I like both of these players and I think they'll make a good partnership, especially against smaller C. American teams during WCQ, but.... Bruce seems stettled on a box midfield and I don't think you'll see many crosses from DMB, Donovan, Armas or Reyna.. It seems like a conflicting strategey to put two big strikers up top with only the LB and RB sending balls in, and one of those might be Heyduk.
The idea is you let Casey take the beating that McBride used to always take. McBride has become a much better player with the ball at his feet so Casey can allow him to use those skills much more. Plus, with Beasley and Donovan running through the midfield, Casey and McBride are great players to either hold the ball and lay it off to one of them or simply flick it on to them.
I think it will be a rarity. In fact, if Josh Wolff would have been on the roster, I'm pretty sure Casey would not have started the first leg against Grenada. McBride, Casey, Wolff, Twellman, Mathis, Donovan, and Kirovski have all played some striker recently for The Bruce. Of those, I'd say McBride and Casey are the most similar in style. Against a smaller team, it might be advantageous to have the "Twin Towers" up front, but more likely I think we'll see a mix of players. In fact, our depth is such that I doubt we'll ever see the same starting XI in consecutive games. It's a good situation to be in.
I still keep asking myself the same queastion: How many minutes (before getting thrown to start vs. Grenada) had BMB and CC played together? Why not put in a more experienced partnership? NOw that CC is hurt, we'll probably get Wolff/BMB, but i still think it was a rushed decision to place CC in the starting line up so soon for such a pivotal game...Then again, the whole Hanky/ Mastro/Wolff & company issue messed up with BA's plans, I suppose
I like Casey's play and much prefer him to Kirovski. Twellman is a McBride copy also, don't forget. I have no problem playing two "target" strikers together. Seemed to work well for Columbus in the Stern John/McBride era. Sweden seems to be making it work. I agree box midfield does cut down on crosses, but Arena loves backs who can come upfield and cross - Sanneh in last WC, for instance. That's why Frankie is on the team (his crosses have improved some), and why Convey gets looks at LB. And why Regis was there last time. Casey and Bake are both more than mere target men, as nice flick by Casey showed in last friendly. Plus, as others have observed, having a forward with the ball whilst DMB or Donovan run onto the play should scare defenses to death.
Might be worth a go-- however, do bear in mind that Casey's out for four to six weeks with a knee injury. So it might be quite a while before we even see this in experimentation.
No ACL tear, according to Arena. And it's 4-6 weeks, confirmed by the coach. http://www.ussoccer.com/editorial/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=73308