USA Makes Final Roster Cuts

I meant to do this yesterday but I was busy.  It happens.  Anyway, Bob Bradley made his final cuts from the provisional squad down to the 23 man team that will be representing the US in South Africa.  For the most part, I think he did a fine job.  One pick in particular confused me a bit, but we’ll get into that later.  First, let’s take a look at the team:

Goalkeepers
#	Name	CLUB	Birthdate	Weight	Height
–	Brad Guzan	Aston Villa	9/9/1984	207	6’4″
–	Marcus Hahnemann	Wolverhampton	6/15/1972	218	6’3″
–	Tim Howard	Everton	3/6/1979	189	6’2″
Defenders
#	Name	CLUB	Birthdate	Weight	Height
–	Carlos Bocanegra	Rennes	5/25/1979	172	6′
–	Jonathan Bornstein	Chivas USA	11/7/1984	146	5’9″
–	Steven Cherundolo	Hannover 96	2/19/1979	152	5’7″
–	Jay DeMerit	Watford	12/4/1979	180	5’11″
–	Clarence Goodson	FK Start	5/17/1982	169	6’4″
–	Oguchi Onyewu	AC Milan	5/13/1982	201	6’4″
–	Jonathan Spector	West Ham United	3/1/1986	167	6′
Midfielders
#	Name	CLUB	Birthdate	Weight	Height
–	DaMarcus Beasley	Rangers	5/24/1982	145	5’8″
–	Michael Bradley	Mönchengladbach	7/31/1987	180	6′
–	Ricardo Clark	Eintracht Frankfurt	2/10/1983	150	5’10″
–	Clint Dempsey	Fulham	3/9/1983	169	6′
–	Maurice Edu	Rangers	4/18/1986	169	6′
–	Benny Feilhaber	AGF Aarhus	1/19/1985	150	5’8″
–	Stuart Holden	Bolton Wanderers	8/1/1985	161	5’10″
–	Francisco Torres	Pachuca	10/29/1987	134	5’5″
Forwards
#	Name	CLUB	Birthdate	Weight	Height
–	Jozy Altidore	Hull City	11/6/1989	158	5’11″
–	Edson Buddle	Los Angeles	5/21/1981	185	6’1″
–	Landon Donovan	Los Angeles	3/4/1982	159	5’8″
–	Robbie Findley	Real Salt Lake	8/4/1985	165	5’9″
–	Herculez Gomez	Pachuca	4/6/1982	176	5’10″

(I just lifted that straight off Foxsports.com)

First thing I’d point out is that Landon Donovan is listed as a forward here, but I don’t know if that’s how he’ll be used.  It certainly wouldn’t surprise me.  It also says that Jozy Altidore only weighs 158 pounds.  The US Soccer website has him listed at 6’1″ and 175 pounds.  That seems more like it.

Anyway, the one thing that I have an issue with is Robbie Findley’s inclusion over Brian Ching.  I realize that Ching is battling a hamstring injury but he was really the best option aside from Altidore.  Between Findley, Edson Buddle, and Herculez Gomez they have a combined total of eight (8!) national team appearances.  That’s not the kind of experience I want to take with me to the biggest stage.  Ching has more goals (11) for the US team than that trio has games.  Ching was a part of the 2006 team that disappointed in Germany, but didn’t play a minute.  At least he was there and he experienced what the World Cup atmosphere is about.  As it stands we have no forwards (not counting Donovan and Clint Dempsey) who have ever participated in a World Cup.  I don’t like that.  Even if Ching isn’t healthy enough to compete, he would bring valuable experience to the forward crew and all indications are that he would be able to play by June 12th.

My only thought is that Bradley is hoping that Findley can replace Charlie Davies speed and energy up top.  Hopefully, he’s right.

In the midfield, I might have considered bringing Robbie Rogers over Benny Feilhaber but I don’t hate the decision enough to rant about it.

I also read where people are concerned about Oguchi Onywu’s inclusion.  Simply put, he’s the best defender on the US roster.  If he can walk, he’ll be out there.  He did look a bit rusty against the Czechs, but he has two more games to get that worked out.  He’ll be fine.  The came goes for Carlos Bocanegra (hernia) and Jay DeMerit (eye).

So without seeing our upcoming warm up matches against Turkey and Australia (which will go a long way toward deciding who plays), here is the starting line up I’d send out against England on June 12th:

GOALKEEPER - Tim Howard.  He’s the best, no surprise here.

DEFENDERS – Jonathan Spector, Oguchi Onyewu, Jay DeMerit, Carlos Bocanegra. With DeMerit’s emergence as a viable option in the middle, Bocanegra can slide back outside to his natural position.  I’d put Spector out there due to his familiarity with the English team through his club experience with Aston Villa.  I would feel very comfortable subbing Clarence Goodson in for Onyewu or DeMerit if one of them isn’t capable of going a full 90 or Steve Cherundolo for Spector if he isn’t getting the job done.  This unit gelled very well during the Confederations Cup last Summer and I see no reason to break up that group.  Unlike others, I’m not worried about our defense as long as they are all healthy.

MIDFIELD - Landon Donovan, Ricardo Clark, Michael Bradley, Stuart Holden. I’m letting Donovan run wild up and down a flank creating space which makes him dangerous.  In the middle, I’m letting Ricardo Clark be a defensive presence with Michael Bradley.  These two work well together as long as they can keep their harsh tackles in check.  Both have recently gotten untimely red cards which has become a plague on US soccer.  On the other side, I’m giving Stuart Holden a shot to show off his energy and creativity, but I could easily be swayed into giving Jose Francisco Torres that spot.

FORWARD – Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey. Altidore obviously gets the nod for one spot.  For the other, I’m taking Clint Dempsey out of his midfield role to become a forward.  Dempsey can play both and he has excelled up front for the US before while his midfield play has been rather pedestrian.  Dempsey has a knack for scoring large goals for this team so hopefully he can continue his magic.  As I said above, I’m not wild about the potential forward combinations which is why I’m pulling Dempsey up.

I will be interested to see Bradley’s lineup come Saturday against Turkey.  We have a solid team and could become dangerous as long as we’re healthy and can score goals.  I can’t wait until June 12th.

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