LOL. you guys were suffering from the very first minute of the second half. you didnt make a substitution until the 58th minute. and you didnt take off anyone decent with tHe exception of Besler and and Zusi. Your players treated this like a world cup game while ours treated it like a friendly. thats why we didn't win.

lol

shoulder can. it's pretty close.

If this is captured at the right moment, and the shoulder can be offsides, I think he is....although I hate to say it.

More important, did we accidentally stumble into something tactically interesting with MB playing a more advanced role?

Jozy has been struggling, and people have been advocating starting Johannsson up top in his place. But what about Clint? Clint plays up top, with Bradley behind him in the #10ish role. He had some of his best, most effective matches in Serie A playing there, and looked like a world beater the other night as well.

Playing a "runner" at the #10 was one of the vogue tactical experiments in Italy the last couple of years, and it probably fits how we're going to want to play in the WC. Of course that leaves the issue of who is fielded next to JJ (Danny Williams? Cameron? Beckerman?) and I haven't exactly worked out how it would go.

Particularly for that game against Portugal in the jungle when it'll be 115 degrees or something crazy. I can totally see Bradley bursting from the midfield to score or get behind at a big moment.

It's definitely intriguing for a number of reasons... It could give make us more solid defensively in CM (Bradley > Deuce defensively), and put our best goalscorer up top instead of Jozy who is struggling for goals at the moment.

Don't think we can start Beckerman. Williams/Cameron next to JJ would be interesting, though. I'm just not a huge fan of Dempsey up top, he doesn't give either the physical presence of lol Jozy or the running and relative pace of Aron. And Dempsey has hardly been in worldbeating goalscoring form recently -- he looked pretty bad on his Fulham loan, and has 2 goals in 10(3) Sounders appearances. Bradley at #10 and dropping Dempsey is a pretty interesting gambit against a Germany, but is never going to happen so not really worth considering.

Who's the current fourth member of our front four? Also, what's Jurgen looking like preferring for outside back? I think Fabian Johnson at LW is another good way to add some defensive solidity (looked pretty good there in friendlies iirc), but we might end up needing him just to avoid embarrassing ourselves at FB.

Chandler would be useful if he were healthy and Klinsmann didn't hate him.

Jozy and Dempsey just seem like wastes of space for the most part but we don't have anyone better. To use a basketball analogy they're like big men who can't score yet clog the paint.

Bradley is in the same situation as Donovan has been in the past where he's not just our best player but also the best or second best on the team at so many things that it's hard to decide where best to use him.

Our back line is going to suck against world class competition no matter how you slice it, so keeping Bradley forward to help retain possession in the opponent's half against the likes of Germany may be our best bet. Without him up there it's just Donovan and a **** show in terms of passing and retention of possession.

no, just no

I agree with some of the deficiencies of Clint up top, and while he may not have Aron's pace or Jozy's strength he does have them both clearly beat for technique. Playing between two center backs where the space is tightest, his extra bit of class can be the difference. The other thing is, if we only create one to two clear cut chances, we want them to fall to his feet before the other two. He's still the guy who scored 20-something for Fulham.

Fourth member of the front four is a tough call. I guess it's Dempsey, striker (Jozy), and 2/3 from FJ, Landy, and Zusi. I would assume Landon is in. FJ is both our best option at LB and our best option attacking on the left. Maybe start him at LB against Ghana and then against Portugal/Germany move him forward is best?

It also sucks because Cameron would be my favorite option next to JJ, but he's also our best option at RB atm imo. If I had to guess right now against Ghana we're at:

------------------Jozy
Landy------------Clint-----------Zusi
------------JJ-------------MB---------
FJ--------Besler-------Gonzo-----Cameron
----------------Howard---------------

With a chance of the same with Beasley at LB, FJ on the left, and then either Landy or Zusi on the right. Long way to go still though.

Tell me more about Jozy's magical rock that does good things for us

You just knocked Dempsey as if he couldn't score (8 goals in 2014 WCQ) and Jozy (4 goals in 2014 WCQ). No, just no.

I'm intrigued by the idea of playing Bradley in more of an attacking role. I agree with whoever said he's the best player on the team at many different things, which makes it tough to know where to put him.

I don't follow the team as closely as some of you, so what's the deal with Clint struggling? He didn't seem like he had a great game last night, but is he really struggling that bad? Seems like yesterday he was turning in one of the best seasons for a European club an American had ever had. I haven't been paying attention so I don't know.

Sure, but this quality is the least useful playing the isolated role a striker will inevitably play against the type of good opposition where we'd want Bradley at #10.

As a pure poacher, sure (though Johansson's a good finisher too). It's just, again, we can't really afford a poacher up top against top-class opposition. We're more likely to generate those clear-cut chances stemming from Jozy's physical hold-up play or Aron's ability to run the channels.

Man, as much as Fabian is a perfect LW against Germany/Portugal, I really think we have to play him at LB there to keep Beasley off the pitch, which is unfortunate. Actually think Fabian/Beasley as the left side is a better option against Ghana than G/P: Beasley will have space to run into, we might have some possession, and Ghana doesn't have as much of the the on/off-ball movement to ruthlessly attack Beasley's shortcomings. Agreed overall, though: if only we had one more FB to give us some options. (And, while we're wishing for stuff, and I don't want to push my luck here but just saying, a couple international-quality CBs sure would be swell)

Strikers are responsible for a ton of stuff that isn't scoring. There's a reason why Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent, at 31 and 30, are currently in the MLS and riding the bench for Fulham, respectively.

They probably need to stick with the original "ball possession passing" style since they can't let the other team have the ball or they will start losing games 5-4, lol. Whoever can execute that style well starts. Hopefully some of our guys can still do that and maybe we win 1-0 in overtime.

ya lol that claim was terrible

demps and jozy are nothign like paint cloggers

Original to what?

Also if we try playing like barca or whatever your imagining against Germany, their fists will be promptly shoved up our anus holes.

"ball possession passing"

They're both one-two touch players who are good at rocketing the ball toward the net. I agree that Jozy brings more to the table than Dempsey. If Jozy could regain the form he had in Holland where he seemed actually good with his feet then I'd be excited about him. I think some people are assuming we're going to get that Jozy in Brazil when we've never seen it on the USMNT or outside of that stretch in the Dutch league.

Jozy Altidore on the USMNT, June '13 to present:

WCQ: 5 starts, 1 sub appearance, 4 goals
Friendlies: 6 starts, 4 goals, 2 assists

He absolutely brought his Eredivisie form to his play for us. He scored in five straight games for the US over the summer ffs. No need to keep spouting nonsense. (Dempsey a one-two touch player?)

What Das Boot said.

The 4-4-2 was interesting to see, but we've played a 4-2-3-1 almost exclusively through qualifying, GC, and friendlies and I'd expect us to do that in the WC.

Agreed though that it could be interesting to see Bradley in a more advanced role. Maybe something like:

-----------Jozy----------
-Landon-Bradley--Zusi-
------Jones--Williams---

Between club and country form I just don't think we can count on Clint for 90 minutes per match for 3 matches in June, but he's absolutely my first sub off the bench.

I'd love to play a second true attacker up top, but we just don't have the DM necessary to do that unless we lock Bradley in place back there, which suddenly neutralizes your best player.

If we had current-state Gerrard, I'd be in love with the idea of a 4-1-3-2. Given our group and roster though, I don't think it's reasonable.

Everyone is still bagging on Clint over his form, but I thought he was fine the other day. It wasn't a great game or anything, but it also wasn't one of his patented disappearing acts. He seemed interested and made some good things happen on several occasions, and also played a role in the 2nd goal. I believe he made the pass to EJ for the disallowed goal as well, did he not? I think he's going to be fine and ready to go vs Ghana and should absolutely be on the field.

imo bigger issue is general club form that hasn't been contradicted by recent country form. Plus the structural factors: Clint is 31, was always more or less a luxury player, doesn't look particularly fit, and hasn't actually been scoring recently. Politics aside, I'd probably roll with mmbt0ne's lineup in a life-or-death match vs. Portugal this weekend. But there's still time for him to play himself into a bit of form/fitness before the WC itself, and he's played some pretty good ball for the US within the past year or two overall.

eta: I think Landon adds enough "wide forward" work to where the second striker becomes less necessary even with Bradley at #10, which really seems like a better and better plan the more I think about it.