Player Pool Discussions

(continued from US V Costa Rico's thread)

Let's look at the facts, the stats, on forwards and other goal scorers before declaring someone like Demsey's finishing "crap", Loco.
I mean, I guess you can call it crap based on a general impression if you want to, but one Mr. Clint Demsey is the current USNT player pool's #2 most prolific scorer:

name caps/goals scoring rate per match

Altidore 21/8 .38
Demsey 59/17 .288
LD 120/42 . 286
Ching 43/10 .233
Beasley 89/17 .191
Boca 74/11 .149

(No one else even has more than a half dozen goals total. Davies was 17/4 btw.)

So, while I don't think much of Josy's first touch, that problem can be improved upon, and you are right about him being our best hope now that Charlie is gone for an extended period.
But Demsey's finishing is not what I would call crap, eihter from the stats nor from watching him play.
But his work ethic is crap. If he worked like LD or several other players we could mention, I would say sure, try him at forward. Really, we dont need him at midfield, we could use some more help at forward.

Let's face it, Davies loss might have been the worst possible blow to the team after a Donovan or a Howard.

I'm in complete agreement when it comes to having Dempsey at forward. To be honest, he seems to work harder up there and almost seems to enjoy it more. And, he might be our best option to pair up with Altidore.

I know moving Landon up is pretty much out of the question, but does anybody think we are deep enough at midfield to do so?


I suppose that would require a player like Torres to really step up.

LD? I think I am against that idea, A. His clever ball handling and constantly threatening through passes would be negated far too much if we moved him up top.

I think gremlin is right, if Torres steps up and plays well then moving Donovan to a second forward role is a possibility but his first assumptiom, and that of several other posters, that moving Dempsey up top to fill the hole created by Davies injury is probably the best solution. Or at the least is the best solution until someone else steps up and shows they can contribute significantly at forward. I would prefer keeping Donovan as an attacking midfielder where his speed and passing ability can better be utilized.

I was looking at the MLS scoring leaders and they are Conor Casey and Jeff Cunningham. Now I know Cunningham is getting up in years but with Davies out, is it worth giving him another try? His previous national team play was back when Bruce Arena was coaching the US. Maybe it is worth giving the guy with a hot scoring touch a chance under these circumstances (no Davies)?

Cunningham for all of his talent is a lockerrom cancer, which explains why he's probably played for at least half of the clubs in MLS.

So Demerit just had a cornea replaced and will be out 1-2 months, ruling him out until next year's friendlies for the US while Onyewu is to undergo his operation and we'll then know if the previous 3-4 months out estimate is correct.

Bottom line is the opportunity will be there for any of the other centerbacks to stake their claim. It also means for at least the short term, Carlos Bocanegra will be staying in the middle, opening up an opportunity on the left for Honduras' new hero, Jonathan Bornstein plus Heath Pearce and maybe even Edgar Castillo.

I think you are right about the centerback, and left back situation for the next match which will apparently be against Denmark in Denmark in November. I imagine the Scandinavian based centerbacks-Califf, Parkhurst, Goodson (am I missing one?) will all be in contention for a spot there. If I am not mistaken, MLS Cup will not yet have been played so it is possible Marshall could still be involved with Columbus.

As for left back, Castillo is now eligible to play for the US, so why not give him a call? It is a FIFA sanctioned date.

Speaking of eligibility, I read where Jermaine Jones has now been cleared to play for the US. Unfortunately he is still injured (is expected back sometime in November) so won't make the November friendly meaning his only chance to play a game for the US prior to the World Cup could be the March FIFA open date for friendlies!

I think you are right about the centerback, and left back situation for the next match which will apparently be against Denmark in Denmark in November. I imagine the Scandinavian based centerbacks-Califf, Parkhurst, Goodson (am I missing one?) will all be in contention for a spot there. If I am not mistaken, MLS Cup will not yet have been played so it is possible Marshall could still be involved with Columbus.

As for left back, Castillo is now eligible to play for the US, so why not give him a call? It is a FIFA sanctioned date.

Speaking of eligibility, I read where Jermaine Jones has now been cleared to play for the US. Unfortunately he is still injured (is expected back sometime in November) so won't make the November friendly meaning his only chance to play a game for the US prior to the World Cup could be the March FIFA open date for friendlies!

The back line is certainly wide open at the moment, not only due to Gooch' injury, but due to unsteady play by others. Pearce could still be in the running as well. Possibly Wynne and/or Heaps? It is pretty open right now.

I don't know John, I think both Heaps and Wynne have played themselves out of contention although maybe they will each get a chance to prove themselves again at that January training camp for MLS and Scandinavian based players?

Good news about Jermaine Jones' clearance to play. Bad news about his continued injury. Did not realize that there will be only one FIFA date for friendlies next year before the serious business of roster selection takes place. Does not leave much opportunity for guys like Jones, Castillo or any other newcomer to make a case for themselves.

And what is up with Maurice Edu and his injury? He has not played since June. When he returns, remember his play in the Olympics, he can be an option at centerback in addition to defensive midfield. And with the quantity and quality of the US' central midfielders, that may be a good option to pursue.

Bad news, Onyewu just had surgery and they estimate he'll be out 6 months, putting his World Cup participation at risk:

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=ap-u...ov=ap&type=lgns

If Edu recovers, moving he (and maybe Mastroeni?) to centerback looks like a more appealing option.

I am saddened to read of the serious injuries to both Davies and Onyewu. To my eyes those two players, in addition to Donovan and Dempsey, were the big reasons the US did as well as they did in the Confederations Cup. Those players, Donovan for his speed, energy, passing and goalscoring ability, Davies for his energy and speed at forward and Onyewu for his strength and commanding presence in defense are the three players who I think are the players who make the difference for the US. If both Davies and Onyewu miss the World Cup or if they get there but are out of form, then the US is in my opinion a different and weaker team. Those are major losses.

I think Sergio makes a good point, both Davies and Onyewu played very well at the Confederations Cup and in subsequent qualifying games and their play added a new dimension to the US' overall play. If both will be out for the World Cup or in Onyewu's case perhaps back in time but out of form, then the US will be less than at their best. Bob Bradley will have his hands full trying to get the US back up to the level they showed this past summer.

Onyewu's injury was just one of those things which can happen on the field of play, an unfortunate incident. But Davies' accident was very preventable, it happened due to an act of indiscipline on his part, breaking the team's training camp for a night on the town. You know he is regretting that now as his career is in jeopardy and his indiscipline is rare for US players who typically are a disciplined bunch. But that is little consolation now as the US tries to regroup from this double blow of serious injuries to two players who were going to be certain starters in South Africa.

Sergio and Nkono have depressed me but I agree with their main premise, that Davies and Onyewu became very key players for the US and replacing them will not be easy. If Onyewu is out for 6 months that means he could possibly return by late April which would only leave one month for him to get fit and in form for the World Cup. That is cutting it close. Even if he can make it back in time I seriously doubt it would be the Onyewu we saw this past summer, the one who played so well that he earned a contract from AC Milan.

And yes Nkono is right that what is frustrating about Davies injuries is that they came from his breaking the team curfew and going out late at a night just a few days before the Costa Rica match. Onyewu's injury was just an unfortunate incident which could happen to any player, Davies' however was preventable.

As for replacing each of them, I think Bradley should try out as many players as possible to see which ones click with the rest of the team. Right now there are no single individuals who I think you could write in as their natural replacements, so open it up and see what many others could add in their place.

Yeah, you guys are all depressing me too. I was trying not to think about it too much, but Davies, notwithstanding Holden, was our most promising newcomer to the starting line up in a long time, by a wide margin.

Gooch, I love him, but he has been a bit of an enigma. A team leading stalwart at times, and a bit of a bumbler making critical mistakes at the worst times other times.
Consistency was not only not his middle name, it was his main problem. Oh, all in all, his absence a sizeable net loss, but not an irreplaceable one like Davies' probably is. Bradley should have a wider range of options and easier time of it replacing Gooch than Charlie.

And, there is time, we'll see. It may take almost two years for a team to get qualified for the World Cup, but it doesn't take nearly that long to replace certian players, even important ones. Of course if one Mr. LD were to go down, all bets are off.

I see John's point about there being more potential understudies for Onyewu than there are for Davies but the Onyewu who played the past year, up through his transfer to Milan, was as dominating a central defender as the US has had since Eddie Pope's heyday, if not longer, and that will not easily be replaced by players like Marshall, Demerit, Conrad or Goodson.

About replacing Davies, I say why not give a chance to players like Findlay or Cunningham? I am not sure if Cunningham has the speed he once had and he definitely does not work as much as Davies but he is in great scoring form now and is a pretty adept technical player. It is not unheard of for otherwise average forwards to get hot at the right time and light up a World Cup with goals, just ask Salvatore Schillaci or Oleg Salenko. So why not give the MLS' most in form forward an opportunity?

Findlay brings the speed and work rate of Davies, without his strenth or scoring ability but like Cunningham, I think it is worth giving him a chance to see if he can become an option up top with Davies' future uncertain.

Losing Davies and Onyewu are major blows to the US and it will not be easy replacing them but the opportunity is there for somebody to step up and show they can do the job. We shall see if someone grabs that chance.

True all said, Martin. But your last sentence was my main point. We haev time to recover form this. It si not like it is March, 2010, PTL.

Still, admittedly, it will be pretty surprising if the team comes out of it by April or May in as good or better a positon as it was in two weeks ago. Damn the luck.