Ranking The USA’S Player Pool: Round Two

March 5th, 2010 | by: Taylor | Comments (11)

Disclaimer: Last week I put out my list of the Top 50 players that had a chance to make the final World Cup squad for the United States. I tried to find a blend of players that I felt had a good chance, wanted to see go, and thought Bob Bradley wanted to include.

This week, rather than using this space to take cheap shots at Bradley, I’m putting out a list of the top players that I want to see included. I’m going to narrow the pool a bit, since it seems unlikely that Nick “Tum-Tum” Rimando or Marvell “I Can break A Human In Half” Wynne will be featured in South Africa. So, without further ado, the list:

1 – Tim Howard – GK – Everton FC (England) – North Brunswick, NJ
2 – Landon Donovan – MF/FW – Everton/LA Galaxy – Redlands, CA
Still the two players that have the most say in controlling the USA’s fate in South Africa. Howard may be stuck in his own penalty box and Donovan may not be the playmaker we all wish we had, but they’re still top of the list.

3 – Carlos Bocanegra – D – Stade Rennais (France) – Alta Loma, CA
The captain put in a solid second half performance, netting the USA’s only goal and proving that even Boca is a more attractive attacking option than Robbie Findley. Perhaps other players should be above him when it comes to skill level, but the armband always pushes him up a few spots.

4 – Jozy Altidore – FW – Hull City/Villarreal – Boca Raton, FL
5 – Jay DeMerit – D – Watford – Green Bay, WI
Wednesday’s friendly certainly didn’t make anyone feel too confident, but these two gain a few spots for their overall play. Altidore looked big, strong, and dangerous (despite the fact that he chose to wear orange shoes) and DeMerit was DeMerit: big, strong, tattooed, and good in the air.

6 – Michael Bradley – MF – Borussia Moenchengladbach – Manhattan Beach, CA
Michael Bradley may be one of the more frustrating American players. Now, I don’t mock him for being the coach’s son (like some of my podcast hosts are inclined to) and I still believe he’s going to play a massive part in this coming World Cup. However, there’s something a bit off-putting about him that I’ll let Adam Carolla sum up for me. In his recent-ish film “The Hammer”, Carolla plays an over the hill boxer trying to make the Olympic team. When his coach accuses him of being, “One of those 95%ers who never quite gives it everything he’s got.” Carolla’s character responds, “Actually I’m a 75%er who’s giving you an extra 20%.”

That, more than anything, sums up Michael Bradley’s playing style. He seems like the kind of player that could one day step into the Cluadio Reyna shaped void in the midfield. And yet, for every moment of potential, there’s a red card or a poor performance. As astute reader Abby pointed out, there’s a distinct possibility that Bradley is so concerned about having the reputation of “the player who gets the red card” that he doesn’t want to be too physical on any challenge.

Nevertheless, he’s getting regular playing time with his club and a strong showing at the 2009 Confederations Cup makes him our most important central midfielder.

7 – Brad Guzan – GK – Aston Villa – Homer Glen, IL
Seeing as how he backs up Tim Howard for USMNT and Brad Freidel for Villa, Guzan seems to have made being the #2 keeper his specialty. One day, he could potentially make a case for a starting spot. Right now, he’s in there as our second option.

7 – Clint Dempsey – MF/FW – Fulham – Nacogdoches, TX
8 – Oguchi Onyewu – D – AC Milan – Olney, MD
9 – Ricardo Clark – MF – Eintracht Frankfurt – Jonesboro, GA
10 – Charlie Davies – F – FC Sochaux (France) – Manchester, NH
11 – Benny Feilhaber- MF – AGF Aarhus (Denmark) – Irvine, CA
12 – Stuart Holden – MF – Bolton FC – Houston, TX
And now we come to the most depressing aspect of the American roster. All six of these players would be dead set locks to be in South Africa next summer, except that all six are currently out with injury. Now, all the reports that I’ve seen indicate that all of the above players should be ready in time for the World Cup.
But is that really likely? What are the odds that SIX players all manage comebacks and perform at the peak of their ability? I’m guessing, not great. All six will still probably make the final roster, but I’m still not entirely certain that that’s a good thing.

13 – Jose Francisco Torres – MF – Pachuca (Mexico) – Longview, TX
Now, I may be a crazy person, but I liked most of what I saw from Torres on Wednesday. He’s skillful, determined, and physical. He can play creative or direct. More than anything, I think he’s a spark of life whenever he’s on the pitch.

On the flip side, his midfield pairing with Bradley certainly didn’t set the world alight, and I’m sure many will point out that only after he was subbed off did the US really start to push forward. Nevertheless, he’s #13 whether he’s starting or coming off the bench.

14 – Jonathon Spector – D – West Ham United – Arlington Heights, IL
Questions still remain, but he looks like our best option to round out the back four. That’s about all I have to say about that.

15 – Marcus Hahnemann – GK – Wolverhampton Wanderers – Seattle, WA
The debate regarding the third goalkeeper spot shouldn’t really be that much of a debate. Initially, I argued for Troy Perkins because he is a good bit younger than Hahnemann. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize the “Perkins could use the experience” argument doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense. Now, if it were for a whole season, then things would be different. But in this scenario, there’s like a 2% chance the #3 will be seeing the pitch (other than from his seat on the sidelines). So it’s not like he’ll get used to the pressure of playing in a World Cup match. For me, it comes down to who do we want in the unlikely (and horrible) event that our third string keeper gets PT: a man who has played for Fulham, Reading, and Wolves, or a man who has played for DC United, Vålerenga (it’s in Norway), and the Cape Cod Crusaders?

16 – Clarence Goodson – IK Start (Norway) – Alexandria, VA
17 – Heath Pearce – D – FC Dallas – Modesto, CA
18– Steve Cherundolo – Hannover 96 (Germany) – San Diego, CA
19 – Jonathon Bornstein – D – Chivas USA – Los Alamitos, CA
Jonathon Bornstein certainly didn’t do himself any favors this week. He looked completely out of his depth when trying to handle the pace and ability of Arjen Robben, and the fact that he could be trying to match up against Aaron Lennon or Theo Walcott is grounds for serious concern. Moreover, his foolish shirt tug on Wesley Sneijder (which Sneijder duly sold) provided the Netherlands with a penalty and a 1-0 lead. Meanwhile, Goodson came on as a second half substitute, played physical, got forward, and even produced a late shot that went over the bar. Pearce had less of an impact, but it still looks like the US needs his pace and ability when trailing. Cherundolo rounds out our secondary back four.

20 – Maurice Edu – MF – Glasgow Rangers – Fontana, CA
Edu’s second half appearance wasn’t particularly remarkable. However, if he can stay healthy and continue to get playing time at Rangers, I can’t really see him being left out of the final squad.

21 – Brian Ching – F – Houston Dynamo – Haleiwa, HI
He’s in. There’s no denying it. He’s going. Fuck.

22 – Freddy Adu – MF/F – Aris Thessaloniki (Greece) – Potomac, MD
When Bradley posted his squad list for the Netherlands friendly, I was absolutely shocked by Robbie Findley’s inclusion. Then I realized that the only thing I ever hear about Findley is that he’s incredibly fast (a statement I have yet to see confirmed). Regardless, Altidore’s style of play is clearly that of the physical, imposing striker. He stays forward, challenges for loose balls, and provides a fairly decent target for the midfield. But he needs someone that can run off of him and plague the opposition’s defenders. Conor Casey can’t do that. I don’t know if Brian Ching can. Charlie Davies could, but we’ve already discussed him. Robbie Findley appears to have been Bradley’s yellow-footed hope, but that didn’t exactly work out. But Freddy? Freddy is quick. He’s nimble. He can score the odd goal. He’s what we need if Davies can’t make it back and/or we’re thrust into a “kitchen sink” moment.

23 – DaMarcus Beasley – MF – Glasgow Rangers – Ft. Wayne, IN
Okay… now… hear me out… If the above selections are in any way correct, we’ve got at least five options in the center of midfield (Bradley, Clark, Torres, Edu, Feilhaber) and only three out wide (Donovan, Dempsey, and Holden). As already noted, Dempsey and Holden are currently out with injury, so who fills in? Obviously, there are multiple options but Beasley is far and away the most appealing one.

When fit, we know he can play. He’s got quickness on the ball and (perhaps most importantly) can still deliver deadly balls from the wing. Much like Edu, if he can keep his fitness up, get some minutes, and stay the hell away from any type of defensive position, I think he’s in the squad at #23.

Other options…

24 – Sacha Kljestan – MF – Chivas USA – Huntington Beach, CA
25 – Robbie Findley – FW – Real Salt Lake – Phoenix, AZ
26 – Eddie Johnson – FW – Aris Thessaloniki (Greece) – Palm Coast, FL
27 – Frank Simek – D – Sheffield Wednesday – St. Louis, MO
28 – Frankie Hejduk – Columbus Crew – Cardiff, CA
29 – Conor Casey – F – Colorado Rapids – Gilpin, CO
30 – Edgar Castillo – D – UANL (Mexico) – Las Cruces, NM
31 – Alejandro Bedoya – MF – Orebro SK (Sweden) – Westin, FL
32 – Jeff Cunningham – FW – FC Dallas – Crystal River, FL