As they say, honesty is the best policy.
So with that in mind, folks, I don't have all that much to offer ahead of Wednesday night's U.S./Honduras CONCACAF Gold Cup group match.
If you want to take the approach that the boys from Tegucigalpa mount the biggest test in this miserably weak group for the U.S., that's fine. Me, I'm just curious to see if the entire lot of Los Catrachos will be sporting Michael Jackson 'Thriller' video inspired jheri curls. (The drippier the better.)
For U.S. coach Bob Bradley, this is probably the first true test of his 'B' team until maybe the tournament semifinals. (There is a quirky chance the U.S. could get Costa Rica in the quarterfinals.) In fact, since the U.S. 'A' team struggled mightily in Chicago against Honduras roughly one month ago, before a lunging Carlos Bocanegra header saved their respective bacon, Bradley can get a fairly good gauge about the fringe players although Honduras, too, is in 'B' lineup mode.
It's hard to say what type of lineup tweaks are worth making. Do you swap in some different defenders -- say Michael Parkhurst and Jimmy Conrad -- or do you give Clarence Goodson and Chad Marshall another start since they might actually be tested, unlike the tournament opener vs. Grenada?
Do you keep running Charlie Davies out there and hope his young legs don't burn out? Or, do you finally give Kenny Cooper a chance to show he's worth keeping in 2010 consideration?
Does Benny Feilhaber (who was recalled for the match) get swapped straight in for either Logan Pause or Kyle Beckerman?
Do you continue to let Freddy Adu get some game action and see what he can do, possibly showcasing himself for a European club? Speaking of Adu, what would you do right now if you were him? Go back to Benfica on the glimmer of possible playing time? Do you shop yourself for another club? Would you swallow your pride and return to MLS, where you can become the fulcrum of a team and get regular playing time? Right now Adu needs to find a club situation, no matter the mailing address, where he can get the keys and drive a club instead of simply being a spare part.
Basically, for tonight's game there is one question -- does Bradley just keep trotting out the 'B' team or does he mix it up a little?
Me, I'd let the team that smoked a hapless Grenada on Saturday continue to play. Honduras does present enough of a challenge, so why not see which fringe players step up and deliver against a better team.
Let's see if Stuart Holden and Robbie Rogers can ping in crosses against a team that won't allow them enough time to prepare a triple-decker sandwich before kicking the ball.
That's really about it. Let's hope the team didn't get to full of itself in Saturday's stroll and they take it seriously. This is the best chance for the U.S. fringe-rs to make an impression on Bradley, too. It's two-fold challenge for the players, they need to showcase their individual skills, but also get the result. It could also be the last chance, for some, since you'd figure Bradley will recall some of the Confederations Cup crew for the knockout stages.
Honduras, despite their haircuts, isn't a joke. If the U.S. treat them like that, they'll get moon-walked off the RFK pitch.
Lineup guess:
Stress guess.
GK -- Perkins
DEF -- Pearce -- Marshall -- Goodson -- Cherundolo
MID -- Rogers -- Pause -- Feilhaber -- Holden
FOR -- Cooper -- Adu
If I hit 50 percent on this guess, I'd be happy. There isn't a guaranteed starter on the roster, even Cherundolo. The only guy that really does need to start is Adu and it would be a massive burn (and more reason for conspiracy theorists to conclude Bradley doesn't like the cut of his jib) since he's from the DC area.
Other stuff:
* A couple weeks ago when I casually mentioned Oguchi Onyewu made himself a rich man with his titanic defensive showings vs. Spain and Brazil in the Confederations Cup. Never did I think those two games would land him the most prestigious club position in American history when he inked with AC Milan on Tuesday.
Assuming he plays, the sojourn to Serie A before the 2010 World Cup will either be the best thing for Onyewu or the worst. Either he improves on his ball distribution and savvy or he's exposed as a lumbering, one-dimensional bruiser.
At least, if somehow the wheels fall off at Milan for Onyewu, the U.S. does have some depth in the middle of the defense.
* One Gold Cup story worth watching is Canada. The Canucks gave the U.S. a pretty good scare in the 2007 knockout rounds -- remember that phantom offside call? Canada is now 2-0-0 in its group matches.
For whatever reason, it'd be nice with the advent of Toronto FC, the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps for Canada's overall national team program to rise if only to give the U.S. another possible rival in CONCACAF.
Or maybe I simply have a soft spot for Canada due to the shenanigans at Sunnyvale Trailer Park.
* Michael Bradley is now on FIFA double-secret probation. Fantastic. Guess it serves him right for dropping an F-bomb in Sports Illustrated aimed at us Internet soccer geeks who called for his pop's job.
* Tottenham ace Wilson Palacios isn't on the Gold Cup roster. Neither is Amada Guevara or Maynor Figueroa. (That takes a starch out it, eh?)
* More Bill Simmons soccer talk, with Colin Cowherd no less. (Listen after the 50-minute mark.)
* What are the odds Fox Soccer's Max Bretos brings up the on-going Honduran political crisis and totally botches it? Even money?
So with that in mind, folks, I don't have all that much to offer ahead of Wednesday night's U.S./Honduras CONCACAF Gold Cup group match.
If you want to take the approach that the boys from Tegucigalpa mount the biggest test in this miserably weak group for the U.S., that's fine. Me, I'm just curious to see if the entire lot of Los Catrachos will be sporting Michael Jackson 'Thriller' video inspired jheri curls. (The drippier the better.)
For U.S. coach Bob Bradley, this is probably the first true test of his 'B' team until maybe the tournament semifinals. (There is a quirky chance the U.S. could get Costa Rica in the quarterfinals.) In fact, since the U.S. 'A' team struggled mightily in Chicago against Honduras roughly one month ago, before a lunging Carlos Bocanegra header saved their respective bacon, Bradley can get a fairly good gauge about the fringe players although Honduras, too, is in 'B' lineup mode.
It's hard to say what type of lineup tweaks are worth making. Do you swap in some different defenders -- say Michael Parkhurst and Jimmy Conrad -- or do you give Clarence Goodson and Chad Marshall another start since they might actually be tested, unlike the tournament opener vs. Grenada?
Do you keep running Charlie Davies out there and hope his young legs don't burn out? Or, do you finally give Kenny Cooper a chance to show he's worth keeping in 2010 consideration?
Does Benny Feilhaber (who was recalled for the match) get swapped straight in for either Logan Pause or Kyle Beckerman?
Do you continue to let Freddy Adu get some game action and see what he can do, possibly showcasing himself for a European club? Speaking of Adu, what would you do right now if you were him? Go back to Benfica on the glimmer of possible playing time? Do you shop yourself for another club? Would you swallow your pride and return to MLS, where you can become the fulcrum of a team and get regular playing time? Right now Adu needs to find a club situation, no matter the mailing address, where he can get the keys and drive a club instead of simply being a spare part.
Basically, for tonight's game there is one question -- does Bradley just keep trotting out the 'B' team or does he mix it up a little?
Me, I'd let the team that smoked a hapless Grenada on Saturday continue to play. Honduras does present enough of a challenge, so why not see which fringe players step up and deliver against a better team.
Let's see if Stuart Holden and Robbie Rogers can ping in crosses against a team that won't allow them enough time to prepare a triple-decker sandwich before kicking the ball.
That's really about it. Let's hope the team didn't get to full of itself in Saturday's stroll and they take it seriously. This is the best chance for the U.S. fringe-rs to make an impression on Bradley, too. It's two-fold challenge for the players, they need to showcase their individual skills, but also get the result. It could also be the last chance, for some, since you'd figure Bradley will recall some of the Confederations Cup crew for the knockout stages.
Honduras, despite their haircuts, isn't a joke. If the U.S. treat them like that, they'll get moon-walked off the RFK pitch.
Lineup guess:
Stress guess.
GK -- Perkins
DEF -- Pearce -- Marshall -- Goodson -- Cherundolo
MID -- Rogers -- Pause -- Feilhaber -- Holden
FOR -- Cooper -- Adu
If I hit 50 percent on this guess, I'd be happy. There isn't a guaranteed starter on the roster, even Cherundolo. The only guy that really does need to start is Adu and it would be a massive burn (and more reason for conspiracy theorists to conclude Bradley doesn't like the cut of his jib) since he's from the DC area.
Other stuff:
* A couple weeks ago when I casually mentioned Oguchi Onyewu made himself a rich man with his titanic defensive showings vs. Spain and Brazil in the Confederations Cup. Never did I think those two games would land him the most prestigious club position in American history when he inked with AC Milan on Tuesday.
Assuming he plays, the sojourn to Serie A before the 2010 World Cup will either be the best thing for Onyewu or the worst. Either he improves on his ball distribution and savvy or he's exposed as a lumbering, one-dimensional bruiser.
At least, if somehow the wheels fall off at Milan for Onyewu, the U.S. does have some depth in the middle of the defense.
* One Gold Cup story worth watching is Canada. The Canucks gave the U.S. a pretty good scare in the 2007 knockout rounds -- remember that phantom offside call? Canada is now 2-0-0 in its group matches.
For whatever reason, it'd be nice with the advent of Toronto FC, the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps for Canada's overall national team program to rise if only to give the U.S. another possible rival in CONCACAF.
Or maybe I simply have a soft spot for Canada due to the shenanigans at Sunnyvale Trailer Park.
* Michael Bradley is now on FIFA double-secret probation. Fantastic. Guess it serves him right for dropping an F-bomb in Sports Illustrated aimed at us Internet soccer geeks who called for his pop's job.
* Tottenham ace Wilson Palacios isn't on the Gold Cup roster. Neither is Amada Guevara or Maynor Figueroa. (That takes a starch out it, eh?)
* More Bill Simmons soccer talk, with Colin Cowherd no less. (Listen after the 50-minute mark.)
* What are the odds Fox Soccer's Max Bretos brings up the on-going Honduran political crisis and totally botches it? Even money?
Labels: bob bradley, concacaf, Freddy Adu, Gold Cup, Soccer, USMNT
The prop bet would be # of Bretos references to Honduran politics (10/11) vs. # of different US players Bretos identifies as Logan Pause (10/11).
Pause must start for bets to stand.
The more I think about it, the more I wonder why they play the Gold Cup every two years. Is it making anyone money? Seattle wasn't exactly packed for the US. Is FSC paying out the big bucks? That doesn't seem likely, so why not just hold it every four years like other continents?
The year before the Confed Cup, it makes sense - but having the Gold Cup every two years lessens the already limited interest. African Cup of Nations does this as well - but with more competitive matches. The one upside is that it wedges in more games to soak up Bradley the Younger's (TM) FIFA suspension before the next 'real' game in Azteca.
Gooch to Milan surprised me. I think the focus on crosses into the box and the speed (or lack thereof) in Italy might help the big man, but how does he get off the pine in Milan? I would be giving him full applause if he had moved to Sampdoria or Atalanta. This might put Onyewu in the pond with the bigger fish and not get him the playing time he needs. At 27 he is the youngest ACM player by like a decade, right?
"A lumbering, one-dimensional bruiser"?
If you were to tack on "who wanders out to the sideline 10 times a game", it works for me.