One Year Prediction: 2006 World Cup Roster

You are missing Gooch and Mastroeni.

 

My current prediction:

Hahnemann, Howard, Keller
Berhalter, Bocanegra, Cherundolo, Gibbs, Hejduk, Onyewu, Pope, Spector
Beasley, Dempsey, Donovan, Lewis, Mastroeni, Noonan, O'Brien, Reyna
Ching, Johnson, McBride, Wolff

 

I'll go -

Cannon, Howard, Keller
Bocanegra, Borchers, Cherundolo, Gibbs, Hejduk, Onyewu, Pope, Spector
Beasley, Dempsey, Donovan, Lewis, Mastroeni, Noonan, O'Brien, Reyna
Johnson, McBride, Twellman, Wolff

Borchers, Cannon, Twellman are obviously reaches, but I think there will be some surprises. I really don't feel that strongly about these guys as much as I feel the more natural picks are at risk (e.g. hanneman, berhalter, casey).

 

not to nitpick, but this is an "old" team...what made the 2002 run was the over all youth/energy that the team brought to the pitch...

I imagine there are some young studs that will not figure in wqualifying (or late in qualifying once the spot is clinched) that will shine next summer....

but that is for a different thread altogether....

 

I think you'll see at least three new faces. I'm thinking Jaqua and Spector. If Tino plays well then we will see him and maybe Rolfe.

Goalkeepers
Marcus Hahnemann, 34
Tim Howard, 27
Kasey Keller, 36

Defenders
Gregg Berhalter, 32
Carlos Bocanegra, 27
Steve Cherundolo, 27
Corey Gibbs, 26
Onyewu, 23
Eddie Pope, 32
Jonathan Spector, 18

Midfielders
Pat Noonan, 25
DaMarcus Beasley, 24
Clint Dempsey, 23
Pablo Maestroni, 29
Eddie Lewis, 32
Claudio Reyna, 32

Forwards
Chris Rolfe, 22
Brian Ching, 28
Landon Donovan, 24
Eddie Johnson, 22
Brian McBride, 34
Josh Wolff, 29
Nate Jaqua, 23 or Santino Quaranta, 21

 

I got halfway done and realized mine was the exact same as scaryice's. I might go with Convey over Berhalter depending on where O'Brien is played. If JOB is a midfielder then Berhalter, if there's a possibility he plays in the back, Convey.

Line-up:

--------------------Keller--------------------

Dolo--------Gooch---------Gibbs----------JOB

-------------------Pablo---------------------

Reyna---------------------------------Beasley

-----------------Donovan--------------------

----------GAM------------McHead------------

Flexible because of Reyna's ability to play wide and centrally. Donovan's ability to play wide, attacking, and forward. JOB's ability to play in the back and midfield. Lewis, Dempsey, and Bocanegra are the other possible starters IMO.

 

Starters (reserves in parentheses)

GK - Keller (Howard, Hahnemann)

D - Cherundolo, Gibbs, Onyewu, Bocanegra (Berhalter, Spector, Hejduk, Convey)

M - Mastroeni, Lewis, Beasley, Donovan (Noonan, Dempsey, O'Brien, Reyna)

M - Johnson, McBride (Ching, Casey)

Convey and O'Brien would be bring great flexibility, being able to play both mid and defense. Donovan, Beasley, Noonan and Dempsey can play forward if needed, and the bigger need at forward will be to provide depth and cover for the aging McBride. A breakthrough Gold Cup performance allows a Conor Casey to win a job, and a healthy JOB takes the final slot from Pope.....

That's a fairly young team, and you can choose your bench approach, but I'd love to be able to add a the veteran experience of Hejduk, Reyna, and O'Brien. I'm not sure they can go 90 minutes, but that experience and tenacity for 30 would throw the opponents for a loop in the later minutes......

 

I think you'll find that the average age of the 2002 squad was higher than that of the '98 or '94 squads.

 

What I think Bruce's Choice will be...

Keepers (3)

GK Kasey Keller (Moenchengladbach) *
GK Tim Howard (Manchester United)
GK Matt Reis (New England)

Defense (7)

WB/CB Jonathan Spector (Manchester United)
WB/CB Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham) *
WB Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96) *
CB Chad Marshall (Columbus)
CB Eddie Pope (Salt Lake)
CB/WB Cory Gibbs (Feyenoord) *
CB Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege) *

Midfield (9)

HM Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado) *
HM/CM Claudio Reyna (Manchester City)
CM Clint Dempsey (New England Revs) *
CM/S Landon Donovan (Los Angeles) *
MF/WB John O’Brien (Den Haag) *
WM Eddie Lewis (Preston NE)
WM Bpbby Convey (Reading)
WM/CM Eddie Gaven (Metrostars)
WM DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven) *

Strikers (4)

S Eddie Johnson (Dallas) *
S Brian McBride (Fulham)
S Conor Casey (Mainz 05)
S/M Pat Noonan (New England)

Dolo-Gooch-Gibbs-Boca
Mastroeni-O'Brien-Beasley-Dempsey (diamond, Dempsey CAM)
Johnson-Donovan

My "ideal" roster...

* projected starter

Keepers (3)

GK Kasey Keller (Moenchengladbach) *
GK Tim Howard (Manchester United)
GK Matt Reis (New England)

Defense (7)

WB/CB Jonathan Spector (Manchester United)
WB/CB Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham) *
WB Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96) *
WB Jose Burciaga, Jr. (Kansas City)
CB Eddie Pope (Salt Lake)
CB/WB Cory Gibbs (Feyenoord) *
CB Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege) *

Midfield (9)

HM Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado) *
HM/CM Claudio Reyna (Manchester City)
CM Clint Dempsey (New England Revs) *
CM/S Landon Donovan (Los Angeles) *
CM/HM John O’Brien (Den Haag) *
WM Bobby Convey (Reading)
WM Eddie Lewis (Preston NE)
WM/CM Eddie Gaven (Metrostars)
WM DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven) *

Strikers (4)

S Eddie Johnson (Dallas) *
S Edson Buddle (Columbus)
S Brian McBride (Fulham)
S/M Pat Noonan (New England)

 

Let's break it down:

Goalkeepers:

Locks:
Kasey Keller

Probable:
Tim Howard

Possible:
Marcus Hahnemann
Jon Busch
Matt Reis
Jonny Walker
Joe Cannon

Defenders:

Locks:
Carlos Bocanegra
Cory Gibbs
Steve Cherundolo

Probable:
Oguchi Onyewu
Eddie Pope
Frankie Hejduk

Possible:
Greg Vanney
Gregg Berhalter
Chad Marshall
Jonathan Spector
Tony Sanneh

Midfielders:

Locks:
Landon Donovan
DaMarcus Beasley
Claudio Reyna
John O'Brien

Probable:
Pablo Mastroeni
Eddie Lewis
Clint Dempsey
Bobby Convey

Possible:
Chris Armas
Steve Ralston
Kerry Zavagnin
Eddie Gaven
Kyle Martino
Ben Olsen

Forwards:

Locks:
Brian McBride
Eddie Johnson

Probable:
Josh Wolff
Conor Casey
Pat Noonan
Brian Ching

Possible:
Edson Buddle
Santino Quaranta
Taylor Twellman
Clint Mathis
Freddy Adu


Tallying up the Locks + Probables equals 2 Keepers + 6 Defenders + 8 midfielders + 6 forwards is 22, leaving room really for only another keeper.

Looks as though some of the Possibles are going to have to show exceptionally well to ouster some of the Probables to make the 2006 World Cup team.

As much as I want to see Eddie Gaven, Jonathan Spector and/or Freddy Adu make the team, it looks as though their chances a year away a fairly slim.

Of course, there may be some trade-off between the Probables with Possibles at different positions. For example, would Bruce take Armas rather than Noonan or Ching?

 

My personnal choice but im quite sure the real roster will be quite a bit diffrent.

GK : keller,Howard,cannon

DEF : pope,bocanegra gibbs,vanney,jOB,dolo,marshall,sanneh

MID: reyna,donovan,beasley ,raston,lewis,mastroeni,dempsey

FOR : mcbride, wolff, johnson, cunningham

 

And also one of the oldest teams in the tournament.

 

Goalkeepers: Hahnemann, Howard, Keller

Defenders: Berhalter, Bocanegra, Cherundolo, Gibbs, Hejduk, Onyewu, Pope

Midfielders: Beasley, Dempsey, Lewis, Mastroeni, Obrien, Olsen, Ralston, Reyna

Forwards: Adu, Donovan, Johnson, McBride, Wolff

 

This is very tempting but I have more fun thinking about what are the most interesting battles for available spots as in the thread Appoo started:

https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=213315

I mean, do we need to type in that we're including JOB, GAM, LD, DMB, KK, etc.? I'm not trying to stop anybody but speaking for myself I like to read why people choose who they choose, and for 10-15 spots it's really self-explanatory. For instance, don't just add Player X, say what you think that player has to do/has done that gets them there; where it's self-explanatory, not note needed. Or not, whatever: back to the rosters.

 

Assuming everyone's healthy, which they obviously won't be...

GK: Kasey Keller, Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann
D: Carlos Bocanegra, Cory Gibbs, Eddie Pope, Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Chad Marshall, Jonathan Spector
MF: Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, John O'Brien, Claudio Reyna, Clint Dempsey, Pablo Mastroeni, Eddie Lewis, Eddie Gaven, Pat Noonan
F: Eddie Johnson, Santino Quaranta, Brian McBride, Brian Ching

Alternates: Joe Cannon, Greg Vanney, Gregg Berhalter, Frankie Hejduk, Ricardo Clark, Steve Ralston, Josh Wolff, Taylor Twellman

 

Good points....a few thoughts....

GK - Hahnemann may be #2 on the depth chart, but Howard is penciled in for 2010 and will be brought along for the experience, if nothing else.

D - With the realtive inexperience of Gibbs and Onyewu, I think veteran depth in center will be needed. That's Berhalter, and maybe a Pope. I think one of the guys gets bumped by Spector, and my guess is that'll be Pope. I do think Convey makes it, if for no other reason than he can play both defense and midfield. That flexibility helps you win the deep roster spots.

M - Not a lot of questions in the mid, in my opinion. Ralston isn't a WC player, although he's been extremely helpful in qualifying. Noonan brings flexibility, so I think he'll take that slot. Reyna needs to get in camp this fall, and JOB goes if he's healthy. Both are big ifs, but I think they'll both do what needs to be done to get to Germany.

F - McBride's age means you need target-forward depth. That means two-deep behind him, and I think that'll be Ching and Casey. I don't see Wolff, Twellman or a Quaranta doing enough to convince Arena to carry them over sliding DMB, LD, or Dempsey forward in the attack. Those three are more dangerous than Wolff, more skilled on the ball than Twellman, and more experienced than Quaranta.

Rather than carry another forward, let them back up EJ, and take advantage of our best depth, which is in the midfield. IF Eddie is tiring, slide someone forward, and bring in a Dempsey or Reyna off the bench in the midfield. That option is better than any option we'll have with another speed forward.....



Lastly, I'm a big fan of veterans off the bench. They can come in with a better read of the game, know what to do, and in limited minutes, don't have to worry so much about aging legs. Hejduk (slide Boca inside or sub Dolo), Reyna (can play any midfield position), O'Brien (ideal defensive sub in back or mid) and Dempsey (Mr. Energy allows Landon or Beasley to move forward) would be my first choices off the bench........

 

I am going to alter yours, highlighted the changes:

(alphabetical order)

Goalkeepers
Tim Howard, 27, Manchester United (English Premier League)
Kasey Keller, 36, Borussia Monchengladbach (German Bundesliga)

Defenders
John O'Brien, 27, ADO Den Haag (Dutch Erdivisie)
Carlos Bocanegra, 27, Fulham FC (English Premier League)
Steve Cherundolo, 27, Hannover 96 (German Bundesliga)
Corey Gibbs, 26, Feyenoord, (Dutch Erdivisie)
Jonathan Spector, 21, Manchester United (English Premier League)
Eddie Pope, 32, Real Salt Lake (MLS)
Oguchi Onyewu, 23, Standard de Liege (Belgium)
Frankie Hedjuk, 31, Columbus Crew (MLS)

Midfielders
Eddie Gaven, 19, MetroStars (MLS)
DaMarcus Beasley, 24, PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Erdivisie)
Clint Dempsey, 23, New England Revolution (MLS)
Pablo Mastroeni, 29, Colorado Rapids (MLS)
Eddie Lewis, 32, Preston North End (English League Championship)
Steve Ralston, 31, New ENgland Revolution (MLS)
Claudio Reyna, 32, Manchester City (English Premier League)

Forwards
Conor Casey, 24, FSV Mainz (German Bundesliga)
Pat Noonan, 25, New England Revolution (MLS)
Landon Donovan, 24, Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
Eddie Johnson, 22, FC Dallas (MLS)
Brian McBride, 34, Fulham FC (English Premier League)
Josh Wolff, 29, Kansas City Wizards (MLS)

If O'Brien is healthy i can't see how he will be left off the roster especially with out current situation at leftback, also he can play the midfield as well.

Spector is an outside shot at the moment and it really depends on his season comming up. If not him then perhaps Convey.

Gooch..might be the best centerback we have and has been solid in his time with the nats.

Frankie has the experince, flexibility and work rate. Bruce always seems to play him and i have no reason to think he would not be brought in as cover for Dolo.

Gaven over Armas. We have Masteroni and Dempsey, Armas is just dead weight. Gaven gives us an option on the right for Ralston. He will have to earn this though as he hasn't figured in the teams run of late.

Ralston, he is the best wide midfielder on the right we have and his ability to balance the attack is a key.

If we bring McBride and Casey there is no room for CHing and a player like Noonan gives us more flexibilty and a diffrent look.

I thought about removing Reyna too, it seems he slowly fading out of the picture.

 

Here is my current depth chart...

G
1. Kasey Keller*
2. Tim Howard*
3. Marcus Hahnemann*
4. Jonny Walker(A)
5. Joe Cannon
6. Kevin Hartman
RB
1. Steve Cherundolo*
2. Ben Olsen*
3. Jay Heaps(A)
4. Christ Albright
LB
1. Carlos Bocanegra*
2. Bobby Convey*
3. Greg Vanney(A)
4. Jose Burciaga Jr.
CB
1. Eddie Pope*
2. Oguchi Onyewu*
3. Corey Gibbs*
4. Jonathan Spector(A)
5. Gregg Berhalter
6. Jay DeMerit
7. Tony Sanneh
8. Chad Marshall
9. Nat Borchers
10. Danny Califf
LM
1. DaMarcus Beasley*
2. Eddie Lewis*
3. Brad Davis(A)
RM
1. Eddie Gaven*
2. Santino Quaranta*
3. Steve Ralston(A)
4. Brian Mullan
5. Chris Klein
DM
1. Clint Dempsey*
2. Pablo Mastroeni*
3. Ricardo Clark(A)
4. Richard Mulrooney
5. Chris Armas
AM
1. Claudio Reyna*
2. John O’Brien*
3. Freddy Adu(A)
4. Clint Mathis
F
1. Eddie Johnson*
2. Landon Donovan*
3. Brian McBride*
4. Edson Buddle*
5. Conor Casey(A)
6. Jeff Cunningham
7. Josh Wolff
8. Taylor Twellman
9. Pat Noonan
10. Brian Ching

*makes roster
(A) alternate