(06-12-2017 03:01 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(06-12-2017 02:32 PM)aTxTIGER Wrote:  

(06-12-2017 02:28 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(06-12-2017 02:03 PM)aTxTIGER Wrote:  

(06-12-2017 12:22 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  Absolutely...Cameron played out of his mind in the second half. He organized the back very well and was constantly involved in clearances and overall pressure on balls in and around the 18-yard box.

Acosta/Bradley would be an excellent holding pair IMO. If we went to a 5-man midfield once Acosta gets a bit more settled internationally and Timmy Chandler gets healthy enough to help a 4-man back, I think we'll be a much more globally competitive side. The 4-5-1 was Arena's strongest lineup back into 2006, and obviously the one he is most comfortable with given his time at the helm of LAG...and I have a feeling he will want to get back to that given how well the current crop pairs into that formation.

---------------Wood--------------
Johnson------Pulisic--------Lletget (when healthy)
------Bradley-------Acosta--------
Villafana--Brooks--Cameron--Chandler

And if you need to play more of a defensive/counter-attacking game, you go to the formation we saw yesterday with similar personnel. I though Yedlin played well as the wing back on the right, and Johnson or Villafana can acquit themselves nicely on the left.

I hope that injury hasnt closed the Lleget window.

Yeah, those Lisfranc injuries are tough to come back from. He was definitely making headway before that though, and is quite obviously the Right Mid they want...I think Nagbe could slot in quite well, but Lletget fits Arena's system better, and has the added familiarity of playing under him for a few years at LAG.

yup. I like Nagbe but he needs to bring intensity consistently. He drifts in and out of the game from time to time. As much as the Right Mid has to track back on defense for the USMNT you need a player that will always be engaged. He does it most of the time very well, however he needs to do it all of the time especially against higher quality opposition.

Nagbe strikes me as being a very good impact substitute for the last 20-25 minutes of a game. I think you're right on that he is truly only focused on one half of his game, and that's not what Arena wanted for any of the men on the outside the last time he was managing the USMNT.

I look at Eddie Lewis/Demarcus Beasley and what they both ended up being on the left side as the prime example of what Arena wanted on his wings. Guys with high work rates on both sides of the ball, but who still strive to make an offensive impact. Bobby Convey played a lot like what Nagbe does at the moment, and that ended up moving him off the pecking order after awhile.

You just cannot have too many players out there who disregard half of the game...one thing's for sure though, Arena absolutely needs to have Wood out there in some capacity moving forward. Obviously tactics were different, but he hounded the Mexican defenders in a way that I haven't seen out of Dempsey or Altidore in this decade.

Something completely unrelated to this, but every time I hear Stu Holden on a broadcast it also makes me wonder what we could've had in the center. Having played against him a couple of times in the club ranks, he was something special and would've been on the tail end of his prime at this point. At the very least, he would've definitely helped us out in 2014.

My buddy use to play competitive Counter Strike with Holden back in the day. Talked to him the night after he got jumped at that club.

Holden was so good. He never got enough playing time with the US when he was healthy.

Jonny Evans is a thug. Should be ban from football because of that tackle.