Interesting. It would be funny if they were sticking it to Bocanegra given his lack of cooperation in the past.
Maybe, and in case of Robinson Atlanta might want to give him as much exposure as possible, as they need to try to sell him.
Happy with the roster. A good mix of the core guys, returning guys who are performing well, and newer faces. Exactly the kind of roster we wanted for this series of matches. As far as Miles Robinson goes, he WAS an undisputed starter under Berhalter. He started 17 out of 21 games prior to his injury. That included 11 of 14 WCQers. Of course he was going to return to the group when healthy. Yes, Richards and CCV also deserve a look. But our CB depth is such that guys are going to be left out. Trusty and McKenzie are worthy of an opportunity too. Richards and CCV will be back. Plenty of games this summer. I do wonder about the #6 position. Is Johnny starting both games? Is somebody like Musah going to move back and try to cover it in one game? Acosta's omission is one I didn't see coming.
That must be what he meant, but that also doesn't really add up in my mind. The only reason he won't be playing 3 games in 7 days this window is because he'll have to miss an Atlanta game by being at this camp (and presumably Hudson has agreed not to play him in both NL games). They could also avoid him playing 3 games in 7 days during the April window if they're similarly willing to allow him to miss an Atlanta game one of those weekends. So the only reason to pick this window over that one is either Atlanta needs Robinson less for next weekend's fixture (against Columbus) than they do for either of the fixtures in April surrounding the Mexico friendly (Toronto or Chicago), or because they're required to release him for this one and not the next friendly.
I like the roster a lot. Given all the exigencies, it's basically perfect. And, I expect/hope we'll get an all MLS roster vs. [homophobic slur removed by moderator] Good deal all-around. Now, if Mr. Interim will continue Gregg's system with one tweak: When we get the ball deep on the wings, the guy w/ the ball either does an aerial cross, or attacks into the box on the dribble. No more of this pass it in, pass it out patty-cakes soccer. And, a little more freedom to counter. Gregg was close. Make those tweaks and we're good to go.
So the announcement was US-MX but it also said a team from N, C and S. America so it's likely we play a C American and S. American team also but they haven't finalized the teams yet.
Outstanding roster. Very excited to watch. Hudson picks good. Lol Would have loved Tillman but I think like Wright and Adams he's got some knicks for injury
Looking forward to seeing Dike carry over his scoring form to the NT. And great to see Robinson back after the long injury layoff.
Agreed. Really looking forward to this. I’d like to see Trusty and McKenzie. Also excited to see Zendejas again.
One thing that was mentioned by Tactical Manager is that there was an agreement with MLS not to have the players at this camp (except for M. Robinson) and that they'll be called in in April. If he's correct those hoping that certain players were done with call ups may not be happy to see some of them in the April camp.
Hopefully we get our strongest MLS based roster for April against Mexico and I hope Mexico can bring their best LigaMX side. It would be disappointing if one or the other federation brought a really weak side.The higher the quality in that match the better.
My interpretation on the missing European players (I hope I didn't forget anybody): -Adams - injured -Tillman - injured -Wright - no reason to rush him back from a 2 month injury when there are comparable strikers to evaluate -Sargent - basically the same as Wright -Richards - I suspect he is being handled cautiously due to injuries. -Mihailovic - I suspect he is being handled cautiously due to a recent injury plus getting settled in at AZ -CCV - unknown - perhaps has a lingering injury and needs rest. If this is an important US match, then I wouldn't see Carter-Vickers getting left out. Whatever you think of Celtic and how he stacks up against the other US center backs, I think a successful start in the World Cup against Iran positions him strongly for a starting position at one of the two tournaments this summer. -Slonina - likely going with the U-20s -Paredes - same as Slonina -Pefok - hasn't quite put together a solid enough run of form. I think he's still in contention for one of the summer tournaments, if the US plans to significantly divide the player pool. -EPB - I think Palmer-Brown is still in the pool, but Hudson sees him as a depth option, and better to evaluate other center backs -Cannon - similar to Palmer-Brown, I think he's still in the pool as a depth option, but Hudson wants to evaluate other fullbacks -Vines - almost back from his injury, but not quite there
So he's just making this a de facto January camp for Euro-based players, then getting a more extended look at MLS'ers in the summer. I understand the thought process, but I'm generally against having split squads, and creating factions. I can't say I like the roster regardless because we're still not looking at the viable alternatives at spots where we're tenuous, like LB. There were options. Even if you axe Tolkin for the aforementioned reason, you have Paredes out there. From Hudson's comments, he sees KP as a viable option at LB. So he's thinking above ignorant fans in this regard who can't see passed that he often plays at other positions. But he's not right on the edge, as Hudson put it. He's far and away their second best LB option, at minimum. Then there's the lack of attempt at an integration of Richards. He's repeatedly made benches recently. So he's fit enough. I think it's important he develops more assertiveness for us. That still hasn't happened. He's a passenger. You only get over it with experience. The lack of a DM I don't have as much of a problem with. It's important to see a double-pivot of Musah-Wes/LDLT or Musah in that lone 6 spot. Then we could potentially avoid a talent/functionality drop-off when we lose Adams. We'll see if that's how he plays it. But Cardoso's chances haven't lined up w/ his performances. In fairness, all the best 6 options beyond Adams are still in MLS, so if he's sticking to that philosophy, I get it. He broke it for Miles though. Might as well have done it twice. We can't drag our feet on building a depth chart continually. Some defenders will come back that we have a few years, so we should relax. Then I'd retort they said that last cycle..
In theory, I am too, but given club attitudes/FIFA dates/our best players in Europe, what else can you do? About the only other possibility would be to have a USMNT of all MLSers all the time. I don't think anybody wants that. 18 months ago, Jedi was considered one of our weakest starters, but I don't think that's still true. I wonder if Cardoso's lack of chances has to do with his poor performance in Olympic qualifying about two years ago. I agree that it's time for him to be given more chances. I wish that Leon Flach would get a call-up, too (maybe April?).
This would have been a good time to try what I think might be a promising experiment - Richards as a six, in front of the CBs.
My only question mark, really, is Richards being left out. Otherwise, I think this was a good roster decision. As for Hudson's actual coaching, it's probably worth noting that these are in fact competitive matches. Hoping for the best...
Yeah, given Adams' absence I fully expected to see Acosta. Even in Adams' presence I thought it was more likely than not that we'd see Acosta. It'll sure be interesting to see what Hudson plans on doing with the midfield. While I have serious doubts that Johnny can hang, the USMNT coaching staff has really liked him for a long time--in fact, I think his first callup was what got him on the BS radar at all.
Not too excited about inclusions or exclusions at this point. Good chance to take a look at some folks along with a core.
Dest is the viable left-back alternative on the roster. Scally and Reynolds can take right back. I've seen Paredes play left-back. He's simply not ready. Defensive positioning is something learned through reps. Paredes has not been getting those reps. Meanwhile, as an attacker, he has 1 goal and 2 assists in 315 minutes of B1 action. BS logic: he's a left-back!