First, there was a story about Michael Bradley. Now here's one on Lee Ngyuen: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=369993&root=americansabroad&cc=5901 Even if we crash out in the first round this year, we can look forward to 2010, when Donovan, DMB, Gooch, Convey, Dempsey and Gibbs will be the keys, Jonathan Spector, Bradley and perhaps Freddy Adu and Ngyuen will be on the verge of breaking out and even Jay Demerit and Heath Pearce may be adding depth. Just think of the youth players right now who could move abroad in the run-up to 2010 --- and think about the players I'm forgetting about. I'm fired up!!!!
wynne, feilheber(sp?), sturgis is going to be a solid utility man in the back for us too. maybe Szetela could finnally blossom into something this next cycle. then of course there's always 1-2 players that just come out of noware.
It's a fun topic. And Bradley was a kid I forgot about in the other thread. I do not envy the next manager of USA. why? DaMarcus Bealsey Landon Donovan Freddy Adu Bobby Convey Clint Dempsey John O'Brien Benny Feilhaber Ricardo Clark Justin Mapp Michael Bradley Lee Nguyen in 2 years, all of these guys will be in their prime. All of the guys are VERY talented. All of these guys are talented enough to earn contracts in good European leagues. How the heck do you 4 to 5 players form that group? Here's another interesting situation. Landon Donovan isn't a very good wide player. He's not built for it mentally. And we have a host of players better suited for that role. Freddy Adu's natural position is ACM, same as Donovan. IMHO - Freddy is better in certain ways at ACM than Donovan. He's got a knack for showing for the ball and his vision and passing is outstanding (as is Landon's). But what do you do with Landon if Freddy proves to be a better player? possibly play him at forward? or move Freddy to the right? It's a crazy situation...and what happens with the other players like Convey and Beasley? Example: -------------------------Feilhaber-------------------------- -------Dempsey-----------------------Convey--------------- ------------------------Adu--------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------Johnson---------Donovan-------------------- or: ---------------------Bradley----------------------------- -----Adu-------------------------Beasley---------------- ---------------------Donovan---------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- -------------EJ----------------Ching--------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- or ---------------------Feilhaber--------------------------- --------Nguyen-------------------O'Brien---------------- ----------------------Convey--------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- ---------------Adu------------Donovan------------------
----------------Howard------------- Wynne/Dolo--Gooch--Gibbs--Spector ------------------------------------ -----------------JOB--------------- -Adu---------Donovan------Convey- ------------------------------------ ------------EJ-------???------------ ??? Rolfe/Esky/Altidore/Arvizu/Ching/someone else? Maybe put landon there, let freddy take landon's spot, and have someone else on the right (dempsey, etc.) If JOB (remember he'll only be 31, younger than Reyna, McBride, Pope, etc. are now) is still injured by then, Feilhaber/Bradley in his spot.
two moves that i can see happening are donovan moving up and beasley moving back. not sure how much of a minority im in saying beasley would be an ideal left back, but thats what i think. but just looking at our backline without him is (potentially) impressive. wynne, gooch, gibbs, and spector for example would would be an average of what- 6'2, 6'3? and gibbs would be the old man of that group at 29 (?). dolo will still be in the mix, marshall maybe, bocas there, conrads not too old, so the "experience" is there...in addition to a very seasoned gooch and gibbs. as long as howard keeps growing and we find a couple of solid keeps besides him our defense looks really good going forward. for forwards weve got donovan, johnson, rolfe, ching/twellman will be the old guys there, rolfe, esky, maybe tino finally pulls it together (maybe midfield though). one thing that doesnt change is that we have move attack mids than pure forwards. i cant ever see adu playing up top, fielhaber is very offensive minded. the one hold i see is dmid. ideally our team develops players who can possess, control, play both ways that we dont need a strictly "d" mid, but im picturing benny and freddy in the middle of my hypothetical team. maybe szetela? whos in the pipeline there? spector moving up? pablo will be what, 32?
Agreed, and I think you can throw Danny Szetela and.......Eddie Gaven *ducks* into that mix. I dont think we should judge the 18 year old on his Scotland cap and call that his future. He's progressing, reminds me alot of Bobby Convey of the DC United days. He'll turn out to be a good player i think. I dont wish picking a lineup out of that bunch on anyone. Same thing with forwards; Cooper, Rolfe, Altidore, Arvizu, Ochoa, Kirk, EJ, Adu, Zimmermann, Casey. That'll be fun and educational. Im still not convinced freddy's hit puberty i think he still has some size to develop in that little frame of his , he could play up front. I think Kenny Cooper is sitting pretty at power forward though. He'd be my closest guess at a sure thing. The man's a behemouth, and he's got skillz that killz.
I didn't discount Gaven as much as I did forget about him. Same with Szetela. 2 more kids who are gonna be reckoned with. Forwards I don't have as good a feeling about. Johnson is the one guy that I've seen who has the athletic ability to be a very good international striker. The others don't seem to be as forceful with their talent...and the younger players are just that, young. As in wait and see. Though Arvizu really reminded me of Landon Donovan in the U17 Cup
What's most exciting is that each of those guys are looking over their shoulder at the others, and they know that if they want to play for the US in the future, they have to find a way to be better than their peers. The level of in-house competition will be a strong asset going into the future.
which is why we need someone like Arena heading it all up so this doesn't turn too cut-throat. The biggest thing our soccer program has going for it is it acts like a family. Everyone playing for country and each other. With this much talent availible, competition is going to be fierce.
I think your worry is warranted. because, as it stands now, EJ and Rolfe are the only ones capped at the senior level to my knowledge. EJ being the only one consistently. If theres one thing ive noticed about the BS boards in my short time here, its almost fear of the up and coming youth. Not saying you are, but personally speaking i feel alot of excitement with this next crop, as well as confidence. Im confident about my Cooper pick though, i garuntee first cycle after this World Cup he's going to be one of our starting forwards. Ive been a huge fan of the guy ever since i saw his first game here in the MLS. I dont think there was a person in here who had the feeling of "overrated" in the back of their mind when he hopped across the pond, turns out he was underrated. Well into the MLS season, he's proving he's the real deal. I think we can expect alot of positive things from him. Red Bull New York, if nothing else, are preparing for the future with names like Wynne, Altidore, and Arvizu on the roster. A few years down the road, New York is going to dominate. Id say the later two are ready in two years, three years max, to be playing MLS and maybe get a callup. Zimmermanns learning under the capable hands of Hamburg as we speak, and if we have any friendlies in europe from 2008 on, you know he'll be in the lineup and be given his fair shot (if one expects the european-matches to be our "euro" squad anyways). Casey's also going to be exciting to watch next season in the Bundesliga. Ochoa, I admit i dont know alot about him but some of my friends are garunteeing me that he starts up front for us in the cup in 2010. Bold words, i want to see how that pans out. If he's even half as good as that projection ill be stoked. Kirk's another prospect. And then theres always the up and comer no one sees coming in any way shape or form whatsoever. Yes sir, its going to be a dogfight for Cooper's partner up top in 2010.
Remember guys such as Simek, Dan Kar.... and Whitbread(sp) They will have three more years of english first division (premiership?) experience!!
I'm not afraid of the future. I'm just not clairevoyant. I don't know which one of these kids turn into the next Memo Gonzalaz
Forwards: Davies, Rolfe, Altidore, Smith Midfielders: Beasley, Donovan, Bradley, Adu, Dempsey, Gaven, Mapp, Clark Defenders: Burciaga, Dunnivant, Gooch, Gibbs, Marshall, Spector, Dolo, Wynne At the forward spot, I went with players who have shown or have a reputation for strong technical skills, speed, and athletic ability. Such is the quality of the current pool that three of the four aren't even getting regular minutes yet. Midfielder is a position stacked with known quantities of high quality. Hell the positions are so stacked that Beez won't start and Convey won't make it. Central defense is also stacked. We'll have a couple of EPL starters who won't make it. Burciaga gets his chance in the post-Arena era. Pearce was extremely underwhelming at Camp Cupcake.
Burciaga should be the LB starter in the next WC. His defense is rapidly improving and we all know what offensive skills he has.
id like to see alot of the guys listed here to go overseas in the next 1-3 years to really give us and them a shot. i dont think im the only one wishing that. forza inter
If I'm guessing.... F: Johnson, Cooper, Davies, Rolfe? (Rossi, obviously, if ...) M: Mastroeni, Donovan, Adu, Nguyen, Convey, Bradley, Feilhaber, Dempsey D: Spector, Gibbs, Onyewu, Cherundolo, Wynne, Marshall, Bocanegra, Demerit. GK: Howard, Guzan, Hahnemann
Let's say the 2002 US squad was the most underrated (in most outlets) .. that the 2006 are the best US squad to date. .. then 2010 will be the most anticipated, at least by people like us. Key guys like Keller, Pope, Reyna, McBride are class, but they represent the previous generation. Guys like Landon, DMB, Convey, Gooch and Spector represent the future. What will happen by 2010 is that we won't need to rely on players in their 30s at key positions. Not that 30+ is over the hill, but you know what I mean.. we'll have key European or stand-out MLS players whose abilities and talents will be bigger and more tested than those previously.
again, I think your concern is more than warranted i can see where your coming from. You always have to worry about the turnover ratio. You could be right, half of these guys could turn belly up. That would certainly suck something awful, but even if half of these forwards turn over, i think we're still sitting good . Its just a question who, if any of them, they are. Just something you really cant call right now. I know everyones excited out of their minds about the class of 2010 though, whoevers coaching in 2010 is going to have to leave a crapload of talent at home.
GK: Howard (31), Hahnemann(37), Guzan (25) D: Onyewu (28), Spector (24), Gibbs (30), Marshall (25), Bocanegra (30), Wynne, Cherundolo (31), Pearce (25) M: Donovan (28), O'brien (31), Adu (20), Beasley (26), Convey (26), Feilhaber (25), Nguyen (23), Dempsey (28) F: Cooper (25), the other three, god knows....Altidore, Arvizu, Zimmermann, Rolfe, EJ, Kirk, Ochoa....forward's the real grab bag in this whole thing.
and starting 11 ---------------------Howard----------------------- ----------------Onyewu----Spector---------------- Wynne--------------------------------------Pearce ----------------------JOB-------------------------- ---------------Nguyen----Adu---------------------- --------------------Donovan----------------------- ---------------Cooper----?Arvizu?------------------ Wynne or Cherundolo will be situational. If we want a strict, lock down wingback we'll go with Wynne. But if we feel confident enough to tear up the flanks and want to put in good crosses, we go with Dolo. Pearce, i think he's got a future with us, i think he's the dark horse, he reminds me alot of how Dolo was at his age, he'll turn out to be a good player though. JOB IF he is healthy i go with him, you cant say youd want someone else. If he cant (and i doubt he could go a full match), id put feilhaber in as a substitute. Nguyen imo looks like the most dangerous right side threat. Adu, nuff said. Donovan is going to be our hallmark player for years to come, i dont think anyone sits him down no matter who is in charge. Cooper is the a bigger, stronger (and could become more skilled) coming of Brian McBride. And that last forward, i guess insert your favorite up-and-coming-forward-there.