Where Do Things Stand: Roster Edition

Discussion in 'USA Men' started by rgli13, Sep 9, 2021.

  1. Eleven Bravo

    Eleven Bravo Member+

    Atlanta United
    United States
    Jul 3, 2004
    SC
    Club:
    Atlanta Silverbacks
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Really good point on Sands. He was put in such an odd position for him that he seemed out of his depth. And even when the momentum shifted, he couldn’t shift with it.

    Do I fault him for that? Yeah, I think we have to. It was a bad game. But I also don’t think should be the last we ever see of him either. His problem is going to be such a specialist that he can’t really play outside of that advanced CB role in a 3 man backline.... what we were trying to force Brooks into playing last night instead.
     
  2. rgli13

    rgli13 Member+

    Mar 23, 2005
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    ultimately we have a lot of depth at rb but not a ton of separation.

    i personally like yedlin a lot, but hes pretty up and down recently, imo. to me he is most comparable to moore, and i just have moore a touch ahead.

    but most importantly dest is my starter and cannon best compliments him on a roster. we have to bed dest in as our rb (and only our rb), while cannon has had little niggling injuries and is in a horrible club situation so he hasnt exactly been tearing anything up.

    but i may have more of a long view here than any other position. until/if scally makes a more thorough case i like that mix of dest with the changeup of a more defensive player in cannon. i dont see the lack of offense as a big negative at all. honestly a stay at home option- giving aaronson or reyna (though i hope gio is used centrally) more room to work is a positive. a big part of why i would start weah is so dest isnt constantly running up one of our exclusively narrow guys' asses.

    so let timmy make space for dest to run into, cutting inside, while cannon (or hopefully scally) lock the back down and let aaronson go to work, offering support overlapping wide occasionally.

    assuming adams or acosta to help cover the backline (for the legit concern of dest going attack crazy in any given stretch) i really dont think we can mess this spot up too much.

    ...unless we play all our rbs at once, on the right, the left, one ar right wing or something. not that anyone in their right mind would do that :whistling:
     
  3. iad_22201

    iad_22201 Member+

    Jan 2, 2009
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    Fulham FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #28 iad_22201, Sep 9, 2021
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2021
    Eh, I wish it was just about that play but anyone who has watched Yedlin over the years has seen him get beaten like that by far lesser players. Yedlin is not a very smart defender who is regularly out of position/makes poor decisions and frankly I think he's lost a bit of that speed which could occasionally bail him out of bad situations. There's a reason he's on the outs at a club in a league that currently sits 17th in the UEFA coefficients.

    As for your assertion that Yedlin is a better fit for how Gregg wants to play, I'm willing to consider the possibility that that's how Gregg might view things. But if that's the case he's wrong. Maybe the DeAndre Yedlin of 3 or 4 years ago would be a better fit, but not this version (I'm still hopeful, though not optimistic, that the reason Yedlin was called in ahead of Cannon this window was because of the potential of a move near the transfer deadline). If you plug Reggie into Gregg's system (as you see it) he's no worse going forward than Yedlin and better on defense, even if he's a step slower.

    I actually think the reason Gregg is playing him is not because he thinks he's a better fit for his system but because he values (in my opinion wrongly) DeAndre's "experience".

    I think I missed that. What did he say?
     
  4. rgli13

    rgli13 Member+

    Mar 23, 2005
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    yeah, i think he had strong games and not so strong games in the gc pairing with mrob, he just seems so specialized to me. i mean, im still listing him as my third dm when if we didnt have adams or acosta i would just use a back 5.

    and i guess brooks is specialized as well, cause ive never loved him in a back 3- i think mainly due to him being used as the center cb. i think hes low key super one-sided and when he defends facing the right he freaking falls over himself. do you, or anyone else, think that?
     
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  5. thedukeofsoccer

    thedukeofsoccer Member+

    Jul 11, 2004
    Wussconsin
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes, we should roster around 30 players, AND balance it, to account for all the problems that may arise in a compressed camp during a pandemic. We saw close to worst case scenarios arise. But it would be even more cataclysmic if there was, say, a partial covid outbreak.

    Who I'd bring, if everyone is available (which you know they aren't going to be, so you need to provide some alternates).

    gk - Turner, Horvath, Steffen
    lb - ARob, Bello, Vines
    rb - Dest, Araujo/Yedlin (Julian if he commits), Cannon/Moore/Scally (best form)
    cb - MRob, McKenzie, Brooks, Richards, Zimmerman/Miazga (best form)
    dm - Adams, Musah, Acosta, Sands
    am - Reyna, Lletget, LDLT, Pomykal
    wing - Aaronson, Pulisic, Weah, KDLF, Sargent
    fw - Pepi, Hoppe, Zardes, Dike

    alternates - Roldan, Green, S. Johnson, Mueller, other rb's, Ream, Ferreira, Paredes, other cb, Sapong

    The big winners from the camp were Miles Robinson, Antonee Robinson, Brenden Aaronson, Ricardo Pepi. Miles Robinson fits in any formation and with all partners because of his lack of weaknesses, while being a superior defender. Antonee really brought it and we have a dearth of lb's, so that's enough. It's a similar case for Pepi relative to strikers. He carped the diem. Now is at least a situational starter. And Aaronson, as long as you play him at wing instead of cam, may be one of the guys we need on the field to make something happen offensively, while he handles his defensive responsibility too.

    Big losers John Brooks, Christian Pulisic, Jordan Pefok, Josh Sargent, Sergino Dest. Pefok and Sargent aren't top 5 cf's when everyone's available. W/ Brooks, Dest, and Pulisic we shouldn't have the attitude anymore they should start at least 2 games if they're here. It's sometimes start based on situation, super-subs, or sit. We have enough quality depth we can do this. These players have flaws that can compromise the group at times - Brooks (slowness), Dest (apathy, d), Pulisic (ego, fb iq); just as a lot of the alternatives do. So play them if they better fit the tactic, or play the sexy club guys. But some sexy club guys need to fix these problems if they're going to always start if they can, just as they do with their club. We have an inferiority complex about this, and it leads to dysfunction. Care too much about pedigree and not enough about nat'l team performance.
     
  6. Guinho

    Guinho Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes, bless their hearts
    Estonia
    May 27, 2001
    San Francisco, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Great list, actually, but quite a few things changed last night.

    I imagine you are right that Steffan still has that top spot, but given his gaffes, I think Turner has earned the starting role here.

    As
    others have said, Yedlin remains Dest’s understudy. However, I will point out that past year’s run of success for Barcelona came when dest moved up to right wing and just took advantage of Dest’s abilities going forward without his defensive issues, so perhaps four at RB would be smart.
    Might run Zimmerman ahead of Richards

    Brooks is done as first choice LCB. I would say McKenzie has it now, but the question who pairs with Robinson

    If Jedi doesn't start, Berhalter should be fired. Period

    i am not at all sure about Sands here. Might be Musah as third choice

    Sounds good. Not clear that De La Torre beats out Roldan. Roldan has shown well. Also, Aaronson might move into front if we play with two strikers

    Pepi is our starter now unless he chokes and this game proves a fluke. Dike seems a good number two. (Three goals in 8 games) or Zardes (0.35 goals per game over 60+ games). I am not ready to drop Sargent entirely. Sargent but Hoppe is probably ahead of him now.

    I agree strongly 26 is too small a pool for these windows. We got hammered by injuries and suspensions. It worked out that we only had good options when scraping the bottom of the barrel.
     
  7. rgli13

    rgli13 Member+

    Mar 23, 2005
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    those are all fine points for your own preferred roster. im pretty comfortable with mine.
     
  8. manfromgallifrey91

    Swansea City
    United States
    Jul 24, 2015
    Wyoming, USA
    Club:
    Southampton FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Cannon is not very good going forward, Yedlin isn't a world beater but he is a better crosser imo.

    He has definitely lost a step, but speed matters if we are sending our fullbacks to be wingers, and Yedlin is quicker.

    I won't disagree with the assertion that yedlin is a poor team defender, he gets caught ball watching on a lot of runs. Always has. However, with Gregg's tactics, his ability to recover down the wing is more important than covering a runner, but I think Cannon trying to get out of Boavista was the reason he wasn't called.

    If I were ranking RB on how I'd envision the team playing it would be:

    Dest
    Moore
    Cannon
    Yedlin
    Scally

    Scally has the most potential defensively and could be a better overall defender than the rest but needs more time. Moores game looked better than Cannon in the GC, so I'd give him the nod first. Yedlin is more speed only and that's fading. Young players may break through. RB is a good spot for us right now and looks to get better.
     
  9. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    I'd suggest that if Moore was really ahead of Cannon, he'd have been on this roster.

    I suspect Berhalter kept Moore in the lineup at the Gold Cup, because he was the "hot hand."
    [And Cannon's minor injury.] I'm not convinced that's where he is in the depth chart right now.

    And of course we must consider Bryan Reynolds, Julian Araujo (we hope), and others.
    Those guys are probably in a big bunch with Scally behind Yedlin.
     
  10. Master O

    Master O Member+

    Jul 7, 2006
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Have there been any updates on injuries to Pulisic, Dest, and Weah?
     
  11. rgli13

    rgli13 Member+

    Mar 23, 2005
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    pulisic is out 10 days, per chelsea twitter
     
  12. manfromgallifrey91

    Swansea City
    United States
    Jul 24, 2015
    Wyoming, USA
    Club:
    Southampton FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Dest-Low grade ankle sprain, maybe 2 weeks but their monitoring it to see how it goes.
    Weah-havent heard much other than he was out for the qualifiers.
    rgli13 mentioned Pulisic being out.
     
  13. Master O

    Master O Member+

    Jul 7, 2006
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm beginning to get the impression that the US's best players are all made of glass. They never seem to be healthy when the US needs them.
     
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  14. Marko72

    Marko72 Member+

    Aug 30, 2005
    New York
    Indeed, but it must be pointed out that he had all day and half the night to make that cross. The Hondurans had no gas with which to put us under any pressure at that point.
     
  15. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Dest has a grade one ankle sprain.
    Likely out ~10 days from injury, but is reportedly fighting hard to be available for selection against Bayern. So he's fine for the October USMNT window.

    The player in jeopardy for that window is Gio Reyna.
     
  16. thedukeofsoccer

    thedukeofsoccer Member+

    Jul 11, 2004
    Wussconsin
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I watched the 2nd half again. Sands shifted with the momentum. He was winning a lot of duels and advancing possession. Probably helped to have a refresh after some early potential over-exuberance from his first road game, maybe got some new cleats, and definitely benefited from the switch in tactic. He had more help w/ the 3rd man in cm, so that meant less ground to cover, and more passing options. Could get another boost as a 6 if he had a transitional 8 next to him instead of Acosta or even Adams.

    So I don't think he's a specialist. He can play the 6 in a better tactic, w/ some experience, and especially at home if we're looking from possession in that spot. Actually think he's more style-flexible than Acosta because he could be your defensive and possession option. Kellyn is a ghost or liability in possession. It has continually shown. He built his rep in the UNL final and end of GC against better teams as a pure destroyer. So more broadly, I think Sands is probably the #2 d-mid behind Adams, in addition to potentially part of a 3-man back-line. And his overall versatility alone, like Ream, should allow him to make subsequent rosters.
     
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