Bob’s 20 for Mexico

I can’t say I would have been excited about any of the alternatives to Casey. It’s better to let Cooper settle with 1860. I doubt Casey dresses barring injury.

I’m good with it. Starters and subs are nearly set in stone regardless of quibbling over a callup or two.

Agreed with what you say Nicholas. Although many, myself included, would prefer to see a more notable and skillful forward than Casey, Cooper needs to settle into a Munich team that starts their season very soon. What I think is the biggest problem is that I still think Casey was on the team sheet regardless of Cooper’s move to Munich. BUT, what I would have preferred to see would have been the addition of a certain Jermaine Jones just to get him into the fold. I feel like the necessity for 5 forward selections is useless, even if Donovan is considered one because we all know he will be on the left flank. I truthfully believe that only 3 had to be selected because either Donovan or Dempsey can push forward if need be, and Ching is the target player as is. I can’t see the line-up changing at all from the Confederations Cup Spain match minus the substitutions. I think Holden might get 10-15 minutes for a tired Dempsey or Altidore. The Dempsey switch would be a straight sub, the Altidore sub would push Dempsey forward with Davies and push Holden right. As well, depending on how the game is going, Fehilhaber will see some time if the side is lacking creativity and down a goal, coming in for Clark around the 60th minute. Other than that, if up a goal and late, near the 85th minute, look for Cherundalo to sub in for a forward pushing Spector inside to go to a 5-4-1. Just my prediction.
Howard
Spector – Gooch – Demerit – Boca
Demps – Clark – Bradley – Donovan
Altidore – Davies

That’d be my ideal lineup as well, Z.
I just hope Bob doesn’t pull a…Bob.

Z

Not sure whether this is old news to you or not but Jones isn’t eligible until oct. Regardless, he’s hurt now.

@Z I would like to see Cherundolo moved to right back and tuck Spector inside, removing Demerit. That gives the backline a lot of composure and control in my book. Demerit is a shoot first, ask questions later type of player where he just boots the ball. Not my style. Kaka burned “Yhe Spector” (Personally, I think Spector is phenomanal) on that goal on the wing so and I think if Cherundolo was in top form he would’ve stopped Kaka on that particular play. I know I am picking one small piece of the entire game. Only commenting. Also, I don’t think Spector is as advertised in terms of height. They say he is 6′ 1”. I don’t believe that. I swear he was announced several yrs ago at 6′4”. Another reason to tuck him inside. Great composure and ball skill. Tough enough to clear anything in the air.

I would also prefer to see Holden in for Clark, even though Clark is considered the defensive middy. Holden has been known to track back and play solid defense. He will do what is asked of him if given the opportunity. I just want to see more ball control and with him you have a lot more composure and solid defensive skills compared to Clark.

Altidore and Davies are going to be very interesting up top. Can’t way for this game.

GLTTMNT

Here is my lineup and my bench for August 12th

4-4-2

GK Howard
RB Spector
CB Onyewu
CB DeMerit
LB Bocanegra (C)
RM Dempsey
CM Clark
CM Bradley
LM Donovan
ST Davies
ST Altidore

Subs:
GK Guzan
RB Cherundolo
LB Bornstein
CM Feilhaber
CM Torres
AM Holden
ST Ching

If Any of our center backs get hurt you slide Bocanegra to center back and you can either bring in Bornstein at left back or Cherundolo ar right back and move Spector to left back. Feilhaber and Torres are best in the central midfield but Feilhaber can slide out right if need be and Torres can slide out left. Holden could be used as an attacking midfielder if the situation called for it. And I went with one striker off the bench and I went with Ching. We know what we are going to get with Ching and up a goal we can bring him in to get fouled.
I left off Marshall and Casey on my game day bench. Marshall did play well in the Gold Cup up until the last half, but with Onyewu, DeMerit and Bocanegra with the ability to play center back I see no point for him to get on the bench with the 18 man roster. And Casey played well in the MLS all star game, but he is horrible putting pressure on defenders passing the ball around. And he’s not as good as Ching at holding the ball up and getting fouled which we will need if we are in a close match.
No real surprises on the selection that Bob Bradley made.

Nicholas – I know that he can’t play until October, it just bothers the hell out of me that FIFA again has found a way to delay the USA’s progress. They let Brazilians become Mexicans and play within a week, but we have to wait months to see the talent that is Jones play for the Nats.

Unbelievable – I have to respectfully disagree with a lot of what you said. Demerit was the rock in the back during the gold cup. His positioning and field awareness allowed Onyewu to be the big brute he is. Without him slotting into the back 4, I guarantee you that the Spain game is a reversal to 2-0 Spain. I’ve watched the match in its entirety about 4 times now and can say without fail that Demerit and Clark were the best defenders on the day and Clark in particular the glue in between the horror that WAS the back four and the forward two after he was sent off during the Italy match. There is no feasible way that this team operates without a defensive minded holding midfielder like a Clark, Edu or Jones. Amazing to think that when the time comes, expect the US to be playing a 4-5-1 with two holding center mids and a free roaming Dempsey to play under Jozy with Davies coming off the bench. But, it is a known fact, especially against Mexico, without one player holding in front of the back 4, there is no US victory. For that reason, Holden in for Clark is just not a bright idea. Moreover, you need to keep the team that succeeded in the Confed Cup together. As a coach, you know that when there is a good thing going on the field, DO NOT change it when rolling. Specter is the future of the team at the RB position. What Cherundalo gives is reliability and experience, but not the defensive intelligence and incredible deep service that Specter provides the side. Remember that cross against Brazil to Dempsey as well as the incredible service against Spain.

When the time comes (2010), expect this line-up:
Howard
Specter – Onyewu – Demerit (SUBOTIC! damn you BB) – Boca
Edu (Clark) – Jones (Clark)
Dempsey (Holden) – M. Bradley – Donovan
Jozy (Davies)

Just to add to the tactical side of that line-up, Donovan, Demps, and Jozy would form a trident attack, much like a Barcelona side does. Those 3 are creative, smart individuals who work incredibly well off each other, finish, and are not afraid to take people on. Along with this, with the two holding in front of the back four, the 3 have much more freedom to roam and go wherever. M. Bradley would be more conservative but connect with the 3 since he is a great distributor. Bring the outside backs coming forward and push the 2 about 10-20 yards over half and you have the numbers, skill, and ability to really create some damage to other teams. This is our best line-up and we HAVE the ability to use it effectively for the first time ever.

@Z. If you are honest with yourself and the state of USM soccer, Spain would beat the US 7 times out of 10, with 2 going as draws and 1 out of 10 times the US winning. Need I remind you that the US was exceptionally lucky to get out of the group stage. Italy had to lose 3 to 0 to Brasil and the US had to beat the African champs 3 to 0. I can see us (USA) beating Egypt 3 to 0, but Italy going down to Brasil 3 to zip is a result that we won’t see again for a long time.

So if you want to improve the US style over the long term, I think we should be putting more players who have more composure on the ball. I like the attacking style. I’ve lived abroad for almost 3 yrs (Brasil, Argentina, Spain and Germany). It is my preference. I have stated before that I would give up world cup qualifying for 2010 for an absolute attacking style that would in all likelihood bring a better quality to the US in 6 to 10 yrs.

As for Demerit and Holden, I do believe Demerit is a solid defender. Clark is also a solid defender. But both of those guys are not good technically. Demerit clears the ball without any second thoughts and Clark makes me nervous. I could probably name a few other players for Holden, but I stand by my decision to move Spector inside and have Cherundolo on the right, removing Demerit. I know he is a bull and anticipates well but Spector imo can do the job and has much better technical skill considering he was once a striker.

My philosophy is you continually move players from the attacking positions to the back as the best players get widdled down through the youth to the development to the professional ranks. Those players have better touch/control/vision/technical skill/composure on the ball. Ofcourse there are exceptions, i.e., Gooch.

Currently, is the USA capable of replacing extreme defensive minded players with ones who have a little less defensive skills for more technical, composure, touch players? Probably not but I think the US needs to start some where and obviously Bradley doesn’t care how the results are obtained, as long as they are obtained. From that point of view I disagree but I understand. Again, I would sacrifice the immediate future for a more attacking style/mindset throughout the USA (youth to development to profesional ranks).

Just my opinion and GLTTMNT

@Unbelievable – The Italy game you cannot be serious about. Look at the game facts, we were up 2-0 with 10 men. The man who was sent off was Clark in the 33rd minute. His absence is what lead to the 2 of 3 Italian goals. Not to take anything away from Gio Rossi’s first goal, a defensive midfielder would have been stepping to the ball to deny the shot. The duo in the middle along with the tactics that you have presented would have still left the same predicament, no pressure on the shot. Same with the second goal. A Clark, Edu or Jones would have had immediate pressure on the player and the shot could not have been taken. You saw what happened what a strong defensive midfielder wasn’t on the field against Brazil and how they ransacked us royally. The reason why we won the Spain game and had a great match against Brazil the 2nd time around was our defense mindset and work. An attacking line-up leaves an already susceptible back four open to a counter attack.

As I mentioned as well, Clark is not our starting defensive midfielder, that is Edu or Jones, and probably soon, both of them. They are starters for Rangers and Schalke, technical, intelligent, experienced, and easily two of the best players that we have. In football, you play to your strengths, not what you want. Holden, a FUTURE starter, is neither experienced, physical, or skilled enough yet to hold down the center of the field against a team like Italy, Brazil or Spain, even Mexico.

In the case of Specter, look where he plays for West Ham, RB. What’s the point of moving him out of a place where he is comfortable? We tried that experiment with Bocanegra…it did not work. If anything, having the two of them available and since they are different players, Cherundalo much more attacking and Specter the better defender, it gives the staff many options depending on the opponent.

Demerit IS a CB who is well tested, has played the position at the highest level, and was praised for his ability. He simply didn’t want to leave Watford, the reason why he is in the Championship where he PLAYS CB and would not be, like Specter would, thrown into the deep end into a position where he doesn’t play.

As a former player in the US national team youth system, and having played abroad in many tournaments and having trials abroad before a knee injury did me in, I can tell you that giving up qualifying for a World Cup for a transformation into an attacking style of play is the most idiotic thing that a manager or federation can do. That is why the World Cup is every four years, you can build up a team and its style during the beginning of that new cycle. For that reason, hiring BB was a poor move by the USSF because no US manager has a distinct style of play outside of Bora who had the philosophy of outwork the other team to death defensively and immediately counter…which worked.

Again, the buck stops at the federation and its lack of vision. You do NOT make the team suffer.

Look, I understand your want to play more attacking, but football in this day and age is not all out attack, it is a hybrid system that attacks but focuses first and foremost on clean sheets and defending. EVERY team has a holding, if not two holding midfielders who will stop an attack, distribute, and possess the ball. The days of Cattenacio and the 4-4-2 with two high central midfielders are over, it doesn’t work. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Man Utd, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Italy, Germany, Brazil, France, Argentina, England, ALL have central defensive midfielders who stop the attack and help possess the ball.

Mistype, we were up 1-0 against Italy.

@Z. What I write is a wishlist, but I believe starting it now is essential. Your defense of the US’ play against Italy, etc., is admirable, but nevertheless futile. Unless you are willing to say the USA, with its current style, belongs on the same level with Italy, Brazil, Spain, etc., then I will accept your argument, otherwise it is analysis of one game at one moment in time. I am looking at future development, not just the USA v Mex game. Again, you play those games over and over again and the USA will come out on the losing side with its current style.

Spector has played everywhere on the backline. He is quite comfortable being moved around and I think that is where he is going. To say he would be thrown into the “deep end” is a big stretch. Spector could easily handle the job. You have to be flexible in your styles.

As for Clark and Edu having the technical skill as Holden does? That is absolutely wrong. Neither have the technical skill close to Holden. If/when Jones is cleared to play, I hope his technical skill becomes the best as a defensive middy. I will be surprised if it isn’t. As I said I could think of other players besides Holden.

I know what I suggested would never happen in terms of not qualifying for 2010. It is a hypothetical. If it were guaranteed that adopting a more attacking style now and suffering defeats because of it in the immediate future would produce a more dangerous teams in the distant future, I would do it in a heart beat. It is only a hypothetical.

I think the starting lineup you originally posted will get the nod from Bob. I wan’t a little less conservative style and mindset. Z, you sound like a defender while commenting and Bob and you would get along fine.

You have watched the Spanish game. The US’ defensive shape was so far back that you will never consistently beat teams without being able to control the ball. Ball control should be the top priority. Once we wrestle control from the likes of Brasil, Spain, Italy, etc., you want to have your defenders make calm, collected decisions to work the ball out properly, OR you kick it forward, lose possession and wash rinse repeat, enduring siege after siege. THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO PLAY!!!

Obviuosly there will be times when packing it in at the 18 is required, but for no more than 10 min of any game. Without having defenders who can be calm on the ball and make proper passes out of the back (Spector, Cherundolo and Bocanegra) you will not maintain possesion. Another problem is Edu/Clark receive the ball from the back line and don’t have the tech skill/composure to SMOOTHLY transition the ball forward either through misdirection(dribbling skills) or vision of play. I hope Jones has that ability and he would make the US into a much, much better team if he does have that skill.

Please agree we are both looking at different time horizons here. I would love to see an all out attacking set from Bradley. It would show guts and bells. Whether or not it would be affective is another question, but I for one would like to see the conservative style be abandonded.

Lastly, I think the USA might finally have a dangerous attacking duo in Altidore and Davies. Finally…This, imo, is the first time in US history where we have some potent players who can take defenders on one on one. I think we are missing a phenomanal midfielder (creator). I was hoping Adu would’ve received enough playing time abroad to be filling that role. It doesn’t look like that will happen unless he gets day to day time from another team. Not giving up on the Adu and I believe he is the USA’s future for the midfield.

GLTTMNT

Why does Bradley keep picking Ricardo Clark? Every time I watch him on the USMNT he BLOWS!! He is great on the Dynamo, but for some reason he is always shaky when it comes to the international stage. He has let so many men past him and plays bad balls. He is not smart when he is playing with the USMNT. He needs to sit. There are many more better and smarter players than him.

@Mathew

Ricardo Clark is our only real defensive mid option. Guys like Feilhaber, Bradley, etc. are more box to box midfielders. This will all change when Jermaine Jones gets healthy in a month or two. Then he will be our d mid pick everytime. But until then it’s Ricardo Clark. At this point he’s a better option than Pablo Mastroeni. And Maurice Edu is currently rehabbing an injury.

After reading all of the comments by Unbelievable and Z, I think both have good points. I would like to break them down into positions; def, mid, fwd.

DEF:

I like having Spector on the outside of the back line. I have seen in play inside and I think he can do that, but what he provides by playing at RB is the composure and passing skills to put in crosses that allow the forwards to face the goal when the recieve the ball. This is very important for the defense. The best teams in the world have backs that can push the ball forward and send in crosses that are accurate and dangerous. Spector is the best defender that plays for the US at doing this. If he is moved to a CB we will loose that skill.

MID:

I am not a big fan of Clark. His problem is he doesn’t know how to control his aggresiveness. He is a very hard tackler but isn’t not good at adjusting his style of play to the referee. This causes him to get lots of yellow and an occasional red card. I will agree that if Clark would not have gotten sent off against Italy the score could have been different, but he got sent off b/c of a hard tackle. I would like to see Benny get a start. Between him and Bradley they can play defensive when needed but when they win the ball they can make the pass that pushes the game forward.

Also, I would like to see Dempsey on the bench for 1 game and Holden to get the start. Dempsey is a liabilty playing in the middle of the field. He doesn’t defend… at all. And he tends to hold onto the ball too long. Yes, he is explosive and can score goals, but he can also cost you goals. For Fulham he plays more of an attacking role where his defensive problems don’t show as bad. If the US had a role like that for him I would gladly put him there, but at this time I don’t think there is a good fit for him.

Forwards:

I like Ching. He has a high work rate and is very good at holding the ball and taking a foul. These fouls lead to free kicks that Landy can deliver to Gooch, Ching and Altidore. These are the US’s best ways to score goals. The US has very large players both height and size and we should be effecient at using them. This does cause a problem for me b/c I think the speed of Davies is awesome. He makes great runs without the ball that open up space for the mids to get distance shots. This is a hard choice for me, but I would like to see Ching and Davies get the start. With Altidore coming off the bench in the second half for whichever one is looking tired. Altidore has the size to hold the ball, but sometimes it looks like he can’t make the pass out of the hold. I think Altidore is “the” future forward for the US, but I think he needs to develop more and watching the way Ching plays could help.

Now, with that said I wouldn’t be upset if Ching and Altidore get the start and Davies comes off the bench to torch a tired Mexican defense in the second half. That could lead to lots of goals.

Connor Casey is so freakin’ terrible. He is what Luca Toni would be like if he was paralyzed on one side.

This is a great squad to take to El Azteca. Thank goodness he left Beasley off this roster. He will be back in the MLS next year. Here is my opinion on who Bradley will start.
4-4-2
GK-Howard
LB-Bocanegra
CB-Onyewu
CB-Demerit
RB-Spector
LM-Donovan
CM-Bradley
CM-Clark
RM-Dempsey
ST-Altidore
ST-Ching

This lineup is one of the strongest we have ever fielded. In the back, Demerit still has something to prove at this level so this will be a great test for him. In the midfield look for Clark to have a big game. His style of play should frustrate Mexico in the middle. Yes he is not the most technical player, but the U.S. can use a hard nose guy in the middle. Up top I think Bradley will start Ching but look for Davies to sub in the second half.
GO USA!

Sneakers O’Toole: That’s hilarious.

Superstition be damned, I’m making a prediction: USA 3:2 MEXICO. 1-1 at the break. Davies gets the game winner because he’s in better form than Altidore. Besides, with all that standing around, Altidore’s likey to take a C-battery to the forehead at some point…big and stationary = easy target.

Also, I know he shouldn’t get into the starting 11 or anything, but anyone else think that Beckerman deserved a call up? Maybe in place of Casey. I realize that’s a midfielder for a forward, but it’s not like we’re going to put a 4-3-3 out there! Also, how about Torres in for Clark–considering he’s much more familiar with their style of play and is less likely to get a red card…which would spell death for the U.S. chances of getting a win?

ray–torres can’t be called up to the team because a couple years ago we the USMNT supporters got very excited about his potential and started to hope for his future with the team. which is the kiss of death for young american players because as is well known bob won’t play anyone like that because he hates us and likes to see us suffer. also, bradley must be forced into a corner to make good decisions, like HAVING to play altidore after he got a hat trick and continued to score goals/play well, or not having a choice but leave the 4-5-1 after the egypt game. so he probably won’t give torres or szetela a shot unless another veteran embarrasses himself a la bradley or gets injured like ching…otherwise, he’ll just stoically stand on the sidelines and not change anything until he’s about to be fired again. (this isn’t a serious criticism of bradley, and obviously i’m exaggerating–i’m not looking for a fight, just making a joke.)

anyway, very excited for wednesday’s game–i can’t wait, and i’m very optimistic we’ll come out with 3 points. i hope someone scores early and the game opens up, but i doubt that’ll happen. i’m expecting lots of fouls and few goals. and that we have more than them. : )

U!S!A! U!S!A!

landon donovan is just a hater……..
mexico is going to win Usa big time……..
i was born in usa but i prefer to be a mexican…..
and i also hate wanna be gringos….
mexico is going to win usa………
Arriba MEXICO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Every body who plays for mexico days in the field… their proud of their colors………