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Open Wide For Some Soccer!


Mike

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So the US lost?

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That 3-5-2 tactic looks a bit ill-thought, going off my (admittedly limited) knowledge of the personnel involved.

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Tbf the 2nd and 3rd Chile goals came after the U.S. had reverted back to a 4-4-2 to start the second half. Yedlin completely ran out of steam on the right and Gonzalez torched him for the last half-hour.

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I think there's merit in the 3-5-2. Yedlin's fitness will definitely need to improve for him to go the full 90 in that formation, and we'd need to find someone who can play on the left. Shea's definitely not the answer. Fabian Johnson or Greg Garza are the two best candidates, but neither are traditional wingbacks (though both can and do get forward).

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There's no way Jones fits as a CB. If we're going to play a 3-man central midfield, just play him in his natural position. Jones, Bradley and an attacking midfielder (Mix, Joe Corona, Luis Gil), with Dempsey playing off Altidore up top.

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Save for a couple nervy moments, I thought Birnbaum put in a good shift in his debut. He was certainly the best of the three CBs. I'd like to see Omar Gonzalez and John Brooks back in the side as soon as possible though.

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I was impressed by the little we saw of Zardes, seems like he could be a useful attacking option off the bench. Nguyen and Trapp didn't particularly stand out, though they're both capable of being contributors, and Bobby Wood was completely hopeless. Shouldn't even be in the picture at this point.

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I suppose it's better to work out the kinks now than in meaningful matches, but the performances since the WC have been totally underwhelming. What's most important is to find the best XI and give them playing time together. Constantly mixing up both the formation and the squad doesn't allow for any kind of synergy.

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I don't like it.

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It's a 4-3-3 for me.

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Yedlin & Johnson as the full backs, Omar and Brooks as the CBs, Jones, Bradly and Mix central, Green wide, Jozy and Dempsey up top (with Dempsey floating around). Unbalanced but makes most sense to me. Eventually Arjo and Gyau would fight themselves into the team?

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I see the thinking behind a 3-5-2, we have at least three players who fit as a wing back, and about five or six centerbacks of similar quality, except for Jones. Allows us to have two strikers on the field and a midfield three, but it has to be executed right, which it wasn't. Not sure Jones is good enough either, in theory he should be as a the ball playing cb, but I have a lot of doubts.

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In terms of guys going back to MLS it's only certain cases that bother me. Like Deuce said, Dempsey's was a good move, but someone like Bradley going back in their prime has already hurt us. Altidore and Mix are weird cases, Jozy fucked himself over by choosing a club (and league) where he was never going to succeed, and by the sounds of it Mix didn't have many great offers in Europe, according to Klinsmann at least.

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Fortunately, it seems like our best young prospects are heading to Europe. Rubin and Flores are already there and a few of the U-17 kids are going soon. MLS is a decent place to start for most, I just hope they don't get coerced to stay once they're in their early 20's. We've already seen Luis Gil stagnate because he's in a side with one of the best players in the league at his position.

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