Aug 19
What Will the US Lineup be VS. Guatemala
Most of us have complained bitterly about Bob Bradley’s lack of imagination when it comes to selecting a squad, but now, with the players he’s chosen, he has to come up with a lineup that can beat the Guatemalans. I’d like to see the Americans come out attacking against a Guatemalan team that will pack it in and try to outlast the Americans, so, without further adieu, here is the lineup I see the US using.
——————-Ching———————
Beasley————Donovan————-Dempsey
————–Bradley—Edu——————-
Pearce———————————-Hejduk
————Bocanegra–Onyewu—————-
——————Howard———————
This is the lineup I see Bob Bradley using. Tim Howard is a lock to be in goal, he’s the best goalie we have, although Guzan might be giving him a run for his money in the near future. The back line is standard. Hejduk is on the right, because he’s got the experience over Cherundolo. Bradley and Edu will be the d-mids and hopefully their partnership is a lasting one, because they are both young, talented, and have huge upsides. I see the 3 man attacking midfielders as a way to run at the Guatemalan defense. With the speed of those 3 players, they should cause trouble. I see Ching starting up front by himself, although it wouldn’t surprise me if dempsey or donovan moved up to play next to him.
What do you guys think of the lineup? What is your preferred lineup? Thoughts on the roster, potential tactics and lineups go right below.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:47 am
I think your lineup is pretty cclose to the one we’ll see but I’m pretty sure we’ll see Dolo over Frankie.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:54 am
yeah chuck, you’re right, but i’ve not been impressed recently by dolo. He’s been poor for the USA lately, and in hanover’s first game, he looked lost. Im just dissapointed we didn’t bring in Wynne. He was so impressive in the olympics, he deserves a call up.
August 19th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I like your lineup too, but i really don’t like our strikers up top. we could have gotten much better finishers than Ching and EJ. I am disappointed in Bradley’s choices for the game, but maybe he will wise up a little, and bring in Wynne, Altidore, Adu and Cooper and give them a chance soon. I remember that he was all about letting the youth play early on, but now, he is going to the other extreme. We will see. I think that five midfielders is a solid option, and we can really do some strong things in the center of the pitch.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I’m sure we’ll win, but it’s always disappointing. If we had a true finisher like cooper or altidore, we could really crush some of these lesser teams. Bradley needs to become more imaginative, and he needs to get more youth involved like altidore, adu, cooper, wynne, holden, rogers, orozco. those guys need at least a look.
August 19th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I think your lineup is spot on, except I think Cherundolo gets the start of Hejduk. Just as a thought, I’d give Sacha Kljestan the start over Dempsey to scare him a little bit… I know in the recent friendlies, Clint was worn out from a long season with Fulham, but it worries me that he didn’t get the start in Fulham’s opener, and didn’t come off the bench until late.
August 19th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
me too. I’d love to see Kljestan get a start, he’s got great potential, but he won’t break into this midfield. Let’s hope for 45 minutes from him. I think though, that it’s a little risky to play dempsey and beasley. Dempsey hasn’t looked good in a long time, and beasley is off injury. I’d like to see kljestan on the left and lewis on the right, unfortunately, it won’t happen with Mr. unimaginative. (Bob Bradley). I think the US should set a friendly up, and play a host of young players. Holden, rogers, kljestan, davies, altidore, wynne, orozco and see what they’re made of. Also some guys like Cervi, findley should get a look from bradley.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I don’t think Orozco is going to be getting a look anytime in this WC cycle, especially after his olympic incident.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
you’re probably right, but to be honest, I’d like to see him get a shot. Regardless of his bonehead move in the olympics, he’s still a quality player. Additionally, if we just cap-tie him, he won’t be able to play for mexico so that would be a reason to at least give him a look. Orozco was also playing out of position at the olympics, he’s a very talented center back. I’d like to see a good portion of the Olympic team invited into a US National Team Camp, so Bradley can at least get a close look at them.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
I wouldn’t count on Orozco getting called up to the national team any time soon. There are at least 3 center backs between him and Gooch and Boca. Orozco has to get by (in no particular order) Spector, Parkhurst and Subotic. I haven’t actually seen Subotic play, but I am going to jump on the hype bandwagon for awhile and see what happens.
As far as the line-up goes, I think you need to play Donovan on the right wing and put Dempsey in the 10 spot only because Lando is a better crosser. I would also replace our favorite surfer-dude with Cherundolo. Which brings me to my final point, the only reason I think you would call up Hejduk is for his speed and experience, but if I am right about Chernudolo starting, what good does experience do you on the bench. Dolo has played in a WC and has plenty of top-flight experience. Bradley really should have called up Wynne instead since he is faster than Hejduk and crosses the ball just as inconsistently.
Prediction: if Lando shows up: 3-1, if he doesn’t 1-1
August 19th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
that’s fair daniel. I just think Hejduk doesn’t get a callup if he’s not going to play. Bradley needs to call up wynne because he is the real deal, minus the crossing ability. I agree Orozco has a long way to go, but one bonehead mistake in the olympics shouldn’t cost someone their career. If Orozco continues to progress in Mexico, he should get a look from Bob. To be honest, he was very impressive in Olympic qualifying. I don’t mind switching Donovan to the right, he’s capable there as well. I just can’t believe that Bradley wouldn’t give Cooper a shot. He’s the best prospect at forward who Bradley hasn’t seen in a while and there’s really no harm in just bringing into camp and seeing what he’s got.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
I totally agree on the Cooper issue, he is the best striker prospect we currently have. Having watched a few FC Dallas games it is obvious that he is the only thing keeping that team going. He is all over the field, finding ways to contribute, which is exactly what the national team needs. No wonder they wouldn’t sell him. I would like to think he will get sold in the January transfer window after Dallas loses in the first round of the playoffs, but with so few caps, I am not sure that will be possible.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Cooper actually doesn’t have to worry about caps. Since his father is a English citizen, or at least a former one, Cooper doesn’t have to get a work permit. That’s pretty convenient. I honestly think the strongest lineup that the US can put out there will be very different from the lineup we see tomorrow. I think we would see a four man midfield without Edu and including Adu. We would see subotic replace bocanegra. We would definetely see cooper and Altidore up top. Bradley’s lack of imagination makes me cringe.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:07 am
As a note on Cooper, let us not forget that he actually played for Manchester United, he just never got out of the reserve system. So surely, the work permit is not an issue.
Back to Orozco, I think you forgot a few more center backs above him in the pecking order. Namely, DeMerit, Gibbs, and Califf. Honestly, I’m not all that impressed with Orozco, regardless of the olympics, and even though Max makes a good point as far as cup tying him goes, I doubt he’ll get a shot with Mexico either.
August 20th, 2008 at 7:44 am
More important than Orozco though is Subotic. If we don’t get him, we’ve missed out on another potential superstar. That would now be Rossi, Edgar Castillo, and Subotic. We have a real problem indentifying players and then making sure they play for the USA. We need to fix this pronto.