Assuming a fully healthy roster, who do you guys see as Automatic starters going forward? To me:

Unquestionable: 1. Tim Ho (old, but still our best) 2. Yedlin 3. Cameron 4. Brooks 5. F. jo. 6. C Pulisic 7. Dempsey(keeps scoring)

I don't think Bradley and Altidore should be considered sure fire starters, and I would even rank Wood above both in game impact at this point.

Next in line, in order:

1. Wood
2. Bradley
3. Altidore
4. Bedoya
5. Jones
6. Morris
7. Nagbe
8. A. Jo
9. O. Gonzales
10. T. Chandler
11. Villafana

Am I missing someone? The dilemma for me is finding a spot for Wood without benching Dempsey or Jozy. Can he play wing? Or do you just bite the bullet and bench Jozy? It's probably a moot point as I'm sure these guys will never all be healthy at same time.

Edit: To clarify, I know someone like Bradley will always play, but I'm speaking about whether his on field impact currently should guarantee him a starting spot.

Bradley is a surefire starter at the moment given what we have.

I don't like when Bradley and Jones start together - and I prefer Bradley over Jones. Put Bradley in the lone CDM position.

I liked this take-away from American Soccer Now:

Quote:

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How shorthanded was Bruce Arena's team? If you took the players Arena would have called up to this camp if not for injury or personal/family reasons, you could have built a better starting lineup than the one he trotted out Tuesday night in Panama.

Consider a starting lineup in a 4-1-3-2 formation with these players: Brad Guzan: DeAndre Yedlin, Michael Orozco, John Brooks, Eric Lichaj; Geoff Cameron; Fabian Johnson, Sebastian Lletget, Gyasi Zardes; Jordan Morris, and Bobby Wood.

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That was my consoling thought over and over last night:

Wood finishes that.
Fabian puts a good cross in there.
Brooks wins that header.
Wondo scores here.

I know nothing about soccer, but I'd bench Jozy in favor of Wood and not lose any sleep over it.

Probably the only beef I have over your guarantees is Howard... and that's not to say I think Guzan is better necessarily but rather that neither are guaranteed because they're both good options.

Yedlin is an unquestionable #2?.....

titanmaster_race said:

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Yedlin is an unquestionable #2?.....

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Yeah thats the only one I disagree with.

akm91 said:

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For me it would be:

Howard
Yedlin-Cameron-Brooks-Villafana
Johnson-Bradley-Pulisic-Nagbe
Dempsey-Wood/Altidore

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Me too.

In regard to Yedlin, unless you guys put Cameron there, who would y'all rather start at RB over him? Chandler? Zusi? That's why I think he's a sure starter. The only way to get an inexperienced defender experience is to play him.

I'll be honest, sometimes when watching Yedlin play in the Championship, I understand why JK played Chandler, especially based on their performances for their respective clubs.

Probably a dumb question but does Julian Green ever work his way into this squad?

An older and mature nagbe, Pulisic, Green midfield seems like an exciting prospect.

Yedlin's been lighting it up in the Championship league, going to get promoted back to EPL.

deadbq03 said:

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I know nothing about soccer, but I'd bench Jozy in favor of Wood and not lose any sleep over it.

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You're not entirely off base, here. I think we need Jozy's hold up play against tougher opposition, but you can certainly make the argument that Wood is a better option against equal or lesser opponents. The way he plays just off the last defender's shoulder is a nightmare for back lines, and when you don't need him to soak up pressure and give our defense a break, it's a luxury you can afford.

I consider them 1A and 1B at this point.

gig them said:

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deadbq03 said:

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I know nothing about soccer, but I'd bench Jozy in favor of Wood and not lose any sleep over it.

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You're not entirely off base, here. I think we need Jozy's hold up play against tougher opposition, but you can certainly make the argument that Wood is a better option against equal or lesser opponents. The way he plays just off the last defender's shoulder is a nightmare for back lines, and when you don't need him to soak up pressure and give our defense a break, it's a luxury you can afford.

I consider them 1A and 1B at this point.

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I'd say we need Jozy's hold up play if that were a consistent factor. Unfortunately he's never quite developed into the force there that we all hoped he would be, he has his games but he also disappears for stretches.

This is the first time I can remember that we actually have 4 worthy starters up top at the international level with Dempsey, Wood, Altidore, and Morris. There's now a true selection each game, and I don't think fans are used to that at all.

titanmaster_race said:

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Yedlin is an unquestionable #2?.....

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I read it simply as a list by relative position. GK, RB, CB, etc. Not that Howard is the best player, then Yedlin, and down the line.

For the heck of it...

Howard
Yedlin Cameron Brooks Johnson
Bradley
Lletget Pulisic Nagbe
Dempsey Altidore

Bedoya is the all purpose midfield sub.
Wood and Morris in at striker depending on opponents and situations.
I still like Besler at CB, and I can keep going with Villafana at LB.


I think Johansson is a victim of numbers now. Jones ought to gracefully move on. Don't know what to make of the poor width and depth of the defensive player pool.

aggie kid said:

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titanmaster_race said:

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Yedlin is an unquestionable #2?.....

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I read it simply as a list by relative position. GK, RB, CB, etc. Not that Howard is the best player, then Yedlin, and down the line.

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Yeah, this is what I was doing. Starting in goal and moving up to forward, the guys that play for sure if healthy (IMO)

There seems to be confusion as to what "automatic starter' means. To me, it means a player that starts no matter who you are playing against, what formation you field, how important the game is and even if they've had a dip in form the past couple of games.

Honestly, I think the list is pretty short. Is Howard the best option at GK? Yeah, probably but he's 38 and if he puts together 2 bad games in a row, I'm not hesitating to drop his ass for Guzan. Altidore is probably the 1st option in certain situations but in others, Wood makes more sense.

Honestly, I can only think of 3 players that fit that criteria. Maybe 6.

Bradley
Yedlin (maybe)
Pulisic
Brooks (maybe)
Cameron (maybe)
FJ

Bradley: love him or hate him but I can't envision a time in the near future where he doesn't start if he's healthy.
Yedlin: I think here the comment about options behind him is pivotal. There aren't many good ones. That said, if he puts together 2 bad games in a row, I could see him getting pulled but I'm more confident that he wouldn't.
Pulisic: already our best player (and that's not an exaggeration). He's versatile in that he can play as an attacking mid or on either side as a winger.
Brooks and Cameron: I kind of bucket these two equally. Are they first choice? Probably. But there's a fair bit of depth at CB. If either's form slips, players like Gonzalez are ready to step in.
EDIT: FJ - I'd consider him an automatic starter. He's probably our 2nd best player and yet I completely forgot about him.

Johnson, Pulisic, Bradley. Those are the only guys you don't have to think about.

Bradley
Cameron
Johnson
Pulisic

Run em out every time they're available for selection

I'm not sure why some of y'all are leaving Brooks off the list. I know it's not a perfect measure, but he's the 2nd most valuable US player on the market, and deservedly so in my opinion...

After watching the abomination of a back line we had last night, I'm not sure how some folks can leave him and/or Cameron off the list.

Honestly kinda bummed none of you caught my joke earlier this morning.

jeffk said:

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Honestly kinda bummed none of you caught my joke earlier this morning.

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I thought you were still hungover.

jeffk said:

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Honestly kinda bummed none of you caught my joke earlier this morning.

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I laughed, but I just read the thread for the first time now.

jeffk said:

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Honestly kinda bummed none of you caught my joke earlier this morning.

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This being Texags, I assume every ridiculous statement is made seriously. I've probably just spent too much time on the Politics board

Someone brought up the thought of this formation:

Howard
Yedlin - Cameron - Brooks - Villafana
Bradley
Pulisic - Dempsey - Johnson
Wood - Altidore

With the midfield playing in a diamond having Dempsey play just behind Wood and Altidore. It's very attack oriented that's for sure.

jeffk said:

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Honestly kinda bummed none of you caught my joke earlier this morning.

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I didn't see this thread until today, but I did spot your joke immediately!

I also spotted a bizarre number of people starting Altidore over Wood. Really? I like Altidore, but I feel like he's been a consistent disappointment for the team, to say nothing of his long trouble with injuries.

Regarding automatic starters: Fabian Johnson was our best player until Pulisic showed up, as a couple other people have noted. He has to start somewhere.

I still love Nagbe somewhere in the midfield. I love how he possesses the ball and links up with the other players. I wouldn't call him an automatic starter, but I would continue to start him unless someone else demands playing time.

At least one person mentioned Lletget - was that before we got the news that he needs surgery? He won't be playing for the team this summer, in qualifying or the Gold Cup.

Here's my starting XI:

Howard
Yedlin Cameron Brooks Villafana
Bradley
FabJo Pulisic Nagbe
Dempsey Wood

I realize that we're actually building some consensus around this lineup. That might show we don't have enough hard decisions, but we are a lot deeper than we have been in the past (when we're healthy). I also want a fairly regular lineup compared to the constant switcheroos from Klinnsman. Remember when he kept the team the same in the group stage of the Copa and we couldn't believe it? XD

For depth, I think Tim Ream mostly looked good in the last two games. If you wanted to play Cameron elsewhere, or if we have more injuries, he's the first choice. I like Omar but I don't think either game was particularly good for him.