I was going to make this only one post, but Im going to break it up because this is going to take a LOT of time and effort, and I dont want to make a giant TL;DR monster. So here is part one of possibly 3 or 4 of my take here. Im not going to cover RB or LB, because barring injury, those are pretty obvious safe bets. For left back, I think Jedi, and yes.........Bello are foregone conclusions as your left backs (currently see Bello as guy 23/26, but position scarcity gets him on). Vines seems to be out. Right back, its Dest, then probably Cannon, Yedlin, Shaq Moore. So Ill focus only on the most contentious roster debates now and see what everyone else thinks. GK3: Sean Johnson v Evan Horvath (assuming Steffen and Turner are 1-2) Sean Johnson Strengths: Has been on a good streak of form with his club, seems to be a guy that has happily flown with the team no complaints as guy number three. Good locker room guy by most accounts Weaknesses: He is very prone to a bonehead play, perhaps moreso than all of our other guys in the pool. Has had big occasions with the nats in the past, particularly at the U-23s and came out flat. Evan Horvath Strengths: He had THAT game against Mexico. Responded when it mattered. Has frankly looked nothing but solid for the national team when starting. Furthermore, of the Premiership bench goalkeepers, has the most realistic path to a STARTING gig, which, if he locks in, could effectively make him GK1 (IF Samba indeed walks away from Forest and they dont bring in another keeper) Weaknesses: He still hasnt had that much time with the nats recently, and if we assume Samba is playing contract hardball.......If he comes back, Horvath is the "lowest bench guy" of our premiership bench goalkeepers. Verdict? Horvath, because not only could he be GK 3..........if things hit right, he could be GK ONE if he is starting for Forest. CB4: CCV vs John Brooks (EPB IMO is not in this discussion, played himself out and I assume Zimmermann, Long, and Richards are guys 1-3) CCV: Strengths: a reliable starter for Celtic and while nothing is flashy about his game, is deemed to be a safe bet. Mentioned by name as an impressive performer against Grenada Weaknesses: Oh boy........that lazy square pass to Zimmerman was the stuff of nightmares. He is a liability in the air as well, and has been outjumped for balls by forwards on a disappointingly regular basis. Just doesnt do anything........above average. Truly an average, safe player. But, Gregg is giving indications he likes that JAB: Strengths: Dude was a unit with the USMNT in the past. Barring the occasional slip-up game, he was a confident, reliable player who could wrap up his competition. Hes got the size and speed you cant teach. At his best, he is a top two centerback. Weaknesses: Then.........confidence issues and ball watching happened on a frighteningly grande scale. A great many regrettable goals were unfortunately pinpointed by JAB losing his man or just straight up watching the ball. Communication with back line partners seemed to be an issue. Verdict: JAB! I want to see the redemption arc. Come on Brooksie, show some fight. Show you want it, show you have kicked your ball watching ways. Brooks has the CAPACITY to be the second best center back in this pool........the capacity. I hope he can get back to that. Furthermore.........I just think hes better than CCV, at literally everything, if his confidence is there. Even if it is not, frankly I still think JAB is no worse than our 4th centerback. Give us our comeback feel good story, Gregg! WHEW! thats enough for today, Ill get on with the midfielders tomorrow, assuming this is a series people want to continue discussing.
I hope neither Brooks nor Bello go. Atrocious half from Tillman has taken attention from very poor play by Bello.
Guessing what Gregg will do: Keepers: I for one liked the move of starting Johnson because I think it’s signals to keepers who could move that they need to be playing. That said, I think he has some kind of soft spot for Steffen that really worries me. Personally I’d take whoever is playing, and playing well. I think bringing a cold keeper to Qatar is a terrible idea. CBs: given the (im)plausibility of the explanations given for Brooks’ omission, I think Brooks is out of the picture. That makes me hope that Richards can move up the pecking order, so that we can have a non-panicky passer-under-pressure in the back. I don’t know if Long is already in for Qatar, because I tend to think he can play himself out. But he is in right now. And through words and deeds Gregg clearly writes him very highly, much more highly than almost anyone else. I like CCV, but who knows what everyone will do in the fall and whether that will matter?