Bradley Chooses His Squad
U.S. gaffer Bob Bradley picked his provisional squad of thirty players on Tuesday and there were a few surprises. Most of the headlines surrounded the absence of car accident victim Charlie Davies who's been back with his French side Sochaux and certainly hoped to be considered. Other notable absences included former wunderkind Freddy Adu and MLS top scorer Conor Casey. Here's the squad in full:Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Tim Howard (Everton).
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Heath Pearce (Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham).
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus), Jose Torres (Pachuca).
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Hull), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles), Brian Ching (Houston), Robbie Findley (Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla), Eddie Johnson (Aris).
Your thoughts, gentlemen?
posted by The Blue Devil @ 9:17 AM
7 Comments:
I'm not seeing as much strength up front as I'd like. If Robbie Rogers makes the final 23 they're not going to last long.
Absolutely right, Someone. I fear that Bradley is going to go with the "Two Statues" approach up front - probably Jozy and Ching (or even, gulp, Edson Buddle!)
Is there any precedent for a player not named in the initial 30 to make it into the final squad? I seem to remember that Theo might have been in that bracket for England in 2006...but we saw what happened there.
In any case, could Charlie Davies be named in the final squad? Just thinking....
Apparantley Davies' French team sent a letter to Bradley saying he's not fit to play. Honestly, after the injuries he sustained, I do not think he's ready either. Of course he's going to say he's ready though.
Ever since Charlie was injured, it's not been evident where the goals might come from. This is the biggest problem but not the only one that the USA faces.
I think Jozy is nailed on to start up top. I'm not sure Ching makes the full squad because of a persistant knack he's carrying. Both Johnson and Gomez have gone on recent scoring tears and Buddle is either the top or one of the top scorers in MLS. Bradley would have picked someone more likely if he existed, but we'll just have to live with someone to pair with Jozy.
I'm not discouraged by the selection of midfielders here. Landon is nailed on, Dempsey and Bradley are too. I've been really impressed with how busy Holden is when he plays and hope he's fully recovered in time make the final squad. I like Torres too. Really, the only guy from this list that bugs me is Beasley. I'd leave him home. Kljestan plays like a less talented Abou Diaby--up one match, hopeless the next--which does my head in. Still, I'd have him in the final squad ahead of Beasley, Bedoya, Edu, and Rogers. How far must Freddy Adu be off the pace not to have edged out Rogers or Beasley by the way? That's a shocking decline.
Defenders? Usual faces. I hope Onyewu is fit because it seems to be a Bradley thing that he plays regardless. I like Pearce more and more instead of Borstein, and when Goodson's played, he's been excellent. Demerit less so. Boca's probably nailed on too, so when he makes his customary rash challenge or mis-step, I hope it's not too costly.
Can't argue with the keepers at all. Tim's an unchallenged #1 so I hope he's ready.
Among the other missing that I might have found room for in the preliminary list would have been Dax McCarty for nuisance value, Brad Davis because he plays on the left, and Kyle Beckerman who has won me over with his Alex Song impression in the holding role.
I don't have any illusions about this squad. We could either get through to the second round and face a tasty 2nd place team or we could get done by England and then just not have the firepower up front to do the necessary against Algeria and Slovenia. I expect Algeria to be stalwart with low firepower, and Slovenia to be leaky, but surprizing up top. Without a bravura performance by Dempsey and Donovan and Altidore, we could have a very short trip.
Gooner's right that strength in the side is in midfield. Will that tempt Bradley to start with Dempsey up top with Jozy? Or perhaps have Landon just in the hole behind Jozy as the sole front man? We'll see.
My starting XI for June 12:
Howard, Spector, DeMerit, Gooch, Pearce, Clark, Bradley, Dempsey, Donovan, Jozy, Buddle.
With Holden up and ready off the bench at the first sign of torpor. Yeah, I can live with this XI.
Definitely - I'd toss Sasha Kljestan into the mix at some point too. As long as DaMarcus Beasley doesn't get any playing time, I'm happy.
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