1) Altidore + Casey/Ching/Cooper: While I would argue that starting Davies and Altidore together was usually not the right option, Altidore is likely to be a fixture at striker in Davies' absence. This leaves an opening in the 4-4-2 to be filled by, most likely, one of these three big forwards. Casey and Ching are target men. Neither is particularly fast, both are strong, and both have shown that they can have a lot of success scoring goals in the MLS. Casey seems to have a better touch while Ching is more athletic. Either one could cause matchup problems against the sorts of defenses the US faces across CONCACAF, but European or African teams with tall, athletic defenders shouldn't have a problem handling either of them. Bradley will probably try at least one of the two in an upcoming friendly against the Danes in November. Kenny Cooper is also a big guy, but brings something a little different. He is only 24 (Casey and Ching are 28 and 31 respectively), and was already garnering attention from clubs around the world when he signed with Manchester United as a teenager, but he never cracked the first team. A year ago two European teams, Cardiff City in Wales and Rosenberg in Norway, tried to acquire him via transfer, and he now plays for 1860 Munich in the Second Bundesliga in Germany. He is a bit more of a finesse player, with a good shot.
2) Altidore + Dempsey: As I have previously noted, Clint Dempsey is a great soccer player who has had success in the EPL where he plays at a high level every week. Dempsey scored 4 of his 5 goals in the most recent round of World Cup qualifying before the Hex stage. A cynic might say that he scored against weaker competition, but he also notched 3 goals in 3 games against top-notch competition in the FIFA Confederations Cup. He scored the goal that put the US into the Semis late in the match against Egypt, after pushing up to the striker position after Benny Feilhaber came in for Jozy Altidore, and he put the nail in the Coffin of Spain, again after a late substitution of a striker (Charlie Davies) allowed him to push forward into the position that he likes to play. Those 4 early qualifying goals also came from the forward position. Dempsey has turned in some stinkers recently, and has looked mostly uncomfortable in the role Bob Bradley has carved out for him, while still playing well at Fulham. But he has always looked better when late game substitutions allow him to play more of an attacking role. With no shortage of midfielders, the US can certainly afford to lose his lackluster performances there, and would benefit greatly from the presence of an experienced attacking player alongside Altidore.
3) Altidore: There is nothing written in stone that says the US needs to play a 4-4-2. With lots of talented midfielders deserving playing time (Jose Francisco Torres, Stuart Holden and soon-to-be Jermaine Jones, for example), there is no reason the US can't play with 5 midfielders. The idea of Jermaine Jones playing the role of defensive stopper as a holding midfielder with Donovan and Torres possessing and distributing the ball and Stuart Holden streaking down the right side to pump dangerous crosses into the box for Altidore to run on to has a lot of US fans salivating. Bradley needs to pick a style that suits his players, and in recent games (against Honduras and Costa Rica, for example) the US has looked most comfortable when playing attractive, attacking soccer. We have a lot of players willing and able to play this type of game, and don't need to rely on defensive tackles turned into long balls and quick counterattacts for all of our offense.
These are the three most attractive options, but not necessarily the most likely. With Bradley completely unwilling to deprive his son of even one minute of playing time, he may move Michael Bradley up to forward (he has started there before) alongside Altidore if the glut of better players at Michael's position forces his hand. My solution would be to try to put the 11 most talented players on the field, and play the style that fits them best. These 11 players probably include Torres, Holden and (eventually) Jones, and probably do not include Bradley (the younger), Ricardo Clark or Benny Feilhaber (at least not all 3). These 11 players certainly DO include Jozy Altidore, who in the absence of Davies will be the focal point of the US attack going into South Africa in 2010.
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