so. Just need a coach with imagination and no bias.
we need at least a couple or three non-pulisic wing options, but i think our pool right now suggests saief on the left, pulisic right. arriola is definitely still in my thinking. id really like to see amon, but moreso manneh. the "problem" with pulisic is hes our best player at at least 4 positions (either wing, 10, and id have zero problem arguing striker), but i dont want to lose him in his best spot simply to patching some hole we have. for me his best spot is on the wing. im not a huge fan of "but he does this at his club" arguments, but what- half a dozen managers at a club in the bund and cl have ALL played him on the wing (outside of very, very spot minutes off the st). i dont get the argument that hes clearly a 10 for us. to wildly speculate, i could see a 4-3-3/4-1-4-1 with adams and mckennie linking the defense and attack, pulisic and weah (hes the "wildly" part) and wood/sargent/nova/whoever emerges being a formation that plays to our strengths, without a 10 (which is about as rare as a lb for us). and remember- until these 3 matches weah has played primarily on the left. i think we are a good ways from needing to argue who plays on which side. we have a world of backline options and potential, 3 in the middle to to collapse and also support the attack, and then a dynamic counterattacking front 3. in buildup we have yedlin, possibly moore, hopefully robinson to overlap with one of the cms staying on top of the cbs, likely adams and mckennie moving further up. all that to say im not convinced pulisics play is greatly affected right vs left, but thats really just a matter of who shows they can man one of wings. i think we are going to be just fine with him on the other- which is a much different outlook than just deciding hes got to be our 10 because he would be a better 10 than anyone else weve had. no freaking kidding- hed probably win either fullback spot too if we said that what he had to do.
My larger point (which you either chose to ignore or went over your head) is that players who are 33-34 can help at the WC for powerhouse nations with plenty of quality depth. For a country like us, with LESS talent, we should not immediately age out 33-34 year olds, especially when they are only 30 at present. Donovan could have helped us in Beazil. Dempsey could have helped this year. Players 32/33+ for each squad: Egypt: 3/3 Russia: 1/4 KSA: 2/3 Uruguay: 2/3 (Maxi Pereira 34) Iran: 0/2 Morocco: 2/2 Portugal: 0/6 (CR 33, Pepe 35, B Alves 36, Quaresma 34) Spain: 3/2 (Iniesta 34) Australia: 1/4 (Cahill 38) I could go on, but I think the point is made. Or do you need another lesson? Now, if Bradley & Williams are our best options is another matter. But I do not think they should be aged out without a shot.
I agree and understand the point you're making. Yes, we don't automatically eliminate ALL players over 30. Yes. Donovan would have help us in Brazil. He's a much better option off the bench than Wondo. Perhaps he would have buried that Wondo's chance and put us through. Dempsey might still be able to help us in 2022. He's a poacher, and just know how to score. BUT Bradley? Don't need him on the roster. If he can't help us qualify at 29/30, he ain't gonna do much when he's 34. He literally started every WCQ games, while wearing the arm band. He didn't just failed, he failed in spectacular fashion. Heck, I would take McBride to Qatar than Bradley. At least McBride will put up a good fight every seconds he's on the field.
And my point, which I'm sure you got because you're so smart, is that age doesn't mean goodness or 'help' on it's own. Keep refusing to admit the cancer that Bradley has become in the locker room. He's not 'good' for anything going forward except a gold watch. And please, as you should let go of the MLS mess that cost us a WC berth, let go of the Donovan diatribe. It's absolutely meaningless in 2018.
if we had a gold cup next week (and it were the second in a cycle with mexico having won the first, meaning the goal is to win, not experiment at all) with everyone available to be called in... gk steffen guzan bono rb yedlin lichaj cb miazga brooks parker palmer-brown lb robinson morrow "cdm" trapp roldan cm mckennie adams acosta lletget rw pulisic arriola st wood sargent lw saief manneh starting 11 lines up roughly: _____________steffen_____________ ________miazga___brooks________ yedlin___________________robinson ______________trapp______________ _____mckennie______adams______ pulisic_____________________saief ______________wood______________