Pre-match: USA-Trinidad and Tobago, World Cup Qualifier, 8 June 2017

It's the one away match I don't mind tying.

Anyone know if we have any players on a yellow that would miss the mexico match if they were to earn a yellow vs T&T.

 

I think USMNT fans hold way too much a grudge over a game that happened almost 4 and a half years ago

 

Yup. Bradley has sucked for three years and he still get auto starts.

nepotism! Hahahaha

 

We all have different preferences for certain players. I've seen worse rosters, but as I said, Arena pretty much went chalk. We shouldn't just assume the known names are necessarily better. There are plenty of players who will presumably be given a runout at the Gold Cup who could've been used here. Lets see if it works. Maybe those players would've been better options here, despite their "inexperience". I wouldn't have Rimando, Guzan, Beasley, Gonzalez, Ream, Zusi, Bedoya, McCarty or Wood on my 23 man roster, but thats only my opinion. We'll see how this works. He went with what most expected to be the roster.

 

I believe only Geoff Cameron, could be wrong though.

Edit: Way off, I forgot to check the match report for 2 games. Also Bradley, Brooks, Altidore, and Besler

 

Eh. He has said that he struggled with heat/humidity and is not a fan of airplanes. I think he may be better off since he will get a week plus to acclimatize rather than a couple of days.

 

Who would you have in their places? That's kinda the implication of what I was asking. Those players are expected with reason. And not just because they've got experience and caps. Let's see which guys you think are "better".

 

My 23 would be

GK: Howard, Hamid, Horvath
Defenders: Yedlin, Chandler, Besler, Brooks, Miazga, Hedges, Johnson, Villafana
Midfielders: Cameron, Bradley, Acosta, Trapp, Pulisic, Nagbe, Arriola, Feilhaber
Forwards: Altidore, Dempsey, Morris, Agudelo

 

Glad to see Hedges name in there. Sensible to involve him with the fil team. Wouldn't have minded seeing Feilhaber, Agudelo, and Lichaj. Glad Wondo is nowhere in sight.

And the clock is ticking until Horvath is #1. He should be in every camp for the next 10-15 years.

 

I'm sure everyone is relieved that Wondo didn't make the squad.

 

Hamid, Miazga, Trapp, Feilhaber, Agudelo?

If Bruce cuts the fat from this roster (Rimando, Beasley, Zusi, Bedoya), those are the key roster differences.

IDK why you have Morris, but no Wood. Wood is literally a better, two-footed version of Morris. Both aren't in great form, and both are coming off injuries. One has to fly from Europe. Big deal.

Miazga seems a little unnecessary. He's not good enough to be a full USMNT player. Yeah, he started half a season in the Netherlands, good. But this is WCQ. You don't spend roster spots on development (aside from the 3rd GK).

Trapp hasn't had the best couple of seasons, I think that's pretty clear. Even if you figure that Columbus is a pretty bad team, I just don't know why you'd give a spot to someone of his caliber. He's OK in MLS, as a metronome, but not really special.

Feilhaber's a snub. But it's to the point that it's clear that there's just something about him that rubs coaches the wrong way. 3 coaches, many years, good form at the right times for callups... but still no callups? Gotta be something about the way he interacts with the other players or the coaches. I can't see none of the last 3 HC's rating him.

I'd have called up Agudelo over Morris. I think form's important for strikers.

 

You questioned me, not the other way around. I have my opinion, and thats that. We don't need to go point by point over individual players.

 

Ok then.

 

a glue guy?

 

I want Bill Hamid. I'm glad we have Horvath though.

We only neither either/or Guzan/Howard.


Rimando isn't going to the World Cup so Arena needs to properly prep the likes of Horvath, Hamid, Bingham, Steffen or whoever to be no3 and possibly no2.

 

A player that is a good locker-room presence. Makes those around him better, even if he isn't as good.

https://www.usab.com/youth/news/2011/12/the-importance-of-a-glue-guy.aspx

A recent example would be Andre Iguodala. His minutes have come down, and he's not quite worth a big contract when the Warriors are so deep with defensively-talented guards. But he plays the game the right way, and is an extremely positive force in the locker room, not only keeping players focused during the game, but also off the court. So Kerr is probably going to keep him, almost like another coach in the locker room.

Perhaps Rimando is a very good locker presence. He teaches the young guys the right way to do things, etc. Those kinds of players/coaches can be valuable.

 

I think it's more about his speed than his finishing ability (or lack thereof currently). If, say, the US is 0-0 at Azteca in the 60th minute, it might be really nice to bring Morris on as a long-ball target to release pressure and keep Mexico honest.

 

seems like
Altidore, Brooks, Bradley, Cameron, Besler are all on cards.
http://www.espnfc.us/world-cup-qual...o/3135498/twellman-no-controversy-in-us-squad

so if these players get carded vs T&T they might miss the game vs Mexico.

 

Oh okay. Thanks

I concur. But he served that role in 2014. I think we need a different "glue guy" going forward.

 

I don't know. I'm losing faith in Bruce. These call ups are maybe 1-2 players off from being exactly who JK woulda brought in.

If we only manage 1 point in these next 2 qualifyers, I won't be surprised at all.

 

Really? T&T are pretty bad...

 

Is anyone else begging to see Cameron at CDM? He's the closest thing we have to a true CDM and right now that is the most important position in soccer IMO. We don't really need a CDM against T&T, but I would love to see how Cameron protects our backline against Mexico.

I'm also hoping Bruce keeps Pulisic on the wing for now. He has the skillset to be a great 10 but he's not quite there yet. Keep him on the wing where the game is simpler.

 

I've been screaming for this...

---Wood---Dempsey---
---------Benny----------
Pulisic---------Johnson
-------Cameron--------
JF-Besler-JAB-Yedlin
--------Horvath---------

IMO, that is absolutely our strongest possible starting 11. Swap Howard in at GK, maybe.

 

Who's preferred XI is this?



Take a guess...

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Matt Doyle but Klinsmann would have chosen this lineup and Bruce will probably choose this lineup. Why did we hire Bruce if he is just JK in disguise?

 

Yea. It's frikin insanity. Different manager, same sh!t.