US MNT thoughts

After what was a very successful summer, the MNT is back for two important WCQ. I wanted to talk about the starting XI I would like to see for the qualifiers. It features Tim Howard in goal, a standout for Everton and the USMNT alike for some time now. Howard is a legend, and has to be one of the top 5 keepers in the world, his selection is a no-doubter. Johnathon Spector, for me, gets the nod at right back, he has been getting more consistent time for West Ham and certainly had a coming out party in the Confed Cup. Two of Dempsey's three goals were from Spector crosses. Both were early balls into the box which were finished off superbly, but the quality of the crosses took me by surprise. I didn't know the MNT had such a player in its ranks. In the center of the park is the duo of Chad Marshall, and Jay Demerit. Both had great showings for the MNT over the summer, Chad at the Gold Cup and Demerit of course at the Confed Cup. Of course we will be without Gooch for the El Salvador match, but Marshal should be able to deputize without problem. One thing that worries me for the future is Gooch not getting time with AC Milan, if he doesn't get time we might be significantly worse off in the center of the defense come 2010, he needs regular time. On the left it would be Carlos Bocanegra, who has struggled somewhat in his role there recently. He was certainty caught out of position for Mexico's winner at the Azteca, but had Donoven not had swine flu nobody would have noticed. He needs time at LB because he is the best option we have there right now. The wings of the team pick themselves, Dempsey and Donovan, both showing great form for their respective clubs, and both coming off very impressive summers. They are our playmakers, and both will be in free roles, cutting inside and generally troubling the opposition. Against poorer sides like El Salvador, our fullbacks will provide enough width to support the attack, Spector in particular, so Donoven and Demspey cutting inside a lot will not be a problem. Against stronger sides we like to play a counter attacking style anyway, so width is less important than pace and skill. Up front you can't look beyond Davies and Altidore. Great summers for both of them, Davies in particular came into his own. His finish against Mexico was top class, reminded me of a young Michael Owen (when he was scoring with Liverpool, not riding the bench at United). Altidore impress at the weekend and scored a good goal midweek. The main problems for Altidore are consistency, his first touch, and finding out what his playing style will be. He has the build for a classic target man, in the mold of a Heskey, or Shearer. Yet he also has the pace and shows flashes of the technical ability to be a pacy striker, always on the shoulder of the last defender, like a young (read: YOUNG) Michael Owen. For me, he has all the attributes to be a complete striker, in the mold of a Torres or a Henry minus some natural technical ability. It just depends on weather or not he can shoulder the hype, improve his technical ability, and stay consistent and relatively injury free. Thus far he has lived up to his reputation, and hopefully it can continue. I left the middle of the pitch for last because it is the most important. The first name on the teamsheet if I was Bob Bradley behind Howard is Michael Bradley, and not just because he is my son. Bradley is the most important player to this team, a tireless worker in the middle of the field, capable of distributing the ball to Donavan and Demspey, as well as playing through balls into the strikers. Also he is a great defender with an deserving, and perhaps unfortunate, reputation as a hard tackler, the reason why he is carded so much, ref's are looking for it. His partner in the midfield should be Benny Feilhaber for both these games and 2010 WC. Feilhaber's qualities are obvious, he has a great range of passing along with an excellent ability to keep possession. He is also an under-rated defender, perhaps even by his Coach. Benny should be our quarterback, dictating the play like Pirlo has done for Italy, and like Xabi Alonso (sob) used to do for Liverpool. A player like Benny is vital to what this US team should be trying to do. With his excellent range of passing, he will rarely have to venture far into the opponents half, dictating the play while as the same time providing cover against a counter. He enables Bradley to push upfield while we have possession, get into the box, and score goals, as well as having the ability to provide perfect through balls to the pacy forwards while on the counter. He is much more valuable to the team than Clark is, Clark is a good player to have, he moves around a lot and breaks up play, but is a liability on the ball. Mike Bradley cannot venture as far upfield because he needs to dictate play, and when Clark does have the ball, Mike still cannot get upfield because he needs to stay back and protect against the inevitable counter attack once the ball leaves Clark's foot. Players like Bradley need to be able to do what they do best, and what Mike does best is be a box to box midfielder, defending on one and while scoring goals on the other. Here's to two wins (hopefully) and a Benny Bradley partnership in the middle.