When people are discussing cb's (which we should be doing because our offense will depend on it) I always think "yeah, but can he stop young Lukaku subbed on and dribbling from the halfway line towards goal on a hot night in Brazil with DeBruyne lurking?" Parkhurst says Miles Robinson is one of the best 1v1 defenders he has seen and Parkhurst was in the UCL team of the week once when he played in Denmark. When teams are going to line up in a 451 with Campbell up top, I'd like to introduce him to Mr. Robinson. But can DeBoer teach him to distribute out of the back in time for Qatar? He seems to like dribbling but he'll get burned at elite level. In my imagination I see Robinson as rcb picking up wingers trying to get in behind Dest's offensive game with Long or Miazga next to him in the middle using his experience to read where the danger is thru the middle. Would Brooks fit on the left in that scheme? Dunno. Miazga and CCV always performed for country even as they struggled with their club situations. CCV hasn't improved his passing out of the back for international game. He defended Italy well but they left him open on the ball and he struggled to find solutions on the ball. I don't trust myself to pick a cb unit but I'd have on my 30 man roster ---brooks---long----robinson----dest --ream------miazga---sands----lima sands might not pan out but we have to remember we will be facing teams like Costa Rica where a good passer out of the back with a good read on the game may be a big plus. Getting the ball to Dest could be difficult. I'm glad I don't have this problem at work. Over to you, Gregg.
i disagree with this- he has very solid passing numbers and seems to be regarded as a strong passer. what he isnt suited for is berhalters insistence on playing out of the back. theres a BIG difference. brooks, ream and miazga are plus passers. robinson, as you said, is more an advancing the ball guy at this point, similar to long. ccv and (the little ive seen of epb since his youth days) are solid, not at all liabilities in the back (in terms of passing). if it werent mandated steffen and his cbs play slick one-twos, "unsettling" the opponents (before our non-defensive 6 plays a 2 line-breaking 40 yard diagonal...in greggs dreams)- if we stopped pretending to be a guardiola team with barcelona passing along our backline you would see almost every one of our cbs "miraculously" improve overnight.
That’s very bad reasoning/logic. I like Miles but he’s got a ways to go before he can crack the best 11. I don’t see him getting there in the MLS. Even with a good coach. He’s got the speed to make up for mistakes like Long but he will likely always be behind tactically. Besler is the only CB out of the MLS in recent memory that was able to make the jump. It’s a shame he didn’t leave and try and take his game to the next level.
Keep in mind all we need is to finish ahead of Panama, Honduras & Canada, and Bob's your uncle. The problem is for those of us not happy with just being there, three-and-out.
Besler, Omar Gonzalez, Eddie Pope, and Jimmy Conrad have all done good jobs at World Cups while playing in the MLS.
Fortunately we have Miazga for that https://sbisoccer.com/2020/06/miazga-involved-in-post-match-fight-following-reading-loss I can't wait for Hex to start, or whatever they call it. The octagon sounds good.
Parkhurst said that Miles is the best 1v1 defender he's ever played with. Miles is a special athlete. I don't know if Long is that gifted. https://www.topendsports.com/sport/soccer/mls-combine-best.htm
He’s got other areas of his game he needs to improve. I’m not sure the MLS is the best place for those areas to improve.
Would like to see Robinson get one more season in MLS then hit the ground running in a top-5. Atlanta's a great environment for him, but he's likely good enough to play at a much higher level, if that's what he wants. Omar Gonzalez vs Belgium: 20 clearances, 3 blocked shots, 89% passing, WS_8.0(3rd on the team) vs Germany: 9 clearances, 1 last man tackle, WS_6.9(1st) He had a horrible '18 WCQing campaign, but was good for the team in '14.
Yes, most people don't distinguish between a player in form at his best, otoh, and his up and down career, otoh. These are the people who typically will say stuff like Jozy is our best striker. Sure, he could be. But how is his form at the moment?
On Omar, What I got wrong about him, because I was very anti-Omar in the 2014 cycle, was Omar is a tool when you need to bunker and a liability when you need to press. In the World Cup, we spent so much time on defense, his strengths were highlighted and his weaknesses were limited.
Same applies to Brooks. If the team have to sit deep he is a great fit. If the back line have to play up the field, with the action becoming stretched then he can be pretty vulnerable and mistake prone.
Those clearances may make his numbers looks better but in game we’re mostly to the other team. I know against those teams we were gonna be under the gun and needed rotation but we’d have been better served with Cam there. His speed would have been useful as well.
He’s def better for a bunker than a press but if we play a team that’s pressing us or playing with non traditional 9 then he’s a liability. He isn’t good passing out of the back and he’s gonna struggle against quick forwards that float. He’s really only useful if the team you’re playing is planning on pumping in a bunch of crosses to a traditional 9.
It’s def one of the reasons Brooks is at his best when he has the right partner. Him and Cam were prefect together. Brooks also likes to step into the midfield and is aggressive. When it works it’s great cause with passing he can play us into a dangerous situation. When it doesn’t we’re left open. Which is why his partners skills need to balance his.
Clearances have no intended recipient. If they did then they would be classified as passes. Gonzalez did a good job for the team. Cam's error was instrumental in setting up the first Portugal goal. That's what happens when you botch a clearance. Brooks and Cam are great together at the Copa, though.
I know that’s my point. Clearances look great but when almost all of them are just giving the ball back to the other team it’s not good. No doubt it was. Agreed. Also wish we had saw Besler Brooks. I know their both lefties but they were the best fit of the bunch.
Interesting concept. Spain mostly did this with two teams but admittedly they were the best players too. No MLS or non-MLS team has anywhere near enough talented Americans to do this but KC with an intact CB pairing and keeper might have been worth a try. In hindsight would it have been worse than what was trotted out in Couva?
Our fullbacks are mainly wingbacks because they can't defend. Our CB pairings all lack agility & discipline. Our best keepers are rustier than the Tin Man in the woods. And our only good DM is at risk of becoming a sub-only/Pokal guy with his club. If we make it to Qatar we're getting punked there.