Sometimes, waking up after I've gone to sleep thinking about something results in a bit of inspiration, Samuel Taylor Coleridge-style, (but without the drugs -my earnings barely cover a coffee habit).
Or maybe I'm so sleepy my normal common-sense filter is turned off.
Anyway, thinking about the list, I've decided to best-guess the names and the reasons they they've arrived for the Mexico match, or not.
1. Clint Dempsey - He's not completely a national-team lock, considering he struggled at times in 2005. This is a chance to cement his place. He has never played against Mexico on the senior level. As far as putting his place with Fulham in jeopardy, I don't think that's even an issue. Coleman loves his Americans and Clint has already been playing well for the team. A good international performance by Dempsey could even convince Coleman a starting spot is a fine idea.
2. Eddie Lewis - I think he was on the original list. You don't overlook a guy who has scored in Azteca easily. Lewis also set up Donovan's strike against Mexico in the World Cup. He didn't come to Arizona because he picked up a hamstring injury.
3. Carlos Bocanegra - On the list for his versatility. Bradley could use him on the left, where he's a more physical and better defender than Bornstein, or he could call on Boca in the middle, where his experience and speed far outranks that of Boswell. Boca's in fine form right now for his club, so he's not risking a place there, unless he gets injured.
4. Oguchi Onyewu - Obviously on the list, but apparently agreed to stay at Newcastle. I think Gooch realized that the defense of his new club is really pretty crappy. They need him, and they need him to get settled quick. So he decided to focus on that, and U.S. Soccer graciously agreed.
5. Tim Howard - The pupil needs to show he's up for becoming the master of Mexico. Tim's been penciled in as the goalkeeper of the future for so long. Yet the proof is in the pudding, and Mexico is a good test for him.
6. Marcus Hahnemann - I have a hunch he made the original release request list. Kasey Keller is a known entity, and I think there's a good possibility that Bradley decided Marcus would be worth a look if Tim's arrival would be complicated in any way (club putting up static, or an unexpected injury or other issue). Nothing came up, so Bradley informed Marcus of the obvious, that Tim would start, and that he didn't need to make the trip to sit on the bench, so that's why Marcus ended up staying.
7. Bobby Convey - He's a good young player who nevertheless still has something to prove on the senior level in general and to Bradley in particular. At Reading, he's still not worked his way back to the starting spot he had before his injury, but a national team call-up actually helped his visibility back when he was languishing on the bench for Steve Coppell in 2005. An outstanding performance versus Mexico could do the same again.
8. DaMarcus Beasley - The speedy player often performs very well against Mexico, and is the last World Cup vet to have scored against the squad. But his team in England is struggling, and Beasley has only earned spot duty as a starter. If they didn't take kindly to the call-up, it's likely a little appeasement was settled on as the best course of action.
Reminder - this is my best guess, cobbled together with hints and ideas. I have no inside source on any of this. I'd love to sound cool and say I've got peoples in the USSF, but that's not honest.
Steve Cherundolo wasn't on the list, I think. He's obviously valuable on the field, and secure with his club, but the schedule, which they knew in advance, would have been a killer for him. U.S. soccer said scheduling would play a part in who they requested, so I believe this one was decided in advance.
5 comments:
The only other "established" player in Europe I can think of is Wolff. Spector and Pierce aren't quite there yet. I thought he might bring in Casey since he isn't doing much anything, ala Convey last year, but I can't say I'm disappointed he didn't. Same goes for Wolff.
You know, Bob wouldn't have done too bad for himself had he called in Josh Wolff. For some reason, Wolff always does well against Mexico.
How is Spector "not quite there"? The kid deserves a run out. He's been a regular starter in the Premiership for two seasons and would likely have gone to Germany had he not hurt his shoulder.
I think the operative word in your post is "kid". Spector is talented, but he's had little time with the full team, and Bradley probably wants a longer run-up to work him in. It just makes sense. He's inexperienced for the international game.
As far as Dempsey goes, Coleman has been trying to gradually bring him up to full match fitness. The Mexico game is a good chance for Dempsey to play most of a game. He's not playing too many minutes for Fulham yet, so he could still come on as a late game substitute for Fulham this weekend.
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