If the line up posted is accurate I do like it execpt for the Ralston -Corrales pairing in the outside midfield. Reason..i feel it takes away from what is our country's greatest strength..our speed. I would much rather see Bruce play a younger guy to bleed him and get the butterflies out that give a consolation cap to 2 guys who will likely never play another meaningful minute in WCQ. I would much rather see Convey running the left side than Corrales as it plays better to our teams strengths, and if you are putting Ralston in at right mid then our situation there is worse than i thought. I do like seeing the Mastro-Donovan combo..they were super sweet in the Mexico friendly. I like seeing Gooch and EJ starting, hope Spector will get a cap.
This is a physical lineup for what will be a very physical game. Jamaica will supply a lot of pressure and hope for another Agoos error. I'm sure the team knows that this will be a war, not just a battle. What's the over/under on red cards?
But as has been posted, Gaven's not slated to participate in the tournament, or at least that decision will be made after the Jamaica game. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3588500#post3588500 If Bruce thought EG could handle a full game, he would play him. Frankly, the U-20 setup isn't near the same level of competition as the full team, so why limit his playing time only to give him more at a lesser level. Although slightly different, this is like saying Rooney or Ronaldo should only play a half for the full national squad so that they can participate in an U-20 tournament at the end of the week. If EG deserves to be on that field, he's on that field. I don't give a crap about a U-20 game against Mexico.
Here's my question for anyone who's really upset about this lineup - who would you have picked other than these guys that would be a significant upgrade? Two rules: they must be healthy, and they must not have played in MLS Cup on Sunday. My list: Bocanegra Beasley And that's it. Eddie Lewis might be the only other one who's even arguable, but in the hypothetical world Beasley would start over Eddie anyway.
While I don't really get the Corrales call-up, much less the start (if true), one person who knows a lot more about Corrales' ability than us is his (former) SJ teammate, Landon Donovan--the US captain himself. So, perhaps the call up and possible start come on the heels of LD pushing for Ramiro's inclusion, or at least commenting favorably to Arena as to what he may bring to the squad. As for Ralston, he's earned a start (if true) by his MLS play this year, especially his play late in the year. Besides, if Sanneh is not out on the right flank, who else in this camp should be starting at that position?
I'd rather have Cherundolo than either Albright or Hejduk on the right. That's an upgrade IMO. I'd also rather see Cannon get the chance in goal than Keller.
Probably should have included Cherundolo on my list. Using Cannon over Keller implies that you're using the game more for player development than for winning, a goal which I philosophically favor, but which some people clearly do not.
in talking to andrulis this week, the bruce was convinced that a good showing in practice should garner a start in a big game. i.e. corrales must have shown well against califf and suarez, thus getting him the start. and there you have it.
What about somebody who isn't that upset about the roster? Buzz's lineup: Keller Albright Gooch Sanneh Gibbs Mastroeni Ralston Corrales Donovan EJ McBride Nutmizzle's lineup: Keller Dolo Pope Sanneh Boca Mastro Gaven Beasley Donovan Ching EJ Sanneh in the central defense doesn't bother me a bit, and I question why it'd bother others. The form we saw him at in WC02 - remember that? Remember the position he was playing regularly in for his club, and more than once getting the kicker nod as the best player on the field (and at least once that field included all of B. Munich's team)? Yep - he was a central defender for Nuremburg at the time, and a damn good one. As for Ralston, I remember him having a very good Gold Cup. His inclusion doesn't bother me. Obviously Arena wants to play wide, and Corrales was the only lefty in camp who could do that for him. Don't kid yourself into believing Cory Gibbs will be an attacking threat from a left back spot. Like I said, this roster doesn't get my blood flowing either way. I wish we could see Bruce handing over the reigns more quickly because that would mean there are young players ready to take those reigns. More than anything, if this lineup is correct, I'm disappointed because it means Ricardo Clark, Clint Dempsey, Jonathan Spector, and the gang were found wanting in camp. Better luck next time.
Don't you think we should be at the point in our development that we play to our own strengths against the Jamicas of the world and let them figure out how to handle us? Playing Jamica's style of game will get us beat if we're not careful.
That might be too pessimistic. They could be subbed into the game. Arena doesn't like to cap guys in their first camp, and don't forget he's already giving Johnson and Gooch their first start (Corrales too?). This camp may have been more of a tryout to get called into the winter camp, where Arena will work out the hex roster.
You are missing the point. I'll give you one example (there are others). We aren't upset because Spector is so much better than Sanneh. We are upset because Spector could be a 20 y/o superstar in 2006 whereas Sanneh could be retired.
I agree with red cards read on the match being very physical, hence the orientation to bigger players, who tend to be defensively oriented. As to the amount of youth, having Johnson and Onyewu start are TWO new faces. Put TOO many young guys into the mix early on, and there's a chance they get overwhelmed by the moment... while albright and corrales and ralston aren't world beaters, they are solid pros and should NOT make the fundamental errors... arena does have options to bring guys off the bench.... i suspect mcbride goes 60 and someone comes on for him... i think spector sees some time too...and an other attacking minded player for corrales in the 2nd half....
If this line-up holds, I think we'll see Twellman or Ching for McBride, Spector for Sanneh, and Gaven for Ralston.
I like fc tallavanas suggestion for subs... arena sets a defensive presence early on, then has good attacking options off the bench... jamaica is patient the 1st half....gets agrressive the 2nd and arena punishes them with his guys off tyhe bench... 1st half ....boring... 2nd...up and down the pitch...
Bruce rarely plays a player in the match following their first camp. Guys like Spector or Dempsey got fantastic experience, and are in line for a first cap shortly if they were solid in camp. But given Bruce's history, playing too many other newbies would have been a bad call. Given the players in camp, I probably would have tried a different midfield, maybe more of a box with Donovan partnering Martino (puts Martino in as a starter instead of Corrales). Donovan can defend as well on the left as the right, anyway. I also probably would have started Cannon and let Keller stay in England, since he's in the midst of what's likely to be a four-week stretch of EPL starts. I also might have left McBride at home and started a less experienced forward to gain more experience. But I hardly think Bruce is crazy to have picked this group.
BTW, I just don't think this line-up will hold. I seriously doubt Bruce has told anyone the starting line-up yet considering how anal he is about his little secrets. Of course, that could just be wishfull thinking on my part.
i think if someone was present at all the training sessions, you could deduce the starters based upon which groups were scrimmaging together the most often... during the semis, CAMP reports about who was paired with whom had a remarkable resemblance to who showed up for the anthems..
Gaven = All-Star Dempsey = Rookie of the Year Adu = 15 year old bench player I would say these would represent significant differences in the situations.
The outside mids I'm a little down on like everyone else. Ralston will do fine though. I just haven't seen enough of Corrales to make a good judgement though. I was just hoping to get a look at Gaven for a long stretch. When I saw him against Poland, he looked like he slotted into the international game with ease. Up front and in back I'm pretty happy. I'm looking forward to seeing how Johnson and McBride work together and seeing Eddie for a long stretch. The back line looks pretty well custom made for the Jamaicans. They usually only get chances against us by using size and strength up front, which is gonna be pretty hard for them to do against that back line. Looking forward to getting a better look at Gooch. Only problem I see is that with Gibbs on the left, we're gonna have to hope Corrales does some strong attacking wide left, as we're not gonna get much overlapping from the back. Then again, with Gibbs behind him, he won't be required to play as much defense, so maybe it helps Corrales. Still, our right side looks more offensive with Albright better at attacking from the back and Ralston a proven provider in front of him.
I'm hoping Santa brings me $1,000,000.00 for Christmas. At the moment I think I have the better chance. Normally the challenge is listing all the players you'd rather see in there. In Corrales' case I'm trying to come up with a starting left mid in MLS who I wouldn't rather see than Corrales. It is not easy. Gaven (no), Gros (no), Wingert (no), Mapp (no), Gutierrez (no), Chung (no), Davis (no), Victorine (no). I guess that's 0 for 8. There's other left wingers on the Earthquakes I'd rather see than Corrales...
No, I'm not claiming that, so the inclusion of my keeper wish was irrelevant to the question. I want Cannon to get the start because: 1. He's freakin' good. 2. He's earned a start with his year in MLS. 3. We've already qualified for the Hex so why not? 4. I want Bruce to like someone else besides Walker for the 4th keeper (3rd if Friedel is gone forever.)