Robbie Rogers wasn't international quality/the answer to our LB problem yesterday, he isn't today and RR won't be tomorrow. Hopefully he'll keep earning/being a supplemental contributer on a nice contract in MLS, but no thanks, STILL not a NT'er.
Meanwhile we have actual left backs like Villafana that aren't considered apparently.............................
Its hard to tell unless he tries Rogers and see how he melds with the group. That is the issue. The lad is one of the better backs but is not even getting a look.
Your argument is for a different thread. I woke up this morning, RR still wasn't international quality. Same thing will happen tomorrow.
I am not really sure what "international quality" means. He is certainly an improvement over whats been displayed in that spot in the last couple of years.
Horrific touch? RR's ball skills are very nice by American standards. He's got the kind of technique people think Agudelo has and makes slaloming runs to the endline pretty often. His weakness is his final third decision-making; he shoots when he should pass or sends in a floated ball when he should drive hard across goal. Which is frustrating because he's excellent at everything else. He's good in possession, passes well, moves and combines well in the final third, he's athletic and aggressive attacking space. LA is a different squad without Rogers; Cole really hasn't been as good at LB. Toward the end of this clip you can see him breaking Yedlin's ankles and burning Brad Evans so bad he does a revenge tackle on him. Two guys who have started as NT outside backs. IMO, he should get at least get a look.
Well he got 2 starts including a look here and some of the deficiencies you noted are very clear. See 2:30
Also shows some of his strengths though -- he attacks space aggressively and has confident ball conduction. He's got a better dribble than Yedlin, minus the breakaway speed. He has deficiencies, but I'd give him a run out in a Cake friendly. I mean, are we saying that RR is not a better option than an emergency Besler/Orozco?
In those same highlights we see Orozco ********-botch a clearance and then get rag-dolled by Saborio and Chandler get caught out to sea and slow to recover on the game winning goal. Long story short we don't have any international class LB's, maybe FJ could be one but it doesn't come natural.
Orozco, sure, but so am I. Besler I'd say no, at least against Copa America/WC-level competition. If it's a game like the upcoming WCQ against SV&G where the aim is to score as many goals as we possibly can for goal differential purposes then Rogers' offensive skills might make him the better option in that situation. That said I'd like to see Villafana, Shea, and Acosta get looks as well.
LB, but both are versatile which makes them excellent bench options. Ideally we'd like to push FJ farther forward, but that can't happen consistently until we find another starting-quality LB. Besler might be the answer against stronger teams when we're looking to lock it down, but a lot of the time we might want someone who offers more going forward, plus Besler is likely the next man up at CB if Brooks or Cameron (particularly Cameron) is unavailable. I'd be OK with giving Rogers a look but he's behind the 3 guys I mentioned in the pecking order IMO.
Matt Besler comments on his role during the Copa America: “I didn't train [at left back] at all,” he said on Tuesday. “I pretty much played center back while I was in camp. It was more of a fill-in role. I enjoyed it. At the end of the day, I had a job to do and I feel like I did my best to get the job done and help the team out, help the team get the win and advance. So whether or not I get more looks at that position, I have no idea, but I'm never going to change from the point that I'll always be ready to play wherever I'm needed.” http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/06/30/sporting-kcs-besler-says-he-enjoyed-fill-role-left-back-us I sympathize with Besler. If he had been born 10 years earlier, I think he could have hit 100 caps. So of course he's willing to do whatever it takes to get on the field. Meanwhile, Klinsmann continues to get bailed out by the quality and professionalism of the US player pool.
Rogers' biggest problem has just been staying healthy for his club. He'll need to put together a string of good performances to get back in the national team conversation. I expect that once he gets back from surgery he'll need a little bit of time to get back into form, and then playoffs. For sure the Galaxy can use him now! I don't believe Klinsmann will ever call him up again. It will have to be a different NT coach. (crossing fingers).
Well, it seems like a good time to revisit this conversation. Not only do we have a new NT coach, it happens to be his most recent club coach. Thoughts?
Arena says he has a list of 50-60 names that he considers the US roster pool, ~30 of which will be in the January camp. It will be telling if RR is in the camp roster, match day 23, or plays in the friendly.
I'd add that what Bruce sees as the necessary skillset for a long MLS season is not the same for a National team roster. Heck, Bruce made Hunter Freeman a useful left back for a while with the Red Bulls. Doubt he'd ever consider him for the National team.
Rogers' problem is that he has stone feet and a very poor soccer IQ. I seriously worry he will be exposed, Jay Heaps style, if he ever makes it to this team. I'll give him that he's versatile, works hard, two footed, athletic, and even has a strong shot... but he just reminds of the kind of player who could coast on that in High school, but should have been weeded out in the higher levels. He simply just reads the game slow. I'd love to eat some crow, but he is not international quality.
There's fast... then there's Yedlin fast. When you can smoke Eden Hazard when he has a ten foot head start.... your speed is something godly.
Lots of stuff I disagree with here. One-the stone feet assertion. I don't know who you're watching but it's not the guy on the Galaxy for the last few years. His touch is very good. Two-soccer IQ. I'll give you he gets flustered in the final third. But the generalization doesn't fly otherwise.