well, i must say that i find myself agreeing with both superdave and Martin Fischer on this issue (and a more frightening scenario i cannot recall ), but i jusr can't fathom Bruce trotting out a lineup in that opening match, in a 4-4-2 (1) without a destroyer mid and (2) with LD at forward. i really want to know where Wahl came up with that. methinks he just pulled it out of thin air. in the CR match June 12th, if come out in a 4-4-2, without a true d-mid and with Donovan at forward, i will use a Richard Simmons Sweatin' to the Oldies avatar from now until the end of time. that's how confident I am in it not happening. (barring a rash of injuries that would make such a lineup necessary of course)
What about this? Beasley as the other forward, which would allow Convey to play left wing. This link also has Gibbs starting at LB and Pope starting in the center.
Well, I still think that we are not good enough offensively to only play with one forward, especially with one that has not scored in two months. I believe that Arena will give EJ or Wolff every opportunity in May to prove themselves. He may accept defeat and go with Donovan or Beasley up top, but it will only be after trying something better.
McBride just scored recently, only the match was called for weather. I could live with Wolff and McBride together up top.
The place is isolated; it'd be damn hard to sneak in. And last time, there were few, if any, open practices. Bruce held out the carrot (I don't know how sincerely) of having the Kickers scrimmage open to the public, if the team wasn't bothered. They weren't, and it was. SHORTER VERSION: Yes, if possible, but probably not possible.
We're not very good offensively, but it isn't clear that putting any of our other forwards up there with McHead (Wolff, EJ, Twellman) adds very much to the attack. May be better to attack from the wings, win set pieces, and clog the midfield against the opponents. We're not going to score a lot no matter what, and at this point, having any of the other forwards leaves someone on the bench who, IMHO, has a better chance of making a contribution.
Putting Beasley as the other forward is intriguing, he plays fairly high with PSV when they run their 4-3-3. I'm just disappointed that in the last 7 years no one has truly emerged as our #2 striker to pair with McBride.
How about a 4-3-3 US Style if O'Brien isn't healthy? Beasley-McBride-Donovan Convey-Reyna-Dempsey Lewis-Gooch-Gibbs-Dolo Or a 3-4-3 slotting Mastro in as a d-mid if Lewis isn't up to par? Beasley-McBride-Donovan -Convey-Reyna-Dempsey- ----------Mastro--------- ----Gooch-Gibbs-Dolo----
I dunno, but if JOB doesn't improve his tackling, we're doomed regardless of his assigned position. Did anyone else see his attempted slide tackle on Donovan last Saturday before Donovan rampaged 60 yards to set up the winning goal. The tackle attempt was late and wasn't even close.
I agree, the starting 11 that Wahl has is certainly one of the best combos of US talent that we have, but 'Dolo, Donovan, Beasley, Reyna, and I think JOB (and Convey, if he is out there) are all 5-10 or under. Our only 6-footers I think are Pope and Onyewu; I don't think of Pope as an enforcer, and Gooch will have his hands full with Koller so someone else will have to have a little bite out there. Lewis and Dolo both are undersized for the flanks. On set pieces and in the run of play we will be dominated, just like in '02. Our only chance vs the Czechs and Italians will be to play with great speed of ball movement and run by them before they can get Koller, Rosicki, Nedved et al in gear. Unfortunately, I think Mastro is it as far as physical players that we have to put out there, because noone else has the size/speed combination to equalize. That was one reason why we finally broke down vs Germany a few weeks ago- the first goal came on a set piece, and we could not break down the defense no matter how we tried because the crosses were ineffective vs their towering back line. This is a serious limitation on our guys, I think. That is the biggest glaring weakness in our talent pool, I think. That and I am with those who aren't comfy seeing Pope start over Gibbs.
I am huge JOB fan, but I'll agree that it'll be tough for him to be ready for the WC on the defensive side. I feel his natural talent going forward and holding the ball will be fine, but the physical side of the game and the ball-winning side will be tougher for him. Therefore, I wouldn't rely on him as a DM against any of the Group E opponents. That said, I really want to see him on the field as much as possible for his ability to unlock defenses with his passing skills. How do we get a strong defensive midfield with JOB, Reyna and Mastro in the midfield at the same time? Anyway way you slice it good players are going to be left on the bench. Players that many posters pencil into the their starting 11. So, getting Mastro, Reyna and JOB in the same lineup... One way is playing a 4-5-1 as has been discussed to great length: ----------------Keller--------------- 'Dolo----Gooch----Gibbs/Pope--Lewis -----Reyna----Mastro-----JOB------ ------------LD---------DMB-------- ----------------BMB---------------- A lot of folks would look at this and say ouch only 1 forward? What about Dempsey or Convey? Those folks would be correct in their criticism. However, this lineup could be a 4-5-1 morphing into a 4-3-3 at any moment. Convey could be put in place for DMB if necessary and Dempsey can spell Reyna each match or start one of them. And, there are many advantages here; this may be our best lineup for trying to maintain possession, good ball winning with Mastro and Reyna, most of our best crossers of the ball are here, we have most of our best passers in this lineup, our FB's and AM's can go at people if necessary and are good on the counter, and most of our best finishers are here. All the while, we don't have to sacrifice Mastro while getting JOB on the field. The thing I like best about this lineup is that the Convey and Dempsey are the only two players not included that I really feel could add something at this point. No one has stepped up in the second fwd position to displace these guys imho (despite our desire to see EJ step up). Fear of the single forward idea is clearly the sticky point here. Or, We could play three in the back in a 3-5-2: ----------------Keller--------------- ------Pope-----Gooch----Gibbs----- ----------------Mastro------------- ----------Reyna--------JOB-------- ---Dempsey/LD-----DMB/Con/Lew-- -------------LD/EJ----BMB--------- Obviously, that puts tremendous pressure on the outside mids to play defense, but it does allow for an interesting mix of players offensively. Midfield pressure would be crucial to making this work. Opposing teams would have a difficult time playing over the top and a difficult time cutting through a this midfield if it were pressuring, so the attack would be forced to the flanks thereby forcing the outside mids to play great d or get burned. Honestly, though, it's a huge gamble to play 3 in the back against world class attacking squads like CR and Italy despite the confidence we have in those three backline players. Fortune favors the bold, but is the offensive gain worth the risk? Not only that, but some really good players are left out here like potentially Lewis, Dempsey, Convey and 'Dolo. I have a hard time seeing this happening unless the opponent comes out with a lone forward or two target forwards, but it's worth looking at. Finally, there is the much discussed and divisive LD up top, straight 4-4-2: ----------------Keller--------------- 'Dolo------Gooch----Gibbs/Pope-Lewis -----Mastro--------------JOB------- -----Reyna---------------DMB------ -----------LD-------BMB------------ -or- ----------------Keller--------------- 'Dolo------Gooch----Gibbs/Pope-Lewis -----Reyna------------Mastro------- -----DMB--------------JOB---------- -----------LD-------BMB------------ The advantage and disadvantages here have been discussed ad naseum. So, hopefully we'll see the 4-5-1 attempted in one of the warm-ups. I'm really curious to see if this works or if BMB is just clubbed to death and we don't sniff the opponents area. Arena was gonna run out the 3-5-2 against Germany untill they showed up with the 3 fwds. Might we see him try this again? The many variations of the 4-4-2 will probably be the best bet for the WC with players moving in and out of the lineup and the formation changing throughout the game. I just wonder how far Arena will go to get Reyna, JOB and Mastro in the midfield at the same time, or which one he will sacrifice for the formation of choice...
Since I don't think JOB is going to be ready for 90, I'd put Convey in that slot, then it's fine. And I agree on the "morphing" aspect of this. I think this is our best option at this point. The other options at forward simply aren't generating any offense, and putting them on the field means keeping someone off who probably can contribute more, and help clog the midfield. We'll need a low-scoring game or two to get through in any case--we aren't going to win a shootout against Italy or the Czechs.
I agree, JOB going 90 at wc finals level ain't happening....30 at most i'd prefer a pure d-mid, so mastroeni starts.... convey/beasley off the bench as a sub, depending on who starts.... donovan at a forward seems more likely given the mls form of forwards... pope scares me way too much.. i prefer gibbs over pope, who is faster than pope, who'll struggle with baros
Nope, won't work. I literally could name a half dozen players I'd rather see as lone striker than McBride. He will fail.
I know you feel strongly about this, superdave. My post was merely to explore what would have to happen to get JOB, Mastro and Reyna all in the midfield simultaneously. I recognize that our team lacks that true lone striker type. If EJ were on form and quite a bit taller he might fit the bill, but... I am just wondering how far Arena will go to get JOB on the field and not sacrifice midfield defense. You don't think this would work if the 4-5-1 transitioned into a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 when in the opponents final third?