I'm not sure Wynne is going to be considered, for several reasons. OK, he's got great speed and his defense is improving, but he has little utility in that he plays RB and that's it. In addition, we are weak from a right wing MF, so ideally we need a RB that can push forward (OK, Wynne can push forward) and cross the ball (oops, Wynn can't do that). The back line will probably be Dolo (let's hope his form improves), Gooch, Boca, Demerit, Calif, Pearce, Specter (if healthy and progresses) and somebody else - Sturgis (he looked awesome for the U20 and has been hurt), Bornstein, Wynne, Hejduk. I don't think Subotic will select the US...if he does, he's starting. My sense is that we are going to play a 4-1-4-1, with Jozy up front. Donovan will play the second striker, sitting just behind Jozy. You could also call it a 4-1-2-2-1, but who cares. Donovan's got the speed to make great runs from the US half and burn the opponents. Adu is the AM. Donovan can also track back extremely well. It appears that the two guys with the most soccer sense are Donovan and Adu, so let's hope they can both roam freely in the middle. The problem with bringing McBride is that in two years, Jozy will be a much, much better player than McBride ever was - not a knock on McBride. If he's there, there is going to be pressure to play him. Regarding the other strikers....if EJ is there, that probably means we have ZERO depth. We'll see if BB ever gives Cooper a chance, Ching can pass, but he can't get past anyone and his nose for goal is weak at best (evidence last 3 games at MNT level). The big issue is the HUGE dropoff after Jozy or McBride. I don't think McBride will go - WC tournaments are not for 38 year olds. If Jozy gets hurt, the odds of making it out of the group diminish significantly - he's the only guy up front that takes full advantage of his opportunities. Plus, he's going to learn A LOT about runs, positioning, etc at Villareal. They've got some great veterans that will teach him a thing or two. He's going to get more playing time this year between La Liga, Copa del Rey, and CL (assuming they get out of the group) than many expected. So that leaves 3 spots in the middle - Does Edu blossom at Rangers? So far, so good. Bradley is a lock and we'll have to see where BM plays him. The next two years will answer questions about Beasley (my guess is he will do fine and his touch will improve with more playing time). The biggest upside potential is arguably Kljestan if he move to Europe. Dempsey's in the mix - how many US players will actually shoot outside 15 yds AND put it on goal? I don't see Clark in the mix - compared to others, his skill/passing/vision is weak - not enough seats. I probably left a few out - still two years to go so plenty of time left.
Nice post. With Howard in goal, I feel we are very strong, and can get saved in almost any situation by him, when it comes to National team play, I would take Howard over anybody. The backline is improving each game, and they really know each other well. I just hope Onyewu can keep maturing, and stay rock solid in the back, because if he does, we will be tough to score against, I just hope he moves to a bigger club in January. Boca, may not be the best player, but provides great leadership out there, and he really does play better for his National team, although he has a startign job at Rennes, and is a tremendous asset in the air. The backs right now, seem to be Dolo and Pearce. Although, Dolo's form has been shakey, he has been one of the most consistent players the past few years, and is good at getting in the attack. Pearce, well really has shown he can play vs good competition in the big 3 series, and also to note, him and Beasley has a good sense of each other, and when Beas plays, Pearce play is much better. The vets in the attack are Donovan, Beasley, and Dempsey. Donovan has been on a mission ever since the failure that is 2006, and has been playing well.His national team apperances have been solid, and he had been playing great for club. I see him leaving this January for Europe, and his club could be as good as Bayern, rumors have been saying. Beasley, was playing great, and a terrific two way player before his injury, and since then, has picked up a few knocks, or has been sick. He is still recovering, and polishing, and even vs T&T had 2 asissts, and if healthy or on good form, clearly the best option. Dempsey, has been playing much better, and starting to regain his scoring again for the Nats. He really hasent been getting much time for Fulham, which has been dissapointing, but I think he'll get his time to shine. By 2010 though, I see him as the weak link, and him being the super sub. Strikers have been same old same old in Ching, Johnson etc, and it's annoying. None are the answer to 2010, and Bob really needs to give Jozy, Cooper, Davies, Buddle, and even Findly a chance. Now, this is the most improtant part if we want another run in 2010 like 2002. The young guns in Jozy, Adu, Edu, and Bradley need to develop. They are all playing at solid respectable clubs, in Villareal, Rangers, Moncao, and Gladbach, and if they can develop, and get minutes, and actually start, the future looks bright. They all look like they will start, and they need to develop as players, and teammates. If they are on good form, and play like we hope they will, with them, Donovan, Beasley, Howard, and Gooch, we can definatley make some noise!!! We also need that one player to step up, where he was just average, or a little above average, say Tony Sannhe. From what I've read, people on Bigsoccer were saying that he shouldnt be starting, and it will hurt the team bad, and from games from qualifying, he was know where near his 2002 form. The man was a beast, and to me the best player of the 2002 World Cup. If we can have someone step up like him, that would be huge. My roster and lineup. What I think will be it, and for the most part like. Gk- Howard Guzan Hannamen Defense- Gooch Bocanegra Cherundolo Pearce Gibbs Wynne Califf Hejduk Midfield Adu Beasley Edu Bradley Dempsey Mastroeni Rogers Kljestan Strikers Donovan Jozy Cooper Davies I included Mastroeni, because he still plays the posisiton to me the best out of anyone, and can be a good leader. Same with Hejduk, I think he will be a great locker room guy, with loads of experience. -------------------------------Howard-------------------------------- ----Dolo-----------------Boca----------Gooch---------------Pearce---- ---------------------------Edu----------Bradley---------------------- -----------Donovan--------------Adu-----------------Beasley---------- ----------------------------------Jozy---------------------------------
i'd say bocanegra is past his prime, and serviceable for the wcq process... if subotic goes american, i'd suspect he's better than bocanegra... i'd like parkhurst on the squad, but a 4th central defender, better than bocanegra ain't a sure bet...spector in the middle might keep boca off same with cherundolo, i'd be acreful about 2010, and there's no clear guy to replace him...hejduk...he'll be the same in two years...wynne..marginally better, and if you want a shut down defender, he might be the answer..i do think spector might just end up on the rgiht... dempsey...if we count donovan as a forward, there are 4 true attacking mids to count for, beasley, adu, kljestan are 3... now is cooper better than dempsey...not now...holden over dempsey...no... lewis probably gets in over the kids right now... so basically, there's no one threatening to take a slot away from dempsey, realistically
Boca would still be on the squad since he could be a solid backup the center and on the left. Pearce seems to have the starting left defender locked up, but who's his backup? Or is Orozco going to leapfrog Boca? I wouldn't be surprised to see Sturgis get a chance to be in a camp to see what he can do. Solid player who can play all 4 spots in the back, as well as fill-in on the midfield line. Versatility can be very helpful during a tourny when talking about the last couple of players to fill out the roster. Realistically though, Sturgis and Orozco both have a long ways to go, but it points to the fact that the pool is getting much bigger for the US. I still think that Feilhaber should stay in consideration, but he really needs to turn his form around. If he could settle in for his club and perform well as a starter, then he should be brought back. He's the type of player we need if we go with a 4-4-2. Otherwise we need to continue playing a 4-2-3-1 -- not necessarily a bad line-up though.
The locks to go to the World Cup barring injury are... Tim Howard Heath Pearce Carlos Bocanegra Oguchi Onyewu Steve Cherundolo Michael Bradley Maurice Edu Landon Donovan Clint Dempsey Damarcus Beasley Freddy Adu Jozy Altidore Brad Guzan Everything else is a toss up.
Interesting line-up and gets a lot of attacking possibilities going. My concern would be the amount of pressure it puts on the sole D mid, especially young D-mids like Bradley and Edu. Mastro might be better at that position right now but I don't know about 2 years from now. With Adu and Donovan in front of the D-Mid, many counters will come up the gut. I think for this to work, MB and Edu will have to improve massively in the next 2 years so that there is depth to this position - which is possible. Adu will need to also improve as an attacking mid who can pitch in with at least a little defense from time to time. Altidore will need to improve at holding the ball up at times to bring others into the play. Just my thoughts.
Agree. However, given Donovan's history, I see him being able to roam in the middle and help out - Italy WC2006, when he was all over the place. Of course, part of this is looking at the crystal ball. I see Edu and Bradley both improving Kljestan too. Altidore is a beast...Today. At times in last weekend's game, he looked like the man playing against the boys. He burned the Depor defense several times. In two years, I don't see too many defenders able to muscle him off the ball. As good as he is today, his skill level is going to soar both with Villareal and playing in La Liga. If Adu can do just a litte more on defense, then that's a bonus. If not, he still offers so much to the offense that we have to have him in - best skill and vision. Can anyone hit the seems with passes as well as Adu? Part of this crystal ball is improvement, however, it's not as if we are expecting someone like Dolo (late 20s) to improve. We're talking about KIDS in their late teens and early 20s, so the hope for improvement is not really far fetched. Of course, since we are the US, we don't have much (any) depth, so if we get hit with any injuries, it seriously hinders our progress.
Right now, without going in depth on my top-50 list... Goalkeeper Brad Guzan Marcus Hahnemann Tim Howard Defender Carlos Bocanegra Steve Cherundolo Jay DeMerit Frankie Hejduk Oguchi Onyewu Michael Parkhurst Heath Pearce Jonathan Spector Midfielder Freddy Adu DeMarcus Beasley Michael Bradley Clint Dempsey Maurice Edu Sasha Kljestan Robbie Rogers Danny Szetela Forwards Jozy Altidore Kenny Cooper Charlie Davies Landon Donovan
I generally like the personnel, but for the starting XI would you switch it to a 4-2-3-1 with Donovan on the right but being able to freely exchange with Adu and Beasley? Just wondering.
I like the 4-1-3-2 with either mini bradley or edu (whoever's in form at the time, not who's who's the best behaving son) in the dmid role and Landy playing behind Jozy as the support striker. Adu can be in the middle and it should be up for grabs on the flanks, but we'd most likely see Beaz and Dempsey on the wings.
it means either bradley or edu don't push up as much which they really wouldn't against better teams.
Ok, my current thoughts on 2010, since I can never pass up the opportunity: GK - Howard, Guzan, wide open D - Onyewu, Pearce, Bocanegra, Spector, Cherundolo, Simek, Demerit, either Orozco or Wynne MF - Adu, Bradley, Dempsey, Beasley, Edu, Kljestan, Clark, and one of either Mastroeni, Feilhaber, or Szetela F - Donovan, Altidore, Cooper, Johnson
My 23: GK: HOWARD Hahnemann Guzan DEF: ONYEWU BOCANEGRA PEARCE CHERUNDOLO DeMerit Simek Spector MID: ADU DEMPSEY BEASLEY Edu Bradley Kljestan Rogers Holden Thorrington FWD: ALTIDORE DONOVAN Cooper Ching -------Altidore-------Donovan-------- ----------------Adu-------------------- Beasley---------------------Dempsey ------------Edu/Bradley--------------- Pearce---Boca---Onyewu-Cherundolo ---------------Howard-----------------
i don't really like his line-up at all... ill give mine PACK YOUR BAGS Howard, Cherundolo, Bocanegra, Onyewu, Bradley, Dempsey, Donovan, Adu, Altidore NEARLY A LOCK Edu, Guzan, Pearce, Beasley FAIRLY SAFE BET Kljestan, DeMerit FINAL SPOTS Cooper, Davies, Wynne, Parkhurst, Bornstein, Holden, Hahnemann, R. Clark ------------ JUST MISSED OUT Spector, Simek, Hejduk, Reis, Szetela, Califf, Rogers, Mastroeni, Ching DARK HORSE Orozco, Seitz, Feilhaber, Marshall, Goodson, Convey, White, Conrad, Gaven, Hesmer, Gibbs, Sturgis, Moor, Johnson, Buddle, Jaqua, Perkins, Alvarez, Harrington, C. Clark, Mapp, Findley LITTLE TO NO CHANCE Cervi, Keller, Carroll, Beckerman, Dunivant, Quaranta, Videira, Shea, McCarty, Zizzo, Nguyen, Noonan, Rolfe, C. Barrett, Thorrington, Lewis, McBride, Pickens, Twellman, Arguez, Ferrari, Zimmerman, Olsen, Hill, T. Hall, Westberg, Jeffrey, Joyce, Ashe, Albright, W. Barrett, Arnaud, Boswell, Braun, Ianni, Beltran, Myers, Burch, Burciaga, McTavish, Rimando, Avila, Cristman, Corrales, Flores, Evans, Eskandarian, Davis, Mullan, Freeman, Goldthwaite, Parke, E. Robinson, Herc, Ibrahim, Sesay, Wagner, Igwe, Wallace, Kirk, Lambo, Frankliln, Leathers, Magee, Marsch, Razov, Nimo, O' Rourke, Rolfe, Sarkodie, J. Smith, Wolff *not counting Subotic or Soumare. Predicted Starting line-up come 2010: ---------------Altidore------------------- ---------Adu--Donovan--Dempsey--------- ------------Kljestan--Bradley-------------- Pearce-------------------------------Cherundolo -------Bocanegra----Onyewu------------- ---------------Howard------------------- *This is more of a revolving door at second forward than a regiment 3 AM formation. in other words, it's basically gonna be the box formation with one always pushing up top. Bench: Guzan, Wynne, DeMerit, Edu, Beasley, Cooper, Davies
To me, the quad is always more scary because it is only 6 games, and the three road games are generally on very crappy pitches and crappy conditions. The shorter the series, the less opportunity you have to balance out some bad luck. Now that we are virtually through the quad (we need what, 3 pts in 3 matches, two at home?), WC 2010 looks fairly certain for us. Moving on to the roster, I think five players define the shape of the team in 2010-- Donovan (where to play him), Adu (his form and were to play him), Altidore (development), Davies (ditto) and Beasley (health). If things go well with all five players, we face a real problem in that getting all five on the pitch at once, and in the place for them to do the most harm to our opponents, is not possible for Bob Bradley. There's a long way to go for all five, so let's keep track. Right now, though, these five are my core group for the offense. That may change over time.
Why is this a real problem?? We want all of of players to do well and be on top of their game. If that is the case, then pick the best combination for your attacking spots and use the other players as supersubs. Or rotate the starters between the 3 group stage games so that the team isn't worn out going into the next round. In order to be successful in a tournament, you need quality depth. It's not about just having 11 great players. It also makes a huge difference when you're struggling 60 minutes into the game to throw-in a dangerous sub who can change things. Beasley is a great player for this with is pace and desire to continually make dangerous runs. Adu is also great for it because he can unbalance a defense, same goes for Dempsey. Having good quality players on the bench behind even better players shows depth. Something that the USMNT is striving to build and should never been looked upon as a negative or real problem.
altidore, davies, beasley, adu, donovan well, i suggest only 4 will start, and having options off the bench ain't bad... --------------altidore---- -beasley-------adu----donovan ------bradley-----edu--- pearce--onyewu-subotic--spector -----------howard--- crystal ball says that's who starts.. davies caddies altidore... dempsey off the bench with kljestan.. szetela caddies edu and bradley..... usa has depth in numbers quite soon, and there will be talent left off the final 23