Like any addict or glutton for punishment, Bob Bradley simply can't help himself.
Friday the USSF announced the 22-man roster for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers at El Salvador March 28 and home to Trinidad & Tobago April 1 in Nashville.
Ladies and gentlemen, let's have a warm round of applause for everyone's favorite, Eddie Johnson.
Ok, if this was 2005, that last sentence wouldn't ooze with sarcasm.
I've frankly given up trying to figure out the thought process for Bradley when he decides on a roster. And honestly, I don't mean to pick on Johnson.
Yet, let the numbers speak for themselves. At Cardiff City this season Johnson -- on loan from Fulham -- has made 17 appearances, only five as a starter. His goal return, a whooping one.
Probably Bradley wants to see if Johnson has anything left in the tank, or he's even worth considering on the periphery of the 2010 plans. I'd even venture a guess that Johnson, should he play, scores something like an easy tap-in goal. The problem for Johnson has never been dominating the minnows of CONCACAF, it's the better teams.
That's why his lack of action at Cardiff makes his inclusion on the roster all the more baffling. Yes, he flashed potential and has scored 12 goals in 37 internationals -- only four since 2005. A resurrection from Johnson isn't out of the realm of possibility, look at Emile Hesky who was basically laughed off the England team and now played his way back into being an option in the Three Lions attack.
Again, singling out Johnson is a tad unfair since both Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore are on the roster despite a lack of playing time at Monaco and Xerez, respectively. Rangers bench warmer Maurice Edu, though, was left in Scotland.
Why Bradley didn't take guys like Kenny Cooper or Charlie Davies, might be due to club commitments, or something of that ilk. But if Johnson still gets considered, what does a guy like Edson Buddle -- who at least is scoring, albeit it in MLS -- deserve a place.
Moreover, Bradley seemingly never runs out of chances for "his guys" while other talents, for example, Kyle Beckerman and Frank Simek spring to mind, are left in the wilderness.
The fear, going to South Africa, is that Bradley could fall victim to some of the same problems that befell Bruce Arena in Germany -- an over reliance on the guys that got him to the dance. It's been proven the U.S. has no trouble running roughshod through CONCACAF, but are the guys on the roster enough to do anything against the best in the world even with the help of a slick NIKE marketing campaign?
Guess we'll find out at the Confederations Cup.
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Marcus Hahnemann (Reading)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Danny Califf (Midtjylland), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)
Midfielders: Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado), Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Xerez), Brian Ching (Houston), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Eddie Johnson (Cardiff City)
Friday the USSF announced the 22-man roster for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers at El Salvador March 28 and home to Trinidad & Tobago April 1 in Nashville.
Ladies and gentlemen, let's have a warm round of applause for everyone's favorite, Eddie Johnson.
Ok, if this was 2005, that last sentence wouldn't ooze with sarcasm.
I've frankly given up trying to figure out the thought process for Bradley when he decides on a roster. And honestly, I don't mean to pick on Johnson.
Yet, let the numbers speak for themselves. At Cardiff City this season Johnson -- on loan from Fulham -- has made 17 appearances, only five as a starter. His goal return, a whooping one.
Probably Bradley wants to see if Johnson has anything left in the tank, or he's even worth considering on the periphery of the 2010 plans. I'd even venture a guess that Johnson, should he play, scores something like an easy tap-in goal. The problem for Johnson has never been dominating the minnows of CONCACAF, it's the better teams.
That's why his lack of action at Cardiff makes his inclusion on the roster all the more baffling. Yes, he flashed potential and has scored 12 goals in 37 internationals -- only four since 2005. A resurrection from Johnson isn't out of the realm of possibility, look at Emile Hesky who was basically laughed off the England team and now played his way back into being an option in the Three Lions attack.
Again, singling out Johnson is a tad unfair since both Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore are on the roster despite a lack of playing time at Monaco and Xerez, respectively. Rangers bench warmer Maurice Edu, though, was left in Scotland.
Why Bradley didn't take guys like Kenny Cooper or Charlie Davies, might be due to club commitments, or something of that ilk. But if Johnson still gets considered, what does a guy like Edson Buddle -- who at least is scoring, albeit it in MLS -- deserve a place.
Moreover, Bradley seemingly never runs out of chances for "his guys" while other talents, for example, Kyle Beckerman and Frank Simek spring to mind, are left in the wilderness.
The fear, going to South Africa, is that Bradley could fall victim to some of the same problems that befell Bruce Arena in Germany -- an over reliance on the guys that got him to the dance. It's been proven the U.S. has no trouble running roughshod through CONCACAF, but are the guys on the roster enough to do anything against the best in the world even with the help of a slick NIKE marketing campaign?
Guess we'll find out at the Confederations Cup.
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Marcus Hahnemann (Reading)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Danny Califf (Midtjylland), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)
Midfielders: Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado), Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Xerez), Brian Ching (Houston), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Eddie Johnson (Cardiff City)
Labels: bob bradley, Soccer, USMNT, world cup qualifying
What I truly don't understand with Bradley is why he calls up Johnson when he clearly doesn't fit the role that Bradley wants a striker to play? He's not the same type of player as Ching who is clearly what Bradley wants. Johnson is also not a player like Dempsey or Donovan who can interchange as a midfielder or as a forward playing off Ching. Bradley doesn't like his forwards to score though so maybe Johnson's lack of goals is working for him now.
On a positive note, I'm glad that Bradley brought Spector back into the squad. If Spector is healthy then he should be competing for one of the outside back spots. He certainly seemed to be moving to the front of the line until he missed so much time.