State teams were mentioned, and that broke down quick. Then that civil war thread cropped up, and degenerated into well civil war discussions and whatnot. So instead I offer you 8 different regional teams, who would be the best? The worst? West - (Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Alaska, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Utah) California Texas Midwest - (North Dakota, South Dakota Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri) Great Lakes - (Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota) South - (Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida) Mid Atlantic - (Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pensylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey) Northeast - (New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Conneticut, Massachusettes, Rhode Island)
Hypothetical lineups, in my predicted order of finish: CALIFORNIA GK Joe Cannon D Carlos Bocanegra D Danny Califf D Ryan Suarez D Frankie Hejduk M John O'Brien M Eddie Lewis M Sasha Victorine M Earnie Stewart F Ante Razov F Landon Donovan Bench: GK Adin Brown / Nick Rimando D C.J. Brown D Chad McCarty M/D Ramiro Corrales M Peter Vagenas M/F Jovan Kirovski M/F Antonio Martinez Notes: Could qualify out of CONCACAF. Enough said. SOUTH GK Johnny Walker (TN) D Eddie Pope (NC) D Eddie Robinson (NC) D Carey Talley (TN) M Mark Chung (FL) M Richard Mulrooney (TN) M Ross Paule (TN) M Kyle Martino (GA) M Brian West (GA) F Clint Mathis (GA) F Josh Wolff (GA) Bench: GK Matt Reis (GA) D Corey Gibbs (FL) D Logan Pause (NC) M Ricardo Clark (GA) M Justin Mapp (MS) F Jeff Cunningham (FL) F Ed Johnson (FL) Notes: Lots of players on good form lately, solid at all positions. GREAT LAKES GK Brad Friedel (OH) D Alexi Lalas (MI) D Mike Clark (IN) D Steve Cherundolo (IL) D/M Tony Sanneh (MN) M DaMarcus Beasley (IN) M Cobi Jones (MI) M Brian Maisonneuve (MI) M Mike Magee (IL) F Ali Curtis (MI) F Brian McBride (IL) Bench: GK Kevin Hartman (OH) D Chris Leitch (OH) D Leo Cullen (MN) M/D Kerry Zavagnin (MI) M Jesse Marsch (WI) M Manny Lagos (MN) F Andy Rosenband (IN) Notes: Strong starting lineup, but lack of attacking depth hurts. MID ATLANTIC GK Tim Howard (NJ) D Wade Barrett (VA) D Steve Jolley (VA) D Gregg Berhalter (NJ) D Oguchi Onyewu (MD) M Claudio Reyna (NJ) M Kyle Beckerman (MD) M Ben Olsen (PA) M Bobby Convey (PA) F Chris Carrieri (VA) F Santino Quaranta (MD) Bench: GK Zach Thornton (MD) D Eric Denton (VA) D Jim Curtin (PA) D Alex Yi (MD) M Eddie Gaven (NJ) F Devin Barclay (MD) F Alecko Eskandarian (NJ) Notes: Very solid at the back, should hold possession well. Ability to finish chances may be suspect. WEST GK Kasey Keller (WA) D Todd Dunivant (CO) D Brandon Prideaux (WA) D Evan Whitfield (AZ) D Greg Vanney (AZ) M Pablo Mastroeni (AZ) M Wes Hart (CO) M Mark Lisi (CO) M Chris Henderson (WA) F Brian Ching (HI) F Chris Brown (OR) Bench: GK Marcus Hahnemann (WA) D Craig Waibel (OR) D/M Seth Trembly (CO) D/F Adam Frye (NM) M Zach Kingsley (WA) M Leighton O'Brien (WA) F Brian Mullan (CO) Notes: Mostly B-list MLS players. Goalkeeping should keep them in games. #3 keeper would be Scott Garlick. NORTHEAST GK Jon Busch (NY) D Carlos Llamosa (NY) D Mike Petke (NY) D Jay Heaps (MA) D Richie Kotschau (NY) D Mike Burns (MA) M Chris Armas (NY) M Jim Rooney (NY) M Craig Capano (NY) F Edson Buddle (NY) F Conor Casey (NH) Bench: GK Paul Grafer (NY) D/M David Vaudreuil (CT) D/F Robbie Russell (MA) M Jeff Matteo (NY) M Richie Williams (NY) F Roger Levesque (ME) Notes: Dema Kovalenko (NY) pending citizenship. Serious lack of offensive talent, with only Buddle likely to produce semi-consistently. Shouldn't let in too many goals either, at least. MIDWEST GK Joe Larson (ND) D Brian Kamler (MO) D Matt McKeon (MO) D Diego Gutierrez (MO) M Brad Davis (MO) M Braeden Cloutier (KS) M Chris Klein (MO) M Steve Ralston (MO) M Joe-Max Moore (OK) F Jason Kreis (NE) F Taylor Twellman (MO) Bench: GK Matt Pickens (MO) D Chris Brunt (NE) D Matt Bobo (IA) M Jack Jewsbury (MO) F Bobby Rhine (MO) F Clint Regier (OK) F Pat Noonan (MO) Notes: Stacked from midfield up, but this team needs a good keeper badly (Larson is in the A-League, Pickens is in college) and defense is suspect with none of the starters regularly playing in the back. TEXAS GK Tom Presthus D Jeff Agoos D Nick Garcia D Chris Gbandi D Rusty Pierce M Daniel Hernandez M Chad Deering M Paul Broome M Jordan Stone F Eric Quill F Arturo Alvarez Bench: GK Preston Burpo D Nelson Akwari D Jose Burciaga, Jr. D Ricky Lewis M Carl Bussey M Trevor Perea F Jason Thompson Notes: Just not enough depth to compete, especially at forward. What does it tell you when Jeff Agoos is likely the best player on the team?
I think you sell Connor Casey short, Northeast would have a very strong attacking 2 up front. Also, Brian Mullen is listed as a NY birthplace on MLSnet, so I think hed fit in on that team since their isnt much forward and midfield depth. Looks like a team designed for bunker and counter. Texas would have offensive problems, but that looks like a real solid back 4 + hernandez. How about it goes from just texas, to Texas and Oklahoma.