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Feilhaber- Where does he fit?

HuskerSoccer04

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http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/st...-feilhaber-fit-us-national-team-jeff-carlisle

Interesting article from ESPN Soccernet about US midfielder Benny Feilhaber and where he fit's in with Klinnsman's system. Personally, I love his technical ability but he seems to disappear against better and more physical teams.... I think where he is played at is key. He isn't a winger. I really like him in an underneath role in either a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3
 
He was definitely misused against Paraguay -- IMO he's best used as the CAM in a 4-2-3-1. Then he'd have less defensive responsibility and be able to focus more on creation.

He sure didn't help himself with his constant complaining to the ref and his low defensive work rate, though. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make the WC 2014 squad because of this. There are just too many midfielders competing for time to include him if he's going to act/play like that.
 
He was definitely misused against Paraguay -- IMO he's best used as the CAM in a 4-2-3-1. Then he'd have less defensive responsibility and be able to focus more on creation.

He sure didn't help himself with his constant complaining to the ref and his low defensive work rate, though. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make the WC 2014 squad because of this. There are just too many midfielders competing for time to include him if he's going to act/play like that.
From all that I've read of Klinnsman , love him or hate him, he seems to place an emphasis on both fitness and work rate. Would be interested to see what midfielders you see for a US in a starting role in a 4-2-3-1.
 
If Stuart Holden can ever get healthy:

Dempsey---Holden---Donovan
------Jones-----Bradley------

Holden's crosses are great, but I think his calmness, precision, and creativity in distribution are needed here in the center. Torres, Kljestan, Adu or Feilhaber could play in the center, too.

And while I think Jones and Bradley are probably our best two CDMs, Klinsmann seems to have a thing for Beckerman and Clark. Edu is around, too.
 
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If Stuart Holden can ever get healthy:

Dempsey---Holden---Donovan
------Jones-----Bradley------

Holden's crosses are great, but I think his calmness, precision, and creativity in distribution are needed here in the center. Torres, Kljestan, Adu or Feilhaber could play in the center, too.

And while I think Jones and Bradley are probably our best two CDMs, Klinsmann seems to have a thing for Beckerman and Clark. Edu is around, too.
I'd go... in case you were wondering

Holden---Dempsey---Donovan
------Bradley------Jones/Clark------

Not really a fan of Kljestan,Torres or Beckerman.
 
Not a fan of Jones or Clark....or two defensive midfielders...

Big fan of Torres and Beckerman....

Guess we disagree...:) Which is cool....:)

I'd go... in case you were wondering

Holden---Dempsey---Donovan
------Bradley------Jones/Clark------

Not really a fan of Kljestan,Torres or Beckerman.
 
Like I said above not a fan of two holding midfielders....if the USA ever hopes to win and get better we have to stop having half of our outfield players in a defensive roll...

I'd like to see 4-3-3....with one D-midfielder.....

Not a fan of Jones at all....saw him at the Gold Cup Final....he was awful and confirmed what I thought of him from TV....


If Stuart Holden can ever get healthy:

Dempsey---Holden---Donovan
------Jones-----Bradley------

Holden's crosses are great, but I think his calmness, precision, and creativity in distribution are needed here in the center. Torres, Kljestan, Adu or Feilhaber could play in the center, too.

And while I think Jones and Bradley are probably our best two CDMs, Klinsmann seems to have a thing for Beckerman and Clark. Edu is around, too.
 
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Not a fan of Jones or Clark....or two defensive midfielders...

Big fan of Torres and Beckerman....

Guess we disagree...:) Which is cool....:)
I really wish there was more soccer talk on the board.... debates like these are incredibly entertaining. I'd be very curious to hear your reasons for Torres and Beckerman and why you aren't so fond of Jones or Clark. I'm not the biggest fan of how Jones acts on the field to be honest... I just felt like he or Clark gives us the best other central midfielder spot. And its cool to disagree :) I respect the heck out of your opinion and what you do for this board.

And the formation I would be most intrigued by would be one that can go from a 4-5-1 defensively and stretch to a 4-3-3 offensively. Just curious, who would be where for the US in a 4-3-3? For the record, I felt that Bradley shouldn't have been fired for Klinnsman ;)
 
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I lived in Utah for 7 years and am a huge RSL fan (QPR is my English team....mom is English)....Beckerman is one of the hardest working guys on the field...a leader, with vision and has a knack for the game and just enough of a nasty streak to make him a very good DM....Klinsman loves him...and a great guy to boot who my daughter and I got to know quite well....sweetheart of a guy to the fans...:)

Torres is a great playmaker who can control a game if you get the ball through him....reminds me of Claudio Reyna...he and Holden are our best two playmakers....frankly I would pair them up with Bradley in central midfield....both are stout defenders to boot....Holden led the EPL in tackles last year despite his broken leg....

Jones is a thug who makes too many mental mistakes and does dumb things liek stomping an already hurt player on the ankle...got him a two month ban in Germany....no offensive threat at all....and often has mental lapses....we were shocked at the Gold Cup just how bad he was against Mexico....

Clark has never been able to put together a complete game...at times looks all world and other times all play ground...makes really dumb mistakes at inopportune times to hurt the team....

Bradley is the DM....great young player...having a very good season in Italy....only the second American to ever start their (Alexi Lalas the other)....has started 18 of 19 games....guy is a beast....one of the two best US players at the World Cup along with Donovan....

Thanks...:)


I really wish there was more soccer talk on the board.... debates like these are incredibly entertaining. I'd be very curious to hear your reasons for Torres and Beckerman and why you aren't so fond of Jones or Clark. I'm not the biggest fan of how Jones acts on the field to be honest... I just felt like he or Clark gives us the best other central midfielder spot. And its cool to disagree :) I respect the heck out of your opinion and what you do for this board.
 
I lived in Utah for 7 years and am a huge RSL fan (QPR is my English team....mom is English)....Beckerman is one of the hardest working guys on the field...a leader, with vision and has a knack for the game and just enough of a nasty streak to make him a very good DM....Klinsman loves him...and a great guy to boot who my daughter and I got to know quite well....sweetheart of a guy to the fans...:)

Torres is a great playmaker who can control a game if you get the ball through him....reminds me of Claudio Reyna...he and Holden are our best two playmakers....frankly I would pair them up with Bradley in central midfield....both are stout defenders to boot....Holden led the EPL in tackles last year despite his broken leg....

Jones is a thug who makes too many mental mistakes and does dumb things liek stomping an already hurt player on the ankle...got him a two month ban in Germany....no offensive threat at all....and often has mental lapses....we were shocked at the Gold Cup just how bad he was against Mexico....

Clark has never been able to put together a complete game...at times looks all world and other times all play ground...makes really dumb mistakes at inopportune times to hurt the team....

Bradley is the DM....great young player...having a very good season in Italy....only the second American to ever start their (Alexi Lalas the other)....has started 18 of 19 games....guy is a beast....one of the two best US players at the World Cup along with Donovan....

Thanks...:)
I agree with a lot of what you say. However, I feel like Dempsey is best when he is brought inside in an underneath role like he is for Fulham this year. I feel like when he is paired with Donovan on the wings they get too interested in trying to one up each other? Maybe there is some history there that none of us know about...... To me, Holden is the wildcard. He was still just poised to burst onto the national scene when he got tackled really viciously by a ManU player. Torres to me, needs to be in an attacking central midfield role. He can't play as an underneath forward or in a holding midfield role because I feel like he gets bullied off the far too easily. Sometimes, the pace seems to escape him as well. I feel like he puts in more defensive effort than Feilhaber though.

Jones, I dislike for his thuggish play and for his mental errors. Clark especially showed what you criticized him for in the last couple of games. I feel like those two would both be only DM's. I put them in the a similar boat in that regard to Beckerman. I feel like Beckerman has improved the offensive side of his game and his vision. I would need to see improvements still though for me to consider pairing him with Bradley. I have no doubt that he is a great guy :) for me though he is still on the edge. And if he can improve his vision and long passing in the next year at a similar rate from when I first remember seeing him on the national scene, two to three years ago, I feel like He, Dempsey and Bradley would be an excellent center three...with Donovan and Holden on the wings.

Bradley, I feel like he is honestly our 4th best player overall behind Howard, Donovan and Dempsey. Quite honestly I feel like he can surpass them all one day. I feel like he has greatly improved his vision, passing and attacking lately. I think he unfairly got a bad rap because his dad was the National Team coach.

Honestly, the Defense scares me more than the Midfield. I feel like our middle 5( or 3) will be the strongest part of our team. QPR is tearing it up this year imo. Playing top half football skill-wise. Manchester United fan myself. I wish the premier league got more exposure on basic cable...since I'm at college we don't get fox soccer
 
My mom was raised about 25 minutes from Manchester....my favorite Uncle is a huge United fan....her hometown team is a League 2 team...

No argument with for the most part with the rest of your post...:)

I agree with a lot of what you say. However, I feel like Dempsey is best when he is brought inside in an underneath role like he is for Fulham this year. I feel like when he is paired with Donovan on the wings they get too interested in trying to one up each other? Maybe there is some history there that none of us know about...... To me, Holden is the wildcard. He was still just poised to burst onto the national scene when he got tackled really viciously by a ManU player. Torres to me, needs to be in an attacking central midfield role. He can't play as an underneath forward or in a holding midfield role because I feel like he gets bullied off the far too easily. Sometimes, the pace seems to escape him as well. I feel like he puts in more defensive effort than Feilhaber though.

Jones, I dislike for his thuggish play and for his mental errors. Clark especially showed what you criticized him for in the last couple of games. I feel like those two would both be only DM's. I put them in the a similar boat in that regard to Beckerman. I feel like Beckerman has improved the offensive side of his game and his vision. I would need to see improvements still though for me to consider pairing him with Bradley. I have no doubt that he is a great guy :) for me though he is still on the edge. And if he can improve his vision and long passing in the next year at a similar rate from when I first remember seeing him on the national scene, two to three years ago, I feel like He, Dempsey and Bradley would be an excellent center three...with Donovan and Holden on the wings.

Bradley, I feel like he is honestly our 4th best player overall behind Howard, Donovan and Dempsey. Quite honestly I feel like he can surpass them all one day. I feel like he has greatly improved his vision, passing and attacking lately. I think he unfairly got a bad rap because his dad was the National Team coach.

Honestly, the Defense scares me more than the Midfield. I feel like our middle 5( or 3) will be the strongest part of our team. QPR is tearing it up this year imo. Playing top half football skill-wise. Manchester United fan myself. I wish the premier league got more exposure on basic cable...since I'm at college we don't get fox soccer
 
Like I said above not a fan of two holding midfielders....if the USA ever hopes to win and get better we have to stop having half of our outfield players in a defensive roll...

I'd like to see 4-3-3....with one D-midfielder.....

Not a fan of Jones at all....saw him at the Gold Cup Final....he was awful and confirmed what I thought of him from TV....

I agree that we could do better with an offensive/defensive balance. But Bradley is good enough on the ball and good enough in the attacking third that I could see him push up on offense, putting us in a 4-1-4-1. (Just an idea.)

As for the "other" CDM, I'm not the biggest fan of Jones, either, but he's obviously benefitting from his playing time at Schalke. He looked like a man against boys in the last two friendlies, and with his German roots, I don't see Klinsmann giving another CDM anywhere close to the same chance as Jones will have.
 



I lived in Utah for 7 years and am a huge RSL fan (QPR is my English team....mom is English)....Beckerman is one of the hardest working guys on the field...a leader, with vision and has a knack for the game and just enough of a nasty streak to make him a very good DM....Klinsman loves him...and a great guy to boot who my daughter and I got to know quite well....sweetheart of a guy to the fans...:)

Torres is a great playmaker who can control a game if you get the ball through him....reminds me of Claudio Reyna...he and Holden are our best two playmakers....frankly I would pair them up with Bradley in central midfield....both are stout defenders to boot....Holden led the EPL in tackles last year despite his broken leg....

Jones is a thug who makes too many mental mistakes and does dumb things liek stomping an already hurt player on the ankle...got him a two month ban in Germany....no offensive threat at all....and often has mental lapses....we were shocked at the Gold Cup just how bad he was against Mexico....

Clark has never been able to put together a complete game...at times looks all world and other times all play ground...makes really dumb mistakes at inopportune times to hurt the team....

Bradley is the DM....great young player...having a very good season in Italy....only the second American to ever start their (Alexi Lalas the other)....has started 18 of 19 games....guy is a beast....one of the two best US players at the World Cup along with Donovan....

Thanks...:)

I agree that Beckerman has potential, but he's not quite up to international standards at this point, especially considering our logjam in midfield. I'd like to see him get a shot overseas. Klinsmann seems to have taken a liking to him, so maybe he can get something set up sometime.

I will never forgive Clark for the Ghana match at WC 2010.

Newcastle is my team. :Biggrin:
 
Last two 'frendlies'?...he should have.....our B team against their B teams....and him playing for the USA because he can't play in Germany because of a two month ban...

It appears Beckerman is the starter in that roll.....Klinsman likes him allot...


I agree that we could do better with an offensive/defensive balance. But Bradley is good enough on the ball and good enough in the attacking third that I could see him push up on offense, putting us in a 4-1-4-1. (Just an idea.)

As for the "other" CDM, I'm not the biggest fan of Jones, either, but he's obviously benefitting from his playing time at Schalke. He looked like a man against boys in the last two friendlies, and with his German roots, I don't see Klinsmann giving another CDM anywhere close to the same chance as Jones will have.
 
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Yeah that is the company line for the anti-Beckerman crowd...sorry I disagree....overseas is not the be all and end all for every player....MLS is getting better and better because of players like Kyle...we have to grow our own league....I don't see Beckerman at this point in his career going to Europe...

MLS has to start paying the American stars better and keep them home...but that is another for another day...:)

Potential? He is 28 going on 29.....he has proven himself both in MLS and on the international level......

Newcastle....great tradititon....tough to lose back to back FA Cups with the great Allen Shearer on the team.....not a great owner right now...or coach....but some really good young players....


I agree that Beckerman has potential, but he's not quite up to international standards at this point, especially considering our logjam in midfield. I'd like to see him get a shot overseas. Klinsmann seems to have taken a liking to him, so maybe he can get something set up sometime.

I will never forgive Clark for the Ghana match at WC 2010.

Newcastle is my team. :Biggrin:
 
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