Since the high profile hiring of Jurgen Klinsmann there has been a lot of debate on BS. Good hire. Bad hire. He's just what we needed. He's too tactically naive. Bradley (Sr.) haters reveled in it. Bradley (Sr.) haters decried it. I think some of that has bled over into discussion of JK's performance. Some liked the attacking style and inclination we displayed early (Torres as a CM, the 4-3-3) and were not overly concerned about friendly results. Some were critical of the nice possession, but not the results. Later, as JK seemed to become more defensive (CM's at RM, 2 DM/CM types in the middle), we looked less flashy, but have rung up 4 wins in a row. So what I'm trying to do here, to the best of my ability and recollection, is take the biases we all bring out of it as much as I can and look at what JK has done through 10 games, looking at five different aspects. First, his record. Second, which players he has called into the 6 camps. Third, which players he has actually played, broken down into starts, substitute appearances, and total caps. All pretty straightforward. The last two are a little be more complex, and more subjective, and much longer. Fourth, an overall analysis of formation and tactics, both to begin games and during. And last a position by position breakdown of the players used. Which will overlap a bit with the overall tactics. A lot to digest. I'll try to get through the first three on the first post. Then follow it up. Feel free to correct any errors, and I know some of the formational stuff is in the eye of beholder a bit. I. USMNT under JK after 10 games: 5-1-4 (W-D-L). DLLWLLWWWW. Game by game: Mex 1-1 D; Costa Rica 0-1 L, @Belgium 0-1 L; Honduras 1-0 W; Ecuador 0-1 L; @France 0-1 L; @Slovenia 3-2 W; Venezuela 1-0 W; @Panama 1-0 W; @Italy 1-0 W. Home: 2-1-2 (Mex 1-1 D; CR 0-1 L; Hon 1-0 W; Ecuador 0-1 L, Venezuela 1-0 W). Road: 3-0-2 (@Bel 0-1 L, @Fra 0-1 L; @Slovenia 3-2 W, @Pan 1-0 W; @Italy 1-0 W) Analysis: Taking the aesthetics out of it. It's hard to say things aren't getting better. And this is with LD and Deuce not having set foot on the pitch together. 4 wins in a row, including 3 away wins in a row (@Slovennia, @Panama with 10 men for a long stretch, @Italy). Though only getting more than 1 goal once is troubling, not conceding more than one goal only once is encouraging. We'll get more into style of play and aesthetics later. ------------------------------------- II. Camp calls under JK = 6 camps (Mex, CR/Bel, Hon/Ecu, Fra/Slo, Ven/Pan, Italy) My records indicate 141 call-ups to the 6 camps, spread among 50 different players. Here is the list. I'm not differentiating the CR/Belgium camps into two, and I'm not differentiating between initial call-ups and guys called into camp as injury replacements. 6 - Shea 5 - Howard, Cherundolo, Bocanegra, Chandler, Edu, Donovan; Beckerman; Hamid 4 - Goodson, Jones, Bradley, Dempsey, Altidore; Buddle, Agudelo; Orozco-Fiscal 3 - Rimando, Spector, F. Johnson, Williams, Torres; Pearce, Loyd, Ream, Larentowicz, ----Beasley, Rogers; Bunbury. 2 - Onyewu; Cameron, Parkhurst, Clark, Kljestan; Castillo 1 - Guzan, Gonzalez, John, Feilhaber, Wondolowski; S. Johnson, DeLa Garza, Sapong, ----Boyd; Parke, Evans, Morales, Zusi, Adu, Pointiuis ====================================== III. Total: Caps and Starts by Player under JK Calls are one thing, playing in the game another. A. Starts under JK = 110 starts among 34 players 8: Howard, Bocanegra, Shea 7: Cherundolo, Altidore 6: Dempsey, Chandler, Edu 5: Beckerman 4: Goodson, Williams 3: Torres, Bradley, Jones, Orozco-Fiscal 2: Donovan, F. Johnson, Buddle, Rogers, Parkhurst, Cameron, Castillo, DeLa Garza, Zusi, ---Bunbury 1: Onyewu; Hamid, Rimando, Pearce, Loyd, Feilhaber; Larentowicz, Clark, Wondolowski B. Subs Appearances under JK = 44 among 25 Players: 5: Agudelo 3: Buddle, Beasley, Spector 2: Shea, Bradley, Jones, Kljestan, Rogers, Clark, Larentowicz, Sapong, Evans 1: Onyewu, Beckerman, F. Johnson, Edu, Williams; Pearce, Loyd, Ream, Wondolowski; -- S. Johnson, Parke, Boyd. C. Total caps under JK = 154 among 44 players. Caps: Starts/Subs 10: Shea (8/2) 8: Howard (8/0), Bocanegra (8/0) 7: Cherundolo (7/0), Altidore (7/0), Edu (6/1), 6: Dempsey (6/0), Chandler (6/0); Beckerman (5/1), 5: Bradley (3/2), Jones (3/2), Buddle (2/3), Williams (4/1), Agudelo (0/5), 4: Goodson (4/0), Rogers (2/2), 3: Torres (3/0), F. Johnson (2/1), Spector (0/3), Beasley (0/3), Clark (1/2), Larentowicz ---(1/2), Orozco Fiscal (3/0) 2: Donovan (2/2), Onyewu (1/1); Parkhurst (2/0), Cameron (2/0), Loyd (1/1), Pearce ---(1/1), Kljestan (0/2); Castillo (2/0), DeLa Garza (2/0), Zusi (2/0), Evans (0/2), Bunbury ---(2/0), Wondolowski (1/1), Sapong (0/2); 1: Hamid (1/1), Rimando (1/1), Feilhaber (1/1); S. Johnson (0/1), Parke (0/1), Ream (0/1), ---Boyd (0/1). ------------------------ D. Analysis of calls/caps/starts. In terms of who has gotten calls, I think the next has been cast appropriately. 6 camps for 10 games. Pretty wide net cast with 50 different players getting calls, with only 15 of them getting 1 call, and some of those were to extended camps like the January one. In terms of absences, I can only think of a couple. Gomez I think has the best case of any non-called player. The others that come to mind are Brad Davis, Finley, and perhaps Marshall and Eddie Gaven. Injuries have been a factor in every case but Gaven and Gomez. And, at best, I think all of these guys are fringe guys competing for bench roles. Though it is disappointing guys like Davis and Gaven haven't gotten some looks, as I was hopeful JK's regime would give looks to more skilled, cultured offensive players in the midfield. On that same theme, I think Feilhaber has been underrepresented relative to his skill level, but attitude may be an issue there. In terms of guys with a lot of camps (4 or more) or caps (5 or more) are almost all either sure starters (Howard, Boca, Dolo, Dempsey, Altidore, Donovan) core players who one one figure to be in a 23 man roster and challenge for a starting role or be a key reserve (Bradley, Jones, Chandler, Edu, Buddle, Goodson) or young guys JK wants to integrate into the team (Shea, Hamid, Agudelo). There are some exceptions. But most are due to an front line player being injured or temporarily unsettled at club. Onyewu being out has opened up more calls/starts for Orozco Fiscal, and more starts for Goodson. Donovan's absence has allowed/forced JK to start Rogers/Williams/Zusi in 8/10 games. And Holden's continued absence, Torres' injuries, along with Bradley/Jones being unsettled at club has allowed Beckerman/Edu to start the lion's share of games in the middle. Shea is an exception, and how the Chandler/Johnson situation at LB gets resolved may have an effect on LM. Johnson has to play somewhere. If it isn't LB, it will be LM. Bottom line, JK has done a decent job in terms of the players selected. Some issues will be dealt with later in more detail (RM, Beckerman, CM), but for the most part, there has been method, even where madness is also apparent, like at RM. Nice mix of USMNT vets (Spector, Beasley, Clark, Kljestan, Feilhaber, Pearce), younger fringe players (Ream, Rogers, Larentowicz, Parkhurst) and out an out youngsters (Gonzalez, Adu, Bunbury) and some MLS guys who have deserved it (Cameron, John, Wondo). I know many want some of the younger players (Diskerud) to get a call, but they are firmly entrenched in the U-23 and Olympic qualifying. I believe after Olympic qualifying is done, you'll see players who are capable being allowed to compete for spots in the senior team. Plus, timing wise, it makes sense to assess some of the more experienced guys who won't be in Olympic qualifying now. But I'd think guys like Diskerud, Gyau, Gatt, Duka, and Kitchen maybe in the mix next year if they continue to play well for club. ========================= Whew! Pretty long already. I think I'll save the tactical and positional discussions for another thread. It's more interesting, but also longer and more complex.
you probably want to pull these same numbers for Bradley so that we can really make a comparison here
Tio_sam - you could probably do the same thing. Or, we could look through this list and imagine who's left out who should be getting more play. TrueCrew - nice work - thanks for the effort - repped.
You know, Bradley was just another creature. The only thing we need to know about Bradley is that he won the WQ group and hit the break-out round of the WC with Dempsey and Donovan, two top world performers on the pitch.
uhhh..ok...I think you think I'm belittling his post which wasn't my intention. My point im driving at, is that though it may be interesting from a statistical point of view( and it's a lot of work), it really doesn't illuminate anything for me or validate certain players over others. I feel like a comparison with Bradley would be interesting to determine in Klinsi is doing more and where. Is he eliminating or sticking with what Bradley has found? Did other players that have proved to be subpar demonstrate the same success in the early going? Is he more successful than his predecessor thus far?
Compared to the beginning of JK's term. Four wins in a row (including 3 road wins in a row) vs. 1 win in the first six games including home losses to a young Costa Rican side and Ecuador). Sorry, thought the comparison point was pretty obvious. In terms of the detail of the post, two things. One, I wanted to try to take out all the Bradley/JK agendas (pro or con) that plague this place. If you have an issue with a player not getting calls, or starts, then look at the facts and say whom you'd have rather started, and why. Of course, I'll admit, I originally intended there to be a discussion of tactics and formations and attacking style as well, and an analysis of the decision making at each position, but I kind of ran out of gas after the first three sections. In all, I think JK has cast a pretty decent net in terms of his callups, with some exceptions (Feilhaber, Gomez, Davis + maybe Finley, Rolfe and Marshall). But injuries and attitude may be a factor for everyone listed, except Gomez. I'll get to that stuff, but I just haven't decided how to present it yet. One post will be too long, maybe a thread for an analysis of each position, and then one for tactics/formations/aesthetics over the first 10 compared to what he says?