For referance: The roster for NZ therefor is: Hahnemann, Marcus GK 6'3" 220 06/15/72 Cannon, Joe GK 6'2" 190 01/01/75 Berhalter, Gregg D 6'1" 175 08/01/73 Bocanegra, Carlos D 6'0" 170 05/25/79 Cherundolo, Steve D 5'6" 145 02/19/79 Vanney, Greg D 5'11" 169 06/11/74 Gibbs, Cory D 6'3" 178 01/14/80* Armas, Chris M 5'7" 150 08/27/72 Klein, Chris M 6'1" 180 01/04/76 Lewis, Eddie M 5'10" 155 05/17/74 Martino, Kyle M 5'10" 144 02/19/81 Stewart, Earnie M/F 5'9" 145 03/28/69 Kirovski, Jovan F 6'1" 175 03/18/76 Twellman, Taylor F 5'11" 170 02/29/80 *taken from kicker and converted from cm/kg to inches/lbs I figure might as well get kind of funky this game, its a weird roster and pull a x-mas tree.               Cannon Dolo-Berhalter-Boca-Vanney      Klein-Armas-Lewis         Stewart-Kirovski             Twellman
I don't think Bruce will go against anyone, not even New Zealand with a 14 man team. You don't even have 3 field subs. I think I saw that Bease, Cunningham and maybe LD were going to return to Richmond for the game (it's three players, anyway, but I'm not sure it's those three.) That will likely change things a bit, tho all three will be pretty tired and may only be subs.
Hahnemann Cherundolo Berhalter Bocanegra Vanney Klein Martino Armas Lewis Kirovski Twellman Convey and Beasley as subs @75 minute mark.
Bruce should have those guys in just in case someone gets hurt, but seriously it would be messed up to have them play games on back to back dates just for a meaningless friendly. Its not like Bease or LD have anything to prove.
Howard and Donovan won't be there. Sub in Armas in for LD and you have your self a line up. and stewart in for Klein you have yourself a lineup for New Zealand. If that is the line-up than I predict at least 1 goal from Twellman off an Eddie Lewis cross.
Thats crazy! Berhalter, Gregg D 6'1" 175 08/01/73 Bocanegra, Carlos D 6'0" 170 05/25/79 Cherundolo, Steve D 5'6" 145 02/19/79 Vanney, Greg D 5'11" 169 06/11/74 Gibbs, Cory D 6'3" 178 01/14/80* Armas, Chris M 5'7" 150 08/27/72 Klein, Chris M 6'1" 180 01/04/76 Lewis, Eddie M 5'10" 155 05/17/74 Martino, Kyle M 5'10" 144 02/19/81 Stewart, Earnie M/F 5'9" 145 03/28/69 Kirovski, Jovan F 6'1" 175 03/18/76 Twellman, Taylor F 5'11" 170 02/29/80 That's uh, 12 field players. is that right? Doesn't leave much choice, does it? Cannon Dolo Berhalter Boca Vanney Armas Klein Lewis Martino Twellman Kirovski Sub Hanemann at half, Gibbs and Stewart at 70" or so. Thinking: Let each keeper have a half. Put players who need to prove something in the position tehy have to prove it in (Klein, Martino, Twellman, Vanney). Everyone else plays because they are a warm body. Bloody Gibbs (first cap?) Let Martino, Twellman click with Stewart some, but prtoetct him a little, hence no start.
Wow. For the first time, I kind of have an idea what Bruce is going to do for a starting lineup. Twellman-Kirovski Lewis-KMart-Armas-Klein Vanney-Boca-Berhalter-Dolo Hanemann Where we are strong: Big, physical team. Lot's of height. We should be exceptionally strong in defense in the air with Boca and Berhalter. I like the K-Mart & Armas tandem. It provides a great balance between defense and attack. Good crossing from the right and left sides will give Twellman and Kiro the chance to get their heads on the ball. Where we are not so strong: Team is a bit slow, especially up front. Ball control is a question, as KMart is really the only player here who I have seen who is comfortable in tight spaces with the ball at his feet. If NZ packs things in, it could be a long game. What this means at the CC: Convey, DMB, Donovan get start vs. Brazil. Hejduk could as well. I'm really not sure about Mastroeni and Armas. Maybe a 5-man midfield with both? Califf might get a starting spot, too.
Haha, my point being he is for the most part a known quantity. You pretty much know what he offers already and hes proven that he can play for the nats against anyone without fearing that hes going to look like a scared little boy. Unlike Gibbs, Martino, Hahnemann, Twellman and to a lesser extent Klein and Dolo.
Makes sense. The one question is Stewart. Perphaps Arena didn't release Stewart because he wants to be fair since he only released one Fire player. But I have to think that Stewart will play, maybe start. He could start for Kirovski, Klein or Martino. Me, I think the Klein/Lewis combination is too boring with too much wide play and not enough clever short passing. Against New Zealand, I think that Stewart's guile will be more useful than Klein's brute force, especially since Dolo can get forward and provide the flank runs to loosen up the defense. And Arena might be planning a 3-5-2 with something like: Cannon; Boca, Berhalter, Vanney (Bizarre that every defender except Dolo is a left-sided player); Klein/Dolo, Armas, Martino, Stewart, Lewis; Kirvoski, Twellman. Of course, since my two lineups look almost the same, we might not be able to tell if a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2 is being used.
Thanks Martin. I am in a series of extremely long, extremely tedious contract negotiations with a client this week, and reading this made me laugh out loud. Woke up the table a little bit anyways. You summarized exactly how I feel about Klein but haven't been able to pinpoint yet. Boring. Thank God for wireless connections...and BigSoccer.
Actually, I think this and maybe free kicks are the sum total of what Jovan Kirovski brings to the table as a nat. He's excellent at keeping possession under high pressure in tight situations. His ability to keep possession and control of the ball is excellent. The problem is his ability to hurt the other team when he has the ball (either through passing or scoring) has for years been close to non-existent.
As others have mentioned the starting line up of Cannon; Vanney, Berhalter, Bocanegra, Cherundolo; Lewis, Armas, Martino, Klein; Kirovski, and Twellman almost picks itself. That would leave a bench of Hahnemann, Gibbs, Convey, Beasley, and Stewart. As Martin said, I could see Stewart starting as well. Where is the question. He could start in place of Klein, Martino, or Twellman/Kirovski. Also, don't get all worked up about a "thin" bench. Arena only uses 3-5 subs per game in friendlies, so a bench of 5 is not a problem. Expect only Hahnemann, Gibbs, and Stewart to see action off the bench. It might be better to rest both Convey and Beasley after they play a full 90 on Saturday.
Surely Bruce is going to bring at least another forward back. I know he's bringing Convey and Beasley back for Sunday; that only gives him 16 players, I think. And only two are forwards - Kirovski and Twellman. Do you think they'll play the whole game? I'm hoping he brings back LD or Mathis to sub in at the end, maybe last 10, 15 minutes.
I see a lot of lineups above with Lewis in them, he played well v Wales, but when is the last time we've seen Arena start Lewis over a healthy and available Beasley?? Also, without Pope I wonder if we will see Pablo put in some time in the back sometime soon.......??
Beasley is playing the day before, hence its not even a question for this game who starts on the left, unless Bruce takes leave of his senses.
Donovan will be playing a game in Columbus Saturday night. Kick off is 7:30 PM, which puts the game ending at around 9:20 PM (9:35 PM with extra-time). Then he has to shower, get to the airport, catch a plane (is it possible for a direct flight to DC), and be ready for a 1:00 PM kick off the next day. Give me a break! Mathis will be in Kansas City. See above. Cunningham will be in Kansas City. See above. Stewart can also play forward. In a pinch, Martino and Beasley could as well.
See Lurking's comments re: Beasley. Mastroeni could possibly be back in time, but I doubt he will play two games in two days. Colorado Rapids have a game vs. Los Angeles Galaxy Saturday (kick off at 1PM PT/4PM ET).
Hey, I only mentioned it because earlier there was an interview with Donovan wherein he said he'd be at the NZ game, but didn't know if he'd play or not. Give me a break!
Did Beasley pick up an injury against Poland that I don't recall (he came in early in place of the injured Agoos and finished that game)? If not, the answer is: the last two times Lewis and Beasley were on the US roster together -- vs. Mexico & Germany in the World Cup. In any case, as has been pointed out, Beasley (and Convey) will be playing tomorrow night, so, while they'll be available, it would be a surprise to see them start.
To put this in its proper context, the real question is when have a healthy Beasley who has played regularly for his club, and a healthy Lewis who has played regularly for his club, competed for the position? This is a first. It will be an interesting battle to watch.
IIRC, Arena was quoted that he wants to use this game as serious prep for the Confed Cup, unless he changed his mind, he should therefore start his starters. Beasley is 20 years old and fully capable of two games in two days as I suspect is Pablo. As a matter of fact, isn't he prepping for a tournament that has short rest times between games??? That said, if it was my choice, I would not have released the players for Saturday,but I'm a country before club guy, all the way Interesting viewpoint, unfortunately, if Arena agrees with the above opinions that rest is the major factor, we might not really find out.........
How can it be serious prep when you release 40% of your team to play with their club the day before? From the final whistle of their game to the start of the NZ match: Califf 19 hours and traveling from LA Mastroeni 19 hours and traveling from LA Beasley 15 hours and 30 minutes and traveling from DC Convey 15 hours and 30 minutes and traveling from DC Donovan 15 hours and 30 minutes and traveling from Columbus Cunningham 15 hours and 30 minutes and traveling from Columbus Hedjuk 15 hours and 30 minutes and traveling from Columbus Mathis 15 hours and traveling from KC Howard 15 hours and traveling from KC Mastroeni, Califf, Mathis and Howard will almost cetainly arrive in Richmond less than 12 hours prior to the game, so they are definately out. Donovan, Cunningham and Hedjuk have an outside chance of arriving in Richmond 12 hours before game time, if they are very lucky. Beasley and Convey should be able to make it to Richmond 12 hours before the game, or stay in DC and arrive in Richmond the day before the game without too much travel time. However you are still looking at an extremely short rest period between games.