Live The Pitch

The U.S. Mens National Team will take on Poland in their next match on October 9th at Soldier Field .  This will fall upon an international fixture date which will allow the European based players to play with the team.  Although, there is a major MLS scheduling issue as some key players will play with their clubs two days prior to the match.

As of now, Bob Bradley is still in charge of the national team.  Let’s hope to see a new face leading this group so we can get some different players on the pitch.  Bradley has done a decent job as coach but it’s time to move in a new direction.  Bradley’s roster decisions have not been the best and his ability to get his team prepared was awful this summer.

How great would it be to never see Robbie Findlay on the pitch again?

Look for the U.S. to add another friendly match on October 12 or 13.

With the 2010 World Cup quickly approaching we wanted to start a list of players who Bob Bradley will get to choose from to make the trip this summer to South Africa.  As of today the U.S. roster is full of question marks due to injuries.  Bradley will announce his 30 man preliminary roster on May 11th before cutting it down to 23.  The team has three impact players coming off major injuries in the past few months.  U.S. fans are praying for the health of Oguchi Onyewu, Clint Dempsey, and Charlie Davies.

Goalkeepers

The goalkeeping position looks to be locked up by Everton FC star Tim Howard.  Howard as had an up and down season this year with Everton and the U.S.  At times Howard looks as he is one of the top goalkeepers in the world.  Bradley will need to get consistency out of Howard to have a chance this summer.   The U.S. will bring three goalkeepers this summer.

Tim Howard- Everton*-Locked

Brad Guzan- Aston Villa*Locked

Marcus Hahnemann-Wolverhampton

Troy Perkins- DC United

Defenders

The status of Onyewu remains in doubt as we speak, but he should be ready for South Africa.  If Onyewu is at 100% the U.S. defense should be a dominant force this summer.  In last years FIFA Confederations Cup the back line looked stellar.  Look for Carlos Bocanegra, Jay Demerit, and Jonathan Spector to round out the starting back line.  Bradley will take 7-8 defenders to South Africa.

Oguchi Onyewu- AC Milan*Locked

Jay Demerit-Watford*Locked

Jonathan Spector- West Ham United*Locked

Carlos Bocanegra-Rennes*Locked

Steve Cherundolo- Hannover 96

Jonathan Bornstein-Chivas USA

Danny Califf-FC Midtjylland

Heath Pearce-FC Dallas

Clarence Goodson-IK Start

Midfielders

Bradley will have to make some tough decisions in the midfield depending on the health of Dempsey and Davies.  Our ideal lineup would be Landon Donovan on the left, Clint Demspey on the right, and Michael Bradley alongside Ricardo Clark in the middle.  Donovan could very well be forced to play up top if Davies can’t go.  If this is the case look for Stuart Holden, Robbie Rogers, and I hate to say it but Demarcus Beasley getting a shot. Bradley will take 7-9 midfielders this summer.

Landon Donovan- LA Galaxy*Locked

Clint Dempsey- Fulham*Locked

Michael Bradley- Borussia Mönchengladbach*Locked

Ricardo Clark- Eintracht Frankfurt*Locked

Benny Feilhaber- AGF*Locked

Stuart Holden- Bolton

Demarcus Beasley- Rangers

Robbie Rogers- Columbus Crew

Jermaine Jones- Schalke 04

Sasha Kljestan- Chivas USA

Maurice Edu- Rangers

Forwards

Up top for the U.S. Jozy Altidore will bring a speed and size threat to opposing back lines.  The question at the moment is who will join him?  The U.S. is extremely weak in the forward position at the moment.  The ideal candidate would be Davies but no one knows if his greatest asset of speed will be the same as before his accident.  Brian Ching is another reliable option for Bradley, but is a target player like Altidore.  If Davies does not get his fitness look for Donovan or Dempsey to start up top. Bradley will take 4-5 forwards this summer.

Jozy Altidore- Hull City* Locked

Charlie Davies- Sochaux* Locked

Brian Ching- Houston Dynamo *Locked

Conor Casey-Colorado Rapids

Robbie Findlay- Real Salt Lake

Edson Buddle- LA Galaxy

Herculez Gomez- Puebla

Bradley has some key roster decisions to make before making the trip to South Africa.  If healthy this squad could surprise the world once again as they did last summer with a 2nd place finish in the Confederations Cup.  They have proven they can beat any team in the world on any given night.  Bradley should emphasize consistency to the squad leading up to their opening match versus England.

If I were in Bradley’s shoes my ideal lineup for the opening match would be:

4-4-2 Formation

GK-Tim Howard

LB- Carlos Bocanegra

CB-Oguchi Onyewu

CB-Jay Demerit

RB-Jonathan Spector

RM-Clint Dempsey

CM-Michael Bradley

CM-Ricardo Clark

LM-Landon Donovan

ST-Charlie Davies

ST-Jozy Altidore

The bench would include Cherundolo, Califf, Pearce, Goodson, Holden, Rogers, Feilhaber, Edu,Ching,Findlay,Guzan, and Hahnemann.

This Saturday Bob Bradley’s squad will face Slovakia in an International friendly in Bratislava.  With this being the first match for the U.S. since qualifying for the 2010 World Cup there are numerous questions to be answered due to recent injuries.  Bradley is in a tough spot now with Charlie Davies and Oguchi Onyewu out of the lineup.

Let’s start in the back where Onyewu’s presence will be missed dearly.  Onyewu tore his patella tendon in his left knee late in the last match against Costa Rica.  Barring any major setbacks in his rehabilitation he should be fit for next summer, But Bradley can’t count on it.  The next few matches for the U.S. will be mini tryouts for a few players.

The player we are looking at stepping in immediately would have to be Columbus Crew star Chad Marshall.  Marshall has been a stable presence at center back in the MLS and has recently had some success with the national team.  Along side Marshall look for Bradley to start with Jimmy Conrad.  Conrad himself has been banged up recently but Bradley needs to see how he can play at this level.

The other area of concern is the left back spot.  We see Bradley going with Heath Pearce, but we just don’t see him playing at this level.  He has proven to U.S. soccer fans that he is awful with the ball at his feet and makes terrible decisions in the back.  Bradley has yet to find a proven left back, and if this team wants to succeed they have a lot of work to do.

The midfield is just OK at the moment.  Michael Bradley has his ups and downs, so if he can just become more consistent he will do well in South Africa.  However, the other center midfield position is up in the air.  Look for Benny Feilhaber to get the nod on Saturday.  Feilhaber has done fairly well when he has been given his opportunities.

The real concern for the U.S. is replacing Charlie Davies, who was recently released from the hospital following his horrific accident a month ago.  Davies timetable for a return is anywhere from 6-12 months with the numerous injuries he had.  If  by any chance he gets fit to play for the World Cup it is hard to believe he will be the same player he was before the accident.  Davies is the type of player that relies on his great pace and with his injuries it will be difficult for him to get that back.

Look for Jozy Altidore and Connor Casey to get the start up top on Saturday.  Both have been in great form recently and hopefully this continues with the national team.

Here are a few players we hope can get some playing time in the future with the national team:

Chad Marshall- CB

Jose Fransisco Torres-CM

Robbie Rogers- LM

Jeff Cunningham- ST

Good Luck USA!

Bob Bradley has announced his roster that will face Slovakia this Saturday, November 14.  The roster Bradley has assembled has plenty of different faces than what he has been using the past few months.  There are big names not on the roster due to club team commitments including the players still competing in the MLS playoffs.

Here is the team-

Goalkeepers- Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England), Troy Perkins (Valerenga, Norway)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City), Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus), Chad Marshall (Columbus), Heath Pearce (Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England)

Midfielders: Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus, Denmark), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (Dallas), Robbie Rogers (Columbus)

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Hull, England), Conor Casey (Colorado), Jeff Cunningham (Dallas, England), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)

Here is the lineup we would field here at Livethepitch.com.  This is a quality squad with the only exception being on the left flanks.  Bradley still has not found a proven left back and left midfielder.  This has to be fixed before next summer!