more attack-minded formation tonight for the US against T&T


on ESPN2 right now

Michael Bradley scores in the 10th minute

USA up 1-0



[Edited on September 10, 2008 at 8:23 PM. Reason : USA dominating the first 12 minutes so far, they are passing it around nicely]

9/10/2008 8:03:33 PM

Clint Dempsey scores in the 18th minute, still total domination. if you like offense, and youve been missing it from the US, they are showing it now since they dont have like 18 holding midfielders on the field at one time for the first time in centuries

9/10/2008 8:30:43 PM

http://www.justin.tv/cramex

The above link takes you to Canada vs Mexico. You can also pick up the CONMEBOL qualifiers on http://www.justin.tv

9/10/2008 10:12:10 PM

Second half Mexico 1 Canada 0

first half Cuba 0 Guatemala 0

[Edited on September 10, 2008 at 10:40 PM. Reason : .]

9/10/2008 10:30:13 PM

This is why performances like the one against Cuba piss me off so much. We came out right from the beginning and played enjoyable attacking soccer. I thought Donovan was awesome tonight... one of his better efforts recently. We moved the ball around really well until the last 20 minutes of the 2nd half. Hislop and Harkes were right to point out how lazy we got in the 2nd half, but we were up 3-0, so I guess you can cut the team some slack.

And in other news, Eddie Johnson continues to be a waste.

9/10/2008 10:59:11 PM

Mexico 2 Canada 1

Guatemala 4 Cuba 1

I was hoping Cuba would win. Maybe the USA, T&T and Cuba can find a way to send Guatemala home early.

9/11/2008 12:56:38 AM

I like seeing Klesjan in there. Like the announcers said, Beasely still is a bit off and I can't stand how he goes down so easily. Defense continues to lock it down.

^^ Agreed on EJ. He is invisible on the field.

9/11/2008 8:18:31 AM

I think it's going to be really interesting to see where Adu breaks into the team. It's obvious Landy is best at the withdrawn forward/attacking midfield role where you would probably want Adu to play... so where else could he fit?

I was thinking last night about how bad Beasley's looked in the last couple of games and how I've read stuff saying he'd probably be one of our best defenders if he was put back there. So maybe he could move to left back and Freddy could play that left wing. It would give us a lot of speed and attacking presence on that left side and although Pearce has done a decent job, he isn't exactly the best defender in the world.

9/11/2008 8:55:32 AM

I don't know about putting two midgets on the left side together. Seems like they would get dominated by the bigger physical teams. Not a bad idea trying out beasley at D, though. Cherundolo just isn't consistent enough on the service to play the winger.

I like Ching, EJ, wolf, twelman against weak teams but there is no way any of them should get quality minutes against big time competition.

From what I have seen, this would be my favorite lineup.

--------Howard--------
--gooch---Boca--Pearce
----bradley---edu------
Klesjan----------dempsey
----------Adu------------
----Donovan--Altidore----

9/11/2008 10:08:07 AM

I think Kljestan would be a super sub off the bench... at least for right now. Bring him in around the 65-70th minute and let him run his ass off in the midfield for about a half hour.

Playing 3 in the back would work against who we're playing right now, but against the more attacking creative teams we'd get cut to ribbons. Teams like Portugal or Spain... Just think about it. 2 on 3 break for the other team running at Gooch. Bocanegra comes across to help out because Gooch is not agile at all. Player beats Gooch, pulls Boca out and crosses into the middle to hit a streaking Ronaldo or Torres who made a run from behind Pearce who got caught ball watching. The work rate in the midfield with Bradley and Edu would counter this a little, but teams that are fast and good enough to bypass the midfield would absolutely rip a 3-back formation to shreds.

Beasley at left back is an intriguing idea because that would give us speed back there and also a really good attacking presence from left back, but I don't know if he's strong enough to play defense. I still think the left midfield spot is his to lose at this point because he IS capable of producing goals. He's just not in the best form right now which is alright since we're only playing crappy CONCACAF teams right now. I would like to see what he could do as a full back though.

Donovan still needs to play a midfield role. Obviously this is Adu's future position, but I don't think he's there yet. Donovan is easily our best attacking player.

Whatever happened to Spector? And does anyone else think Pat Noonan should be getting the occasional call-up? I'm really not a huge fan of his, but I like the way he plays. He's a very good substitute.

9/11/2008 10:51:43 AM

3 backs/5 mids is basically just a difference in semantics between 4 backs/4 mids. Edu would be playing "stopper" in a 4-4-2 formation instead of the holding mid he plays now. Psychologically, I think it helps free up donovan up top some as he doesn't feel like he has to come back and clog the midfield up as much.

I don't know who you would be starting ahead of Kljestan right now, but I surely hope it isn't either lewis or cherundolo.

9/11/2008 11:05:27 AM

-----------Altidore--------------
----Adu----Landy----Kljestan---
------Bradley---Edu------------
Beasley--Boca--Gooch---Dolo---
-----------TIMMAY-------------

I would love to see something like this. I think Altidore is a LOT more capable as a lone striker than guys like Dempsey and EJ, so he's the obvious choice here. The Adu/Landy/Kljestan trio could be interchangeable throughout the game and could definitely cause problems for some defenses because they're all fast and they all like run at defenders. Dempsey/Rogers/Beasley could also play here, so it's a formation that puts more of our better players at their best positions on the field at once. Until another goalscorer comes along, I don't see any chance of us playing a true 4-4-2. I'd just like to see Beasley tried at that left back spot just for the hell of it. If it's successful, that opens up a lot of other options and gives guys like Adu/Kljestan/Rogers a chance to nail down a spot that wasn't previously available. If Beasley can handle it, you'd have to think Beasley/Adu is a better combo than Pearce/Beasley. If it doesn't work, keep Beasley at left wing, and hopefully Wynne can handle himself at the international level. I'm just a big fan of having speed at the outside back positions, so I would prefer guys like Wynne over Pearce, especially with the two slower guys in central defense.

edit: I'd love to see this in the future... not the next game. I think Landy, Bradley, Gooch, Dolo, Boca, Howard, and some others should get some rest and give some chances to Cooper, Clark, Wynne, Demerit, Szetela, Guzan etc.

I'd also like to see EJ banished from the Nats forever

[Edited on September 11, 2008 at 11:16 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on September 11, 2008 at 11:16 AM. Reason : .]

9/11/2008 11:11:17 AM

Not a bad lineup. I'd like to see dempsey in there somewhere, but I don't really know who I would put him in over in that formation.

I do agree that we have alot of strength at the attacking midfield positions and that would allow those guys to get in there alot more.

9/11/2008 11:20:17 AM

I think my ideal starting line-up would be:


---------------Howard--------------
--Wynne---Gooch---Boca---Pearce--
-------Bradley---------Edu----------
--Dempsey----Donovan----Beasley--
---------------Altidore--------------

A lot like aimorris said. I've been a fan of Wynne as well ever since that U20 World Cup a few years ago. The guy is an absolutely ridiculous athlete and I too am a huge fan of speed at the outside back position. For defensive and offensive purposes. He's not the best attacking player though.

Edu and Bradley pretty much have the defensive mid position on lockdown for the next 5 years or so.

The attacking midfield is where he have the most talented players (not saying much). If Beasley isn't up to snuff, Adu could play there very effectively. If Dempsey is in poor form, Kljestan can come in. We have good enough depth here to have a consistently good attacking midfield for any game.

Unless something drastic happens, Altidore is going to be the lone striker until we develop another consistent goalscorer.

Definitely need to start developing some depth at the outside back position though. I'm not happy with Pearce back there and Wynne isn't quite ready to be the consistent right back yet. He is the future though.

[Edited on September 11, 2008 at 11:24 AM. Reason : ]

9/11/2008 11:22:04 AM

Quote :

"The guy is an absolutely ridiculous athlete"

Yeah, that's why I like him... when Pearce gets beat the first time, there's no chance. When Wynne gets beat, his athleticism makes up for it and helps him recover a whole lot easier.

Quote :

"I'd like to see dempsey in there somewhere"

I'm a huge Dempsey fan so I would too, especially with his goals recently... so if this was a current form lineup, I'd probably put him in there instead of Adu. I just think Dempsey suffers from EJ disease sometimes and gets a little complacent with his spot on the team and in the starting XI. I think he would be a pretty effective sub in the 2nd half.

[Edited on September 11, 2008 at 11:28 AM. Reason : 11, doh]

9/11/2008 11:28:05 AM

I think one of the problems we have is that we have a bunch of players that would be top-notch subs on any team but we have no players that would be top-notch starters on any team. Aside from Howard and Donovan, there's arguably no one else on the team that would come close to cracking one of the elite national teams. Right now anyway. We're loaded on young talent.

9/11/2008 11:34:54 AM

The other problem is that one of the two players you just mentioned disappears in big games.

9/11/2008 11:38:27 AM

^ for sure

I was ordering a US jersey the other day and wasn't really sure who to get... and it's funny to me how Donovan is obviously one of best players and I didn't even think for a second about getting his jersey

Adu/Altidore haven't established themselves with this squad and I wanted to get a jersey of someone who actually has worn this jersey alot

I narrowed it down to Dempsey and Boca... I ended up getting Boca because even though he does make some mistakes sometimes, I think he really plays hard for the US and he's a good captain, plus his goal against Guatemala got me pretty hyped, which is when I made the decision to get the jersey

9/11/2008 11:48:39 AM

If I bought a jersey now, I'd probably get a Mastroeni jersey. I have always liked his toughness, but there is no denying edu and bradley have that shit on lockdown now. I'd still like to see Pablo get some work in some of these prelim games.

9/11/2008 1:55:36 PM

^^^ How many big games has he disappeared in? The last World Cup? Don't forget what he did for the team in 02.

I'm not trying to argue with you on the fact that he's inconsistent at best. But he has shown a lot of poise and leadership by example since the 06 debacle in my opinion. Not to mention the fact that no one else really showed up during that World Cup either and we don't really play that many "big" games otherwise. I think he's undeniably our most talented player as inconsistent as he is. The only reason people get on him so hard is probably because there is so much expected of him. He's not exactly the most charismatic guy in the world either.

When you look at his stats, it's pretty hard to deny. I mean, he's 26 years old. Already tied for 11th most caps ever. Tied for 1st in goals scored all-time (don't bullshit on penalties. a goal is a goal is a goal). 1st in assists all-time by 5 already... I don't know what else you can ask of a guy who's as young as he is. 96 caps, 34 goals, 27 assists. Not my favorite player, but don't hate on the guy.

[Edited on September 11, 2008 at 2:01 PM. Reason : ^]

9/11/2008 2:00:44 PM

Like you said, we don't play alot of big games except the world cup. That said, we do occasionally play a Spain or Brazil or other traditional power and although it can't really be said that the rest of the team is setting the world on fire during those games, I can't really remember Donovan having any impact at all on those games.

I mean, the stats you mentioned are exactly the reason everyone (including me) expects so much of him and thinks he is so talented. He will show up big and be an impact player against some island in the Caribbean and then disappear again.

I don't dislike the guy, but I can guarantee that if I were betting on who would show up big offensively in the next world cup, my money would be on altidore/dempsey/Kljestan/bradley (in that order) and definitely NOT on donovan. And I am not just talking about goals. I mean offensive impact period.

9/11/2008 2:11:09 PM

Cuba call-up

Quote :

"GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 2/2 SO), Tim Howard (Everton FC: 6/5 SO), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF: 0/0) DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes: 16/2), Danny Califf (FC Midtjylland: 2/0), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96: 17/0), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC: 1/0), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew: 13/1), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege: 11/0), Michael Orozco (San Luis: 0/0), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 5/0 MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco: 1/0), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers: 19/4), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach: 5/2), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers: 3/0), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 3/0), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio: 0/0), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca: 0/0) FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal C.F.: 0/0), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo: 9/4), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF: 0/0) Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC: 11/4), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy: 24/8) "

Pretty good stuff from Bradley -- Adu, Szetela, Jozy, Davies all get callups, which is nice to see. Also, it's very interesting that Torres is going to commit to us, considering he's also eligible to play for Mexico. Best of all...

... no fucking Eddie Johnson.

10/3/2008 11:13:29 AM

I like seeing the younger guys get a chance, but still... no pablo

Now if he would just stop calling up ching...

10/3/2008 11:27:25 AM

^when is that game?

10/3/2008 11:35:09 AM

October 11th

10/3/2008 11:37:45 AM

2010 World Cup Qualifier
USA v Cuba @ Washington DC
Saturday, 7:00pm on ESPN Classic

I hate not getting ESPN Classic

[Edited on October 11, 2008 at 12:54 AM. Reason : ]

10/11/2008 12:52:30 AM

^ same

10/11/2008 12:55:59 AM

^It's also on galavision if you get that. Go to the bar.

10/11/2008 1:22:21 AM

US wins 6-1 cruises into the final round of qualifying.

Mexico loses 0-1 to Jamaica

10/11/2008 11:13:34 PM

nice that were scoring goals...still would like to see ching out of here, he messed up so many touches when he checked back to the ball. the goal i saw him score couldve been scored by either kljestan if no one touches it, or the other two guys next to ching who headed it on the goal line...so its not even like his goal was anything special.

beasley is getting back into form and him and donovan were working it well. thats a major major plus for our attack.

kljestan looks ok, still not sure about him in the middle yet.

dempsey didnt have an outstanding game but he always finds himself in the right place and making smart runs, prob shouldve scored twice instead of having a shot and header hit right at the keeper.

bradley, didnt see much great, but didnt see much bad either, which is about all i want from him in that position.

the defense lapsed on cuba's lone goal, and tim howard was out of position, but otherwise didnt have anything to do. pearce and cherundolo are making good runs, however, to help our attack...but this is all against weaker opponents. id like to see what they can do against mexico in a qualifier.



oh yea,

altidore scored off the bench on a great goal puttin the defender to the ground then finishing clinically to the near post. he is our out and out striker for the future. he just looks so confident out there and he needs to play every single international match in our qualifying games in the final round

[Edited on October 11, 2008 at 11:27 PM. Reason : b]

10/11/2008 11:25:09 PM

Current Round 3 Standings:
(all teams have played 4 games and have 2 remaining)

Group 1
USA....12pts (+10 GD) *clinched Round 4 spot
Guat...5pts (+2 GD)
T & T..5pts (-1 GD)
Cuba...0pts (-11 GD)

Group 2
Hond...9pts (+4 GD)
Mexi....9pts (+4 GD)
Jam.....4pts (-4 GD)
Can.....1pt (-4 GD)

Group 3
Costa..12pts (+13 GD) *clinched Round 4 spot
El Sa...7pts (+6 GD)
Haiti...2pts (-7 GD)
Surin...1pt (-12 GD)

[Edited on October 12, 2008 at 10:13 AM. Reason : #1 and #2 from each group go to Round 4]

10/12/2008 10:12:03 AM

On a side note in World Cup Qualifying

Africa's Round 3 Qualifiers:
#World (Africa) Country
#12 (1) Cameroon
#22 (2) Egypt
#25 (3) Ghana
#27 (4) Nigeria
#29 (5) Cote d'Ivoire
#41 (6) Guinea
#43 (7) Morocco
#47 (8) Tunisia
#53 (10) Mali
#56 (11) Algeria
#63 (13) Burkina Faso
#67 (14) Gabon
#68 (15) Angola
#70 (16) Zambia
#79 (18) Kenya
#81 (19) Benin
#87 (22) Rwanda
#90 (23) Gambia
#106 (30) Sudan
#109 (31) Malawi

Top 100 ranked teams to not make the cut:
#49 (9) Senegal
#57 (12) Congo
#76 (17) Libya
#85 (20) South Africa
#85 (21) Congo DR
#91 (24) Zimbabwe
#91 (25) Togo
#95 (26) Uganda

10/12/2008 3:25:14 PM

^ not sure if South Africa "didn't make the cut" as they'll be hosting

it's weird that the host nation is going through qualifying anyways... but I'm pretty sure its because Africa uses WC qualifying for the African Cup of Nations qualifying


roster for the game against T&T, should be an interesting starting XI

Quote :

"Goalkeepers: Troy Perkins, Brad Guzan. Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein, Danny Califf, Frankie Hejduk, Michael Orozco, Heath Pearce, Marvell Wynne. Midfielders: Freddy Adu, DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu, Sacha Kljestan, Pablo Mastroeni, Danny Szetela, Jose Francisco Torres. Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, Robbie Rogers."

[Edited on October 12, 2008 at 3:50 PM. Reason : US]

10/12/2008 3:46:28 PM

South America current standings after 9 games:
*each team plays 18 games
**the top 4 qualify
***5th place team faces the 4th place CONCACAF team for final WC spot)
1) Paraguay - 20pts (+11 GD)
2) Brazil - 16pts (+11 GD)
3) Argentina - 16pts (+7 GD)
4) Chile - 13pts (0 GD)
5) Uraguay - 12pts (+9 D)
6) Ecuador - 12pts (-3 GD)
7) Colombia - 10pts (-4 GD)
8) Bolivia - 8pts (-9 GD)
9) Venezuela - 7pts (-8 GD)
10) Peru - 7pts (-14 GD)

10/12/2008 8:44:46 PM

bump for gametime, here's the lineup -- I haven't been this excited to watch a meaningless game in a long time

----------------------Altidore-----------------------

Beasley---------------Adu------------------Kljestan

--------------Torres---------Edu -------------------

Pearce-----Califf-------Orozco-------Hejduk

--------------------Guzan---------------------------

10/15/2008 7:40:58 PM

sloppy first half


I really like Adu but there's no way this cat will see starts in the Hex unless there are some injuries, and even then, I don't think he has a chance because the only spot he can really fit is the attacking midfield role that Landy has on lock... if Landy is out, Kljestan > Adu in that position based on recent Nats play, Adu can't hang out on the wing because of his defensive liabilities and he wouldn't start over Beasley on the left anyways

also, I was kind of pissed at Bradley getting consistent run at def mid over everybody else but it's pretty clear he's one of the top two choices there

and for all the Boca haters, Califf/Orozco make him look like Rio... they are miserable

10/15/2008 9:03:07 PM

After what happened at Guatemala the last time we played them, I really don't care about tonight. There is a side of me that is happy T&T is in second all alone with a home game left vs Cuba while Guatemala goes on the road to play a US team that had a bad loss and will be looking to rebound.

Tonight Jamaica also beat group leader Honduras who hosts Mexico in their final game while Jamaica gets to host Canada. The door is open for Jamaica to advance too!

10/15/2008 10:11:40 PM

Final 6
USA
Guatemala
Mexico
Canada
Costa Rica
Panama

World Cup
USA
Mexico
Costa Rica

CONCACAF vs CONMEBOL Playoff
Canada vs CONMEBOL #5 (CONMEBOL wins)

This was my prediction over the summer as El Salvador came charging back to win in injury time and eliminate Panama. I could end up only having 3 correct. LOL!

10/15/2008 10:19:07 PM

And now Canada is up 2-1. If Honduras can win a home game vs Mexico then they would be out.

10/15/2008 10:26:31 PM

tied 2-2 with about 25 minutes to go.

10/15/2008 10:30:12 PM

I would be disappointed to see Mexico go out this early

we couldn't beat them 2-0 again.

10/15/2008 10:44:06 PM

2-2 Final, so Mexico is on top and the best Jamaica can do is tie them in points at 10. I'm not sure who holds the tie breaker though.

10/15/2008 11:03:18 PM

Mexico just qualified for the hex. Jamaica is at -3 and Mexico at +4. Head to head it was Mex 3 Jam 0 and Jam 1 Mex 0. Last time in the hex the USA didn't have as good of a goal differential as Mexico, but had a better one head to head and was considered the first place finisher over Mexico. Neither tie breaker will go in Jamaica's favor if them and Honduras both win in November.

10/15/2008 11:17:13 PM

Quote :

"I really like Adu but there's no way this cat will see starts in the Hex unless there are some injuries, and even then, I don't think he has a chance because the only spot he can really fit is the attacking midfield role that Landy has on lock... if Landy is out, Kljestan > Adu in that position based on recent Nats play, Adu can't hang out on the wing because of his defensive liabilities and he wouldn't start over Beasley on the left anyways"

Agreed 100%. I think Adu will still be a good "energy" type sub...someone who can give us an offensive spark in the second half.

Our midfield just looks much more calm with bradley and donovan in there.

Also, you'd think after 37 years on the National team, hejduk would learn how to get a decent service in. Christ, the guy is wide open on the wing no less than a dozen times a game and can't make a decent cross to save his life.

10/16/2008 8:51:08 AM

^ a decent cross is too much to ask when he couldn't even trap the ball without it going 10 feet in front of him last night... my god that was pissing me off. I know for damn sure I wouldn't have kept passing it to him if I was playing last night

Pearce didn't look good last night and I was starting to think he would do a decent job at left back. I think the other 3 vets he usually plays with make him look a lot better than he is.

10/16/2008 12:49:42 PM

Tonight we play Guatemala and T&T plays at home vs Cuba. T&T is ahead of Guatemala by 3 points. A guatemala and Cuba win will send Guatemala through. Anything else and T&T will be in the hex again. I think either the USA or T&T should be able to pull off a tie, or win tonight. GO SOCA WARRIORS!

11/19/2008 3:53:10 PM

Televised?

11/19/2008 4:54:58 PM

i think espn classic

11/19/2008 6:28:06 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYgZ7mgBVZA

11/19/2008 6:57:59 PM

^^ yes, 8pm EST

^ ahahaa. i remember that goal. what a goofy dude.

11/19/2008 7:07:57 PM