I agree with most everyone else on the need for a change of pace sub with some good attacking skills. I don't understand why we are talking about Benny Feilhaber instead of Sacha Kljestan though.
Klinsmann's only direct quote on Feilhaber that I can find: Obviously the (Cameron) red card makes it a bit more difficult. You’d like to bring on Benny Feilhaber, who had a good first half against Venezuela but it’s not the right solution in that moment. No attitude problem is indicated, just the fact that Klinsmann rated Feilhaber worse than the other options for Panama, and simply rates Feilhaber behind a bunch of other American players period.
That may be the best summary yet. I would add that apparently Benny's non-stop whining on the pitch that match did not sit well with JK. Add the stellar 2 way midfield MOTM performance that JJ was giving and Benny did not look so hot. Benny was also very unlucky in that the plan was to bring him on in the 2nd half of the next match v Panama to see if he could add some creative spark but the Cameron send off killed that plan. The fact that he has not shown much concrete production in MLS since that camp has not helped Feilhaber's case.
We all know in real life unlike pre-school every case is different but if you really want to have a Castillo vs RunDMB at LB discussion start a new thread. I will participate and I am a huge RunDMB fan!
When I watch Castillo play I see a guy who is not ready for international play and who has not displayed anything like the mental or technical skills of someone who ever will be. Benny has actually made fools of international defenders and was our best sub in a World Cup. So should 2 Mexican league assists in 19 games outweigh 1 MLS goal and 1 assist in 14 games this year (4 and 7 in 23 last year) plus a history of achievement. The point is that I'm looking at both "concrete" and "non-concrete" factors when evaluating players. I'd argue that every case is the same, does this player increase the marginal likelihood that the team will get a positive result over an alternative. So while it would be nice if Benny was always fit and always got along with his teammates he has proven to be a positive asset. I would compare it to Clint's early struggles to get playing time with Fulham. He always had to win over coaches who somehow couldn't see past his failure to match up to their ideal player at his position. Klinsmann seems to be an idealist, I think that has improved our pattern of play but when it comes to player selection he can use a dose of enlightened pragmatism. Edit: I'd like to add the caveat that I do see JK's encouragement of club form as an overall good for the program but when it comes to winning games player selection should be judged solely on that.
Clearly the 2 last head coaches do not agree with your assessment of Castillo. I am meh on him myself. In any case Castillo was brought on as a LB which is what he played. Are you suggesting that Benny should have been brought in instead of Castillo at LB?
He's not even solid enough defensively to play on the backline in Mexico so maybe that should tell our coaches something. I'm trying to keep things Feilhaber focused and to explain the structure with which players should be evaluated across the board so maybe that confused you but I did originally have a Castillo v. Beasley frame and I'm on record supporting Lichaj. This isn't about re-litigating the past, hopefully it's about learning from mistakes and applying those lessons to future decisions. I just hope we don't write Benny off by applying inconsistent criteria for callups or by not balancing roster selections to include different types of players.
Understood, my point was more the fact that we are all actively posting in this Feihaber thread and the better, younger guy, with similar attributes, whose career is on the upswing, rather than the downswing like Benny's, does not even have an active thread. I don't feel Feihaber deserves any serious consideration for a call up, until SK gets the legitimate look he deserves.
Better? Better for some roles, maybe, but I think Feilhaber is much better suited than Kljestan to serve as the offensive spark off the bench type.
We've debated this as far back as Arena and Adu in '06. And then we watch guys like EJ being brought off the bench in a must win vs Ghana. Credit to Benny, he is one of the few who has given us a lift off the bench. But how much was actually due to changing Clint's role when behind?
I'll quibble with Benny being unusually good at possession in tight spaces. I think his ball handling is good, but not great, and he can be out-muscled and out-hustled for the ball. The real thing he offers the US is as an accurate passer willing to take risks and make the creative pass. And for JK, I very much doubt Feilhaber will ever win a starting spot. He just doesn't have that intense work rate and hard-running fitness side that JK seems to really value. At best, Benny is battling for a sub role as a creative offensive spark. And he's got competition from guys like Adu, Corona, maybe Kljestan, or at some point Diskerud, Gil, or lletget. And it remains to be seen if JK even values such a player at all.
Three years ago, in the Confederations Cup final, we were up 2-0 at the half. In the second half Brazil brought in attacking options Dani Alves and Blumer Elano. We brought in Sacha Kljestan, Conor Casey and Jonathan Bornstein. (Feilhaber who had started was subbed off, Beasley was available). I looked at our bench when Guatemala equalized. We had really no one who could be substituted who would make a difference as an attacking option. Feilhaber, Beasley, Kljestan these guys offer experience and can potentially give us a burst.
Guatemala equalized in the 82 min with a brilliant perfect free kick against the run of play. We had already made 2 subs but still had Wondo and Corona available on the bench. If JK wanted to push for an away win he certainly could have replaced Edu with Wondo and gone to a 4-4-2 set with Wondo and Altidore up top. Of course that would have been very stupid, borderline insane. Win at home and tie on the road is the route to WCQ. JK made the right call. Feilhaber and Kljestan as late game offensive sparks are myths. They are ball movers pure and simple, with Feilhaber providing perhaps a little more incisive passing. Note Benny has 2 goals and 1 assist in 39 USMNT matches while Jones has 2 goals and 4 assists in 21 USMNT matches! JK tried Kljestan as a spark at the 67 mark v Costa Rica which produced zilch.
SK has more goals and more assists in fewer caps. One is moving up in his career and one is moving down. I disagree with the contention that Benny should be called up ahead of Sacha. I do agree with the overarching premise that we need an offensive spark, an attacking mid in particular, to bring in off the bench.
1. You crack me up. Remember this? Feilhaber Called in for Match against Honduras in Washington, D.C. http://www.ussoccer.com/News/Mens-N...Match-Against-Honduras-In-Washington-D-C.aspx here was the result . . . He made a huge difference and was back on the plane to his club the next day. http://www.ussoccer.com/News/Mens-N...2-0-Victory-Against-Honduras-At-RFK-Stad.aspx 2. Any thoughts about this? a.Breakout Season for Sacha Kljestanhttp://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/12/kljestan/ b. USA's highest goalscorer in the 2008 Olympics (Corona will be watching other teams play in the Olympics with you and me). c. One of two Americans to notch a hat trick in the match where he scored his first goal. And I got it, you think Joe Corona and Chris Wondo are great options off the bench (what have they done on the senior international level?). Any thoughts as to why they didn't play in our recent 5 game tournament where the starters were worn down to the bone? The point is really this. We have experienced proven options (all pretense aside). It would be wise to include them as potential alternatives. If they had been included on the roster and played important minutes along the way, we probably would not have been giving up game tying goals in the 82nd minute against Guatemala.
If I was down a goal I would put in Wondo , something like 11 goals in 14 MLS matches, (less so Corona), before I would even consider Feilhaber or Kljestan. Kljestan has scored 4 goals but 3 came against Sweden in a camp cupcake friendly match. The other was against ES in a February friendly. Benny has not scored a USMNT goal since 2007