Agree, I would still like to see Lichaj----Boca--Goodson----Dolo. Also would not be surprised to see Bornstein instead of Lichaj with that group as well. In the end though Gooch probably still starts and probably still sucks.

I'm just not a fan of Goodson's.

I think Ream's ceiling is higher, so I'd like to see him if we're thinking about developing for the future. Boca's more reliable if we're trying to win right now.

Goodson over Gooch I could see with form taken into account, but I just don't think Goodson is as good. Meaning a fully fit and in form Gooch is significantly better than a fully fit and in form Goodson, so I'd rather see Gooch get the minutes he needs to get back to his best.

Isn't Goodson 29 or 30? It's not like he's the CB of the future going forward (although admittedly Gooch is around the same age I think).

If Gooch is so out of sorts (and obv we don't know because we don't see camp) that Goodson is significantly better right now, than I guess we should go Goodson, although I still don't see what's wrong with Lichaj, Boca, Ream, Dolo.

another thing is that Ream's distribution and passing range could come in handy vs all these midget teams in CONCACAF. Though that advantage is mitigated by the fact that Goodson is probably the most effective attacking CB for our set pieces for forward.

I'd like to see all of them play in the group stages to see where they're at in game. Still think Gooch is the most talented and just needs to get 100% fit and in form again.

http://www.ussoccer.com/Multimedia/MNT-in-England.aspx

dunno if y'all have seen this, but its interesting, bunch of septics in england talking bout their experiences etc

On that same note, here's an interesting behind the scenes video of camp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyoRFXs4Zmc

Watching Gooch get his ass kicked by timed sprints reminds me all too much of my own experiences in daily doubles before our high school season started. Its also cool to see the comradery and guys goofing around some, which is rather reminiscent for me of trips to out of town tournaments. For some reason it kind of humanizes things to know that the basic experience is the same at every level.

DirecTV PSA: I get the "Choice Xtra + HD DVR" package which doesn't include FSC (Fox Soccer Channel). I just called in and they are running a special on the "Sports Pack" which, among other channels, includes FSC.

My billing cycle starts on the 26th of every month ... so I have to pay the pro-rated amount for this month ($8.23) and then I get three months of the Sports Pack free. If my billing cycle started today I would have simply received three months of the Sports Pack free. No strings attached and I can cancel on the last day of the three free months if I wish (which for me is September 25th).

All three of the USMNT's group matches are on FSC so I am all set now.

Similarly, in my area at least, Comcast users can get their sports package for $5 a month which includes FSC. When I activated mine a few months ago over the phone I was essentially instantly able to access the new channels.

Lol Marcus and Juan sharing a cold tub. Never thought I'd see that.

--------------Agudelo---------Altidore-------------

Donovan-------------------------------------Dempsey

------------------Bradley-----Jones--------------------

Bocanegra----Ream----Goodson-------Cherundolo

------------------------Howard-------------------------------

Well done Bob.

Agree 100% with the front 6.

Thrilled to see Ream in the starting lineup.

Hard to really blame him with going with Boca and Dolo out wide and I'm going to assume that Goodson is just in much better form than Gooch now judging based off camp. I'd like to see some Gooch later but this lineup is very good. I'm definitely happy with it.

Gained a lot of respect for Bob after watching the locker room speech in this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6S9e..._order&list=UL

No complaints here. Little bit surprised to see Ream start though, but glad gooch got benched.

Wow. That looks fantastic. I'd like Wondo to start and Agudelo on at 45 or 60 depending on the flow, but otherwise zero complaints.

I'm a big Juan fan so it's no surprise I'm glad to see him starting. I like this way mainly because I don't expect us to be in a spot where we're chasing the game late (where we'd want to bring Agudelo on for an offensive spark).

It's possible of course. But if something like that happened, we could always go with Bedoya wide and move Dempsey up top which has worked in the past.

This way, you can bring in Wondo late if we're leading, or even better, bring in Edu and take a striker off to kill the game off.

Either way though, well done Bob.

Bornstein not on the bench either.

Yeah, which I'm happy about. The evidence to me says that Lichaj is now ahead of Bornstein in the pecking order at LB, as he should be.

If Bob wants to ride Boca for one more Gold Cup and maybe some early qualifiers that's fine, but when it's time to put Boca out to pasture, Lichaj>>>Bornstein (especially since Lichaj is so young and should improve a lot.

That was good, thanks for posting it.

does anyone know where the match can be streamed? atdhe.fm links not working for me

Weak goal by Altidore (on goalie's end), but I'll take it...

impressed with back line organization and Ream's performance. Agudelo doing a nice job of pressing back and causing turnovers as Canada looks to build up.

Well done referee actually if he's given handball. Was there any doubt Jozy was going to dive there?

from the replay you can tell the call was called for the hip check and not the hand ball.

Good game, good performance. Comfortably taking care of an inferior team which is exactly what we should be doing.

Really hard to pinpoint a bad performance from anyone. Howard was worldclass. The old guard out wide in the back were reliable. CB's were a pleasant surprise.

Midfield gonna midfield, good performances from everyone although I wouldn't mind seeing Edu get a start. It's not that Jones wasn't good, just a little rotation couldn't hurt and Edu is very good.

Striker's always going to be the weak point of the squad, but neither guy was terrible, Jozy scored a goal which'll be great for his confidence, and they're both obviously better than Wondo so it is what it is.

Michael Bradley continues to back up what I've been saying all along, he's basically the first name on the team sheet now and rightfully so.

The way I kind of think of the team (any team) is to split it into tiers. I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts. I think it's roughly this:

Insta-super-lock-starters. Very important, consistent, great players for us:

Howard/Dempsey/Bradley/Donovan

Starters and/or major contributors but below the top tier

Dolo/Jones/Edu/Boca/Jozy

And then there is a tier of guys under that that are sort of fringe starters/bench players, but still important to the team including Agudelo, Ream, Gooch, Goodson, Lichaj, Spector and so on.

Then there's a tier that are probably not good enough like Bornstein, Rogers, Wondo, Klestjan and so on.

It's not an exact science of course. Gooch is now in the third tier because of form and fitness whereas he used to be in the top tier (and was always a slam dunk for at least the second).

Stu would probably fall toward the top of the second tier and maybe, were it not for his bad luck with injuries, in the top tier already.

Davies was at least in the second tier and was fast moving to the top, but who knows if he'll ever be the same.

Also notice that we have at least 3 (more if Stu counts) starter quality CMs but no CBs that you can really count on. It's unlucky, but it's the way it is. Also, there are no backs in the top tier and the only two that are in the second are way on the wrong side of 30 (and Boca is hanging on to the second tier by a thread, and won't be there much longer). That's why it's so important for me going forward that Ream and Lichaj get as many minutes as possible (and Chandler when he comes back in the fold of course).

I have high hopes that Jozy can move to the top tier, and perhaps Edu/Jones or both can.

I'm confident that Agudelo, Ream, and Lichaj can move into at least the second tier and hopefully eventually the top tier (and Gooch can return back up the ladder).

We can only hope that Dempsey, Donovan, and Howard, all of whom are getting older fast, stay in that top tier through the rest of the cycle and in Brazil.

And on and on. That's sort of the fun of following a National team where you have such a large pool of players to follow/watch for their club teams and see them improve and develop .

booooooom

just got back from the game, awesome seats, awesome time.