dragan

thanks. fixed it

maradona was very, very large 5'6". he looked, and played, like a bowling ball (he's more of a beach ball now).

freddy adu could very well be a good player. all of the tactical and technical skills are there. he doesn't necessarily have the physical tools to take the european game by storm. he'll need some time and a shitload of hard work.

something like that

he also has an awful relationship w/the mexican media

i don't think that you can really say that he was ever washed up. he was lights out the spring before his mls transfer, and real madrid tried to keep him on.

@his mls production: having seen him play live (i.e. been able to track his movement through 90 minutes) vs. fc dallas, he is still every bit of a legitimate player. the way he reads the game is incredible, and he definitely stands out on the field.

Bader.

Edit: I'm pretty sure Lawlor knocked Kaplan out in the house.

Playing with three in the back (and others elsewhere) almost overcomplicates things. I'd rather play with a vanilla flat back four. I think playing with three in the back has its merits and its place, but I don't think that this should be our de facto formation. I wouldn't want a track meet in the first group match of the World Cup. If we were to play it, I think we'd start to look for players like Marvell Wynne and Jonathon Bornstein. I'd rather play with what we have had.

I don't think Maurice Edu should play out on the left wing. If he goes anywhere, he slots into the backline (e.g. Olympics). He's not that type of player.

Our primary difficult definitely lies in finding spots for our attacking players. However, I'd sacrifice one or two players for stability.

Other "fixable" problems exist. We need to throw away the "empty bucket." We need depth through the midfield. We've been having the balled jammed down our throat. We need to find a truly serviceable striker. We may have found that in Altidore and may have had that in Kenny Cooper, but only time will tell.

quote:

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I think Beasley is a good defender... ....for an outside midfielder.

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Exactly. He's a midfielder who tracks back well. That doesn't necessarily mean that he will be able to play in the back and play there well. Wayne Rooney is a second-striker who tracks back well. On the odd occasion that he has played in the back, things have not gone very well. It's a strength of his as a midfielder, not necessarily as a defender.

I'd like to see something like this in 2010:

Cherundolo -- Onyewu -- Orozco -- ?
Bradley
Dempsey -- Beasley
Donovan
Adu
Altidore

In time, I hope we'll have a spot for baby Bradley nestled behind the front two