Roster Makeup and Squad Selection [R]

This can't be stressed enough. Yes, we got out of the group, but that Wales result was a bit of a disaster. They were the worst team in the group and should've been a relatively easy three points. The draw in that match put our guys up against it from the beginning.

We have about 10-15 guys who I trust not to crap the bed against WC level opposition. Basically the starting 11 plus Aaronson, Reyna, and Yedlin. That poses a question when you're deciding on depth: do you take the boring MLS lifer types like Acosta, Morris, and Roldan; or do you maybe gamble on upside with the likes of Cowell, Busio, and Booth? Dike is also fit now. We could've taken a chance and brought him into camp, rather than a guy like Scally or Shaq who really wasn't needed. Gregg leaned heavily into experience with the bench, but realistically, the level of those guys just isn't strong enough to make them viable if and when they're called upon.

Historically, the WC has been an opportunity for some of our young guys to make their bones (i.e. Donovan, Beasley, Yedlin). We didn't give our rising talents that opportunity this time around. We have a great core group of players that we know we can rely on, but the next 2-3 years need to involve continued opportunities for fringe players to break into that group.

 

need to take 8 defenders - one for each spot as a backup...never know about cards and injuries.

i disagree with the idea of starting acosta (*though there were other 8s that couldve come in) ...he was horrible as an 8 all cycle - but I agree with your general premise.....rotation should be automatic and built into the plan. i think greggg cannot think originally in any way and just copies what others do that he likes. thats why he pre plans subs and makes contingencies before the match starts.

greeggg based his approach on past cycles and didnt cultivate depth...he didnt think it was possible to have a full squad of capable players so preemptively went for spots 15-26 as filler bunker types. PREEMPTIVELY. it was a huge bluner that cost this team.

Also, going along with that, he had an extremely weird predilication for sticking with inadequate players. Looking back, look at all the time he WASTED on players - arriola, long ferreira etc....all the minutes he gave to MLSers was INSANE. he didn't vet the euro pool very well or deeply, I reckon becuase he already had his plan in mind of how to construct a roster i.e. spots 16-26 being filler and vibes, which, again, was asinine and in and of itself should be a firable offense.

there was plenty of depth in the pool ....it was simply not integrated/selected.

I said it as it happened, and repeat it now....greggg "strategy" put a 2nd round exit as this team's cieling before a ball was kicked in qatar. he sold out to make it out of the group instead being slightly more risky and give this team a chance for a run.

 

Regarding ST, I don't think Haji Wright made a good case that he deserved to go ahead of Pefok. Apparently Pepi lost his spot to Sargent and Ferreira, and not Wright, but in hindsight he would've been a good candidate for one of the spots we used on surplus defenders. How many right backs do you really need? Especially with Shaq showing that he shouldn't be playing over Yedlin anyway.

I'm probably on an island regarding this next point, but I would've at least though about kicking the tires on Jozy Altidore. 33 years old. Younger than Benzema and Lewandowksi. Totally washed up? Maybe. His legs seem gone and his club form has dropped off a cliff. I understand why he wasn't involved, but ask yourself whether he'd be a worse option than Wright for a 15-20 minute cameo chasing the game. I'm not sure. Maybe he's just THAT bad now, but you could argue that GGG was a bit too quick to close the door on some of the old guard. Given that ST was a glaring weakness, he might have been another candidate to claim the 4th spot.

If you look at Switzerland, Shaqiri has experienced a precipitous drop in club level over the past few seasons, but he's still utilized by the NT and trusted to play a valuable role. I just argued that we need to be bleeding more youth, so maybe I'm contradicting myself here, but specifically in an area where have dubious quality (ST), jettisoning one of our top 5 all-time scorers seems slightly questionable, provided he has anything left in the tank (maybe he just doesn't).

 

Good post.

I don't entirely agree with your thoughts on bringing too many defenders for a couple reasons. First, I don't know that "defender" in this context really means a ton--in the modern game CB and fullback are basically 2 entirely distinct positions, which wasn't necessarily the case in the past at least to the same degree as you had plenty of guys who can and did play both. More importantly though CB is both arguably the most important position on the field and a highly specialized position where you can't really shoehorn someone who's never played there before in an emergency the way you could say throw a natural midfielder on the wing or a natural winger at fullback in a pinch. They also tend to pick up cards. I look at a 4th or even 5th CB on a tournament roster the same way I do a 3rd GK--it's highly unlikely you're going to need him but if you do you're going to need him really, really badly.

The way I think we could have gotten around that this time would have been bringing 4 dedicated fullbacks (Dest/ARob/Yedlin/Scally), 4 dedicated CBs, and instead of Moore I would have brought either Sands or EPB to provide depth both at CB and at the 6. Doing that also would have freed Acosta up somewhat to serve as fullback depth, where I think he's underutilized particularly on the left side.

LDLT is a tough one because he clearly earned the spot as one of our top reserve options at the 8 in qualifying but apparently wasn't fit. I agree with Williamson as a potential alternative, liked his game a lot in the Gold Cup and he's been fully fit for Portland for a few months now. Pomykal is another guy I've wanted to see for a long time and hasn't really gotten a shot with the Yanks even when healthy.

Also agree Aaronson should have gotten a start although I would have expected it vs England for tactical reasons and to spell Weah who looked gassed by the end of the Wales game (although he wouldn't have really fit as well in the 4-4-2 wrinkle we ran out in that game).

 

I've said in a couple threads that the lack of variety in midfield bit us in the ass. The MMA does a lot of good they aren't the greatest passers. I think in hindsight the biggest mistake wasn't giving more creative midfielders more of a look.

 

You don’t even need to take 8 when your starting right back is probably your best left back and your second best right back is your third best left back.

he got an extra roster spot and still brought 9 defenders.

 

I like Pomykal and Parks but……they aren’t any kind of an answer.

I’m not gonna question G too much there. Those two simply haven’t progressed much in their careers.

Gotta at least give Reyna/Aaronson a run in a 4-2-3-1.

 

Yep, the solution was not to bring in yet more unproven guys. We didn't have enough fit, high level center-mids to start the same 3 and to high-press through 4 straight.

 

One of Berhalter’s biggest weaknesses was the rigidity with which he viewed the player pool, which in the end is kind of ironic since he was the originator of the “Tyler Adams to right back” movement. I get you generally want to play players in their normal/preferred positions, but it became pretty clear throughout qualifying and especially in the World Cup that there would no license for even slight experimentation if only to light a spark or to show the opposition a different look.

Perhaps Joe Scally was deemed insufficiently prepared to see the field this time around; what I know for certain, though, is that he wasn’t going to see the field unless Antonee Robinson was compromised since Berhalter viewed him solely in this set-up as cover for left back. Same with Aaronson and Reyna; they were positionally viewed through a very narrow lens, Reyna in particular.

I’m not suggesting the answers existed on this roster to necessarily change the results; however if Berhalter had been more creative, expansive and open in conceptualizing how different parts of the player pool could offer greater tactical flexibility we might have had a couple of other options both in Qatar and in the quiver which could have helped. Alas, we’ll never know.

 

I think we should consider playing with only 1 attacking FB. My argument against the non-MMAers has always been that you need a more balanced midfield like MMA when you have such attacking FBs. But I think attacking FBs are best with a big 9 who they can cross into. So if we aren’t developing a big 9, I don’t want 2 attacking FBs. And if you have a more defensive FB, you can play a more creative midfield and maintain the defensive balance.

 

A question -- would you have sat Dest or Jedi for a more defensive option or 3 ATB?

 

No, to clarify, I think the 2 attacking FBs were fine because we had MMA. But perhaps we should play a more creative midfield and thus more balanced FBs would enable that. It’s more a longer term idea, because Dest and Jedi were far and away our best FBs for this WC.

 

Yep. This is where depth is going to bring us tactical flexibility.

 

Wonderful choices. Cowell is barely hanging for a roster spot on U-20 team, Busio is on the bench in Serie B, Booth was nobody just a month ago, Dike isn't fit, he is barely healthy. Try harder.

 

Busio and Cowell have quality. That's why they've already been capped. Cowell is reportedly being pursued by Gladbach, but I guess you know talent better than their scouts. You should send them an e-mail and tell them to try harder.

Kamil Glik is in Serie B and starting for Poland at CB. Bale was a backup in MLS for much of last season. Wales didn't bench him. Shaqiri flopped at Lyon and had to take a step down to MLS. He still started for Switzerland against Serbia and had some bright moments. Those are veteran guys with a strong track record, but it underscores the idea that a player's quality is not always defined by his club circumstances in any given moment.

It would be silly to lay this exit at the feet of people like Roldan, Ferreira, Wright, Moore, and Morris. They really didn't play enough to make that big of a negative difference (Roldan didn't even play at all). On the other hand, they didn't do anything to suggest they add value over any generic candidate for their spot. They were the Edson Buddle, Brad Davis, and Robbie Findley of this cycle. So yeah, I'm fine with gambling on other names.

 

Re taking too many defenders it is also worth noting Llamosa barely played in 2002.

 

You don't take to the WC sub MLS level players. Whatever they might be int 3 years is irrelevant. As of now Busio is poor, Cowell is poor, and don't bring totally unralated names. That's ridiculuos.

 

We needed better options for the 8 role. The thing about Acosta is that he's a fine replacement for Adams, but he's been poor to mediocre when asked to play a box-to-box role. I would have wanted him to spell Adams for a bit, but instead he was subbing in for McKennie because DLT was hurt.

 

Or instead of riding the 4-3-3 to our death due to lack of any backup 8s (yes I know we did the 4-4-2 thing against England, it was still the same personnel) GGG has some foresight and is able to instill a simple backup plan of something like a 4-2-3-1. He brought 2 natural 10s anyway, and switching things up for a half or two does not seem like the most impossible, evil idea ever?

Either way he was going to ride or die with his stubbornness and we died. Musah and McKennie were run into the ground and it was clear since the end of WCQ that the backup 8s were basically LDLT or bust.

 

With the MMA midfield, we aren't scoring that many goals, especially if our opponent is better than what we face in CONACAF.

 

Thought to consider - Brenden has repeatedly stated he sees himself as an 8 in future

 

One takeaway for me: as your team gets better, you need better backups, because otherwise you are going to run those guys ragged.

 

Not in the system when FBs are playing higher up the field than CMs, and #8s are chasing wingers all day long.