Who gains and who loses from Arena's promulgation delay???

The biggest problem Cooper faces is if Arena seems to split his forwards into targets and speedy running of the ball types. Cooper is neither. He is more a a power run off the ball type. He's not a target forward (Ruiz) plays that for Dallas. He is not speedy. He has never played or even been in camp for Bruce. I guess he could really impress and get called into one of the last games but I believe there will be no additions that haven't already been to camps and games. The only type of surprise might be one of someone who didn't impress much at a camp or game that is now impressing. Cooper was too late for this go round but should be in the mix for '10.

 

i know this is off topic but does 2010 look really promising to anyone else?

 

He should err on the side of speed/athleticism.

I defended Pat Noonan because he has some skills but overall, Bruce should be shooting at the most athletic players since the MLS players skill levels (including tactical and technical) are within a narrow range. Thus, IMO, he has to chuck the Twellmans, the Ralstons and the Olsons and go for the Mapps, the Mullans, the Buddles and the Clarks.

The US isn't going to outskill anyone at the Cup, so it may as well try to outrun them. This approach surely worked in 2,002.

That's why I hoped for the continuation of the Josh Wolff-behind-the-strikers experiment. Josh actually looked good in his 15 minutes at that spot vs. Germany.

But, with LD wearing captain's armband, he just may end up being Arena's Edward John Smith.

 

Am I dreaming, or have I heard Bruce say (a few times) that he would take a serious look at who's "in form" when it comes time to make his picks in May? I mean, he very well might just take whichever forward has the hot hand (foot ) during the next three weeks. The JohnsonWolffChingTwellman quartet haven't lit the world on fire lately (and I'm not as impressed by Ching's 4 goals against the Crapids as everyone else seems to be) so I agree with ursula, he's wanting to see if anyone just blows the lid off and forces his hand.

 

You'll likely see Wolff playing in a similar position and style for the Wizards in the next few weeks, feeding EJ and Arnaud-or-Sealy. Watch and learn.

 

You could make a good argument for Cooper if that were the case.

Although I'd hate to imagine the BigSoccer meltdown that would occur if a previously uncapped forward somehow made the WC roster.

 

I think we can all agree it is better to play Secret Squirrel with the roster than to be caught nailing the office help.

 

He didn't against Houston Dinamo (I like Dee-namo better than Die-namo ... it's the old EastEuro in me)

 

My hope is that the Great and Hotly Debated Delay of Arena's Promulgation means that at least one of Clark, Casey and Buddle is under consideration. I think it has been obvious for a while now to many of us that Clark has a lot more to contribute that the guys being considered for that last midfield slot (Olsen, KZ, Noonan, Ralston).

There has been less of a general feeling about Casey and Buddle, but for me at least it has also been obvious that those two have games that have a much better chance of success at the international level than Twellman and Ching. Of course, Casey has been injured for most of the past year and Buddle has had some off-field problems. So unlike the situation with Clark, it is understandable why the Bruce has given so much PT to Twellman and Ching. But Casey is healthy now. Ceteris paribus (we Eurosnobs like to toss in a little Latin now and then) starting in a top European league should lead to a presumption that a player is better than someone in MLS. There are exceptions to be sure (Donovan, Pope, Mastroeni), but I don't think Ching and Twellman have the kind of talent that will allow them to join this list of exceptions. As for Buddle, one can only hope he is maturing and putting his problems behind him. If that's the case, the mediocre performances of Ching and Twellman might just have kept the door open a crack for him.

 

FWIW, my opinion about Brian Ching is that he needs a year in Holland or Germany and he'll become a pretty decent striker.

He has good size and good speed for his size. Even his technique is decent enough. He just has to figure/learn situational play and proper body positioning.

 

Please tell me what Cooper had done to deserve a chance this late. Couple of MLS games? His USMNT career?

Hell, Jovan Kirovski has the same amount of goals so far this season. Let's call him up.

 

I think people are selling Twellman short. He may not be as fast as Wolff, but he has more of a nose for goal, and it's not like Wolff's tearing it up either. Personally, if it comes down to the two of them I think Twellman goes to Germany, but not as a starter.

What is interesting about Cooper potentially entering the picture is that it would enable Twellman to avoid having to be a target forward. As mentioned above, ideally TT would have more speed, but when it comes down to someone I think can put a loose ball or a cross into the net during the latter stages of the game, I have a lot of faith in him. And it's based on watching him do it in MLS over and over. Again, given our pool I don't see any way that he's not in our top four.

*IF* Cooper makes the team I could see this being the 23 guys we take to Germany:

McBride
Johnson
Cooper
Twellman
Donovan
Beasley
Dempsey
Reyna
O'Brien
Mastroeni
Convey
Noonan
Lewis
Boca
Gooch
Cherundolo
Spector
Pope
Conrad
Hedjuk
Keller
Howard
Goalie #3

 

He's gotta find a team in Holland or Germany that wants him too.

Minimum foreign player salary in Holland is 400K, I doubt a Dutch team would wanna pay him that much.

Germany? Maybe, but he'd probably have to go the way Conor Casey did, that being through the 2.Bundesliga.

 

I'll tell you why....they've tried EVERY OTHER FCUKER....including Kirovski...thats why....

 

Safe assumption. However, Arena has painted himself into a corner. Who else does he have to decide from in only three games? Cooper. Nope. Buddle. Nope. Rolfe. Yep. Jaques. Yep. Cunningham. Yep.

If you weren't in camp earlier this year and played in at least one USMNT game, your chances are nil.

 

He can start right away for the mid- to lower tier Eredivisie clubs. They can easily afford $415K but not the transfer price.

I think if he went through the full pre-season camp, he'd be OK. He needs to be told how to do certain things that no one had told him up to this point - proper footwork, ability to hold off the guy with elbows/arms, initiate contact with the defender, etc - but it doesn't take that long to pick them up.

Meanwhile, physically, he can be a dominant player there.

Germany has no minimum wage, no foreign player limits and a lot of clubs can afford to pay the transfer fee.

 

I've said before that Clark plays the pass he sees. He has a bit of tunnel vision and doesn't see much of the field. BUT he is tough as nails inside and won't be intimidated. He can stand the best of withdrawn forwards straight up and won't get muscled by an imposing mid. He can quickly dribble his way out through the midfield until he finds the easy pass. That takes a huge amount of pressure off the defense and with Arena's perfered diamond midfield, having a destroyer playing in front of the centerbacks is all important. His troubles seem to come when he tries to play like a holding or linking mid. He'll need players around him who can move into short passing lanes. Our trouble is that we really haven't identified a right wing player thus leaving the right back exposed. Dempsey ain't it. Bruce has a problem in that the TEAM isn't set up. He hasn't found a full group of players who have gelled and some dangerous role players to play around them. We are weak in the center and out right. Without some changes, any opponent can set up an inside, outside, cross then SOG sequence.

 

he sure as fcuk "outclassed" Eddie Pope on a couple of occassions last saturday...

 

Great reason.

Of course, he could prove me wrong against Lativa...

Not.

 

Include the first half of the Jamaica game and I hope Arena is thinking again about Pope (at least as a starter). Of course, he does have a lot of support with RLS...

 

Yes it is a great reason....as BA has indeed tried everyone else....

by the way genius...who or what the fcuk is Lativa...???

 

Dream on - he won't add any new players to the pool at this point. That means No Herc, No Freddy, No Clark, No Spector

Twellman will be in Germany

 

Latvia. I guess you have never typed an incorrect work on BS. I'm not worthy to be on the same board as you...

By the way, you do know that the USMNT is playing Latvia on May 28th? I look forward to you crying about Cooper not playing...

 

I think that Donovan/McBride are the pair starting in Germany. GAM may get some minutes if he is back the form. So basically for the last few players, Bruce should look on some talents who may create some magic when we need goals. Players like Mapp, Cooper, Rolfe, Jaqua cannot hurt. Or even GAM is not in form, and we are goals up and need to counter attack, even a Cunningham can kill a tired defense.