Fabian Johnson wants back in with the #USMNT, hopes call-up comes soon. More here: https://t.co/d2t9sHa2Zd— Roger Gonzalez (@RGonzalezCBS) October 21, 2019
Gregg Berhalter probably knows Fabian Johnson better than anyone in the U.S. Soccer sphere. (Probably more than Arena or Klinsmann combined). Fabian is a useful player when healty but keeping this club related for the purposes of this forum, here are some club stats. 1) he hasn't played since August in 2019/20 2) he played 1000 minutes all of last season in 2018/19 3) He played 460 minutes the season before in 2017/18 4) He played 1200 minutes the season before that in 2016/17 For a player turning 32 in a few weeks, you have to factor in dependability - whether you are a national team head coach or a club manager. I am not sure how you can blame Berhalter for moving on and looking at other players, or from Monchengladbach from eventually moving on as well - his contract is up in June.
And it's very unlikely he'll get another. Probably plays at too high a level in the scant minutes he can muster but musters so few minutes that his wage wouldn't justify his time. He'd be a great pickup as a quality veteran who's willing to take a pay cut for a new experience on a young/lower table team but no one is gonna factor him in as a key piece
I always liked Fabian and wished we played him more in the midfield in the mid-2010s. We could play him on the left and Cannon or Yedlin on the right. They push up, and the regista DM drops back as a third CB when we have possession.
Agreed, like this guy and was a fun ride...but he'll be 34? in Qatar. Just not the right approach right now from that perspective, unfortunately.
This is a perfectly reasonable take but it should be consistent in that Bradley is older and the team is currently built around him. Tim Ream and Omar Gonzalez are also older than Fabian
There is value to having a few 30+ players on a team. But with Fabian, it;s the injuries. Fabian can't stay healthy. Bradley is playing more because, in case you haven't noticed, Trapp's role is thankfully decreasing. Like many, I suspect Adams will take the d-mid role and Bradley will be his backup until another No. 6 emerges. Ream also stays healthy with remarkable consistency. As for Fabain, he isn't nearly as healthy as you want from a reliable 30+ player. He's a good guy, talented, and his versatility is great but his history with injuries is such a concern that even if he gets healthy for a month or two, do you really think he's going to stay fit for a reliably long stretch? He's likely in his fourth straight season where injuries have forced him to miss a significant portion of the season. Gregg and Fabian go a long, long way back. They weren't just teammates at 1860 Munich for several seasons, but they were both starters, and Gregg was the team captain because he was a mentor to the team's young players like Fabian at the time. If anyone fits the image of being one of "Gregg's guys" (and all coaches have their guys), it would be Fabian. If Fabian could stay healthy at a reliable rate, I think he'd be like a Tim Ream. But he can't seem to do it.
If injuries was the stated issue with Fabian, how can one argue? However, the stated point was age. I also think that the leadership provided by the current batch of 30+ year old has been terrible as the team looks neither organized nor poised nor motivated. Altidore falls into the same category as Fabian IMO - an oft-injured player who can provide value when healthy at a position of urgent need. At least at striker, we have young options that we're trying out while it appears that Lovitz is our primary LB (I'm assuming Dest is out until near the Hex, at best). As for Bradley, I'll simply state that I think it's completely wrong to say that our options are either Mike or Trapp as a placeholder for an injured Adams. If Adams is the presumed starter, our replacement should be a player as close in style and capability as Adams so that the other players get familiar with how the team will play when he returns. Adams couldn't be farther from Bradley and Trapp - they're almost complete opposites (although I think that Adams is fully capable of playing like how Berhalter thinks Bradley/Trapp play possession wise - 90% successful passed based on safe back/side passes briefly interspersed with long passes to the wings when not under pressure). Finally, fair point on the relationship between Greg and Fabian. Personally, I think Gregg is savvy enough to realize that certain influential pockets of the USSF detest Klinsmann and felt that he was unduly biased towards German Americans. Therefore, currently available German-American duals are a "touchy" subject where the safe political play for him is to only consider auto-starters in a better league than MLS to get a call-in.
We need quality players that can fill in until the kids can take over. A call up doesn't mean he is going to the WC. Some players will just help get us there
Bradley, Gonzo, and Ream are not injured over half of the time. Calling to the NT a guy likely to break during practice is a waste of everybody's time.
Here is my opinion on the talented Fabian Johnson. Bring in Timmy, Julian, Danny Williams, Alfredo, Terrance, Thomas Dooley, JJ, and Willy Roy before bringing in FJ. I’ll admit to having a jaundiced eye when it comes to FJ but I suspect he has earned the same from more than one of his coaches.
We started Daniel Lovitz in a competitive game. So much for that kind of attitude toward FJ. Fair points from folks above about injuries, I'd call him when healthy in next games.
I'm more interested in his Gladbach future, expiring 2020 contract and no real reason to extend at this point. The club might be better off focusing on younger player and less injury proness.
https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/ne...s-call-up-from-gregg-berhalter-down-the-road/ I've got to think he could fix the LB problem. If Greg cares about winning, he's got to be in the team in November, doesn't he?
That's not necessarily true. He'll be 35 come the WC. So it won't aid winning then. As for now, it's very debatable. The LB position is a mess. But Lovitz isn't the only option. We'll see what happens w/ Dest. Lima or Cannon can be switched over. Fabian is coming off another injury, and after the previous one he had lost a step or two. They're piling up and he's almost 32.
If Berhalter wants to bring Johnson back, that is fine but the key is to not overthink this like he's overthought other issues as manager (the tactical approach, player roles, etc.). Play Johnson as a left back.