Thank you, thank you, thank you for suggesting this! For a single game, maybe Pappa Bear would do this (if, for example, Baby Bear is suspended, in which case he'd have to play a true DM in that role). Most of the time, however, it won't happen. Strangely, we seem to be advocating only incremental change (Clark, Edu, or Mastroeni) in the Armas role.
The solution should eventually look something like this: ---------Altidore----------------- ------------------Adu----------- Beasley-----------------Dempsey -----------Donovan-------------- ----------Defensive Mid---------- I know the predictable objection is that there won't be enough defense up the middle. I have a two part answer. Donovan has become a tougher and better defender the last couple years. And a good offense is a good defense. This kind of lineup will induce a certain amount of conservatism in just about any opponent.
A 4-1-4-1 with an Adu-Donovan midfield. We need people who can ball control and both of thoes guys need space for that. I'd rather see a straight 4-4-2 with Donovan and Adu on the wings given free reign accross the field; with Altidore and Cooper/Davies up top.
The only problem that I have with the diamond is that except for a few contrary examples, Donovan has tended to become very Reyna like when he's played there, which is to say conservative, withdrawn, and very possession oriented. As much as I would like another Reyna, Donovan is much more valuable to us running at goal. And, the other candidate Adu has never looked comfortable in the postion in any of the relatively recent matches I've seen him play there, those being the first leg Barbados qualifier and the two Olympic warm up matches this year. He looked a bit lost at times in almost all of those encounters.
i think you want donovan to do far more attacking than defending hence: ---------Altidore----------------- ----------------Donovan----------- Adu--------------------Dempsey -------------Edu-------------- ----------Bradley---------- would be more likely and doable.. klesjtan off the bench for any of the three..donovan, adu, dempsey
I've said this before but Fletcher's role has been modified to play nearly exactly like Mike did for Veen, except with a much better team and a near-world class passer behind him. Mike is not, and will not be for awhile, a DM. Clark can be a DM, Mastro can, Edu should be able to, Spector can, and also Parkhurst. Mike needs to be a two-way player, and against the best teams his CM partner should be a better defender than he is. This is common sense, unless you really have your opponent pegged back you keep one of your deep CM's back as cover. The problem is the frequency of the attacks. Bob's team has slowly improved its CM play. In a 4-2-3-1 that the US would play our only heading options are the ST, Dempsey, and Donovan on runs. If Landon and Clint are combining out wide that leaves only one option in the box to get on the end of service with a LAM who needs the ball played to feet. Mike scored a ton of goals as the third runner in the box on the counter or breakouts. With the pace/touch/vision of Dempsey, Donovan, Jozy, and Freddy we can create against any team; if they decide to sit back, ball control, setpieces and, drawing fouls could be the difference. If say Clark or Edu were played next to Mike that leaves a very agile, talented 1v1 defender behind to cover for his runs. They aren't elite passers but they tend to be solid. -------------Jozy--------------- --------------------Adu--------- ---Donovan--------Dempsey-- --------------------------------- ---------DCM---Bradley------- The positioning of the three AM's isn't important except in illustrating a possible balance. Bradley should be in the final third on every possession that threatens and in the box on more than half of those. The other CM needs to trade off attacking/defensive duties with Bradley. Edu had a very good attacking game against Cuba, his problem was that he made the four biggest mistakes in possession he's ever made for the US in that one game. Players with great touch are given respect. Watch how Mexico has defended Dempsey in the final third, they surround him but they don't dive in. Freddy gets the same treatment, see the Japan game in the olympics. When a great team like Spain or Brazil push up that leaves spaces in the back, that said Freddy created through his own shear force of will, that's what he does. Except against weak competition. Wrong, Clark and Edu are more than capable attackers, in some ways they're more talented than Bradley. Right, he has not been attacking enough. Bradley and Edu can be just as attacking as any other combo, plus it injets more heading ability and flexibility. Donovan, Jozy, Adu, and Dempsey can create all over the pitch, against any team. Bradley, Edu, LB, and Dolo provide the support and defensive cover. It's hard to double team four attackers at once. Some teams will play their soccer no matter what we do, this isn't the solution for those teams. In qualifying it could work but it's still very risky, I'd want it to play like a 4-1-2-3, with Beasley the wide option on the left and the other three rotating through the 2 CM positions and the other winger spot.
Good point. Bad choice of words on my part. I meant to highlight the field conditions and other environmental factors. Guatemala definitely wasn't bunkering in that game. In WC2010, those same environmental factors won't be there.
Instead of the y-midfield/withdrawn forward combo you appear to suggest, I think the 4-1-4-1 would be an interesting experiment for the US. Two issues, as I see it (and one of them may seem churlish to some): first, Mike doesn't fit, and second, who's the platform midfielder behind some combination of two of Adu/Donovan/Dempsey/Feilhaber/Kljestan/(Torres?)? This guy: maybe? He's about it, as far as I can tell, unless Szetela explodes into the guy some believe he could be. As an aside, in regards to Bob Morocco's post which I quote, Mike has a lot of work to do on his passing (vision and range) in order to become the functional midfielder in a two-deep pairing. But I agree that he can't be the platform midfielder in that scenario at this point, either.
FWIW, Bob's penchant for deploying the Empty Bucket was evident in his very first game in charge - then holding an interim position - when he had Rolfe and Donovan on the wings against the Denmark domestics at HDC (2007 Camp Cupcake). His worst coaching performances were at Switzerland, Sweden and South Africa (even with Feilhaber, who was played out of position - on the left at RSA and on the right vs. Sweden), where boot ball was a frequent and unpleasant occurence. The problems the US had were far beyond the deployment of its two mids. One could easily play it in the way Carlo Ancelotti has had with Gattuso and Ambrosini clugging up the middle. The difference between AC Milan and the USMT was Milan's transition game was far superior, so even if Mllan only had 3 attackers upfront - these attackers were playing a 3 vs. 5 game in plenty of space. When you have Kaka, Seedorf/Ronaldinho and Pato/Pippo as those three, that oftens suffices. Furthermore, Ancelotti has pushed his fullbacks (Maldini/Jankulovsky + Cafu/Oddo/Zambrotta) forward far more often than Bradley does. (for stats, check the shots-on-goal and fouls suffered of the attacking fullbacks like Dani, Jankulovsky, Lahm vs. Pearce and Cherundolo) To me, however, that was still better suited to a low scoring home&away CL format rather than to the regular Italian championship where three points are needed from as many matches as possible. And, while Bradley did move lately to fill that hole with Donovan, it remains to be seen how the spacing plays out once a higher level coaching and personnel sets in. PS. Milan plays a very rare 5-Dice midfield, with Pirlo sitting in front of two very defensively minded Gattuso and Ambrosini. The latter does venture forward however.
Not to mention that Beasley is our best "attacking" defender, when healthy/in form. What about letting Wynne seek and destroy the pitch? Just typing out loud. The guy would not let anything come up the middle. He could learn... However, problem with this formation is that Lil' Brad might not get to start.
The only bad thing with respect to these games is to fail to realize that BB was doing what you should do in friendlies years before the World Cup finals, EXPERIMENTING. When you experiment, some wont' turn out so good, but that's OK, especially when you win two out of three games on the road anyway. But providing some leeway for coaches to take risks and make mistakes would interfere with your ability to use hindsight to declare yourself the soccer genius of the century, NO? Carry on.
He was EXPERIMENTNG playing like crap and succeeded spectacularly! I wonder why guys like Capello and Lippi don't do similar experiments though.
Of course they do. And if they don't, it's there mistake. From a guy who thought the USMNT should have gone with a twin tower attack of Ching/McBride in the last World Cup and bench Donovan and who pines for the 3-6-1, got to admire your claim to perfection.
Overall, a nice post but two small issues... Parkhurst failed miserably as a D-mid when experimented there by Nicol. I can't conceive that he would ever play that position for the USMNT. As Adu languishes on the bench for yet another team, its becoming less and less likely that he will be a factor during early qualification.
Capello went through a lot of forward before he decided on the Rooney/Heskey combo, and many of them were poor. More to the point of SFS's comment re the supposed misuse of Feilhaber, Capello was forced to experiment with Gerard at left mid in a qualifier and it was such a miserable experiment that he had to move Rooney out there in the middle of the game. The players are much better, but the basic idea was the same -- how to get a talented (by that Nation's standards) into the lineup even though some of your other best players play the same position.
We've been playing a 4-2-3-1 lately and our Mexico lineup will be something like this: ----------------------------------Altidore--------------------------------- Beasley----------------------------Donovan----------------------Dempsey -----------------------------Klejstan------Bradley------------------------- Pearce---------------------------------------------------------Cherundolo ---------------------------Boca----------Gooch--------------------------- ----------------------------------Howard--------------------------------- Plenty of offense for me, especially with guys like Adu and Torres on the bench. Simek and Spector may be healthy for this game which may allow Bradley to play some more offensive-minded wingers (Torres or Adu) but probably not start them.
With a lot of work, communication and understanding there could be a lot of positional interchange between Donovan, Dempsey, and Kljestan. That might be too pie in the sky, but this lineup seems to have the potential to entertain.
potential to entertain is NOT a high quality in world cup matches.. it's all about being effective.. with defending the first matter addressed... entertainment is a side issue.
No, they don't like crap. I enjoy your absolute refusal to use logic but playing the crap is not the desired goal for most teams. Well, if your entire offense begins and ends with making long punts into the box, you may as well put some size in there, not a guy afraid to jump in the air. When he sucked, he sucked and deserved to be sat. No, I pine for forwards who can't shoot, can't dribble and can only backpass. Voila - Bob's strategy unveiled!