G: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 5/3 SO), Tim Howard (Everton: 11/7 SO)
D: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes: 21/3), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA, 2/0), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96: 18/0), Jay DeMerit (Watford: 2/0), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew: 0/0), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan: 16/1), Jonathan Spector (West Ham: 2/0)
M: Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach: 10/4), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo: 5/0), Clint Dempsey (Fulham: 17/4), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy: 30/11), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus GF: 1/0), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo: 0/0), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca: 5/0)
F: Jozy Altidore (Hull City: 8/5), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids: 5/0), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo: 15/6), Charlie Davies (FC Sochaux: 2/1)
*numbers indicate all-time World Cup Qualifying caps/goals
Meanwhile, mun2 sent me an email heads-up on a video they shot with several predictions on the game - including one from Argentina star Lionel Messi.
- Greg Seltzer
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25 comments:
Greg, please tell me you're not a Ching fan and think he should start ahead of the either Jozy or Charlie?
I wouldn't consider myself a monster Ching booster, no. That being said, I can certainly see reasons why he should start over Altidore on Wednesday.
Davies, on the other hand, absolutely must be in the line-up in my opinion.
I don't this nonsense that we need Ching agaisnt Mexico at all.
He didn't do anything against Mexico's Gold Cup squad, so why play him in this game?
At least Altidore is a threat to the defense. We've gotten to the point now where the only thing written about Ching after games is "He worked hard, drew some fouls. Typical Ching effort."
If that's the production we're getting from a striker, why are we so insistent on using him?
I don't think it's a coincidence at all that the team's greatest success has come when Bradley didn't have Ching in his squad.
Everything about this particular group of players screams "couter-attack", and yet the use of Ching almost entirely negates that. He's losing the very little amount of positive (or forward-play) soccer ability he ever had, and he's becoming less and less of a factor in games (and in my opinion, that would be pretty hard to do) than he already was.
I understand that Bradley is absolutely convinced that the only success we can have is with a Brian McBride-type striker, but why are we forcing the issue when we have 2 absolute quality young strikers to build around?
At the end of the day, I have a huge fear that our undoing at the WC will be Bradley's insistence on playing with either Ching or Casey up top as a "target" striker. We just can't win (outside of the horrendous CONCACAF level) with those guys as strikers.
Edit: That should read "I don't get this nonsense that we need Ching against Mexico at all."
If this wasn't Azteca and Jozy was in top match form, okay. But it is and he's not. I won't be mad either way, really.
The spot I'm worried over is left back.
If we start Bornstein over DeMerit (meaning Boca in the middle), I'll be furious.
We proved that we have a class lineup in the Gold Cup against Spain - why fool with it?
This isn't the time to be making adjustments because of "tough environments" or "worries over matchusp" - put our best XI out there and play to win.
As for the Jozy\Ching decision, I don't think a healthy, in-form Ching is better than an out-of-form Jozy. Not one bit. Ching just doesn't have the athleticism, striking ability, or mindset that Jozy has.
The other issue is that, while Bradley seems to think we "hold the ball up well with Ching", in fact all we do is launch the ball up from the back. We become an incredibly easy team to defend because our entire gameplan revolves around kicking a long ball to a weak striker.
It's also the big issue I have with the cries that bringing Ching in off the bench helps us effectively "hold the ball". It does no such thing. Instead of holding up the ball, we resort to kickball and hope that Ching flops enough to get fouled.
My younger brother (a college striker) had a good quote during the Gold Cup - "If Ching played for Mexico or Italy or Costa Rica, would he be reviled as the biggest flopper in the world? The guy spends 80% of the game on the ground."
I thought that was actually pretty accurate. We hate on teams like Italy and such for their flops, but Ching flops on about 1 out of every 2 challenges, but we don't say anything because of 2 things:
1) He's American, and "American's don't flop."
2) He doesn't make a scene once he's down.
Sorry for the long comments, but it's a huge problem I have with the US setup right now, this need to force someone to play as a McBride-type player.
"If we start Bornstein over DeMerit (meaning Boca in the middle), I'll be furious."
I agree with this (though I'm also a little nervous about having 'Los out there, too).
"As for the Jozy\Ching decision, I don't think a healthy, in-form Ching is better than an out-of-form Jozy. Not one bit...
The other issue is that, while Bradley seems to think we "hold the ball up well with Ching", in fact all we do is launch the ball up from the back...
Ching flops on about 1 out of every 2 challenges... "
I do not agree with these, and I have often been very critical of Ching. To me, the main problem is he makes plays a step too slowly for the intl. game.
Fact is, in Bradley's system, there must be a hold-up player - if not two.
Are you still convinced that Pearce is a good option? Or would you rather move Spector to the left and bring Cherundolo in on the right?
I'm not a big fan of Cherundolo because he's just so incredibly tiny, even smaller than Bornstein. To me, we'd be much better suited to using him as a sub on the wings, where his speed and skill would come in better use.
I think Bocanegra is the best of our lot at the left-hand side, but I would not want to see DeMerit put back on the bench just move Bocanegra back to the middle. I thought DeMerit proved his worth in the Confed Cup and should be a lock to start as long as he's healthy.
On Ching, I agree that he's a step slow for the international game. I just don't believe in the need for 1 target man, let alone 2.
"Are you still convinced that Pearce is a good option?"
- Absolutely. He is clearly the US left back with the highest ceiling. Of course, he is also clearly not on top form right now (though his Gold Cup showings were very encouraging before the second half of the final).
Were it not for his Hansa Rostock nightmare, he never would have ceded the starting role. And if he gets regular PT this club season, he will be the guy starting in South Africa. Mark my words.
"Or would you rather move Spector to the left and bring Cherundolo in on the right?"
- Normally, I would be comfortable with that... but Guardado on a 'Dolo still making a form return? That I'd be a little nervous about.
But then again, as things stand, I would be nervous no matter who was out there on Wednesday."
"I think Bocanegra is the best of our lot at the left-hand side..."
- Against most teams, yeah. Against a team with especially shifty/speedy wing play, no.
"On Ching, I agree that he's a step slow for the international game. I just don't believe in the need for 1 target man, let alone 2."
- In the empty bucket, there absolutely must be hold-up work from the forwards. This allows the midfield and wingbacks time to get upfield to join the play. In the set Bradley uses, you will often see both forwards doing some possession work (or at least, trying to).
As fun as it is to run the lightning counter, you can't do that for 90 minutes - let alone against Mexico at Azteca. There has to be possession as well, if only to take the crowd out. You need to vary tempo to keep defenses guessing and keep the opponents from spending all night in your end.
Besides, Ching's hold-up work is not his problem. That is among his best attributes and the one most consistently seen in his performances. It's his struggle to find an intl. cutting edge in the box that holds him back at the highest level.
I know that you're using Ching's "hold-up work" as an example, and to some extent I think it's true.
But, I don't think we see that against a good team because we play kickball to him when he's on the field.
If we showed any capacity to use Ching in the way everyone thinks we do, then I might agree with his playing time to an extent.
However, in the past year, it seems the only goal we have with Ching on the field is to hit long balls to him and hope he gets fouled.
Consequently, when he wasn't in the squad (Confed Cup), suddenly we show some counter ability and some possession ability. Why? I think it's because we don't think we can hit long balls to Jozy and Charlie (and we can't), so we play passes to our outside players - and, shockingly, it works.
Enter Brian Ching (or Conor Casey), and suddenly we completely forget about possession play in hopes of getting a foul off Ching.
-I understand that, in our current system, we need the workhorse strikers, but why not let Jozy and Davies do the work? Sure, they may not "post up" near as much, but at least they can do the same work AND be a threat to goal.
Also, at some point, should Bradley be taken to task for forcing square pegs into round holes? He's dead-set on this "empty bucket" philosophy, when it's fairly clear that our best personnel just don't fit it. It's a bit worrying that we have a coach who can't adapt that well to his personnel.
On paper, Ching is a good worker who does those things well, but I rarely have seen it translate to a game against a team not named Barbados or T&T or Cuba.
We just seem to play better as a unit when we don't have Ching.
-On Pearce\Bocanegra
I can see the issues with Bocanegra against some shifty players, but I think he's fine against all but the absolute best (and Mexico isn't it).
The problem we've had lately on defense is that Donovan and Dempsey largely neglect their defensive duties.
One of the main reasons we were successful in shutting down Spain's wings (and Brazil's for a half) was that our wings worked their tails off to defend. In the 2nd half of the Brazil game, Donovan and Deuce utterly disappeared in the defensive half, and Maicon\Robinho overloaded Bocanegra on the left side.
"But, I don't think we see that against a good team because we play kickball to him when he's on the field."
- I don't believe that Ching's presence is the reason they often hit long balls against good teams. It's because good teams tend to limit your options out of the back.
"I understand that, in our current system, we need the workhorse strikers, but why not let Jozy and Davies do the work?"
- As of now, neither is as consistent with the hold-up game as Ching is.
"Also, at some point, should Bradley be taken to task for forcing square pegs into round holes? He's dead-set on this "empty bucket" philosophy, when it's fairly clear that our best personnel just don't fit it."
I've been saying this since he started using it. It is useful for us against a team like Spain, Argentina or Brazil (as we have seen several times), but it limits us against everyone else. To be using it in things like a Guatemala friendly is just preposterous.
They may not quite be ready, but to me, the USMNT first team has 4-3-3 written all over it. It should have been enacted during the last cycle when we had McBride around to fulcrum the thing.
-On Pearce\Bocanegra
"I can see the issues with Bocanegra against some shifty players, but I think he's fine against all but the absolute best (and Mexico isn't it)."
I'd say Mexico's flank is ratheer shifty. It's a worry to me however we field it.
"The problem we've had lately on defense is that Donovan and Dempsey largely neglect their defensive duties.
One of the main reasons we were successful in shutting down Spain's wings (and Brazil's for a half) was that our wings worked their tails off to defend. In the 2nd half of the Brazil game, Donovan and Deuce utterly disappeared in the defensive half, and Maicon\Robinho overloaded Bocanegra on the left side."
- Sounds about right to me.
Thanks for all the responses Greg, I appreciate the discussion.
Sounds like we just view Ching in a fundamentally different fashion, and that's cool.
Jozy hasn't played since the Confed Cup so I don't know he could go the full 90 and play at a top level...Ching's gonna be tired from the Gold Cup and two games with Houston this week. So either way.
Did anyone notice how conor casey gave about 10 times the effort in the all-star game than he has with the US?
Do you think Bradley will use the empty bucket look in midfield if he starts Feilhaber and Bradley? Or do you think he would have Benny positioned a little more offensively...
Eric Lichaj had an outstanding game against Fiorentina this morning.
There is a fair chance, with Young's injury and Beye not joining up with the team until this coming week, that Lichaj could very well be the starting RB for Aston Villa on opening day.
Personally, I'm convinced Lichaj deserves full call-ups right now well ahead of Marvell Wynne and Frankie Hejduk. If we do indeed move Spector to left back in favor of Cherundolo on the right (not something I want to see), then Lichaj would be a brilliant backup.
@ Alex: I don't think Benny will start. I'm guessing Clark will.
@ bham: Slow down, buddy. He has yet to play a league game. Besides, you forgot Frank Simek, who when fit is certainly well ahead of Wynne.
I'll believe Simek when I see it. He's yet to prove he can stay healthy at all.
I agree he's the better player right now, but it's hard to imagine him getting and staying fit for an extended period at this point.
As for Lichaj, I think it'd be prudent to at least start getting the kid some time with the nats, whether or not he makes the gameday rosters or not.
Greg - what's the latest on Adu? Anything at all?
Also, what's the thoughts on the Houston players playing Sunday night, then turning around and having to play Wednesday afternoon on such short rest?
I think that might be a factor in deciding who starts. Ching is barely useful when he's rested and healthy, so playing him when he's not rested is probably a liability.
Nothing new on Freddy, although I'm actually now maybe back to 6 possibilities. Working on it...
Eric has been with the nats already. He was with the squad for the trips to costa rica, and the honduras game in chicago. He's promising, but needs some games in the prem before he deserves any playing time with the national team. The USA should never trot out a reserve unless he's been frozen out of his club team.
Simek has not impressed me, but i think the trio of spector hejduk and cherundolo is more than capable of handling the rb spot. LB is much more troubling because beyond Boca, we have no international caliber players.
I agree that Ching will likely start, but I hope Bradley will stick with what worked and trot out davies and altidore.
BTW: Davies got 20 minutes today. I read the live text updates in French, and I believe he had one where he almost scored. The guy running it was pleased with him, so it sounds like a good debut.
Yeah, Charlie gave that defense a lot of trouble in a short time.
plus they got the win, encouraging since they were relegation threatened last year
Personally, I think they just underachieved. This side is better than that. I expect them to be middle of the pack this year, maybe even sneak into the top 10.
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