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Who was the biggest USA roster snub?

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Photo by Perry McIntyre/ISIphotos.com

It happens every time the U.S. national team releases a roster for a friendly or meaningful game. Fans and pundits clamor that a certain player or certain players who didn't make the cut deserved the call-up.

Thursday's roster release for the November friendlies against France and Slovenia was accompanied with a similar reaction. 

Even though Jurgen Klinsmann has developed a pretty consistent pattern of whom he is and is not going to call up, the fact remains that a handful of U.S. internationals have been playing well at their clubs without getting the reward of a call to U.S. camp.

Players like centerbacks Omar Gonzalez and George John, who have yet to be called in under Klinsmann only to watch Michael Orozco Fiscal continue to get chances despite struggling on the international level, come to mind. So too does striker Herculez Gomez, who has been in form and scoring for Estudiantes Tecos but hasn't gotten a U.S. look despite the Americans mustering just two goals in five games under Klinsmann's watch. 

Creative midfielders such as Sacha Kljestan, Benny Feilhaber and Freddy Adu were also passed over this time around and don't appear to be high on Klinsmann's current pecking order based on his brief track record.

Who do you think was the biggest USMNT snub for the November friendlies? Cast your vote after the jump:

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How did you vote? Which player that wasn't called in do you think deserves a call-up the most? Anybody not on our list that you think is most deserving?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Wondo has only been caled in during the off-season (when he obviously had not had any game sin months) and the Gold Cup in June (when he was not in a hot streak).

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  2. Sasha the CLOWN Klejstan?? Really?? I can care less if this clown scores 10000 goals at Anderlech. He is not USMNT material! He has proven that.

    Adu over Sasha & Rogers any day. ADU in the short time he has been in a U.S jersey has contributed far more in less minutes played than the two clowns mention above. Fact.

    Gomez & Adu are the biggest snubs.

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  3. His form dipped after the failed move, you cant just blame his team. I agree he might have a future but he is down the depth chart, behind gooch, boca, and goodson. I said he might have potential and he is better than fiscal but its kind of irrelevant. A move abroad could help his chances but for now we have the three I mentioned above, Whitbread (injured)playing in the EPL, JA Brooks who turned down a Bayern move to sign a 4 year contract with hertha, morales, and boss all in contention for the 3-4 centerback spot.

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  4. +1 It’s not that you couldn’t call it a snub (Beas at F over Wondo?), it’s that Herc is obviously a bigger snub. He’s the only player in the poll that I would consider starting, FWIW.

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  5. How does Brad Rusin in the pecking order for CB? 25 yo 6’4 big guy who isn’t afraid to take it the distance if anyone has seen that goal of his and starting in the same league as Goodson and Parkhurst

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  6. 1. Gonzalez
    2. Gomez

    Out of the options above those are my picks, hands-down.

    You can find some other thoughts on the US defense and call ups here at offthelaces.com

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  7. and i would agree with you 100%. Philly stood not one chance the other night with Cameron in the back. when he is on, he’s a vacuum. a huge, quick, well footed, silky smooth vacuum.

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  8. The first thing to remember: we lost the Gold Cup Final. Badly.

    Freddy has been hurt and can’t even crack the Philly lineup regularly. His last few months have not been impressive. When BB called him up he had been impressive in Turkey. Why should he get called up now? It would send him a bad message. He needs to remember:

    Play bad, no call up

    Play good, call up

    None of the guys you named are anything other than fringe US players at this point.

    Unless they really step up their club performances I can see all of them never getting another call up, and even that may not help because club performance is only one of the many variables JK seems to use when deciding on who to call up.

    I find it interesting that everyone takes him at his word when he talks about how he

    picks players. It would probably be more accurate to say he has told us the general parameters of what he is looking for but he is purposely vague on the specifics.

    USMNT fans take his pronouncements as some sort of Pirate rules when the reality is they are more like Pirate Guidelines.

    Managers need and want flexibility because they are the ones with their asses on the line and the ones who are right on the sidelines so they should have it.

    Most US fans seem to have some sort of Fantasy league table where they rate players and they think that is how you put together a team. It is not and never will be.

    There are a million factors no fantasy league system will ever be able to account for.

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  9. Matt and Tim,

    Wondo and Gomez are competing against Clint Dempsey and Donovan. Those two are the only US players who can consistently score for the US.

    I love Herc but if you examine his record very carefully you will find he is very streaky. He is either doing nothing or scoring like crazy. Wondo is more consistent but the problem with both is you have to keep sticking them in the lineup for a long time until they get hot. Five games, as you pointed out for Wondo, is not a long time.

    And, unlike a club team, the USMNT cannot afford to wait on them. They don’t play enough games.

    And being red hot for your club is no help because it seems both thrive on the familiarity of their club settings and then, put them in a completely different environment (such as the USMNT) and the acclimation process clock goes right back to zero. Wondo was pretty hot and going good when Bradley called him in.

    Which is why many national team managers over the years have always stuggled with picking players like Wondo and Gomez.

    Both Herc and Wondo are also good midfielders so you could justify including them on that basis if they aren’t scoring but Dempsey and Donovan are better midfielders as well.

    As long as Dempsey and Donovan are around there is no room for Herc or Wondo.

    And for those of you who think JK is a moron, do you really think you understand goalscoring and goal scorers better than him?

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  10. So, a guy who is probably going to win defender of the year has a bad outing and that means he really isn’t deserving? Yet Orozco gets called in? Ream makes more mistakes in MLS than Gonzales by far yet he got called in plenty.

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  11. Comparing Wondo to Donovan is hilarious. Donovan’s first caps were when he was young. Wondo is hardly young. Donovan was a beast and everyone knew it. Wondo is only loved by San Jose fans and morons. Donovan was productive in national team games, Wondo missed an open net from 5 feet away.

    See how that works Matt?

    Now if you were complaining about the young, stud, productive, Juan Agudelo you might have a point. His draw back is not playing in first team games, but that is merely because Hans is an idiot. It would be hard to do less with the talent at NYRB than that fool has managed so Juan not getting PT there is no surprise. I also suspect that Jurgen wanted Agudelo to play with the U-23’s.

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  12. I just explained why Gomez is better read my post again. Also, when Gomez was in MLS he scored like crazy too. Gomez scored on more than just Australia. You guys are bonkers to think Wondo is better than Gomez. Also, freaking Wondolowski is one year younger than Gomez. Wondo sucks internationally he is only good in MLS, but that is it. I bet he could not even score on a weak concacaf team.

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  13. Kljesten. He’s an in-form midfielder who can pick out a good pass. Lesser midfielders were inexplicably picked over him (Rogers!???)

    Calling up Gonzalez to sit the bench when his team is still in the play-offs makes no sense. As for Gomez, he’s not in better form than Jozy, Buddle, or Landon and DaBease has equal form and a lot more versatility. In theory, Gomez deserves consideration, but in what is effectively a single-striker formation, some guys are going to be left out.

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  14. As of now we have enough creators and enough guys who want to score, but we do not have that guy who happens to be in the right spot when a well-delivered cross comes in.

    The major point is to reward the guy for scoring. It’s not like his team needs him, as he is basically only used as a sub.

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  15. If you want to create chances then call in Brad Davis…why is this guy not on the roster…he still has some good years left and would be dynamite coming off the bench, if not starting. His left foot is magical.

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  16. Brad Davis has a few years on him but he has a wicked left foot on set pieces and is a proven assist leader.

    He’d be great starting or coming off the bench.

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  17. Lets be honest…this snub thing has a positive to it.

    I remember the days of the USMNT when the starters were easy to pick because there were no bench players.

    It wasn’t that long ago.

    We should be happy that we’re even having this conversation.

    Great job Ives!

    Reply
  18. Brad Davis…

    yeah I know, he has a few years on him but he has a wicked left foot on set pieces and is a proven assist leader.

    He’d be great starting or coming off the bench.

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  19. John has not been poor since that date, his team has. John is 1 of 3 players to rank in the top 10 of the castrol EVERY month of the season. (Henry and OG are the other two)

    John ended the season with the 3gols/1 assist. Leading or matching every other CB in the league.

    John is just flat out CONSISTENTLY good. Only Omar has proved to be as consistent but John is quicker/faster/passes better than him.

    John has never been selected to an ALL Star game despite playing like one 99% of the time 3 years running

    John was awarded the “most underrated” award by mls.com last year instead of a best11 he deserved.

    Rumor has it John was called into Mexico game by Bradley only for Klinnsmans people to call back and tell him he wasnt wanted.

    John will likely be snubbed again this year for best 11

    John’s whole existence in US soccer has been 1 big snub SO He gets my vote for this poll, Omar would be runner up

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  20. maybe USA should have signed Hanse backe as coach of USA, that way we wont have to look at the biggest snub,,,cuz everyone knows backe doesnt play his bunch……but yeah of the list gomez & kljestan got snubbed. rogers, fizcal, buddle n even jones dont deserve to be called up…

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  21. He is good for the mls, not nearly international quality. I have not seen a site that he has got love on. 5 games is enough time for an international forward to score. He will be 31 for the next world cup but unlike gomez he offers nothing. Jozy will start with dempsey supporting him until agudelo or one of the young german forwards gets first team time with there clubs.

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  22. First, Agudelo didn’t get a senior call up this time did he?

    Second, in the limited opportunities both players have had, Agudelo has been far more impressive with better results.

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  23. Using Hypotheticals in your argument to counter facts is poor… He hasn’t scored, contributed, or been a factor at all in 5 games. The only chance he had was a sitter created and he blew it, bad. Gomez is better.

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  24. how is Gomez “way better international quality than Wondo”?? Cuz he scored against Australia? Both guys need more caps to be judged accordingly. If Dempsey and Donovan can have so many off games, then Wondo cannot be written off

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  25. Wondo gets no love on this site. Even when every defender in the league knows that he is the ONLY scoring threat San Jose has yet he has scored at will and has led the league in scoring for 2 straight seasons. If Gomez and Buddle are in the conversation, Wondo’s name should be brought up as well

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  26. Tim Ream. Despite his errors in Nats and Red Bull games this year, he showed his real self against LA last night. Without Marquez there to screw him up. He just needs to get his confidence re-stabilized in the post Marquez era.

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  27. “Adu signed with Benfica
    John has a $4 million price tag
    Feilhaber left UCLA early to play in Germany”
    These are poor justifications, after watching adu in person hopefully americans can stop hyping him. John has been poor since he got the price tag, maybe he has a future. Feilhaber has fallen down the depth chart after playing for one of the worst teams in the mls.

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  28. this. one thing that irritates me is the calls for Gonzales, ream, or john. It really doesnt matter, they all would be competing for the fourth spot and that will be filled by brooks/boss/morales or someone else by the next world cup.

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  29. How are John, Adu, and Feilhaber way below Kljestan, Gonzalez, and Gomez? It just shows people vote based on what they just read or heard on TV. Gomez and Gonzalez have been mentioned frequently in the past few days on TV and online.

    Adu signed with Benfica
    John has a $4 million price tag
    Feilhaber left UCLA early to play in Germany

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  30. I watched him shoot the ball over the net while wide open and 5 yds from goal in the goal cup. He he had five games and has not scored. How many more games are does a striker get. Especially one that is not young or rated highly.

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  31. Are you serious Wondo over Gomez ? Wondo has not even scored , nor assisted on any international goals. Gomez plays in a better league and scores, he has scored for the national team, and he is way better international quality than Wondo. Wondo sucks he is a waist of a roster spot.

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  32. Did you learn about context in grade school English class, Matt? Forum, as used in that sentence, referred to “these games,” the two games on European soil coming up, as in “these games are not the forum to test players.” Its quite a feat for you to take from that word that I was implying it inappropriate for anyone commenting on this site to think or say that someone might have been snubbed. This is what happens when you let your disagreement with an opinion posted by someone you don’t know on a site about a game and people you don’t know become beholden to your uncontrolled emotion. You start to find motives and meaning that aren’t there to satisfy you need to be outraged, or at least to express it. I suggest you take a deep breath, repeatedly, until Klinsman has managed a game with actual consequences. You’ll be much more relaxed by then.

    Reply

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