Avoiding the Drop

So we’re back to this. A month after the disaster in the Azteca, Bob Bradley somehow finds himself in the dangerous position of not advancing to the World Cup.

Okay, maybe that’s harsh. The U.S. is in third place, after all; if the whole thing ended now, they’d go. Plus, the whole race at the top is wide open; Costa Rica’s in first place with 12 points, while the U.S. and Honduras are tied at ten, separated only by goal difference, right?

Sure…but Mexico’s got nine points, and the U.S. haven’t exactly looked sharp lately. The squad really needs to get two wins in the next two matches – against El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago – in order to start solidifying their hold on a potential World Cup spot. So let’s take a look at who Bob Bradley thinks is best suited to do that.

Goalkeepers

Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton)

No changes here. Tim Howard’s had a rough start at Everton, though, and these matches (while important) are against the bottom of the CONCACAF. El Salvador’s at home, too, and I wonder if maybe it’d be worth giving Guzan a runout there.

Defenders

Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

Every from Mexico returns, and Clarence Goodson (from Norway’s IK Start) is also brought in. The defense against Mexico was a little iffy; I understand it was the Azteca, but there were issues there that could become problematic if they continue. I’m also not 100% sold on Onyewu, but I can accept that he’s probably the best option available there. I’d like to see Spector at right back instead of Cherundolo, but that that might be a personal preference.

Midfielders

Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (L.A. Galaxy), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca)

Good news! Jose Francisco Torres is actually on the roster! These games seem like a perfect time for Bradley to throw Torres into a match to see what he could do, particularly against El Salvador at home. Since it makes sense, though, that probably means that Bradley won’t do it; he’s more likely to stick with Clark and Bradley holding in the center. Ideally, he’ll stick with that 4-2-2-2 formation I like so much, which is why I’ve again thrown Landon into the “midfielder” category instead of the “forward” category.

The way Holden was used in the last match, frankly, didn’t make any sense. He was subbed in for Clark, who’s a holding midfielder, and then given the responsibility of providing forward movement. His first effort was a cross, and while it was a nice cross, it was a cross that should’ve been coming from a wide midfielder, not a central holding midfielder. If Bradley’s really planning on playing with only one holding midfielder, he needs to think back to the Costa Rica game and remember that we don’t really have that guy on the team at the moment.

Kyle Beckerman and Robbie Rogers are new additions to the squad; both had decent Gold Cups, but until Torres plays I don’t want to see either of them on the field. The fact that Landon Donovan doesn’t have swine flu will probably help the midfield, too; in the future, Bradley should maybe not play players who are sick as they tend to not be particularly good when they’re moments away from vomiting.

Also: Clint Dempsey is like the most emo guy in international soccer. Whenever I see him I start hearing strains of Dashboard Confessional songs. Grow your hair a little and go out in the sun a little, Clint. It’s good for you.

Forwards

Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Charlie Davies (Sochaux), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)

First, some housekeeping. Anyone participating in the MLS Pick’em next week should remember that both Salt Lake and Columbus will all be without two relatively key players next week; Houston will actually be missing three.

As far as the forwards go, I’m starting to think that Bradley really values unselfish play and that he equates “scoring” with being a selfish, un-team oriented asshat who has no place on his squad. Because, seriously, I’m running out of reasons why Kenny Cooper isn’t selected over both Brian Ching and Conor Casey. Hell, I can’t even explain why Freddy Adu’s not thrown on there instead of Casey. There are people in my rec league more qualified than Casey at this point. Meanwhile Brian Ching, like we’ve said here so many times, is not particularly good; Jozy Altidore brings everything Ching brings, plus little things like “skill” and “ability”. Altidore and Davies is our best striker partnership, which is of course why Bradley won’t use it.

My lineup is, again, exactly the same as we used against Brazil:

Howard

Spector – Onyewu – DeMerit – Bocanegra

Bradley – Feilhaber

Dempsey                     –                     Donovan

Davies – Altidore

Still a 4-2-2-2. Still two holders. Still no Ching or Casey.

Incidentally, the fact that we’re still even talking about what formation we’re going to play is really bad.