With the news that Dempsey is not fit to face Honduras, it would appear to be a good chance for a shift in the lineup to accommodate our best players, rather than fitting a player into a system.
Here’s what I would love to see:
Davies
Altidore Donovan
Feilhaber
Bradley Clark
Spector Cherundolo
Bocanegra Onyewu
Howard
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Remember that Altidore actually started his career by playing on the left wing quite a bit, and is actually pretty good at the position. He and Donovan would be plenty capable of switching flanks, too, to adapt to the way Honduras is defending.
This lineup would also give us the chance to see Feilhaber at his best, playing as a true #10. I know many people are convinced Donovan should play that position, but he’s never shown the vision from the middle of the field that Feilhaber has, nor does he have the same range on his passes. Feilhaber has been in splendid form for Aarhus of late, playing almost exclusively as a #10.
This lineup also gives us some flexibility up top, as all four “front” players could easily be interchanged to adjust for periods of rest, tactical changes, etc.
Filed under: US Men's National Team |
The Post: A Keeper's Best Friend 
Interesting line-up. I like the idea of not trying to fit square pegs into round holes at times, and rather fitting a formation around our best players. We don’t really have the depth to do it otherwise, nor a consistent successsful “system” for that matter (like Germany or Italy). One possible problem I could see with this formation, though, would be the team’s ability to move the ball from the back line through the midfield up to the front four, depending on how far up they are playing. Benny and the outside backs could mitigate this potential weakness, but Jr., to a certain extent, and Clark are just not great passers; both suffering from lack of vision and touch to varying degrees. They also seem like redundant (rather than complimentary) players when they are on the field together. Both are good defensively, but neither are great going forward. What do you think about Torres: his strengths, best position on this team, etc.? It would be nice to have somebody else playing regularly who is comfortable on the ball under pressure with the ability to thread some tight passes in the midfield. Maybe play Torres playing alongside Jr., with Jr. being more defensive-minded.
I agree with this lineup except Jozy needs to be up top with Davies. It doesnt matter how much we overload the midfield, we never seem to be able to dominate the middle of the pitch which starves the strikers of service. I would either move Benny wide left, or preferably take out Clark and have Benny play above Bradley with Holden or Torres wide left. As much as I love Davies, his speed is not enough by himself. We have got to put pressure on the Honduras goal as they are way to good of a side to sandbag and expect to win off the counter. The key to this game will be for Donovan and Co to attack the wings. The overlap will be there for crosses(hope Specs is ready with his horse), and if the wings can drive inside and attack the defenders I think we have a good chance at putting a few in. I personally think Demps being out could be a blessing in disguise, maybe watching from the sidelines will light some fire under his ass. Its time to buckle down, play well, and qualify. Lets go Nats!
I agree. We need two up front to keep pressure on the Honduras goal. I also like the idea of playing to our strengths instead of fitting into a system, but a single striker is not to our strength IMO.
I love that line up. Josy does better coming forward and Feilhabor could take some pressure off Donovan. Spector and Cherundalo both like going forward. Very offensive minded and aggressive. Bradley and or Clark will have to pick up the wide attacking Honduras players and Donovan can check back to midfield. If everyone knows their roll I think this lineup would give us results.
How many games have every player known there roll? Answer: none since the Confed Cup. Jozy does play better facing the goal, but if he has a higher work rate and the midfield plays to the checking forwards feet, instead of playing long balls to run onto, this means he can turn and run at the goal while still playing as a striker. As Kamikaze said, midfield possession is not our strength, which is why 5 in the middle is a bad idea offensively. Has a lesser effect defensively, but I feel overloading the back will crowd us, which will in my opinion lead to less organization and subsequent shelling of our goal. As I posted earlier, its not only molding tactics to a squad and not just forcing people into a system, but molding tactics to squad and opposition. We cannot afford to sit back and counter. We must take this game by the balls offensively and attack. As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense.
the 4-3-3 formation is for elite teams. teams with world class players. the US plays counter attack soccer with alot of sucess. it is the best strategy for a nation like the US especially when they play the giants of world soccer. therefore the best formation would be 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 or 5-4-1.