Let's say we run into the following situation on June 12 or 17: We are down 1-0 at halftime to Czech Republic or Italy, we desperately need a tie at least, but we are getting completely outplayed. We are getting dominated in possession, shots, everything. Our forwards are getting no service. Our only hope is hitting longballs to McBride, and he is winning headers, but they are futily going to the other team's defense, or if he holds the ball up, he has no support because all the midfielders are trying to transition from defending still. It is looking bleak. Arena looks to the bench at halftime, thinking who he should put in to cause something to happen, to shift the flow of the game. He's thinking of subbing in at around the 55 minute mark. Maybe taking out an ineffectual EJ or Beasley, needing an attacker. Who's he going to pick? If his two forward options are Wolff and Twellman, he's going to pick Wolff, right? Wolff is a quick forward, he can come back to midfield to recieve passes and he can create some space by dribbling. He's a decent option. The problem is, we know from years and years and years of experience that Wolff is not going to score himself. He may get a few harmless shots off and miss the net, he might make a few nice dangerous passes, but if he's all by himself against world class defenders, in all likelihood he's not going to produce a goal. So in my opinion, picking Wolff is like basically throwing in the towel. As a US fan, probably in a very perplexed and anxious state at halftime of this game, would you rather see Rolfe or Wolff come trotting onto the field at the 55 minute mark? Consider that the first ten minutes of the second half go just like the first, with the US just weathering the storm, bunkering in, and futily attempting counters with an isolated Donovan or Beasley dribbling at 3 defenders and losing the ball. Who would give you a little bit of excitement and hope that maybe the US could pull out a miracle. Maybe that forward sub could produce a moment of genius, turn their defender and finish to a corner so quickly no one even knew what was happening, and completely against the run of play. Who would you pick? Personally, this just has got to be Rolfe. At the very least, the Czech and Italian defenders wouldn't know what to make of him. Rolfe would be, to them, some unknown little MLS player running out onto the field. They'd probably barely notice him, and concentrate on their own game, on holding the ball and attacking more to get the second goal. Rolfe is exactly the type of player that could completely roast his defender with a feint and head straight to goal and ... key word here...actually finish his shot. This is why I pick Rolfe over Wolff, and is why I am really depressed that it appears Rolfe has been essentially left off the roster in favor of Wolff or (ugh, Twellman). Anyone with me on this?
I'd pick Edson Buddle over all of them. A big strong body that can't be knocked off the ball. Can create his own shots. Excellent speed. MLS playoff numbers--which I regard as being predictive of international success--are quite good though admittedly needs more minutes.
I think Rolfe definitely could contribute to the US. Heck, we know he can beat international goalkeepers because he scored on Dida. It's kind of unfair because he didn't really get a decent shot in any of the early friendlies. Wolff always seemed to get the starting spot ahead of him, and it didn't really make much sense. Hopefully he starts the MLS season on fire (no pun intended) so Bruce will call him up again.
(1) "years and years of experience"? Tell the Mexicans. (2) If a US forward has value only if he can beat a world class defender all by his lonesome... our list of options truly grows thin. (3) Either Wolff or Twellman would be a fine late game sub. Rolff might be, but he's not going to make the team. If you're looking for a one v one ace, why not take Adu. Or why not Jaqua? A huge man with great ball skill, he would occupy two defenders and could run by both of them.
So passing threw the likes of Avery John and Jim Curtin in October is going to help us against the likes of Nesta and Kafflour. I like the love for Edson, but come on. And plus, how many did Edson score last season compared to Gomez, Twellman, Donovan, and even Rolfe?
Yep. McBride, Donovan, pre-02 Mathis, and Ruiz all have good postseason scoring scoring records. Their numbers in competitive matches are similarly good. Twellman, Wolff, and Cunningham all have poor postseason records and poor international records in competitive matches. Regular season scoring isn't nearly as strong a predictor of international scoring as post season scoring.
Buddle: 9 goals and 2 assists in 23 games Twellman: 17 goals and 7 assists in 25 games Gomez: 11 goals and 2assists in 22 games Donovan: 12 goals and 10 assists in 22 games Rolfe: 8 goals and 5 assists in 29 games Id say he compares pretty nicely to the players you mentioned.
The current pecking order is McBride, Johnson, Twellman, Wolff. Three of four are domestic. Throw in Brian Ching, and you've got 4 domestic forwards who will see the field before Rolfe. There's a good chance he won't even see the field before the roster is picked. So yes, I'd say his ship has sailed this time around. It's pretty late in the cycle. He's still very green. Perhaps he should try this route: 1. Score 10-15 goals in MLS. 2. Get called up for some fall friendlies. 3. Show well enough to be invited to the winter camp (if there is one) 4. Knock in a few goals in some easy friendlies. 5. Be in the mix for the 2007 Gold Cup. 6. Score some goals in tournament play and open some eyes. 7. Continue to have MLS success for the next year. 8. Work way into mix for WC qualifying 9. Earn spot on the team during qualifying 10. Keep up form in MLS and make WC 2010 squad. Seems like his best chance to me.
As Rolfe I'd say his chances are even. If we take Donovan + 4 forwards we have Locks: EJ and McBride Probable: Twellman That leaves only Josh Wolff and maybe Ching to beat out; none of these has been productive.
1) I actually do not consider Mexico to be a measuring stick because, though possibly world class, we have an intimate rivalry with them and our players know we can beat them and don't respect them. When we play Mexico in Azteca, that is a measuring stick. Our players are not confident going in, we get dominated in possession, and generally all around, and the forwards are isolated. EJ struggled because he cannot create for himself. How has Wolff (if he has played at all) in Azteca? Other than that Mexico games are completely different than the situation I explained in my first post. 2) Yes, this is true. But in a game where the forwards are isolated, they will probably get at least 5 chances to recieve a midly difficult ball to handle with a defender right on them. I think Rolfe will roast his defender at least 1 of those 5 times and will create a wide open rush at goal with at least even numbers. I think Wolff can do the same, but Wolff won't finish his shot, Rolfe is more likely to. 3) Twellman? Really? What will he do if we are down 1-0 55 min. in vs. Italy and the only service our forwards are getting are hoofed long balls? He'll get dominated in the air like he did vs. Poland and will be completely invisible. He cannot run on the counter, he is basically useless in this situation. Putting him in is just like throwing in the towel too. And I disagree with your Wolff assessment for reasons I listed in my original post. I do think Adu is an option, Jaqua less so (we need speed...and McBride is just like Jaqua only better and more experienced...Jaqua can dribble well for a big guy, but in the WC his dribbling would not be up to par). But Adu is IMO too small and not fast enough to actually get through more than one defender on his own. Rolfe is. He is the kind of player who can strip a defender at the half line and run all the way in himself and finish his shot (he did this at the combine recently). Adu doesn't have the speed or strength to do this. And this kind of half chance is what we'll most likely see vs. Italy or Czech Republic.
You said Twellman is "probable" MIRACLES can happen. And by the way, since MLS playoffs is the lone standard for our forwards by your logic, I guess our boy Johnson doesn't make it either. But you can get the stats if you want. OH, burned again
Rolfe's only shot is for something unexpected to happen (knock on wood) before the Germany friendly and for him to get some serious PT in that game. He has yet to play outstanding outside of the scrimmages in camp as far as international competition. It would probably take at least a goal and a lot of very dangerous play to push him over Wolff in that one match.
I have to say my friend, Rolfe would be on this roster if he could do it on the international level now. He couldn't do it aganist Guatemaela, but that was only one game and he played well. However, as of now, I don't know if that's the case aganist international competition yet. Second, if Azteca is a measuring stick, than Costa Rica is world class sinxce they beat them there in 2001. Mexico are almost unbeatable there my friend, remember, even if Brazil under 23 was there (with Kaka and Adriano, Robinho, and others) and played well, they still lost to them in the 03 Gold Cup. So, that thing of it being a measuring stick is ridiculous. It's hard to adjust to that climate in ashort amount of time. Third, in that match aganist Mexico, there was no way any forward on any team would have been able to get his own service that day. Arena outsmarted himself that day and the plan blew up in his facade. Nobody on the pool would have been able to create their own chances because it was basically three aganist one up top that day. Rolfe has a lot of ability, but he has yet to prove himself on the internationa consistently l game.
Rolfe got a fling, but this year is too early for him ... he needed to strike lightning to vault himself into serious contention. Time for Bruce to prune this list, so ciao Rolfe.
i doubt we'll see him against Germany but if he explodes in april than he might get one last shot against Jamaica.
We'll just have to wait and see if rolfe gets real PT vs Germany. I think he has the talent to make the case, but with soccer comes that little bit of luck and it may or may not be there. He's just too comfortable and confident on the ball, I see that as his best asset, because he can shoot or buy time to find the open man. Where are the players that aren't at the poland game like Rolfe and Olsen, were they just sent home?
Agreed. It's pretty evident that Rolfey is pretty low on BA's pecking order for this WC. No doubt I'll be campaigning for my Fire boy in '10 though!
RI: If the Nats are getting dominated like in your scenario in the first post, subbing in Rolfe would be like a drop in the ocean.
Rolfe's unlikely to make the roster, but he still has hope. Based on the call-ups and playing time in games this year, it's pretty clear that in Arena's pecking order McBride, EJ, Twellman, and Wolff are at the top, followed by Rolfe and Ching. All Rolfe needs is to do is pass Wolff to get a roster spot. He may get a chance against Germany, especially if Twellman is out with the Revs.
Stranger things have happened, but it would be strange. If midfield is thinned through injury/lack of recovery, it might guarantee that LD is a middie not a forward; if one forward goes down; if Rolfe shows very very well in first 3 weeks of MLS. As a player, the only thing he can control is how well he plays. I'm a fan of his so I hope that all of this serves as motivation and he becomes a fixture in the pool going forward.
I thought, in the first half of the Guatemala game, Rolfe was the Man of the Match . . . for Guatemala. Seemed like he had over a dozen turnovers. Not surprised we didn't see him against Poland.
We havent seen the last of Rolfe yet, I dont think. It wholly depends on who we have available for the Germany match. First off, he NEEDS to find a way onto the pitch against Germany. That only happens if New England advance pretty far in their CONCACAF Cup, so twellman, noonan, and dempsey would all have club commitments. That also means EJ and Wolff would probably the frontmen and the starters. If the New England players arent available, I suspect that useless pile known as Brian Ching will probably coming too, and Rolfe just needs to keep his fingers crossed that he's the first one off the bench as a sub. Even then, thats unlikely because Ching is a favorite of bruce. Ching came on long before rolfe against Japan. Id say Rolfe gets some late time in against Germany, 15 minutes most, and he NEEDS to find the net in that time to warrant another look. In Jamaica is probably the easier of the two tasks. This will be another MLS laden side. And He'll have to crack through Twellman, EJ, and Wolff. Twellman and Wolff will probably start, EJ as an early second half sub for Twellman. Arena will want to see if Rolfe can fill Wolff's role (whatever that may be) and again Rolfe would most likely make a late appearance. maybe would come on a little earlier too. But he needs to find net at least twice in the time that he's on to even contend I think. IF he's there Id say he has to notch in one against Germany and score at least two against Jamaica to present an arguement to bump off Wolff, who is presumably fourth on the bubble. Not impossible, I like Rolfe, he's a great player. But alot needs to go his way I think to sneak onto the roster. Probably too much too Wolff (Like Hejduk, Pope, Ching, and all of the DC roster save for Freddy Adu) is too much of a Bruce Arena pet to be left at home.
Players who "passed" the January camp and were called in for the Poland game: Dempsey (NE) Donovan (LA) Dunivant (LA) Johnson (KC) Klein (RSL) Mastroeni (COL) Noonan (NE) Twellman (NE) Wolff (KC) Zavagnin (KC) Some of the players who "failed" the January camp and did not get called up for the Poland friendly: Adu (DC) Boswell (DC) Carroll (DC) Olsen (DC) Quaranta (DC) But, don't let the facts get in the way of repeating a BS myth.