Looking Forward: Questions for Saturday’s Game
May 27, 2010
So I spent (some would say wasted) a couple of hours last night pouring out 2,000 words about the game and what I thought it meant for the final roster decisions. The reason some would say I wasted my time is because Bob Bradley came out with his final roster today, and regardless of what may or may not have led to his decision, it’s time to move forward with the roster we have. (Just in case you haven’t seen it, here’s the roster) With that being said, I’ll try to direct my words primarily at what the decisions mean for the national team’s immediate future, rather than what it says about last night, last week’s camp, and Bob Bradley’s thinking last night. I repeat, I will try.
One quick note on the most interesting aspect of today’s 23 man roster. I’m talking, of course, about Findley’s inclusion and Ching’s exclusion. I guess Bob Bradley got tired of people (like me, just look at his picture in my post last night) who complained that he was too predictable, boring, and conservative, because I don’t think many people can claim they aren’t surprised at all by the selections today. I’ve always characterized Bradley as being a very loyal coach who would stick with his guys for as long as possible (how else to explain Eddie Johnson’s continuing presence?), but he was that exact opposite of loyal in leaving Ching off the roster. I don’t mean to suggest that Bradley owed anything to Ching. I’m just saying he surprised me. Apart from the loyalty factor, I was also surprised, because, quite simply, I thought Ching had played pretty well last night. Sorry, I’m already breaking my promise of looking forward.
Just about the only place I saw a prediction for Findley to make the team was over at The Shin Guardian, where they repeated today that they thought Findley held a sizable lead over Buddle, Gomez, or Johnson for a forward position. Mainly, I’m surprised that, apparently, Findley impressed Bradley so much over the last couple of months and last week in camp, that Bradley didn’t even need to see Findley at all last night in order to include him. That would lead one to believe that, contrary to what everyone thought, Findley was actually number 2 on the forward depth chart headed into last night! Of course, it’s not really that simple. In all honesty, it appears that Bradley was simply married to the idea of having a very speedy option up top, which he apparently doesn’t think Buddle has the wheels to provide. Maybe Bradley decided he would include Findley, barring a disastrous camp, the moment he decided he wouldn’t include Charlie Davies. I can understand the thinking that Altidore and Ching fill the same role somewhat, but I also don’t think that Findley is the kind of option that can succeed with the national team. Quite simply, in the World Cup against top class opponents and with questionable service from the U.S. midfield, I will be shocked if Findley is able to have any sort of impact in S. Africa.
Even I don't know why I'm on this team
I promised to look ahead, and on that note, here are my main questions going into Saturday’s game against Turkey. I can’t wait to see Bradley’s lineup and subs in that game, and this game (not last night’s) is the game when we’re all really allowed to get upset if we see some strategy that we don’t like.
1. How will the Holden/Dempsey/Buddle/ Gomez/Findley dynamic play out?
You have to think that Bradley’s decision to bring 3 forwards besides Altidore means one of them has a legitimate shot to start up top next to Jozy (gulp). If Dempsey gets the start, I think Bradley deserves some criticism for bringing all three guys at all. If Dempsey doesn’t get the start up top, I personally will be critical of Bradley’s lineup, because I just don’t think Dempsey needs to be at outside mid. So, really, Bradley can’t win. I have two main reasons, which I will examine in detail later. There’s the obvious reason of liking Dempsey up top better than at outside mid with this particular U.S. national team. Secondly, I also think Holden should be a starter on this squad, and Dempsey up top makes room for Holden at outside mid. That’s why this question involves Holden, Dempsey, and 3 forwards besides Altidore.
Forward or Midfielder?
2. Are Demerit and Onyewu fit enough to start in the middle or could we actually see Bornstein in a World Cup game?
Take a moment to listen to this (and while you’re there listen to this to cheer yourself up), and then calmly resist the urge to cause yourself bodily harm while we consider Bornstein and the other defenders. The verdict on Gooch (I think I’m still the only person slightly uncomfortable with that nickname) is still out after last night. I tend to come down on the side of thinking that he’s physically okay and is just struggling mentally. Bob Bradley is a huge fitness guru kind of coach, and if there’s one thing he’s shown that he’s not willing to deal with, it’s keeping a guy who isn’t 100% (see Charlie Davies and Brian Ching). I know there were reports that Onyewu was limping during the camp last week, but I still think his problems are more mental. He’s still getting used to running and jumping at full speed and ability. The latter of those two was on full display at last night’s game, when he seemed unwilling to fully commit to leaping for the ball on the Czech’s opening goal. It’s important to note that it was a very similar play to the one where he first got injured. Anyway, I find it hard to believe we won’t see him starting in the center on Saturday. The question is who will be starting next to him. If Demerit is at all able to play, I think it’s him. There’s even more myster surrounding Demerit’s eye injury than Onyewu’s. There’s really no point in speculating, because we’ll know on Saturday. Just know that if Demerit is hurt and unable to go, there’s a door open on the back line.
Jonathan Bornstein strikes fear into the hearts of U.S. fans everywhere
But wait, don’t start lacing up your boots yet Jonny boy. I actually think Clarence Goodson is more likely to benefit from Demerit’s injury than Bornstein. Bob singled out Goodson for praise after last night’s game, and Bradley has shown in the last few weeks that he’s not afraid to give a guy a chance if he’s in form (Gomez, Buddle). I think the second most likely back line combo is Spector on right, Onyewu and Goodson in the middle, and Bocanegra on the left. I’m tempted to say I actually think Spector would start at left (with Dolo on the right) before Bornstein would get the start, but you have to think that if Bradley was thinking that way, Bornstein would not have gotten all the minutes that he has over the last few months. All I’m saying is, Pearce’s exclusion and a Demerit injury don’t necessarily pave the way for Bornstein to start. I also just want to throw in the quick note that I don’t think Bornstein is nearly as bad as a lot U.S. fans think. I’ll admit that he’s looked poor at times, but for some reason I still have some belief in him. I think that his problems are more about confidence and nervousness than ability. Bradley obviously sees some good things out of him in camp, and I think the continued faith in him might pay off in the long run.
3. Who starts in the middle and what exactly are they capable of?
Bradley’s a lock to start, and for the last few weeks it appeared that Edu or Clark were extremely likely to start alongside him. However, Edu and Clark are both serious question marks in terms of what exactly their role will be and what they’ll do alongside Bradley. The reason for this is that all three of these players have shown themselves to suffer some serious deficiencies. Despite Bradley’s reputation as a box to box defensive minded midfielder, who is also an opportunistic goal scorer, I don’t think he’s ready yet to step into that holding midfielder role. I like Bradley, but he has still shown himself extremely prone to inopportune turnovers in the center of the field, and that’s just not acceptable from a holding midfielder. His role should be to track back, do the dirty work in the middle, and play smart balls out of the middle to start the U.S. attack. Unfortunately, he’s only shown himself able to accomplish the first two.
I was hoping to see more out of Edu last night. I’m not particularly interested in his time at center back, but I still wasn’t very impressed with the work he put in in the center of the midfield. He, like Bradley, is also a defensive mid. type player, and I was hoping his time at Rangers would have given him the experience to show more composure on the ball. However, he still showed himself to have the same deficiency as Bradley.
I’ve never been a Ricardo Clark and, quite frankly, I really have no idea what to expect from him. He’s one of the more unpredictable U.S. players anyway, and it’s unclear how his time with Frankfurt affected his game. He did, however, impress the Bundesliga club enought to convince them to pick up his 3 year option despite only appearing in a few games for them. Perhaps Clark can turn into the offensive threat that the U.S. needs in the middle, while still maintaining some of his defensive duties. If Clark shows some more offensive potential and more tidiness with his distribution, then Bradley doesn’t feel as much pressure to jumpstart the U.S. attack, and I think Michael’s game would then improve.
Unfortunately, that’s a big if, and it’ll go a long way towards deciding how the U.S. will play against South Africa. It’s interesting that the U.S. really has three defensive-minded midfielders fighting for the two center-mid starting spots. Then, they have two back-ups who are much more offensive minded in Torres and Feilhaber. I don’t want to speculate on this too much before Saturday’s game, but poor showings from Clark and Edu in practice and in the games could actually convince Bradley to give Torres or Feilhaber (I think Torres more likely) the start. Torres looked very confident and composed on the ball in last night’s game, which is exactly what the U.S. has been lacking in the center of the field.
Bradley: not as solid as some think
I could definitely come up with some more questions, but these are the most pressing. Plus, let’s be honest. Come Saturday, we’ll have a lot of them answered, and we’ll have a whole bunch of others ones to ask.
