USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

Jed Zeppelin

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I can barely articulate how badly I want them to go for it with a lineup like that. Getting your best player in his best position seems like a good start for winning football, no? I trust the CBs (well, the good ones) enough to take a bit of a chance at LB to get FJ forward as much as possible. And please please please let last night be the end of our desperate need to force Bradley into an advanced role.
 

Infield Infidel

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Bradley is so good at those longish diagonal passes and controlling pace from a deeper position. His defending is fine, he's occasionally out of position, like on that foul at the end of the match last night, but normally he's okay and he's tireless to boot.

One thing with Zardes, besides his not-so-great first touch, is his tactical awareness. There was a moment in the first half when he was dribbling toward the sideline and there was a defender on him and he had no one to pass to, and he just dribbled the ball over the sideline instead of trying to knock the ball off the defender into touch. It's a small thing but US would have had a throw-in in the attacking zone
 
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Bradley's our only player with elite-level short passing, no? He's a homeless man's Xavi. We need him at whatever our focal point is. Against teams where we'll have majority possession, that's going to be CAM; against teams that are better than us at holding the ball, that might be DM. He's also pretty well-placed at AM when we're playing a team whose defense plays well in the air, because he's going to do much better creating through balls than any of the alternatives.

I'm trying to understand the fascination here with getting Fabian Johnson off of LB and into LM. I share this guy's point of view, and he says it better:

The problem is, he is such a talented player with extraordinary versatility that he's the team's best player at nearly four different positions (Left back, right back, left wing, and right wing).

The decision of where to deploy the 28-year-old in the national team's starting lineup now becomes a matter of philosophy and covering up weaknesses. The national team player pool has strengthened over the past six months. Players like Darlington Nagbe and Christian Pulisic, two extremely talented midfielders, have entered the equation. Neither of which are at the level of Fabian Johnson, but when you compare their talent and potential with that of the competition along the back line, playing him at left back starts to become logical.

If you're Jurgen Klinsmann you have to ask yourself a couple of questions. Would I rather have Darlington Nagbe or Christian Pulisic in the lineup in the midfield or have Edgar Castillo or Tim Ream in the lineup on the back line?
There's also the side point that we're not going to win a shootout against the likes of Ecuador, to say nothing of Brazil and Argentina, so we might as well be as solid defensively as possible, more than anywhere else, in order to maximize the chance of a result.
 

teddykgb

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I don't really see Nagbe sitting in a midfield two with Bradley -- he's more of a true CM or even a CAM isn't he?

I'm also not eager to put Chandler on the field in any circumstances. He's maybe my least favorite player in this cycle, I think he brings almost nothing to the table.

I liked Bradley in his role last night. He's not really a short passing one touch player. But he's got a good touch and a good long pass in him. Let him orchestrate and settle things. Then it's a matter of deciding how many strikers to play and how much Pulisic can play. Normally, you'd say a young kid like that might be able to play 15-20 at the end of matches at best but realistically if this kid is training and playing in the Bundesliga I think he's capable of providing a bit more. I'd be tempted to start him for the first hour but that's likely aggressive. He and Johnson looked like the makings of a pretty formidable left sided overlap yesterday, though. With Nagbe on that side everyone was able to control a ball and make a pass which gave us an avenue out that wasn't a long ball to nowhere.

I think you have to play Yedlin at RB. He's really developed well and if we're honest he's a dynamic RB and a mediocre at best pace merchant RM. I'd love to see Dempsey phased out immediately and used as a late sub if we need to try to break stalemate and score a goal. At this point I honestly think you have to carry him too much to play 60 or 90 minutes. Given who is available, I think last night's formation (which was something like a 4-1-4-1) in the second half is probably how i'd look to roll in any match that matters. Runs the risk of being overrun without a true DM to break up play but you could always slide Bradley into one of the more forward CM positions in the formation and bring on a strict DM if it were necessary.

I'd play Wood all day over the other available (and even unavailable strikers).
 

Cellar-Door

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Chandler is basically my LB by default, I think playing Fabian at LB may help you get a point or two more in a tournament that doesn't really matter, but it's a huge disservice to building towards RUS18. However, Chandler has been a pretty successful FB in the Bundesliga since he was 21, he's struggled in a number of his 26 USMNT caps, but I think at some point you need to give him a consistent run with the same LM and CB and see if he can lock in. Getting the Chandler that you see in the Bundesliga would be massive for this team, and rotating him in and out of wildly changing lineups isn't going to let you know whether that's likely. I think pairing him with Brooks at LCB and Johnson at LM/LW for 3-5 games in a row would put him in the best position to succeed, and it lets you know if he's a legit LB for RUS18, which has huge implications for the roster, and if he struggles through 5+ games you know for sure that it's Johnson (or an unlikely emergent) at LB.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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I don't really see Nagbe sitting in a midfield two with Bradley -- he's more of a true CM or even a CAM isn't he?

I'm also not eager to put Chandler on the field in any circumstances. He's maybe my least favorite player in this cycle, I think he brings almost nothing to the table.

I liked Bradley in his role last night. He's not really a short passing one touch player. But he's got a good touch and a good long pass in him. Let him orchestrate and settle things. Then it's a matter of deciding how many strikers to play and how much Pulisic can play. Normally, you'd say a young kid like that might be able to play 15-20 at the end of matches at best but realistically if this kid is training and playing in the Bundesliga I think he's capable of providing a bit more. I'd be tempted to start him for the first hour but that's likely aggressive. He and Johnson looked like the makings of a pretty formidable left sided overlap yesterday, though. With Nagbe on that side everyone was able to control a ball and make a pass which gave us an avenue out that wasn't a long ball to nowhere.

I think you have to play Yedlin at RB. He's really developed well and if we're honest he's a dynamic RB and a mediocre at best pace merchant RM. I'd love to see Dempsey phased out immediately and used as a late sub if we need to try to break stalemate and score a goal. At this point I honestly think you have to carry him too much to play 60 or 90 minutes. Given who is available, I think last night's formation (which was something like a 4-1-4-1) in the second half is probably how i'd look to roll in any match that matters. Runs the risk of being overrun without a true DM to break up play but you could always slide Bradley into one of the more forward CM positions in the formation and bring on a strict DM if it were necessary.

I'd play Wood all day over the other available (and even unavailable strikers).
Chandler gives me some pause as well, but then I remember that we played 4 World Cup matches with Beasley at LB and the world didn't end. A more credible attack would have done wonders--the kind you can develop by pushing Fab up the field more instead of running out Zusi for yet another uninspiring effort. I don't think I'm asking too much to think someone in the pool can approximate Beasley's defense at LB while seriously upgrading the talent in front of the back 4 to ease some of the pressure they tend to be under against stronger sides. I just don't want to see them held back anymore by the mentality of trying to scrape out a result. In the end, I am fine with Fab at LB because the alternatives are poor, he does get forward plenty, and I don't like pissing into the wind, but I don't think putting someone else at LB would be some kind of catastrophe. I mean...Beasley!

Pulisic can play either side, so it's not like pushing FJ back is the only way to get him on the field. And despite his youth he's a capable defensive player; tracks back and is very good at picking pockets and turning it upfield for instant offense. The ball sticks to him. I'd have no problem at all giving him a longer leash, but he's also a GREAT 60th-minute sub for instant pressure on tiring defenders so it's certainly not the worst thing to keep him there for now. He will earn a spot in the 11 soon enough. I watched/illegally streamed as many of his Bundesliga minutes as I could and he is as advertised.

Agreed on Bradley. The weight and accuracy on his short passes and through balls from the critical 18-25 area are often lacking, certainly not elite.. As mentioned over and over again, he sends a beautiful over-the-top ball but the attack has never really been good at unlocking defenses while relying on him to make that final pass in tight spaces.

Agreed again on Dempsey. Give him the Wondo role, with the bonus that he might actually finish opportunities. At the very least don't leave him isolated up top--just a waste of whatever precious minutes he has left in his body.

You have to love what Wood is doing these days. I didn't see much in his early caps but since those big goals last June he's been unreal. Fun to see a guy out there who just knows he's going to score.
 

Infield Infidel

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Beasley, for all his warts, had a lot of experience and guile and positional awareness. He knew where to be pretty much at all times. He wasn't the biggest force going forward, but Beasley beat guys currently behind FJ for that LB spot, and those guys haven't gotten better.

If there's a guy who is the best option at 4 spots, sure up that weakest spot. We all of the sudden have midfielders galore right now. And it's not like FJ isn't going to be threatening from LB, it would be nice to have offensive minded options at both spots on the left side edit: although with Yedlin bombing forward like he did yesterday, FJ would need to stay back more obviously.
 
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Chandler is basically my LB by default...
Hold on a second, isn't Chandler a RB? Doesn't he play RB for Eintracht? Isn't he Yedlin's backup right now? I thought Castillo was FJ's backup, since he played 90 mins in both games vs Guatemala.

I thought footed-ness made the most difference among FBs, unless you're talking about Arjen Robben.
 

Tangled Up In Red

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Beasley, for all his warts, had a lot of experience and guile and positional awareness. He knew where to be pretty much at all times. He wasn't the biggest force going forward, but Beasley beat guys currently behind FJ for that LB spot, and those guys haven't gotten better.
This is very true. I gained a ton of respect for Beasley with how he transitioned in to the LB position of need. Maximized his strengths and minimized his weaknesses.
 

Titans Bastard

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Count me among those who are not high on Chandler.

On paper, he looks like a guy who could be really useful to the USMNT. We perpetually lack fullback quality and depth, Chandler is a Bundesliga fullback in the prime of his career. Everything started out great - anyone remember his debut friendlies in March 2011? He was electric, he just turned 21, and he looked like a possible solution for a decade to come.

But here's the problem: he's been laying eggs for the US for quite some time (well he was - he hasn't been capped since the Gold Cup in 2015). It seems like every game he is good for at least one mind-numbing defensive lapse where his brain completely shuts off. It's strange. Often, it's not that he makes the wrong decision in a 2v3 situation (or whatever), he'll just....decide to not track back whatsoever at a key moment for no reason. I don't know if he does it for Frankfurt, too, but you just can't do that on a regular basis on the international level. It's been a while since he's turned in a performance for the US that's as good as it "should" be, based on his resume.

In Germany, he's coming off a down year, too. This season he was injured part of the time, benched part of the time, and wound up with only five starts. For whatever they are worth, his Kicker ratings [1-6, with 1 being world class and 6 being awful] are not impressive.

Given his overall resume and the lack of depth at fullback, he can and should continue to be given chances....but it just seems like something never clicks with him for the US. I'd have picked him as a depth FB for this squad too, but I'd be very hesitant to rely on him right now.

His past commitment issues and his lackadaisical moments also contribute to a general sense that he is not fully committed to the US and what I perceive to be a fairly widespread unlikeability among the US fanbase. I would love for him to break out of this funk this summer. We could really, really use it.
 

Titans Bastard

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Hold on a second, isn't Chandler a RB? Doesn't he play RB for Eintracht? Isn't he Yedlin's backup right now? I thought Castillo was FJ's backup, since he played 90 mins in both games vs Guatemala.

I thought footed-ness made the most difference among FBs, unless you're talking about Arjen Robben.
Chandler is a right back, but he has played left back for Klinsmann on a number of occasions. My instinct, which I assume is shared by @Cellar-Door, is that since we lack good LB options, Chandler would be more likely to slide to LB than Yedlin. (In a scenario where FJ is moved to the midfield.)

Defensively, I don't usually have too many concerns about a fullback playing on the "wrong" side. Offensively, it can be much more of a problem. Sometimes players' instincts are all wrong going forward and crossing is an issue. Either you cross with the weaker foot or you have to cut back to cross with the stronger foot, which wastes time and is predictable for the opposing defender. So the value of Chandler's game that is lost when he lines up at LB certainly has to be part of the calculus.

I don't really see Nagbe sitting in a midfield two with Bradley -- he's more of a true CM or even a CAM isn't he?
Much digital ink has been spilled trying to answer the Nagbe question. He is an enigma and is difficult to categorize. For much of his professional career, he was used on the wing and was frustratingly inconsistent -- anonymous at times, too often for a player of his talents. Since he was moved inside for good during 2015, he has been an impact player with more regularity. He plays in a three-man midfield with Diego Chara who does most of the defensive dirty work and Diego Valeri, who is more of a classic playmaker.

He has the smoothness on the ball and the overall technical ability that you want from a #10, but he doesn't seem to have the instincts. I think over time the growing consensus is that he has a bigger impact on the game when he sits a little deeper in the midfield. He is good at connecting the team and bringing others into the game (33/33 passing last night), he is respectable defensively (not a DM, but enough to handle a box-to-box role), and he is capable of the occasional electrifying run forward with the ball.

I am not certain that a Bradley-as-6, Nagbe-as-8 midfield will work, but I do think it's worth trying. When you set aside oldies like Beckerman and Jones, I think Bradley+Nagbe are the clear top two talents at CM, so getting both in a functional midfield is appealing. The question is how Nagbe adapts to the role and whether Bradley can avoid the stupid shit his prone to doing as a DM, like the dumb foul at the end of the game and occasionally getting sucked out of position (which to his credit wasn't an issue last night).

I'd be curious to hear @steeplechase3k's take, as a frequent Timbers viewer.
 

Cellar-Door

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Chandler out Castillo in.
Very annoying, Chandler had a rough year in Germany, but seemed to really turn it on late regaining the starting role as they pushed to stay up. I had hoped it might translate to the USMNT for once.
 

Titans Bastard

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This one's a doozy:



Yes, that's Besler at LB(!!) and Orozco at RB. Okay, so you want to rest Yedlin and Johnson ahead of the Copa. Castillo hasn't arrived in camp yet. I get it -- though maybe you should have brought another actual fullback.

But....if you are going to start two centerbacks at the fullback positions, why go with a 4-3-3??? Fullbacks are essential to providing width in a 4-3-3. Besler and Orozco will not do that.

Likewise, we're starting two CFs out wide and our actual CF is someone who is bad at the position.


It's a friendly, so there's always going to be some experimentation, changes, and things that are a little wonky. That's normal....but what is Klinsmann trying to learn here?

The functionality of a Bradley/Jones/Bedoya midfield should be something to watch out for, but it might be tough to evaluate if the rest of the lineup is too dysfunctional and out of position.
 

Cellar-Door

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Dempsey playing basically CM/CAM, creates a goal w/ help from Bedoya.

They really should be playing a 4-3-1-2.
 

Tangled Up In Red

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They're basically playing a 4-2-4 with Bedoya going forward freely. Shame wood is only being allowed half the field (left).
 

Titans Bastard

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It's every American's patriotic duty to teach their children to use their left feet so that someday we can have a real LB.
I've always thought the biggest reason for our lack of fullbacks is that US youth wingers are often moved back way too late in their career. Too many youth coaches riding them to wins as wingers even if they'd have a better future as a fullback.
 

Titans Bastard

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This Bolivia team is pretty bad. Very poor marking there. Nice movement by the US though.
 

Titans Bastard

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I'd love to see a lineup with Bedoya and Fabian on the wings, we need a LB so bad
He's not a sure thing but I'd like to see Jorge Villafaña get a shot. Otherwise the cupboard is pretty bare as far as natural LBs go.
 

McBride11

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Is it just blasphemy to have a LB that's right footed? I know you lose some of the crossing but there is also the ability to cut back and have a shot or righty cross.
 

speedracer

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Love that Nagbe and Pulisic can work the ball in tight spaces.

Pretty clownshoes D by Bolivia though.
 

teddykgb

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Bolivia leaving so much space for the deeper midfielders. But these two performances have been encouraging. The Copa will be harder and I expect very little but it is good to see the MNT competing
 

Titans Bastard

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Our midfield looks wide open defensively since Bradley came off. Bolivia probably isn't good enough to take advantage, but it shows MB's defensive presence.
 

teddykgb

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The Bolivia defenders have every right to slap their teammates around. That Fk quick start by Wondo had nobody working back to get behind the ball they're completely dogging it at this point