TheNearPostOn offense, Dempsey drifts inside from his right midfield position, creating space for Timothy Chandler to overlap, while Shea also hugs the touch line on the opposite flank. Bocanegra will play as a stay at home fullback, forming a back three with Spector and Goodson. This makes the lineup look like a 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 on offense. Bocanegra and Spector are also both comfortable as outside backs, and can drift wide when the USA has the ball in order to cover for the attack-mindedness of Chandler and Shea. On defense, Shea and Dempsey both drop back level with Jones and Torres to make a solid bank of four in the midfield, while Bocanegra and Chandler shuttle back to conventional fullback roles, turning the lineup to a 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1.
The main reason I like this lineup is that it frees up space for Timothy Chandler and Brek Shea on the flanks to stretch their legs, stretch the play, and run at the opposition fullback full speed. They're both not only physically suited for this role, possessing unreal stamina, speed, size, and strength, but also are quite good with the ball. The other good thing about this lineup is it allows Donovan and Dempsey to link up in central space right in front of the defense.
27.08.2011
OrangePeugeotI like this formation as well, gives us flexibility and defensive organization.
However, I might switch Jones and Torres, I would rather seeing Torres linking up with the forwards and getting into the box rather than Jones.
Plus Jones is basically only a holding midfielder.
27.08.2011
TheNearPostI know that there is a tendency to believe that Torres having a wide range of passing, vision, and ball skill means that he should link up with the forwards, but having watched him with Pachuca, some of his best games have been the ones where he's actually come nowhere near the forwards. His best game for the USA was against Turkey, where his job was simply to help control the pace of the game and relay the ball to different parts of the pitch. He hardly ever made a pass directly to the forwards, and was instead focused on progressing the play from deeper. Not only that, be Torres' positional sense on defense is examplary. His strengths on defense lie in his ability to mark out the player that needs to be marked out. Furthermore, he's not afraid to get stuck in on tackles at all, and made some fine tackles against Turkey.
On the other hand, while Jones may be a big, strong, physical central midfielder, he's a more mobile, energetic player who tries to really carry the play, link directly with the attackers, and offer support.
That being said, Jones and Torres could function in either role :)
28.08.2011
