How many members of a roster or 'Best XI' turn over between World Cups ? When I see the WC lineups of recent 'always there' teams like Italy, Belgium, Spain, South Korea, Mexico, etc. I see some names I recognize, but that's mostly b/c they're notable. Seems to be we'll be starting or rotating 6 new players come next June. (I count 'Dolo b/c he was hurt in '02). I don't mean that others won't make the roster, but they won't play big roles - My 6 are Gooch, Gibbs, Boca, Dolo, GAM, Dempsey. I gather than Marcus and THo makes the roster, but I doubt they'll get minutes unless we lose the first 2 games. Is that 'alot' ? 3 years ago, we figured that Cherundolo, Bocanegra would be there, and that Eddie Johnson might be on the roster, but Gooch, Dempsey and Gibbs were on the list of maybes. I guess Convey woulda also been a lock. How things change...
Pencil in Specter above Convey. Sure, in the youth cup, Specter struggled against Italy, but he was injured and thrust into a knock-out game. He'll take off at Charlton as a regular player, just in time to secure a spot on the '06 roster. And Convey, well, he's had a pretty good shot already. How many more chances does he get? We're talking about the best roster in the country after all. Fourth, fifth, and sixth chances shouldn't be in play for a national team.