Roster officially announced by US Soccer early this morning... Hejduk, Marshall and Rogers made the trip east to Slovakia + then Denmark.
Pictures of Frankie and Rogers training. For some Crew players the work never ends. http://www.ussoccer.com/Social/MNT-...&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest
Will someone explain to me why Eddie Johnson is even getting a chance to play with the US team anymore?!
joke value? although the EPL reserve league is arguable stronger than MLS still. Apart fromt he regional games, of course.
So if Heyduk is "done", as was argued by some in another thread, why is he getting call-ups to the Nats?
In EJ defense he did score 2 goals against Cardiff last week I believe and has been showing improvement. I think with that and the fact we are so thin up top it might help inspire him to continue to work hard.
Well, since I started that thread, I'll answer this: When I refer to Frankie Hejduk as "done", I mean "done" in the sense of being the Frankie Hejduk that led him to icon status in Columbus. The guy with then endless motor that could run all day, run all night, run all day tomorrow and run into tomorrow night. The guy that just seemed to be everywhere. I think that's over, and the second half of this season clearly showed it. But that doesn't mean he's without value, or that he can't be an effective player in the right role. The Crew got knocked out of the playoffs, and Bradley's not going to take guys from MLS teams that are still in the hunt. That makes him, along with Chad and Robbie, available. Hell, he finally brought in Jeff Cunningham. He's bringing Eddie Johnson back, for chrissakes. This is clearly not a roster of guys we're going to be seeing in South Africa. This is Bob Bradley trying to take a look at a few extra players and seeing if any of them perform at a level that would warrant a look down the road, and hoping to find one or two guys that may play their way onto the team. Frankie Hejduk is a good guy to have around in a situation like that, because he's a veteran, he's seen a lot, and he's a guy that can help some of the less experienced (national team level, anyway) guys and be good in the locker room.
Not to argue, but I'd guess there's anywhere from 14-17 guys on this roster who'll be flying to South Africa. I'd say 10 are pretty set - the deal will be if 3 or 4 guys show they can do something, or if 6 or 7 guys do. This is pretty much it, without Howard and Donovan, and without Gooch and Davies...who I think we should look at as not part of the '10 squad as of now (obviously Charlie, but Gooch's time line and possibility of not playing a competitive club match this season would make him a difficult selection). As for guys like GAM & Cunningham, somebody's going to have to play forward. I'm sure there's some U12 kid somewhere we should be looking at, but for right now, these guys are it. I thought we might get some Kenny Cooper here. And, as for GAM, he's not getting much time @ Fulham, and I've not seen him, but reports I've read are that his play when he is on the field looks light-years better than it has in the past - not necessarily in strict goal-scoring terms, but intelligent runs and positioning. Mr. Fulham, pettyfog, could probably speak more to this. I'm excited to see what we see. I'd hope Bradley doesn't roll out the starting 11 - Lando & Timmay.
It will be interesting to see how Cunningham's personality fits with the USMNT. He knows how to put the ball in the back of the net, but his ego trips him up sometimes. I just can't picture him and Landon playing together in the World Cup, but maybe it will work out?
Picture of Frankie and Chad training: http://www.ussoccer.com/Social/MNT-...&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest
hahahahaha The word's getting around about Rogers in Austria. Well, on that note, it's time for him to rise and shine some more if he hopes to spark interest for his services 'over there'.
Do you know what, Nike? Why don't you go to hell? That would make me happy, because I'm growing tired of you clowns, along with clowns at USSF, changing the uniforms every five minutes. Goodness knows nothing good comes from developing a look that becomes traditional over time, and that timeframe is longer than four minutes. With your constant changing, though, there is one benefit: I never have to shell out money to buy your latest stupid uniform. At least with that possible uniform above the crest hasn't gotten to be half of the shirt...yet. Jerks.