ST: Jesus Ferreira, Pepi, Sargent Wingers: Pulisic, Reyna, Aaronson, Weah Mid: Mckennie, Musah, Adams, LDLT, Acosta RB: Dest, Yedlin CB: Zimmerman, Robinson, Richards, Long LB: Jedi, Scally GK: Steffen, Turner, Horvath this is mainly aspirational aside from Long over Brooks, but I’m hoping for Scally and Sargent. It will be interesting where Reyna ends up slotting for the World Cup but until he gets CM minutes I’ll put him at winger.
The jury is still out on that move. All we know is that he had to get out of Schalke, stat. I'll reassess if he can't get playing time at Mallorca with his new (Mexican! ) manager or at a decent loan destination. Wait, so now a guy has to be playing? I'll buy that for a top 23, a top 26, a top 30 - I'd like to see if Hoppe makes @Eleven Bravo 's (3-deep/4-deep) depth chart - but Hoppe has to be playing to make the GoBlue top 51? Hoppe scored for us in the Gold Cup just last summer, he's not (not playing) in the wilderness, he's (not playing) in La Liga.
it will be interesting to see if this is coupled with an increase in allowed subs. It might have occurred to someone that heat may be an issue.
I really like Hoppe and liked what he showed in the Gold Cup. I wasn’t really doing a pure depth chart though. There’s the guys who are the current locks, the probables, the last few roster spot guys, bubble guys who have been with the team during qualifying, and come our of nowhere guys. That last list isn’t.a list of best players remaining, just guys I thinI have come out of nowhere potential. I guess I don’t have faith that Hoppe is going to get his club situation sorted out in time.
More dark horses: Gioachinni - If he can get some playing time, I think he could quickly rise up the charts. Konrad - I know he's been labeled as not a hard worker, but the kid clearly has talent and skill. Should get another shot. Johnny Cardoso - Surprised how few chances he's got. Alan Sonora - ? Balogun - unlikely to switch from England. Duane Holmes - especially if Huddersfield win promotion. Haji Wright - Has scored decent amount of goals in Denmark and Turkey. Kik Pierie - Any chance he switches? Too young and green.
We have two windows, right? A four game Nations League group window, where our opponents will be pretty mediocre, and a September window which will presumably be two games? There's also a very short tuneup -- one week -- before the actual Cup. The team seems to be starting to come together, but I would not want to not bring and play much of the A team for these windows. There will obviously be camp time, but I wonder how much game time is reasonably available. I expect some challengers, but I doubt we're bringing in more than one or at most two at each position. For example, who do you bring in at centerback? Do you leave Walker and Miles at home to try out other people, are do you bring them to keep them sharp, integrate new tactical ideas and get them both time with Chris Richards, who seems mostly to be the player that either deposes one of them, or ends up playing if one is hurt or suspended. Toss in a couple of other contenders, and playing time is pretty full. Just not sure we're going to dig even deeper than we already have.
I was never sold on the idea he absolutely needed to leave Shalke…other than him leaving Shalke eliminated any reason for me to have to watch them….which is fantastic in and of itself. He’s young and and had only been in Europe 18 months. He would have been fine playing in the 2nd bundesliga this year. Hell…Shalke could very well go up…which means he’d be back in the bundesliga next fall for a few months before the rosters were announced. It’s not like anyone else has nailed down the spot while he’s been in purgatory at Mallorca. This move killed any chance he had at making the WC.
Schalke do not seem well run to me. The big mistake he made was signing that extension with Schalke, which limited his options. He should’ve left on a free and gone to a team in a smaller league like Belgium or the Netherlands that would let him play.
I don’t necessarily disagree about the extension….however I’m not sure he would have gotten anywhere near the minutes he received last spring had he not signed.
IIRC, he signed the extension after his initial hot streak. Had he left on a free, he wouldn’t have played as much later in the season, but I don’t think it would’ve really hurt his options.
GK: Horvath, Turner, & 1 spot up for grabs CB: Miles, Zimmerman, Richards, & 1 or 2 spots up for grabs FB: ARob, Dest, & 2 spots up for grabs CM: Adams, Musah, McKennie, Reyna, & 3 spots up for grabs W: Weah, Pulisic, Aaronson, & 1 spot up for grabs CF: 2-3 spots up for grabs So I have 13 spots secured and 10 up for grabs. That will be decided in the summer & pre WC friendlies, as well as UNL. Players we really need to experiment with in those games are: Ferreira, Dike, Pepi, Sargent, Morris, Pomykal, E-Will, LDLT, Scally, Sands, Gomez, Slonina, Paredes, D. Jones, EPB, KDLF, Hoppe, Busio, Djordje, Long, CCV, Bello, Che Some fallback players if the alternatives don't succeed: Acosta, Yedlin, Cannon, Arriola, Steffen, etc.
My 23 (26) man projected roster GK (3) Steffen, Turner, Gaga FB (4) Dest, Jedi, Scally, DeJuan Jones CB (4) Zimmerman, Robinson, Brooks, EPB, (Sands) DM (2) Adams, Acosta, (Cerillo) CM (4) Wes, Yunus, LDLT, Pomykal AM (4) Pulisic, Reyna, Weah, Aaronson, (Ledezma) ST (2) Ferreira, Pepi
Here's my projected 23-man roster as of now + alternates, though I must say that I'm way less certain what the World Cup roster will look like than any other cycle since I became a US fan, which is a testament to the depth of the squad: GK: Steffen, Turner, Horvath FB: Dest, A.Robinson, Cannon, Yedlin CB: Brooks, M.Robinson, Zimmerman, Richards MID: Adams, McKennie, Musah, Acosta, Lletget W: Pulisic, Reyna, Weah, Aaronson, Morris ST: Pepi, Sargent Alternates: S.Johnson, Moore, Long, Sands, Busio, Dike, Pefok Morris was my last pick ahead of Dike/Pefok, though I do really prefer to bring 3 true strikers. That said, if he's on form, Morris is too good a player to leave behind and brings a lot of unique attributes with his verticality, and both he and Weah can fill in at striker if needed. Sebastian Lletget was my 2nd to last pick and a narrow choice of Busio, Sands and Luca De La Torre. I'm worried Busio isn't physical enough, I'm still not quite sold on De La Torre yet (though he's exceeded my expectations), and Lletget has actually been quite consistent throughout this cycle. There are a bunch of open spots that aren't locked on the team, though, and plenty of wild cards who can emerge, including Djordje Mihailovic, Paxton Pomykal, Richie Ledezma, Joe Scally, and others.
I think it would be nice to have at least one player from the 2014 World Cup squad on this roster, if only for the experience. So that will have to be either Yedlin or Brooks (or both).
Its possible. Hoppe scored 5 goals in a 3 game span for Schalke. That included the hat-trick against a horrific Hoffenheim defense. Right after that match, Hoffenheim nabbed Chris Richards and steadied the ship. Other than that, Hoppe really hasn't done much. I like him. I have no reason not to. However, i'm not sure if he has the talent to be a USMNT regular. People bash Berhalter when he calls up somebody like Zardes, but what exactly has Hoppe done?
Think this is a great way to look at it -- mostly locked + competition for the remaining spots. In terms of remaining competition, I kind of think of that game we played as kids "king of the hill." You're either on the hill, or you're making runs at it. Currently on the hill... GK#3 = Steffen Yeah, this qualifier 3-pack was bad, and Turner should start, but Steffen still goes. CB #4/5 = Long, Brooks We take 5 for yellow card accumulation (and only bring 2 CFs). GB was a CB after all. I could see Brooks and GB resolving their differences -- you know Brooks will say the right things -- and GB takes the WC vet over MacKenzie. FB #3/4 = Yedlin, Cannon Biggest competition here and at CF. Yedlin just had a great couple games and brings the vet presence. Cannon has made a lot of qualifying rosters, clearly GB likes him and trusts him. Was impressed with Moore this cycle as well, but not sure he displaced either Yedlin or Cannon for these spots, and he may not get another run at the hill. I don't see Scally getting enough runs at the hill to knock either one off. Hopefully he gets the chance, but this is a role where partnership with your CB + understanding your role in the system is critical. Tough to see Scally make it. CM #5/6/7 = Acosta, De La Torre, Busio Acosta and DLT played big roles this past week and showed their value. I see Acosta as the slightly less technical destroyer understudy to Adams, and Busio is the more technical version of a 6. Busio's also made a lot of GB rosters. Think DLT's performance this week may allow Reyna to move up to wing at times. Really like that sub/change. W #4 = Arriola Because the real #4 option at wing is Reyna, I think Arriola edges Morris for this spot because of his competitiveness and positive impact on the locker room. This is the "roll the dice" desperation sub or the "harry the crap out of the defense" sub. For me, that's Arriola. Form in the home stretch of the MLS season may also have an impact. If Morris is lights out scoring goals, then he knocks Arriola off the hill. CF #3/4 = Pepi, Ferreira Who the hell knows? The hill is there for the taking. As to the long list of other challengers, I think GB has built a squad that fights for each other, and he will be loathe to screw with that chemistry. Don't see a total surprise except at the CF spot, and even then it's probably something like a Sargent or Dike lighting it up at exactly the right time. EDIT: Ha ha ha. I labelled it CF #3/4. My mistake. CF #1/2, just feels like 3/4.
One observation born out by past World Cups. Teams make much more use of attacking players as subs. And are much more likely to never use the 8th defender if they carry one on the roster. Heck even the 7th defender also often goes unused. In 2006 and 2010 we carried 7 defenders. We went with 8 in 2014 but several could also play midfield (Beasley, Fabian Johnson, Cameron, Chandler). It is easier to go with 7 if you have someone who can play both fullback and center back (Bocanegra). It is worth noting that Reggie Cannon has been playing in a 3 man back line. If the rosters are expanded to 26 this becomes moot. But I suspect most teams will use the extra 3 spots to bolster the tactical attacking options available off the bench.
I like to think how there is always a guy who we are not thinking about right now that will shoot up through the depth chart and make it onto the final roster. I think with Berhalter, though, it might be a bit more difficult to predict.