Name that USMNT Player

I've been able to find one photo online of the training camp at Princeton that started today:
I spot Beasley and Rico in the back, next to I think Dempsey, and EJ (isn't he injured?) and Altidore jogging next to him. Not sure who the white dude next to Buddle is... Rogers? Looks like Steve Cherundolo leading the pack and wearing blue for some reason (I guess he could be a trainer or goalie), Stuart Holden's frosted tips are unmistakable. Looks like Feilhaber in the front pack as well, is that Edu on the left?

Donovan, Buddle and Torres were off getting physicals I guess, so that's why they're not in there. Injury bug bit a few other guys who may or may not be in that picture. You spot anyone else?

New Format for CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying?

The executive committee will propose one, according to the CONCACAF website. It is also being reported here, and a couple of other sites have mentioned it. There are no specifics, though it sounds like the US would have to play more games.

I like the idea of watching more games, but don't like the idea of a grueling schedule that could lead to injuries and wear players down. I guess we'll have to wait to hear the proposal before we start belly-aching about it.

Jozy's new SC spot

Jozy Altidore's new SportsCenter commercial is pretty funny (their commercials always are).




Given his suspension from the Premier League and the negative things his manager at Hull had to say about his training habits, it would be nice to see Jozy concentrate a little more on Soccer this close to the World Cup. I have maintained that Jozy is a young player that can disappear for entire games, but will show up big for the big ones (see his dominating performance against Costa Rica in the last WCQ game, which he played like it was his last after Davies' accident). The games this summer are going to be pretty big, and I feel pretty confident that Jozy will play like it.

And so it begins...

Less than 48 hours after the announcement of the preliminary 30-man roster, Charlie Davies has spoken out in the media against Souchax president Alexandre Lacombe, claiming that he was unaware that his club was not going to give him medical clearance to play in the World Cup, and that he feels "very hurt, very sad" that his club went behind is back in that manner.

Davies' unshakable belief in himself is to be admired, and it is part of what makes him such a great goal-scorer. But in the end, he is the only person on that planet that has been consistently positive about his fitness level and his chances to be match-ready in time for the World Cup. Hopefully he will use this experience to become a better player, rather than letting a critical juncture in his career be defined by fighting and bad feelings between himself and his club.

Bradley's 30: How did "the formula" do?

Well, a few minutes after I made public my preferred 30-man training camp roster, Bob Bradley did the same with his. Not surprisingly, there was a lot more interest in his list than there was in mine.

There are 3 differences in our lists. The first is at striker, as Bob Bradley called Robbie Findley into camp at the expense of an apparently still injured Charlie Davies. Bradley also did not call Conor Casey or Freddy Adu into camp, going instead with the two midfielders Robbie Rogers of the Columbus Crew and Sacha Klejstan of Chivas USA.



Those last two differences are minor. Conor Casey was only on my list because he fit into my "formula", and Rogers probably fit in just as well. I took Casey because he had seen more minutes during qualifying, Bob took Rogers because he is a better playing with a brighter future. I have no problem with that move. Freddy Adu and Sacha Klejstan are both midfielders who have seen limited time with the national team, but are very different players. Adu, somewhat of a fallen star, has the higher potential but has thus far failed to live up to it. He plays in a more competitive club environment, but was not likely to make the final 23 anyways. Klejstan is also not likely to make the final 23. He plays in the weaker MLS, but sees more consistent playing time.

The Charlie Davies decision is the big one. The reality is that none of us know how healthy he really was. He was reported to be in full training with Souchax for a couple of weeks, scoring goals and taking tackles. Then again, all those reports were coming from Davies himself. His fitness was surely not what it was last fall before his accident, but then again neither is Oguchi Onyewu's. In the end, Souchax did not grant medical clearance while AC Milan did. Right now we don't know exactly why, and maybe we never will. What is clear is that there might be some interesting club-national team politics at play. Souchax has to let Davies go if he is healthy, so the US has some recourse if they don't agree with the Souchax decision. Last week FIFA published an article about Davies in which a club doctor was quoted as saying Davies wouldn't be ready, but US Soccer denied the diagnosis and FIFA effectively printed a retraction of the previous article.

In the end all we know is that US Soccer did not think it was worth pressing Souchax to release Davies, and they are probably right. At best he would have been a super-sub, seeing action in one or two matches. At worst we would be bringing a guy into camp who is clearly not ready, risking injury, and then cutting him in two weeks anyways.

The South Africa campaign will be about 23 guys, not one. It would be nice if Davies were one of those 23, but it is not the end of the world that he isn't.

How to pick 30

There has been a lot of speculation about who Bob Bradley will take to Princeton today, and I want to go on record before 2 P.M. with my top choices. In my opinion, there is an obvious formula that should fill up most of the spots, and account for the majority of the playing time in South Africa. So without further ado (Adu? Edu?) here is how to pick the best 30 for camp, and hence the best 23 for South Africa.

1) Choose from non-injured players from European first divisions. If this number is less than 30, take all of them. This should be obvious. Playing and training in Europe is fundamentally different than playing and training in MLS. Competition on the field is stronger, competition for playing time is stronger, and matches are bigger and more important. Thus, I would take Clint Dempsey, Maurice Edu, Jonathon Spector, Demarcus Beasley, Alejandro Bedoya, Benny Feilhaber, Michael Bradley, Carlos Bocanegra, Stuart Holden, Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu, Eddie Johnson, Jay Demerit, Ricardo Clark, Steve Cherundolo, Clarence Goodson, Tim Howard, Brad Guzan and Marcus Hahnemann. Additionally, Landon Donovan played quite well at Everton (and is obviously the best American player) and falls into this category. That is 20 players that, in my opinion, should be no-brainers.

2) Choose from players that contributed in a major way to the qualifying campaign. If the total number is still less than 30, take all of them. Obviously there will some overlap with the first group. Only 3 Americans realistically fall into this category. They are Brian Ching, Conor Casey, Jonathan Bornstein, bringing the roster total up to 23. All 3 saw major minutes and important minutes. I'm not a big Bornstein fan or Casey fan, but they were both there for the big matches with Casey netting two crucial goals in the game that qualified that United States for the World Cup. Ching is another guy that really isn't a world class player, but his experience with the team is worth something. Again, these are 3 guys you only take if the first group does not fill up your entire roster. Jose Francisco Torres should be in this group but really did not see enough minutes. Guys like Ricardo Clark who have barely played in Europe could also fall into this category if they weren't already taken.



3) Choose from non-injured players that are currently performing at a very high level in the MLS or Mexican 1st division. Such players are Torres, strikers Edson Buddle and Hercules Gomez, and defenders Chad Marshall, and Heath Pearce. This brings the roster total up to 28.

4) Take players that are recovering from injury but have a realistic chance to be match-ready by the World Cup if and only if they are difference makers. These players, of course, are Charlie Davies and Oguchi Onyewu, bringing the roster total up to 30.

And that's it! It's a pretty easy formula that I think is pretty difficult to argue with, and I can't think of a player that I think should be on that roster outside of those 30. I would prefer Jermaine Jones and Edgar Castillo, but both have been injured and will not be ready to play on June 11th. Now I only need to wait less than an hour to see if Bob Bradley follows my advice.