2004 US Player and Position Review & 2005 Projections

I've taken a little project upon myself that has proven to be pretty enlightening. I have a spreadsheet this year of every US game and every player who has played in those games, ordered by position. In this thread, I'll list what I think Arena's current depth chart is (important note - this isn't how I personally rate these players) and give a summary review. For each position, I'll predict what I think will happen in 2005.

The parts of doing this that I found most enlightening were:

1. How many players Arena has played, not to mention how many more have been to camp.
2. What positions saw the most player variation, and what I think that means as far as Arena's satisfaction at that position.
3. Overall trends for each player - when did they last play, have they been called up recently, did they play in friendlies or qualifiers, etc.

So here goes, starting with goalkeepers. I'll post the rest of the positions over the coming days:

Goalkeepers:

Kasey Keller (@Holland, @Poland, Grenada, Grenada, jamaica, Panama, el Salvador, Panama, Jamaica)

Kasey had a consistently strong year and solidified himself as Arena’s #1 keeper, playing all but one WCQ. His club situation is a question mark, but apparently that doesn’t concern Arena at all. I tend to agree with Arena here. Keller has always played big for the US team, and he’s so familiar with his teammates and the coaching staff that there’s no reason he shouldn’t be the top keeper until his play on the field proves otherwise.



Johnny Walker (Denmark, Haiti, Mexico)

Nothing wrong with Walker’s play on the US team, but his play with the Metros could have been better. Being in the US made him the de facto backup in 2004. Overall, his US stock is way up over any previous year, but with the talent available to Arena at the keeper position, his spot on the depth chart is a tenuous one at best. Walker has to be more consistent at the club level, or his stock will drop just as quickly.



Tim Howard (Honduras, Poland, El Salvador)

2004 has been a rough year on Tim. In two games for the US, he had almost nothing to do. In the one game he did need to make a play against Poland, he didn’t. The fact that he’s riding pine at Man U won’t help him get higher on Arena’s depth chart. At this stage in Howard’s career, nothing is more important than game experience. Unlike Keller, he doesn’t have hundreds of club games under his belt and a longstanding history of consistently great play for the US team. If Tim wants to move up the chart, he needs to be playing.



Kevin Hartman (Haiti)

A sub in the US’ worst game of the year, and then not called upon again. Never one of Arena’s top candidates, one substitution in a friendly early in the year is not a good trend for Hartman.



2005 Projections

I don’t see much movement here. Keller will continue to be Arena’s guy, even if Howard does get playing time. Apparently the feud between Keller and Friedel was bad enough that Arena has made his choice and moved on. I’d be surprised if Big Brad played for the US next year, unless for some reason Keller wasn’t available and Howard and Walker were both still struggling. Don’t be surprised if Matt Reis and Adin Brown both get friendly call ups at some point, but don’t count on either of them getting time in a game that matters.

 

Central Defenders:

Eddie Pope (Denmark, Haiti, Mexico, Grenada, Poland, jamaica, Panama, el Salvador, Panama)

Eddie was still the man in the middle for the US in 2004. Eddie had some outstanding games, especially against Mexico. Unfortunately, Eddie also had a couple of poor performances for the US, with his worst outing coming at Panama. Eddie struggled more than he has in the past at the club level, too, on occasion getting caught out of position or outpaced by MLS attackers. This is a major concern for Arena and the US team. In the past, Eddie was the rock we never questioned.



Carlos Bocanegra (see Left Backs)



Pablo Mastroeni (see Holding Midfielders)



Cory Gibbs (@Holland, Haiti, Honduras, Grenada, El Salvador, el Salvador, Jamaica)

Also on the left back depth chart, Cory had a strong year for the US, most notably with a standout game in Holland. His club play in Dallas was inconsistent. Sometimes he was a brick wall, sometimes he lost his focus and his play suffered. He has all the physical qualities loved by Arena in a defender, and he hasn’t had what could be termed a bad performance for the US.



Greg Berhalter (@Holland, @Poland, el Salvador, Panama)

A pretty quiet year for Berhalter, as he played only in the European friendlies and then as WCQ wrapped up. Coming off some big-time injuries, just getting healthy and back onto the field for both Cottbus and the US was important for Greg.



Oguchi Onyewu (Panama, Jamaica)

Obviously a player Bruce feels is worth investing in. It’s not often your first caps under Arena come in WCQ games. Onyewu has also played very well according to reports at Standard Liege. With more first team professional experience under his belt, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the top 3 on next year’s depth chart.



Tony Sanneh (Haiti, @Poland, Honduras, Jamaica)

Also somewhere on the right backs depth chart, Sanneh had a subpar year for the US, but a very good year for Columbus. Like Berhalter, the fact that he is healthy and playing again was Tony’s biggest win. If he can regain 100% fitness and form, Sanneh may move up the central defense chart very quickly.



Danny Califf (Haiti), Nick Garcia (Denmark)

Barring a catastrophic rash of injuries to the US backline, I don’t think either of these guys will ever see a US jersey again.



2005 Projections

I see some openings on this depth chart. There is a history of injury for a lot of these players, and a few of them, to be blunt, are old. Chad Marshall will be a factor in 2005, and I predict he’ll get caps in friendlies, Gold Cup matches, and in later qualifiers. Also keep an eye out for Jonathan Spector and Frank Simek. If they get long-term loans and perform well, don’t be surprised if they both get calls in the second half of 2005 as central defenders.



Obviously the biggest concern is Pope. If his form continues to trend downward, that’s bad news for Arena. The other concern is that the US still hasn’t found a replacement for Jeff Agoos. What I mean by that is Arena wants one vocal leader in the back to organize the defense. Mastroeni and Berhalter have taken on that role successfully in the past, but Mastroeni looks to have moved back into the midfield and Berhalter hasn’t been a reliable option this year.



I think that we’ll see much more movement in central defense in 2005 than we’ve seen in a long time as Arena looks to find his best combination for the World Cup.

 

Outside Defenders:



Left Backs

Carlos Bocanegra (@Holland, Haiti, @Poland, Honduras, Grenada, Poland, jamaica, El Salvador, Panama, Panama)
When it comes to not getting to play in his best position (central defender), Boca is a victim of both his own versatility and a lack of quality options for the US at left back. On top of that, he plies his trade as a left back for Fulham so until a better option steps up and grabs the spot, he’s the man. Against weaker opponents like Panama, that was more than OK. He had a monster game when the US wrapped up qualification in RFK.



Bobby Convey (Denmark, holland, Haiti, @Poland, Mexico, Honduras, Grenada, Poland, El Salvador)
At the beginning of 2004, the left back position was Bobby’s to lose. By far his best game of the year was against Mexico, where his overlapping runs and skill on the ball caused Mexico all kinds of problems. Early in 2004, if the US was playing, Bobby was too. Then he was transferred to England Championship League club Reading. Since then, his playing time for both club and country have gone south, and it remains to be seen when Convey will resurface for either team.



Greg Vanney (@Poland, Honduras, Grenada, Grenada, jamaica, Panama)
After basically falling off the radar screen, Vanney reemerged with a respectable performance in Poland. He then locked himself into Arena’s lineup with a good performance against Grenada as WCQ kicked off. He faded just as suddenly with two horrendous gaffes that led to goals against the US in Jamaica and Panama. He hasn’t been seen with the US since, although he is playing regularly for French side Bastia.



Jonathan Spector (Jamaica)
Spector showed big promise for Manchester United early in the Premiership season when other players were injured. When they returned, Spector returned to the reserve side, in spite of his good play. Rumors have him on a long-term loan in January to West Brom. If that goes through and Spector gets big minutes in the back, he’ll be more of an option to Arena in the hex.



Right Backs

Frankie Hejduk (Denmark, holland, Mexico, Grenada, jamaica, Panama, el Salvador, Panama)
Frankie has emerged as Bruce’s trusted option at right back. His best game was against Mexico. His worst game was at Panama. He was left to fend for himself against Robben in Holland, an Arena mistake that ended up costing the US a goal. Played all over the field for C-bus, and had an unspectacular season for the Crew. Arena has flatly stated that he thinks Frankie is a better defender than other current options.



Steve Cherundolo (@Holland, @Poland, Honduras, Grenada, Poland, El Salvador)
Cherundolo played very well in Poland, and then was used by Arena in home games as an offensive weapon coming out of the back. Steve has said that this season has been by far his best professional campaign, a locked-in starter for Hannover who is getting looks from bigger clubs all over Europe, but especially Germany.



Chris Albright (Denmark, Haiti, Poland, Jamaica)
His first season as a professional right back was a success with the Galaxy. Skilled on the ball, great speed, strength, and fitness, size, and a strong passer and crosser from the right back position. Still improving in the tactical aspects of the position, Arena may lean on Albright more as he gets more experience with the Galaxy. His play against both as a sub against Poland and a starter against Jamaica was good, and he was possibly the Man of the Match against Jamaica.



2005 Projections
Keep an eye out for one kid – Danny Karbassiyoon. It’s now or never for Danny, who has played regularly for the Arsenal reserve team at left back as well as on the Arsenal Carling Cup team that has disposed of full-blown Premiership teams. There is close to zero chance Danny gets any PT on Arsenal’s first team while Cole and Glichy are ahead of him, so the Carling Cup is Danny’s showcase. Should he get a January loan and regular PT starting early next year, he could become part of Arena’s plans late in 2005.

Also watch for Albright. Arena likes everything about him as far as his physical attributes and his skill goes. If he improves tactically, he could move up to number one on the right back depth chart.

 

On equal ground, if Howard were able to get the starting spot at MU back, he may have a shot at Keller's job, too. But Howard and Keller aren't on equal ground. Keller has a long history with the US team, and a consistently excellent one at that. Bruce is loyal. As long as Kasey is playing well for the US, I don't think it matters what other keepers in the pool are doing.

Tim can probably book his spot to 2010, and is very probable even for 2014. But 2006 is for Kasey.

 

In one respect, I agree with you. We have excellent depth. The concern I have, though, is that nobody on that depth chart is as dominating as Eddie Pope was at the top of his game.

Is it better to have one world class - and yes, at his best, Eddie would compete for a spot on any roster - defender and a few pretty good partners?

Or, is it better to have a deep pool of pretty good players?

 

What makes you think this, Martin?