You are very conservative in your definition of a creative player. A creative player creates chances for his teammates and Donovan has done that. Its not his fault that Jozy and Bradley failed to get off good shots on chances he created for them against Italy. In addition, he and Spector combined to created the chance for Benny late in the Brazil game. These are the unfinished chances he has created that I remember without going back and reviewing the games. I'm sure there were more. However, if you want to stick to your conservative definition of a creative player. He had an assist in the run of play when combining with Bradley on Bradley's goal against Egypt and while he probably wasn't credited with an assist, he played the ball in that eventually resulted in Dempsey's goal against Spain. As a final comment, midfielders and forwards also have to play defense and Landon has clearly been better than Dempsey in that role.
Seriously. I'm not sure I'd call him the biggest revelation, but good chances and then 5 goals from the run of play when I think we had played 4 games without a goal from the run of play. So he is certainly adding something.
Very well stated. It's no shame for Dempsey to be ranked second to Donovan in some areas. Creating -- I think Donovan is ahead and easily controls this category (although it was nice to see Altidore finish a "set-up" from Dempsey against Spain.) Finishing -- especially from the run of play, I do think that when he's on, and he is on more often from the run of play it would seem, I do think Dempsey is ahead in this category. but as has been said, they can and do complement each other, and they can both be very effective coming out of the midfield with two dedicated forwards playing in front of them (although Dempsey has gotten his two recent goals after a sub has pushed him up to forward). as for the point about the US scoring from the run of play when Charlie Davies is on the field, I will agree that that is a huge revelation for this team. with likely a very strong test coming up in the FCC final, we'll get a chance to see if these revelations will continue.
Revelations: 1) DeMerit: Who would have thought that the Bocanegra injury could have such a positive impact? The injury forced Bob's hand - he had to start someone alongside Onyewu. DeMerit rose to the occasion and has been outstanding. Yes, he has limitations, but more importanly, he's a great complimentary partner to Onyewu, which I felt Bocanegra never was. This is huge. Now let's find that fourth CB at the Gold Cup. 2) Davies: The 4-4-2 was the best thing that Bob has ever done as Men's coach. It saved his job, saved our Confederations Cup, and gave Davies his chance. He adds another dimension to our offense that it had previously lacked. We now have a pacey forward who is good at holding the ball and who makes smart runs. Altidore is still raw and we should have never expected him to shoulder those offensive burdens himself. Davies' emergence should take off a lot of pressure. 3) Donovan/Onyewu: These two guys have been our MVPs. Donovan has stepped up and led the team by example. His play throughout the tournament, even against Brazil, has been inspirational. Onyewu has been similarly inspiring. No cards. Hardly a foul on the scoresheet. Who is this guy? A much different Onyewu than the Onyewu of 2005-2007. He's finally the player we all hoped he'd be in Germany.
But is that a "Davies" revelation or a "Bob" revelation? Davies has been good, but not great. IMO, his biggest impact isn't what he does himself, but how it changes how the team plays. To put it another way...if it's not Davies, it should be some other fast forward. Not Ching.
Awesome. This thread is everything I'd hoped it would be and more. Great comments from *everyone* so far.
who would be on this list of speedy forwards that the US could rely on, (or knock Davies off of the top of this list)? If Altidore is the "lock" starter forward, Davies fills the fast forward role? If Ching is the "lock" starter up front, is Altidore the second forward and takes on the fast role?
yes i agree with those two but also need to add SPECTOR, the guy just amazed me. He surely matured into an autstanding footballer and professional.
Kind of Apples and Oranges here as Donovan is taking all of the PK's and most set pieces and corners for assists. Not sure what the numbers are if you take that into account, don't really care either, they both have different skills and should both continue to start.
For Bob I can't tell if his decisions are internal or forced by external forces (injuries, cards, etc)? -> For Davies - when you have someone like Davies making smart, quick runs it opens space for LD & Clint to work which is a very good thing for the US attack. Davies presents defenders with problems for which, the US attack is more potent. AND he can hold the ball. It could be another fast forward but who is that fast American forward with a good soccer IQ?
In terms of whom. I'll go with: 1. DeMerit. Boca's injury gives him a chance, and he pounces. 2. Donovan. Turns into Mandon. Though he needs to fall down less and shoot more. 3. Onyewu. He really is much improved. 4. Spector. Our RB situation just got pretty crowded. 5. Beasley & Kljestan need some time off to regain their form. In terms of what. 1. We play much better with two up top. Davies has been solid, but not great like the others 2. Boca can play LB just fine. I left Clark off because I still think he's an outside shot to make the team (Jones, Bradley, and Edu all being ahead of him). But there is always the possibility Bob takes 5-6 CM's.
Instead of repeating the obvious (which, obviously, I agree with), I'll add that I've been a bit surprised by how much the world soccer press loves Clint Dempsey vs. how much we seem to hate on him. Also, it's been a lot of fun reading the Italian press reports with their man-crush on Landon Donovan and Mike Bradley.
That's a toughie. I spent about 20 seconds trying to think of someone for that first post but came up short. I like Movsisyan, but I doubt he's good enough, plus, I don't think he's a US citizen yet. But he's really young, maybe he'll make a Great Leap Forward as a player. If Adu gets it together, he could take Landon's role, and Landon could be the FF. But Eddie Johnson is the obvious answer, but it's not an answer I'm very happy with.
We can assume that Jones and Edu are or will be ahead of Clark. Although it seems like a very fair assumption, we just don't know how/if Jones and/or Edu will preform for the US in the next 12 months. (the same can be said about Clark.) absolutely. (and the argument can be made that 5-6 CM's is actually a good idea, as that could cut down on the number of forwards on the roster {perhaps just the 3 of Altidore/Ching/Davies would suffice quite frankly}, since midfield players like Dempsey, Donovan, Adu and even M.Bradley can all play as forwards -- it would seem.) and if Bradley feels any loyalty to Clark (and I imagine he will -- given Clark's FFC performances and the USA's success there, and Clark's club play for Bradley in NY) I do think Clark has a better than 50-50 shot of going back to S. Africa.
perhaps the world press only pays full attention to Dempsey (for example) when he's scoring goals (v. Ghana) and the US is playing well (v. EGY and ESP). whereas some of the "hate" can build up for the fans who witness and analyze the 8-match scoreless and "non-effective" periods of Dempsey's career.
Altidore for me. In a bad way. That guy doesn't run anywhere. With the exception of his turn on his goal he has been a huge dissapointment.
It won't likely happen for 2010, but Marcus Tracy could eventually be the answer as the fast forward if he continues to develop in Denmark. Robbie Findley is another possibility, though he seems to have about maximized his potential.
I agree with this. There is talk of Jozy going to the EPL. I hope he doesn't They are fickle there, and they expect a finished product. Jozy is raw. He'd make a couple of mistakes, and it would be reserve matches for the rest of the season. At this point I just want to see him play. In fact, I'd rather see him play in MLS than sit in the EPL for the next year.
My choice is Davies. I just looked back over his US career: the Egypt game was his first start with the A-team. He looked tantalizing in some of his earlier caps and appearances in the 2008 Olympics, and he's fulfilled that promise and earned more minutes. He combines with Altidore to provide an unprecedented level of pace on the front line. He plays very well with his back to goal, enabling us to retain possession and link with the midfield. He makes life hell for the defender with his physical play. He busts out a sick Run-DMC goal celebration with Altidore (next time, Dempsey needs to join in as Jam Master Jay.)
Jay DeMerit, Ricardo Clark. Boca's injury gave DeMerit an opportunity to show that he is at least as solid as Boca in the middle, which paved the way for Bob to finally wake up and put Boca in the place where he plays for his club team. Should have been a no-brainer, but whatever. Ricardo Clark continues to be underrated. With Clark on the field, the US has scored 5 run of play goals, and has given up 0. With him off the field, Bradley and Kljestan were getting skated around like traffic cones. It amazes me that about 85% of US fans here think he isn't good enough to lace em up for us on a more consistent basis. When he plays, we play much better. Period.
Clark and Bradley seem to have an amazing chemistry ("I'll let you get the red card today", "nah, dude. It's your turn. I don't want you to get shortchangened, you take it." j/k). Their positioning together, and defensive control of the field is very good. There are better players out there, but chemistry/understanding has to count for something.
I agree. There's always a lot of talk about getting an American on a top champions league club in one of the top leagues (ie: Italy, Spain, England). Donovan showed up over the past four games against four quality opponents, proving that the talent that he has can be transformed into consistency. Don't give up on donovan's potential at the club or international level (I know he's older, but there's still more that he needs to achieve), because he hasn't.