I don't see the slightest chance Scally starts against Mexico. Of course I didn't think Berhalter would start Richards for the first time against Costa Rica. At least Richards had been in camps with the USMNT before, though. THis isn't a time for cute experiments. Dest at right back. Robinson at left back. If the USMNT staff wants to try Dest on the right wing when the game isn't as critical, they can go for it. I'd rather play somebody like Weah on the right wing in this game than Dest there for the first time.
It's why he's not viable. If the World Cup ends up having a standard 23: Goalie: 3 Defense: 8 CM: 5 WF's: 4-5 CF: 2-3 What wing forwards are you taking? For now imagine Reyna and Aaronson remain wing forwards in the system: 1.Pulisic 2.Reyna 3.Aaronson 4. Weah (for Egg it's Arriola) 5. Morris, Arriola, KDLF, and countless other youngsters like C&C etc. If the debate is between Weah, Morris, Arriola, and KDLF for 2 spots, Arriola's the one I toss out immediately because Weah can do what Arriola does, but add more on the attacking end. Morris and Weah can both play Striker and Wing Forward in a pinch. KDLF and Arriola are outside looking in for now, along with C&C and any others. I can use Arriola right now to salt away a lead hosting or at Mexico or at Canada, but I can also use Weah for that, so I'd rather just bring Weah, and KDLF, and call in Arriola only if Weah is unavailable. All this being said, Egg for window 2 anyway, clearly rated Arriola above Weah. That's idiotic, but it's Egg. We'll see if he talks himself out of it after more toothless Lleget like performances in terms of end product (actually helping the attack tangibly).
I...don't understand. Dest and Weah getting worked was a big reason CR scored right out of the gate (not The reason, but they did not do well in that moment). If th question is would you rather have a great attacker paired with a good defender, the answer is yes. Would you rather two great attackers who don't really prioritize defense or one guy who's 75/25 attack with a 25/75 attack? Weah and Dest look great on paper, as do KdlF and Dest or Pulisic and Dest but then when it comes time to actually defend and close gaps it falls apart. Truthfully, an Aaronson/Dest combo or even Roldan or Arriola/Dest or Dest/Yedlin combo gives us more stability. If Cannon were still playing I'd probably opt for a Dest/Cannon combo, at least to kick the tires on it. I have no qualms with Dest and Yedlin lining up on the right side, provided Dest helps out when needed and Yedlin bombs forward when he can to release pressure on Dest. Both guys have the wheels to get back into recovery mode if needed.
Simplify it by bringing in both. I'm also a bit worried about him, in my experience collarbone's can be mighty weird, sounds like his issue was different than the one's I've seen, but he is coming off a pretty hardcore injury. I'd bring both, have Scally as the #2 RB, and #3 LB for emergency use if Vines isn't match fit/can't go. W/regards to Bello, I have him in my rolodex, he's one of the best fullbacks developed over the last half decade in the US alongside Araujo, and Scally. I haven't forgotten him, I just view him as a prospect that needs more time in the oven based on what I've seen (same thing with McKenzie, I am not remotely impressed with McKenzie as a US Nat, or to be honest, in Europe based on reports, but I do view him and Bello as 22 and 19 year old developmental prospects that can end up back in the pool if they get into much better form in '22, for now, I don't think either belong in the 23/23+ based on performance w/country and McKenzie's base, with club and country.
In fairness to Moore, part of the problem surely was he's logged like 1 start in 2.5 months, and a handful of 75+ minute sub ins, so he was not match fit, was not in game shape in any sense at all, and he's a limited player anyway, moderate floor, low ceiling guy, and when you add not match fit, he's low floor, low ceiling. Vines has the same exact problem. He hasn't played in months, he's not match fit, he's got an injury (collarbone fracture) that's notorious for being easy to reinjure (though truth be told, I think that's more related to dislocations rather than fractures?), and so he's not match fit physically, he's not up to speed because he hasn't been logging 90's since like mid-summer maybe, and you're (not you obviously) gonna go with him as first off the bench over a healthy, match fit, 90 minute guy for a mid table Bundesliga side that would like to sneak into Europe and is starting them literally every game? I think this is easy, but somehow we want to make it hard because he's 18. We started an 18 year old Pulisic for an entire qualification cycle, we started Reyna after he was just a few months removed from playing for NYFC's youth side, we've got Scally logging 90's and playing brilliantly, I want that over injured guys, not playing guys, barely playing guys, and guys playing but playing like ----. I don't think it should be hard.
Vines looked fit and good against Fenerbache IMO. I would bring him as the backup LB and Scally as the backup RB. Maybe bring Yedlin too just to be safe (and have the flexibility of moving Dest if needed). Yedlin has well rated for Galatasaray in UEL too, though I didn't get to watch that one.
The veterans aren't good, beyond the keepers, that's the problem. Lletget: Not a top 5 CM for us anymore. Yedlin: Not a top 2 Fullback option Acosta: Not a top 3 CM (like him as the backup 6, but that's it) Siebatcheu: In the Forward group, shouldn't start over Pepi. Zardes: Not a top 4 Forward in the pool for me Ream: a couple of years past his sell by date as an international. JAB: Bad form, but a top 3 CB when on form. We could go on and on and on, Shaq Moore, Altidore, Bradley, Trapp, tons and tons of guys, and nearly all of them 28+ are nowhere near good enough and most of the guys 24+ aren't either, or at best are backup to third stringer types. If you look at the U20 WC team from 2015, most of those guys are 24-26 now, they're Arriola, Rubin, Acosta, Zelalem, Miazga, Steffen etc, most of that roster either didn't make it at this level, or are at best i think that 25-75 part of the pool. It is what it is, the vast bulk of the starters and top 25 guys behind them are 23 and under. We've got basically a half dozen or so guys 25 and old that aren't keepers and relevant in our top 50. That's it. We have to roll with reality, take the glue guys that make sense, and the handful of 25+ers that are legit serious talents, and the rest of the pool is going to be insanely young, setting records young, the only other option is to inject even more orders of magnitude worse in talent players ahead of their superiors. ---- that. I'm not going with veteraness because reasons. I'll bring the vets that have the game, the rest of them can watch like us.
It's worth noting the Dest goal came from Aaronson dropping deep and Weah sliding out to LW which vacated space for Dest and Musah on the weak side. Agreed that Arriola probably doesn't allow the Bryan Ruiz backheel in 1' but I thought Weah and Dest were complementary compared to what we've seen from Konrad and Pulisic with Dest on the left. I think Aaronson and Reyna cut inside a lot and might not mesh as well with Dest offensively (running into the same spaces) even though they have the defensive work rate to tilt the field. I think a Weah/Morris/Hoppe/Arriola type of movement would work best with Dest and then you move Reyna inside. If that means you have one of Aaronson, McKennie, Musah on the bench when everyone is healthy, I think that's ok.
Dest at wing means no matter who you slice it one of out other top players is gonna sit. Might still be worth doing but as already mentioned by others a lot of his value is that he can do what he does as a rb.
It is an odd situation. One created by two distinct factors. One factor is the poor talent in the over 24 portion of the player pool. And the other is the abundance of good talent in the 23 and under group. I don't have any sort of ideological preference as far as youth vs veterans go. I'm agnostic as far as that goes. Probably there is a case for a mix. But we have to accept the reality that there is this enormous gulf in talent between the kids and the vets. And it is talent that should be driving player selection. It just so happens that talent strongly supports going with a younger team.
I don’t disagree. But here are some thoughts I’ve seen on here: 1. Dest is a truly transcendent talent. Not just very good, but exceptional—in the way that very few other players in our pool (currently maybe only Reyna and Pulisic) are. 2. Dest as a RB (not RWB) is a defensive liability. He offers a lot going forward but not a ton in defense. 3. For Dest to work best as a RB he needs to be paired with a defensively-minded winger, or a winger who has the ability to cover at least. If those 3 things are true, *and* Pulisic and Reyna are out, then Dest is our only transcendent talent who could play the wing. To be clear, I love Weah. I don’t want to see him on the bench. But I think Dest on the wing allows for a more defensively-sound Scally to get on the pitch. Does that matter against the CONCACAF minnows? Probably not. But against a quality attacking side, with our current options, I think I’d rather have Dest and Aaronson/Weah up top (with whomever doesn’t start being the impact sub) with Scally and Robinson providing better cover in defense. Also, I would reject the idea (and to be clear I’m not saying this is what you’re saying, ifsteve) that what Dest does is only special because he’s doing it as a RB. Even as a winger his skills (particularly in our pool) are exceptional.
With regard to Arriola and the mountains of posts on him: Arriola has always been a good player in the wide area between fullback and forward. Period. No need to discuss anything else other than "do we need a guy in this game who plays area so-and-so?" @HouseHead78 mentioned Arriola played well with Dest v. Jamaica. I believe he also played well with Dest v. Canada. Berhalter, I recall, said that Arriola's interplay with Pulisic helped Puli's game over on the left side. Paul's club in Mexico tried him at cmid and it didn't work and they sold him. Arena insisted that must be wrong so he played Arriola at cmid in Couva. On and on and on, our MLS American coaches insist they are some geniuses who are going to "teach" stuff. Arriola is good up to a point. Just use him for what he is good at. Of all the people Gregg brings in from MLS, Arriola is one I don't mind because at least Gregg (over?)uses him right. The guy who does something similar is Gressel. Atlanta were never the same without him.
OK, but notice how Barca deal with their problems. They tell Dest to go for the gusto but they put Mingueza behind him (3rdcb), We should just put Miles on the right cb spot and have him mark that fast winger who will always be trying to get in behind Dest, when Dest goes forward. Sands' job will be to tie the line together so there's no lost in space moment between Robinson and the lcb and Adams. Look at the difference between Barca and Gregg in the way they explore ways of maximizing their assetts. Didn't see the (whole) game but I believe Dest was recently at rw then rwb and fullback all in the same game. Notice how DeJong was directing the play to Dest. Now notice how Gregg will yell "me too, me too" and put the anvil footed McK in that deJong role and watch as Dest struggles because McK is not deJong.
why does it make no sense to think outside the box when you aren't seeing the results you should be seeing? When your youth is so much more talented than your 'experienced' roster marks? When you have so many pieces on the board to work with you should try to find the best 11. The best chemistry. The best bench options for fit, etc. In 2021 there aren't too many ideas, roster selection or starting 11 wise that are stupid. We aren't going to win the next WC no matter what happens. Qualifying and moving on are the goals. It's 2026. That's the goal for knowing what you have and coaching it up the right way.
I don't think it's a stupid idea, or should just be dismissed, but I don't think it makes sense to switch up his role now. Qualifying is the most important goal, and best utilizing the most talented, reliably healthy player we have is critical. And for chemistry and consistency I would argue step 1 is keeping the parts that are working. In the two games he played last window at RB, we averaged 2 goals a game.. We just figured out how to get production out of him (1G, 2A) without compromising our shape defensively. Our possession build out relies a skilled RB that can progress the ball in difficult situations. When we aren't conceding many high quality chances, I see no reason to move Dest up the field to get a better defensive RB. As for the offensive performance in these games, other than Dest individually, we bossed the midfield and consistenty got into dangerous positions, but need to keep working on converting dangerous positions into clear chances...This might have been the first time we have really gotten into dangerous positions with such consistency under GB, so hopefully they look at the tape and our efficiency will rise with more reps. What I would note from the Panama game is that the drop off from RB Dest to Yedlin/Moore is worse than RW Dest to Weah, given how much we rely on the fullbacks for ball security. Maybe Scally will change the equation when he gets called in, but for now if it ain't broke...
I don't see it as who do you take off. Maybe it's 45 minutes for two guys you're looking at and just see what you see. You aren't going to lose because you sit Aaronson or ? and give Dest a look. He's probably got more offensive juice and that's what we're missing. Then switch. I'm not proposing a lineup I'm just suggesting we have a bunch of chess pieces; too many to fit on the board. But we don't really know who fits best as the best 11 and that 11 could change in a WC from game to game.
That bolded piece is such an odd take. I'm not even speaking to the other issues. Keep Dest at RB, Weah can play on either wing. Keep it simple etc. But man, I took a look at the play to see what you're talking about, and I see Weah getting beat to the ball which is totally explicable because #1 the ball ricocheted multiple times, and #2 favored the Costa Rica player due to angle, Weah would have to commit a really bad foul or have anticipated the weird deflection to get their earlier. Then on the other side of it is Dest trying to run another CR player down after the back heel whatever it was, can't quite cut out the cross before it is sent over. All of this ignores the fact that Steffen came flying out like some kind of meth head carnie, totally botched the clearance, struggled to come back, then couldn't clearly see an incredibly slow moving shot (in fairness, Im not quite sure why that wasn't waived off for goalie interference, it looked cut from the same cloth as the denied winning goal we had against Italy in the '06 WC, not the same play, but the same concept, he was completely messed with by the CR player). Regardless though, I wouldn't put Dest or Weah close to the top of the problems on the play. Weah was in a bad spot, he had no idea there'd be a litany of stupidity resulting in a ball deflecting towards him, nor the inane nonsense that would play out thereafter, Dest was not fantastic, but he was reasonably adequate. Comparing that to the keystone cops defending in the box, the moronic keeping on the play, it was just a ---- show in there. Anyway, just my quibble. As it is, I'm not inclined to mess with Dest. I actually kind of find it a little funny, at this point, other than figuring out the details on the edges (with guys like Scally coming in, and other guys that should be ejected), I want guys like Dest and Robinson just started on either side, we've been watching for years as all manner of inferior LB's were started instead of Robinson, and that Dest was repeatedly just moved over there because of trust issues instead of just setting him at RB, and leaving it at that etc. Hoping we can get simple.
I wouldn’t move Dest to RW... at least not yet. For all the talk about our right back depth.... this is how soccer is a crazy game... There’s Yedlin but Reynolds and Cannon have both found themselves in bad club situations. Moore has become a dud. Scally might be needed on the left. And Araujo switched allegiances. There’s still Herrera and Duncan... but it’s not quite as promising. If we’re going to continue with the Adams DLP role... I think we can allow Dest to play RB and still get up in the attack. Adams, in effect, is a third center back who pushes up in the attack. I.e. James Sands on steroids. Kelyn Acosta is more of a pure destroyer but I still think Acosta is good enough if he’s used to just guard the gut that we can push our fullbacks higher... against most teams.
As happens too often here, people are responding to the post while ignoring key elements of the post. One person phrased it as "who would I rather have, Weah and Dest or Dest and Yedlin." Another (actually, pretty sure it was the same person) said "it's dropping Reyna for Yedlin." Again: my initial proposal is assuming two things: 1) Scally continues to play well, is called in, and plays RB when Dest shifts up, and 2) Reyna and Pulisic are both unavailable. Reyna isn't involved. Neither is Yedlin. If you don't like the idea, that's fine. But stop shooting down arguments that weren't there in the first place.