With Lewis playing so well at left mid where is Beasley going to play?

Well at least it's not as bad as having to ask, "Who can we get to play the left wing?"
Were getting too much talent and now it's a problem.
It is a very good question though and I'm stumped at the moment.
Lewis is a better crosser than DaMarcus. But DaMarcus' speed fits the wings. What to do? DaMarcus on the right?? Can he perform there?
Bruce Almighty will think of something.

 

Both players are quality wingers, and I do agree that Lewis, at the very least, should be considered a viable option on the left. This position, however, is probably already Beasley's to lose: he has superior speed, dribbling, and defending skills, arguably. Lewis brings other attributes to his game, however, including his crossing ability and offensive prowess.

Lewis has played left back before for the Nats, so that is one option, should Bruce want to keep both players on the field at the same time. We could certainly have worse dilemmas than having two high-quality left mids.

 

Does anyone want to throw the "Where does Convey play?" intothe equation, as long as we're trying to find places for left-sided midfielder.

 

Convey can play well in a few spots.

 

If only DaMarcus could cross like Eddie...

 

Smack dab in the middle. the kid is starting to reach Donovan levels in temrs of impact upon a game and is becoming a joy to watch. He plays for 15 minutes yet still creates 3 scoring chances while playing on the RIGHT side.

I drool over imagining a midfield of Convey, O'Brien, Reyna, DMB, and Eddie Lewis. I don't even know how we would fit all of them in but I so wish Bruce would try something like that. Especially when you consider Donovan playing right infront of them. And then you consider an inform Clint Mathis playing along side Donovan? then a back line of Eddie Pope, Carlos Bocanegra, and a healthy Tony Sanneh? Oh dear lord that would be amazing....

 

Speed and defending skills yes but not dribbling. Always amazed when people consider him a great dribbler. If you are good at it you dont keep your head down.

A later post mentions Convery and where to play him. This kid is best in the middle of the field and we will be a much better team if this guy is ready for 2006. All he needs is a little time.

 

Play well against two crap teams shouldn't displace Beasley from his starting spot on the left. In my mind Beasley still should be the starter. Lewis is his backup.

 

There is the issue of how well Lewis played in the WC too. And I would say he "played incredibly well against..." one crap team and another team that we could see in France '03 and Germany '06

 

for the Confederations Cup, as we have 3 games in 5 days, we will probably see both start on the left in different games.

 

I would slide Beasley to left back. With Armas/ Mastroeni at Dmid to cover for him going forward. I have to say I think Lewis has been more dangerous than DeMarcus. Also consider Eddie has been playing well against good competition in England and was arguably the best American player in MLS when he left.

 

I would go as far to say that Lewis is just as good at defending as Beasley. Speed is a no brainer although Lewis does have a little get up and go. I have to agree about the dribbling, DMB still has some learning to do. I think it all breaks down as to who you are playing at foward and how u want to attack. if you want to play balls into the middle and attack from the outside then Lewis is the man, if you want to attack your defenders and take it to them then Beasley may be better suited.

 

Lewis' cutbacks across the top of the area are what really separates him from DMB. Beas can do it, but he very seldom does. The cutbacks add a really big dimension to Lewis' game because the defender can't just rely on pushing him into the corner. The crosses are cream on top of that. I'd actually like to see DMB up front a bit with Donovan or Clint.

 

We might as well try DMB at rightmid, since his skills are not as related to his position on the field as Eddie's are (i.e. crosses). What really messes with things is that Convey is playing so well, he needs to be on the field and once Reyna and O'Brien are healthy, they need to be on the field. Bruce is gonna have some interesting choices to make, but he will find a way to get as much talent on the field as possible.

 

none of these midfield slots are going to be filled on an either/or basis. the confederation cup is 3 games in 5 days so there will be plenty of opportunity to rotate players and see Beasley AND Lewis AND Convey, etc. Bruce will be able to experiment and see what works because he's going to HAVE to change up the lineups.

 

And in four years or so (perhaps less) we will have to worry about where Freddy, Memo and the rest will fit in this mix. How sad for us.

 

I think bigsoccer will explode over those fights.

 

Good question, how does Bruce get Adu and Donovan out there together?

Beasley's only strength over Lewis is his speed.

Lewis has much better touches and has better technique striking the ball.

I think it is good to have some firepower to come off the bench. The US team improved when Convey, Beasley, and Gibbs came on and offered some fresh leggs.

To get to the semifinals the US will be playing its 6th game. It is important to rotate the players. Keep both guys for the same position. However, it would be good for both to be able to play other positions.

Lewis should get some time at Left back and Beasley should be tried at right mid just for the experience.

 

There's two classes of people in this world that don't want Beasley on the field:

1) Opposing players and their managers.
2) Imbecile BigSoccer posters.

 

I would humbly disagree with using these two games as an evaluation of Eddie's skills and capabilities. I think he has added ( inside moves) to his weapons since we last saw him play an outstanding game against Mexico in the World Cup.

I would't mind seeing Beasly playing a withdrawn forward, or the right side. He tends to cut into the middle of the field more to use his left from that direction.

I agree with an earlier comment, what fun it is to be able to talk multiple options at the different positions around the field.

 

Exactly. And not just for the Confed Cup, either. Think of how many players we used during WC 2002 qualifying. It was a staggering number. We'll need all that depth in the run to '06, too, considering the expanded format. It will be an either/or proposition in only those few cases where both are in form, available, and healthy.

On a related note, it makes me so sad, after seeing Eddie lately, that he just sat around at Fulham for so long. What a waste.

 

While I am a big DMB fan I can see the reasons why you might want to put Eddie Lewis on the left rather than DaMarcus. Eddie is better technical player. He is a far better crosses and is a better passer. DaMarcus is a more electric player. His speed, accelaration is superior to that of Eddie Lewis. And I think is a somewhat better dribbler. Also DMB tends to lose posession of the ball under physical pressure. If you want to run the counter-attacking speed based game, you play DMB. If you want to play the possesion game like we did vs NZ and Wales then you can play Eddie. Just a matter of style. There both great players and DMB probably has a better upside.

 

I completely agree! F'ing Tigana! Glad he got the sack this season. Some premiership club should take a look at him this summer in France, and they might well be able to get him at a bargain price from PNE.

I personally think we should slot Lewis to LB, and keep LD and Beasely next to each other. That would be a killer left flank attack with those two speed merchants overlapping each other all day with LD sending them through. The poor right back that has to match up with them will be gassed after the first half.

 

I don't know about in the future, but I'm positive that, given the 3-matches-in-5-days schedule at the Confed Cup, we'll see both of them starting at left mid. The bigger question is who gets two starts, who gets just one.