It has been pretty slow the last couple days with the USMNT no longer playing and most of the leagues out of season, but here are a few things.
Brian Sciaretta lists his areas of concern with the USMNT after the latest qualifiers.
The US U-20 team lost their third game in South America earlier this week, losing 2-1 to Chile.
The US U-17 team named a 24-man roster for the Copa Saprissa Internacional Tournament.
The guys over at Top Drawer Soccer introduce us to a new German-American youngster to keep an eye on.
Robbie Rogers is currently finishing up his rehab out here in California with the LA Galaxy.
Eric Lichaj and Aston Villa have a new manager and some new home/road road kits for next season.
Enjoy the weekend.
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per Brian, I disagree when he says that the three CM’s lack ideas in the attacking 1/3rd…it is EDU and EDU only that lacks ideas in the attacking 1/3rd. Bradley and Jones have plenty of ideas, Bradley is more than capable of getting balls to the strikers and putting it in the net himself. I don’t know why people want to continue to lump Bradley with the other two…Bradley is and has been the best CM for the US for quite some time.
The US don’t need Fabian Johnson in the MF, what the US need to do is send some of the old players packing and start developing the youth…which is what JK said he was going to do in the first place.
And if anyone wants to see the US pass the ball out of the back then the coaching staff had better start playing and developing players like Cameron, Ream, Opara, etc.
Yeah I heard about Green this past year. Cool that he said he might consider the U.S., but I wouldn’t be holding my breath.
@William You are absolutely right about Bradley and the fact that Edu has no idea what do with the ball. However, Edu is really good at disrupting the other team’s offense, and if he’s not on the field you’d be forced to a) Have Bradley play more defensively, sacrificing some the attack or b) Have Jones play more defensively, risking going a man down in the first 20 minutes. Personally I would either move Donovan to the right wing and swap Edu for another younger, faster Winger (Gyau, Shea, I’m looking at you); or swap Donovan for another winger, keep the same trio of midfielders on the pitch and pray Edu learns to pass damn ball. How would your midfield look like?
William, here is the issue I think Brian is trying to raise. Edu, Jones, and Bradley are all defensive-minded midfielders who rarely create chances by themselves — meaning, they’re not going to beat anyone on the dribble or with their pace in the attacking third. Thus, they rely on passing the ball to others.
And if you’re playing with all 3, that only leaves 3 players to make a forward pass to – one striker and two attacking mids, because generally none of the above make many forward runs. This is predictable and generally easy to stop for any defense.
Piaggio,
Good point with Edu and his defensive ability…which is why I wouldn’t think it be a terrible idea to try him at CB but it may be too late for that.
With what we have available I would like to see a 5 man MF (because it is our deepest position)…
Donovan – Bradley – Jones – Williams
……………………Dempsey………………..
All of those players are interchangeable so it would keep the defense off balance I would hope.
Steve,
I get what you’re saying, but Michael Bradley creates WAY more chances than the other two, especially Edu. It is unfair to lump MB with those guys.
hey remember last year when some fans (including some posters on here… ahem) were claiming that the only reason michael bradley played on the national team was because his did was the coach
oh how things change
Cam,
True that…never understood that nonsense especially when he was constantly our best MF game in and game out
Hopefully Aston Villa’s new manager keeps Lichaj in the starting XI.
@Steve T. you right. Edu, Bradley, and J.Jones are all holding midfielders. Bradley can pass well and finish, but he still operates best as a holding mid. The teams needs real attackers. Players who’s job it is to create attacks.
Edu causes havoc in the midfield with his psychical play.
His passing is’nt good but it’s better then R. Clark’s.
Beckermen would be noticeably slower and weaker then Edu. They both are clumsiness and have bad vision in attacks. Edu is a great option to stop counter-attacks if anything else.
Danny Williams is poised to take over Edu’s ‘CDM’/Stopper role. JK playing Williams at RM was a joke, a healthy Williams is a better option then EDU. Williams can also compete for the RB spot with Lichaj. Williams at RB could allow Lichaj to move up. Tim Chandler could do the same.
Gatt or Mix haven’t played well at a very high level. In the Bundesliga or EPL you learn how to attack great defenses. It’s just not the same in lower leagues. Hopefully they both can get transfers or play well in Europa.
Shea needs a transfer, but just signed a DP new deal. It’s good to see him get paid, but this will hurt his potential, he may never learn how break down an elite defense.
I still think Andy Najar is better then Break Shea. Najar has 2 younger bothers playing in DC’s youth academy. Both have seen playing time in Reserve League matches. USMNT needs to be ability to offer citizenship to foreign-born MLS Academy prospects.
USMNT needs to invest in as many players as possible. Even if it’s straight up stealing we need to. They really Need a Brazilian born player other then Felihaber. I’m only half joking. Hopefully a MLS team with sign a young foreign talent that becomes LEGIT. USMNT needs to be able to cap these types of players.
I disagree that we need to develop other countries’ youngsters. There are lenty of capable players in the states, the current soccer infrastructure in the country just doesnt do justice to the player pool.