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

At the beginning his new tenure, Arena explicitly stated he was not going to change his rosters very much and that WQCs were not the time to experiment. This is mostly due to the massive hole Klinsmann left the team in when he was fired.

 

I get that. But leaving the Zusi, Bedoya and Beasleys of the world at home should absolutely be something worth changing.

The constant snub of our best creative midfielder is just inexcusable.

 

^This

not to mention. where is Hamid?

 

This is a very good point. The reality is that Arena is only calling in a few different players (Hedges, Villafana, McCarty). Those players are replacing the freebie spots Klinsmann would give to players like Green, Alvarado, Stanko, but still, its largely the same roster. Klinsmann wasn't the only problem, we had to start integrating new players, and Arena hasn't yet done that. If he does that during Gold Cup, and for the games after Gold Cup with a very different roster than the current one for the WC next year, he'll get credit, but he should get criticism for this. He might improve the team by out coaching a terrible coach, but its still very much the same roster.

 

Horvath
Yedlin-Besler-Brooks-Johnson
Cameron
Bradley-Acosta
Pulisic
Altidore-Morris

 

Outcoaching Klinsmann should be easy for Arena.

 

Johnson------Wood-------Pulisic
----------Nagbe------Acosta-------
-----------------Bradley--------------
Villafana-Brooks-Cameron-Yedlin
-----------------Horvath---------------

 

if JJ was there, this team would look a bit on the old side.

 

Very likey. I see it happening like this tho

--------------Altidore----------
Nagbe----- Pulisic-----Johnson
----------Acosta---Bradley-------
JF---Brooks--Cameron--Yedlin
---------------Howard---------------

There will be a time when Bradley is replaced. I know everyone hates him. Lord knows I'm not exactly a supporter (tho I do think he's better than most people think but not as good as others think). But I wish everyone would just accept that he's going to be there for the forseable future. At least until after 2018.

Not really sure who starts up top. Also not 100% convinced Nagbe starts right now. Also think JF is the best of a bad situation. Otherwise, id bet this is at least close. Of course, every time I thought Bruce had settled on a lineup in LA he would randomly start some LAGII player out wide.

 

Given Dempsey's play in the last couple qualifiers, I bet Bruce sticks with him. And if Bruce slots Johnson into midfield, then I don't see how Nagbe starts.

 

Yeah I'm willing to give him a shot but he needs to produce and not just these easy CONCACAF results anyone could get us. Personally I'm fine with the callups because they form something resembling the best possible roster but JK was calling up best rosters as well. I see no difference between Bruce and Klinsmann and I know Bruce is hamstrung by time limitations. The point is there was no need to get rid of JK. We would have been fine and had a similar qualifying result. All that heartache was for nothing and rosters like this prove it. It also shows the undue influence shot callers within MLS ownership have at USSF. Their incestuous relationship can only hurt both MLS and USSoccer which are not one and the same and do not necessarily have the same goals. They could have competing goals in the short run.

 

I don't think we see it but I'd like to. The reality is we will play a 4-4-2. Only question is if we a diamond in the 4 or play it flat. I'm guessing diamond for more attacking against T&T and flat for Mexico.

He also said he's gonna make a lot of changes from 1 game to the next.

You're right that Howard will most likely start. But he may give Guzan a game too. I think the backline will stay the same. Villafana, Brooks, Cameron and Yedlin. The changes will be to the midfield and Forwards. My guess is Acosta is on the bench game 1 and starts game 2. Dempsey probably starts game 1 but is on the bench for Mexico. Wood will depend on the injury but I'd wager starts Mexico. Jozy prob goes both games unfortunately. Bradley will play both. Pulisic will play both. Johnson I think starts both but comes off early for Nagbe.

 

I doubt he starts both games but he will play in both.

 

a look at the squad, plus words from Arena about how he won't use the same lineup in Game 1 and 2 and about resting players for the GC.
http://www.espnfc.us/team/united-st...cup-qualifiers-boosted-by-defensive-returnees

 

Yeah I could definitely see most of this playing out how you described. I don't think Guzan gets a start tho. I could see a diamond with pulisic as a 10 and any 2 of the 3 forwards up top and johnson and Nagbe on the wings.

With BA you never know exactly what he's going to do but he's really good at predicting the other teams moves and strategies and counter acting them before the game starts.

People talk about this roster being almost the same as JKs. I agree with that and I'm a little frustrated with some of the older (yet still younger than me) guys on the roster. But BAs teams actually play a style and know their opponents. It makes a big difference when you know that the guy you are guarding will cough up the ball if you press him or always goes to his left. I don't have inside info but it certainly looked like JKs teams weren't prepared that way.

 

------------Wood----Altidore------------
--Pulisic--Bradley--Acosta--Johnson
Villafana--Brooks--Cameron--Yedlin
------------------Howard------------------

My lineup preference if everybody is healthy. If Wood is hurting, then swap him out for Dempsey.

I predict that Arena will call up Jermaine Jones if he thinks Jones is healthy.

 

Arena and Klinsmann, as coaches, are powerfully different. In results, in average team play, in structure of the teams, in cohesion, in preparation for matches, in how they relate to players, in results. [They do have one clear flaw in common; a tendency to stick with veteran loyalists thoroughly past their sell date].
An alternative Universe where Jurgen was kept in charge after the first two horrific matches of the qualifiers would be interesting to observe, just to appreciate how thoroughly a team can be gutted by the person who is responsible for leading it. If you enjoy life more imagining that Jurgen fashioned a remarkable spiritual renewal of the USMNT that resurrected its hopes in the 3rd and 4th matches, I won't deny you your pleasures. But the failure of the last Gold Cup, and the failures against Mexico in vying for the CC and WC, were critical warnings as to Jurgen's failures. There was a need to get rid of JK years ago.
Heartache? Heartache was watching a national team retrogress in increasingly humiliating fashion, even as the flow of talent would be the envy of any previous era.

I

 

Pulisic is our best #10 on the roster.

 

Interesting that the game vs Mexico will only be three days after the T&T match, and at night.
This change will likely guarantee a different lineup.
After witnessing how crucial officiating in the Panama qualifier and U20 WC match vs Saudi Arabia was, I'm convinced that the referees will determine the outcome of both qualifiers. As a result, it is important Arena stresses that they play "cleanly," not dirty as Klinsmann suggested.

 

The Klinsmann apologetics/Arena bashing strike me as very premature.

1. It's pretty clear that Arena was given a mandate to get the US out of the hole they were in and get them to Russia whatever it takes. At this point, he isn't and shouldn't be concerned with developing young talent, initiating a revolution in US playing style, etc. He shouldn't get a free pass forever, but so far, I don't see how anyone can complain about the results.

2. Arena has called in a number of guys who wouldn't be there if Klinsmann were still in charge: Villafana, McCarty, Nagbe, and Hedges. In addition to that, Arena actually seems to want to play Acosta in his natural position.

3. Those first two games of the Hex reflected very poorly on Klinsmann. He essentially spotted Mexico a goal in the first game by coming out in a formation that the players weren't comfortable with. And the Costa Rica game was one of the worst displays I've seen from the USMNT, not just because they lost 4-0 (I've seen plenty of lopsided losses from them), but because they completely rolled over and quit, which is not part of the American DNA. It was clear that he had lost the team at that point.

 

Coach Arena has a mandate to win and he is picking the best available squad to win. The fact that Arena's best available squad is a 99% overlap of Klinsmann's just shows that Klinsmann was picking the right roster.

Lichaj, Feilhaber, and now Kljestan are still out just as they were under Klinsmann.

 

Nope. He's our best LW. If he is leaned on to be the #10, at his age, I absolutely think we are in trouble. He's a great talent. No doubt. But the #10 should be a leader/veteran type in our system. At 18, I do not see him as that player. 2-4 years from now? Absolutely.

He will likely get his chance to prove me wrong against Mexico, but I think his youth will be exposed in that game and he will end up back out on the wing for the rest of this cycle.

 

Zusi, Beasley and Bedoya will NEVER be "best available".

They are exactly the type of player that got Bruce fired the first time around. He sticks with flawed veterans who have zero business getting called up.

 

That's part of what I was trying to point out...it's not a 99% overlap. Depending on how you want to calculate it, it's more of an 80-85% overlap. Not a total revolution, but I'd argue that this is a non-negligible change, especially given that Villafana and Nagbe seem to be starters for Arena, and under Klinsmann, they wouldn't be in the 23.

Arena also seems to see Acosta as a real option at CM, given his late appearance in a tied qualifier on the road, while he was maybe 3rd/4th string LB for Klinsmann.

 

Bruce said a while ago that he's going to stick to veterans on the road because they handle CONCACAF's bs better than the kids. I agree that I personally would leave some of the players at home that he took. But at least there's a logical reason for it and it's not just him forcing players on the field like JK used to do.