It's time to sit Mathis, Donovan, Masetroeni and Beasley at least until the Confed Cup in June. Let them get back to their clubs and get ready for the MLS season. All 4 players looked a bit exhausted during the Argentina match and don't really have anything new left to show. We know what they can do. I'd really rather see some other players get a shot at this stage of the game than risk buring out 4 players who should be at the core of the qualifying team. Sachin
can't say i disagree.....but you need at least 3 or 4 core players to keep some semblance on the team.... .....after the argie game, garcia deserves a start.....i'd also like to see brad davis be given a chance...same goes for buddle and eski.... as for the nets....timmy should play as much as he can....cause as far as 2006 goes, he'll be 2nd or 3rd, barring injury.
Ere, ere Stinky. Well done. Garcia looked like the most interested player the USA had on Sunday. He definitely should see some PT. I like Buddle alot but I don't think that Davis fits Bruce's plans. I don't think Davis has the jets for the 2 way responsibility that BA requires. Fianlly, I've never seen Eskie, but he hasn't played in even 1 professional match yet. At best, he'll have to wait at least a year for a call. I wouldn't draw too many negative conclusions from the Argie match. I'd rather see our boys playing a friendly in June when they are match ready mentally.
I don't think these guys should still be suffering from World Cup related fatigue. They may have looked tired and ineffective but I think that had more to do with the fact they were facing a considerably higher caliber opponent than they did against El Salvador or Canada. If Bruce wants to rest them now so he can look at other players that's fine. But if these guys are worn out because of last summer's exertions then they're probably in the wrong line of work. I think it's more likely that they're not yet fully match fit. Playing against a good team alongside a bunch of newbies and without a stabilizing influence like Reyna were what made them look ragged, IMHO.
I think it's far to early in the inter-WC cycle to automatically appoint any one player his spot in the team. I'd much rather have several GKs play for the national team, so as to provide competition, and perhaps one of the competitors will surprise us all and actually EARN the position. While I do believe Howard has some ability, I don't believe that a 'keeper (or any other player) should be anointed a place in the team without earning it. Especially a player whose team has yet to win ANYTHING. (I enjoy the NY hype, though...) Perhaps Howard is the best of the bunch, but let's actually make him go out and beat his peers out for the position. And the same for all positions: Open trials, until a clear-cut winner emerges at every position. This is the only way for the US to improve overall. Cheers!
Why? These players have been on vacation since god knows when since MLS is all they do! Most parts of the world you get 1 month off and thats it, in MLS these guys get 4 or 5 months without official games and you want to further rest them???? >>All 4 players looked a bit exhausted during the Argentina match >> Not from playing thats for sure.