Scholarship table
I'm not sure if it's been discussed or not, but ESPN is doing a "Hard Knocks" "24/7" type of thing with the US squad. It premiered on Tuesday night and it's pretty cool. I'm late to this conversation but damn am I excited for the Cup to begin. I'm confident we'll get out of our group. Beat Ghana, beat Portugal, tie Germany. Yup, I said it.
After the Mexico meltdown, I'm quite a but less optimistic than you.
That's part of the reason I'm surprised Jurgen is going to a 3-5-2, I get it tactically going forward(though I'm not sure if Jozy fits in that kind of formation) but defensively I think it incurs far too many opportunities to miscommunicate in the back.
I'm not sure how you can describe that as a meltdown. Significant tactical and personnel changes took place at half that changed the character of that game. Yes the defense was exposed some, but the backline has always been questionable.That's part of the reason I'm surprised Jurgen is going to a 3-5-2, I get it tactically going forward(though I'm not sure if Jozy fits in that kind of formation) but defensively I think it incurs far too many opportunities to miscommunicate in the back.
Bombshell
Well, Donovan probably shouldn't have taken a break during the early stages of the Klinnsman regime.
Does it really matter who does and does not make the roster? The USA won't be making any noise regardless, per usual.
I don't know how I feel about the Donovan decision. I get that his fitness and overall preparedness aren't what they once were but from a talent level he's still there and can bring it when he needs to. Without Donovan, USMNT has 5 out of 23 players with WC experience, that's not good. There is going to be a game where we are going to need a sub to step out and perform, with Donovan you get that, I don't know about the other guys. I do think this opens up some formational flexibilityInteresting twist to this story that I totally forgot about, JK demanded Donovan be brought in on loan to Bayern Munich when JK was on the hot seat. Ownership acquiesced, Donovan did not perform and shortly thereafter he and JK were out at Bayern. I wonder if there is a trust issue there with JK.
Looks like he's really using 2014 to get ready for 2018. This year's squad is very inexperienced. And no Donovan, Goodson, Parkhurst, Evans. Green with 1 cap and 42 minutes with the MNT? Does not sound like an objectively selected squad. Good luck. Hope you surprise me.
Actually I disagree. If you look at the roster within the context of a 3-5-2 alignment, it makes all the sense in the world. I do think he has a youth movement to help prepare for 2018 but I think he is envisioning a very attacking style and has the pieces to employ that....whether it's a good idea or not is another discussion.Goodson is the biggest snub in my opinion, would have left Brooks off for him...but I really can't quibble too much.
What's your 3-5-2 lineup look like?
I'll take stab, and this is just my preference. It would play more like a 3-1-4-2. Jozy up top, Dempsey playing behind him. Bradley and Jones in the central midfield. Beckermann as a defensive mid behind them. Johnson and Chandler as wing backs. Back three of Cameron, Besler, and Gonzalez.I like Beckermann's tactical discipline much more than Jones in that holding/DM role. It gives cover to the back three, and would allow Bradley to get forward more, and link with the front two. Johnson and Chandler's pace on the flanks could cause problems, but is also risky. They both love to get forward, but I'm not sold on how well they'll track back.
Across the back is toughest for me and obviously things change based on the opponent but my base 3-5-2 looks like this:
I, personally, think Beasley is too much of a wing to play across the back with only 3. I'm not sure that Chandler or Johnson can play there either.
How do you define this? I'm interested to know what you're basing this statement on when you consider the state of US soccer compared to the world as well as compared to the rest of our domestic sports.
For defensive purposes, especially against Ghana and Portugal's speed/athleticism, I don't think you can play both Beckerman (though I love the guy) and Gonzo on the back end.