I'm worried that he's too much of a tweener to be effective 90 minutes. But Jose Torres definitely needs to be at least a supersub this cycle.
I think he has looked very good. However, I also think that if we ever have a full selection healthy the center of the park is a very, very crowded place on this team and it may or may not be good enough for anything beyond mop up minutes. He may turn into an ideal sub to bring on late with a lead to possess the ball and kill off the clock.
Thought he looked better against Costa Rica, but I definitely like what I see as well..... I would have liked to have seen more cutting passes offensively vs. Belgium. Torres is definitely back in the mixx though!
His distribution was good, he tracked back and defended and he didn't look flustered when he had the ball and defenders where running at him. I think he's done really well and it's more then likely he'll be part of the most future call ups.
Torres needs to continue playing for the nationa team so he can get noticed by some European clubs. If Torres can make a move across the pond that will be great for him and the national team.
I don't see him as tweener, I see him as a guy that is not great at anything but really good at a everything. He is someone that needs to be on the field
Holden is great and all--and pretty versatile, but to compare his versatility and skill set to Iniesta is a BIT of a stretch.
I like Torres as well. I am not sure where he fits when all the top players are called in together. If it looks like what I think it would be something like -------------------------------Altidore Shea----------------------------------------------------Donovan ------------------------------Dempsey ----------------Holden------------------------Bradley------- Chandler/Lichaj-----Boc-------------Unknown---------------Dolo Or something like that. I see Holden and Bradley being able to interchange in that CM/DM role. Then they have guys like Aguedelo, Torres, Edu, Jones, and young guns as depth and tactical adjustments. So I can see Torres coming in to play in the CM role some, but I think when the top European players are all back and together JK will have to try and find a way to play Holden and Bradley. The team starting unit isn't going to be completely different under JK than Bradley. The top talent is the top talent. JK will hopefully get to add some new pieces like Shea and maybe a couple of others. He will hopefully solidfy the backline. But Dempsy, Donovan, Altidore, Bradley, and Holden are the top talent that the US has and it shown by their value to european clubs. Torres has some definite skills and tendancies that fit what JK and the US need, but I am not sure he is quite the right fit. He doesn't play defense particurarly well and is not really a #10. A CM needs to play defense better. So I am just not sure where he fits. Really I think he would have to beat out Dempsey for that #10 role or beat out Holden as a better attacking option. The other way this roster could look is with two CAM mids in a 4 1 4 1. But that would still fit Holden and Bradley interchanging to make those penetrating runs. I haven't seen Torres do that and that's what the US needs to compliment the other playmakers. Its possible he could be a central faciliataor with Dempsey, and Donovan on teh wings, but that would mean he would have to outplay Shea's benefit. Out of the players the US has in its pool, Adu has the better chance of doing that and I would say that's probably unlikely. Its also possible that Holden comes in and plays better at the Dmid spot and Torres and Bradley duke it out for CM. I am sure that is what many want. But I think its more likely that Bradley is winner in the Dmid role. Holden the CM role with his box to box play that can hunker back and play as a second dmid when needed. Bradely has enough ability to play two way that so that holden and Bradley can act a bit more like a pulley and add that versitility that JK wants- but with the primary duty being the Dmid. Dempsey is the closest thing the US has to a #10. I just don't see where Torres fits outside of a supersub role. He does add some nice depth though. I have the same problem with the new youth coming up. Who do they replace? What the US really needs more than anything is a super solid backline. The rest of the team looks pretty good, especially with the addition of Shea. With that I am not saying its perfect- but I don't see a lot of positions that can be easily filled or won away. I have a hard time seeing Edu, Beckerman, or Jones beating Bradley at Dmid. Jones I could before I watched him play. Beckerman is the best backup out of the three. I just haven't seen much from Edu. His offensie spacing is horrible. I have a hard time seing Torres beat out Holden. He's good depth there though- as Holden gets back into form. Its going to be interesting to see how this roster fills out. I hope in the end JK does a better job than Bradley at developing depth at every spot. That was one thing that hurt at the WC when certian players got hurt or were out of their previous form.
Holden has to play a game first guys. Assuming Holden does return to form. I expect we may see a lineup with him and Torres in it with one geared more towards Defense and the others possession. Competition is good for the team.
Not in this formation: Adudelo/Altidore Donovan---------Dempsey Torres---------Holden Edu/Bradley Back-------Four
That would make Jermaine Jones (I'm guessing) Busquets, with Dempsey, Donovan, and a forward being the front 3. I could live with that. Bradley wouldn't start, but I'm not sure that's a bad thing...a 4-5-1 with Holden, Torres, a DM like Jones, Dempsey, and Donovan might be the best TEAM we can put out there.
I can't agree more. The only thing for the US, besides working on the possession game, is for Torres to increase his fitness to 90 minutes. And we wait for Bradley and Holden to come back to form. If they never do, that sucks. But if they do, that would be the most talented US TEAM we have fielded since 2002.
This is so true. Big time clubs are far more interested in a players performance in 6 or 7 games with the national team than they are with 40 games with a club team and consistency on a week in and week out basis.
If people are into playing Torres and Holden at the same time I was considering this. Lo and behold, someone wrote a little hypothetical piece about this exact line-up. http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2011...d-states-usmnt-jurgen-klinsmann-clint-dempsey Although, if the other team is getting too much room in the midfield it has the same problems as Jurgen's other line-ups where the wingers have to track back and the person up top is on an island.
+100 but I wonder if JK will go as far as to build the team around him....I definately like him when supported by 2 DM's i.e. 4-2-3-1