People's weird compulsion to think Convey has become such a superfantasticplastic player that it requires putting him or Beasley on the right just to get him on the field is weird. And this is coming from a guy long deemed a Conveyfan.
no? You say Dempsey Bease JOB and Reyna are going to be non-scoring midfield... you point to what you call 'dubious goal scoring' from McBride and Donovan.... who exactly WOULD you put on the field if those guys are all bad on offense. and apparently Pope is bad as well.
I really think we are going to see Pope in the first game along side Gooch. It just seems to me that Bruce wants one experienced central defender to act as the captain in the back. I think he sees Gooch and Gibbs as long on talent, but short on leadership and experience. I think our best chance is to have the two of them playing together, but my guess it is not going to happen, at least in the first game. I hope I am wrong I also think Berhalter is going to be on the roster for the same reason as Pope.
I'm not sure to laugh or cry that we are a couple injuries away from fielding almost the same lineup again
Exactly. We have "experience" coming out the eyeballs. We have more World Cup experience than any team in our group, with some guys going three or even 4 cycles including '06 (Keller, Reyna). Even Italy has new starting forwards and a couple new midfielders with no WCs. But at this point, I'd gladly take a few more guys who can go full speed for 90minutes in 3 games 10 days apart. Experience can be vastly overrated. Things like stamina and bench depth, on the other hand, constantly prove to be crucial.
considering we had ld and beas getting wc experience at such a young age - good considering we have not found true replacements for the likes of reyna, mcbride, and job - bad
FWIW, it was a little more than that -- he started 18 of 34 league games, subbed into 9. The big issue, though, is that he hasn't been producing offensively ... when you're playing up top for a dominant team, there's no excuse for that.
I like Wahl a lot and think that he is good, and I think he is using Arena comes about the "domestic forwards not stepping up" to put Donovan at forward. Really though, if Eddie Johnson plays well in the run up, I think Dempsey is the one that goes to the bench (plus, putting O'Brien in the roster right now, I rather have Masteroni as the holder, because Reyna is a two way midfielder, but certainly not Donovan). And Gibbs gets the start over Pope, his form in the Erediviste has been great. He shut down Kujit and he can definitely shot down Baros, who scored 2 goals this week so Aston Villa automatically will stay in England's top flight. Wahl shows no love for the other forwards right now.
O'Brien being placed at LB, at the same time as he is considered a defensive liability in midfield by some posters, is very confusing/contradictory to me. If he starts at all, Arena has said time and time again that he is needed in midfield. Should Reyna, O'Brien and Donovan start together in midfield, it is doubtful that Reyna will line up at RM and Donovan at AM, since Donovan outplays Reyna at RM, and would be a roving type midfielder anyhow. With Spector having done in his shoulder, could he still be considered in the 23 for June? Finally, Wahl's starting XI is theoretical at best. May friendlies will tell us better I think.
Et tu, Ringo? Sorry, but given JOB's current form and our record without a real dmid, this strikes me as .. I don't know but strange. Where's apooo?
It's more likely a 4-5-1 than a 4-4-2 however. A few other points: A) Reyna did not "destroy" Davids and Edgar is a defensive mid himself anyway. If Claudio has to worry about David Jarolim vs Czechia, the US would be sitting pretty. B) Most observers would probably rate Jarolim considerably ahead of Reyna at this point. Now only is Hamburg going to the Champions League, unlike ManCity, Jarolim is a rock in defensive midfield. C) Pope over Gibbs? WTF. D) A good coach will not attempt what Klinsmann did with Gerald Asamoah and Erwin Koeman with Dirk Kuijt. These two tried running at Cory with nary a result. Baros and either Inzaghi or Gilardino aren't the same type of players anyway and will test Gibbs differently, by trying to get on to a through-ball. Germany had a pretty good luck with that in the opening 15 minutes at Dortmund.
actually, I ammend my earlier post: If I was picking a lineup it would look exactly like Wahl's but I would put in Gibbs over Pope.
I'm not ready to pencil in JOB to my starting lineup until I personally witness him play 60 consecutive minutes while looking sharp. So far he's at 15 shaky minutes. I imagine that Bruce will take a similar strategy as he did against Mexico in Columbus. Muck up the Midfield - Reyna and Armas did this to perfection that day...the amount of long balls we played kept the game in front of them for basically 90 minutes. Probable Personell: Reyna, Mastroeni, McBride Defend from Every Position: Every player that day closed down hard and tracked back...Beasley in particular made a few fine defensive plays, and Landon's motor never quit while closing down Mexico's backline. Probable Personell: Beasley, Donovan, McBride, Dempsey Draw Fouls, Score on Set pieces: Play enough long balls to McBride and he'll get fouled (see goal #1 against Mexico). Have Beasley run at you enough and you'll chop him down. We've got a few good servers of the ball, and some big targets to boot...we need to get goals however we can. Probable Personell: McBride, Beasley, Dempsey, Gooch, Pope, Lewis, Cherundolo, Donovan Since the Czech Republic might throw three attackers our way, it might be prudent to use the left back spot as a more defensive position. Given all of the above, the starting lineup against the Czech Republic casts itself: Keller Cherundolo-Gooch-Pope-Gibbs Beasley-Reyna-Mastroeni-Lewis McBride-Donovan Need a spark? Try Convey-Dempsey for Beasley-Lewis double move. Need some pace up top? Bring Wolff or Johnson on for McBride Wide open game? Convey and O'Brien seem a good fit. Need to Kill a game off? Wolff for Donovan, Olsen for Lewis Desperate for a late goal? Twellman for a defender, and throw him forward. Of course, if Bruce thinks we can stick them on the counter attack, you may see a completely different lineup. But with the individual talent the Czechs have, you'd be better off snuffing out the entire game in midfield...won't make for very exciting viewing, but if we can nick a goal off a set piece, a 2-0 result seems entirely possible.
Donovan was beyond awful at Columbus vs. Mexico as a striker partner to McBride. I think he'll drop in a lot lower on the pitch for any Cup games. And, btw, Mexico did not have a good day for a variety of reasons, not all of it due to the US's play.
Well, not quite. It's not that far-fetched for 4 points to go through, and 5 makes it 90% of the time. Not that I'm advocating playing for the draw, just sayin'.
Though they tried the through-balls, it didn't work that effectively at all. Asamoah couldn't cross the ball and then started to get frustrated and ran at Gibbs and that didn't work either. Plus, Gibbs was regaining his match form and progress immensely throughout the match in a position that probably may not be his come World Cup time.
Yup, that was shocking not that good from Wahl there, he usually isn't ill responsible like that with his analysis.
1. It's not just JOB in the central midfield, it's the combination of him and Reyna, against some teams that are, frankly, more talented than us. 2. Bruce has a very, very strong tendency to not play with two central mids with fairly equal defensive and offensive responsibilities. One of the guys is usually given mostly defensive duties. In such a system, that player is more important defensively than a fullback.
Still the question remains, where does JOB fit if he is healthy and in form (which we all know he isn't right now)? I sure haven't a clue. Ultimately the pre WC camp will be an intense affair as there will be some serious competition at almost all positions save GK and McBride's spot. Hey superdave and Andy! Are either of you thinking of going to some practices?
Just an opinion: LD is most dangerous when he gets the ball and has space to make a run and dish. A la Galaxy game vs Chivas. Would he make that same run and assist if he was playing forward? I think in that situation... Imhelu and what's his face (H Gomez) were up top although Gomez was AWOL in the attack. We need LD to get the ball in the midfield and push forward. We can't put him up front and expect other guys to create for him. Maybe we have him at the front of a diamond.
First off, no one in this entire thread said Reyna "destroyed" Davids. Secondly, I'd say Davids was more of a two-way midfielder than a defensive midfielder. His best attribute may be his ball winning in midfield, but he's very capable to join the attack(not Landon Donovan attacking, but probably JOB). Lastly, I love how people love to say "X" player is on a team playing in the Champions League, when "Y" player isn't. It's called a TEAM, Jarolim's TEAM is better. Reyna could start for a number of teams in the Champion's League. Also, even though some players may be rated higher by some people that doesn't mean that it translates onto the field within each team's specific strategy. Hell, Figo was rated higher than any of our players and look where it got Portugal in the World Cup '02.