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

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2010/07/a_few_minutes_with_bob_bradley_2.html

 

Wow, is Chris Pontius really that good? And also, what would MLS experts think of a Ream/Gonzalez centerback pairing? Everyone's talking about Ream. What are his strengths and weaknesses?

 

Pontius LAST year would be worht a shot... this year not so much.

 

The key is that he CAN play left back. I saw him play Left Back with Indios about four times. He mostly plays defensive mid.

Vidal so far has not gotten minutes yet with Pachuca. He didn't feature in the Superliga against Dynamo. For him to break through as a DM, he needs to get some regular minutes first. But I agree- I am looking at Vidal as a possible replacement for Clark, who I think will be past his prime for 2014. In that same role, I am also looking at Mizuki Hamada or Dan Williams maybe playing for the US? Or maybe seeing how one of the U-20's will pan out?

 

More proof Bradley should go.

Gonzalez is an obvious choice for more looks, but I'd still rate Marshall ahead of him, and Cameron when healthy.

But Pontius is fringe at best. At best.

 

Well, you're name isn't "True Crew" for nothing. I think Gonzalez is better than Marshall, club and country.

And I agree Pontius may be fringe, but he has done enough to earn a cap.

 

I think you're right about Gonzalez being better, but it's close right now. However, by 2014, I expect Gonzo to be much better than Marshall. I am pretty pleased with the young crop of central defenders in MLS right now (e.g. Gonzo, Opara, John). If we can get them grown up through additional experience in MLS and abroad, partner with a couple of veterans...we could be in a much better situation in Brazil.

Now we need to find some outside backs and strikers...

 

agree pontius is NOT a step ahead...

marshall has been around long enough, i don't see him getting much better unless he steps into a bigger league and can prove it...

i have memories of the crew getting torched by real salt lake..

this idea of the big american central defender needs to change, as we need a more mobile 2nd one, to go with the gooch type, a guy with upgraded passing skills out of the back

 

Omar G is an inch taller than Gooch and I believe more mobile, Moar G is better today than Chad Marshall as well... Omar is one of the reasons why LAG is rock solid this year and pretty good last year as well... This kid no doubt is the future and he should get looks and should easily be a part of this next cycle...

 

Gonzalez should be one of our new center backs starting today! Play him as much as we can and get the top defensive minds available to help him with positioning and tactics. In fact, do the same for a handful of other top center backs.

We'll be prepared for injuries and the competition will help motivate the players to perform better and better.

 

I think Omar G is in good hands in playing under Arena.

 

At this point in time, Gonzales looks to be the most promising of the new CBs, those who hadn't played a significant role in the WC or qualifying. I'll put Marshall in that category of "new guy" for this purpose as well, and IMO he's behind Omar. Opara and Ream are two other legit-looking prospects, and Cameron joins that group if his knee recovers and he gets his game back on track (plus he's a candidate in the defensive midfield as well). Darius Barnes is an outsider, IMO, but still a candidate to keep in the backs of our minds.

The darkhorse with a chance to storm right to the front of the pack if he gets playing time and impresses is Gale Agbossoumonde, who looks to my eye to have all the tools necessary to play this game at the highest level except the experience. Should he get that in Portugal (or elsewhere) this cycle, he's one of the leading candidates.

 

I'm afraid that the USMNT train may be leaving Chad behind at the station. He's still a good player, but unless he shows something more in the next year he may have peaked out as an int'l level prospect. I agree that Omar looks promising, and I'm sure he'll get his share of opportunities with the USMNT, so it's his chance to grow. Let's hope it happens. Opara in particular has potential, but he may be a bit more long-term than Omar. That said, it's just his first year, so let's see how he's progressed by season's end. I'm not sold on Ream, but being a newbie should give him time to either buff himself up to become a USMNT prospect, or fall back to journeyman level. I like Gale, and potentially he could be really good, but he's young, young, young, so it might be a couple of more years before we have a true fix on him.

 

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

Forlan. Don't care how we do it. If we can fake the moon landing, we can make this happen.

 

I gotta go with Bobby Convey mark2

And then all those guys from the green card thread after they become citizens.

 

I agree with Bobby Convey surely he's earned it more than Robbie Rogers, what ever happened to Lee Nguyen I thought he was impressive in COpa America in his limited minutes. Hopefully Kleijstan can really improve his form over in Belgium, I think we haven't seen the last of him.

 

https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1366542

 

Good Mooorrrrnnnning, VIETNAM.

 

I like Kljestan when he's put in a position to succeed, but his game is not conducive to the international game. Int. games are played faster than most leagues, and an emphasis is placed on tidiness. When Kljestan is sped up he is the most untidy player I have had the misfortune of watching. He's great for the slower Belgian league, against weak CONCACAF teams, and European C-teamers, but he'll never cut it at the level he needs to to be a regular contributor.

 

I'd like to see Houston's Danny Cruz get a look. He's played well at wide mid for the Dynamo and hits a good cross but also does the dirty work on defense.

And if Justin Braun keeps scoring, he might be tough to ignore.

 

The Belgian league plays pretty fast and he will be in the Champions League too.

 

I'd like to see Alston.... NOT!!! seriously, there was actually people saying Bob should have capped him in the early friendlies of the year???

 

Yes,you'll have to do a search though,because they'll all deny it now.