In fairness to JJ and JK, Jones had to do a lot of emergency defending because our midfield looked about as soft as a Pumpkin 20 days after Halloween. I have lots of bad things to say about JK, and yeah, I am openly asking for his head. But JJ at CB is one of the few experiments that hasn't been a total failure for the USMNT. Given time, I think JJ would be an excellent CB for us in the next cycle. And he's looked a hell of a lot better back there than Besler and Cameron. Both of those guys made "OTC" Danny Califf look like Charles Puyol by comparison in the last two matches.
I think JJ could be an excellent center back given time to really learn the position. The problem is, do you really put your time and energy in converting a guy who will continue playing midfield for his club team and will be 36 when the next WC rolls around? If he had looked better in the last few games in that position, I'd be OK with it. However, I'm not convinced that JJ is going to have the time to learn the positioning that will save him once his athleticism starts to fade.
I saw some of this as well, but just as long as he keeps his man off the ball, I'm not going to complain. Similar things could have been said about Carles Puyol. You want to see an absolutely terrible CB? Look at Geoff Cameron.
I disagree with each of these. Altidore isn't the problem on this team right now, and he is our best option at striker. Fabian Johnson is a bit out of form, but still one of our best players and I actually thought he was much better against Ireland. The defending from Matt Besler and Geoff Cameron was atrocious against Ireland, and Timothy Chandler didn't have a particularly strong game either. Regardless, Matt Doyle is right that Klinsmann has a bad habit of consistently playing guys out of position: Danny Williams at RM in 2011 Maurice Edu in front of Kyle Beckerman as a playmaking #8 in 2011 Landon Donovan as a second striker from 2011-2013 (I would argue that he was at his most effective once converted to the wing under Bob Bradley in 2008) Herculez Gomez as a LM in 2013 Eddie Johnson as a LM in 2013 Geoff Cameron as a DM in 2013/14 (I'm not saying he can't play the position, but I've really only thought he excelled as a DM once - against Panama in a WCQ in 2013 - and is better as a CB) Michael Bradley on top of a diamond midfield with only one attacking player in front of him in the lead up to the World Cup and at the World Cup. Alfredo Morales as a LM in yesterday's match against Ireland. Klinsmann has hit it right a couple times - DaMarcus Beasley's move to LB and Brad Evans' decent performances as a RB in 2013 come to mind, but for the most part, he has a long history of playing guys out of position for the US, with poor to mediocre outcomes.
Fun thread. Without reading everyone's response, here are my quick thoughts: 1. Drop deadweight that isn't contributing and won't in the future: Wood and Wondo come to mind first for me. 2. Stop randomly placing players on the field. Garza at LM? Chandler at LB? 3. End the Cameron at CB experiment. I've never understood why we put him here. He consistently makes costly errors (worse than Gonzalez who gets a lot more grief). He has good skills and can be useful, but he needs to play CDM or somewhere else. 4. Make Yedlin the starting RB. He is a better option there than Fab, if for no reason other than he specializes at RB for club while Fab does not. 5. Diskerud does not look like a 90-minute guy at the international level to me. I think he can be useful here and there, but I'm hoping we see more Lee Nguyen or other options in the AM role. On the positives, I'm glad we are experimenting at CB. It took us far too long last cycle to figure this out, so hopefully the cream rises from this experiment. We certainly have some intriguing options.
I have to take what MLS Soccer says with a huge grain of salt given that they are now anything but unbiased now when it comes to JK.
You don't actually have to take it with a grain of salt. There is plenty of information in that article for you to judge the argument on its own merits. You can either say that you believe there is validity to his argument based on the facts that he cites, or you can reject it because you think the argument is poorly constructed, or leaves out pertinent facts. That's the nice thing about an analytic piece. You don't have to just take the guy's word for it.
I would run this line-up: -------------Dempsey------------------------Altidore----------- ------------------------------Nguyen---------------------------- ------------Johnson-------------------------Bradley------------ ------------------------------Jones------------------------------- ----Garza-----------Brooks-----------Gonzalez------Yedlin---- ------------------------------Guzan------------------------------ Maybe move Jones back to CB if he can adapt well as he gets more time there.
lol Wondo plays and has a impact and the team falls totally to pieces with him not on the field- "GET RID OF HEEEEEEEMMMMMMM!"
On one hand, I could see that Jones ability to keep possession under pressure can be an asset when playing out of the back. The downside is placing him in the backline diminishes the composure of our midfield, where his abilities are more crucial, without replacing that presence with another player. Which midfield players are going to be able to withstand an aggressive press over the next cycle? I think Jurgen is baking on the more technically sound Euro-based players, which makes sense on paper. On paper.
What other LBs do we have besides Garza and FJohnson? Also I want to point out Jordan Morris. He actually did pretty good for the time he was on. Here's my lineup... ------------Altidore--Dempsey------ ------Nguyen--Bradley--Gyau----- ---------------------Jones----------------- --FJ--Brooks--Gonzalez--Yedlin- --------------------Guzan---------------- Let's try Jones as a number 6 and also have Zardes on the bench as a backup Striker. Also Mix needs to improve quite a bit. He shouldn't be a number 10. Question. Who can play the number 10 role besides Mix?
No this is wrong. His positioning and placement were outstanding. his communication with brooks was great. Colombia are no joke. He was often out of position BECAUSE of our midfield playing so poorly.
Nguyen is really the only classic #10 we have right now, and even he puts in more defensive work than you'd expect out of a 10. Bedoya is an interesting option in that role because he, like Bradley, cuts the figure of a modern number 10, where his benefit is more about his running and energy on both sides of the ball rather than his technical quality or creativity. Mix was never really a number 10, but has some undoubted skill, vision, control, and commitment. I can see him rounding out to be a great metronome, maybe even a Pirlo type player, but he's not an attacking catalyst.
I clearly disagree with you... and I specifically mentioned the Honduras game as well. It's not really worth arguing about, because you can't prove your right, and I can't prove I'm right.
Unless we had video access to the game and somebody isolated those moments you're pointing out where Jones started fires, or moments he's pointing out where Jones put them out. I mean, somebody COULD do that, but no ones going to, so yeah, probably best to move on.
How about a really important change? Klinsmann needs to STOP THE ENDLESS TWO-A-DAYS. How many times do we have to run out of gas in the second half, and how many hamstring injuries do our players have to suffer, before he gets the picture?
If you don't agree with something Matt wrote, you ought to man-up and point it out, rather than trying lamely to smear him with a bias claim.
Do we need a number 10? Most teams around the world do not play with a 10. By the Mix, Bedoya are not 10's.
rubin will be our exclusive #10 in one year. If any of you have not seen him play at Utrech I would really encourage you to watch a stream if you get a chance. edit: or jk incredulously positions him as our target forward....
My concern with Klinsmann is that he is not being accountable in the press, or by the fans. I remembered much more outrage when Bruce Arena was coaching, and definitely during Bob Bradley period. And that's when soccer was less popular. Because of this, Klinsmann does not need to produce results to keep his job. If we don't win the Gold Cup next year, or get eliminated first round of Copa America in 2016, I bet, people will blame the lack of talent, that MLS does not produce good talent, that players should be in Europe, etc. etc.
Never saw Rubin in Holland, but I am skeptical of placing average players as 10, or frankly using a traditional 10. If we play someone in a 10 position, the team offensively will depend on that guy, and I don't think we have anybody (elite player) like that. Teams with elite players do not play with 10s, they prefer make their guys play as 8 or 9.5
so it wouldnt hurt to watch him play before being understandbly skeptical of some dude with a 3liter beer as an avatar swearing him to be the New Hope. here is his next game: DUTCH EREDIVISIE NIEUW GALGEWAARD23RD NOVEMBER 2014 - KICK OFF 15:45 UTRECHT0 CAMBUUR LEEUWAR0 http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/312800 thats 9:45 am est. give him a try. it will sedate the ld loss.