Alert: Klinsmann announces roster for May/June camp on Thursday (announcement included in this thread)

I like my explanation better. It's not like we need to charm the Walloonian and Flemish press. Although if he could hook up some free Chimay or better yet some more Westy12, I'd make him captain for life.

 

Last I saw him he had shaved it.

 

The point is the parent and the coach handles each of their charges individually.

The players are not in the same situation. They are not at the same developmental stage, they are not even at stages that the other has ever been at (Landon has never had that injury situation, and Holden has never "taken sabbatical), they were not given the same direction by the coach, they didn't have the same communication with the coach, they don't play in the same league (literally). Really, the only similarities they have are the ones that put them both in the USMNT pool.

 

Then I'll go with my more logical, boring reasoning, he plays in Belgium.

 

Do you think he's any good?

 

Truth is, Donovan spoiled us. I've been watching football from around the world for 30+ years, and can count with my fingers the number of guys who have enough highlights to make an awesome full-length 90 minute movie out of them. Landon is one.

I know you guys joke about the Soccer Jesus shtick, but the guy was fun to watch in those moments he did something cool --which came at about a rate of at least once per game during long periods of time. Those counters were... well, you guys know. Awesome to watch.

By comparison, this team, even when managing a 0-0 tie in the Azteca in quals, is like watching grass grow.

 

Bradley is an intelligent guy. The problem is that when he has figured out doesn't work, he keeps trying the same. In a game he has two or three basic passes forward, to the same guy, in the same area. I've been watching the past qualification games carefully and Mike is definitely a great player with a very high ceiling, but he's no playmaker. Jones is better at it, actually, because he breaks the mold and moves forward when people least expect it.

Mike follows the same route again and again. His gift is figuring out the other teams distribution, and positioning himself for defense (although in the Honduras game for some reason he was keeping himself too far from the guy he was supposed to mark).

I'd love to see Mike with someone more imaginative right in front of him, someone like Idealized Holden. So there is the intelligence needed to impose rhythm/keep positioning (in case the other team counters), while there is the creative force right behind the forwards.

Basically, Bradley + Dempsey + Idealized Holden could be better than "in form Donovan" because, being three different guys, they'd be harder to mark off the game. Danger would be coming from three sides.

 

Who?

 

Holden in the house!

 

Brad Evans.

 

Oh. He sucks.

 

I'm going to buy a jersey with "Idealized Holden" on the back. I love it.

 

Why the focus on Evans, he is a squad player.. A smart coach picks 19 to 20 guys that can make the match day roster and 3 to 4 squad players. Evans is clearly good enough to be a squad player. A squad player is not necessarily clearly in the next ranked players but brings qualities in the locker room and or training field that pushes the starters and makes the team more effective overall.

I thought when Zusi graduated from CC2012 he would be a squad player but he has transcended that role so you never know.

 

Well, a lot of Big Soccer history needs to be changed to show these shining qualities that Jay Heaps brought to the 2009 Gold Cup team. He is even a head coach now.

That, and JK seems to have Evans ranked higher than 'squad player' as he seems to find playing time when he is around.

 

Teams full of hard-working journeymen make it far in world cups on occasion

 

Every coach has their "what does he/doesn't he see in THAT guy?" quirks. You know that. Evans is obviously one of Klinsi's. That would be completely forgivable IMO if it were it not for a plethora of other head-scratching choices which exacerbate that selection.

 

Do those teams also leave their best players at home?

 

This. This this this this this. It's not one thing. Every coach has their eccentricities. It's the number and type of them in this instance.

 

For disciplinary reasons, they sure do.

 

It's not about Evans per se. It's the fact that we're not going into 3 important games with our best possible roster. Evans is just the guy that sticks out because he's not in the same league (figuratively; I know there are other MLS guys) as the rest of the squad.

 

Like who?

Hiddink's South Korea getting favors from the refs in '02? Uruguay and Ghana in 2010 were much more than "journeymen" sides.

The 2002 USA team was a much better squad than the one we're going to have over the next few weeks.

 

For a couple of their qualifiers? Sure.

On the other hand I'm not sure if you can find any examples of those "best players" taking 4 months vacation from club and country to see the world.

 

The best squad players gets a few minutes and usually every one on the team is happy. I posted this already but Evans is having a pretty good season.

Over the course of his seven-year MLS career, Brad Evans has ingratiated himself as a sort of player’s player.
The midfielder tends to do a lot of the things that can go unnoticed by the casual observer, but teammates tend to appreciate. He works hard on defense, wins his share of midfield duels, plays wherever the coach asks and makes the connecting passes that keep an offense flowing.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...e-sounders-versatile-brad-evans-adds-new-role-

Don't get me wrong Evans was IMO one of the better player at the CC2013 match v Canada and played very well from the RB slot but he is not likely to get meaningful A team minutes even when 6 to 8 A teamers are missing. Still a good guy to have around.

 

JK: "Ah... Brad, I wanted to talk to you. Come here. You're going to mark Dembele."
Evans: "Uh... are you sure you're not confusing me with someone else?"

 

I bet if you put out a 27 man roster there will be several posters who will have the same reaction to several of your selections. That is the nature of squad selections. At the fringes it becomes highly subjective.

I will give you 100:1 odds that if you polled the 4 assistants on ranking players 17 to 23 to call up you would get 4 different lists with very little overlap.

I just don't get hung up on fringe players, it is too subjective. I will say that if I had to pick a RB to come in say at Jamaica and give 15 to 20 minutes as an emergency sub I would prefer Danny Williams but I would be quite comfortable with Evans. He is a grinder.