Huh? So he plays with McKennie and Adams? So who now isn't playing. Late game down a goal? Are you kidding me. Ngabe about the last guy I want on the field in that case. Protecting a lead? Yes Attacking a bunker? Again not even close to the right guy. To beat a bunker you need guys who know what to do in the final third. That ain't him.
Unless he continues to play very well and goes out of his way to make amends and fully commit himself to the NT, I don't really see a point in trying to get him back on board. We have a few different CMs at about his level (Holmes, Lletget), and a few young ones that look very promising to integrate for the future (Aaronson, maybe Pomykal).
Ya, we have no need to go knocking on his door, had in hand. At best he's depth right now. And, I'd rather give the opportunities to players that are some combination of younger and not ambivalent about NT duties.
It was noted in the best 11 thread that 9 of the positions are pretty much locks -------------------------- AronJo Puli-----------------Reyna---------------Morris ----------Adams---------------Wes ARob--------Brooks------*------------Dest -------------------Steffen * Place holder for Richards. So, F: AronJo, Gyasi, Josh -----------------------------------------------------------------------3 W: Puli, Morris, *, Aaronson-----------------------------------------4 MF: Adams, McKennie, Reyna, ** , Morales------------------5 FB: Robinson, Dest, Cannon, Yedlin------------------------------------------------4 CB: Brooks, Richards, CCV; EPB-----------------------------------------------------4 K: Steffen, Horvath, Turner -------------------------------------------------------------------3 * I had Weah in this spot. Now I have it as a tie between Weah and KDLF. If we had more playmaking in CM, I'd consider putting Mueller in here. But, if we're going to have Wes and Adams on the field, we need playmaking from our wingers. ** I had Green, now I have it as a tie between Green and Giaoachini I'm sure people will disagree. I'm interested to see the other/better options.
I've been thinking about this while I've been following the best 11 thread. My 11 ---------------- Zardes ----Pulisic Reyna Morris -------------Mckennie Adams --Dest Brooks Zimmerman Cannon -------------------Steffen Subs GK: Turner, Guzan Defenders: Richards, Ream, Robinson, Long Mid: Lletget, Yueill, Bedoya * See note #9 before losing it. I know Wing: Aaronson, Weah Fwd: Sargent, 1. I'm hoping that I have Sargent and Richards starting by this summer but I can't do it yet. 2. Ditto for Robinson. (This would move Dest to the right and Cannon to the Bench) 3. Against the right team I would still consider starting Ream at left back and shutting down that side. (Again Dest would move to the right) 4. I'm light at outside back but between Dest giving cover at right back (Being our best right back) and having Ream that can step in and play outside back in a pinch and Richards getting minutes at outside back I'm ok with it. I have Ream and Richards in at center backs but they are nice that they can play a couple spots. 5. I ripped off Yedlin. I went with Long because although I wanted Richards in he still "has to prove it" If Richards pans out, cut a center back (probably Long) and shift in Yedlin. I don't love Yedlin because he doesn't have a lockdown position but he is nice to have because he brings pace and experience in a couple spots on a team that could use those things. 6. I like the idea that Pulisic and Reyna can interchange back and forth. 7. Forward was tough. If I was starting Lletget I would probably start Sargent but I worry he floats back into space that Pulisic and Reyna want to be in. He is great feeding Haaland who is a pretty direct piece. I think with that group you don't need Zardes to build up much. I think he will hang in the box and make good runs in the box and score goals. Having said that I'm hoping by the end of the year it is Sargent and Altidore. Sargent because he has grown and Altidore because he brings something. (He will probably be hurt though which ends things) 8. I think with Reyna, and Pulisic you are going to get a lot of craft running at people. I think out of the right wing and center forward you need to get 1. Someone to stretch the field and 2. Someone who can bang a little bit. If you can get both those things out of one person all the better for you. Then you can pick whoever you want for the other spot 9. Center mid was tough. Lletget was in there because he has been good for the national team. I honestly think he is better when he plays with better players. I think he was in England too early. I'd like to see him try it again. Same with Yueill. I've liked him for the national team for the most part. I know that Morales should be the last spot. I kept having this crazy idea of giving that spot to Bedoya. He has been there and done that in Europe (to some degree) in the US and internationally. He would provide leadership without casting the shadow that others might and seems respected by those who play with him. Also if people start going down I'm probably looking to move Pulisic or Aaronson back, so I decided not to worry about it, but yea it should probably be Morales. (I know. More young talent than we have ever had, but bring in a midfielder that hasn't been in the picture in quite some time)
F: Jozy, Josh ------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 W: Puli, Morris, Weah, Boyd-----------------------------------------------------------4 CAM: Reyna, Aaronson-----------------------------------------------------------------2 Other MF or DMF: Adams, McKennie, Holmes, Pomykal----------------------4 FB: Robinson, Dest, Cannon, Yedlin------------------------------------------------4 CB: Brooks, Ream, Richards, Miazga-----------------------------------------------4 K: Steffen, Horvath, Turner-------------------------------------------------------------3
F: AronJo, Gyasi ----------------------------------------------------------------------------2 W: Puli, Morris, Aaronson, Bedoya-------------------------------------------------------4 CAM: Reyna, Green -----------------------------------------------------------------2 M: Adams, McKennie, Williamson, ? -----------------------------------------4 FB: Robinson, Dest, Cannon, Yedlin------------------------------------------------4 CB: Brooks, EPB, Richards, Miazga-----------------------------------------------4 K: Steffen, Horvath, Turner-------------------------------------------------------------3 I've got Wright and Soto pressing to make the roster at forward. I know Soto is in a low league, but those volleyed goals were sick. For me there would be a real battle between, Ledesma, Llanez, Weah, Green, and Bedoya. Green and Bedoya are the obvious WTF's. But, Bedoya is super solid. He'll press til the cows come home, he's a midfield header-winning machine. He can play in dangerous balls from wide. And, he's been in IE's WS US-eligible Team 8 times. He's having a great season. I like what he would bring. Green was listed at something like "the 11th highest rated player in BL2." He's getting it done. But, when Weah (especially), Ledesma, Llanez start getting playing time, they're going to be in the mix somehow. Miazga would be in a battle with a bunch of MLS CB's As soon as Cowell becomes a starter at San Jose, he's on my roster. The kid is electric.
Nothing will make me sadder than seeing Zardes up top with the thoroughbreds behind him. Altidore and Sargent seem like the much better complements. JMO.
I agree. But, Jozy is (always) hurt. And, Josh has got to start scoring. He's like Jozy was for so long, stuck at a cellar dwellar club with no service. Right now, I'd take Wright over Josh. Josh is the more skilled player, maybe by a stretch, maybe not. But, if you take Josh, it's just a guess. To me, Josh, right now, is a "23rd guy on the roster" guy. Maybe include him as a flyer. He's not included in your 2-deep for all positions (meaning a backup will have to cover 2 spots). But, if he's just killing it in camp, maybe that changes things.
Not scoring in the Bundesliga, La Liga, or EPL has never meant not scoring with the USMNT. Even in the bottom of hell that was Sunderland, for Jozy, he still scored 18 goals for the USMNT in 39 appearances.
I'm going to try to make this list from Berhalter's perspective based on his more recent lineups, since this latest camp provided a lot more data points. Most noteworthy is that Tim Weah seems to be lower down the depth chart than most people anticipated, Richards received too few minutes for me to think that Berhalter sees him as a starting option right now, and Musah has come out of nowhere to stake a place in our starting XI if he wants it. But, to begin, the following is a list of players who have started multiple games for the USMNT since the Gold Cup: GK: Steffen, Guzan FB: Dest, Cannon, Yedlin CB: Brooks, Miazga, Long, Zimmerman FB/CB: Ream DM: Adams, Yueill CM: McKennie, Musah, Lletget, Roldan WF: Pulisic, Morris, Reyna, [Boyd, Arriola, Llanez] FW: Sargent, Zardes I think Antonee Robinson and Brenden Aaronson are probably now in Berhalter's 23 somewhere, even though they've each only started 1 game since the Gold Cup. (Maybe replace Yedlin, who's already sort of taken himself out of the picture, and Roldan to squeeze them in.) Guzan is starting to show his age IMO, so I think both the 2nd and 3rd GK spots are wide open right now -- with Horvath, Johnson, and Turner being the main options. Boyd, Arriola, and Llanez have each started 2 games for the USMNT since the Gold Cup. Konrad started 1 game. Ledezma or Weah (who appeared as subs this past week for others on that list) or maybe even someone like Mueller (who hasn't been to a camp yet) are also options. But assuming you want to be 2 deep at each position, you may need to pick 1 out of all the names I just mentioned. If Musah doesn't commit to the USMNT and/or Reyna moves further back into the midfield, that could open up additional spots. Berhalter continues to speak of Jozy as his top striker, albeit with serious fitness concerns to the point where he hasn't played a game for the USMNT since the Gold Cup. If he can get back to his previous form, he's at the least still in that mix. After this camp, I think Gioacchini has to be in the conversation as well, though there may be too many strikers ahead of him in Berhalter's mind at the moment. And finally, at least one or two CB spots are still up for grabs, with plenty of question marks regarding several of the players Gregg has started there. Like I said, Berhalter apparently doesn't view Richards as a potential starter right now, but I could easily see him working his way into the 23 by next summer, if he's not already in there. Same goes with his U-20 teammate Mark McKenzie, who has also so far been limited to one substitute appearance for the USMNT this year. Others like CCV or EPB I'm less sure about because I figure they would have been at this camp if they were still in serious contention. So, with that said, an educated guess at Berhalter's 23 right now: GK: Steffen, Horvath, Johnson [will wait for Turner to receive at least 1 cap] FB: Dest, Cannon, Robinson CB: Brooks, Miazga, Zimmerman, Long [soon replaced by Richards or McKenzie?] FB/CB: Ream DM: Adams, Yueill CM: McKennie, Musah, Lletget WF: Pulisic, Morris, Reyna CM/WF: Aaronson FW: Sargent, Altidore, Zardes That still seems light on wingers, especially since at least two of my picks aren't really naturals at that position. Since I don't actually expect Altidore to be healthy very often, you can probably replace him with a flavor of the moment winger if that helps.
Probably close. Cardoso might be ahead of Yueill now. I don't know if Lletget can play in the midfield set up we just watched. Aaronson and Pomykal could easily be ahead of him. I think you have to have McKenzie ahead of one of Long and Zimmerman based on MLS play, but we have not had a camp to show that. Weah is interesting as he played very well in his limited minutes. Were the minutes limited because of Berhalter or because of his injury history? We might not know that one for awhile. If Weah is good, and Reyna has to be in the team, and Pulisic is healthy, then Morris is in a real battle for a roster spot. He has it now over Uly probably, but the kids keep coming. But it does make talk about O23 MLS players like Mueller seem silly.
I had a hard time including anybody who hasn't started a game yet for Berhalter, which from your post includes Cardoso, Pomykal, McKenzie, and Weah (each of whom only has one or two substitute appearances for Gregg). But I recognize that injuries and recent emergence account for that in all of those cases, so you may very well be right. (Also, I'm realizing I left Lovitz off the list of players who have started multiple games since the Gold Cup, but since he wasn't even invited to the January camp this year, I'm assuming we've moved on from him.)
I have always seen Otasowie as a center back but I do think that he has been good in the midfield as he starts his career in the EPL. While this very well could change within the next couple of years, it is very interesting how our midfield is shaping up if he does stay there. Our center midfield pool suddenly has a plethora of highly combative, sufficiently technical, tactically flexible, plus athletes: McKennie Adams Pomykal Otasowie Musah Our best attackers are extremely dynamic, energetic, and also tactically flexible. Pulisic Reyna Aaronson Sargent Weah Then consider outside backs that get get up and down their respective flank at an extremely high rate in Dest Robinson Araujo Reynolds I say forget about the "engine room" as a specific unit on the field. Our entire lineup (including a fair amount of our depth) could be one gigantic "engine room." It would be fast paced, flexible, technical.....it would seek dominance in all areas of the game: ball dominance, creating and punishing mistakes, tactically adaptable to any situation, etc. etc. It all seems fitting for how the game has evolved to its current state. It should be said that we are kind of lacking in depth at the center back position that can really play this style. Richards Sands Otasowie (?) ps - every name listed about is between 18-22 years old.
Realistically, I think Morris belongs on the list of top attackers, and he also fits the mold. After three keepers, that leaves three spots in the 23 to settle over the next year or two.
The thing about Otasowie is that he has repeatedly said he wants to be a midfielder. Now there may be a time when he's forced to become a CB to stay employed but that time is not now and he has looked good as a CM in his first minutes. In fact he could be part of a wave of much bigger, athletic players all over the field like what has happened in America's other sports. We've all said that soccer is the one sport size doesn't matter but the truth is it is starting to matter. A lot. France and Germany started the trend because they won WC's with some of these bigger players. Now instead of a few or even half the team players like Otasowie, Reynolds and Tessmann are garnering a lot more attention than similarly talented prospects that are smaller. I guess these players compress the field defensively and like Davies at BM can actually get beat and still catch up.
GB plays a 4-3-3 or more precisely a 4-1-2-3 The names on top are the starter and below is their corresponding sub player Pulisic------Sargent------Reyna Weah Gioacchini Morris ------Mckennie------------mUSAh Lletget Pomykal -----------------Adams----------------- Otasawie Robinson---Brooks----Richards----Dest --none-- Reams Miazga Cannon ----------------Steffen--------------- Horvath, Turner I'm hoping GB goes with a group of 7 for the backline. There is really no qualified backup for the LB. Dest can play either corner, also Richards can do the same. Otasawie has played all the midfield positions as well as RCB at the EPL level. I'm betting Pomykal will recover and be the player we used to know. Aaronson has grits but he just doesn't look to have the physicality to deal with the international game. If Cardozo can continue to get more playing minutes he may end up taking the extra midfielder spot that opens up because of only 7 players on defense. I like Gioacchini because he also plays the wing and the false 9 but GB may want a bigger CF. Nico may get bumped by either Zardes, Dike or even Sebatchieu if he commits after scoring a brace in his last two games. Nico may still make it if GB decides to use him as the extra midfielder. Of course, things can change in the next 6 months but for now, I think this is the way is starting to shape up.
Zardes has a huge heart and works tirelessly but can't put the ball in the net at the international level. His time has come and gone. I would put Soto or Llanez or Gioacchini ahead of Zardes in the forward depth chart now in anticipation of one of them going to Qatar. They have bigger upsides and what they need is playing time with the rest of the USMNT in addition to their league play. Berhalter should start moving aside the players whose time has come and gone and favor those that are stronger candidates for 2022. As others have said, Altidore is so injury-prone that 2 of the above 3 might have to go to the WC, and keep just 2 keepers. He needs 2 hamstring transplants.
Thought I would watch some English football, which I rarely do, because of the hoopla with AR starting for Fullham. It took all of 5 minutes for AR to take a stance that left a clear cross into the box and I was like "oh no, not again". How is this stuff "automatic". Brooks declined to get on a plane from Wolfsburg to Bayern because of his back. Steffen can't be loaned out because of a recurring knee issue. Stuff like that just isn't "automatic" for me. I'll put aside my dislike for Wes' international play and just say I think Reyna, Adams, Morris, Pulisic and Dest are "locks" in that order altho I prefer the term "difference makers to build a team around" to "locks".
At the international level, he's put in a goal at that generic striker rate of about 1 every 2 games when he actually plays striker. He's not great, but people continually underrate his play and production. I suspect someone will take his slot before Qatar as well, but the dude isn't nearly as bad as people like to paint. He's a CONCACAF-acceptable placeholder. Llanez is not a striker.
What are you going on about? Why do you make stuff up and present it as fact?You have made things up about Brooks and Steffen that are just so clearly untrue. You don't rate these players, so you develop conspiracy theories to rationalize your beliefs. Steffen can be loaned out. He chose to spend the season at Man City because he believes that a year training with world class players and coaches while getting 10+ games will be beneficial to his development. He has talked about this topic extensively. It has absolutely nothing to do with his knee. Brooks injured his back and sat out a game. For someone with a history of nagging injuries, it makes sense for him and the team to be cautious. Saying he "declined to get on a plane" like it's some scandalous act is ridiculous. And there's no point of engaging you on Robinson or McKennie. McKennie could win the Balon d'Or and he still wouldn't be in your Best 11. Robinson could become an every game starter at a Champions League club and you'd argue that he shouldn't be called up.
Hey I watched 5 minutes and Robinson blocked a cross. So, I guess the universe ends? Robinson actually is near the top, if not leading, the EPL in blocked crosses. So, consider yourself lucky you saw one that he didn't get! Brooks has a knee issue and had played every Bundesliga minute until he got hurt. Steffan doesn't actually seem to have a knee issue. Wow, crazy post. McKennie winning USMNT player of the year must have gotten to you haha.
Turner S. Johnson Cannon McKenzie Long Richards Cardoso Otasowie Lletget Aaronson Morris Zardes Weah Gioachinni