With all the Olympic candidates in MLS this year, thought I'd revive this thread to track U23 players this season. Obviously this week was a little easier becuase there was only one game. COLUMBUS Edson Buddle, F – 100 minutes, 1 goal, 0 assists. Played very well, both at forward and later as a wide mid. Flashed his size and strength and also finesse rarely seen in an American big player and was named Man of the Match. Kyle Martino, M – 100 minutes, 0 goals, 0 assists. Impressive at times running the Crew’s midfield, tracking back to get the ball and showing nice playmaking skills. Faded in the second half and cost the Crew 3 points when he failed to finish a breakaway after being spring by Buddle but otherwise a solid game. Nelson Akwari, Trevor Perea, Michael Ritch – DNP LOS ANGELES Herculez Gomez, Guillermo Gonzales, Ricky Lewis, Jesus Ochoa, Scot Thompson – DNP Other than Buddle's finishing my favorite moment of the game was when Martino, who weighs 145 soaking wet and stands about 5-9 somehow got Alexi Lalas - 6-3, 200 - in a headlock then bulldogged him to the ground. That has to be a first for each player. A year ago, I would have thought Buddle would have had a hard time squeezing out Casey, Johnson and Quaranta for a spot on the U23 team. Now, I can't see how he doesn't start in Olympic qualifying. Martino is looking more and more like a natural 10. Yeah, he's not a finished product but he is looking tough to keep off the field. It will be interesting to see what Mooch does with him and Convey and whether Bobby will be the team's playmaker or end up also starting but playing someplace else like right mid or left back.
I think playing Bobby at left back might be our best choice. He works well down the flank with Beasley and can still get into the attack. Him and Gooch would give us two outside backs that would make our attack more dangerous. Another option that I would like to see is with Kyle Beckerman. I want to see how Kyle handles running the midfield for the Rapids because if he is up to the task this year he might be able to push into the first 11 as well. If Beckerman played a central midfield role like JOB does for the senior nats, then Martino could slide over to a spot that is currently a weak spot and play a right mid/Attacking mid like Earnie Stewart does for the senior nats. That would give us a lot of players who can hold possesion and create dangerous oportunities.
That would be good. Promising U.S. attacking midfielders have a way of morphing as they develop. Convey ... seems to be evolving into being a back. Beasley ... quite possibly the same, we'll see after this year. Reyna & JOB before them ended up being two-way or even defensive-oriented players at the club level. Even Donovan, who was rumored to be a possible #10, looks to be something different (at least to me), as a forward. We could use a guy who is by skill and instinct a true creator.
Re: Re: U23’s in MLS this week I am glad you lumped in Beasley. I still don't see why people consider DMB to be superior to Bobby Convey as a midfielder. DMB would be a world-class left-back if he lined up there today. But he is limited at midfield. Convey is not steady enough on defense, but he is more composed/more solid on the ball, more creative with it, better at crossing and shooting the ball and doesn't even give up too much in terms of acceleration or speed. As a back, DMB would have less pressure to cross the ball and would likely get a little more space to operate when he selectively decided to overlap and make a run. Plus, with his quickness and skill on the ball, he would be great at drawing fouls from opposing forwards (who would match up against him on defense). Plus, he is lights out defensively. He tracks back so well. DMB as the US answer to Ashley Cole! Think about how flexible our team could be if we fielded something like this in three years: -----------Donovan-----Buddle----------- ------------------------------------------- ----Convey------------------Martino----- ------------------------------------------- -----------O'Brien------Mastroeni-------- ------------------------------------------- DMB-------Bocanegra---?Spector?--?Mulrooney? -------------------------------------------- ------------------Howard------------------ Reserves: Rimando Mathis (supersub) Eddie Johnson Ricardo Clark Memo Gonzalez Freddie Adu . . . This is a pretty young team, granted, but except for those two defensive spots, I bet we could qualify for World Cup '06 with aplomb with this group of guys - without even counting on Pope, Reyna, Brian McBride, Frankie Hejduk, Tony Sanneh . . . and all of our favorite, long-serving veterens. And with the exception of O'Brien and Spector - everyone is a US-based player. Anyone got some suggestions?
The 2006 Guys Liverpool - You know, that doesn't look too far off. The thing to remember is that Arena has said that his biggest lesson from World Cup '02 was that the Cup is a young man's game. True, Tony Sanneh gave him a great Cup at 31, but Goose's performance shocked Arena. And very young guys like Landon and DMB were excellent -- better than a lot of the old, tired guys on France, for example. So when you pencil in an '06 lineup, don't put in many 30+ field players. Look for lots of guys in the 23 - 28 age group, which is pretty much what your lineup does. You've even avoided the size problem that I sometimes see with these fantasy, high-skill lineups. Beasley is small at left back and Mulrooney not real big for a right back, but your centers are good-sized, Mastro is a decent size, and Buddle gives a physical presence upfront. Your team isn't Germany-sized but it's big enough.
Guys, enthusiasm is appreciated but let's try to keep this thread about the U23 team. There are plenty of other forums and theads to talk about future lineups for the full national team. To that end, I could see a sollution that gets Beasley, Convey and Martino on the field being putting Martino and the middle and having Bobby and DMB flip-flopping between left and right mid. This is what the U20 coach did and it was one of the few good decisions he made. ANother sollution could be in Mooch decides to go with a 3-5-2, thus opening up anothe MF slot for one of these guys, maybe even Beckerman, to fill.
Sorry. Came in through BigSoccer Live, so I wasn't totally in my U23 frame of reference. But at least most of the starters I mentioned overlapped on U23.
I didn't think that Convey and DMB flip flopping for the 20's worked too well. Both players are so left foot dominant. Thats why I think that putting Convey at left back and letting him overlap with Beasley would make us more dangerous. Then with Martino on the right with Gooch behind him, Martino can pinch in a little and play a little Attacking Mid/Right mid and Gooch can attack up the right flank in a role that Sanneh plays for the senior team. Id say our three biggest weak spots are right mid, left back, and D mid in that order At right mid the only true right wingers we have in our pool are still in college, Gregorio and Storey and neither will likely make the team because they will have no pro experience. Devin Barclay is a pro but he is a converted forward and I just feel that Martino and Beckerman are better players. At left back, the true left backs are Rickey Lewis, Phil Salyer, and Jose Burciaga. None of these players have the professional experience and international experience that Convey has. At D mid Im guessing either Brian Carroll or Ricardo Clarke will step up but that remains to be seen. In this situation the line up would look something like this ---------Donovan----Buddle---------- ----Beasley---Beckerman----Martino ----------------Clarke---------------- Convey----Stokes----Gray------Onyewu ---------------Countess---------------
Beasley Hmmm, I thought Beasley was actually a right-footed guy who has become a two-footed player. Didn't Beasley play at right mid vs. Jamaica last June? And didn't he whack in a pretty right-footed goal?
You may in fact be right but as far as I know Beasley is a left-footed player. I mean, with all the holes Bruce had on the right once Olsen went down and Stewart was nicked up in Korea, etc.., I'm sure if Beasley was right-footed, Arena would have tried him there.
I like Donovan at right-wing. That fills our weakness there and opens up a forward spot for Quaranta, Casey, Johnson, or dare I say, Freddy Adu. Playing Convey at left-back seems a waste to me. But if our defense is that bad then so be it. Martino and Beckerman are going to battle for that #10 spot. Right now Martino has the edge because of his MLS performance over the past year. Beckerman is an excellent player, but has yet to prove himself in MLS. However, he should be starting this season so he will have the opportunity to show his skills. In central defense, don't forget Alex Yi, who is in Belgium. Here is my lineup: -------------Adu/Quaranta-----Casey/Buddle----- Beasley--------Convey/Becks/Martino-----Donovan ---------------------Clark------------------------ Convey/Lewis--------Gray--------Yi-------Onyewu ---------------------Countess-------------------- While I hate wasting Convey at left back. That Beasley Convey tandum is going to be among the best in the world.
And, he's starting to get regular minutes, starting 2 of the past 3 Royal Antwerp games including going 90 this weekend. Another center back candidate is Jose Burciaga, who is penciled in to start for KC this year after an outstanding spring. Also, while Clark is the likely favorite at D-mid, don't count out Jordan Stone, who has had a very solid spring for Dallas and looks like he'll be the team's first defensive sub.
Re: Re: U23’s in MLS this week You may be right, but I haven't heard about that. The only Thompson I've heard that is hurt is Jason Thompson of the Burn, who did his ACL with the 23s in Portugal in January.
.......Quaranta-E.J: Cuz they have been playing together for a while ; great chemistry. -Martino-Adu: Martino is like ZZ...makes the flow of the game better and he also makes his teammates around him better. Adu is the SECRET weapon. ..........Clark? Convey-Stokes-Cochrane-Gooch: Stokes is a star in the making and Cochrane organizes the backline very well ; a leader. Convey and Beasely...click well. And...Gooch , i don't know that much about him-I just picked him cuz he was the unanimous choice among us. Countess? Don. as the super-sub
This is how my starting lineup for u23 would look like: -----------Magee/Quaranta-----Johnson/Buddle--- Beasley/-------Convey/Becks/Martino-----Donovan Convey ---------------------Clark------------------------ Convey/Lewis/-------Gray--------Yi-------Onyewu Beasley ---------------------Countess-------------------- i would have martino running the midfield.
I can guarantee you right now, unless he is hurt, there is no way Donovan will not start. He's the best player on the team, forget chemistry, Donovan will start and probably captain the team. Its going to be tough for Cochrane to make the squad let alone start. I don't see it happening. He still has not turned pro and that will make it very difficult for him to compete
It is very simple, if you are in US NAT, then you will be automatically in US U-23. So five of them--Buddle, Donovan, Beasley, Convey and Martino will be locked for the team. If Bruce thinks Beasley-Convey is good for US NAT, then it is good for US U-23. Also in Jamaica game, Convey played in mid too. So it can be an option. Compare with last U-23 forward line--Wolff was the only U-23 there with Albright (U-20), Casey (U-18) and Donovan (U-17). Buddle and Donovan are starters now. So who will get the last two spots? Casey (he was pretty good in B2), Quaranta, Johnson, Magee, Eskandarian have to fight out. In the midfield, Davis and Alvarez will fight for left midfield backup and any center midfielders or forwards will fight for right side midfield spot (you can always play like Steward to cut inside and leaves the right flank for Onyewu). The d-mid can be fight between Clarke, Stone and Carrol. In the backline, center mid will be fight between Gray, Yi, Burciga and Stoke. Goalkeepers will be Countess with Warren and Saunders.
I would put Mapp ahead of Alvarez on the depth chart for left mid, he's older and he has more pro experience. I also thought that Alvarez played as a forward or attacking mid, I could be wrong though. At center back, I would include Akwari and Lewis. Akwari has a lot of youth international experience and Lewis has the wheels to play left back but also has the size 6'0 to slide in and play in the center. Although he is not a pro I think I might put Cronin ahead of Saunders on the depth chart at keeper as well
Thanks Sandon Mibut...... Fantastic work Mr Mibut, thanks for the information... I hope FSW pick up a section from this threat and start few minutes dedicated to the best U-23 of the week, this could serve as motivation for better performance.....