Altidore Gomez
Zusi Dempsey Donavan
Bradley Jones
Beckerman-Brooks-Beasley
Howard
Was the exciting line-up I feel we never got to see. You then substitute EddieJohnson/Wondo/Besler/Green/Diskurud as needed for
Altidore/Zusi/Donavon/Jones/Gomez/Beasely/Beckerman because you need more miles out of those positions or they are old or big and heavy.
Beckerman was a better defender than any defender they had out there. They just didn't have defenders and I thought should have slid Jones back to a defensive mid role even behind Bradley. But with Jones and Bradley back there you didn't need 4 defenders honestly.
They won the gold cup in 2013 with ease scoring 5 goals a game and playing this unstoppable rush attack with Donavon/Wondo/Gomez/Altidore that was beautiful to watch...then Klinsman gets smart the next year and totally fucks the roster and his playing decisions trying to be conservative.
We had the best talent we will ever see and we got Donavon for zero minutes and Wondo for ten minutes...arguably the two greatest players in Eagle history.
Gomez being left off the roster for the likes of Johansson or even Green was a travesty in itself. I like the Green decision just to have an athlete and some speed out there and use for 30 minutes to close out games and occupy time with problem speed creates...but most of the rest Klinsmann did was an abomination.
most importantly Our best 8 players in the country were
1. Donavon 2. Dempsey 3. Wondo 4. Bradley 5. Howard 6. Gomez 7. Brooks 8. Eddie Johnson 9.Besler 10. Jones
I think you have to get as many of those guys on the field as much as possible whatever position they play. There is some overlap with substitutions but Klinsmann had nowhere near a coherent plan.
I like the idea in todays game of starting out attackig and pooring in more defenders if you need a result...adding defenders instead if you need a hold and changing formation to pull back.
If VR is a thing then it matters whose zone you play in. Spain showed if you play all attackers (Ramos)...then you never have to defend.
That was the first U.S.A. team that had the skill to possess the ball at the world level but they had to put in the guys with no weak links.
Wondo-Dempsey-Gomez-Bradley-Donavon would have been interesting for me to see.
I think what that does is turn the field for you sort of like in hockey...and enhance the value of the other two pieces. Altidore-Eddie Johnson...if you stay in the attacking end those guys are powerful and can punish on loose balls....
you do this for 75 minutes and you hit hard and just create danger.
Possess possess possess...make them pay for chasing. Attack. Rush them...make every possession a danger and a higher percentage danger than the one you give up when they get it back. You gotta sell all out into playing the game in their half or you already lost anyway.
ONly our best players are anywhere near good enough to do that.
But
Altidore-Eddie Johnson (up top)
Wondo-Demspey-Donovan attacking midfielders
Bradley-JOnes defensive midfielders
Now thats tas star wars laser show as the U.S.A was ever going to get. With Gomez for Eddie, Zusi for Donavon at 70...and Beckerman slides into Jones spot where Besler comes in...to get some more miles out of your best players due to age issues.
Or you take out JOnes for Besler and put Green in defensively for Donavon and slide back a bit. Diskurud for Wondo. Something like that. But you get those ball handlers on the fucking field and handle the ball.
The way we played was fucking joke. We played the way Klinsmann views us (as shitty americans) because thats all the vision he had for us, and didn't just let us be and what that team was...9 attackers on the field at all times. The way Beckerman/Jones/Bradley all play defense first I think you could absolutely get away with it.
