US-Mexico, baby. what are you looking forward to seeing?

I'm really curious about Cooper getting a start over EJ... I hope that we don't see LD and Cooper as forwards in the Mexico game though. I think LD will be much more effective as an attacking mid.

 

personally, what i want to see more than anything is no Mastroeni, no Johnson, and no Donovan. Johnson just sucks, Donovan plays like a girl, and Mastroeni doesn't know how to not get carded.

i think a good line-up after this game would be:

-----Rolfe---Cooper---Dempsey---
---Convey------------Mapp-------
-------------Clark----------------
Bocanegra----------------Cherundolo(Cpt)
-------Conrad----Onyewu---------
------------Howard---------------

OO: man marker
JC: organizer
CB: support of BC on the left wing and Clark in the middle
SC: controls the right wing but trying to stay deep.
RC: destroyer and holding mid
JM: free role to link up with the forwards
BC: controls the left wing. and given the ability to push center if Mapp goes wide on his side.
CD: withdrawn forward and wing forward.
CR: play off of Cooper. in other words, i want to give him one full game to play his natural position. even if doesn't do well, i would want him to go the full 90 unless his effort isn't there.
KC: stone cold center forward. if he goes wide once...shoot him in the foot as punishment (maybe a little too severe). Rolfe is to play right underneath him to do all his runs for him so that he keeps his 6'3, 210 lbs ass right in front of goal.


Bench: Hahnemann, Spector, DeMerit (starts if no OO), Beckerman, Beasley, Noonan, Cunningham
Called-up: Guzan, Marshall, Boswell (makes 18 if no OO), Bornstein, Fielhaber, White, Smith, Ferrari, Davies, Altidore, Barrett

*What the hell? call up Ferrari, Smith, Altidore, Barrett, and Davies to get some new faces in for forward even if they aren't that proven. After Eddie Johnson's display today, i'd be willing to try anything.

 

I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing us play well and have a non-loss.

 

I'm hoping they don't mention the SuperLiga nine billion times. Although I can't wait till that tourney starts.

 

The last one is what I am looking forward to if it happens. I don't really care who plays as long as we win.

 

The 4-2-2-2 formation yesterday against Denmark was an interesting experiment, and I thought that it enabled us to control possession on the ground with short, quick passes. However, that formation also prevented us from incorporating much width into our attack. How many crosses went into the box? With Nate Jaqua in there in the 1st half and Kenny Cooper in the 2nd, we had two consummate target forwards who excel when given proper service into the box from the wings. But the service just wasn't there.

I thought Donovan and Rolfe/Mapp did fine in their roles as attacking mids, but neither were truly playing as wide midfielders. I'm not saying we should scrap the 4-2-2-2 altogether because I think it's important to experiment as much as possible with formations to find our niche (4-3-3 anyone?). If this 4-2-2-2 can be tweaked to add more width into the attack, it can be very effective (the two holding mids helps shore up our defense and get the counter attack going).

So, here's one suggestion for a starting line-up against Mexico: (4-2-2-2)

NOTE that this isn't who I think our BEST starting XI is, but rather a continuation of player experimentation from yesterday with some Euro additions to bolster our chances.

----------Cooper----------Ching-------------
---Beasley-----------------------Donovan----
---------Mastroeni---------Clark--------------
Bornstein---DeMerit------Conrad----Cherundolo
------------------Howard----------------------

NOTES:
--Bornstein obviously isn't our BEST option at LB, but he intrigued me with his play and I'd like to see more of him, particularly how he responds in his 2nd start and against a better team. Let's test him. This kid could be a good one, so why not break him in here?

--Jay DeMerit should be the first addition into the line-up. He's been asking for a call-up for almost two years now and deserves the chance. I for one would be glued to him the entire game if he gets the chance--that's how eager I am to see what he can do in a US uniform. Again, he may not be better than Onyewu or Bocanegra, but let's experiment!

--Give Stevie C. the call up at right back to provide a stabilizing force, espeically against Mexico's strong left side that may include sweeping runs from the ever-dangerous Jaime Lozano. Our RB depth is surprisingly thin, so really the only options here are Stevie or Chris Albright (unless we go with some real newbies).

--I gave Beasley the nod at Left Attacking Mid ahead of Bobby Convey because I'm assuming Convey won't be match fit due to his injury layoff. If he is match fit, feel free to insert him in Beasley's place. But still, Beasley killed Mexico the last time these teams played, and his pace can cause real fits for the Mexican defense.

--Ching is mostly a default pick. I'm not sure if he's not eligible for a call up because he wasn't in Bob Bradley's camp, but I say give him a go. He's probably the best option at striker we have right now. Keep in mind that Taylor Twellman will likely still be recovering from hernia surgery and won't be full go.

 

I hope they do mention the SuperLiga a billion times... lets get some of those fans of the USMNT and Mexico to give a little attention to MLS!

 

I want to see if our young players can step it up in a hostil environment in front of a lot of mexicans.

I want to beat Mexico again. 2-0 would be nice.

I'm glad ill be there

 

I want to see 70,000 Mexicans slinking out of the U. of P. stadium as bigger losers than they were before they went in.

 

Realistically how many American supports should we expect? Between 15,000 and 25,000?

 

Probably 10-20%. I would think the Mexican fans would be more like the ones in Houston, that being far more civil and appreciative of the US team. This shouldn't be the cesspool of vermin that invades the Rose Bowl or Coliseum thank goodness.

 

ditto!!