For the first time in a long time, I feel like the back line was the easiest part of this. Whether thats a good thing or not is another story.
Howard is a given of course.
3/5 of the midfield was standard, with Bradley providing some defensive work as well as his ever impressive attacking qualities. Donovan can cut in to exercise his creativity and his passing while Johnson overlaps him for some width. Dempsey seems to do best sitting behind a striker, helping with the hold up play and making late runs.
I think Adu is a spark that the US needs in those tight games where creativity is a must. Any CONCACAF team (besides Mexico) typically likes to play very conservative, since they know the US lacks much in the way of creativity. Adu is the player to be sneaky and unlock that tight gameplan of opponents. He still needs to work on his attitude though. I narrowly chose him over Zusi.
In my opinion, the second best defensive midfielder we have now is Williams. Jones is continually unimpressive by giving the ball away, making reckless challenges, and generally losing his cool. Williams also seems to offer good stuff in the way of attacking knowhow.
Forward is probably the hardest position right now. I'm generally not impressed with anyone. Altidore has had a good year so far with his club team but his footwork (and indeed many of his goals this season) still seem clunky and a little lucky. I like Gomez a lot, but Wondolowski narrowly edged him out. He makes great runs off of the ball and creates space for others. He also has the ever important quality of being in the right place at the right time. I'd love to see Klinsmann give him some more playing time.
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Sam Melnick
over 12 years
For the first time in a long time, I feel like the back line was the easiest part of this. Whether thats a good thing or not is another story. Howard is a given of course. 3/5 of the midfield was standard, with Bradley providing some defensive work as well as his ever impressive attacking qualities. Donovan can cut in to exercise his creativity and his passing while Johnson overlaps him for some width. Dempsey seems to do best sitting behind a striker, helping with the hold up play and making late runs. I think Adu is a spark that the US needs in those tight games where creativity is a must. Any CONCACAF team (besides Mexico) typically likes to play very conservative, since they know the US lacks much in the way of creativity. Adu is the player to be sneaky and unlock that tight gameplan of opponents. He still needs to work on his attitude though. I narrowly chose him over Zusi. In my opinion, the second best defensive midfielder we have now is Williams. Jones is continually unimpressive by giving the ball away, making reckless challenges, and generally losing his cool. Williams also seems to offer good stuff in the way of attacking knowhow. Forward is probably the hardest position right now. I'm generally not impressed with anyone. Altidore has had a good year so far with his club team but his footwork (and indeed many of his goals this season) still seem clunky and a little lucky. I like Gomez a lot, but Wondolowski narrowly edged him out. He makes great runs off of the ball and creates space for others. He also has the ever important quality of being in the right place at the right time. I'd love to see Klinsmann give him some more playing time.