In a perfect example of ALL THAT IS WRONG with soccer journalism, Goal.com published an article today that listed a number of players who Bob Bradley "should call up." The list included Brad Davis, Davy Arnaud, Corey Gibbs, Charlie Davies, and John Thorrington.  While I agree with Charlie Davies (and who doesn't?), everyone else on the list can stay where they're put as far as I'm concerned.  Let's break it down:

Brad Davis

"Given the chance, his brilliant left foot could slide in and replace the effective, but aging, Eddie Lewis, especially on free kicks where the U.S. continues to score so many of its goals."

Wow, first Eddie Lewis isn't effective at a competitive International level.  At best he is a serviceable roleplayer who can provide a solid cross when in position.  Yes, we have seen Lewis show a few nice moments on the dribble for the USMNT, but his lack of pace fails to make him a threat, and I also think he has weak vision.  Personally I don't think the USMNT needs another "Eddie Lewis" type hustle player (especially when we play a near 4-5-1 that relies on aggressive and threatening wing play).  Secondly, in our already crowded midfield, where does Davis fit? Okay, he plays left midfield for his club, but there is no way Davis would unseat Beasley in the position (and yes, I'm aware that Beasley has been playing very poorly lately).  Davis has seen some time at central midfield for the Dynamno as well, but let's not even get started on the shitstorm that is the USMNT central midfield.

Best Case Scenario: Brad Davis becomes a staple of the USMNT bench, maybe jumping on as a late sub.  That's just how it is.  And I don't think Brad Davis is a bad player, he's solid and consistent at a club level, but I don't think he has much to offer the International game.

Davy Arnaud

"The Kansas City man scored on a ridiculous strike from 30 yards out against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday that no one in the world would have saved. It's the kind of individual brilliance the United States needs to get on a more regular basis."

You know who else has scored on some ridiculous strikes in the MLS? Brian Ching and Taylor Twellman. Wah Wah Waaaah. Davy Arnaud is 28 years old, so he would be 30 by WC 2010 and he has scored only 5 goals in 18 appearances this year.  Jozy Altidore, Kenny Cooper, Landon Donovan, Freddy Adu, Clint Dempsey.  Somehow, Davy Arnaud does not fit in with these names.  I would rather Bob Bradley call up Edson Buddle than Arnaud.  Keep up the good work goal.com.

Best Case Scenario: Davy Arnaud comes in for a USMNT Camp and MAYBE makes the bench for a game.  He will not see the pitch.

John Thorrington

"He's shown a knack for scoring in the MLS this season, with five goals coming in 19 matches. Not exactly lighting the record books on fire pace, but Thorrington frequently scores game-winning tallies. He's a player hardened by years in England -- the first ever American signed by an EPL team -- and this experience should serve him well on an international stage."

5 goals in 19 games is "a knack for scoring in the MLS?" Granted, he's a midfielder so maybe he shouldn't be expected to score much, but the more telling statistic of Thorrington's is this: Just one assist in 19 games.  As for being the first ever American signed by an EPL team, that's not entirely true.  Thorrington might've been the YOUNGEST, entering Manchester United's youth program at 17 in 1997, but John Harkes joined West Ham on loan in the Premier League in 1995. In addition, Brad Friedel signed for Liverpool in 1997 (he was also on loan at Newcastle United in 1994). So Goal.com's assertion of Thorrington's "first EVER!!" status is a little murky, not to mention hardly a reason someone should merit a callup.

In any case, if John Thorrington brings anything to the USMNT it's "lot's of club experience" because the man is also 28 years old.  Survey says: No Thanks.  Thorrington is a great player for the Fire but he does not have International quality.  Especially when so many young midfield players have greater promise and upside in the long run, (Kljestan, Holden, etc).

Best Case Scenario: Thorrington makes the bench, and comes on for 15-20 minutes in a game where we leave our European players with their clubs.

Cory Gibbs

Okay so actually, Cory Gibbs is a player that I wouldn't mind seeing in a US Camp, so Goal.com escapes my wrath on this one.  They write:

"He'll never be the same player that he was before the unfortunate rash of injuries, but now that he's back on American soil playing with the Colorado Rapids, Gibbs is blossoming into someone who could once again be a more than serviceable defender on the national team level."

Finally, some realistic expectations from Goal.com!  They're right in asserting that Gibbs COULD be a more than serviceable defender for our squad, but he has a ways to go.  Cory is 28 years old, but his numerous injuries have aged his body considerably.  He's lost a bit of pace and explosion and while he can get away with that in the MLS, I'm not sure he wouldn't be easily exploited at the International level.  Gibbs had so much potential in 2006 and he was truly unlucky over the past 2 years, but he does deserve a second look.  That said, with a number of strong defensive youngsters trying to stay on the USMNT radar (Spector, Simek, Wynne, Parkhurst) Gibbs has a huge uphill climb if he wants to get into the mix.

Best Case Scenario: I don't think Gibbs will ever break into the first XI of the USMNT.  Which is sad, because he had the potential to be a regular in 2006.  Unfortunately, 2 years have passed and if any MLS defender seems poised to challenge for a 2010 Roster spot, it's Marvell Wynne.  Best Case for Gibbs is a bench spot, and maybe limited minutes in some friendlies.

Charlie Davies

"Davies may lack a world class first touch (although what U.S. striker doesn't?) but his sheer speed can overcome such decencies. Bradley's strategy of using Brian Ching to hold the ball up could use another option, and Davies might provide the needed release valve."

Phew, it looks like Goal.com isn't completely out of touch with everyone else on the planet.  In a not surprising move, they think that Charlie Davies deserves a look!  Well, this certainly isn't breaking news, as anyone who remotely follows the USMNT and it's Yanks Abroad has had an eye on Davies.  Yes he has shown great flashes for the Olympic Team, and continues to score regular goals for Hammarby.  He definitely deserves some time in Camp and on the pitch.

Best Case Scenario: Of all the players Goal.com mentions, Davies has the best chance to make the 2010 roster.  I don't think that Davies will lock down a starting striker role, especially as he faces competition from Jozy, Landon, Freddy, and hopefully Kenny Cooper.  Davies is just 22 however and if he can continue to develop and find the net for his club, he has no where to go but up.

--

So there.  Take that Goal.com! I guess it's important to mention that "Noah Davis" wrote the article for Goal, so Noah Davis makes me want to puke, not necessarily Goal.com. Sorry Noah!

--psc

1. LA Galaxy
2. Toronto FC
3. New York Red Bulls
4. FC Dallas
5. Chivas USA
6. DC United
7. Kansas City Wizards
8. Chicago Fire
9. Columbus Crew
10. Houston Dynamo
11. Real Salt Lake
12. San Jose Earthquakes
13. New England Revolution
14. Colorado Rapids

Arena had enough success with DC in the early days of MLS to warrant getting selected for the USMNT job, where he guided the squad to their highest World Cup finish ever (2002 semi-final). However, since his career reached its zenith in Korea/Japan, Arena has been in charge of the Germany 2006 squad which was a catastrophe on offense, and a stint in NY that saw him get fired after one season and change yielded a .500 record.

There are many positives to Arena's hiring. He is a well-known and mostly well-respected name in the US soccer community, his signature sarcasm when dealing with the press will lend itself better to media coverage than most other MLS head men's vanilla approach to public exposure, he has a good relationship with Landon Donovan from their USMNT days, and he has plenty of experience, both domestic and international. Finally, Arena has longtime right-hand man and former Chicago Fire head coach David Sarachan as his assistant (of whom Arena said "it will be nice to have a backup plan when I get assassinated". Arena apparently plans on a few more public attacks like the ones he loosed in New York).

Unfortunately, the negatives surrounding Arena's arrival are almost as plentiful as the positives. Arena hasn't really enjoyed any success since 2002. His colorful media personality is accompanied by a notoriously large ego, which will have to share locker room real estate with David Beckham's and Landon Donovan's egos (unless a successful Premier League team that plays "free-flowing" football decides to buy Landycakes'). Finally, Arena inherits a woeful LA team that is well into a second half free fall. The Galaxy haven't won since beating the old San Jose Earthquakes on June 14th, well before San Jose's rejuvenation. The potent offense that recorded 10 goals in 4 June games has only scored 8 since then in 6 games (and that's WITH Becks and Landycakes, who won't be around during this week's international friendly/World Cup Qualifying fiesta). The defense has been especially bad, even with experienced MLS defenders Greg Vanney and Chris Klein, and it doesn't help that the old regime passed on their chance in the allocation lottery to sign former Feyenoord, Charlton, and USMNT defender Cory Gibbs in favor of chasing 34 year-old midfielder Eddie Lewis. Although Lewis has had more USMNT experience (80 caps to Gibbs' 19), as well as quality experience in the English FA (Fulham, Preston, Leeds, Derby), when your team's defensive struggles have underlined your lack of success and an internationally-capped defender comes along, the common sense move seems to be taking the defender (although maybe Gibbs made it known he didn't want to play in LA; I wouldn't blame him for that one).

It will be interesting to see if Arena can turn the Galaxy around fast enough for LA to make the MLS Playoffs. They currently reside in 5th out of 7 in the Western Conference, with Chivas USA a point behind in 6th with a game in hand. The West is going to be quite a dogfight at the end of the season, so Arena will need to be able to redevelop the team's chemistry quickly. Houston is one of the hottest teams in the league right now, Salt Lake is unbeatable at home, Dallas is finally finding their groove under new boss Schellas Hyndman, Colorado has been almost as steady at home as Salt Lake (despite microscopic attendance figures), and San Jose has been hot since adding Francisco Lima, Scott Sealy, Arturo Alvarez, and Darren Huckerby.

Another intriguing feature in the landscape of Arena's hiring is his dual role as both Head Coach and General Manager. Very few MLS Head Coaches are also in charge of personnel moves, although the league's emerging power, the Houston Dynamo, employ Dominic Kinnear in both roles. I would like to see more MLS teams moving towards eliminating their General Manager positions. In the rest of the world, Managers assume all responsibilities in managing the team itself. The only reason I can think of that the MLS wouldn't do the same is the coaches' inability to do so. However, most MLS Head Coaches are former collegiate coaches, so they have experience in juggling the roles of recruiter and coach. Having a General Manager make personnel decisions seems to create a gap between the Head Coach's desires for what his squad looks like and who actually joins the team. Perhaps the product on the field would improve, maybe only slightly, if Head Coaches were bringing in players for themselves.

Just a thought or two about the roster for tomorrow night's friendly with Poland.  Should be a pretty interesting game.  Poland should be playing pretty hard in preparation for the Euro championships this summer so they'll put out their best squad.  I'm looking forward to seeing how our full internationals do.  Bradley is not putting out his full squad giving some of the U-23s that just played a little break and allowing some of the US based players to stay at home; basically most of the European based players make up the team.

Two interesting things I noticed about the make-up of the roster.  Cory Gibbs got a call up.  I had forgotten about Cory, but he was playing on the national team until an injury before the 2006 Cup sidelined him for a while.  Perhaps Bradley wants to run him out and see what his progress is looking like.

The other interesting thing with the roster that I noticed was that we're not carrying a large number of midfielders and Benny Feilhaber got the call.  I'll go ahead and disclose that I'm a Feilhaber fan and I've been confused why he hasn't been playing at Derby.  I was also surprised that he didn't get the call into the U-23s for qualifying, so I was a little surprised to see he did get called up for the friendly tomorrow.  This quote from ESPN.com may give an indication why he is where he is right now.

"'He has to grow up," [Bob Bradley] said of the 23-year-old midfielder. "He has to mature as a player. He has to understand, day in and day out, how to earn the respect of the people he plays with.'"

From this I read that its not necessarily his play, but his work ethic or attitude on the training ground.  From what I've seen of him, Benny has a lot to offer a team, but that can't always compensate for a poisonous attitude on the training ground.  I obviously don't know if this is really the case, but if it is, it would be terrible for him to be hurting his playing career because he wasn't towing the line and working hard in practice.

I'll chime in with my two cents worth after the match tomorrow night.

GOALKEEPERS: Marcus Hahnemann (Reading FC), Tim Howard (Everton FC)

DEFENDERS: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Cory Gibbs (Charlton Athletic), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

MIDFIELDERS: Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Eddie Lewis (Derby County)

FORWARDS: Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Eddie Johnson (Fulham FC), Josh Wolff (1860 Munich)

Clearly, no Edu, Altidore or Adu because of the Olympic Qualifying. Is there anyone else that should have been included...? Is Eddie Lewis really that important to this squad that we need to keep calling him in? Despite their 1-0 OT loss to Honduras, is there anyone else other than the three mentioned above that you would like to see apart of the set-up soon - Orozco, Hill, Holden?

The game will be shown on FSC at 3:30pm.

Bald ist es soweit: Das Cory-Gibbs-Gedächtnisspiel. Hoffen wir dass diesmal niemand aus fünf Metern auf das leere Tor schiesst und nur den Pfosten trifft. Und hoffen wir einfach mal auf drei Punkte. Dann ohne Kamelle wieder zurück.