Good News/Bad News From Rangers

Edu seems to be thriving in Glasgow and with the ban of two starting midfielders he will probably be the starter for the rest of the season. Let’s hope he can capitalize and solidify a starting role for years to come.

Regarding Beas…unfortunately, he will not be much of a factor for the US so I hope he’s ok from today’s injuries for the sake of his club career but I’m not too worried about it’s effect the national team.

Posted from  United States

I think it’s time Beas gets in a less physical league. He’s getting older now and there are two many brutal challenges in the SPL.

Posted from  United States

Update: Beas’s ribs aren’t broken
http://goal.com/en-us/news/66/united-states/2009/04/09/1200829/no-rib-break-for-beasley

BTW, why do people keep saying things like he’s too old and he should retire from the national team? He’s only 26, he can bounce back.

Posted from  United States

George: I just simply think there are better players that the national team can utilize. Beas has had a great career but injuries have really hindered him. I believe he’ll continue to have a long club career but as for the national team he isn’t needed. That’s not a knock against him it’s just a reality.

Posted from  United States

I think Beasley could be very vital to the national team. When he is fully healthy he is very useful. It’s a matter of when e use him. Hopefully, BB can realize when he’s needed.

Posted from  United States

Beasley played his role as a runner. That is all. I hope he recovers for his own sake, but I don’t want him on the USMNT. I would prefer a U-23 team with 2 to 3 exceptions to go to the WC than have the same old story.

Also, there is a lot of talk about long ball. With Freddy Adu in controlling mid (as long as Donovan can stop being a premadonna and trying to play coach…also overrated imo…) then the US can work the ball up with a Torres. Both would be like Spanish mid-fielders, Xavi et al (obviously not the same at this time), and put Spector and someone else on the other side in the back who has some technical skill and you can easily work the ball up.

If Donovan would stop being a panzy and play a role instead of insisting on being the “center” of the US attack, then I think the US could be a stronger force.

I would like to see something like the following in a 4-4-2:

Altidore – ???(Adu)

Torres(Rogers) – Adu(Bradley) – Dempsey – Donovan(Zizzo)

Spector – Bradley(???) – Gooch – ???

Fill in the gaps. I think the team above could easily work the ball out of the back through the mid field and to the attacking 3rd. The team above, if given time to gel as long as Donovan (and Dempsey to a lesser extent) can let Adu be Adu. The idea that technical skill doesn’t get you anywhere is retarded.

I would bet the above team would be much more dangerous than the current USMNT (which is pathetic imo)

GLT the USMNT.

@ Unbelievable, your team would absolutely be more dangerous than the current national team lineup. It would also likely give up 5 goals per game to a decent side. I understand your desire for a more attacking style, but your fielding three-quarters of a team is a cop out. The US does not have Puyol and Juanito in the back to allow us to throw whoever we want into the attack the way Spain does. Regardless of what American you fill in those ???s with, any good European or South American team would rip up that defense.
The limitation on the US formation and style of play is not in the midfield or the strikers, its in the back line. You may be able to put together a back line that could stop a decent team without 2 defensive midfielders (allowing Adu in the lineup) and you may be able to put together a back line that would have enough technical skill to not need a target striker (meaning Ching would not be necessary), but with our current personnel, you cannot do both without giving up defensive integrity. Put a formation together that can hold Spain or Brazil to 2 goals and the ability to score 3 means something. But if they score 5, then the ability to get 3 back is meaningless. Sadly, the US simply does not have the defenders to put together that lineup. Unbelievable’s 4-4-2 is nothing more than a list of the most attacking/technical players capable of playing each position with complete and utter disregard to the other half of the game.

That is not true at all. You could place Bocanegra, Cherundolo, Specter and Gooch in the back to provide legitimate stability. I admit I am not providing a defensive mid-fielder, but I don’t think Euro and South American teams would tear up the back line of the aforementioned.

What is the alternative? Lose 2 to nothing, or 2 to 3? I would prefer to be dangerous on the attacking mid and striker level with a solid back-line. The US’s problem has NEVER been defense.

Defense is not the answer. Defense has never been the answer for the US. It has always been ball control, technical skill and finishing. We have the ball control IMO with respect to past teams. The technical skill is coming slowly but surely. Finishing is not there at all except for Altidore.

The US Olympic team was very good and should’ve advanced out of the group stage except for a ridiculous foul by a sub and an unlucky jump of the wall against the Dutch. That team had Altidore, Adu, Sacha and Rogers, among some other decent players. That team was dangerous and they were able to lock down the back. The Olympics is not the U-20, but it isn’t the WC. I would argue it is much closer to the WC level than the U-20 by far.

I think the only problem is coach Bradley is gun shy from putting the younger generation in (partly because of the latest Copa America showing) because he is worried about his job and they won’t gel as well as they should.

Again, focusing on defense is not the answer. The US has always produced solid defenders. Always.

——-Altidore—???(I still don’t know)
Torres(Bradley)—Adu—Dempsey(Bradley)—Donovan
Bocanegra—Specter—Gooch—Cherundolo

Have Dempsey/Bradley backtrack for defense. To say the above would be shreaded is ridiculous. You are going to tell me the back 4 would get torched? Specter is big, as is Gooch and both have enough technical skill and speed for big guys at the center back positions. The only reason I choose Bocanegra is for his experience. Cherundolo has more technical skill than Heijduk and has very solid euro experience.

If you are going to freak out about not having a true defensive mid-fielder, insert who you want and leave out Torres. You can tinker without touching my base, technical players.

I look forward to your reply and I honestly appreciate the response even though I will throw words around. I just feel very passionately about this subject as I have been talking about it for over 8 years now.

Paul

Last thing. YOU MUST PLAY THE GAME WITH A SWAGGER AND ARROGANCE OR YOU WILL NEVER BEAT ANY OF THE TOP TEAMS. You must believe you are the best. You must attack and have confidence in your back line.

Adu has that confidence. So does Dempsey. Dempsey’s mentality if you have ever heard him speak is phenomanal. He doesn’t give a cht and wants to beat Brazil, Argentina, Spain, etc. He isn’t going out there for a tie.

I have lived abroad for over 4 years. Spain, Argentina, Brazil and Germany.

Spain: Excellent technical skill and the first time I realized how far behind young US players were in terms of understanding the passing and acting to maintain possesion of the game.

Argentina: No team or people in my experiences have a bigger heart for the game. They, at times, just will themselves to victory. They don’t complain (not too much diving as a Portugual, Spain, Italy, Greece, etc.) and they foul the crap out of you when you have the ball in transition to stop any possibility of counter-attack, or gaining tactical superiority in the mid-field by Argy errant passes. They have very good technical skill. In recent years something is missing. I would argue it is an extremely creative mid-fielder. Requilme is getting older. Ortega is pretty much gone. So is Veron.

Germany: I have never seen in my experiences kids understand the structure of the game better than the Germans. Structure in terms of defensive integrity is unbelievable and the kids learn this at 4 thru 9. Why? Parents and coaching.

Brazil: LOL–these kids love the game. They just love it and they love attacking and showing off. But the showing off provides for the best technical skill in the world and the ability to work in tight places. The “support” players NEVER run away from the ball. You have 3 to 4 players running to the ball at all times, which allows for the Brasileros to build attacks like China is building their infrastructure. They attack and their defenders are good. I would say Brasil’s best defense is their ability to attack.

I ask why not play with a combination of the above? Why not? Because we are from the US? BS!!!

Take it easy.

Paul

In reading your country analysis, maybe its my German heritage that screams for some defensive integrity. And, I couldn’t agree more with the swagger comment. I also agree that the backline you propose would be able to handle itself against elite competition. But, if we assume that the players in your backline have made rational field decisions in the past, I still worry about the overuse of the long ball. I’ve seen all of those players pump long balls over the top with enough frequency to make me nervous about not having someone that wins more than half of those 50-50 balls up front. I’ve got to believe that if our defenders are making the choice to serve up a 50-50 ball, there aren’t better passing options out there. Paraphrasing what you said in another post, US defenders and d mids do stupid things when they get high pressure on them. That stupid thing is generally an ill-advised long ball. Maybe a retooled midfield gives the defenders better targets, but that gets into my frustration with run timing by the US as a whole which is a far to large of topic to take up in this post.

Your last post looks pretty close to the starting XI that I would throw out there if I didn’t worry about our long ball tendencies. Ultimately, I would love to see a 4-3-3:

———Altidore———-
Dempsey————-Donovan
———–Adu————-
—–Torres—-Bradley—–
Spector–Boca–Gooch—Dolo
———-Howard———–

For it to really be a 4-3-3 versus a 4-5-1 Dempsey and Donovan’s trackback responsibilities would have to be reduced to obvious defending (set piece) situations. As you can see, I’m not opposed to attacking formations. But I still question our ability to not serve up a dozen long balls against a team that pressures our defenders.

As a last point, I’m a huge believer in consistancy of formation and style. Playing a formation or style that is dependent on one player being match fit is a scary proposition with the number of injuries that occur in the game. As we’ve seen with Cherundolo’s injury, there is not a lot of depth at the back, especially backliners that would avoid the long ball as a primary passing option.

Thanks for a great conversation. Most of my friends are typical Americans who I try to educate, but this level of conversation is way above their level.

Just a thought:

Boca–Oneywu–Edu–Spector

Posted from  United States

Marlon, you beat me to the punch.

Posted from  United States

Marlon, I think that backline is headed in the right direction. Because we have enough young depth at DM, I think holding Edu out of the Confederations Cup and having him play starting CB with Marshall, Orozco, or Parkhurst in the Gold Cup would be a great developmental decision by Bradley. Not having a true CB under 25 with more than 5 caps is disheartening and why I think the loss of Subotic will be a big deal by 2014.

Posted from  United States

It is great to hear that Edu is earning playing time.

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