Central defensive options for 2030 cycle

No locks. Have we learned nothing?

 

Many of us said the same thing last cycle...

 

Richards and Trusty open the cycle as the starters, with zfreeman a possible 3rd. Banks and Wynder the suspected contenders.

 

did you watch the game yesterday just wondering

 

Erik Palmer Brown.

Anrie Chase.

 

Convert these guys to center backs:
tanner tessman
James sands
Lenard Maloney.

 

our next camp is late sept, right? id say there is a 176% chance its under an interim manager- cause we are talking about ussf- so its hard to say if we are looking at a back 4, back 3, back 5, some variation of any of those...

im not going to predict who id call cause even i dont about that. id like richards and trusty as presumptive starters, and freeman regardless of position/role. mckenzie. campbell is probably the most "ready" unexplored option. im open to ccv, but thats not building towards anything and i dont think hes "over" any of the 4 (traditional cbs) ive named.

ream, miles, zim, epb or any other guys near/in their 30s will be a waste of time. you can say cbs develop later than other positions all you want but does anyone really think regan or blackmon are really going to take a big step up? in a league where miles and zim are still relevant cbs? im not even very confident ccv or campbell are passable 4th cb options for us but, you know, somebody has to be in camps.

wanting someone like wynder is even more baffling to me- the national team cant bring along guys beyond where they are with their own club.

i dont know the first damn thing about either munie or okoh (not that their profiles are similar in any way). banks is very clearly the only likely guy out there who could move the needle for us.

three cb systems seem pretty likely, though, considering we dont really have defensive fbs other than freeman (still far from proven despite sky high potential). without getting into almost exclusively attacking wingback candidates, we dont really have freemen-esque hybrids either. scally is a young, proven guy but im not sure if theres much improvement potential with him beyond seasoning.

i think the most likely/predictable source for expanding/improving the cb pool may be mids dropping to the backline. im not remotely a tesserman as cb believer, but the captain of our world team was a defensive liability propped up as an allegedly strong passer out of the back. i could see adams migrating back as his career continues though his size is some degree of an issue- though there have been plenty of world class "undersized" cbs.

maybe a raines or a tskaris (i know) shakes out in a similar way, a nominal dmid/dlp who regularly drops into the backline.

but we cant just continuously run away and hide like we have with ream. richards is the only top class (relative only to us) guy we have. trusty and mckenzie, imo, are guys who could develop clearly above that "passable middle class", while banks is pretty close to that now with freeman level potential. we have to find a way to make that enough to support the maybe 2 guys who emerge as actual top level players of the gozos, halls etc. more than likely we are just going to be even more stuffed with paredes/wiley/tolkin level maybes.

and im not even entertaining the reynolds/bello level nonsense. talk to me when they get as good as reggie cannon...which is saying less than nothing.

wynder could make a jump in the next four years but- not to state the obvious- there four years between now and then. its just as likely some kid with skc will come out of nowhere as 3 or 4 years in portugese reserve leagues are going to pay off.

richards, trusty, mckenzie, ccv, campbell, freeman, maybe/hopefully banks are what we have to work with. that may/even more hopefully change in 4 years but it isnt going to change in 2. and despite what the fed apparently believes (though in fairness, i only say that basing on their every action over the last 12-14 years) these years between world cups matter too.

id very much like to build a defensive foundation based on (and suited for) those guys we actually have, while being more than happy to add every banks, actual first team player wynder and american thiago silva tbd that emerges on top of that foundation. look, im as big a fan of banging my head against the wall as i incessantly repeat mistakes as the next guy, but forcing our basic ass defenders (i dont even want to get into keepers) into laughable barcelona/man city cosplayers doesnt seem to be working.

but what do i know? maybe the second decade of still not being equipped for that is the charm. its like the old saying goes- if at first your square pegs dont fit in round holes keep jamming them as hard as possible- the holes will eventually erode or the corners will wear down and break off or whatever, right?

 

I think the only certainty is Chris Richards. We badly also need Banks in the program.

I assume we don’t see much more of Tim Ream other than maybe some sort of send off game. In the short term we’ll probably see more of McKenzie, Trusty, and Robinson but all places we need to upgrade. George Campbell also young enough he could be around next cycle but I don’t think huge distinction between him and those three.

Longer term it’d be really great if players like Wynder, Akinmboni, and Pierre emerged. There are other guys in the pipeline also like Cupps, James, Hamouda, etc but all I think farther away.

In MLS you have guys like Ragen, Munie, Haak, and Blackmon who could play something akin to a Walker Zimmerman 2022 cycle like role. Roberts being a younger MLS option to try and develop. Same with CCV.

I’d also add Jalen Neal as another who seemed like he might have potential but just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Justin Che is another one who was a good young prospect who got lost a bit but isn’t looking bad in New York.

Also does Duah in San Diego have any chance of getting citizenship? There’s also the possibility of recruiting players like Chase and Okah.

 

We don't really know what formation a new coach will use anyway.

................What we do know is the 2024 Olympic cycle was so weak on CBs that we had to take two overage players for the position.

And the 2028 Olympic cycle isn't looking all that better.

.......................HOWEVER:

1) CB can be a late developing position.
2) Banks committing would be a good deal.

.......but also........

3) We don't really even know if Banks is any good yet. He barely got off the bench in Germany the second half of the season.

We don't know if Josh Wynder is any good. Matai Akinmboni had a nonexistent year due to injury.

The challenge is literally nobody is mentioning any outsiders that actually make sense as upgrades. I mean, I saw somebody mention Anrie Chase above. That guy played 300 minutes in Austria this past season.

There are not options out there that scream for immediate inclusion as upgrades over the Trusty/McKenzie band. That's the problem. If there were Poch, who was an international caliber CB himself, would have been looking at them. [The one guy out there who could serve as an upgrade is if Banks begins the season as a full-time starter for Augsburg. Then he's one for immediate inclusion if he commits.]

 

Richards, Trusty, McKenzie, and CCV are the immediate pool. Of names to add immediately, the only ones that come to mind are Banks, if he's willing, and maybe George Campbell could get a shot.

Other people will come up over the cycle. But I don't know; I don't see lots of new possibilities now.

 

CCV is going to have to prove he's back after that devastating Achilles injury.

We have guys like Daryl Dike who never recover from those sorts of injuries. They come back, but they're not the same. [Now we also have Agyemang recovering from a ruptured Achilles as well.]

Thanks for mentioning George Campbell. I forgot him above. He's one that we can call up for sure.

When we look at CBs that have been called up over the last 12 months by Poch, its a very small band. He narrowed the field down and stuck with it.

 

Has there been legitimate discussion about any of these guys moving to CB?

 

In terms of CBs in a back-four----

Senior Team: Richards, Trusty GCampbell Banks McKenzie

Possible converts: Freeman Tessmann

Up and coming: Pierre Roberts Kohler Chirila Che

This is a very solid group, including the senior team. Poch's tactics and the whole Ream thing just made them look bad.

 

I bet Paulo Fonseca discussed it with someone since he has already played Tessmann as a CB.

 

don’t forget Bryan Okoh and Anrie Chase.

 

I don't see it with those two. They're closely tied to other countries.

 

Cameron Carter Vickers is only 28. He could be around for next World Cup.

Wynder and Akimboni are ones to keep an eye on.

 

CCV wasn't good enough before the achilles. But add Wynder and Akinmboni to the list

Senior Team: Richards Trusty GCampbell Banks McKenzie

Possible converts: Freeman Tessmann

Up and coming: Pierre Roberts Kohler Chirila Che Wynder Akinmboni

 

Scally should be considered for conversion.

 

And Miles Robinson is 29. In theory both could have graceful aging curves. The problem is more the level they are aging from. Are either likely to improve? I think that's unlikely.

Trusty and McKenzie are a little younger and more likely to have some development ahead of them.

 

Yeah, Miles Robinson’s curve goes one way and it’s down down down since the ACL tear.