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With Clint Dempsey sidelined for Saturday's World Cup qualifier at Honduras due to a shoulder injury, U.S. head coach Bob Bradley will have to select a replacement for Dempsey from a handful of good candidates. It won't be an easy decision to make.
Does Bradley go with Stuart Holden, who has impressed in recent World Cup qualifiers as a substitute? Does Bradley go with Feilhaber, who has also shown good glimpses in recent matches but has never looked quite comfortable in his stints on the right wing?
Does Bradley move Landon Donovan to the right wing and turn to Jose Francisco Torres, who hasn't seen significant playing time since earning a start in a road World Cup qualifier vs. Costa Rica in June?
Let's consider the options more closely.
With Holden, you have a player with the energy, quickness and work rate to deal with a player like Julio Leon. Holden has shown that he brings energy and good attacking qualities to the position. This is why he is considered the front-runner to replace Dempsey.
With Feilhaber, you give the Americans a chance for more possession, and with Leon the likely choice to command the left side of the Honduran midfielder, it is a match-up that could work well for Feilhaber. What works against Feilhaber? He is in yellow card peril, as are several others including Ricardo Clark. Would Bradley risk losing both Clark and Feilhaber for a potential do-or-die qualifier vs. Costa Rica?
Torres is another possibility, but on the left side with Donovan moving over to the right flank. With speedy winger Edgard Alvarez likely to be deployed on the Honduran right win, Torres might not be the best option to use there.
Now, Bradley could choose to deploy Feilhaber or Torres as a third central midfielder (assuming Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark start), with Honduras capable of doing the same with a trio of Wilson Palacios, Hendry Thomas and Leon.
What would I do? I would go with Holden, but I would seriously consider Feilhaber or Torres.
What would you do? Cast your vote here:
Who did you vote for? Who do you think will get the call?
Share your thoughts below.
At first, I thought, “Man, I’d love to see a 4-3-1-2, like this:”
——-Altidore–Davies——-
————Donovan———–
–Torres–Bradley–Felihaber–
-Spector—Boca–Gooch—Dolo-
If we want possession, we’d surely have it with this. Doesn’t give us much up the wings, save for the fullbacks making runs, and Donovan roaming outside occasionally. But if Honduras pushes forward as I expect, we’d be in good position to take advantage of that, smothering the ball in midfield and starting quick counters.
In the end, though, I think it’ll be a case of sticking with what works. And rightfully so. Save the new formation for a friendly; plug in Holden for Dempsey in the 4-4-2, and go for the win.
I am a Ching fan and I’m not sure that Davies would have gotten a good opportunity to show his quality at the Confed Cup were it not for Ching’s injury.
Even though Davies didn’t look that good at the friendly against Sweden earlier this year, I felt he had good upside and just needed some more chances and minutes to prove it. If I remember correctly, he didn’t see any playing time for the US this year before the Confed Cup despite continuing to tear it up in Sweden.
Even in the Confed Cup, I don’t think Davies played until the “last” game against Egypt when the US chances were slim to none.
Same could be said of Spector and Demerit. Neither really saw any playing time to show their quality until there were injuries.
Is this how it is for other national teams?
Ives —
So Davies is our best forward? But for injury to Ching would he have gotten minutes in South Africa? What does this say about Mr. Attention To Detail aka Bob Bradley?
(SBI-Why do you assume Davies wouldn’t have played in South Africa if not for Ching getting hurt? I would argue that heading into the summer Davies was moving up in form and ability and earned the playing time he got. Would he have gotten fewer minutes with Ching around? Possibly, but suggestions that Davies would never have played with Ching around are a stretch at best.
As for whether Davies should have played before that, anyone suggesting so is assuming Davies was as good six months ago or nine months ago as he is now. There is something to be said for a player developing and improving as a player. You can keep assuming he would have been as good earlier in the year as he is now, but I’ll leave that one to you.
Back to your assumption that Davies never gets minutes unless Ching gets hurt this summer. I don’t happen to believe that assumption. I think Davies enjoyed a steady and considerable boost in form and confidence heading into the summer and was always going to impress and force himself onto the field at Confed Cup. He played himself into position to play and would be starting now even if Ching hadn’t gotten hurt this summer.)
Posted by: These Colors Do Not Run | October 06, 2009 at 06:12 PM
word up, Ives.
I say put in Holden. If all goes wrong than put Landon on the right and Torres on the left
Eric Wynalda.
Ives —
So Davies is our best forward? But for injury to Ching would he have gotten minutes in South Africa? What does this say about Mr. Attention To Detail aka Bob Bradley?
(SBI-Why do you assume Davies wouldn’t have played in South Africa if not for Ching getting hurt? I would argue that heading into the summer Davies was moving up in form and ability and earned the playing time he got. Would he have gotten fewer minutes with Ching around? Possibly, but suggestions that Davies would never have played with Ching around are a stretch at best.
As for whether Davies should have played before that, anyone suggesting so is assuming Davies was as good six months ago or nine months ago as he is now. There is something to be said for a player developing and improving as a player. You can keep assuming he would have been as good earlier in the year as he is now, but I’ll leave that one to you.
Back to your assumption that Davies never gets minutes unless Ching gets hurt this summer. I don’t happen to believe that assumption. I think Davies enjoyed a steady and considerable boost in form and confidence heading into the summer and was always going to impress and force himself onto the field at Confed Cup. He played himself into position to play and would be starting now even if Ching hadn’t gotten hurt this summer.)
You don’t change formation guys. Just play holden for dempsey.
davies altidore
donovan bradley clark holden
spector boca onyewu cherundolo
subs feilhaber
4-5-1 with Davies up top. Holden, Feilhaber, Bradley, LD in midfield.
Clark for Bradley at 60′. Ching for Davies if we’re tied or winning.
SBI-Son of a military man? Are you Jermaine Jones in disguise? I meant to put a smiley face on my note to you Scott, I know you’re American. Fair point about Landon as best forward in the pool, but until Landon goes to Europe and scores goals there, which Davies is doing, I’m not sure he can still lay claim to that title. Best field player on the team? Yes. Best forward? Not anymore.)
Not Jermaine. But I sympathize. I’ll argue with anyone who says the child of an American serving overseas isn’t really an American.
On topic though, I’ll defer to you — but it’s hard for me to believe that Charlie is doing better in France than Landon is doing in the U.S. I guess the only argument is whether Landon’s MLS accomplishments are equal to Charlie’s accomplishments in France.
To me it makes sense to couple Landon up top with a bigger player — and I like Altidore in that role now better than Ching.
And it should be obvious I’m a big fan of Paco Torres. The national team will be served well by getting him into the mix at some point. He may not have the bite of a Bradley or Clark, but he is a much better passer than either of them, and probably anyone in a Nats kit at this point. His calmness and intelligence in possession is better than any American I have seen since Reyna’s heyday. I would encourage all of your readers to watch a few Pachuca games.
It should be Holden but I doubt BB has the nads to start him
I like Holden as a change of pace guy. Unfortunately, we don’t have a team or players full of interchangeable parts, so it would appear that Bradley will probably plug Holden in that role.
Meh… I like Holden, but he doesn’t really have Dempsey’s knack of being in the right place at the right time. I’d like to see Torres in there, but after his replacement in a 3-1 road loss to Costa Rica, I doubt that Bradley throws him in as a starter when he’s barely seen time off the bench.
Bench the brat
(SBI-So you want to sit the best forward in the pool? When did you move here from Honduras?)
Ha. Sorry Ives, I’m a “U.S. American.” Son of a military man and all that.
The best forward in the pool — hell the best forward in the history of U.S. Soccer — is Landon Donovan.
The only reason Bob plays him at midfield is because his old left midfield options all lost it (Beasley, Convey, etc.) He even tried Bornstein there, if you recall. So he just gave up and pushed Donovan back.
Perhaps this game is not the game in which Torres is given a chance to win the spot. But it has to happen sometime so that Landon can get back up front where he has always belonged.
(SBI-Son of a military man? Are you Jermaine Jones in disguise? I meant to put a smiley face on my note to you Scott, I know you’re American. Fair point about Landon as best forward in the pool, but until Landon goes to Europe and scores goals there, which Davies is doing, I’m not sure he can still lay claim to that title. Best field player on the team? Yes. Best forward? Not anymore.)
First off, I think Holden should get the start on the right side. However, I’m not convinced that it has to be Holden or Feilhaber. While it is true that the US concedes fewer goals with a box-to-box center mid and a destroyer/defensive central mid, if possession is our goal in this game, then we need Benny in the middle of the park. That leaves a tough decision for who gets the other slot; Bradley or Clark?
While Clark breaks things up defensively his possession usually leaves fans wanting. Mikey has shown the ability to break up the opposing team’s offense as well as possess better than Clark. And, he and Benny against El Salvador didn’t look too bad for most of the first half. If they can sort out who goes and who stays to cover, they could be quite the tandem.
Posted by: Nick | October 06, 2009 at 12:22 PM
— I think Nick’s got it.
Clark and Bradley are awkward together. they often seem to end up marking the same man on D allowing the unmarked a nice open shot – See Mexico game.
There was a time before Benny’s injury problems that the Bradley/Feilhaber tandem was going to be the solution to the center of the pitch.
Feilhaber – if they let him play in attack mode.
Holden – if all Bradley wants is to foul the sheisse out of any and all Hondurans.
Survey says… Holden!
Sweet, so Ives you agree that Davies is the best forward in the pool at the moment? We’re on the same page with that one.
(SBI-Can’t really be argued. He’s being rated as one of the top forwards in the French League so far this season. He’s also the only forward playing regularly in a top European league.)
Look it’s a bucket!
————altidore———
————donovan———–
torres——————holden
——–bradley—clark——–
spector–boca—onyewu-cherundolo
————-howard————
(SBI-So you want to sit the best forward in the pool? When did you move here from Honduras?)
“either way, I look forward to reading about the game in the newspaper the next day….”
Posted by: Blokhin | October 06, 2009 at 11:53 AM
F Davies
AM Torres Feihaber Mandon
DM Bradley Clark
D Spector Gooch Boca dolo
G Timmie
Possession, vission, and a dude (Davies) that can play up front.
No need for a target stiker, possess and punch.
@jspot:
I’ve been watching DCU; it is not Tino time.
Holden is a person who rises to the occasion and plays well under pressure.
The question is if he can start and play well… He might be a player who is really good off the bench and not as good starting. Lets hope he plays well if he starts.
Call in Tino…
Holden is a little kid.
For starters, FCDallasfan who would you like to play in his place? If you want any kind of possession, even if it’s not the majority, we need players who can distribute smartly. Not only does Bradley do that, but he’s a great defensive midfielder as well.
In my opinion, I think we could go with this:
——————-Altidore—————-
Donovan———–Feilhaber———-Holden
————-Clark———Bradley———
Bornstein————————Cherundolo
———–Bocanegra—-Onyewu————-
——————-Howard——————
Bring Davies off the bench to replace Holden, bring Torres off the bench to replace Benny, and bring Ching off the bench to replace Altidore.
Yes, I understand, there’s no Davies but I feel like we need to have players who can help our defense as much as possible(Holden), while having players who give us a fair amount of possession(Feilhaber).
Holden fo sho.
I don’t see why everyone puts Benny as the possessor. Holden plays the exact same role at Houston. The difference is that Holden has proven he can keep possession AND put in a quality cross from the right… This may be Holden’s chance to take away “Im a lazy EPL Star” Dempsey’s spot for awhile. I like Demps on the team, but not on the right, and not as a starter at this point…And on Torres.. why not put him as target striker?? He’s got a good shot, great touch, and vision to boot.
Since it’s an away game vs a strong opponent, I think it’s important to err on the side of keeping the defense strong. So, as much as I’m looking forward to Edu or Jones replacing him, I’d start Clark in central midfield with Bradley and put Holden on the wing.
Howard
Spector–Onyewu–Bocanegra–Bornstein
Holden–Bradley–Clark–Donovan
Altidore–Davies
John O’Brien
Holden to start, Torres as a sub. Amazing how Bradley’s team injures itself into compliance with what the fans want. It happened in the Confederations cup, and it is happening again here. We the fans have the power!!!
Go USA! Hope we come out hungry against Honduras.
FCDallasFan,
I think you should change your moniker to shorttermmemoryfan. I was one of MB’s biggest critics early on, but you would have to be half-blind or just plain ignorant to not see that he’s one of the top 5 players on the team. For a stretch last year, he was pretty clearly our best field player, and he’s only 22 with plenty of room for growth.
BTW, if he “never plays for his club team” as you said, who was the guy wearing his kit and playing 90 minutes last weekend?
Torres plays against this style of play week in/week out.
He is one of the few players that looks comfortable with the ball on his feet. Possession is what we need and he can provide it.
I think Pachuca beat Houston last week. Torres was brought into the match to help hold onto the ball. Hmmm…..why is he not considered?
I think I want both Torres and Holden with Donovan playing the withdrawn forward behind Davies. Donovan has tortured defenses in that role before and could again.
That Jeff Cunningham comment was hilarious.
Also, assuming that either Spector or Cherundolo won’t be starting elsewhere, it might actually be a good idea to play one of them at right mid.
But, barring that, I’d say Holden is the way to go. He’s played well on the right more than any of the other options, and I don’t think radically altering the formation is a great idea at this point.
Holden. We’ll actually have someone who can put in a cross.
I’d definitely go with Holden. He delivered a couple of solid performances with the US lately and he deserves a start.
Btw, if Bob is to call somebody to fill up for Clint, I feel like Kljestan deserves a second chance.
Boob Bradley doesn’t have the balls to start Torres knowing full well how “poorly” he did against the Ticos. As far as Im concerned, play to win, not to lose. That’s why he’ll play holden the golden boy (deservedly so) or Feilhaber ( a favorite).
In the meantime, the real X-factor will be sitting on the bench.
Sorry, Jose Fransisco, Bob is a boob.
Personally, I’d play Torres, Benny and Holden, in for Dempsey, Clark and Jozy, and push Landon up top. I would think our possession game would improve dramatically with that lineup.
Anyway, it’s nice to see we have options…
I think Holden will start, but Benny and Torres get good minutes.
These guys have the chance to be our new HEROES!!!
I think we don’t need to panic.
what has Bradley done to deserve to start other then being the coaches son? he has been bad for several games and never plays for his club team. I’m sick of this.
(SBI-Bradley has started in half his club team’s games this season, five of ten matches including league and cup (five of nine when you consider he was quarantined for one). He played 45 minutes in a sixth. So your definition of “never plays” is half the games? I suppose by that logic FC Dallas “Never” wins and “never” makes the playoffs. Would that be a fair statement? Not really. Neither is yours.)
It’s what Bob will do, right?
Bob will come out of the gate cautious which tells me he starts Benny on the right side, not necessarily the wing. Dolo behind him can do a bit more running up the wing with the space Benny opens up.
Holden will come on if we’re losing or after one of midfielders is gassed.
I’m ok with either starting though.
First off, I think Holden should get the start on the right side. However, I’m not convinced that it has to be Holden or Feilhaber. While it is true that the US concedes fewer goals with a box-to-box center mid and a destroyer/defensive central mid, if possession is our goal in this game, then we need Benny in the middle of the park. That leaves a tough decision for who gets the other slot; Bradley or Clark?
While Clark breaks things up defensively his possession usually leaves fans wanting. Mikey has shown the ability to break up the opposing team’s offense as well as possess better than Clark. And, he and Benny against El Salvador didn’t look too bad for most of the first half. If they can sort out who goes and who stays to cover, they could be quite the tandem.
I would go with this:
—————–Howard
Cherundolo—Onyewu–Bocanegra–Bornstein
—————–Bradley—————–
Holden———-Feilhaber———Torres
——–Altidore——–Donovan———
It’s a good counterattacking Formation that suit these players’ positions.