I think that if THAT is our back 4 in 2006, we are in deep trouble. Pope's national struggles are way overrated. He didn't struggle against Grenada. The guy he was going up against one on one was physically strong, so it made for a good battle, but struggle? Gibbs is not physically weak at all either, as you have said. I seem to remember him acquitting himself very well against the bigger and skilled players he faced, most notably RVN. It's laughable that you list Mastroeni presumably as your other centerback for 2006, and then say Gibbs is weak. Mastroeni is the guy who was utterly dominated by the physicality of mighty Grenada, basically giving up a goal because he couldn't compete on a brute strength level. Do you remember Spector getting pushed all over the field and shrugged aside by Celtic in the Champions World Tour game? Remember Boca being completely out of gas and being run circles around by Panama in Panama City for qualifying? Look, i like Boca too. he was robbed of the award that donovan won over he and McBride last year. however, he just isn't this unstoppable and unflappable first choice guy for the next 10 years that people continually say he is on thread after thread. he's a solid, hard-working, good positional player who is a true fighter and class act. making him into more than is a mistake though.
I like Boca a lot and I will be cheering like hell for him when I'm at the Cottage for Fulham's match v/ ManUtd next month but I am under no illusion whatsoever as to his greatness. He lacks the ball skills of Spector, Convey, O'Brien and Cherundolo for the fullback positions and he lacks the height of Gibbs, Pope, and Gooch for central defense. That's not to say he won't be on the field in 2006. He may very well be. He just isn't even close to being a lock. I believe we only have one real lock and that is Landon Donovan. DMB is great but we have a few guys in the system right now that could start ahead of him on the left in 2006 depending upon form and the opposition (ie Lewis, O'Brien & Convey). It's unlikely but it is possible (Remember, it was only a year ago that many of us were wanting Lewis to start ahead of him because of his poor crossing). LD is only a lock because we don't have anyone in the system right now that can replace him.
Things can change real fast. 3 months ago Howard would have seemed like a lock after his great year last year. It'll probably come down to Keller or Howard as Friedel seems disinterested, but I think Howard could easily take the job. Once/if he starts playing regularly again we'll have a better idea. Keller is getting older and if he leaves england for mls he wont have been playing against world class competition for 2 years. Just saying I dont think you can say Keller has a hold on the #1 spot in 2006
Uhh, LD is a lock because he is the best American player we have - not because there is noboby else to replace him.
I don't know. personally, i think Boca is one of the few dependable defender's we have right now. He doesn't have great ball skills but he's imrpoving everyday and IMHO he's the best defender we have right now If he isn't a lock then I don't know who is. To be honest, I really don't see anyone displacing Beasley in 2006. Lewis, though in great form, is getting old and We'll probably see him as a sub. Chances are O'Brien won't even be going to Germany due to injury and then there's Convey, who ca'nt even start for Reading and you expect him to displace beasley. Now, if his situation changes, and he begins to start consistent;y, then maybe we can talk but as of now he has no contneders. So in my mind we do have 3 locks, beasley, Boca and donovan.
There's more to being leftback than ball skills. Spector has proven he's a better left back in 15 min? That's a stretch. Convey was a bad experiment, not suited for the position or even int. soccer at this point. JOB? Why count a player that isn't likely to be healthy. Anyway he wouldn't play LB. Dolo is a RB. Boca would play LB Pope is about the same height as Boca; Gooch and Gibbs are taller but height is not everything. Gibbs is inconsistant and Gooch hasn't proven anything yet, well except that he can pick up a red card. Pope isn't as good as he was. Hope he picks back up. Currently Boca is the best LB and CB. I hope a better LB steps up but the world cup is only 18 and a half months away. Counting on prospects to beat him out at both positions seems very unlikely. Gooch is, at best, 4th on the depth chart for CB. He hasn't shown enough yet to beat out Gibbs or Pope, let alone Bocanegra. Wow, I don't think anyone would start those three over Beasley in any meaningful games. Lewis will only start on the left if Bease has to cover the right. Lewis is flat out not as good as Beasley. JOB? Again he is not healthy and isn't likely to be healthy. Counting on him is silly and even if he was healthy he wouldn't start at LM. Convey can't even cut it in the 2nd division. He doesn't even deserve to be mentioned. It's tough to call players "locks" but I think you overestimate some unproven youth and are extremely hopeful on Convey. EDIT - Just missed your post ED20, agree with what you have to say.
Even 6 months ago Howard wasn't a lock as a starter, there's too much competition, but probably a lock to make the 23. I still think he's most likely a lock to be one of the 3 keepers in 2006. If Friedel is done, I don't see 2 other guys beating him out.
I would have liked to have seen Howard or Cannon get a shot the #1 spot, but since B.A. didn't even try one of them out the game against Jamaica, I don't see him giving them a shot in any of next years qualifiers unless we wrap things up early. If they don't play in any of the qualifiers there is no way they will play in Germany
I agree that right now it looks like Keller would be the keeper in '06, but I'm just saying I wouldn't call him a lock to be the starter right now. I think that could only be reserved for Donovan and maybe DMB
You have a very experimental back-line. Do you really want to have another factor with the GK or would you prefer having a stabilizing force? How can you assess the keeper with the defense in front of him? Too many moving parts.
1.Boca is our best defender period(watching the USMNT over the past year you should have realized this). convey cannot defend, dolo? wrong position. obrien if healthy will play in the midfield(a big if), and spector hasnt proven a thing, if he does, boca will move to CB and start there. You act like 6'0 is short, the best CB combination in the world nesta-cannavaro average 6'0 between them, and if hes playing left back, height is even less important. as for gibbs, pope, and gooch: gibbs is way too inconsistent to start for us, gooch is not ready, and pope has lost a step. i mean you really think he cant be a starter for us at cb simply because hes shorter, thats faulty logic. 2.Eddie lewis? no way hes a starter come 2006, hes getting older and his game is based on speed, anyone but you can see DMB is the better player there anyways. and convey, i mean where is this convey stuff coming from? i have always liked the kid, but he has no business at fullback, and is certainly not the player DMB is nor has he ever proved anything for the USMNT. 3.and like someone already said LD is a lock because hes our best player.
I can't beleive I am going to agree with you today. Boca is easily our best Defender. He is a very good man marker, gets into good position, has great leaping ability and is good on set pieces. Gibbs and Gooch are fighting for the other spot cause I just don't see Pope making it to Germany as a starter but i won't count him out. Boca has shined as a CB for Arena there is no reason to think he still cannot. Beasley, Donovan, are the one two guys i would bet on being startes no matter what. Maybe EJ if he keeps producing and maturing.
By process of elimination, it looks like Dolo is a lock at the RB spot. Simply because nobody else seems to want it.
I actually don't disagree with the premise of this thread and think it is a good thing that we have depth and competition all over the field. I also agree that Mastro in the back line is a viable alternative. But all this ripping on Pope lately ... I just don't see it. It seems exaggerated. Granted he hasn't kicked ass in National Team games this year but he hasn't been that bad either. In MLS, to be honest I only saw him play a few times so I can't really say. I know his team wasn't that great. Maybe's he's not a lock and maybe he had a bad year but he's still what, 30? And fast. Other good players have had bad runs in the past. I bet he'll improve back to where he's been by the start of the MLS season. By the time 2006 comes around he'll be a lock again.
He'll be, what, 33, 34 years old? At that age, even in Germany (as opposed to Korea where it was swealtering), he's not a lock. Probably a lock to go, def not a lock to start (in fact, don't think he'll be starting). It's not a talent thing, its an age thing. It is completely understandable, esp. considering the explosion of youth talent, that we are going to be a younger and younger team until we stabilize.
Just a reminder- the thread is about who is a lock for Germany, AS WE SPEAK TODAY. If we want to project who will develop, etc., that's a different discussion. I like to think that EJ will be a starter by then, because I believe that he will continue to develop so that he will claim a starting spot. But there's always the chance that he doesn't continue to develop, and that's why he's not the lock that LD, DMB & Boca are. They ARE locks. Sure, a lot of things can happen between now and 2006. But barring injury, these three are safe bets. A few mentioned JOB as a starter. To be sure, every player is an injury away from not playing. But JOB has been a walking, talking injury machine. His status is way too uncertain to tab him as a lock. But, but, IF (and I hope he does) he gets healthy AND has been playing sufficiently to regain his form, then yes, he would be a starter, no question. In that situation, I don't care how many youngsters develop, Arena would still find a place for him somewhere on the field.
Well, we allowed the most goals as a team and Pope was the Captain and won the Fair Play Award!! That doesn't seem like an award you want your central defender to win. He is still a good player but I am trying to look a couple years into the future and I have a hard time seeing Pope as the first choice.
Picking starters this early would be really tough. A better question is, "who will even make the team?". I've gotta say Eddie Johnson makes the team, his form has been outstanding as of late. You've gotta include Reyna, Donovna, Beasley, and Bocanegra. They're regulars. Inless something weird happens, Keller will most likely start in the net (although Howard still looms on the bench). You've gotta keep McBride in the mix, and what about Ching? Ching's scored some big goals so far for the US. I don't know though, it's really early. We still have two years.
One person's ranking of "Lock Status" for starters in WC06, assuming each player is healthy (** which is a bigger "if" for some than for others): 95% Certain -- Donovan 90% -- Beasley, Bocanegra, O'Brien** 70% -- Pope** 50% -- GAM, McBride, Reyna**, Mastro 33.33333333% -- Keller, Friedel, and Howard... 25% -- Zavagnin, Gooch, Cherundolo, Wolff, Ching, Casey, Hejduk, Gibbs, Spector, Dempsey, Gavin.
Gooch and Spector have lots of upside but they are not full national teamers at all yet. I'm able to envision any of those lineups doing fine... but that doesn't mean all of those guys would be put ahead of Boca. I think Boca is a LOCK baring injury.
I'm a huge fan of McBride, but we NEED somebody to permanently displace him by 2006. He's already heading (ha ha) down the other side of the hill at this point. I agree that Donovan and Beasley are going to start in Germany. Beyond that I'm not very comfortable predicting. I hope that our famed depth at goalkeeper can provide somebody other than Keller or Friedel, but I will be at least content with either of them. I would say that Boca is the closest thing to a lock that we have in the back. I am not going to bet the house on it though. Also, I think we have to look at the future of the team without JOB in the picture. Even if he does get "healthy", all these injuries had to have taken their toll by now (let alone 2006). Throw in another groin injury and a couple of hamstring tears over the next two years, and I am not optimistic about seeing JOB in the midfield or at left-back in Germany. Of course, I hope that I'm way off on that. Edit: I guess actually the US team isn't a lock for Germany yet, but we'll just skip over that minor detail.
Eddie J is a lock for 2006. Even if he has peaked and doesn't develop at all, he will still be a lock. He is the best forward we have AS WE SPEAK TODAY. so 4 locks for 2006: Landon, DeMarcus, Boca, EJ