U.S. World Cup team's form: all over the place
by Steve Davis on May 29, 2010 6:18 PM EDT
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I’ve worn a rut in my noggin with all this head-scratching over Saturday’s
I have to say I’m at a little bit of a loss over the 2-1 result.
I’m formally declaring the state of Bob Bradley’s team thusly: it’s somewhere between the worst team heading to South Africa and a team that could upend the global order and go smashing into the semifinals. Yep. Right in there somewhere.
My complete player ratings at SI.com are here. Meanwhile, to put a finer point on team whose form is all over the darn place …
The back line was an absolute mess for 45 minutes. Then they were pretty good!
Things improved remarkably with the introductions of Oguchi Onyewu and Steve Cherundolo at the break. That shouldn’t come as a big surprise, considering the edge in experience they hold over the pair replaced.
But in the big picture, there are still questions to answer – and time is running mighty short.
Onyewu was a rock for 45 minutes, without a foot out of place. That was encouraging. Then again, it was 45 minutes against a side that seemed to leave its best attacking movements in the locker room at halftime. So, we might know a little more about the big center back. But do we know much more?
Michael Bradley will start in the middle, but who will be his partner? Maurice Edu, Ricardo Clark, Jose Torres and Benny Feilhaber are the candidates. All have shown their plusses and minuses. Torres has maybe been the best of the bunch over two matches by a slight margin. But does anybody really feel good about seeing Torres – a wee man who looks like a bunch of garden hoses tied together – potentially manhandled by Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and the other bullyboys that might be patrolling
Robbie Findley had shown me absolutely nothing in previous appearances with the national team. Then, for about 20 minutes Saturday he was a man on fire. He cooled off a bit, but he did demonstrate the qualities that Bob Bradley obviously saw – even if so many of the rest of us didn’t. Guess that’s why he’s the boss.
This much I know: the
Honestly, at this point, I could see them taken apart by
Yep, right in there somewhere.
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My reactions to your thoughts.
In general your thoughts are right, I think. Some further thoughts:
- Moist of the starting lineup is set:
Howard
Cher——Demerit———————Gooch——————-Bocanegra
-——————Bradley————————-Edu/Torres
Donovan——————————————-Dempsey/Holden
-——————-Altidore———Dempsey/one of the other forwards
I think we know the least about Findlay/Gomez/Buddle, or at least we know little on how Bradley will use them. I do expect to see Dempsey up top for part of every game and he’ll give typical Classic Dempsey performances.
- I also think Holden has earned time for each match: some games starting, some games subbing. Depending on if he is on the field or not will determine if Dempsey is a forward or mid.
- Feilhaber will see some time but is definitely behind Donovan/Dempsey/Holden on the wing. He’s probably behind Beasley too.
- Who plays next to Bradley is a big question. We all know that Clark can play better than he did today but with today’s performance he also moved back in the pecking order behind Edu or Torres. I hear the concerns about Torres’ size but we can both rattle off small mids who can hold their own against the likes of England. It all depends on attitude and Torres definitely brought the ‘tude today: he was a big reason why the backline had an easier time of it in the second half IMO. Still Edu, a very solid player, might get the nod at least to start. If Torres doesn’t start he will definitely be brought off the bench. Let’s see Edu and Torres split time against a rugged Aussie side.
And looking past the World Cup, one can see the team being built around Torres as the torch of leader passes to him from LD in the next four years.
- Obviously Bocanegra will play almost every important minute at left back as Bornstein just doesn’t have the confidence now. Might we see a little Beasley as an emergency left back? Scary, yes, but what other options do we have?
- And Cherundolo has the right back position to lose. Looking beyond this World Cup, I am not pleased how Spector seemed to have stagnated all year for club and country. Not a good year for him.
- I think the Altidore goal was huge for his confidence. Plus he made that one great run in the first half that Dempsey just missed getting on the end of for a tap in goal. He is one player who feels more relaxed in the National jersey than his club.
US Key Players
You had mentioned last week (or so) about which players were the US’s top, or the ones that would change them without them. Well, I can’t remember if it is the three you chose, but I believe they would be:
Donovan
Howard
Dempsey
Donovan’s touch is the best in the US, and he seems to have an almost perfect grasp on what to do at all times. His touch to beat the goalie was amazing, but his vision to put the ball to Altidore was even greater, rather than being selfish (though, Michael Bradley later in the half definitely should have shot).
I almost want to pair Dempsey with Donovan, as I feel they both bring something similar to the US game, though Donovan seems the much more consistent of the two. But, Howard has been solid in goal, for a long time, and I would not have as much confidence in the backups at GK.
Anyways, Donovan and Dempsey need to start out wide. Before today’s game, I would have said maybe Gomez up top, but I think Findley stepped up and possibly has earned that. And, Torres was winning all kinds of balls and owning the midfield, while I did not see Clark stick out much at all. If the US can come out fighting in the World Cup to score goals, great things will happen.
Thoughts
Obviously the 2nd half was way better than the first so I think that any evaluation is going to be weighted that way.
Dempsey – Did not like him up top as much. That is probably because his touch in the first half was awful and he looked much more comfortable in the 2nd when Findley and Altidore were the ones up top.
Altidore – Great to see him have a solid game. Really needed that.
Torres – Loved his play. Won a lot of balls and like it’s been said many times, he handles and distributes the ball very well.
Findley – Where the hell did that come from? It’s amazing how good he looked at times. That pass to Donovan to set up the goal was beautiful. He also got out in space quite a bit plus came back and helped stop a counter-attack once which had to earn him a gold star. Only downside was a couple runs he made where he could’ve sent the ball in the box. Would really like to see him start the next game and see if it was a fluke or if they can really play that well with him up top.
by I need more Esteban on May 30, 2010 2:19 PM EDT reply actions
give him time
Robbie is still having to get used to playing with guys as fast as he is, or close to as fast. Often in MLS play he has to hold the ball up while others catch up with him. His speed is going to force teams to adjust how they play on both offense and as you saw he has that sick speed to recover and break up plays on defense as well. I love it when people are shocked by how he plays, you have to believe that since it now appears he was a lock before camp started that Bob knew what RSL fans have known for a while now. Speed kills, and Robbie has it, he also is one of those players who shows up big in the big matches, go back to his form at the end of 2008 and in last years playoffs. Now on the biggest stage of them all, he will get a chance to show up big time.
The big difference between the first and second half I noticed...
…was with how much room the US was giving Turkey. Second half marking was much tighter and the midfield was on top of Turkey a lot quicker after turnovers.
Not sure why Dempsey was up top
or why reporters (and Bradley) keep putting him up there. He’s clearly better starting at mid, then moving up (like he did nearly all of the Confed Cup). Not sure who to pair with Altidore. Buddle, I guess. Since Herculez’ magic seems to come as a sub.
That’s the hard one, because both Gomez and Findley are seen as strong subs, not as starters.
And, yeah, Torres has made an argument to start in the middle, but I’m betting that it’ll be Edu against England.
