--------------Wood----Altidore/Pulisic----- ------Nagbe--------------------------Pulisic/Bedoya--- --------------Acosta----------- ---------------------------Bradley---- ---Villafana----------------------------------MOF----- ----------------Brooks------Cameron----- -----------------------Howard---------- Arena stated a preference for a dedicated d-mid, so a flat 442 would seem unlikely. If played at forward Pulisic would start from a deeper position than Altidore typically does.
Wood is in very good form in the middle. Pulisic is in very good form wide. I'm not sure why Bruce moves them, but it's possible. Bruce has always liked a destroyer. I would have thought it would be Cam until the injuries/suspensions hit the back line. The backline is the most perplexing. Not sure what I'd do, moreless what Bruce will do.
The last manager's selections were an abberation (abomination?). We did not run out an aesthetically pleasing attack in the past but our best front 6 from the '10 cycle would have been: Altidore, Davies, Dempsey, Donovan, Holden, and Bradley. Best front 6 from '06: McBride, Donovan, Dempsey, Beasley, Reyna, Mastroeni. '02 had options and one is: McBride, Donovan, Stewart, Beasley, Reyna, O'Brien. Compare that to '14 with: Altidore, Dempsey, Bedoya, Jones, Bradley, Beckerman. Does anything jump out to anyone? This: -------Altidore----Wood------- --Johnson-------------Pulisic-- --------------Nagbe------------- -------------Bradley------------- Is much more in line with our traditional attacking/two-way/defensive balance and like is usually the case an injury has ruined it.
Wood is alternating time in either a 2 FW (sometimes in the form of a diamond) or 1 FW system, always as a FW. HSV rarely carry the play and he is mostly hitting on the break, there hasn't been a lot of combination play but now at least they are stringing some passes together on the move and attacking with trailing runners. I don't think he should play anywhere other than FW because that is by far where he is strongest. Pulisic has, most recently, been playing RAM on a 2 line behind Auba, at RWB, and at RM in a 4-1-4-1. I think he has had the biggest impact in that free RAM role, he's pretty good at RM, and he does the work at RWB but it's obviously a waste for our purposes. With FJ gone that opens up LM, where I think he is a little better because he can cut in and shoot, but CAM or SS aren't that far away from RAM in a trident. Again I look to what he can and can't do as a player and that makes him, as BVB has shown, more versatile.
One of the US's biggest problems lately is that our best players are injured. A lot. Brooks, Altidore, Johnson, Dempsey, Cameron, Yedlin etc. I don't remember a time when so many of the top players are injured so often. That has really hampered continuity and it surely doesn't help to constantly miss the best players. May say a prayer for CP to stay healthy.
Technically we still do have CD. These 2 matches are going to be a grind. I don't really expect away concacaf matches to be pretty even under ideal conditions. A blowout at home and a tough 1-0 away would leave me very happy.
And that is the main difference between the USA and the big boys....depth. Reus can be injured and Germany still wins the World Cup. If Messi doesn't play I argue Argentina is actually a better team. Portugal with Ronaldo at the Euros. Everyone deals with injuries...except Leicester City last year which was an act of God.
Yes, it appears Johnson has a hamstring injury as of this morning. If so, those take a while to heal, so probably no Johnson. http://americansoccernow.com/articles/fabian-johnson-injured-emerson-hyndman-thriving
This is not the kind of thinking that gets you a head coaching job. Bruce needs to identify weaknesses and make sure they are covered. Bradley is not a true defensive midfielder and thus Bruce is bound to give him cover.
Hmm. Sometimes you only have one of a very special player. Argentina with Di Maria would have won that WC. The gauchos had the right idea. Break the high press with skillful dribbling. Unfortunately, they didn't have Di Maria to really hit that that space behind the press with speed. Meanwhile, Germany without Neuer would have lost. He's what allows them to press so high.
Hogwash. It is the exact thinking that got Bruce the job! Bruce specifically got the head coaching job because he is the guy that puts specific players in specific roles and asks them to do a job. What was one of the first damn things he said when he got the job? BRADLEY IS A #6, WANTS A DEDICATED D-MID AND MORE ATTACKING PARTNER http://www.starsandstripesfc.com/20...s-his-way-teamwork-and-a-whole-lot-of-players ✔@DougMacESPN Big takeaways from Bruce Arena roundtable: sees Michael Bradley as a No. 6 ; said Jermaine Jones, 35, "still has something to offer" #usmnt I am so god damn tired of the moving goal posts for Michael Bradley. This team has got to move on from supposedly playing two #8's, which in reality means no one properly does either job of attacking or defending. Again:
Between Ream, Villafana, and Beasely I'm not especially worried about LB. I would take Cameron at RB over MOF.
It becomes would you rather see MOF at right back or Omar/Zim at center back. It's bad luck to have so many important players injured when two such important games come up. A great test for those left though. This is how you break through to being a starter for a while.
A quick contextual chart - the roster broken out by WCQ and all other caps: I need to look at this with Gold Cup appearances as well, but at first glance, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of CONCACAF experience. For the most experienced guys, WCQs are 25% to 33% of their caps.
Graham Zusi replaces Fabian Johnson on USMNT roster http://www.starsandstripesfc.com/20...an-johnson-injury-update-news-world-cup-usmnt Graham Zusi will replace Fabian Johnson on the US qualifying roster. Makes sense.— Brian Straus (@BrianStraus) March 17, 2017
Why is it that when we have an injury crisis, it always seems to be key players + all of our depth at that position.
Nagbe has played wide midfield and a-mid(4231). He has rarely played in a 2-man central midfield or as a deep mid in a 4231.