Folks: Help me out here. I'm in South America and don't see any MLS games. I see Howard at MU every weekend on TV, but have no sense of who's up and coming, who's hot and who's not in the US Nats talent pool. If you were to name a 22 man team in preparation for the upcoming qualifying, who would they be? What's the depth chart look like. I guess the easiest position is keeper, right? Howard, Friedel, Keller. After that, I'm totally blind. My CM 4 gives high ratings to Edson Buddle, but I've never seen him play a non-virtual game.
Keepers: Kasey Keller Brad Friedel Tim Howard Defense: Eddie Pope Cory Gibbs Carlos Bocanegra Steve Cherundolo Todd Dunivant(Rookie of the Year Contender in MLS) Frankie Hejduk Midfield: Damarcus Beasley Kyle Martino Eddie Lewis Claudio Reyna(MF/D) Bobby Convey(MF/D) John O'Brien(MF/D) Pablo Mastroeni(MF/D) Forwards: Landon Donovan(MF/F) Taylor Twellman Clint Mathis(MF/F) Brian McBride Ante Razov Conor Casey We haven't been able to witness Casey's development in Germany, but it sounds like he's had a pretty consistent strike rate. I put him over Buddle right now b/c he's getting a lot of experience with stronger competition. Also, how much did we hear about Taylor Twellman when he went to Germany and look how well he's done in the MLS. I'm hesitant to put Razov on the team, but he's played as well as any forward in the MLS this year. I'd like to see what Dunivant can do on the national level. He's played well all season in the MLS, which is more than I can say for Danny Califf. Also, I would have put more defenders on the team, but I couldn't find any true defenders that were head and shoulders above the midfielders that could play their position. Starting Line-up: Friedel Gibbs - Pope - Bocanegra -Dunivant Beasley - O'Brien - Reyna - Lewis Donovan - McBride no real surprises in the starting line-up. Defensively I'd change it around a bit throughout the early rounds of qualifying.
Up and comers might include: Freddy Adu Arturo Alvarez Oguchi Onyewu Chris Gbandi Brad Davis Edson Buddle Ricardo Clarke Brian Ching Johnny Walker
I think Edson Buddle has to be considered a legitimate main stay for the USMNT team now! He started the season on fire got hurt for a few months and has sense then returned to maybe even gain a step. Who do Alvarez, Gbandi, Davis and Clark play for? Forgive my ignorance, I don't believe I"ve heard their names passed around before.
Most folks on here seem really high on Buddle, and with good reason. He has a really nice combination of size and skill. Can shield off defenders and win balls in the air, but also has nice foot skills. He's a pretty active player, too. I would not be surprised to see him get called into a camp for the first round of qualifying, or during a friendly in the next year. Go here to see his goals this year. His goal on 8/13 was particularly nice.
How can Buddle be a mainstay with the national team when he has one cap to his name? He has a good chance of breaking in with the national team and becoming a valuable player, but I would hardly consider him a mainstay with the national team at this moment. As for the four other players you mentioned: Alvarez= 17 year-old rookie midfielder for San Jose. Very talented. Gbandi= Number one draft pick in 2002. Missed the season through injury. Has played some for Dallas this year. Davis= Second year player for the Burn. Left-sided midfielder. One of their leading scorers. Was a candidate for rookie of the year last season with the Metros. Clark= Rookie midfielder for the MetroStars. Either Defensive midfielder or right wing. Last time I checked, he has played every minute this season. Candidate for rookie of the year this season.
Buddle will get his shot to prove himself in limited action or maybe starting against the smaller nat. teams. He's played all of 10 minutes for the USMNT, so he's not going to be a starter yet over guys like Donovan, McBride, Mathis, or Josh Wolff(if he ever gets back to form) who have proved themselves in international competition. Buddle has the potential to be a star, just give him some time to gain some experience. Also, Brad Davis and Chris Gbandi play for Dallas. Davis has been tearing it up this year and people on this board have wondered if he's going to get a shot for the US. Gbandi was hurt last year and is finally getting some playing time. I believe he won the Hermann Award in college(best college player) and was the first player drafted his year(he plays defense, and with a lot of our mainstays getting older he could see some time). I don't know how you couldn't have heard of Ricardo Clarke. After two or three games in the MLS this year people were calling this guy the future at D-mid for us. He plays for the Metros, has come through our youth national system(I believe he plays for the U-23s) and is in contention with Dunivant for Rookie of the Year. Arturo Alvarez plays for San Jose and the U-18 national team. He was drafted out of high school in Houston and has come on really strong this year for the Quakes and the U-18s lately and will be looked at for the U-20 World Championships later on this year.
GOALKEEPERS Tim Howard, Manchester United Brad Friedel, Blackburn Kasey Keller, Tottenham Hotspur DEFENDERS Eddie Pope, NY/NJ Metrostars Steve Cherundolo, Hannover 96 Frankie Hejduk, Columbus Crew Carlos Bocanegra, Chicago Fire Danny Califf, LA Galaxy Pablo Mastroeni, Colorado Rapids MIDFIELDERS Claudio Reyna, Man City John O'Brian, Ajax Eddie Lewis, Preston DaMarcus Beasley, Chicago Fire Tony Sanneh, Nürnberg Chris Armas, Chicago Fire Bobby Convey, DC United Cory Gibbs, Hannover 96 FORWARDS Brian McBride, Columbus Crew Josh Wolff, Chicago Fire Clint Mathis, NY/NJ Metrostars Landon Donavon, San Jose Earthquakes Taylor Twellman, New England Rev Edson Buddle, Columbus Crew
Here are some young players for the US: Edson Buddle, Columbus, 22 Freddy Adu, MNT U-17, 14 Bobby Convey, DC United, 20 Alecko Eskandarian, D.C. United, 21 Conor Casey, Hannover 96, 22 Brad Davis, Dallas Burn, 22 Phillip Salyer, Dallas Burn, 22 Oguchialu Onyewu, 21 Landon Donovan, San Jose Earthquakes, 21 DeMarcus Beasley, Chicago Fire, 21 Kyle Martino, Columbus Crew, 22 Kelly Gray, Chicago Fire, 22 Chris Albright, Los Angeles Galaxy, 24 Danny Califf, Los Angeles Galaxy, 23 Sasha Victorine, Los Angeles Galaxy, 25 Taylor Twellman, New England Revolution, 23 Nick Garcia, Kansas City Wizards, 24 D.J. Countess, Dallas Burn, Santino Quaranta, DC United, Jonathan Spector, Manchester United Jr. Team, 17 Quentin Westberg, Troyes Jr. Team, 17 Eddie Gaven, NY/NJ MetroStars, 17
Well, I'll assume that unless we draw Cuba, Arena will probably not call in any Euros receiving regular first team playing time (and also to give you a bigger squad of MLSers) That eliminates: Gibbs, Reyna, O'Brien, Howard, Friedel, Keller, Eddie Lewis, Cherundolo, Berhalter, Hahnemann and Onyewu (he isn't quite in the picture yet anyway). Vanney, Kirovski and Yi probably would be okay to bring back from Europe. (What I think the depth chart actually is, not necessarily who I'd pick): GK - Adin Brown - Nick Rimando/Jonny Walker/Joe Cannon LB - Bobby Convey - Greg Vanney CB - Eddie Pope - Danny Califf CB - Carlos Bocanegra - Nick Garcia RB - Frankie Hejduk - Ryan Suarez LM - DaMarcus Beasley - Brad Davis? (Convey) DM - Pablo Mastroeni - Richard Mulrooney AM - Kyle Martino - Clint Mathis (Donovan, Convey) RM - Steve Ralston - Chris Klein CF - Brian McBride - Edson Buddle CF - Landon Donovan - Taylor Twellman Pope, Bocanegra, Beasley, McBride and Donovan are locks if they're healthy. It's hard to get a gauge on the keepers behind the EPL three since they've received very little PT. Convey is being experimented with at left back due to a lack of options at the position. Top MLS prospects at the positions (with current age): GK - D.J. Countess (21) LB - Todd Dunivant (22) - Chris Gbandi (24) CB - Nat Borchers (22) - David Stokes (21) CB - Jose Burciaga (22) - Nelson Akwari (21) RB - Bryan Namoff (24) - Kelly Gray (22) LM - Justin Mapp (18) - Arturo Alvarez (18) DM - Kyle Beckerman (21) - Jordan Stone (19) AM - Ricardo Clark (20) - Memo Gonzalez (17) RM - Santino Quaranta (18) - Pat Noonan (21) CF - Eddie Johnson (19) - Chris Carrieri (23) CF - Mike Magee (19) - Alecko Eskandarian (21) Guys are moved around a bit, but those are most of the top guys. Of the above, the ones with the best chances of contributing in qualifying at this point are probably Clark, Dunivant and Gbandi (because of weakness at the position), Namoff and Beckerman. Gray is extremely versatile so maybe he'll move into the picture as well.
Also I posted this at the end of june: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=55938 Which is a listing of 100 prospects for the 2006 World Cup. Since then, I'd say Nat Borchers and Bryan Namoff (and maybe Steve Ralston) have done the most moving up the charts. Josh Wolff and Clint Mathis have probably taken the biggest hits, Mathis due to lack of production and Wolff due to his inability to get out of bed in the morning without injuring himself for three months. There's an age qualification so McBride isn't on the list, but he has a good shot of being there despite being a bit on the old side.
A lot will happen over the next three years, but this is the top 22 for qualifying not for the World Cup.
It'll be interesting to see which of the older players get playing time during qualifiers even though they may be too old for Germany 2006. I'd expect to see contributions from guys like Stewart. It's not like you can just put young guys in the hexagonal. As much as possible you have to put your best guys in, because CONCACAF is no cakewalk. So I hope Bruce doesn't exclude anyone due to age in the qualifiers. That said, I'd love to see some of the younger guys play if there are any situations in which we've already wrapped things up. And Bruce will probably have to mix younger guys in since he won't have all his European players available. GK--take your pick of the MLS'ers. I'd feel pretty good with just about any one of them, although I'd prefer to have one of the big three for some of the big hex games. outside backs--we all know left back is a big problem. I just hope one of the young players in MLS steps up and wins the job. If, not maybe put Convey back there. As for the right, Sanneh might still be able to help in qualifiers. If not, Hejduk. And maybe Cherundolo, if possible. CB--Boca and Pope, assuming Boca doesn't get scooted to the left back spot. I guess Califf and Garcia could fill in behind them. DMid--Mastroeni, maybe Armas. LM--DMB RM--Maybe Donovan, maybe Ralston or Klein. AMid--Convey, maybe Donovan or Mathis, Martino F--McBride, Buddle, Twellman, Donovan, Mathis Couple other guys to mention: Ricardo Clark--we'll see where he fits in best. Eskandarian, Johnson, Quaranta--any of these guys could step up and contribute. This is yet another battle that will be largely fought in MLS. There are plenty of other things that could happen. There are tons of MLS guys who could go on a hot streak and end up on the MNT.
Decent stuff here. My 2 lira: I figure that Arena will call almost everybody. Any qualifier allows Bruce to call whoeven he wants. I'd rather let the unproven newcomers (like 2 caps or less) bleed themselves in with friendlies. These are qualifiers. Let the better players play. Plus Bruce has ALWAYS given preference to older more experienced players. GK Keller Howard DEF Hejduk Vanney Bocanegra Cherundolo Califf (I know he has many deficiencies, but he's just cover) Gibbs MID Lewis Beasley Mastroeni Convey Mulrooney (I can't think of another d-mid) Martino FWD Donovan Mathis Wolff/Twellman/Buddle/Casey (uncapped, but has done well for himself in Germany) There you have it, a mixture of older experienced players and young ones. This team or one like it will more than likely take out any team in the 1st round of qualifying, maybe even the 2nd round. Noticeable absentees: Friedel - figure throwin a bone to Kasey for not seeing a minute during the WC Pope - saving him for the Hexagonal Reyna - I guarantee he'll still suit up, most likely for the Hexagonal McBride - and no Razov, I think he's done at the WCQualifying level Sanneh - I think he's past it Berhalter - EHHHHHHHH O'Brien - whenever he's healthy, he's one of the most important players on the team. Without him and Reyna, we are a boring indynamic side. With the both of them we have width, change of pace, precision, the whole thing, my obvious choice for next national team captain.
Bruce has expressed the need to go with younger teams. Nothing against the older players but I agree.
following players should be replaced with younger players that you have listed in the yonger generation to give as a balanced Nat team build for the future and they can gain some experience : to be replaced are Frankie Hejduk, Columbus Crew Carlos Bocanegra, Chicago Fire Danny Califf, LA Galaxy Tony Sanneh, Nürnberg Chris Armas, Chicago Fire Brian McBride, Columbus Crew Josh Wolff, Chicago Fire Clint Mathis, NY/NJ Metrostars
Soccerfan, how young do you want these players to be? Carlos Bocanegra is 24, Danny Califf(who I think needs to improve his game before he's a mainstay for the Nats) is 23, Josh Wolff is 26, and Mathis is 26 also. These guys are going to be on the National Team for at least the next 4 years. Putting the younger guys in for the qualifying round over the older guys would be like putting TJ Ford and Carmelo Anthony on the US Mens Basketball team over Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett. You play your best available guys when it counts(and teams in qualifying are going to be gunning for us this cycle). I'm not against playing the younger guys in friendlies and if we already have a qualifying game won, but you can't expect to throw these guys out there and do well against the teams we'll be facing. Everybody's always looking for the next big thing, but for the most part they're just not ready, so let the experienced players guide us through and let the younger guys just get a taste of it.
GK; Howard, Friedel D; Cory Gibbs, Carlos Bocanegra, Cherundelo, Sanneh, HeyDude, Ryan Suarez, Pope MF; Kyle Martino, Ricardo Clark, Reyna, Pablo, Beasley, Convey, O'Brien, Landon Donovan F; Edson Buddle, Twellman, McBride, Razov, Mathis
ElRoss your point is well taken, but we know this players ability is limited, we know what they can do and they are replaceble. This players won't get any better even if they are just in mid 20s. Our National team was very very disappointing this year. Can anyone honestly say that the players we had this year at Conf and Gold Cup can improve on the 2002 WC record ? the current squad can't make it and that is the bottom line. Some changes need to be made and some players are replaceble others are not.
You act as though the US had full squads for the Gold Cup and Confederation Cup. The Conf. Cup team was missing Friedel, Sanneh, Keller, O'Brien, McBride, Pope, Reyna...the Gold Cup team was missing Friedel, O'Brien, Pope, etc. Admittedly both were weak showings, but you can't say that that means we should clear out players like Bocanegra. There's already a mix of age and youth on the current team. Dumping out players that you view as poor won't make the team better, since there's no guarantee the younger players would be better. Maybe in time they'll be better, but that doesn't mean we should just send the U-17 team to WC qualifying.
Could you please point me in the direction of a suitable replacement for Carlos Bocanegra for the National Team?
Yeah, I was totally surprised to see Carlos' name on the player to be replaced list. My gosh, he's just getting started!
This is insane. Just because we didn't win the Confed Cup or Gold Cup, Bocanegra has to go? What type of coolade are some people drinking here? Let's look at our losses. At the confed cup, we lost 2-1 to WC semifinalist and 3rd place finisher Turkey. Then we lost 1-0 to WC winner Brazil. Then we tied Sierra Leone who oh, by the way, went to the finals of the tournament before losing to host France. Ok, moving to the Gold Cup. We played how many games? 5? How many did we lose or tie out of those 5 games? ONE!!! Who did we lose to? Oh yeah, we lost to the WC champions Brazil again, 2-1, in a game that we led 1-0, up until 3 or 4 minutes left in the contest, and then lost in extra time. And for that, all of the young guys need to be thrown off the team??? Let's get real people!
Bocanegra is the guy that cost us a goal in the Gold cup, can't recal if it was against CR or Brazil, but it was one of those Agoos mistakes very embarrassing and he will never ever be a star will never make it out of MLS. I saw him i had enough, a mistake like that could cost us dearly. He is the first on my list to cut. MLS has better players that need a chance to prove themselves at the Nat team level, it is time for them to get a chance, get the mediocre players out. oh and it is not so much about rsults as quality, the way we played, even in the game against Mexico in Huston we failed to kick butt