--------------------Birx----------------- ---Newsom----Fauci----Cuomo--- ----------Mnuchin---Kudlow-------- -Gates---DeWine---Inslee---Ma- ------------------Pence---------------
Not the best XI but the most potential XI A: —————-Sargent——————- Pulisic———Reyna———-Morris ———-McKennie—Adams———— Dest———————————Yedlin ————-Brooks—Miazga———— ——————Steffen——————— B: ——————-Weah——————— Holmes———Lletget————-Konrad ———Morales———Aaronson——— Antonee—————————Cannon ———-Long————Zimmerman——- ———————Guzan———————— C: ——————Ferreira——————— Vassilev——Ledezma————Llanez ———Pomykal———Yuiell————— Gloster——————————-Chandler ————Richards—-Miles—————- ——————-Hamid———————— Honorable Mention: Toye Soto Ebobisse Saucedo Sabbi Mendez Busio Tessman Johnny Bassett Sands Parks Otasowie Durkin Servania Cappis Hyndman Herrera Hamalainen Gasper Vines Bello McKenzie Palmer-Brown Carter-Vickers Alvarado Scally Lennon Araujo Altidore Zardes Arriola Boyd Johnson (G) Turner (G) Gonzalez (G) Horvath (G)
You hot ticket. I owe you a beer. One of my buddies, a cultural but dedicated Catholic like myself, once came up with a best eleven that had Innocent XI and Archbishop Hughes in the defensive midfield.
We need to have at most three attack focused players vs good teams IMO. So that means it’s Pulisic, Reyna + 1 to me.
That’s too defensive, in my opinion. Pulisic, Reyna + the other attackers are just going to have to play some defense.
everyone has to play some defense in the modern game but we cannot have 4 players who aren’t good at it. You’ve already traded off defense for offense in the back line as three of the four players are more known for their relative offensive skills than in being shutdown defenders (not that we have any). we need to be able to shut down opponents and not hope to win shootouts. Our best chance relative to good teams is being an elite defense with athleticism, counter attacks and elite dead ball. That’s not bunker ball but pragmatic voracious defense couple with a fast parry.
I respect your points and logic, but I just don’t agree. Yes, it cannot be all out offense. But anytime a weaker side just resigns to lack any sort of creativity on the field - or limits it - it usually backfires. Teams have to respect a team’s ability to score on them or else they just overwhelm with numbers.
It's ok. When Kudlow goes on his aggressive "supply-side" run, Adams will invert inside, and then Cuomo drops back into the shadow of his father to cover.
Not enough possession on the right side. Yedlin is a crappy possession passer and Morris is a converted striker who is much better on the left when used in wide positions. Also, Miazga can't cover for Yedlin when he gets beaten.
I’m always happy to have an agreeable disagreement! the marginal attacker (Sargent or Morris) for the USMNT is not a guy who puts fear in our opponents while having the marginal player be an active two way player (like Holmes, Morales or Pomykal) could make a significant difference for our defensive structure. the creativity will be provided by: Pulisic Reyna Dest Either sargent/Morris McKennie Adams
We have so much youth in leadership positions. I can see why coaches keep bringing Bradley along...those young guys need the vets around in some capacity. Bradley has experienced all levels of competition for years. I think that Altidore is the main striker once things really get up and running for that reason...all of the lines need leadership. Its too bad Jermaine Jones isn't around.
I am a fan of Bradley as a man but his leadership has been proven to be a negative. I cannot see how he helps in the respect at all.
at what point are guys "experienced"? 6 years in top five leagues? brooks, yedlin and pulisic all have half a decade+ at a higher level than anyone on the 02 roster had. long, arriola...basically anyone whos been a pro for two years have more experience than 20 guys on the roster in 94. weve got half a dozen guys (off the top of my head) who have worn the armband for their club teams- abroad. not counting mls. our core guys have played every essentially every international possible. you cant have played in 2 or 3 world cups by the time youre 21. its widely known that we have played a lot more "solid mls guys" than arguably (to be polite) better players overseas (or even better domestic players). im really asking- what are the qualifications for "experienced"? can you not lead until youre 29? how is having been good 5 years ago for a decade better, or more valuable, than being good (or better) now? do mckennies caps only count on the experience-o-meter if bradley is there just cause hes been there before so hes being led properly? i do not understand this argument for oldness. at all. and thats all it is. .
I have to agree.... Now, is 18-20 too young to be captain? Eh, probably so, under normal circumstances, but when all the best players are u23, is it that bad? I think the circumstances demand some exceptions. Besides, Pulisic, McKennie, and Adams are no longer rookies. That’s the core of this team no matter how we look at it, and they need to be thrust into leadership positions so that can learn how to be leaders.
Especially when our "old" and "experienced" team just failed more than any US team in history. I'd be surprised if we ever put out an older or more experienced team than we just did in the 17 Hex. Bradley just used all his leadership experience to come in 5th in the Hex. Does that count as positive or negative experience and leadership development?
Eleven Bravo... Miles Robinson should of at least gotten honorable mention on your list. Good job otherwise.
We can change our lineup when we play elite teams but we have to be sure we have the right complement for that. Klinsmann went defensive against Argentina with 2 aging bulls in Wondo and Dempsey playing the two forwards. Both were easily marked by the 2 cb's and the rest of our team couldn't do much about it because Messi was ready to counter the minute our team would try to go forward into the teeth of Argentina's defense with no advantage in numbers to be found anywhere. Result no shots on goal for 90'. While we might go with Reyna against Concacaf opponents away like El Salvador, Honduras et al, we should probably move to Morris and Pulisic up top vs. elite teams and make their cb's run with them for 45 minutes before bringing Reyna on. Different jobs, different tool belt. b.t.w., Pulisic's defense is much improved; I think a lot of people are stuck with their image of Pulisic as a 17 yr old. He is best at harrying ball carriers from the rear so you need somebody with soccer brains who understands how to combine with him on the double team. You also have to consider how much elevated risk there is in making demands on his defensive game. There's a lot of stuff you can do positionally with Pulisic while Morris tries to split the cb's up top centrally. Hwvr, one thing we have to realize is that Morris may not have the same speed 2 1/2 yrs from now. I can't think of anybody who could replace him.
You guys used to say soldiers learn to give orders by taking orders. I don't see that happening when you "thrust" young guys into leadership positions. Additionally, neither Adams nor McKennie will be familiar with concacaf ethic when they play in Europe full time. We need to be pragmatic.
Yes, good leaders start by learning about good followership before learning good leadership, but every private in the military is thrust outside his comfort zone to step up into the position above him and he is drilled in the mechanics of leadership. The logic is that a 19-year-old might be a team leader or a squad leader sooner than he was ready if a couple of his leaders get smoked in the face. So, every private better have the Infantryman Bible, Ranger Handbook, and all TM/FM’s memorized before he even arrives to his unit. - Otherwise, that private is going to get smoked and have zero freedom until he proves that he is an expert in all things related to soldiering. In other words, no soldier has ever told any subordinate soldier that he learns by just taking orders. Any good leader would ensure that all of his soldiers is able to do his job. And would demand such from them.
a corollary to that would be that when there is a lack of leadership from the designated "leaders", others will step up and lead...not because they have been designated as leaders but because they ARE leaders. In other words, every well led team has many leaders...most of whom are not captains. Also, a true team leader does not need permission or a title to be a leader.
Circling back to this: why does having Pulisic, Reyna, and Morris upfront plus Dest and [ARobinson] as wingers/overlapping backs mean having no sort of (or limited) creativity? If that group doesn't make our opponent respect our attack, adding Sargent is hardly likely to do the trick IMO. Feel free to switch Sargent for Morris or Yedlin for ARobinson.