re: Rank Best USMNT players right now...

I really don't think many of the posters here understand the stark contrast of attitudes between the attitudes of the English media and actual Englishmen. Most English fans are fully aware of England's faults and dearth of modern footballing talent.

Unfortunately we as Americans seem to think in a very similar format to the English wherein the end result always overshadows the quality of play or reasons for said result. Had England won that game against Italy, the English media would have praised the brave and heroic defending by Lescott, Terry and company, and maybe noted the fact that Italy thoroughly outplayed England.

As for my best players (not just NT performances, mainly talent and form):

1. Dempsey
2. Bradley
3. Howard
4. Donovan
5. Torres (closest we have to a DLP, but currently out of place positionally in Klinsmann's formations)
6. Jozy
7. Johnson
8. Cherundolo
9. Tim Ream/Sacha Kljestan
10. Jermaine Jones (His lack of tactical and general discipline is going bite us in the arse one of these games.)

Bocanegra has looked his age lately, and Maurice Edu has somehow regressed severely since 2010.

Getting there:
Boyd
Cameron
Goodson
Shea
Corona
Diskerud
Agudelo
Bedoya (pending getting in a good club situation)

Holden is still pending given his injury situation.

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I really don't think many of the posters here understand the stark contrast of attitudes between the attitudes of the English media and actual Englishmen. Most English fans are fully aware of England's faults and dearth of modern footballing talent.

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I agree with that. My ex-girlfriend's father is an expatriate, and he was very well aware of England's woes. That's why I said that the English media's arrogance was the most destructive force to English football as a whole. Under the guise of being reputable, the English media resembles the Rant on full retard. I think its destructive as much as I think LSU fans being the equivalent of a perpetual lynch mob is.

I think it's pretty clear, in reference to the OP, that, with two and three being interchangeable depending on your preference, this is pretty much consensus:

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1. Dempsey
2. Bradley
3. Howard

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I'll go with:

1. Dempsey
2. Howard
3. Johnson
4. Bradley
5. Donovan

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The sad part is the American public still thinks Donovan before these 3. For some odd reason he's the only one that gets any media here.

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It's because he plays in America with David Beckham who John and Jane Doe thinks is the GOAT. I think Donovan has talent, and he's done a lot of good for the team. The only reason I have him in my top five is because Holden's been injured, but Stupac is a quality player so I feel like he'd edge him out with some healthy time.

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The sad part is the American public still thinks Donovan before these 3. For some odd reason he's the only one that gets any media here.

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Could be because he has 50 goals for the USMNT.

He still has the ability to impact the game more than any of them except maybe Howard.

It's easy to rag on him right now (and he didn't look great overall on this last stretch), but he'd get in England's 11 before anybody else in the U.S.
At his best, he could fit in with any national team in the world and not look totally outclassed.

Not saying he's good enough to play over the top 20 or so from any of those top countries, just that he is of a certain class and could fit in.

The Bradley love is getting somewhat out of hand IMO, and I happen to love the guy myself.

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He still has the ability to impact the game more than any of them except maybe Howard.

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Agree to disagree.

His history is great, there is no doubt about that.. but I still say he's the 4th best player on the team now.

My top five in no order:

Howard
Dempsey
Donovan
Bradley
Johnson

If Torres is our best hope at his position we are screwed.
We need Stuhawk to get his swag back in a bad way.

If we could have Dolo/Lichaj, Ream??, Carlos, Johnson, Jones, Bradley, late-2010 Holden, Donovan, Dempsey, Altidore in front of Howard, we would be in serious business. That's our best 11 IMO, even knowing that Holden may never get back to form.

We seriously need a center back or 3 to step up to have any shot at progressing in 2014. And I would prefer not to have to play Edu/Jones in front of the back 4.

That Bradley's so hot right now. Really, though. I think that Bradley's earning his love fest. He's getting time in a top tier league and doing well. Like I said before, Donovan has been great for the team, and he's had a lot of success. The flip side to that is that he's spent his career in the MLS, and the US competes in the CONCACAF, which isn't exactly filled with world beaters.

I'm not discrediting his accomplishments, but I've been very off and on with Landon Donovan for as long as I can remember. I think he became a staple and figurehead at a time when the US didn't have one for soccer, and it stuck, which is why we see him get that attention. I think he deserves to be on the team, but I don't necessarily find him to be outstanding either.

It's my ploy to get people to pay attention to my shitty posts and opinion here. Mission complete!

I think that's a fair assumption. It's odd that Klinsmann would call up a promising forward, with a ton of lower league goals, if he thought he couldn't control the ball.