U.S. - Poland 3/26 Roster

[groundss]

The Link

Considering the Olympic Qualifying just wrapped up, it's no surprise to see Adu, Edu, Altidore, etc. left off.

I found it interesting that Benny again gets called up for the senior squad despite Nowak cutting him from the U-23 squad (what's the consensus? Is Feilhaber a one-hit wonder or is he still an intriguing prospect?...i have no idea).

I'm looking forward to seeing M. Bradley again since he continues to tear up the Eredivisie (sp?). 2 more goals this weekend...

Starting 11 picks?

 

[DeadHeadHorn]

A couple surprises on the roster - Eddie Lewis, Josh Wolff, Corey Gibbs, etc. Nice to see Jay DeMerit back in contention for a selection. The midfield is strange - no true wide players except Lewis, who might play some part in WC qualification but certainly isn't part of the future of the team. Bob likes to play Landon out wide on the right, which I like too, as it utilizes his fitness and desire to track back and defend. He's also our fastest player and can beat defenders to the byline and whip in crosses.

-----------------Howard---------------
Cherundolo----Bocanegra----Gooch--------Pearce
-------------Bradley----Clark-----------
Donovan----------------------------Lewis
--------------Dempsey------------------
---------------------EJ----------------

Supposedly Feilhaber and Adu got in a bit of a scrap; word is that Benny was the one who was out of line and thus sent home. Still, he's a talented player and I think he's got a future with the team.

Bob could throw something entirely different out there, considering the roster, but I'm guessing he uses his preferred "empty bucket". That whole zebra changing its stripes thing...

Poland's a good team getting ready for Euro 2008. Good prep for both teams.

 

[SyracuseHorn]

Bradley and Clark are a bad pairing in central midfield. They've trotted out together a few times, and it's been awful.

Bradley is a must, so pair him with Feilhaber. Let Benny sink or swim in his next couple of appearances. Bring on Clark to help hold a lead late.

 

[groundss]

I’d like to see Spector or Demerit get some significant time, but I’m not sure if that’ll happen.

Initially I wasn’t pleased when I saw the Lewis selection, but considering the lack of depth there right now, I’m not sure what other direction Bradley could go. Maybe Convey, but after the way he disappeared in the Mexico game I can see why they went elsewhere. Anyone know the latest on Beasley’s status?

 

[DeadHeadHorn]

In reply to:

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[SyracuseHorn]

Benny definitely needs a reality check. I agree on that point completely.

I don't share your confidence in Clark; he's a walking red card. He just makes extraordinarily bad decisions when he loses focus. It's a risk that I'm not comfortable with when the stakes are high.

I think Edu will be the man in that role in 2010.

 

[DeadHeadHorn]

Hmm, I've never seen Rico as much of a card risk. Aside from his lashing out at Carlos Ruiz (which, desipte Ruiz being a piece of ****, was absolutely asinine), I don't recall ever seeing him get a red (or many yellows, really). Bradley seems a lot more reckless than Rico, especially when deployed in the way that his father lays out.

I realize there aren't many fans of Rico's but I love his game. I agree, however, that Maurice Edu will be starting in the middle of the pitch for the US come 2010. He is a bona fide badass, with all the qualities of Rico but a far more polished passer and reads the game even better than Clark.

I'm expecting a huge MLS season out of Edu, and possibly a move to Europe next January. I believe Villa that was looking at him last year.

 

[SyracuseHorn]

We were deadly on set pieces. One goal from a corner, one from a free kick header, and one from a Lewis-becomes-Beckham free kick. Donovan with 2 assists, Boca and Gooch with the headers. 3-0 win in Poland.

Bocanegra has 9 International goals. I think that's more than any of our active forwards.

 

[Knoxville-Horn]

Wow. I was shocked today. Thing is, we could have had 4 or 5 goals....
The team looked really, really good.
Maybe it's because the last 5 U.S. games I've watched were the Olympic squad and I was getting used to mediocrity and crappy play but, today was fun to watch.

 

[SchertzHorn]

That was a fun match to watch. Players actually took contact and continued dribbling and taking shots. There were no dives or cheap shots. I am really looking forward to watching the US gain experience in these next matches in Europe and possibly at Argentina.

 

[Larry T. Spider]

 

[DeadHeadHorn]

We were efficient, that's for sure. I'd rather have us score at least a goal from the run of play, but I'll take 3 goals and a clean sheet on European soil any day of the week.

But aside from Donovan and our back line I thought we looked pretty bad. Rico Clark was decent but Mikey Bradley was yet again very frustrating. Bob doesn't put him in a position to have any impact on the game, his "empty bucket" formation needs to go.

I'm all for giving Mikey time on the pitch, but let him get forward. Don't handcuff him by making him clean up in front of the back four.

I realize it was only because we were in a pinch, but I liked seeing Landon on the left. I really think that putting him out wide is his best spot. He doesn't have the pressure of being our creator and his speed/stamina are utilized on the wing. His breakaway was truly great to watch, and although he put his shot wide, Boruc would have saved it if he had tucked it in any more. Perhaps he could have gone around him, but I think he did the right thing. Good goalkeeping prevented him from scoring.

If Eddie Johnson never wears the U.S uniform again it will be too soon. The guy has no footballing IQ or feel for the game. Every time he gets the ball he passes it backwards, killing any sort of attack, and his passes miss by 10-15 yards. He is terrible, this EJ. Even worse, he's playing at a club that will teach him little to nothing about tactics. The only thing he can do is run onto a ball played in front of him, but he rarely puts himself in position to do even that. He's a homeless man's Djibril Cisse. I'd much rather see Dempsey play up top as the support striker, and either Ching or Altidore playing the #9. For awhile I thought maybe he'd develop into a half-decent international striker but it's now clear to me that that ship has sailed. He'll never be anything more than a straight-ahead speed guy with fair-to-poor finishing ability. The sooner Bob/our next manager realizes that the better.

Heath Pierce did well, I thought, playing some good defense and getting mixed up in the attack a bit. He won the first free kick that resulted in Boca's cheeky header.

Feilhaber, in his short 5 minutes, looked pretty good. If you didn't hear Max Bretos, apparently Bob told him "Benny's got some growing up to do,". Not sure if that's referring to his scuffle with Freddy or something different, but he's clearly got attitude issues and is in the doghouse at the moment.

Too bad. He's probably our most creative player not named Clint Dempsey.

A win in Europe over a Euro-qualified team is always a positive. We've got some really quality games/opponents over the next few months so hopefully we can continue to get results.

 

[Seabrook]

I don't care what people say about Landon, how dangerous is that guy? He had a great game, but I feel like he needs to be surrounded by quicker players. When he starts a give and go the guy he passes it to always takes to long.

I'm pretty disappointed in EJ. I saw him walking numerous times after turning the ball over. No attempt to win it back or anything. He looks nothing like the player from 2-3 years ago.

The fact that we scored all 3 goals off set pieces worries me. It's great that we are that bad *** at them, but we need some strikers that can score.