Quick -- who was the last cut for the 2006 World Cup?
Take your time, really. Mull it over. Google. Bing. Wiki.
And the answer is?
Steve Ralston? Taylor Twellman?
Can't imagine in the days before the Tweeter and the overall social media explosion that people seemed that upset over the decision of Bruce Arena. Sure it was talked about, but the instant knee-jerk reaction wasn't there.
In fact, the one famous U.S. World Cup roster cut story goes back to 1994 when Jeff Agoos burned his uniform after being snubbed.
Today, though, is it that hard to get worked up that Robbie Findley gets the final ticket on the plane to South Africa over Brian Ching? Isn't Ching the same guy that infuriated many quarters of the Internet-based U.S. soccer fan for his inability to score against top level international competition?
Or ask yourself this, is the U.S. winning or losing in South Africa based on what Findley will do or Ching would have done?
That seems to be basically the only talking point to arise from Wednesday afternoon's announcement on the ESPN "campus" in Bristol, Conn.* Nobody seems to be spilling any tears that Sacha Kljestan, Eddie Johnson, Robbie Rogers, Chad Marshall, Heath Pearce and Alejandro Bedoya will have to watch the Cup from the couches like us slobs.
* Crazy the team was in track jackets and jeans, it's 90-odd degrees today in Connecticut. I'm stewing in my own juices here.
Maybe it's simply because Findley hasn't shown anything in his brief apperances for the USMNT. Or that he's not playing in MLS. Or that he didn't even make the field last night against the Czechs.
At least Findley, in theory, brings speed to the table, while Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez are more traditional, straightforward finishers/goal scorers. And when you boil it down, what's the over/under on minutes for Findley in South Africa? 15?
Nobody likes the word "upside", but Findley brings a lot more potential than Ching.
Considering how good Stuart Holden looked, the chances are we're getting Clint Dempsey in a withdrawn striker position behind Altidore anyway.
Can't feel too bad for Ching, either. He did make the final 23 for 2006, so he's been to a World Cup in his lifetime. Sure he worked hard and put his body on the line, but it simply wouldn't be good enough in 2010.
If anything, the entire roster process showed that the U.S. despite many positive strides in all areas of soccer still hasn't accrued tangible depth. For the 60-70 odd players who Bob Bradley has camped, he was really left with a core about right around 18 players.
The U.S. is not Brazil, England or Germany were big-time players are being left at home.
Instead the U.S. is left needing it's true "core" of "star" players of Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley to all play better than average for the team to have a chance.
Wednesday there weren't many surprises. Those moves (Charlie Davies, Freddy Adu) came a couple weeks ago. Today it was more about "six of these, half-a-dozen of another."
Now that the roster is picked, let's see if this team can pull its suddenly very shaky defense together and find a way to get out of Group C. You know, the real business at hand.
Couple other things:
* It's only one game, but Onyewu looked rusty, old and slow Tuesday night. (The neck beard isn't helping things on those fronts.) If Bradley took the risk and included Onyewu, it further illustrates how injured Davies probably still was.
* Interesting to see how Bradley plays the Turkey match this weekend. Does he experiment with a Bocanegra-Goodson-DeMerit-Spector backline, or some variation, or does he give Onyewu another game. I tend to doubt Bradley pushes Onyewu with another match in such a short span of time considering he hadn't played since October.
* Jonathan Bornstein. Well, he does serve one purpose, taking the heat off all the other 22 players since he's universally derided by U.S. fans. Maybe we ought to start calling him "Sponge Born."
In a way, Bornstein is the anti-Adu. For the Elder he can do no wrong, while Freddy could do nothing right.
Let's hope that the Elder's irrational affection for his former Chivas USA player doesn't come back to bite the team in South Africa. The England backs and wings must be licking their chops.
As crazy as it sounds, I might feel safer, if he's GOT to play, with Bornstein as a center back as opposed out on the left. Out wide he gets caught out of position so often, he's giving away free kicks in dangerous spots, and or heading it toward goal. Maybe in the middle he's less exposed, but trouble seems to find him wherever the U.S. tries to hide him, like a Major League slugger who can't cover any ground in the outfield. Of course, Bornstein unlike the slugger, doesn't have the apparent upside of a three-run homer in his back pocket.
* Is it a trade-off that Bornstein is in, and Eddie Johnson is out? Thanks for the memories Eddie. If the Dharma Initiative ever screws up the space-time continuum and it's 2005 again, I'll be sure to call you.
* On Monday I used my "day job" to get a credential to the practice. For whatever it's worth, Ching -- the supposed "target forward" didn't look all that big standing two feet away. Meanwhile, Jozy is huge. Just huge. Like a squished down version of Dwight Howard.
* To me, not an issue that Buddle and Gomez made the team, coming from "nowhere" a month ago. They're in form and have a nose for goal. Could come in handy off the bench.
* We'll talk more about tactics and this team going forward Friday.
Three Hartford Leftovers:
* Not sure it made the telecast, but a kid ran onto the field and made it all the way across and climbed back into the stands before being arrested. And no, Bornstein didn't tackle him. Kid might have gotten the biggest cheers of the night.
* Lot of U.S. fan "mongos" in the building, i.e. painted faces, fake wigs, costumes, the whole nine. Very passionate crowd, but hard to get anything going beyond the "U-S-A" chant. Best thing about the crowd, it skewed to the under-30 demographic. So these are basically people who've grown up with access to the game.
Still, not an empty seat in the house. Hope they're back to East Hartford soon.
* Jurgen Klinsman doesn't like to wear his sport coat.
Take your time, really. Mull it over. Google. Bing. Wiki.
And the answer is?
Steve Ralston? Taylor Twellman?
Can't imagine in the days before the Tweeter and the overall social media explosion that people seemed that upset over the decision of Bruce Arena. Sure it was talked about, but the instant knee-jerk reaction wasn't there.
In fact, the one famous U.S. World Cup roster cut story goes back to 1994 when Jeff Agoos burned his uniform after being snubbed.
Today, though, is it that hard to get worked up that Robbie Findley gets the final ticket on the plane to South Africa over Brian Ching? Isn't Ching the same guy that infuriated many quarters of the Internet-based U.S. soccer fan for his inability to score against top level international competition?
Or ask yourself this, is the U.S. winning or losing in South Africa based on what Findley will do or Ching would have done?
That seems to be basically the only talking point to arise from Wednesday afternoon's announcement on the ESPN "campus" in Bristol, Conn.* Nobody seems to be spilling any tears that Sacha Kljestan, Eddie Johnson, Robbie Rogers, Chad Marshall, Heath Pearce and Alejandro Bedoya will have to watch the Cup from the couches like us slobs.
* Crazy the team was in track jackets and jeans, it's 90-odd degrees today in Connecticut. I'm stewing in my own juices here.
Maybe it's simply because Findley hasn't shown anything in his brief apperances for the USMNT. Or that he's not playing in MLS. Or that he didn't even make the field last night against the Czechs.
At least Findley, in theory, brings speed to the table, while Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez are more traditional, straightforward finishers/goal scorers. And when you boil it down, what's the over/under on minutes for Findley in South Africa? 15?
Nobody likes the word "upside", but Findley brings a lot more potential than Ching.
Considering how good Stuart Holden looked, the chances are we're getting Clint Dempsey in a withdrawn striker position behind Altidore anyway.
Can't feel too bad for Ching, either. He did make the final 23 for 2006, so he's been to a World Cup in his lifetime. Sure he worked hard and put his body on the line, but it simply wouldn't be good enough in 2010.
If anything, the entire roster process showed that the U.S. despite many positive strides in all areas of soccer still hasn't accrued tangible depth. For the 60-70 odd players who Bob Bradley has camped, he was really left with a core about right around 18 players.
The U.S. is not Brazil, England or Germany were big-time players are being left at home.
Instead the U.S. is left needing it's true "core" of "star" players of Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley to all play better than average for the team to have a chance.
Wednesday there weren't many surprises. Those moves (Charlie Davies, Freddy Adu) came a couple weeks ago. Today it was more about "six of these, half-a-dozen of another."
Now that the roster is picked, let's see if this team can pull its suddenly very shaky defense together and find a way to get out of Group C. You know, the real business at hand.
Couple other things:
* It's only one game, but Onyewu looked rusty, old and slow Tuesday night. (The neck beard isn't helping things on those fronts.) If Bradley took the risk and included Onyewu, it further illustrates how injured Davies probably still was.
* Interesting to see how Bradley plays the Turkey match this weekend. Does he experiment with a Bocanegra-Goodson-DeMerit-Spector backline, or some variation, or does he give Onyewu another game. I tend to doubt Bradley pushes Onyewu with another match in such a short span of time considering he hadn't played since October.
* Jonathan Bornstein. Well, he does serve one purpose, taking the heat off all the other 22 players since he's universally derided by U.S. fans. Maybe we ought to start calling him "Sponge Born."
In a way, Bornstein is the anti-Adu. For the Elder he can do no wrong, while Freddy could do nothing right.
Let's hope that the Elder's irrational affection for his former Chivas USA player doesn't come back to bite the team in South Africa. The England backs and wings must be licking their chops.
As crazy as it sounds, I might feel safer, if he's GOT to play, with Bornstein as a center back as opposed out on the left. Out wide he gets caught out of position so often, he's giving away free kicks in dangerous spots, and or heading it toward goal. Maybe in the middle he's less exposed, but trouble seems to find him wherever the U.S. tries to hide him, like a Major League slugger who can't cover any ground in the outfield. Of course, Bornstein unlike the slugger, doesn't have the apparent upside of a three-run homer in his back pocket.
* Is it a trade-off that Bornstein is in, and Eddie Johnson is out? Thanks for the memories Eddie. If the Dharma Initiative ever screws up the space-time continuum and it's 2005 again, I'll be sure to call you.
* On Monday I used my "day job" to get a credential to the practice. For whatever it's worth, Ching -- the supposed "target forward" didn't look all that big standing two feet away. Meanwhile, Jozy is huge. Just huge. Like a squished down version of Dwight Howard.
* To me, not an issue that Buddle and Gomez made the team, coming from "nowhere" a month ago. They're in form and have a nose for goal. Could come in handy off the bench.
* We'll talk more about tactics and this team going forward Friday.
Three Hartford Leftovers:
* Not sure it made the telecast, but a kid ran onto the field and made it all the way across and climbed back into the stands before being arrested. And no, Bornstein didn't tackle him. Kid might have gotten the biggest cheers of the night.
* Lot of U.S. fan "mongos" in the building, i.e. painted faces, fake wigs, costumes, the whole nine. Very passionate crowd, but hard to get anything going beyond the "U-S-A" chant. Best thing about the crowd, it skewed to the under-30 demographic. So these are basically people who've grown up with access to the game.
Still, not an empty seat in the house. Hope they're back to East Hartford soon.
* Jurgen Klinsman doesn't like to wear his sport coat.
Labels: 2010 world cup, bob bradley, jonathan bornstein, oguchi onyewu, Soccer, USMNT
You're right in a sense that the whole Findley over Ching thing is a bit of a tempest in a teapot. Is Findley likely to see any minutes in S. Africa? Not likely.
However, had Ching made the roster, it would certainly NOT have been a stretch at all to imagine him getting some time (to the likely consternation of some). So, it's a least a little encouraging to see The Elder do without guys like Conor Casey and Brian Ching, guys who admittedly aren't bad players by any stretch, but who don't exactly look like they belong on the world stage.
If that makes any sense...
@xtianDC
Well put. the fact Ching *isn't* there a bigger deal than who is.
Am I wrong in thinking that this team is head and shoulders better than any previous US WC squad?
How many early-mid 1990s starters would start for this team?
I guess my point is that it could be worse, and I'm old enough to remember when it was. [muttering, shakes fist at young people]
@Dr. JwB
I wish I had more time to think about the question you propose. Quick thoughts....the 2002 did make the quarters and should be the benchmark to compare any WC roster to. There is not a pure forward on roster better than Brian McBride 2002. There isn't a better player than John O'brien 2002. I'd also take 2002 Freidel over Howard but its a slim margin. It's amazing that the 2002 and 2010 have depth at keeper with Keller back then and Guzan/Hahnemann now.
2002 Beas better than current Beas... 2010 Donavon better than 2002?
To wrap up I'd say there were more superior players back then ( even with Dempsey and Landon) but overall the team is probably deeper 1-16 this year.
I'll admit, I was a little mad when I saw Findley over Ching.
I'm no Ching fan but he does work his ass off and what if we lose Altidore (injury, another headbutt, etc)? I'd rather go with Ching who I know will put in the work than somebody like Buddle (no offense, just don't have enough sample to draw from) and Gomez/Findley aren't those type of players.
And maybe it's overblown but I think the team chemistry/camaraderie took a huge hit leaving Davies at home and no matter what the fans think of him, Ching seems to be very well liked and well respected in the team. Findley/Buddle/Gomez just can't replace that. I hope I'm just making something out of nothing there.
It is worth considering that as a squad player, Findley provides something nobody else (other than Donovan) on the roster can - the opportunity to test how our defense reacts to speed. Probably had something to do with the decision.
@HBO I'll give you 2002 as the benchmark, you are right about that.
I'm generally a pessimist, but I feel more confident about this team than most people who are writing about them. Maybe people are just lowering their expectations to avoid disappointment? Maybe I dont know what the hell I'm talking about?
We'll know soon enough. I think we should be able to beat Turkey and Oz with our starting 11. If that doesnt happen, I'll concede that this is 2006 all over again.
The difference between Boogaloo Bornstein and Fredalicious is that Adu rubs EVERY coach/manager the wrong way and can do nothing right in anyone's eyes. Boogaloo only shimmers for The Elder.
This is gonna sound like I am vehemently disagreeing with the commenter, Adam, and I guess I am:
I don't give a rats ass how hard Ching works/worked. That is irrelevant. If The Elder would have taken him, fine - he is the coach, but results matter and not effort. Soccer in the US is getting stronger everyday and one thing that is helping is that more people care about the game so that the summer camp, Montessori, "Isn't it great how little Joshua and Chloe try SO hard" people have less of an influence on things. The selections need to be made professionally, not sentimentally - and by and large I think Elder has done that. I don't 'get' the Bogaloo selection - but at least we're not dopey-ass Mexico taking C Blanco because the fans demand we do.
Ching plays a certain way that Findley and Gomazing do not - so we'll be missing that. But (and this is a big BUT, IMO) that 'knock the ball up to Ching and he'll control it' game never really got us goals. Elder tried (and tried and tried) to get that to work, hoping the USMNT would become Wigan West - but it never worked out. Maybe Ching wasn't good enough and maybe the rest of our roster didn't support that kind of game. It hardly matters why, but Ching was tried and found not effective. Jozy and a withdrawn Deuce (as Cardillo suggested) sounds a LOT more attractive to me.
As a whole, USMNT has more midfield attacking talent than forwards - so why not use them? I think a 4-5-1 with Altidore up front and lots of attacking pressure from the midfielders (Deuce, Lando, Benny F, Younger in some arrangement) will get us more goals than a 4-4-2.
I think we all need to realize that Davies is really, REALLY a lot more hurt than his tweets were indicating. Shocker, I know. He was still miles away from anything close to fitness. So much so that he is now backtracking with his club team to make up for ripping them over their own (probably accurate) assessment of his health.
I prefer Ching, but I'm a Houston fan, so I have no objectivity. I can see where Findley adds something potentially more disruptive than Ching. However, speed with insufficient technical skills is really worthless. Davies had that combo.
Is this a big deal? Frankly, only if your a Ching fan. At this point, it's Bradley's prerogative to shape the team the way he wants it to play and pose the most danger.
Is it June 12 yet?
@30f
I don't mean that because he tries his hardest, he deserves a spot out of loyalty. I meant that he works hard to play defense, wins that 2nd and 3rd ball, and harasses defenders.... basically, he does other things that make up for his lack of scoring goals.
Let me be clear, by no means did I want Ching to be a vital part of our WC campaign. I just think that he's more valuable if Jozy goes down than Findley would be. Not to mention all 4 of our forwards are playing in their first WC and have only a handful of caps between all of them.
I agree completely with 30f. Ching is a forward and it's ultimately about putting the ball in the net.
In the 18 World Cup games since 1990, the USMNT has scored 12 goals of their own. (The US has been the beneficiary of 3 own goals). I understand that this team is significantly better than 1990's, but it's not like the 2006 team did anything on offense.
It's really hard to advance with that scoring rate and while Findley may not help with this (and probably won't), Ching has proven that he can't help. He's analogous to a wide receiver that blocks well and runs good routes, but can't catch. He helps you beat the Jamaica's and El Salvador's, but is a liability against better teams.
Adam - I misunderstood what you meant. You are right, Ching does try hard and do those 'little things' but if the US is going to get better we need more than that.
DoubleB (Boogaloo Bornstein???) makes great points - especially re: the WR who can't really do the ONE THING the team needs him to do.
Who knows if Gomazing is the long (or even short) term answer for the USMNT? I know that the choice wasn't Ching vs Gomez - but let's extend the logic one more step. Given a slender chance against the Czechs in CT, Gomazing came through. He scored. Tuesday's game does not prove that Gomez can do that same thing against Germany or Spain - nothing he could have done in half a game versus Czech reserves could have given us that proof. What we do have is years of proof from Ching, that in those same kind of games he didn't put the ball in the net very often.
Ching served his purpose for the US - helping us qualify and battering the minnows of CONCACAF. But sometimes you have to drop the rock (even a likable, useful rock) for a chance to pick up a diamond.
Anyone else recall that the blessed 2002 team had a negative goal differential coming out of the group stage and left the tournament at +/- 0...?
Ching is the Homeless man's Emile Heskey. He doesn't score himself but in theory sets up those around him. Unfortunately like 30f said it's never worked for this team. Findley brings the speed no one else does, also you have to think a little bit about 2014 right. If you're looking at a guy who at best will play 10-20 minutes for you all tournament aren't we better off with a younger guy that might be in the mix next WC?
Ching's history has certainly been one of not scoring, but working hard and getting lucky on occasion. He's a not very rich man's version of Conor Casey.
But I'll say in that friendly agains the kids of the Czech Republic, the offense changed with him in the game--it flowed better. He gave good service to Holden and Rogers (who I realize is probably redundant but I would have liked to have seen on this team) in some creative ways.
He tracked, he worked.
For me, though, the 23 spot should have some worth. Either go veteran, like Ching, or go super young, and let that kid bask in the experience. Our collection of 25 year old late-blooming, only in the MLS strikers leave me pretty damn cold. We are grooming Robbie Findley for the next cup, when he is 29? Or when Buddle is 28?
Bornstein is a terrifying figure. He plays great, as long as the ball isn't played over the top of him. He loses his man and the ball with stunning regularity. He's a nightmare on set plays.
If Beasley is the answer at left back, we aren't asking Steve Cherundulo the right questions.
I think Gooch plays 25 minutes. It is still a six sub game. You can play him for a bit, and I think he still needs it. If he can't turn around in 4 days now, how's he going to turn around in 4 days in South Africa?