I can be swayed in regards to Robinson over Long, I was trying not to be a prisoner of the moment. Zero doubt that Robinson just put together one of the most impressive tournaments a US CB has put together in a long time. He's an ascending player no doubt.
I think Horvath is the starter. He's the best of the 3 with the ball at his feet and basically as good a shot stopper as Turner. Am I saying Steffen is #3 right now? I guess? What an upside down world where a year or two ago I didn't think we had much going for us in goal.
What I’d like to see. ————Hoppe———- Pulisic————-Aaronson ———-Reyna—————- —-Mckennie——Musah- ————Acosta————- Dest—-Brooks—Adams ———-Horvath————
Sorry, this formation is nonsense. You can't play one center back. And if you play 3-4-3, you don't play a diamond.
I like Horvath and agree that he is the best of the three with the ball but I'm not sure that he is as good a shot stopper as Turner. I might be inclined to start Turner instead of Horvath in games where we are outgunned and need our keeper to stand on his head to win. Ethan's problem (along with Steffen) is that he needs to be playing consistently for his club. I'd rate Steffen as #3 also but it seems like we are in the minority. Will be really interesting to see what Gregg does. We would need to play more direct out of the back with Turner and that's not how he wants to play, but GGG has shown that he is pragmatic enough to ditch that dogma in a competitive game when he doesn't have the players to pull it off.
my 11 for sept 2, assuming fitness/availibility: __________turner__________ ______mrob_____brooks_____ dest__________________arob __________adams_________ ____mckennie____reyna_____ weah_______________pulisic __________hoppe___________ euro players will be in the very early stages of their season. turner is in season and, you know, just played a couple of ok matches so i go with him for the first two qualifiers (rationale for the second being he just blanked canada like a week ago). similarly theres no reason to not ride robinson here. i wont go as far as saying hes "won" that spot in any big picture sense, but hes as confident as hes ever gonna be, just spent a month in front of turner and is a much-sought after "fit" with brooks. richards still feels like the guy to me, but this is right now...well, now being next month. but that exact match. adams finally in the team (knock on wood, throw salt somewhere, etc) allows us to not get cute and play dest/robinson like the attacking fbs they are, no overthought wrinkles needed. move reyna central to finally connect our defense/mid to the attack. weah and pulisic will open all kinds of space and both fit well with their respective fbs (weah and dest can exchange the inside/outside tracks while arob lets pulisic attack the box). mckennie takes advantage of that space and reyna pulls the strings. and dont for one second say this is just going for sexy, all out attack- it is those things, but it also can press the shit out of anyone. it doesnt leave obvious holes defensively. its great to know we can gut out results with our depth, but lets put the role players on the bench where they belong, move past gimmicky setups and unleash at least a little bit of unholy hell. if gregg wants to put his stamp on the program at this crucial level- win at home...(play to) win on the road too. lets stop treating minnows like formidable fish. we have more than one winger and two cbs now. lets put some bodies on the ground. and how awesome is it how different a team we can throw out for the second match, and third, while not dropping a significant level? i am hoping against hope that we will consider defending for our lives and bleeding for results our floor and start looking for our ceiling.
My XI Pulisic Sargent De la Fuente -----------Reyna----------------- -----McKennie--Adams------ Scally Brooks Richards Dest ---------Horvath---------------
Put me in the "Robinson should be starting next to Brooks" camp. He wins way more than his share of 50/50 balls, never gets beat for pace, and hardly ever gets beat on the dribble. Seems like the perfect partner for Brooks. I know Richards is theoretically better overall and is definitely a better passer, but Robinson was just almost flawless defensively against the exact teams we need to beat in qualifying, and Richards doesn't have that track record.
It's a really hard decision in goal. You could make the case for or against any of the three: Steffen is the incumbent, has the most experience at the international level, and has played in some high-level, semi-important games for City. But he's been a bit shaky both with his feet and judgment in coming off the line. Horvath looked great in his minutes in the NL run, but looks set to be a backup again at his new club. But does being a backup at club level matter, if he comes on for the USMNT and plays like he did in the NL run without many minutes the previous season with club? Turner seems to be the best pure shot stopper. When he was playing during the GC, I just felt like nothing was going in unless it was a point blank tap-in or something really special. However, he's shaky with his feet and seems rooted to his line a bit. It's better to stay on the line if you're not sure you can claim a ball in the box, but I did feel like there were multiple times in the GC where the ball was bouncing around in our box where a different keeper would have just come out and grabbed it and ended the danger. I think I'd lean Turner for qualifying since he just blanked 3 opponents from the Ocho, but I wouldn't be too upset with any of them.
I don't know if I have a starting 11 right now. I think the only "lock' starters are Pulisic, McKennie, Adams, Reyna, Dest, and Brooks. The gap between the rest of the players fighting for the other 5 places just shrunk considerably. There are probably 10 guys I can now say "Yeah, I can see that." as starting. Greg is going to get the benefit of the doubt a lot more regarding who starts unless he brings in guys like Yuill, etc.
the current Good Problem To Have is that I don't know how to rank the attackers. Pulisic, Reyna, Aaronson, Konrad, Morris, Ledezma, Weah, Hoppe, Zardes, Sargent. With Clark, Cowell, and Pepi waiting in the wings. You can probably pick 8 of them.
Right about now, I'm thinking... .......................Hoppe .................Pulisic..Reyna ..............McKennie..Acosta .......................Adams Robinson..Brooks..Robinson..Dest ........................Turner I think Richards has a real chance to overtake Robinson as good as he was last night and I don't know that Berhalter will stick with the other Robinson on the left. Acosta could make way for Musah, but I'm not sure Acosta isn't more effective at this point in time and that midfield three looks like hell to get trough. Sargent is showing well so far in Bundesliga.2 so their will certainly be a fight for that striker spot. But Hoppe just brings a danger and bite to the role that Sargent doesn't. I have simply been more impressed with Turner than Steffan in goal, but this may well be a spot where Berhalter has already made up his mind regardless of what we think. I think the rest of the spots are pretty much no-brainers.
I like the scally and Kdlf inclusions. Been following both in preseason and both look good. Scally is a grown ass man at 18 and has sweet feet. And Konrad looks like he’s ready to break out. Seems OM has plans to let him play on the left wing and have given him license to take on the defense. That’s something we really need.
My 23 going into Qualifiers, if GGG sticks with 433 -----------------------------Jordan/Zardes-- ----------Pulisic/KDLF-------------------------------BA/Weah------ ---------------McKennie/Musah----Reyna/Lletget------ -----------------------------Adams/Acosta------- ---Jedi/Vines---------------------------------------------Dest/Cannon---- -----------Brooks/McKenzie----Robinson/Zimmerman---- -------------------------Turner/Horvath/Steffen---- Depth options. CB: Will let Richards get more seasoning in the B1. Missing both Gold Cup and NL hurts. He can be integrated later on. Depending on where they land, CCV and EPB could each make a push for '22 roles. LB: Bello did enough to be on standby. But come '22, there will likely be strong competition from the likes of Paredes, Dest, Scally, DJJones, and Jonathan Gomez. RB: Araujo can certainly make a push into the 23, if he moves. Duncan and Lennon are having strong seasons, But RB is the deepest position. Moves to stronger leagues would be needed. The prospect of Scally getting serious minutes at Gladbach looms significantly. DM: the depth needs to be filled out. Did Sands show enough at CB to be standby at DM? Will he retain his starter's spot at NYC? Floch has quieted down. Perhaps Derrick Jones can make a push in '22. Perhaps Musah can be option there. CM: Pomykal and Torre and Busio will be gunning for the low hanging fruit that is Lletget. If Keaton Parks becomes goal dangerous he could make push in '22. WF: Sargent and Cowell are the high-ceiling depth options. Roldan, of course, could provide veteran depth. FW: Dike, Hoppe, and Pepi are the high-ceiling depth options. Ferreira could be an option as a false 9
I'm going to move away from a Best 11 and just worry about a Best 23 now. This is what I'd see for a Best 23 for the first WCQ window assuming full health. GK (3) - Turner, Steffen, Horvath CB (4) - Brooks, Richards, M. Robinson, McKenzie CB/DM hybrid (1) - Sands Outside backs (3) - Dest, A. Robinson, Cannon CMs (4) - McKennie, Musah, Adams, Acosta, ??? Forwards (7) - Pulisic, Reyna, Hoppe, Sargent, Weah, Aaronson, Zardes I feel good about 22 of the 23. The last CM spot is up for grabs. I'd love to see Williamson or Busio there, but I imagine Lletget will at least begin the cycle in that last spot. I really like the versatility on this team. You have guys like Sargent, Weah, and Hoppe who can play a number of forward positions. You have Aaronson as a creative supersub. Reyna could play on the wing or in central midfield. With the five center backs (counting Sands), you can go 4 or 3 in the back. If you press me on a starting XI, my instinct says this after last night. GK - Turner (have to go with the hot hand, and I'll take shot stopping early in the cycle) Defense - A. Robinson, Brooks, M. Robinson, Dest CM - McKennie, Adams, Reyna Forwards - Pulisic, Hoppe, Weah I just think that lineup has the right balance.
You think he’s one of the best midfielders in our pool? I can name 4 or 5 better than him. He’s the clear backup to Adams at the #6 but let’s not go overboard on overrating him now
What about Luca De La Torre? Also, maybe Green. I'm not thinking in terms of 23, I'm thinking in terms of 26-30 for these three-game windows. I think we've got about 40 players who are ready for this.