Who should be the next player to get a chance with the US Team?

How about playing 90 mins every week instead of not even seeing the bench?

 

The only department that Jeff Cunningham passes Eddie Johnson in(and not by much) is being quicker on the ball.

EJ has more power, athletic ability and experience. Closer to Charlie Davies than Cunningham will ever be...

 

I would give Cunnigham another chance. He is fit afterall.

In the WC, you are only talking about playing three games unless something good happens.

 

Geoff Cameron of the Houston Dynamo. He got a call up to camp in January but was hurt. This guycan play and has grown up incredibly the past 2 years. Bob needs to definitely give this guy a look.

 

1) I bet anyone here that Jones will not be on the US roster for the World Cup. For one, he's not yet eligible. Two, he's injured and showing no signs of healing. and Finally, when are you going to be able to integrate him in the team? in May? i'd rather not have another JOB 06 experiment. Guys get use to Rico Clark because he's the one destroyer we'll have (Edu has yet to show signs of improvement, as well).

2) We need to start looking for a speed option as the replacement for Davies....Findley, Cunningham, and Johnson are the only real possibilities. They should be called up in Nov/Camp Cupcake...if they don't work than Dempsey should move up top. Maybe he should up top anyways, but those three should be given a shot.

3) Our centerback options are looking bad now...Onyewu and DeMerit are injured and may not make it to the cup, Bocanegra is having a drastic drop in form, Conrad isn't getting any younger, Califf & Parkhurst aren't USMNT material for at least right now, again Edu is hurt and he's more of a CDM, Orozco is a bit of a wild card, Marshall is always hurt, and Goodson is alright but average at best.

4) LB is still a question mark...although, i see Bob leaning towards JB as our starting LB in the WC.

5) We need to bring Keller in for camp cupcake...i don't trust Perkins in a WC situation. And i'd probably play Keller before Guzan in a must-win situation.

...To summarize:
1) Again, Findley, Cooper, and Johnson should see time
2) Gonzalez, Cameron, and Orozco should be given a go. Marshall, if healthy. Also, we need to continue to see Goodson and Conrad.
3) We need to try and stay/achieve at least three deep at fullback. right now, Dolo, JS, and dude are holding down RB, but all three are injury prone so we may need to see if Wynne and/or Cameron can step up. on the left, Bornstein is the current and only favorite since Bocanegra will probably have to stay in the center now. For a lack of better options, Pearce needs another go in camp cupcake. But we need to get Castillo in the mix. Also, Hejduk and Spector should see time on the left. And finally, i wouldn't be against trying to convert Wynne to LB or bringing in some wild card in camp cupcake.
4) I don't really know who to call in for replacements for Edu and Jones. Clark is our only other real destroyer options. I don't think anyone wants Mastroeni or Beckerman just to have. so that leaves us with our current options: Donovan pulling the strings and supported by Clark, Feilhaber, Bradley, Torres, Rogers, Holden, and Kljestan.
5) We need to start looking at the strong possibility of missing: Onyewu, DeMerit, Edu, Jones, and Davies for the World Cup. And that number will unfortunately probably increase, as well.

 

I personally dont believe Cunningham can be much of an impact player for the National team, but if he's scoring goals and posses quickness(in Charlie Davies absence) then why not have a safe look now that qualification is over?

He does scores goals, but on a mediocre MLS team that didn't (wont) make the playoffs. Cunningham looks down too much when he dribbles.

 

Wynne is not ready to play at the National level, he is a positional nightmare.

Lost like my Wife at the mall.....

 

Out of necessity we're going to be taking a look at centerbacks, left-backs, and forwards in the coming months.

So I think we'll take a first look, and re-look, at Cameron, Gonzalez, Castillo, Buddle, Findley, etc. And it seems likely that Jeremiah White will be given a shot against Denmark in Aarhus, seeing as he plays for them (maybe not for long if you read the tea-leaves). We're really deep in the center of midfield, but not so much on the wings. Jeremiah could help us out there.

The chances of an MLS-based player making the world cup squad without being capped yet.........are pretty slim. I could see Jones and Castillo making the squad, because they haven't been eligible.

 

Also because, when healthy, they're really good.

 

Jones is........I'm not convinced yet by Castillo. I'll need to see more. We happen to be weak at his position, which gives him a chance. Will he be available for our November friendly?

By the way, Kamani Hill debuted yesterday (albeit as a late sub) in Portugal for Guimaraes. We obsess about Freddy Adu on these boards.............but Kamani is actually on a better team in Portugal. I don't think he'll make the world cup roster. Hell, I don't even know what his best position is anymore. But I think it's at least possible that we give him another look in a friendly.

I bet Bob uses this November friendly to take a look at some Euro based players who'll be unavailable for camp cupcake. We've had, and will have, plenty of time to evaluate MLS players like Gonzalez and Cunningham. So I wouldn't be shocked if he called up guys like Mike Grella, Jemal Johnson, Jeremiah White, Alejandro Bedoya, Mikkel Diskerud, etc. for that match instead (I realize some of those guys will also be available for camp cupcake. But they're nearby......and won't need a plane trip to the other side of the world). In the pre-season, everybody was all high on Eric Lichaj........but he's fallen off the map. Bob may call in 2 or 3 of these guys to fill out the roster and be late subs......as opposed to MLS players.

 

First off, Castillo went 90 this weekend so presumably he is healthy and should be available for the November friendlies.

He also has a coach who seems to really like him and who supposedly has no issues with him playing for the US so I don't think his club playing time will be compromised if he leaves to play for the US.

I agree that there are still question marks about him defensively but going forward he is as good as any other left flank option we have besides Landon.

The guy is very technical and very fast and if Bradley wanted to play Landon someplace else besides LM, Castillo could easily step in and play LM for the US without a drop off.

Toss in him being versatile enough to also play LB and it's hard not to see him making the US a better team.

 

I call BS on this. There is, at most, a few guys in CONCACAF, who can come close to Donovan in terms of performance. If Castillo was one of them, he wouldn't be available to the US. He'll get his chance and then we will see where and if he fits in.

 

You might be right...

Then again, all that has to happen is for him to be match fit and playing 90 minutes for club in the February-March time frame.

Very doable.

Then he comes in for the friendlies, trains with the guys, maybe comes off the bench at first and is ready to go.

Look, everybody...and I mean EVERYBODY knows how good this guy is. And that means everybody on the team, including Ricardo Clark and Maurice Edu, not just Bob Bradley. It's not going to disrupt chemistry. It's not going to require some magical period of integration (and how much time/games is that really -- 3 months? 3 games? 5 games?).

This guy is one of the top players in the Bundesliga and we would NOT want him on our team? In a position where we have struggled at times? Especially since the guy HAS no other world cup options?

Sorry, if fit and in form at the right time, he's coming with us to South Africa and he is playing is a US kit.

 

There's a reason Castillo was dumped by Club America and was allowed to move-on by Mexico.

That being said........he's probably better than our other left back options.

I agree. He'll get his chance, and we'll see............

 

i'm sorry but Donovan is the best player in CONCACAF right now.

the list for me:
1. Landon Donovan (USA)
2. Tim Howard (USA)
3. Wilson Palacios (Honduras)
4. Giovanni Dos Santos (Mexico)...he will most likely be the best player in CONCACAF for the next two cycles
5. David Suazo (Honduras)...for the Hex, i'd sub in Costly here. and his current form is poor which is why he's #5 and not in the top 3.
6. Cuahetemoc Blanco (Mexico)
7. Clint Dempsey (USA)
8. Gerardo Torrado (Mexico)
9. Bryan Ruiz (Costa Rica)
10. Oguchi Onyewu (USA) or Andres Guardado (Mexico)

 

Agree 100%. Castillo might be our best left back option or an acceptable left mid backup option. What I doubt is that he is any way, shape or form a substitute for Donovan.

 

Who is?

Donovan's our best forward, winger, and attacking central midfielder. I bet we could put him at left back......and he'd be our best option there too We could move him up top......but then we're left with a hole in the midfield. We could keep him in the midfield, but then the forward line is weakened.

I like Donovan on the left..........but I think could have a greater impact on the game in another position. As you suggest, though, then who the hell do you put on the left. Move Dempsey over........and play Holden on the right? Not bad. You could play Feilhaber on the left, where he plays for Aarhus. Also not a bad option.

With the loss of Davies, Bob's going to have to experiment a little with personnel. If we look incapable of scoring on a consistent basis with Cooper/Casey/etc. partnering Jozy......he may just have to move LD up there (or Dempsey for that matter).

Anyway, as far as the next player to get a chance with the national team.......it's going to be a central defender. Cameron will be the guy.

(It's no coincidence is it, that we keep having Houston players coming thru the ranks. Would it surprise anybody if Dom Kinnear is the next USMNT coach? Not me. Whether it would be the right choice or not is a different debate......Dom's certainly an option)

 

I don't agree, as I think Donovan has had more strong games at left mid proporitionally than he has had any other positions. I think there are real reasons why that is.

However, you are correct that with Davies out, we will need to do something, and that will certainly include moving Donovan. My best guess is that Donovan will still wind up at left mid - a position that puts him forward but still back far enough that he can't be taken out of the game by physical marking as he can be at forward and where he has many opportunities to do devastating cut backs into the middle - tut only time and experimentation will tell.

If we do replace Donovan at left mid, my money would be on Feilhaber, who lacks the speed but has the dribbling ability in tight spaces, vision and passing we get from Donovan there.

 

dos santos is gonna be better than vela???

i see vela as the better player..

 

Good list, though as Adam Z. points out, Vela has to be in there.

I think Wilson Palacios is the best player in CONCACAF.

 

Oh Karl,you and your dmids...

 

David Suazo? That must based on reputation, because he never actually does.........anything. When you say his "current form is poor" you must mean the last two years. He's been a virtual non-factor for club or country. Of all the CONCACAF players I'd want to move to the USMNT........give me Carlos Salcido every day of the week.

 

Their situation was analagous to the Adu.....Jozy situation. Adu got all the hype, while Jozy's turning into the better player.

Let's be honest, though. Vela and Gio are both good now, and will be for quite some time.

 

Yeah, it's funny what happens when a team sticks with it's super-talented but inconsistent youngsters.