GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa/2007), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake/2011, 2013), William Yarbrough (Club Leon) DEFENDERS (7): Ventura Alvarado (Club America), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC/2009), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy/2013), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Tim Ream (Bolton Wanderers/2011) MIDFIELDERS (9): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake/2009, 2013), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes/2011, 2013), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/2007, 2011), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo/2005), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC/2013), Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt), DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham Hotspur), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City) FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC/2011), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC/2005, 2007, 2011), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes/2011, 2013)
No Shea, Garza, Orozco, Morris, Agudelo... Inclusions of Zusi, Wondo, Davis... Gross. I'm pleasantly surprised Ream is on there, though.
Chandler, Brad Davis, Ream - ridiculous. I'm happy to discuss others Edit: Not sure about the substitution rule regarding players that can be called in later from the 35 man roster. I believe we can bring in 6 from the original 35 man roster, after group play, meaning guys like Gordon, Shea, Nguyen, Morris, Orozco, Garza, could be called in at that time if needed.
I'm expecting Besler and Beasley to be there for the knockout rounds. Don't think Jurgen would beg Beasley out of retirement to not call him in.
In terms of Beasley, I bet it will depend on how TC or TR does at LB. In terms of Besler, if Alvarado lays and egg then Besler will get the call.
I think this team is missing speed and width. Shea and Morris would've at least helped in that capacity (even in a reserve role). But I guess JK has Yedlin pegged in that slot.
I see ZERO benefit of having the old three: Evans, Davis, and Wondolowski, on this roster. In most cases, I would say we need to cut ties with Beckerman. A team of a bunch of mid 30 year olds is too old to field a WC team.
What's going to be interesting to see is if we switch back to a 4-1-2-1-2 or continue with the 4-3-3. I'm hoping 4-3-3 cause then Bradley will be used properly as a 8 and not as a 10. But idk how Dempsey and Jozy will fit into that. Dempsey would have to be used as the 9 and not wide and that would force Jozy wider which will be interesting to see. He has the physical tools to handle it but will he have the defensive discipline. I predict 4-3-3 open attacking in the group then calm it down against better sides with a more defensive 4-1-2-1-2 approach.
I agree but remember this isn't the WC it's the GC. We will have plenty of time to blood new players. As well as tournaments like the CA and if we lock it up con fed cup before the next World Cup. The problem is we don't have a 6 with the defensive discipline/positional sense of beckerman to free up Bradley to be Bradley. Williams and morales aren't pure 6's. Yes Wondo and Davis shouldn't be involved. Evans is interesting as a tactical shift potentially later in the game. We are seeing more teams starting to put a Mid at RB and telling them to push up but then pinch into the mid as an extra outlet. And the winger drops in as a RB defensively at times. Would be Yedlin as a late sub paired with Evans. Now we have a few players we could potentially give those instructions too making Evans expendable but I understand what he's trying to add.
7 players age 30 and older. 7 players age 26 to 29. 5 players age 24 or 25. 4 players ages 21 to 23. Average age is 27.2 years. So, a lot of guys in their prime now, plus some older vets mixed in and very few youngsters. He's playing to win now, which I suppose is the right thing at any tournament. Though I would have passed on a few of the older vets like Rimando, Davis, Evans, and maybe even Wondo with a bit more of an eye toward the future with guys like Hamid, Kitchen, and either Agudelo or Morris.
evans i dont have a problem with, but davis and wondo are the 2 glaring mistake inclusions at the WC, he must think we gonna need to take advantage of loose balls and set pieces
Full list of cuts: Bill Hamid (DC United) DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo) Matt Besler (Sporting KC) Greg Garza (Club Tijuana) Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana) Brek Shea (Orlando City SC) Joe Corona (Club Tijuana) Perry Kitchen (DC United) Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution) Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution) Alan Gordon (Los Angeles Galaxy) Jordan Morris (Stanford University) (from http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/...n-gold-cup-roster-morris-shea-hamid-miss-cut/) Changes from the 2014 World Cup team: Howard -> Yarbrough Besler -> Alvarado Beasley -> Ream Cameron -> Evans Jones -> Morales Green -> Zardes Few if any upgrades.
Yeah, I really don't know why Brad Davis is on there. Had he even gotten a call-up since the World Cup? Or Wondo?
I wouldn't have taken any of these players. However, as much as i dislike the idea of having Evans on the team...he has always brought his a-game for the national team. After all of the games he's played for the USMNT, I've thought to myself afterwards: "that was about as good as Brad Evans could possibly play, given his skillset." Could someone else do better? Yes, probably. But Evans has been fine for us. Wondo...I think he has the ability to score vs the bottom half of the teams in this tournament, which I suppose could prove useful if others are misfiring. Davis...he's old and slow. I don't see how he'll be an asset. There are probably 30 players I'd rather see on the roster.
Once again, JK shows hes an idiot and not the man for the job. Davis? Wondo? wtf, add Altadore into the mix too ... when no score altadore does exactly NOTHING again, maybe he'll make adjustments. Did he for get we beat the Dutch and the Germans without his big combo of Dempsey or Jozy? Have they suddenly improved? Why the Hell we take one step forward and two steps back is beyond me. Ugggggggh
First of all, I like the roster, but with a caveat. I got a little heat for suggesting playing a "Weaker" team in the Group stage and using the Substitute rule to bring in fresh players for the far more important elimination stages. Considering the universal criticism of Davis and Wondo on this roster, I would think Klinsi is still sticking by "His guys" and may drop them after the group stage if they don't perform. Despite the roster, I actually am happy to see Ream beat out Shea for LB. I know some of us don't like Evans either, but Chandler has issues with his play, and I think Evans's inclusion is more insurance than anything else. After the group stage, I would expect either Chandler or Evans to be dropped, and for an additional attacking player or wingback to be brought in. So to me, this is a good roster if we fully intend to make a change after the group. If we go with this 23 for the entire tournament, well... I say the US makes 4 changes after the group, and saves two changes in the event that some players become injured or just frankly suck. My changes: OUT: Davis IN: Nguyen OUT: Wondo IN: Morris OUT: Chandler or Evans IN: Shea OUT: Rimando IN: Hamid* *This is an optional change. Rimando is getting a little old, I would prefer to have a younger GK Corps going into qualification. And I feel Hamid, over anybody else on this squad, needs tournament time.
To me, this tournament is much different than the World Cup. In the World Cup, you put the best that you have at that time because you are playing for today only. Tomorrow doesn't matter! In the Gold Cup, you are playing for today, obviously, but tomorrow matters more than today. With that in mind, I think that older players should be brought only if they have something that is clearly better than a younger player. I kind of think that all things equal, you take the older player to the World cup because his experience is valuable but all things equal, you take the younger player to the gold cup because all things will probably not be equal in 3.5 years when it matters more. We currently have quite a few experienced leaders on the team and Beckerman also plays a role that few if any other Americans can do as well but Wondo, Davis, Zusi, Evans and possibly even Bedoya all are players that should be left off due to age. I don't have a problem with Beckerman's inclusion but wouldn't be upset if he were left off also. I know that it is a tournament and is important but it isn't important enough that Klinsmann should be afraid to go with a few younger guys. (I know that many people are fans of Bedoya's and I don't totally disagree, but I don't see him as our future outside midfielder. I believe that there are others that can take his place. There will be other opportunities for Bedoya to play and help the US qualify and/or fight for his place in Russia but the Gold Cup isn't that place.)
Ever since the KC coach defended Besler for Beslers's comments, it's pretty clear there wont be any callups from that team any time soon. A Shame. Besler is the smartest player on the US team. A fit Besler is the best all around defender and leader in defense on the US team. Chris Evans. Oh boy. Get ready for Mexico to light you up, baby.
I get it. You see, Klinsi is very keen on having a young central pairing that can effectively pass the ball out of the back. This gave us tremendous offensive potential against Mexico, Holland and Germany. Yes, we all know that Alvarado and Brooks aren't exactly the best defenders, but Klinsi knows, that over a 4 year cycle, these two will learn to tighten up their defense, and by the time kickoff occurs in Russia we will have a solid central defense pairing to take us far in the world cup, and be a substantial improvement over Besler/Gonzo. Thing is, if we plan on running this, we also must know that Brooks and Alvarado are going to give up a lot of goals, and they have so far. But if these two can successfully navigate through CONCACAF opposition in the group stage, then they will probably be fine throughout the entire tournament. But if we have to scrape through a Gold Cup group stage because of defensive mistakes, then believe me, we will definitely switch back to Besler/Gonzo for the rest of the tournament. My prediction: Alvarado and Brooks are going to be just fine, I think they have learned a lot on that European tour.