Arena likes playing with two forwards I see two options: 1) target forward / speedster 2) tweener / tweener TARGET FORWARDS: Brian McBride Conor Casey Ed Johnson SPEEDSTER: Wolff Cunningham Jones (during qualifiers played up front) Beasley (has paired with Donovan in youth games) Stewart (in 1994 WC) TWEENERS: Mathis Twellman (too small to really be a target forward, not fast enough to be a speedster) JMM Quaranta Razov The question has always been who pairs with McBride. Donovan or Wolff worked well because they had speed to stretch the defense and bring abilities that McBride lacks. The Mathis / McBride combination has been a failure and explain why Mathis did not play more in the WC. A target forward with Mathis does not work. Now that Mathis is being looked at as THE MAN, the question becomes who pairs with him. Because Mathis is a tweener, the best bet is another tweener. JMM and Mathis worked well in qualifiers for example. This explains why Twellman has been given first choice development minutes. I really think that the US would be better off with the target / speedster option. This means that Casey and Johnson should be a priority to get experience. Mathis needs to play as the ACM. McBride will most likely still be the man in 2004. However, after that we need to develop a replacement.
I think Razov should not be left out of Arena's plans. I think his poacher style of play would work well with Mathis and his play making abilities. Razov also has some size that the US team will need with little guys like Beasley and Donovan on the field.
Probably a target forward. If you want a pure center forward like McBride, Casey is your best bet. BTW, Razov is not a tweener. He's a poacher, pure and simple. That's not a knock on Razov but a note about his playing style. Sachin
TARGET FORWARDS: Brian McBride Conor Casey Ed Johnson SPEEDSTER: Wolff Cunningham Jones (during qualifiers played up front) Beasley (has paired with Donovan in youth games) Stewart (in 1994 WC) TWEENERS: Mathis Twellman (too small to really be a target forward, not fast enough to be a speedster) JMM Quaranta Razov Well, all the names are there but I think most won't be part of the picture at any time. Names from above list that are on Arena's DOA list include: McBride - Time to move on Casey - Olympics, Olympics, Olympics - 3 strikes you are out Johnson - If he's not looking at him now, why would he look later Wolff - maybe, but his stock is falling fast Twellman - I think he'll play a role once he scores one and settles down JMM - probally not (see McBride) Quaranta - down the road, maybe Razov - been there, seen that ... no thanks Cunningham - NOPE, will shoot himself in the other foot Jones - Too old (see McBride), no point in wasting minutes on him Beasley - halfback Stewart - See McBride Dark horse - Richie Williams returns!
So in your opinion we are left with Twellman as a lone striker. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Steve Nichol to the Boards
i think casey may end up playing a big role with this team....in fact i think he'll start with mathis. remember he's succeeded in germany where both donovan and twellman failed....and he would be seeing valuable minutes now with hannover if he weren't injured. casey will be in the upcomming olympics...he's no longer the inexperienced lug he was last time...i think it's a good be he'll be a load for defenders to handle...and bruce has shown the tendency to give olympic players a shot...i.e. albright.
Casey will have a hard time getting on the field for his relegation threatened club. He had a nice run in the BL2 last year, but because of injuries, he hasn't continued his growth trend.
There's still the second half of the season, and I'd say it's safe to say that Hannover would compare favorably with many MLS teams. At the end of the year he was MOTM on more than one occasion--the key will be to stay healthy.
McBride: "Time to move on." Yes to the EPL. Twellman: "H'll play a role after he settles down." I hope Taylor the best, but to me he just has the look of a guy who won't make it on the international level.
Uhm. Forward radar: Mathis, Twellman, Wolff, McBride, Casey, Donovan I think the fact that Cunningham is getting minutes is baffling to me. No offense to Crew fans, but he's just not very good. Ed Johnson? For the nats? He isn't good enough to start for the Dallas Burn and they like to run out Bobby Rhine. 8( Don't expect to see McBride disappear. I would put him at a 50/50 chance to START our first qualifier for the World Cup as long as he's healthy. The player I want to see get some time is Buddle though. Still I think 2006 *will* see Mathis as a starter up front and McBride is likely in 2006 as a bench player or as a reserve. But Casey, Twellman, or Buddle or going to have to displace McBride he isn't just going to disappear.
This was a great line. If the U.S. had to play a WCQ tomorrow, McBride would start and Cobi Jones would be on the bench. Stewart would be there as well. Now, the U.S. doesn't have a meaningful game (WCQ) until sometime in 2004. FWIW, I think the Confed Cup is a glorified freindly tournament, though the Gold Cup is pretty important, more so than the Confed Cup. That the U.S. has another 16-18 months before things get serious, Arena has time to test Twellman, Cunningham, Buddle, Quaranta, Johnson, Eskandarian, Cristman, Gaven, Robbie Rogers, and Freddy Adu before things heat up again. Because the U.S. has the luxury of not having to qualify for the Gold Cup or any other major tourneys (see Euro teams fight to get to Euro 2004), we can see if some of the players I mentioned above can unseat McBride or take the place of any other established U.S. forward (see Wolff, Donovan, Kirovski - sorry, he is still in the picture - and Mathis). The same applies to somebody like Victorine in Sanneh's spot. Don't be surprised to see Victorine start against Argentina and against Jamaica. If he continues to play solidly (see Lewis in 1999) he will get a long look. Until he chokes he could very well stay in his starting slot until the summer of 2004. BTW, Twellman is not a tweener. He is also a pure goal scorer in the Razov mold. Simply put, he too is a poacher. He reminds me of Alan Shearer. Same build, same speed, same scoring mentality. Oh, who said if Arena isn't looking at Ed Johnson why would Arena look at him later? Now that's a crazy comment and way of thinking. Most thought Donovan and Beasley weren't on Arena's radar 9-12 months before Korea/Japan. Both made the WCF's roster. We are 42 months from Germany 2006. Why wouldn't Arena look at a player , like Johnson, in 2005 that will have another three MLS seasons under his belt? Because a player isn't getting a look now, it doesn't mean he will not make the 2006 squad.
After Korea/Japan, Bruce commented on how much of a young man's tournament the WC is. I'm sure the relative performance of Donovan/DMB vs Goose is something that will stick with him in the next round, and make him pay even more attention to the young guns like Quaranta and EJ. Heck a couple players on the current U-17 team (Adu, Ashe) might be in the mix for the next WC. Barring injury I think both Quaranta and EJ are likely to be on that team--probably more likely than older but less talented players like Casey, Twellman and Buddle.
My point was who about pairings and not individuals. Donovan and McBride complemented each other. Mathis and McBride did not. Mathis is now looked at as THE MAN by Arena. The style of player that would complement Mathis is a through ball scorer. It would also help if the player had some ability in the air. It is very important that one forward can head the ball off goal kicks, keeper punts, and free kicks taken in the defensive half. Mathis is OK in the air. Twellman is OK too. However, I think a guy like Johnson that has speed and size may work well. Razov also has size and can time his forward runs well to receive through balls. I don't see Casey complementing Mathis one bit. Now Casey up front paired with Donovan and Mathis in support, that may work.....
Re: Re: Forward Thinking Isn't Cristman going to college? I see no way he breaks into the picture as an amateur. Time is running out for amateurs who want a shot at 2006. Beasley and Donovan had like a little more two years of professional experience before they went to the cup, in addition to their U17 residency training.
Re: Re: Forward Thinking We have now reached a stage in our history where it is possible to fill two complete rosters (maybe even 3) with battle-tested pros. Maybe in the past, we had only 10-15 solid pros and the next best players we could trot out there were green collegians or club reserves. But now? We've got players lined up for every spot that have proved it "for real" either in MLS or in Europe. It would be a waste of space to give playing time to players who may never even make it at the pro level, when there are other guys that HAVE proved it. Yes, Twellman, Casey and Cunningham are going to get that shot. Wolff will be given a shot to get himself back into form. Joe Max may also. Kirovski even. A way outside shot would be Kreis. But you have to expect that with the PT these guys will get, plus the minutes Donovan, Mathis, Stewart and McBride will take to keep them fresh with the team there are not going to be many minutes left for anyone else.