As promised, I’ll preview the match a bit, but I think the majority of my time here will be spent discussing the U.S. Men’s National Team coach situation after the firing of Bob Bradley and some of the pursuant speculation, particularly as it relates to one very special manager. Right, so the impending visit of Columbus Crew first, then we’ll move on from there.
Columbus Crew currently sit in second place in the East — though that doesn’t mean a great deal, as they sit in seventh place in the MLS. They’re level on points with NYRB, but having played two games more and have a goal difference of only two (compared to New York’s stellar eight — er... stellar, yes) — so clearly, they’re not setting things alight in the MLS. When last we met, we fell 2-1 in a heartbreaking road match. But we’re home now, and these boys will be out for revenge.
We’ll be missing the great Olave, the beast he is, after he picked up a knock on All-Star duty. It wasn’t much the fault of the game, I suppose, and it could have as easily happened at the Rio Tinto, so I’ll not harp too much on the nature of it. But it does seem to be less serious than initially feared, and it’s expected that Olave will return in the next two or three weeks. This is not a particularly good time to lose the old boy, but it never really is, is it? Conceivably, he will miss this match, the Aug. 3 Sporting KC match, the Aug. 6 Red Bulls match, and the Aug. 13 Toronto match. Let’s hope it’s sooner than that.
In his place, we’ll get another chance to catch the sight of the elusive Chris Schuler, who is as tall as a tree. Not a particularly tall tree, more one of those six-foot, four-inch types. He’s a full inch taller than Jamison — so I don’t expect that will make much difference. He is, however, a very different sort of defender, playing more, I would think, in the style of Nat Borchers. We rely very much on a solid pairing at the back, and thankfully, we’ll have had a few days to prepare for this. Let’s now give it a name: The Schorchers. Pronounced like “Scorchers,” of course.
There aren’t, I think, any other big news items of the day — at least, not yet. I’ll do my best to keep up on these and keep you informed, but you know, I might forget. (Is that a threat of withholding?) So, without much further ado, mostly because I’ve mulled over our tactical setup many times already recently, here’s my predicted lineup:
Rimando
Russell - Schuler - Borchers - Beltran
Beckerman - Grabavoy - Johnson
Alvarez
Espindola - Saborio
Now, to explain myself a bit: I’ve opted for Russell’s defensive strength, pushing Tony Beltran to the left side. Chris Wingert may be plumped for over Russell, but I imagine Tony Beltran’s done enough to make himself undroppable at this time in the season. I’ve opted for Alvarez up top, but it may as well be Andy Williams. Columbus Crew have been a bit stingy with goals, so we’ll need somebody there who can play our front two in behind. All other choices sort of explain themselves.
I’ll discuss more match tactics tomorrow, but for today, up the RSL!
U.S. Men’s National Team Coach
The oft-maligned Bob Bradley has been shipped out to greener pastures and, depending on who you ask, it was either too late — it should have been done before he was offered a new four-year contract — or it was done too early — though those arguments are a bit harder to find. Bradley has done a respectable job for the national team, but Sunil Gulati, USSF president, was ready for a change. It apparently came unexpectedly to Bradley and his crew, who had been scouting as recently as the previous day, and the press release came as a surprise to even the most grizzled football reporter (Grant Wahl, are you grizzled?)
Inevitably, as it has since he achieved success with this club for the first time, Jason Kreis’s name has been thrown about, but mostly by American hopefuls as a wish and by pundits as a long-shot. Now, the choice will likely have been made by the time you read this, and all signs are pointing to Jürgen Klinssman as the man to take the job. That’s neat, and you can read about it elsewhere. I would like to briefly address some of the pros and cons of the unlikely scenario of Jason Kreis heading the national team.
- PRO: He’s young and ambitious. The U.S. needs somebody with real ambition.
- CON: That ambition means he’s unlikely to leave Real Salt Lake so early.
- PRO: He’s shown at least some ability in finding players with untapped potential, though at a level with less pressure.
- CON: He’s unproven when it comes to getting the best out of big-ego, big-name players — say, the likes of Jozy Altidore.
- PRO: He’d shake things up in that regard. He’s shown a certain edge in getting rid of dead weight, and he’s an intelligent, reasoned man.
- CON: There’s no saying whether that control would be afforded him. It was a problem with Bob Bradley — and Jason Kreis is not at all likely to just lie down about important matters.
Those supporting Jason Kreis for the national team are leading a charge that we hopefully won’t see for a good few years yet. Remember, Kreis is young and unproven at that level, and while he’s been the savior of RSL as an extant club, the amount of criticism, due or undue, he’d receive at such a level would be immense, regardless of his decisions. I don’t doubt he could do it if he were the only good candidate, and I don’t mean to demean his skills.
But you know what? I’m not ready to lose him, and I don’t think he’s ready to lose us.
Other Things, as such
Right, thanks to the club for allowing me the use of some images — I do think they improve the look and feel immensely. Great people in the offices at RSL.
And I've crafted out a few changes to the site. I'd love some feedback — is it more or less readable? If you get this far, I'd love to hear your answer.
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