Wingers

I look forward to the day, hopefully in this cycle, when all of these lists don't make be sad.

 

Since moving to the left of midfield, Rowe has been productive with 3 goals and a primary assist in 5 matches. His pace is good but his first few steps are explosive.

The standout January Camp potentials are Rowe, Finlay, Wenger, Duka, Bunbury, Meram.

 

For wingers in their prime, we don't have that many good ones. But I think the crop of wingers from age 22 and younger is pretty good, and I don't forecast winger being a problem going forward.

 

For me the wingers are Wenger, Zardes, Serna
As Dempsey ages, Zardes shud be ready to step in. We could start by subbing Dempsey out for Serna and moving Zardes into middle in freindlies.

Wenger, Serna and Zardes can all play both left and right so you have a lot of possibilities for creative attack. They are all pretty good defensively. Zardes and Wenger can play ultra wide, Serna tends to drift in a little more and would likely play best with a forward rb like Fabian. Wenger, Zardes and Serna need development - hello??we knew we didn't have developed wingers after bowing out in R16 against Belgium.

------------Dempsey---
--Wenger----?------Zardes(Serna)
---------Trapp Bradley
--Garza-------------------Fabian

I put a question mark in the 10 spot because that opens a whole 'nother thread.

 

Miguel Ibarra not in the discussion yet?

 

Zardes has looked a whole lot better at forward than wing. On the wing his decision making has often been questionable at best.

 

Two years later, not many of these guys have broken into the team. One of the things I'm most curious about under Arena is what types of players he prefers on the wings, especially in a 4-4-2.

Does he move Fabian here and play Pulisic on the other side?

One of the reasons that I chose to respond to this old thread rather than create a new one is to highlight the fact that most of the players mentioned still haven't forced their way onto the team. So, rather than focusing on prospects, I am curious to see who others think is either ready now or almost there.

 

Any update on Manneh's citizenship status? He should immediately be in the picture once he's in the clear

 

We still don't know how exactly Arena will use his wingers but I am assuming Pulisic will be one of them. Feelings are mixed on whether Fabian Johnson will play on the other wing or continue at LB.

I am curious to see who gets called in to the January Camp. Zusi and Bedoya are two guys that received several starts on the wings under Klinsmann. I am hoping we've seen the last of Zusi and Bedoya could just as easily see time in the center of the midfield. Break Shea is a younger option that was once a Klinsmann regular who hasn't seen as much of the field over the past few years. Nagbe and Zardes aren't natural wingers but either could play there.

Arena has talked about finding a few pieces in camp that could help World Cup qualifying efforts right away. Ethan Finlay is a slightly younger option that Klinsmann showed some interest early last year. Rowe and McNamara are younger options as well.

Chris Pontius is a veteran option who could be interesting. He's been seemingly close to national team opportunities multiple times in the past but has been hampered with some untimely injuries. He had a nice year and could possibly step in and help with qualifying if he has a nice camp.

Gatt is finally healthy and could get a winter look but I doubt Arena will call him in after only about six starts in the past few years over his MLS competition. Lletget played for Arena in LA so he's another option.

 

Our wingers are very average, besides Pulisic.

The wingers coming up through the system though, they are very good. That and CB are the two most promising positions in the youth teams. I'm very optimistic by the 2022 World Cup we won't be playing players like Zardes, Bedoya, Zusi, etc. at winger. Maybe even earlier some of these players will make the senior team.

 

Arena mentioned a few MLS wingers that will be called into the January Camp and another that's not in his plans right now.

Pontius is a veteran option but he also surprisingly included Manneh. The other surprise for many is that, although Arena mentioned that about 2/3 of his 50-60 person player pool are currently playing in MLS, Ethan Finlay is not in his plans right now.

 

Brooks Lennon seems to be getting close to a first team look at Liverpool. At least, he could by 2018, when he will be 20.

Haji Wright is off to a great start with Schalke's U-19 team. Matthew Olosunde is starting to play at right mid with Manchester United's U-23 squad. There are also a few U-17 kids who have talent, though it's doubtful any would be ready by 2018.

There's also Gooch and Josh Perez and a lot more who could emerge in the next year and a half. So the player pool should be pretty strong on the wings very soon.

 

Pulisic, Morris, Nagbe, Zardes, Finlay, Pontius, Bedoya, and Manneh. This is a strong group in that it offers good fits for a variety of tactical needs. The team need to qualify from within Concacaf. These guys are more than good enough for that task.

 

A lot of us have been speculating about Manneh once he gains his citizenship (and might he have already?) though.

 

I was just surprised that he may have possibly already quietly gained citizenship.

 

Is there some reason Green isn't among this discussion? Yes BM had him as a #9 but he's played wing in the past, played wing with the MNT and still can as far as I know. Him opposite Pulisic may be the best way to go.

 

FYI- Manneh now needs a FIFA waiver or wait till Dec 2017 per FIFA regulations for Naturalized players.

 

Well, it appears he has moved to new club (Stuttgart), perhaps the new scenery will come with a new role too.

 

It's interesting to see how the balance of our player pool has changed so much during the past 15 years or so.

In the 2002 cycle, I'd argue that the wing was one of our areas of strength, with guys like:

• Landon Donovan - split time at forward and on the wing, but was obviously a difference maker from day one.
• Earnie Stewart - 33 at the World Cup, but was still a pretty high impact player throughout qualifying and played well against Portugal.
• Eddie Lewis - really solid at left wing, delivered a great cross, and was a good set piece taker.
• DaMarcus Beasley - was a dynamic wide receiver in 2002. His speed and counterattacking ability caused real problems.
• Cobi Jones - A really serviceable backup on the wing during qualifying, and a wily veteran to be able to bring off the bench at the World Cup.

In the 2006 cycle, we also had a lot of depth:

• Beasley
• Lewis
• Bobby Convey - was a pretty good direct player on the left wing, and had a really good year in 2005/06.
• Clint Dempsey - never a true winger, but emerged onto the scene in 2005 and was a difference maker at the World Cup.

In the 2010 cycle, the player composition on the wings started to change. Lots of quality at the very top - we had our two best players in program history starting on the wings, even though neither were conventional "natural" wingers. Behind them, though, the depth of our winger pool started to evaporate:

• Donovan - best player in USMNT history, and was on fire from 2008-2010.
• Dempsey - second best player in USMNT history, and split time between the wing (where he'd start) and forward (where he'd switch to in the 2nd half of games as Bob brought on an extra midfielder like Benny Feilhaber or Stuart Holden.
• Holden - Super versatile player and had all the tools to be a great winger - good ball skill, excellent passer and crosser, good set piece delivery, good work rate and willingness to track back.
• Beasley - great resume, but remember that he struggled with injuries during his Rangers and Hannover 96 tenure, and his form dropped off the map from 2009-2010.

Aside from those guys, we really had no impact wingers, which is probably why Dempsey was shoe-horned into playing there, or why guys like Feilhaber and Sacha Kljestan would earn minutes as "pinched in wingers", even though both were central midfielders by trade. Bobby Convey dropped off the map in the 2010 cycle, Eddie Lewis aged out, and no younger guys emerged to replace them. Robbie Rogers was one of my great hopes, but he tapered off after 2008. But that was it - we really had no other natural wingers in contention.

In the 2014 cycle, the wing was easily the weakest position on our team IMO, and our depth was pretty limited:

• Alejandro Bedoya - decent "runner" type midfielder with an exceptional work rate, but has never really been a major difference maker in the attack.
• Graham Zusi - good crosser and set piece deliverer and was certainly serviceable during qualifying in 2012 & 2013, and at the World Cup, but would any of us have chosen him over a 2002 Stewart/Donovan/Beasley/Lewis or a 2006 Convey/Beasley/Lewis?
• Landon Donovan - obviously would have greatly strengthened our team, but was mostly out of the team in 2012 and early 2013, played at forward during his dominant 2013 Gold Cup, and was famously (and stupidly) left off the World Cup roster by Jurgen Klinsmann. Only played a few WCQ matches for us on the wing, during the latter portion of the Hex in 2013.
• Julian Green - Didn't appear in a single WCQ game, surprisingly made the World Cup roster, and during a brief cameo appearance in extra time in the Round of 16 against Belgium, popped up with a goal.
• Brad Davis - great MLS career, but had no business playing in a World Cup for us.
• Jose Torres - shoe-horned onto the wing by Klinsmann at the 2013 Gold Cup despite it not being his natural position.
• Joe Corona - earned some minutes on the wing in 2012 and 2013, but never emerged as a difference maker.
• Brek Shea - got lost at Stoke City and never emerged as a reliable option for us on the wing.

I think Klinsmann recognized the lack of quality depth on the wing early on in his USMNT tenure, which is why we saw a lot of 4-3-3 formations with starting line-ups that included all of Bradley-Edu-Jones or Jones-Edu-Williams or Bradley-Jones-Torres back in 2012.

For the 2018 cycle, I feel like we're in a similar boat as 2014, though we don't have a Landon Donovan hanging around the team. We have a few veteran carry-overs from the 2014 cycle, like Bedoya and Zusi, and some young talent, but few high-quality options who are currently in the prime of their careers:

• Christian Pulisic - a budding star and clearly the type of high-impact difference maker we need on the wing. But we're entrusting a lot to an 18 year old if he is at the top of our depth chart here.
• Fabian Johnson - would be our best winger today, but has often been deployed at fullback (which is also a big area of need if you look at our player pool).
• Bedoya - see 2014 description above.
• Gyasi Zardes - not a natural winger in my opinion. He has been pretty good in MLS mostly as a forward, but was often deployed on the wing by Klinsmann. He has decent pace and attacking ability, but I question his ball skill, passing ability, crossing ability, and defensive instincts to be a long-term solution on the wing.
• Zusi - see 2014 description above.
• Julian Green - hasn't figured out his club situation yet, which has limited his development. Carlo Ancellotti things he's better as a forward, which may be true, but he has also displayed promise as an attacking winger.
• Darlington Nagbe - not a natural winger and didn't earn many minutes under Klinsmann, but obviously one of the most skilled dribblers and ball circulators in our player pool.
• Ethan Finlay - has put up good stats in MLS as a wide forward, but hasn't established himself with the USMNT yet. Not sure he has the ball skill or defensive ability to be an international quality winger.
• Paul Arriola - a spot starter in Mexico, but he is definitely one to watch as a potential difference maker. He already has 2 goals with the USMNT and demonstrated with the U-20s that he has pace, skill on the ball, and an eye for goal.
• Joe Gyau - showed promise in 2014, but has been hurt ever since.
• Sebastian Lletget - no caps yet, but has been good in MLS. May or may not be a natural on the wing. He is a good dribbler and decent passer, but I'm not sure if the rest of his game makes him a better fit on the wing or in a more central attacking midfield role (in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, for example).
• Gboly Ariyibi - no caps yet, but is young (21), fast, and consistently starting in League One, and appears to be earning good reviews. He has 4 assists in 21 starts this season, after a 2 goal, 6 assist season in 2015/16.

We'll see if other young players emerge, but it's surprising and disappointing how our winger pool has dropped off at the top end during the last few World Cup cycles, relative to 2002 and 2006.

 

Well, with Fabian Johnson playing winger full-time and Pulisic and Nagbe options, when they're not playing centrally, this team is in good shape in the starting lineup.

However, as one of the commentators mentioned yesterday (can't remember if it was Landon or Stu), Bruce is comfortable up the middle of the field but there are jobs to be won on the wings.

Arena seems to be a fan of the two-way abilities of Zardes and Arriola over Rowe's skill in the attack. I wasn't crazy about the way Morris was used yesterday but he's apparently at least a speed sub option.

Pontius is a guy who wasn't originally even on the Gold Cup roster but he's brent getting some sub minutes after joining as an injury replacement.

I wonder if Saief did enough to earn more looks in training leading up to the Ghana friendly. Lletget could get some looks on the wing as well as centrally when he's healthy and in form.

Of course, Bedoya and his hustle are also part of the mix until someone takes a spot from him.

 

Allow me to disagree. Fabian while a better option than most at wing for us hasn't really impressed there. Plus, in Gladbach's match today he started at RB. He very well could go back to fullback with his club.

Also, I don't consider Nagbe a winger in any way. He's miscast there. He's a CM, an 8.

Saief is a legit option and a true winger.

IMO we don't have a true international level winger outside Pulisic, who should play 10 for us, Fabian at times and possibly Saief. Think it's hands down our weakest area next to CM.

That's why for me a 3-4-2-1/3-4-3 with Fabian/Yedlin as wingbacks fits us much better. A formation asking for out and out wingers doesn't work with our current player pool as the only legit top tier winger for us will be our 10. Everyone else is mostly hustle/bustle or out of position.

 

In my opinion, wingers are almost at the same level as LB as a position of need. How I wish we would have another Yedlin that can play the wings which is not even his natural position. I suppose Chandler can fill-in at either RW or switch with Yedlin. As far as wingers that are young, fast and 2-way, I can only think of one, but he is at least 1 year away from serious consideration and that is McKenzie Gaines at Darmstadt (BL2). I wish I could add Ariyibi but his development is going backward, physically he is there, he just doesn't seem to have what it takes between the ears.

 

The flank positions are a source of strength when thinking of the primary candidates.

Fullbacks: Johnson, Yedlin, Lichaj
Wide players: Pulisic, Nagbe, Zardes

Pulisic's only good game against one of the top-3 of this cycle's Hex came when he played on the flanks, which is where he likely needs to stay with the US.

Likewise, Nagbe's best games for the US occurred when he played on the flanks, especially the right.

Rowe and Arriola are good rising prospects for depth.

There are of course guys with Edson Buddle-type careers who might 'put it together' just in time: Brek Shea and Kekuta Manneh

One of the young players, foreign or domestic based, could break through: Ariyi, Thompson, Olosunde, Lennon.