Compelling Soccer

Yesterday we examined some of the options for the US national squad if they stuck with the 4-4-2 formation even in light of Charlie Davies injury. After all, the US was playing 4-4-2 before Davies' emergence this summer. That formation is flexible and can be used in both offensive and defensive methods. However, this US team seems to have plenty of intriguing options in the midfield while lacking that dynamic striker to go with Jozy Altidore. Right now they are facing choices that are uninspiring, unproven or could hurt the team in other spots. So if you don't have two forwards, why not play with one?

The serious downside to it that the formation can struggle to score. In the past going with one striker over two always seems to lead to stagnation of the offense. For the US that might just have been because they lacked the player up front to make that difference. Altidore especially is the key; the US have had holding forwards, but all lacked some aspect of the game. With Casey it's speed. With Cooper it appears to be working it back to the midfield. With Ching it's finishing and skill on the ball.

But Jozy can do it all. Or at least he has the talent to. When you factor Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey in an attacking role, the US have as talented a three some of strikers and midfielders as they've ever had. Throw in Michael Bradley and an interesting pool of talent that includes Jose Francisco Torres, Freddy Adu and Benny Feilhaber, and you might have a group of supporting mids that could make it work.

This formation has the possibility of appearing in some way over the next eight months because it is a defensive minded one. As we know, Bob Bradley never met a defensive formation he didn't like. This especially could be the case if Altidore can get more PT and show that he can perform on the highest levels of club soccer on a consistent basis. It also may depend on how adept the mids are at contributing to the attack.

So what does it look like player wise? Here's the current breakdown:

---------------Altidore---------------------

----Donovan-------------Dempsey----------

--------Bradley----------Feilhaber----------

---------------Torres-----------------------

-Bocanegra--Onewyu--DeMerit---Cherundolo-

---------------Howard----------------------

Altidore of course plays up top, with Donovan and Dempsey on the wings. That doesn't change. The formation calls for three mids in the center of the field with one in a more holding role. While Bradley has more experience as a holding mid in the US system, he has attacking ability, even if I don't like him on 1v1 and as a primary creator. He goes into one of the center mid spots. Feilhaber goes into the other, though his emphasis is much more on joining the attack. Torres hangs back as the true defensive midfielder. Plus, since this formation is very reliant on maintaining possession to be effective, you want possession players in there. That's Torres and Feilhaber.

You could also, if you want to go offensive, use a formation like this:

-----------------Altidore---------------------

----Donovan-----Feilhaber-------Dempsey---

----------Bradley--------Torres----------------

-Bocanegra--Onewyu--DeMerit---Cherundolo-

---------------Howard----------------------


In this set up you are more open with Feilhaber in the attacking midfielder role. Donovan and Dempsey remain in place while Bradley and Torres do their thing as holding mids. Since Feilhaber is less effective when he has to remain on defense and Bradley a tad undisciplined with how he plays, actually assigning them the role, rather than relying on them to make the necessary reads might be the way to go.

And for fun, there is one last variation of this:

-----------------Altidore---------------------

------Adu-----Donovan-------Dempsey--------

----------Bradley--------Torres----------------

-Bocanegra--Onewyu--DeMerit---Cherundolo-

---------------Howard----------------------

This set up is completely reliant on Freddy Adu getting PT in Portugal over the next few months, which could get him back into the national team picture. As I said yesterday, there are few players in the US pool as talented. If he gets regular PT, he should be a part of this team; it can only benefit them. With Adu here in Donovan's wing spot, it allows Landon to potentially act as a second striker if you choose. It also gets him in the middle of the offensive midfield attack where he can act as a distributor. The downside for this set up is that none of the three offensive mids have much defensive prowess, which puts a lot of pressure on Bradley and Torres. However since you are ceding lots of offense in playing this formation in the first place, it's a sacrifice you should be willing to make.

Overall, I've long been against the 4-5-1 because of it's inability for US players (or memorably, England at times) to do much with a lone striker up top. But I'm intrigued by the possibilities with this group of players. I think it's something that should be experimented with during the Friendlies.