Tim Howard's place in the starting XI needs not be discussed. The back 4 I decided to go with is what probably should have happened in Antigua - Parkhurst on the left, with Bocanegra's veteran presence in the middle to partner the less experienced Cameron. Danny Williams partners Bradley in the middle obviously with Jermaine Jones stupidly eliminating himself from this fixture (not that I would have picked him anyway). I think Zusi and Kljestan still offer too much both in terms of possession and creativity to leave them out of the lineup. There's also the added plus that with Kljestan and Zusi on the left together, they can link up and interchange very well with Kljestan capable of drifting wide and Zusi deadly with the cross when cutting inside. That also frees Michael Parkhurst of any responsibilities of getting up on the wing to deliver crosses and allows him to sit back with Bradley and Williams in the attack and contribute to the possession game, playing to his strengths. What that leaves is who to play upfront. Eddie Johnson has to start after the performance he gave in Antigua; the match winner probably should have been his 3rd goal because he put a very nice ball from Zusi just wide from too close a position to not score, but the fact he won the match for us means he's got to be the guy for Guatemala. Dempsey is my question mark. Although Clint is far and away the most talented player in this camp, he's also probably been the most invisible player on the pitch the last 2-3 times he's played. As much as everyone wants to talk about Altidore's lack of production and effort, where are the questions about Dempsey? At what point should a player, who scored 20+ goals in England last season and is playing for a big club in London, be responsible for pulling his share and contributing to the attack, because he has yet to do so. Unfortunately, without Donovan and Shea, and with as poor as Herc looked in Antigua, I've got to say we start Dempsey, but if something doesn't click, a half-time sub of Gomez for Deuce might be a must. Alan Gordon is still just a last-half-hour "game changer" sub at this point. Width on the right side won't be an issue because with Danny Williams, your ball-winner and guy to bust up possession from the other team, you have the defensive coverage there to allow Cherundolo to provide that width while Dempsey floats in towards the 18. Williams isn't at his best on the wing, but a combination of Williams and Geoff Cameron just behind the main attack would help keep possession in the final third and prevent any strong counterattacks that could exploit Bocanegra's lack of speed and size.
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Andrew Knabel
over 11 years
Tim Howard's place in the starting XI needs not be discussed. The back 4 I decided to go with is what probably should have happened in Antigua - Parkhurst on the left, with Bocanegra's veteran presence in the middle to partner the less experienced Cameron. Danny Williams partners Bradley in the middle obviously with Jermaine Jones stupidly eliminating himself from this fixture (not that I would have picked him anyway). I think Zusi and Kljestan still offer too much both in terms of possession and creativity to leave them out of the lineup. There's also the added plus that with Kljestan and Zusi on the left together, they can link up and interchange very well with Kljestan capable of drifting wide and Zusi deadly with the cross when cutting inside. That also frees Michael Parkhurst of any responsibilities of getting up on the wing to deliver crosses and allows him to sit back with Bradley and Williams in the attack and contribute to the possession game, playing to his strengths. What that leaves is who to play upfront. Eddie Johnson has to start after the performance he gave in Antigua; the match winner probably should have been his 3rd goal because he put a very nice ball from Zusi just wide from too close a position to not score, but the fact he won the match for us means he's got to be the guy for Guatemala. Dempsey is my question mark. Although Clint is far and away the most talented player in this camp, he's also probably been the most invisible player on the pitch the last 2-3 times he's played. As much as everyone wants to talk about Altidore's lack of production and effort, where are the questions about Dempsey? At what point should a player, who scored 20+ goals in England last season and is playing for a big club in London, be responsible for pulling his share and contributing to the attack, because he has yet to do so. Unfortunately, without Donovan and Shea, and with as poor as Herc looked in Antigua, I've got to say we start Dempsey, but if something doesn't click, a half-time sub of Gomez for Deuce might be a must. Alan Gordon is still just a last-half-hour "game changer" sub at this point. Width on the right side won't be an issue because with Danny Williams, your ball-winner and guy to bust up possession from the other team, you have the defensive coverage there to allow Cherundolo to provide that width while Dempsey floats in towards the 18. Williams isn't at his best on the wing, but a combination of Williams and Geoff Cameron just behind the main attack would help keep possession in the final third and prevent any strong counterattacks that could exploit Bocanegra's lack of speed and size.