Here's my idea for the US lineup in 2010. This will be part 1 addressing the back line and midfield. The tougher assignment of replacing Davies will be addressed in part 2.
In goal, no doubt it's Tim Howard. We lucky to have him.
The back line: While I love the fact that our backs are really big/strong/fast and aggressive, their lack of distribution skills really bothers me and I think that's what still separates us from the upper echelon of teams. The last couple of games we played it seemed like our backs were doing nothing but sending the ball long. And its real easy to defend us because other teams never have to worry about us pulling an extra attacker (one of our defenders) in from the weakside.
So I propose: DeMerit and Guch (assuming he is ready) in the middle. Spector as our right back. He seems to be the only defender who can jump into the play down the wing and send a constructive, if not dangerous ball into the box. For the other back (our dreaded hole of left back), I say we put Bradley there. This will not only give us a player who can distribute out of the back, but can fill the weak side. As we try to get the ball to Donovan and Altidore up front on the right side, we can pull the opposing team to the right and slip Bradley in down the left flank.
In the midfield, I see Donovan and Dempsey as our right and left halves. In the middle, I like Felhalber. And backing him up, I say we put Bocanegra as defensive mid. I really like Felhalber's composure on the ball, willingness to take players on, and potential scoring ability. My knock on Felhalber is that his defense is pathetic and he doesn't win any balls in the middle. And he can be too careless with the ball and lose it. Bocanegra can fill in behind him nicely making up for those short comings. He can win the ball in the middle, drive the opposing team's center half crazy (like a Gattuso does in Italy) and will be constructive in his distribution to our skilled players. Also, who better to fill in for Bradley when he moves into attack then Bocanegra.
So to sum up:
Howard
Spector DeMerit Guch Bradley
Donovan Bocanegra Dempsey
Felhalber
Discuss....
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I do think that these decisions are made by form and by our opponent. That said, for the most part, this would be starting defense/midfield:
ReplyDeleteHoward
Spector - Onyewu - DeMerit - Bocanegra
Donovan - Clark - Bradley - Feilhaber - Dempsey
Forward
I would not put our CM at LB especially since he never plays LB. I can't imagine that playing your first game at LB against Aaron Lennon is a good idea. I think Bocanegra is our best option at LB, especially if our CB's are healthy. I know DeMerit had some strange injury, so I'm not sure what his deal is.
Dempsey will either be LM or the 2nd striker. He plays very well at LM for Fulham and should play well in the WC. I like Donovan best at RM due to his pace. We need some teeth in the midfield (Clark), someone who can attack (Feilhaber), and someone who can do both (Bradley). I reserve the right to change my opinion on these guys after watching them a little more over the next few months.
While I agree that we probably have a hole or two in our back line, I love Bradley playing in the defensive mid (ie de-facto stopper position). I think he's most valuable to us in that role. He's quick, tough, reads the game well and t/f can break up offensive attacks. He's one of the few players on our team who can consistently distribute under pressure and control the pace of the game. And he can shoot.
ReplyDeleteMy line-up would be:
Howard
Spector- Gooch- Bocanegra - DeMerit
Donovan - Bradley - Fielhaber - Beasley or Holden or Rogers
Demps (withdrawn fwd)
Jozy
I'm anxiously awaiting part 2. And I hear what you're saying about Bradley, I just think Boc probably has some skills in the back that are less noticeable and would take time to learn- mainly, organizing the defense and keeping shape.
ReplyDeleteI am waiting for part 2 as well.
ReplyDelete