Pre-match: USA - Jamaica: Friday, Feb 3

Yup awesome and refreshing interview, but the snubbing of Morales is ridiculous, as is the coddling of Jozy imo.

 

Recent projected starting XI for Jamaica, for reference (projections from the Jamaica observer):

...............................Blake..............................

.......Powell.......Lowe....Sergio Campbell......Fisher....

..........Gordon........Watson.....Grandison.......Binns.....

....................Burke..............romario williams................

No guarantee that this is what comes out, but it's mostly fully professional (except Binns and Grandison who play in Jamaica) and several names should be familiar to anyone following MLS.
Still doesn't look like an upset-getting squad, but it is what it is.

 

Morales is doing basically the same job Kleftchin did in Belgium,the difference being Morales is doing it in a better league. That being said, he is not the difference maker yet I thought he would be. At the youth level Morales brought a serious, aggressive, threatening attitude to the match. So far with Ingo, he hasn't really learned to impact the match enough.

 

This isn't bottom. Bottom will be if we don't qualify for the World Cup. Since that is Bruce's one job, we won't know whether or not he's the right guy until that question has been answered.

I think Gulati really doesn't care how well we do in Russia, as long as we make it there. I think Bruce is done after that anyway. So in the mean time, he's going to pick and choose from all players in a win now type of mentality. If that means Pulisic doesn't start some games, then so be it. If that means Marshall starts over Zimmerman in March because Cameron is still hurt, then so be it.

 

I worry that Bruce is retirement age already. After a certain age, people start getting a bit too comfortable with the way they've always done things.

We're living in times when the best coaches tend to be relatively young.

 

He just won MLS cup 3 years ago and took the Galaxy to the playoffs both years since...

 

I am not so worried about BA's age as his being comfortable with a lot of the players that have been around for awhile. What happens if Altidore and Bradley suck big time...as they have both been known to do. Perhaps, MB will never return to the player he once was. We have been blaming JK (not that he does not deserve it) but what if MB never has another really good or even adequate game? The same with Altidore. Jones I don't worry about as long as he is physically capable, but how long will this be for?

I realize he needs these players for the next several WCQ games, but what happens if we should lose one or both of them? Will BA be able to put his preconceived ideas aside and bring in new players in those positions? I do not think so, and that is what I am concerned about.

 

At least you didn't quote the Grateful Dead song...

 

In the playoffs, right? I've seen nothing from Birnbaum that would show me he could catch Jordan Morris from behind after stepping to try to intercept a pass at midfield,

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/...fc-dallas-0-2016-mls-cup-playoffs-match-recap


http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-11-06-fc-dallas-vs-seattle-sounders-fc/lineup

 

He is the greatest coach of the greatest land on earth, soon to be the greatest soccer country in the galaxy then universe then infinity. God love bruce, he comes from a time when life was so simple and the germans still kicked our butts. Does that tell you anything?

 

I'm not very familiar with him like I am the others. Hedges is just fast enough over Zimmerman that he can get to those emergency clearances and poke them out of bounds. If Birnbaum is as fast and savvy as Hedges he probably can too. Maybe Zimmerman is just raw in how to play with three in the back and it's not speed of foot but mind. Ideally those outside centerbacks are the very ones who have fitting in a 4-4-2 at either CB or LB/RB. In the past it was Agoos, Gibbs, Vanney while now Ream would be great and Cameron too (who can actually play all three spots). The guy in the middle of that set of defenders needs to be really good at reading and anticipating. Chad Deering was really good at it but didn't like being a defender. Today's game is different so it's possible what worked years ago wouldn't now. If it still the same then defensive mids were decent in that spot.

 

SamsArmySam, thanks a lot for the comment. I appreciate it.

There is still the issue of what line-up Bruce Arena should start tonight. As I’ve argued, it’s important for him to weigh more heavily whether a given line-up choice is likely to help the team win—and do well in—the March World Cup qualifiers than whether the line-up choice will help promising players who lack international experience gain international experience. It’s very important for the U.S. to do well in the March qualifiers. For instance, if we were to lose them both, it would significantly hurt our chances of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. And if we don’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup, that would slow the growth of soccer in the U.S.

With that in mind, what line-up should Arena start tonight?

First, I’m open to Arena's starting the team in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 formation tonight. There are advantages and disadvantages to starting in either formation. One advantage of starting in the 4-2-3-1 tonight is that I worry that a central midfield (in a 4-4-2) of only Michael Bradley and Sebastian Lletget would struggle to win the midfield in the qualifier against Honduras in March. However, if we do start in a 4-4-2 against Honduras, here is what the starting line-up might look like, and perhaps what it should be:

----------------------------Rimando------------------------------


Yedlin-----------Birnbaum----------Marshall-------Fabian Johnson


---------------------Bradley-----------Lletget------------------


Pulisic----------------------------------------------------------Nagbe


---------------------Wood-----------Altidore-------------------------

How would a central midfield of only Bradley and Lletget—the latter who will have only two caps prior to the Honduras match—fare against a good and athletic Honduras team in March? And there is something to be said for playing the same formation tonight that would be best to start against Honduras in March.

However, one advantage of starting in the 4-4-2 tonight is that it has, overall, probably been the U.S.’s best formation over the last 20 years. Arena himself often used it successfully. The 4-4-2 also is the better formation for pressing the opposition. It’s easier for the U.S. to press with two forwards than with only one. It’s hard for only one forward to trouble the other team’s backline by applying pressure, and if he does work hard to try to apply pressure, he can expend a lot of his energy that he then might not have for trying to score goals.

Also, two forwards might help us score goals. Playing in a 4-2-3-1 against Serbia, we didn’t score any goals and had only one shot on goal.

Finally, if Arena were to start tonight’s match in a 4-4-2, it would enable him to get an idea of how good it would be to start in a 4-4-2 against Honduras and/or Panama. Against Serbia, he played the entire match in a 4-2-3-1. So, in 11 years, he hasn’t seen the U.S. national team play in a 4-4-2 while he has coached the team. And the 4-4-2 may be a good formation for the U.S. to start against Honduras.

At any rate, it looks like Arena is planning to start the team in a 4-4-2 tonight. Here is a link to a good interview that HoustonHoyaFan posted a link to earlier in this thread:

http://www.espnfc.us/team/united-st...eam-talks-about-world-cup-qualifying-and-more

The interview is between Arena and Doug McIntyre of espnfc.com. McIntyre asked Arena: "Jozy Altidore has said repeatedly, including after the Serbia game, that he prefers playing with a strike partner. He was the lone forward in that game; why did you play that way, and will we see two guys up top against Jamaica?"

Arena responded: "You will see two forwards [Friday] night. The reason we played that way is to see Sacha [Kljestan] play with Jozy and get [Darlington] Nagbe in too, and to see if he can do it. Although the majority of clubs play that way now, it's still a difficult way to play."

McIntyre then asked: "Why do you think the one-striker setup is so popular around the world these days?"

Arena: "I think everyone is insistent on having enough players in the midfield to stop the other team or slow them down.":

Rather than asking Arena why the one-striker setup is so popular around the world today, I wish McIntyre had asked Arena what he thinks is likely to be the best formation for the U.S. to play against Honduras in March and for the rest of the World Cup cycle. Asking someone why a given thing is popular often is less beneficial to bringing about good action than asking whether the thing is good or whether it should be done in a given situation. For instance, I’m less interested in why a given political system (for instance, democracy) is popular worldwide than whether it is a system that should be implemented in a given a country.

Assuming the U.S. does start in a 4-4-2 tonight, here is the line-up I’d like to see:

------------------------------------------Rimando--------------------------------------------------


Zusi------------------------Birnbuam--------------Marshall (or Zimmerman)---------Beasley (or Villafana)


----------------------------------Bradley--------------Lletget-----------------------------------


Pontius-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nagbe


-------------------------------------Altidore-------------Morris-------------------------------------

This line-up would get some young players—who could help against Honduras and/or Panama—some experience (for instance, Lletget) and would give some of the players who are likely to play against Honduras and/or Panama (for instance, Bradley, Altidore and Nagbe) an opportunity to play in the same formation that Arena may decide to start against Honduras. The above line-up also is a relatively strong line-up that would give the U.S. a good chance to win the game tonight.

I disagree with you on Altidore and Agudelo. Although Agudelo probably is more skillful, the most important qualities for a forward are to provide assists and, most importantly, score goals. For instance, Giorgio Chinaglia wasn’t that skillful, but he was a great forward in the NASL partly because he scored a lot of goals. And, both at the national team level and at the club level, Altidore has a much better goal-scoring rate than Agudelo. For instance, last season for Toronto, Altidore (including regular season and playoffs) scored 15 goals and had 9 assists in 2068 minutes. That is 1 goal per every 137 minutes and 1 assist per every 229 minutes. In comparison, last season for New England, Agudelo had 7 goals and 5 assists in 1349 minutes. That’s 1 goal every 192 minutes and 1 assists every 269 minutes.

For the U.S. national team, Altidore has 37 goals in 100 games, or 1 goal per every 2.7 games. Agudelo has 3 goals in 22 games, or 1 goal every 7.3 games.

Are you referring just to tonight’s game or also to the World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Panama? It’s important that the U.S. does well in the World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Panama. If, in the Honduras and Panama games, playing a more experienced player who might have less long-term potential instead of a less experience player who might have greater long-term potential is likely to increase our chances of winning those games, then, prima facie, Arena should play the more experienced player.

In summary, I think it is more important for Arena to do what is likely to help the team win in March than for him to do what is likely to help young players get more international experience. If we don’t do well against Honduras and Panama, we may risk not qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. And if we don’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup, it will likely slow the growth of soccer in the U.S. And soccer is a great sport, both for playing and participation. It also can bring people of the world together in a positive way.

 

Actually we outplayed them in 02

 

I think we beat Germany TWO times in Bruce's first year. 3-0 in Jacksonville and 2-0 in Guadalajara. It was pretty thrilling back then to think it was even possible.

 

Morales has been a difference maker for Inglostadt over the past 5 matches, a stretch coinciding with his becoming a regular starter in central midfield. We'll see if he can maintain that level for the rest of the season.

A sliver of hope was the 'right now' part of Arena's comment. It's understandable that he wants to focus on cutting the pool to a group to handle the immediate tasks at hand.

 

Ingolstadt plays the ugliest tactics in the Bundesliga though. And they're still in the relegation play-off spot.

Although in a way it makes sense to think Alfredo can be useful for our NT. Ingolstadt are known to win games with 30% possession and one shot in goal.

 

Game is supposed to start in 40 minutes...no lineups yet?

 

-------Agudelo-Morris
Pontius - Feilhaber - Lletget
-----------McCarty
Villafana-Birnbaum-Zimmerman-Zusi
-----------Robles


Love Dax in this role. And you can't even call me a Red Bulls homer anymore.

 

Here it is. Chance for some bubble players to put a stamp on their performance

 

I like that lineup, if Benny sits back, takes the ball off Dax, and pumps longer balls to Lletget and Pontius on the wing, Morris testing that back line, or Agudelo posting up. I think that puts those players and the team, including defensively, in the best position to succeed. This is the funnest match on paper in a while. Hopefully the theory works and it plays out like that.

 

Agreed, but for an MLS coach, which seems to be all America has (besides the obvious), what other barometer is there? He has won in the last 3 years and it's pretty clear that, in today's MLS, it's very difficult to win every year.

Part of the problem is there are the players we see and then there are the players the coaches see. Most of us watch the games and read a few articles and make up our minds about what we saw. What if I told you that MB had 9 interceptions against Serbia, more than twice as many as any other US player? Or that, for as bad as Greg Garza looked at the start, he finished 33/34 in passing and had an all around decent game?

I'm sure you'd argue it but if you study everything about every game and watch it multiple times, you see a lot more. When I first watched on Sunday, I thought Garza looked brutal. By the third time I saw, it looked far more like he just had some nerves. I certainly don't think BA has forgotten how to watch film of the games.

 

See that? I was right about everything!!!

I'm just going to shut up now. Carry on

 

A fun fact, C.J. Brown played every minute of both matches.