Generational clash at Gillette Stadium By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff Twellman left out: Brown lone Revs player on U.S. team by Gus Martins
I think Rusty needs to prove himself this year to get into the pool. It would also help if he grew 2 inches, or had lift like Heaps. Bruce needs big, tall defenders to counter all those 6'2' strikers. IMO, I think Franchino would be there if he was taller.
I agree. Small backs might be okay in CONCACAF, but the lesson from WC98 was that you need real size when you go up against the European teams. That seems to be why Steve Cherundolo seems to have dropped out of the picture. I think Rusty's only chance is as a defensive midfielder (in the Armas mold), but he'd have to improve his ball skills a great deal.
Nope, they're about the same size. I don't think you HAVE to be 6' to play in the back, but it helps your chances. The US team is real small and I think he would like at least 4 guys 6' or more, with at least two of them being in the back. Our midfield, with the exception of Pablo, is small. We've only got one target forward, and most of our outside backs are short. Hence the need for big guys at center back.
I think guys like Pierce and even Garcia are on the outside looking in as far as the pool goes. I'm not slamming them. But my take is: --Eddie Pope, when he's healthy and even close to inform is a lock. He's versatile (can handle tall or big guys, has great quickness, decent technical ability), Bruce trusts him completely and he's experienced. --Gregg Berhalter. Agree or disagree with his inclusion but he's got Euro experience (not trying to be a Eurosnob here but it's Bundesliga and he plays a lot more matches over the course of a year). --Carlos Bocanegra. You may have seen the Connelly poll about "who's going to Europe" and the talk that he's the best defender in MLS. Tall, quick, sure, physical with a touch of technical ability and getting more confident. With those 3 pretty much as locks, there aren't a lot of open spots in central defense. Especially when you consider that Greg Vanney went to France in part to improve his game and to move from being on the B-squad to a contender for a spot in 2006. On outside defense, Arena's MO is to look for guys with very good technical ability. Thus, the trials of Convey at left back and even Victorine at right back. Corey Gibbs and Wade Barrett definitely have an edge here. Sanneh--if he is healthy and returns--would be very tough to displace. Mulrooney though a D-mid for SJ gets used as a right back by Arena. None of this means Pierce or Franchino aren't any good. But neither probably has the technical ability that Arena looks for in outside defenders (he wants guys like Cobi Jones and Hejduk who will play in midfield and really run from endline to endline and bring a lot of technical ability). And he wants a lot of speed. Sanneh is underrated in this regard. Arena has been critical of Suarez and Mastroeni as outside backs (why he moved Pablo to first central defense and then D-mid) b/c they weren't fast enough.