quote:
Geoff Cameron, RB, Stoke City (England) Why he's here: Not only did Cameron score his first Premier League goal in Stoke's closer-than-it-looked 3-1 loss to Arsenal, his growing comfort on the flank was obvious. The rangy 28-year-old got forward well against the Gunners, and his crossing was as dangerous as it has been since he arrived in England a year ago.

What this means: Cameron is benefiting from Mark Hughes' system as much as from the regular reps he's getting at right back, which he played only part-time in 2012-13. Like U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, Hughes prefers his teams to play it out of the back with the ball on the ground -- a far cry from predecessor Tony Pulis' direct, defense-first approach. If Cameron continues to excel -- he's probably been the top American outfield player in Europe this season -- it will be hard for Klinsmann to keep him off the field.

Timmy Chandler, RB, Nurnberg (Germany) Why he's here: After reclaiming his place in Nurnberg's lineup, Chandler's strong defensive play helped the Bundesliga club secure an unlikely point at home against Borussia Dortmund -- last year's Champions League runner-up -- on Saturday.

What this means: The German-American remains in Klinsmann's doghouse, and a call-up for the Americans' final two World Cup qualifiers next month would be a surprise. But the Yanks' depth would be improved by an in-form Chandler, who has said all of the right things recently about wanting to return to the U.S. team. If the 23-year-old continues to play well, one final opportunity in the more-experimental November friendlies isn't out of the question.

Brad Evans, RB-M, Seattle Sounders (MLS) Why he's here: Three weeks after suffering a calf injury that cost him a starting assignment in the most recent U.S. qualifiers, Evans, 28, returned to action Saturday in Seattle's 1-1 tie in Los Angeles and nearly set up a Sounders winner minutes after coming off the bench.

What this means: Solid displays in each of the five U.S. games he's played since June -- all of them wins -- had earned Evans his place atop the right back queue before he got hurt. If he's healthy, there's no reason to think the MLS lifer won't get a chance to win back the spot next month.

Love the way Cameron is playing, but we absolutely need to get Chandler back in the fold.

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Posted by Friend of OBUDan

Member since Dec 2008

9963 posts

Posted on 9/24/13 at 9:26 am to Tennessee Jed

Cameron did look really good Sunday, but there should be a caveat. we played Jack out left and he drifts inside way more than even Santi does. Cameron didn't have much in terms of traditional RB role to do. he had more freedom to roam because Jack's positioning at LW is not particularly good. he was beaten for pace on a couple of occasions by Jack and Ozil which would be a concern for me, particularly when going up against a speedy winger.

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Posted by Stewie Griffin

Baton Rouge

Member since Feb 2005

16149 posts

Posted on 9/24/13 at 9:32 am to Friend of OBUDan

I'm perfectly fine with Cameron at RB.

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Posted by Friend of OBUDan

Member since Dec 2008

9963 posts

Posted on 9/24/13 at 9:36 am to Stewie Griffin

i'm fine with it too. mainly because i don't think we have any great options. i'm just saying, i think using his arsenal performance as a deciding factor, or even a large factor, in the decision making process would be a little flawed based on how we were set up.

our average positioning:

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Posted by Tennessee Jed

Mr. SEC Rant

Member since Nov 2009

17909 posts

Posted on 9/24/13 at 9:38 am to Stewie Griffin

quote:
I'm perfectly fine with Cameron at RB.

I am too, but I also appreciate his value as a utility player. If Jones or Bradley goees down, we may need Cameron to fill in at CM, and before you know it we'll have an MLS caliber RW starting at RB in a WC Group match.

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Posted by crazy4lsu

Member since May 2005

40042 posts

Posted on 9/24/13 at 10:29 am to Tennessee Jed

Cameron was amazingly good on the ball. I knew he could dribble a little bit, but he held the ball well against Arsenal's press. I think he is still a DM playing out of position at RB, and I'd rather Chandler play RB because of his natural proclivities. But Cameron's technical abilities shouldn't be underrated. His finish was absolutely superb. A left foot first time finish where he got his left foot over the ball and into the ground to keep it low shows significant technical proficiency.

Cameron is a better DM than Wilson by a significant margin. N'Zonzi is harder to displace because he occasionally shows world class potential though consistently makes bone-headed decisions.

That said, I don't know how Cameron will deal with speedy wingers. But he'll have a baptism of fire at RB if he continues to play there.

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