Ive gotta say Jimmy Conrad needs to be shown some love in these next upcoming friendlies if possible, he's nothing but solid in any MLS game ive watch him play in, hes a very....very smart defender. He's obliterating DeRosario right now, no easy task. Literally taking him completely out of the game. Id put him above both Bocanegra and Onyewu right now. And with Gibbs injured, this things pretty obvious to me. If i had my way id put Conrad-Bocanegra on my backline for Brazil. But I watched Boca against Tottenham, and Conrad just now, and granted the level of play is completely different, but Jimmy looked great in all aspects of the game, Boca looks shaky like Gooch right now. Im thinking our depth as it stands now should look like this 1. Conrad 2. Bocanegra 3. Onyewu 4. Parkhurst 5. Demerit Gibbs being the lynchpin, if he's healthy he may be insta-number one. And Parkhurst deserves more looks too, deffinetly. He's alot like Jimmy, doesnt have the size but deffinetly has the smarts to play.
1. Gibbs 2. Conrad 3. Parkhurst 4. Onyewu 5. Demerit I would like to see a Conrad/Parkhurst pairing versus brazil. We would be very organized and composed in the back which will be vital against a team of brazil's quality. I am not so concerned about height as I am organizing and not making mistakes in the back. Gibbs when healthy along with these 2 and Onyewu for certain matchups are the pairings I would use depending on matchups using 2 of gibbs, parkhurst, conrad, and onyewu.
onyewu?? i hear he might go to real madrid... he's gotta be the best central defender in the pool. theres no way conrad could make it at real madrid.
it's true. real madrid has shown some serious interest in the gooch. you wait and watch...he's gonna get signed by them. he's a world class player.
It's probably just a rumor gone wild and it's okay for you to imagine seeing play alongside Cannavaro and Sergio Ramos but it's not gonna happen... Onyewu is a solid defender but again, he's not up there with the best.
you just don't like american players. the gooch is one of the best defenders in the world. he's a freak of nature, a physical specimen. why are you even on this message board if you don't like american players??
Do you actually like gooch or are you being sarcastic because of the ripping's everone has been giving you?
I think you pretty much summed it up for me Kevin8833. I really don't like Bocanegra, he looked absolutely terrible yesterday against Tottenham. Onyewu is such a reliability with his fouls, however is athleticism is usefull against players like Ibrahimovic. For me Parkhurst is the best CB the US has and he NEEDS to start getting more looks. He can actually play soccer, he is smart, and he reads the game well with very rarely conceeding fouls. In his 88 games in MLS(all starts) he has only comitted 24 fouls and been cautioned 3 times. And chances are that a lot of those were intelligent fouls, those are absurd numbers. Onyewu commits more than 24 fouls a week. Too many US fans put too much emphasis on their CBs being big and fast. I would love to see Gibbs return to fitness and pair with Parkhurst. 1. Parkhurst 2. Conrad 3. Demerit 4. Onyewu 5. Bocanegra * Gibbs
we all know who they are now, no one has a shred of respect for them, just ignore the 18 year old virgins like the rest of us . Teenagers thrive on drama, they want to feel special since mommy and daddy dont pay attention to them and thus get their attention on a message board. Just ignore them and theyll eventually go away. Parkhurst legitimately deserves looks a look. I like what he brings. I think we need one player like Gooch or Boca on the field. Itd be pretty bold to see a Conrad-Parkhurst pairing, i wouldnt mind it though. But again i think thatll be a camp cupcake 2010 affair leading up to the cup if we do see that. Doesnt mean it isnt a good idea.
Onyewu has 97 starts for Standard. 21 yellows and 3 reds. I'm scarred to know how many fouls. So basically Gooch's card ratio equals Parkhurst's foul ratio.
hairynippleman really is becoming a broken record on these boards... Just trying to stir the pot. As for me, here's my current depth chart at center back (though, I've gotta admit, it tends to change on a weekly basis): 1) Carlos Bocanegra - he's been shaky in the Prem so far, but still our best bet IMO 2) Jimmy Conrad - our headiest player with the best positioning, but had a rough CA 3) Jay DeMerit - has shown good composure, positioning in all of his US matches 4) Oguchi Onyewu - haven't seen him for Standard yet this season, but I'm still reminded of his GC play 5) Michael Parkhurst - Classy defender with potential to move up this list 6) Gregg Berhalter - Not a sexy choice but he belongs on this list 7) Bobby Boswell - lacking in speed, but he's strong & a good tackler 8) Danny Califf - too slow for the international game Cory Gibbs is the X-Factor
Onyewu is fine as long as he doesn't use his hands too much. We know he's not super agile, but he's a better player than many give him credit for. Unfortunately, Gooch's effectiveness in a game is very tied to how the ref treats him. If the ref calls a foul every time Onyewu wins a 50-50 shoulder challenge, then he's basically screwed. Still, we need someone that tall to face teams with Luca Toni-sized strikers. Playing Onyewu is a gamble that sometimes pays off and sometimes blows up in your face. A healthy Gibbs is key for playing fast teams (or any team that scores primarily as a result of midfield interception plays instead of slow build up plays). I like Onyewu-Gibbs or Gibbs-Parkhurst for such games. If Gibbs never recovers, reluctantly I have to go with Onyewu-Parkhurst. If we're facing a more possession oriented team, I think the Conrad/Bocanegra pairing is a good choice.
I like the idea of Parkhurst-Gibbs as our number 1 pairing, with Conrad the number 3 with a steady organized veteran presence, onyewu is the number 4 guy for certain matchups, and the 5th back up guy incase of injury is demerit because I just feel he is the 5th best CB we have.
You obviously don't like Bocanegra. I can see where you're coming from, but I'm not sure Conrad is really any better. They're both decently agile but slow as dirt. Bocanegra's offensive ability on set pieces offsets Conrad being a couple inches taller. They've both had some good games and some bad games in the USA colors.
Bocanegra is decent but I just don't think he can play against world class opponents at CB, I would give him some more looks at LB but with time he will slow down more and more which is a problem for me, but if I were to put him on the field it would be at left back not center, he is to shaky there for my likes. I believe Conrad can hold his own against pretty much anyone, he is nothing spectacular but seems to always do his job, he is border line boring because he is just calm and collective without making mistakes, and never really makes a great play just steady and consistent throughout the game which is perfect in my opinion as the first back up CB, Gibbs and Parkhurst are the only potential world class centerbacks that we have in my opinion, Onyewu is far from world class typically but is very close when he is facing certain matchups, and that is how I would use him, Demerit looks pretty good and could probably hold a spot down if one of those 4 got injured but I don't feel he is world class, however he is pretty solid.