Costa Rica would like to speak with you. WOW! The back half of Europe. Way to reach for those stars. There are 55 nations in UEFA so #28 is Albania, #29 is Israel and #30 is Slovenia.He might be able to make those lineups Maybe Bolivia and Peru. Whoop-die frickin' do. Ok, so aside from the better sides, he would boss the likes of Jordan, Vietnam, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso. Just Kidding. He'd never sniff the BF lineup. Kyle Beckerman, but his dad wasn't coach and didn't truck him out there every game for 90 minutes regardless of his form or club status. Daddy couldn't justify replacing Pablo Mastroeni with his teenage son in 2006 so he changed the US' formation and left him in there while always changing his partner, but never sitting his son or never trying a different formation without his son meandering all over the pitch. The player that Bradley replaced in the lineup? Claudio Reyna. Except that Reyna was a #10 and there was no way Baby Bradley was going to be able to play as a #10. He instilled a defensive lineup to favor his son and they still gave up a shit ton of goals in the first 15 minutes. From 2006-2008, Beckerman should have replaced Mastroeni as a D-mid, Donovan should have been the #10 instead of moving him back and forth from forward to wing for years* and Bradley should have been on the under 20s or under 21s learning how to be a D-mid by himself, not a floating CM with no positional awareness. Yeah, he covers lots of ground . . . because it's normal for him to be out of position. That's not a good habit for an average midfielder that's slowing down at age 29 *"B-b-but Donovan was our best wide player for years!!!" Please. Donovan was our best forward, our best midfielder, he could have been our best RB or LB if he wanted to. He was the only one in the pool that could have replaced Reyna. Pulisic vs Honduras is what Donovan would have become if Boob Bradley would have gone with a sole D-mid instead of the empty bucket. When Reyna retired, Dadley retired his position as well.
Claudio Reyna was not a 10 for us after 1998. The fact that you don't know that,and the fact you advocate replacing Bradley with the only player I ever saw quit trying in a US Mexico game... Well,let's just say I'm going to take your take with a lick or two of salt. Be well.
Bradley was too much of an automatic selection early in his career, there should have been more rotation but he was still one of our three/four best CMs. Then he became clearly our best CM (due, in part, to Holden's injuries) and held that until the 2014 WC run-up. Then Jones outplayed him for a stretch because, a couple nice friendlies in Europe notwithstanding, he has performed below his past standard. He was played out of position, in a dysfunctional team, but he individually has not done as well as he has done and could do. So where does that leave us? The most promising potential upgrade is older and plays CB and when he plays DM he is not the main backline shielder. Then the next highest pedigreed option is even older, and while having the requisite skills to succeed lacks the tactical discipline. Then after that it's: a guy who is going to be relegated to the German 2nd division who hasn't played a ton as a 6, someone who has lost his starting spot at times with a mid-table Scottish team, a lightly capped MLS veteran, a young 8 just breaking out (at least there are two to choose from!), a youngish DM coming off a not great MLS season, an on loan rotational player on a bad Swiss team, an on loan rotational player in the 2.Bundesliga, an 18 year old with under a handful of MLS starts, or a 20 year old CB waiting his contract out so he can get back to Europe.
Good list. You left out middling 6/8 for a decent Championship side, but I think you pretty much hit the rest.
And he's been nothing but 'meh for the majority of his time with the MNT. I think though it;s time for the manager of the USMNT to start gaming out how he lines up his midfield and the tactics that would be used without MB in the lineup. It might be that without MB the sum of the four or five in midfield would be better than it's part whereas mostly now, it's either the opposite or exactly equal. Who knows, but at some point in the future, MB will be absolutely past it, and we need to have a plan for that time. I get the sense though that the Bruce is having none of that, and is planning for qualification and through summer of '18 with MB at the helm of the midfield. I see no sign that Bruce is making any grand plans to replace him, and quite honestly, I'm not sure if I was in his shoes with his objectives, that I would rock the boat that greatly either. Bruce isn't tasked with moving the program forward from soup to nuts. He is tasked with qualification. He won't be judged on performance at the WC, as he is almost certainly leaving at the end of it. He was brought in to get us to Russia. MB ain't going nowhere for now. When my boy Sampaoli is prised from Spain to coach our team, then he'll probably make a change, however untili then, MB is the captain and our deep lying midfielder.
The in-form alternatives would be Cameron, Acosta, and Roldan. That's not a bad list. Bradley is neither a 'shield' nor a natural 6. He played almost all of his Euro career as an '8'. Beckerman played much of his career as an attacking midfielder.
Acosta and Roldan both play with a 6 behind them. Cameron is often needed on the back line, because that's often a bigger issue. You got right up to the pattern without identifying it. What you're describing here is not Bradley, but just the tendency for 8s to evolve into 6s as they age. Bradley loved that verticality and trying to make tackles in the opposing half when he was 21, but at 29 he's not the same guy. Give Acosta or Roldan some time, and they may as well, but right now it's not their game.
Roldan is a deep mid who plays fairly level with another deep mid, Alonso, in a 4231. Roldan is the 2nd leading tackler in the league. He gets forward more often than Alonso, but they both shield the backline.
Roldan does seem to be the closest case, and a guy who should be tried, but Alonso's presence in Seattle does definitely adjust his positioning: https://www.soundersfc.com/post/201...-helm-seattle-sounders-continue-tinker-attack http://www.sounderatheart.com/2016/5/4/11593656/the-rise-fall-and-rise-of-the-4-3-3 Roldan definitely does do shielding, but Alonso does it more. But yes, Roldan is a guy (as is Acosta) that needs to get looks in the near future.
Beckerman was moved to the 6-role as he was an ineffective 10. Bradley has typically been described as a defensive midfielder. That's the position he played with the Metrostars. With Toronto, he has the leverage to play in his preferred position. He still has incredible pace and covers incredible amounts of ground. But the touch has been gone for some time. His tackling is signficantly down this year while he is getting dribbled by at the same rate as last season. If the trend and ineffectual play continue then both he and Jones may need to replaced.
I thought at some point Fredo Morales, but the guy is just about as imaginative as a brick in midfield.
I think Mike has never fully recovered from the ankle injury. Sometimes rehab just doesn't get you back 100%.
Let's assume that MB is captain and an auto-starter that we're building the team around (shouldn't be that hard to imagine!). Are there positions other than 6 that he could own that would accentuate his positives (which often get forgotten in our rush to judge)? What does that position do to alleviate his deficiencies? What does playing as a 6 do to accentuates his strengths and minimize his deficiencies? Thanks.
I'd like to see a 4-2-3-1 in the Gold Cup with both Roldan and Acosta as the twin dmids as both have extensive time playing that formation and position in MLS. Put Pulisic or Hyndman or others in front in the 10 role. Could even rotate both with Bradley if the coach just has to have him there but at least they would start getting real minutes. At present it will be a disaster if Bradley gets hurt at the last minute without any new players getting blooded.
Why would it be a disaster? Arena has brought in and played LLetget, Acosta, McCarty, and Feilhaber in the #6 and #8 positions. We also have Jones and Bedoya who Arena has also played in CM. Bradley goes down (god forbid), Dax, JJ, or Acosta is up next.
His defensive positioning has improved over time,as has his passing.He has been less able to run fast from that deep position to be a late runner on the attack. He is best as a circulator as part of a two man screen with a more defensive guy next to or behind him.
Because up until now only Bradley and Jones have received lots of minutes. The rest get a nugget every once in a while. Need to prepare at least a real backup. Two is even better in Case Bradley or Jones or both get hurt. I don't like Bedoya at central midfield. He's a good two guy at right mid but definitely more defensive than offensive. I'd have to see more of Feilhaber as a starter at the 8 as in my mind he's more of a 10 internationally or a sub off the bench. Dax may be in line to be the next Beckerman.
Arena has played 4 matches and has distributed the CM minutes very well: Bradley 3 starts, played 4 LLetget 2 starts, played 3 Nagbe 2 starts, played 4 Bedoya 1 start, played 4 Jones 2 starts Dax 1 start Benny 1 start, played 2 Sacha 1 start Acosta 1 sub
Because up until now only Bradley and Jones have received lots of minutes. The rest get a nugget every once in a while. Need to prepare at least a real backup. Two is even better in Case Bradley or Jones or both get hurt. Sorry, but I'm just talking about central mid and especially the 8 and 6 roles. I actually expect him to have viable alternatives ready in six months so not too worried about it.
Bradley is an 8/6 not an 8/10. i.o.w., he plays best in the 8 position but defending. His on the ground passes are inferior to his air passes. If you asked me to pick one player to pick up attackers at the halfway line and stop them before they can do damage in the attacking third I would pick Bradley, not McCarty. However, if you asked me who will add most to the attack out of the 6 position (while playing a serviceable 6) I would say Dax. People say Dax has the habit of making one brain f*rt per game that would cost us. One way of limiting that would be to play with 3 cb's. As far as Roldan goes, he could be an incredible weapon for us at World Cup but we'd have to start playing him immediately so he can learn when to go forward. Notice how his recent efforts at goal in the box for Seattle were great chances that looked like misses for lack of practice. For me, Roldan is Bedoya with a more expansive game and skill set. He has to work on his passing too. For Gold Cup we could start -------------miazga --besler---parker ----arriola----Roldan---Mccarty--Ream(Vincent) ---------zardes---agudelo----morris
Why does MB have to be a central player? Wouldn't his skill set work well on the outside as well? He's a better version of Bedoya, who has been a good, not great, player for the USMNT by working tirelessly on the outside.
He looked good over the weekend against Atlanta. Toronto did not win, but they sure did control the midfield. Atlanta seem to mostly attack on the counter. So much of the game goes through MB for the US. his team mates trust him and look to pass to him (this means more to me then fans ranting on the BS). He is always involved, and always open to receive a pass. He has a great first touch that lets him down once or twice a game. I think he is an underrated passer on BS, and MB bashers focus on the back pass and not on the attacking forward pass. He might make 5 forward passes to 1 back pass and people will complain about the 1 back pass. If his name wasn't MB then I think he would not get all the slack. Also, I think McCarty is making a strong case as the 6 backup.