In its last 2 games, AFC Bournemouth, has defeated Arsenal and Newcastle United. Adams started and went 70' and 65'. Before that, he did not dress vs Man U which ended in a draw. Maybe the way Poch should play Adams is to sub him at 65/70. This will help him avoid injury and keep him available for all games. But who will take his place? Roldan, McKennie ?? Btw Cardoso plays DM for Athletico Madrid (CL semi-finalist), as an occasional starter and substitute.
Thanks for the correction. By the time WC comes around, Adams should be able to go 60'. But I doubt he will be able to go 90' for all games. He will need a backup EVEN if he does not pick up a knock.
Poch has shown that he isn't afraid to make lineup changes. He knows his players--who brings what--and I believe (though certainly a fair few don't) that he knows how to put them together when certain players are unavailable. Even when they're as important as Adams.
I agree and its one of the main reasons why I have cautioned fans about rating the job Poch has done. He's been very clear from day one. The job was to prepare the team to do their very best at the WC. And all the things he has done since day one support that. He's tried different formations and tactics. Tried lots of players in the pool. Etc etc etc. Frankly, IMO, he's been doing exactly what he should have been. Now we'll see in June if it comes together but trying to judge performance up till the real deal is pretty much guess work.
I watched about 30 minutes of the middle of the RSL-SD game last night. Luna was super sharp. I don't know if there was anything to Poch's comment about Luna that lead one to believe that perhaps he wasn't training hard for RSL while coming back from the pre-season injury, but his play last night ought to dismiss any concerns that Luna isn't fit and in form. He had some really fantastic passes, a goal off of a hustle play, and lots of good actions. Gozo looked good again, too. RSL as a whole played excellent soccer yesterday.
Have to admit, I can't but wonder if Tsakiris, and Gozo are pulling Poch's attention this past month (heck even Hall and Mehmeti). I agree w/the general sentiment that March was last call, and last arguments for edge players in general, but you can't ignore what these guys are doing either (personally, I would not even consider Hall and Mehmeti, too young, too small sample size, but Tsakiris and Gozo are different, Gozo is headed soon to Europe, quite impressive, and Tsakiris is a guy I've been watching for four freaking years (as of June) when he was promoted as one of the better guys on that semi-loaded U20 side. Now it seems to be coming all together him under Arena, really strong start to the season has Greece National Team fans posting about trying to steal him as a dual nat....and it's just hard to ignore how impressive the two of them are. With Tsakaris it would probably take multiple injuries to make any sense, but we do lack depth at WF (three years ago I never would have imagined saying that, but here we are), which makes Gozo an interesting depth option as we move forward. It would not be crazy to see it happen, over the years there have often been surprises late in the game, Regis came into the '98 team with just months before the WC, Donovan and Beasley only officially had back to back camps of relevance in December '01 and the Gold Cup in Jan/Feb '02, in '10 Herc and Findley made it last second after the Daniels injury, Julian Green was a surprise entrant in '14, I can't remember with '06? Does anyone. To me, a last second shock add of a Gozo or Tsakiris wouldn't be too shocking, especially after we saw him give the keys to Freeman, Freese, Arf and Seb Berhalter out of nowhere last summer and fall. It is probably too late, I'd put the odds at probably 5-10% of one of these 4 or 5 MLS breakouts at making it, but considering it was 0% for me two months ago, that's pretty surprising. Any of you guys think there's a possibility we could have an MLS Breakout dude jump into the final roster despite not being in these camps? I am aware this is a long shot, but I can see Poch looking around, especially if we get injuries this past month, and wonder if these guys who are fresh and producing in MLS, are worth considering if he doesn't like the back end of the depth chart at Striker, at Midfield, at WF etc. I still think its probably 90/10 against, maybe 95/5, but a few weeks ago I wasn't considering it remotely possible.
Technically never this late though, with the exception of Regis. Re: the examples you listed: By 2002, Donovan and Beasley had been in a number of camps. Donovan made his USMNT debut in 2000 and had 20 caps by 2002. He started several World Cup qualifiers, including the one that clinched qualification. Beasley made his USMNT debut in the 2001 January camp and started 1 World Cup qualifier that year, albeit after we clinched qualification. Then as you mentioned he also played in the Gold Cup. For 2006, no I don't think there were any late additions. For 2010, Gomez and Findley had both appeared earlier in the cycle -- Findley in a 2007 friendly against Switzerland, and Gomez at the 2007 Copa America, where he started one game. Findley also started several games across multiple camps in 2010 prior to the tournament (in the January camp and in a March friendly against the Netherlands). We also had a pre-WC camp and friendly with an expanded roster, before we named out 23, so that also gave Bradley a last chance to give guys a look in camp. Green and Regis played for us immediately after they became eligible, but it's true those two were capped pretty late in the process. However, Green did at least train with us in a March camp (before he was eligible to play) and then appeared in an April friendly. And again, the 2014 World Cup had a pre-WC camp and expanded roster where we could give guys a last look before narrowing down the roster. IIRC, Regis might not have even been technically eligible at the time we named our World Cup roster. I think he was only cleared to play like a day or two before one of our warm-up friendlies. So that would be the closest analogue. However, the difference there is we only had 2 other guys starting regularly at a high level in Europe at the time (Keller and Reyna), so Regis was instantly penciled in as an every game starter by Steve Sampson. There was a big risk-reward factor there, and clearly Sampson felt it was worth it.
I know what you're saying, and you've got a point/great points, but I'm not comparing in an exact sense, I'm talking about, what surprise guys came in late in the process, like, later than say Freeman or Arf, like in that 6 month run because generally speaking we all tend to expect, based upon these prior experiences, that the roster is largely tied together by the end of qualification campaigns (traditionally the October/November window before a summer WC). Injuries may push depth pieces in, but that's about it. The exception is, guys like the above. Regis got in, Green got in, Donovan got his first cap about 20 months before the WC but was only integrated into the team winter of '01-'02, same with Beasley, the Findley Herc thing was about hot hands post Davies injury and trying to find a way to spackle depth into the striker position. Trying to figure out if we could get another surprise, I'm not sure. I think Arena has explicitly stated that there would have been several players, who hadn't or had next to zero caps and were not involved in qualifying who would have made the '18 WC team..... So I'm trying to figure out if guys like Gozo, or Tsakiris are that type of player (Cavan, and Albert, it's just too late this cycle), Tsakiris has enough time as a pro logged, to imagine it, while Gozo just looks like he is clearly making a jump to another level right now, as we speak. Could that merit inclusion? I tend to think it is exceptionally, unlikely, but it is possible. What do you think?
It'd require a lot of injuries. Mehmeti plays a defensive position; there's no way you are taking a 17 year old to the World Cup unless he's otherworldly, and while he's a great prospect, he has his strengths and weaknesses. Guys like Musah and even Johnny might find themselves on the wrong side of the roster; who are you really taking Mehmeti over? Tsakiris has really broken through -- he's been much better than Mehmeti this year and there's some guys in the pool I might take him over ... but it's such a deep position. Pulisic, Tillman, McKennie, Luna, Reyna, Aaronson, Zendejas. I think he's very good and only going to get better, but I also don't think his immediate upside this summer is really worth taking over this group of proven players. Tsakiris defends well, plays smart and has a really nice hesitation move on his runs to the endline that help him get off some pretty great Man City cutback crosses... but like ... He's not going to tear apart the Netherlands with his passing or something. I think you can make arguments against a couple of those guys listed ... but his short term upside just doesn't justify the risk unless everyone else who defends well gets hurt. Hall's a 17 year old striker on a team with a very clear striker core. He's got a ton of skill and the sample is getting bigger on the fox in the box stuff. I think with Pat out ... if there's another injury you do have to ask whether you'd rather have him than Sargent or Brian White. But if Balogun, Wright and Pepi stay healthy, he's not really an option. Which leaves Gozo. If Dest comes back, I think that shuts the door on it. You've got Dest, Weah and Freeman, all of whom just bring a lot more and a lot more certainty. If Dest is out and Freeman is likely to play a lot of RCB ... I can see bringing Gozo as a desperation dude you bring on late and hope he creates something out of nothing. Kind of a spiritual if not positional replacement for Big Pat.
It’s not impossible because Pochettino can do whatever he wants and no reason he can’t change his mind about no new faces. But extremely unlikely.
In Poch's hybrid 4231, LAM may be fairly settled with Luna and Pulisic covering the position. But the right-side, where Gozo plays, may offer more opportunities. The comp is: 1. McKennie. Gozo is not displacing Wes. But Wes had gotten the start in the double-pivot for Juventus's match against Bologna and played well in his 45 minutes at the position. So, Poch could partner him with a d-mid in the double pivot or play him at CAM. Conclusion: Wes may get played centrally, which would create more spots for Gozo to compete for. 2. Weah. 1 goal and 0 assists in 8 caps for Poch. Weah has been converted to wingback/fullback with his club. Poch tried him at fullback in the Belgium fiasco. Conclusion: Gozo can take him. 3. Aaronson: has had a strong season on the right in the Prem. 9 goal contributions, so far. But 1 goal(Trinidad) and 1 assist(Haiti) in 13 caps for Poch. Conclusion: it's going to hard for Poch to overlook Brenden's Prem season. 4. Zendejas: has been posting incredible numbers in LigaMx these past few years, but Poch doesn't seem to fancy the player. Gozo can take him 5. Dest: Got the start at RAM in the victories over Paraguay and Uruguay. His being fit in time for the WC is questionable. In any event, he has been hurt for most of Poch's tenure. Conclusion: Dest is certainly no lock. Overall conclusion: McKennie's moving centrally would greatly increase Gozo's odds. But he needs to continue to play out of his mind to get a chance.
Thanks for the write-up. My only point of disagreement is with Weah--I don't think there's any way that a guy with no call ups is going to displace Weah. Dest's fitness makes him questionable, so that's a possible displacement. Even more likely, I think, would be if Poch is considering, for all the variables, including Zendejas on the roster. If he's down to that point, then maybe he takes a flyer on Gozo instead because, I agree with you here, Zendejas hasn't moved the needle for Poch.
I would say if there were six more months he might choose Gozo over Zendejas but with the WC only two months away and no real time to integrate? I'd be shocked. Had he been in at least one camp maybe but none?
If I could choose 2 borderline players, I would go for Cardoso and Zendejas. Both experienced and proven at a higher club level than the other borderline players. There may be some good reasons they were not in many friendlies.
Are we pretending that América, which just lost to Nashville and barely beat a terrible Philly, is some level higher than MLS in terms of level or competition? Oh, they are bigger in terms of fanbase, for sure, but in terms of the level of competition? Which is, you know, what should be important when evaluating performance in context.
If one of our five CBs (Ream, Richards, Trusty, McKenzie, Robinson) gets injured before roster announced, who's our fill-in? -Freeman -Scally -Bryan Okoh (playing in Ligue 1 in France) -Walker Zimmerman -Matt Miazga -Tessman gets moved to CB? -Tristan Blackmon
Freeman is in, and is likely starting the 3rd CB/hybrid role anyway. Scally is 50/50 to make the squad, mainly as Freeman's backup. There will probably be one more phone call to Banks' people as well before we go to Zimmerman, whom Poch doesn't rate, or Blackmon, to whom Poch gave an opportunity but didn't impress. However, that is probably the sequence of events if we lose any of our CBs. FWIW, my guess is that Miles is right on the knife edge of the bubble, along with Scally. He might be left off. Much depends on the overall fitness situation. I believe that Poch will more likely spend his extra numbers on versatile midfield/attack and wingbacks than pure defenders, but it is possible that we do go with 5 "real" CBs if he's decided to play with 3 ATB for most of the tournament, which I rather doubt (though I tend to think it will cure many ills).
If we lose a CB to injury, and assuming Banks is a no go, then I think its dang well better be Zimmerman.
Precisely my position. Which is also why I think he'd call Blackmon. Poch doesn't seem to be interested in Zim, and--while there were some shaky moments in his first half of his first cap--I liked what I saw from Blackmon. And I also like what I've seen in other competitions from him.
Let's ask Pep Guardiola. He helped us choose a backup CB for Qatar. https://www.goal.com/en-us/lists/usmnt-ream-fulham-premier-league/blt988c0053d83b2a1d