http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=396773&cc=5901 Brian Ching not named to roster and Bradley has no guts to cut Landon...Why???
Why would you want him to cut Landon? Don't you think he's one of the 27 best players in MLS? Funny to see 3 Chivas players make the squad. It never hurts to have friends in high places. (Of course they've earned it with their play on the field too.)
As we saw in the world cup Landon is under size and not talented enough to play against the big boys. So lets build for the future and bring bigger stronger players and I think Ching is one of those players that can make a difference.
He's still one of the better players for the US at the international level even with a horrible 2006. Besides you have to see how Bradley will use Landon first before making any judgments.
---- U.S. Roster Goalkeepers (4) - Joe Cannon (Los Angeles Galaxy), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Troy Perkins (D.C. United), Matt Reis (New England Revolution). Defenders (9) - Chris Albright (Los Angeles Galaxy), Bobby Boswell (D.C. United), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Bryan Namoff (D.C. United), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Heath Pearce (FC Nordsjælland), Dasan Robinson (Chicago Fire) Eddie Robinson (Houston Dynamo). Midfielders (10) - Kyle Beckerman (Colorado Rapids), Brian Carroll (D.C. United), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution), Joshua Gros (D.C. United), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Brian Mullan (Houston Dynamo), Pat Noonan (New England Revolution). Forwards (6) - Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Alecko Eskandarian (D.C. United), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Nate Jaqua (Los Angeles Galaxy), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution). ---- Roster break-down by MLS Club 6 - D.C. United (MLS) 5 - New England Rebolution (MLS) 4 - Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) 3 - Chicago Fire (MLS) 3 - Chivas USA (MLS) 3 - Houston Dynamo (MLS) 2 - Colorado Rapids (MLS) 1 - FC Dallas (MLS) 1 - Kansas City Wizards (MLS) 0 - Columbus Crew, NY Red Bulls, Real Salt Lake, Toronto FC Note: Totals subject to change as players leave MLS is the January transfer window, players get traded within MLS, and/or Bradley opts to call in more (or replacement) players to camp. Note part two: 1 - FC Nordsjælland (Denmark)
he is just giving some guys a taste. Explains the lapse in judgement of bringing Nate in. Bob has always done that though, he has a couple of WTF? picks on every roster he has had including the Fire. Some obvious choices and I am surprised he didnt bring Ante in just to give him another cap for sihts and giggles. But knowing Ante he probably didnt want to be called in LOL. Rather go surfing on the beach. Speaking of that I havent gone surfing in a few years. Man I gotta pick that up again.
If he uses him for anything more than a water boy I think he's asking too much. Get Landon out. He has no desire, and is a great example of what a guaranteed spot does to someone. Let Dempsey run the 10 and put Ching or Twellman up front with Kenny Cooper and see what happens. My guess is we start scoring goals again.
It's not even the 27 best in MLS, it's the best American players in MLS. So yes, Landon fits in there. Now, whether he starts in the Gold Cup is another question.
It's almost as if you didn't watch the world cup. The tired bromide that Donovan has no desire and loafed during the WC is not supported by the facts on the field, especially in the Italy match. Everyone on that team played poorly against Czech, including our supposedly full-of-heart Euro-based players. Landon's still the leader on the field for the Nats, still our most talented player, and now he has something to prove. I'd definitely start him.
My guess is you're out of your friggin' mind. Letting Dempsey be the CAM is fine, but letting him "run" with. . uh. . .let's see. . Twellman, Cooper, and Ching. . . Dempsey would run right past them. I could beat Cooper and Ching in a 100-meter dash. You can blame Donovan for our lousy showing in Germany, although I would also put the blame at DMB being completely out to lunch, Reyna's bizarre mental lapses, Keller's questionable distribution (especially vs Italy), and just poor tactics and preparation all around. Putting Dempsey in? Fine. But completely removing Donovan - or worse NOT even calling him up to a camp where he is going to be the veteran shows a kindergarten mentality.
Don't torch me...but I would have liked to see Adu there. Also Brad Davis. And doesn't anyone think Cunningham deserved a shot?
This is a very sad bunch. No wonder we're ranked 31 in the world. Who are these guys? Most of them are less known than presidential candidates...As I see it, the only highlights in that group are: Conrad, Dempsey, Mastroeni and Twellman. Of course, they'd be playing semi-pro in the third division of any western european or southern cone country. Is this really the best that MLS has to offer? I don't know a damn thing about Heath Pearce, and perhaps he's something to look at since he's based in Europe, but damn, how are we going to contend with the big boys?
Joshua Gros belongs nowhere near a US National Team camp! The guy can't cross the ball to save his life. It is a sad state in US Soccer when a hard worker with limited feel for the ball is still a desired commodity. I am very glad Borstein, Clark, Mapp, Kljestan made the team because they are technically very savvy. But to have a guy like Gros in there is pretty poor judgement.
This is a camp for what amounts to a B international. So, you get B-list players. That's why we're playing Denmark B instead of say Italy A with this roster.
I can't believe someone like Parkhurst, who has very little chance of playing at the international level, gets a call up, but Wynne doesn't. So far Bradley isn't looking too impressive. I fear it might more of the same old crap.
Welcome to BigSoccer! By the way, since you joined in February 2005, how about, you know, reading the site every once in a while?
VERY surprised that Marvell Wynne didn't get a callup. I think he deserves it. And I really have no clue why Brian Ching or Jeff Cunningham didn't get callups.
Let's keep in mind this is a friggin friendly squad we're calling up. It's not the world cup roster folks. The whole point of a friendly is to experiment in a situation where winning doesn't matter.
Somehow I'm not shocked at all that the Gals fans stood up for Landy. And if the World Cup was held entirely in LA, I'd say he'd be a lock for World Cup MVP. Unfortunately I spent all of my vacation this past summer looking for him in Germany. He never showed up. The rest of the team had troubles too, but I expected more from him, although I should have known better. I'm not saying he needs to permanently be kicked off the team, but don't invite him a couple times and see if that rekindles his fire to play. It's not like Bradley doesn't already know what he brings to the field. Who says you have to be fast to score? McBride seems to find the net a fair amount, with the exception of this summer, and nobody has accused him of being the second coming of Carl Lewis. Coop and Ching in the lineup at the same time might not work, but Coop/Ching and Twellman/Cunningham would be a good combo. I'm all for giving Cunningham a try. He scores goals.