Photo by ISIPhotos.com
The U.S. men's national team faces its first World Cup 2010 rematch on Tuesday against the same Slovenia side the Americans earned a dramatic 2-2 draw against in World Cup group play.
Jurgen Klinsmann will look to find the right combination of players to help a sagging offense that has managed just two goals in six matches since he took over as head coach. Whether Klinsmann's focus is on sparking the U.S. attack, or on looking at some new faces against a Slovenia side that will offer less resistence than France did on Friday, it's safe to say we aren't going to see the same lineup two games in a row.
Among the new faces we could see tested in Slovenia is Fabian Johnson, the Hoffenheim playmaker who made his first U.S. national team appearance late in the France friendly.
So who will get the start against Slovenia? Here is the lineup I could see Klinsmann going with on Tuesday:
PROJECTED USMNT LINEUP vs. SLOVENIA
———————Altidore————————-
Shea—————Johnson—————–Dempsey
—————-Jones—–Williams—————–
Chandler—Bocanegra—Orozco——-Cherundolo
———————Howard————————-
Now remember, this is the lineup I can see Klinsmann going with, which you'll notice does not include Michael Bradley, who just doesn't seem to be part of Klinsmann's immediate plans.
If we're talking about the lineup I would trot out against Slovenia, here's the group I would take a look at:
———————Altidore————————-
Shea—————-Johnson—————-Dempsey
—————-Edu——-Bradley——————–
Chandler—Bocanegra—Orozco——-Cherundolo
———————Howard————————–
The difference is in central midfield, where I'd go with Michael Bradley and Maurice Edu. I'm sure many would question playing Edu again considering his recent performances, but I think we need to see the Edu-Bradley combination play together. It would be pretty ironic if Edu and Bradley got their chance to work together for the first time under Klinsmann against the same Slovenia side they played key roles against in the 2010 World Cup.
This pairing isn't an indictment of Kyle Beckerman as much as wanting to see Bradley play in the role Klinsmann has handed Beckerman. Klinsmann seems to be under the impressive Bradley can't play as the defensive midfielder in front of the back-line, but Bradley is showing in Italy he can maintain a defensive-minded midfield role.
Seeing Jones and Bradley play together again wouldn't be a bad idea either, particularly given both are starting and playing well in top leagues. As for a Beckerman-Bradley pairing? I wouldn't mind seeing that one either.
And what about a more attack-minded lineup? Here's one:
————-Altidore———Dempsey————–
Beasley————–Johnson——————-Shea
———————–Bradley————————-
Chandler—Bocanegra—Orozco——-Cherundolo
———————Howard————————–
I know some folks won't like the idea of Shea moving to the right, but he can still do the things he does best on the right side, which is running at people with pace. Beasley has been on good form and merits a start in my opinion, and this lineup would give the United States some speed to work alongside Altidore and Dempsey.
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What do you think of Klinsmann's projected lineup? Which lineup would you like to see against Slovenia?
Share your thoughts below.
Hah! I just watched that today. Priceless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur5fGSBsfq8
I think JK will want to win this one desparately to end the year on a positive note. He will go with what he thinks is his best 11 from this group so:
……Jozy….Buddle
Shea…..Bradley…..Demps
……….Beckerman
Chandler…Los…CG…Dolo
………Timmy
Originally I thought the same regarding Deuce and Johnson. My only concern is that Johnson doesn’t normally play on the wing, whereas Deuce has had his share of both wings over the years. This is also taking into consideration that Johnson has done rather well as an attacking midfielder for Hoffenheim, so at the very least, both will be playing a position they know well.
Honestly, when it comes to Bradley, I just don’t know. But I suppose we should see where he is at and how his chemistry with the team is now. At the same time, I was thinking Williams simply because that midfield tandem with Johnson is the same as their club, so they should be on point with each other. Also, based on what we’ve seen on the right, he has good technical skill, but he’s not good at utilizing on the wing, but I think they will shine when he has the CDM position. I guess we will see soon enough. The likelihood is the actual lineup will look nothing like this lol.
Has anybody watched Adu for the Union? There is good reason why he wsn’t even playing there!
I like your offensive line up ives,
but if it’s a defensive one, why not pair bradley with williams, make bradley the more attacking one?
Feilhaber returned from injury a while ago and has played well with the Revs. Hes valuable for maintaining possession and rarely gives the ball away cheaply when he has played with the National Team. He is one of our best guys at passing the ball forward. Strange that alot of people havent noticed that with all the minutes he had under Bradley.
easy to fix…put BOCA back as a LB in its place put any of the 3 CB that we have.
you know chicharrito is just average without getting service from his mids.
I’m not sure how Bradley is playing in Italy, I heard he had some assists and was a big part in the build up to some goals in his early games with Chievo, but not sure he is the answer as the deep lying Defensive Mid, or the one next to another center mid in a 4-2-3-1, granted I think he works best in that scenario be it a 4-4-2 or 4-5-1/4-2-3-1 he usually does better partnering up with someone else as Bob had him do this for so long.
I also would like to ask why are so many people down on Edu, not cementing him as the greatest ever because he has had a few errors himself but just looking for insight on something I am guessing I did not catch on recent games?
I agree with the 1st two assessments about Beckerman and Williams, but not so much with Shea…
I think if anyone is going to be successful on the wing is going to be Fabian Johnson.
About Shea… I think he is our future starting Left midfielder and sometimes I dwell into the waters of asking him to be a Left Back, which I believe he is not bad at in MLS/CONCACAF levels but for his own development and where we can make best use of him is Left midfield. We need someone to take over that left wing, Donovan will return in time and he’ll man the right wing where’s succeeded the most in recent times for the Nats. Shea complements the wide play nicely and can score and finish himself.
Although for this match not sure starting Beasley as a Left mid and bringing in Shea after would be that bad…
I would rather lose three nil with an offensive line up that actually tries to score goals than lose one nil and have no shots on frame. Hence, see below:
——Altidore——–Buddle—————-
Shea———-Johnson——–Dempsey——–
————–Bradley———————
Chandler—Bocanegra—Goodson—-Cherundolo–
———————Howard————————–
Can we see the starters play the whole game and not make dramatic changes afterthe half like we did against Ecuador..
Feilhaber has fallen into the John O’Brien wasteland of injuries. He could have been good (see Gold Cup winning goal in 07?), but he can’t stay on the field.
I hate to look into intanglibles, but MB to me is just one of those players that keeps going – maybe JK is trying to get away from just playing with heart. In a game that matters though, I don’t see how you don’t include him in the mix.
No Beckerman or William (maybe not as right side midfielder). Shea is more of supersub player right now.
Kljestan starts for the 62nd best team in the world according to IFFHS rankings, while Torres plays for the 360th best team yet it is Kljestan that needs to play in a bigger league before anyone takes him seriously? I don’t think you understand that Anderlecht is a really good team. Not being condescending, it’s just that not everyone follows European football all that closely. It’s not a matter of Kljestan making waves in a big league – he’s done that much moreso than many of Klinsi’s first choice guys. It’s more one of those personal preferences that Klinsi has, like Beckerman over Bradley. It doesn’t make any sense in terms of pure form and level of play. It’s simply a matter of personal preference.
Such a strategy works when your on a team that has alot of depth/money. Teams that Klinnsmann has played/coached at. However this strategy is less effective when you don’t have as much depth. Klinnsmann’s heirachy strategy would also be more effective for a team like Germany than USA.
——Altidore——-
Beas–Dempsey–Chandler
—Johnson-Bradley—-
Shea-Boca-Rosco-Dolo
——-Rogers——–
Shea, as I remember, was a disaster at center back for FCD, not out wide. I thought Shea had a number of fine defensive plays in the defensive third using the touchline to his advantage and his reach to seal off crossing lanes.
Either that or isn’t Johnson supposed to be able to play LB???
And yes, I think Robbie deserves a look between the sticks.
LMBO, whoops look like I made a huge mistake, lol.
Then again, if Klinsmann prefers a more Proustian display of modern existentialist football, thrusting and bursting with aggressive Kantian positivism, he need look no further than the arch-thinker, free scheming, scarcely ever to be curbed, midfield cognoscento, Jimmy Buzzard.
Exactly. I don’t want to be a downer, but this football is just awful.
I agree that we need another offensive force in the lineup and that there is NO linkup between the back and the front, but I can’t agree that Adu or Feilhaber are the answer right now. Adu carried an injury he couldn’t shake and Benny is languishing with the Revs on what has been a bit of a downward spiral. Bedoya is winger.
It could be that having one or two other big threats on the field would have freed Deuce up a bit more, because the French figured out pretty quickly that if they focused on shutting down Dempsey and Jozy they could simply mind the others= who wouldn’t really mount a threat. A poacher like Gomez or another “big threat” like Donovan would have stretched the French that much more. You saw it starting to happen when Jones and Buddle came on.
As for the other folks people are clamoring for… Holden is a paper tiger until he gets half a dozen caps it’s conjecture. Kljestan needs to make much more dramatic waves in a bigger league before anyone takes him seriously–look at Spector. Torres needs to get healthy, but he can’t solve it on his own.
I think France would have gone differently with Gomez and Donovan on the pitch. and if we had tied or won 1-1 or 1-0 I don’t think anyone would be grousing about the lack of offense nearly as much as they are now.
I liked the second formation altidore and Dempsey up top, it wouldn’t hurt to try, especially with the way things are going with our scoring drought.
Yes, that’s already been tried… and if failed miserably. Why would you want to put your best young offensive player out of position in a defensive role? I’m confused.
“Please take the picture. I gotta go soooo bad.”
I don’t care what formation I see, I just want to see Shea on the left.
Lichaj’s been injured for Klinsmann’s entire stint as USMNT coach.
—————-altidore———-
-beasely—dempsey——–shea—
————-bradley————–
————–jones————–
johnson–goodson–orozco–chandler
————–howard————-
ah, the benefits of a liberal education – had no trouble following this thread, but much funnier after the video – LOL. Thanks for the link!
But I agree that people seem to be anticipating his immediate return after injury.
Folks… it’s gonna be a year before we see Holden in a US kit again, barring further injury.
Holden singlehandedly dragged a USMNT C-team to the 2009 Gold Cup final.
This.
I think that’s a pretty solid assessment. I would say you underrate Torres by a smidge, but that’s about it.
The problem with the groupthink on Kljestan is that his USMNT performances of recent haven’t been bad and his club form is at an all-time high.
That said, I seem to remember hearing good things about Benny’s performance despite the general atrocity that is NE. Playing for a poor club hasn’t hurt Buddle’s USMNT case, but then again the team’s not very deep at his position.
Best. Thread. Ever.
John Rawls as the CAM, also known as the OP.
we need freddy and benny, the two most creative players in our pool.
spot on!
maybe, but didn’t that experiment crash and burn hard for Dallas this year?
I’m pretty sure he was rating them as Klinsy sees them.
This 3rd hand information you’ve uncovered sounds exactly like what I believe to be happening.
The problem is the product on the field borders on the unwatchable.
So, are we to just sit on our hands and every now and again, clap when the US get near the opposing goal? I feel like I’m watching my goddaughters U-8 league game – “Way to try everyboday!!! YEAAAA!”
Borange
Count me in on that experiment. I would love to see it. It could be that Shea would be a better LB than left winger.
I think you are spot on there, James. And that might be the logical explanation of why Klinsmann is playing Edu, a bona fide defensive midfielder, in basically the same spot the Torres was playing before his injury. I still disagree and wish Klinsmann would have called in another central attacking midfielder in addition to Fabian Johnson. If Johnson does not start Tuesday I am going to be an unhappy USMNT fan.
No on Beckerman.
I think either of those line-ups could potentially ignite some offensive fireworks. But my favorite also is the first one, because Dempsey would be on top and Johnson would be in his ideal spot, attacking central midfielder (he is not a dedicated winger at Hoffenheim, although he does drift over from time to time). I can see Demps up top if he gets bottled up passing off to an oncoming Shea or Jozy.
I thought Jozy was absolutely amazing against France His touch was great he hustled every second was moving off the ball and he was passing quite well, most incredible of all, he was a kick-butt defender. Let’s face it, That is not Dempsey’s strong point. He even admitted a few weeks ago he doesn’t even like to do it. So with Dempsey up top and Altidore pulled back, Altidore could be more of a defesnive threat.
As for Rogers, there only other right winger besides him is Chandler, and I can’t see Klinsmann all of a sudden pulling him from LB and moving him to right wing. I was happy for the Robbie Rogers experiment to end after Belgium But now and then I do think back of those wonderful last 25 minutes against Mexico in Klinsmann’s first game, where the offense just exploded and the Mexican players were practically wetting their pants. We were kicking butt and I think Rogers was a key element in turning that game around. His tap in goal, but more so, when he handled the long pass from Ricardo Clark and was speeding straight toward the goal only to be pulled down by the Mexican defender, should have been a red card. That image keeps recurring in my mind, and makes me think that, yeah, Rogers is still only 24 and all that speed and maybe, just maybe something will click and he could be a real offensive threat for the USMNT.
I’ll keep saying it: Shea for LB. He and Chandler would give us two true wingbacks capable of pushing up the flank and delivering crosses. Brek has played LB for U.S. youth teams and Dallas.
I like Feilhaber and hope he gets called in soon. However, I like Klinsi taking at good look at the german americans. If Fabian Johnson turns out to be better than Feilhaber or Torres or Adu, then that was a huge accomplishment for Juergen for bringing him in.
lol…I love a good belly laugh. Thanks.
But, despite that fact that I did flunk out of mathematics before we got to “greater than signs,” I truly do believe my depth chart. Please keep in mind that this is a chart for lone holding defensive midfielders, all alone that highly demanding spot in front of the four defenders in the Number Six spot. I do feel that among these four DMs that Bradley comes in last place as a lone DM/Number 6. And it appears that Klinsmann at the current time is rating Beckerman first and MB last. The question is who he has now in second place.
You present a logical case and it makes sense. If your assessment is correct, I’d argue that we are pretty clearly stuck in phase 1. I haven’t seen any progress into phase 2. In fact, it almost seems like we’ve taken a step back the last few games (albeit against better competition).
If true, then I think Klinsi needs to communicate this philosophy better because there were many promises made about playing more beautiful, attacking football when he took the job, but instead we are playing horrible, boring, defensive football. I hope that we’ll see better signs tomorrow.
Groin
If Bradley doesn’t start and Orozco does start, I’m not going to watch. I will just watch the high/low lights afterwards and read the summaries.
JK has to put his best 11 at their respective positions on the field. And, I complained about BB playing his favorites when they didn’t show they deserved to play!
The lack of playing time for MB and playing players at not their respective positions (playing D-Mids as Attacking Mids) is frustrating!