Sacha Kljestan and Brek Shea have been called in as emergency replacements for the U.S. men's national team after a rash of injuries and illness hit the roster originally called in by Jurgen Klinsmann.
Landon Donovan (bronchitis), Timmy Chandler and Jose Torres (both injured) will miss Wednesday's friendly against Italy, and have been replaced by Kljestan and Shea. A few days earlier, Jermaine Jones was forced to withdraw with an injury as well.
Klinsmann is expected to make at least one more addition to the roster he will field against Italy in Genoa on Wednesday, but the roster is already suffering from injuries to the likes of Oguchi Onyewu and Zak Whitbread, though Whitbread's return to action for Norwich City this past weekend could lead to a call-up for the match.
What do you think of these developments? Disappointed we still won't see a Donovan and Dempsey pairing for the national team until May at the earliest? Excited to see Kljestan get the call? Who are you hoping also gets a call on Monday?
Share your thoughts below.
lame
Obviously Donovan hates Dempsey.
Finally Kljestan gets called in and it’s a shame we don’t get to see Dempsey and Donovan play together under Klinsman.
Call Whitbread Please!
Excited to see Shea in a quality friendly.
So I guess this is the game where all the cool kids decide to ditch…
No reason to pull Shea off Olympic side unless Klinsmann intends to start him.
we’ll Donovan’s reason for missing May friendlies… mononucleosis?
Big chance for Sacha, hope he does well.
Dang, it seems like we can never get a fully healthy ‘A’ team together.
No Gooch, Chandler, Jones, Donovan, Torres.
Oh well… honestly, I would be more interested in seeing Shea w/ the u-23s vs Mexico. With Chandler and LD out, there’s nobody much left to add width, threaten on the wings, so he’s kind of got no choice but to bring him in. Have to admit, I’m less enthusiastic about both games than I was 2 weeks ago. What can you say… it’s part of the sport and why you need depth, which has always been a weakness. As for the senior team…. nothing else, plenty of guys are getting a shot to show what they can do. Sure would be nice to see a full squad at some point though. Hopefully we get this s**t out of our system and can be healthy when the games count.
Indicisive…inefective…at the International level.
Feel free to divide those attributes amongst yourselves, sasha and brek.
Good thing we have solid depth with the U-23 gayu on the left and Taylor on the right
Donovan too? [Deleted on 7-second delay like the documentary guy.] Can we just re-schedule? This has disaster written all over it.
Shea’s a good pickup, though it might be wiser to keep as much of the U-23 unit together right before qualifying.
Isn’t there a Special 1 TV about this? With Arsene in particular saying that everyone is sick and cannot participate.
Dumb post. Feel free to interpret that any way you would like.
Qualifying is not for another month. It’s all good on that front.
I couldn’t be more disappointed about this. Not only Donovan is out for the Italy match, but he is not training with the CCL coming up soon.
Personally, I see either Beckerman, Castillo or Feilhaber beign the last call-up. My money is on Beckerman.
how about:
–Jozy–
–Shea–Dempsey–Danny Williams–
–Bradley–Sacha–
–F Johnson–Boca— Cameron– Cherundolo
–Howard–
Here’s what I’d like to see:
Jozy Buddle
Shea Johnson Dempsey
Williams
Boca Goodson Cameron Cherundolo
Donovan and Dempsey not playing together again? Hopefully there’s no Terry-Wayne Bridge situation going on.
I think the additional player called should be one from europe since there is only two days of training left.
i can take that.
Jozy-Buddle
Shea-Bradley-D Williams-Dempsey
FJohnson-Boca-Goodson-Dolo
shoulda been
Jozy
Dempsey
Donovan-Torres-Chandler
Bradley
FJohnnson-Boca-Gooch-Dolo
I’m surprised he’s not calling in another defender. Without chandler, we’re awfully thin at outside back for the friendlies. I’ve seen some people listing Johnson as left back in their line-ups but I really don’t think that’s his position for us. I guess we’ll see Spector or even Parkhurst at left back?
whole wheat is better for you
Agree more with this lineup than above; D-Will has shown me he really shouldn’t be ahead of the pack in terms of RM pecking order. The fact that he’s used in defense for his club further justifies a CDM look, though it’s hard to imagine him holding it down over the other guys.
What about MB though? He had a very solid outing at RM in his last game; I think he’s ripe for a start.
With Donovan out, that leaves a desperate need for speed on the wings, necessitating the Shea call up. Great to see Sacha get called in. Not sure why it took this long. Hope to see Zak also catch on but with Chandler out, they may bring in someone who can play LB like Lichaj. If so,I’d like to see this lineup:
————-Jozy—————
————Deuce————-
—Fabian—Sacha—Shea
————-MB—————-
—Lichaj–Cameron–Boca–Dolo
If Klinsi puts Fabian at LB, however, then I want Deuce at wing and Another forward with Jozy, maybe Boyd.
Shea will play left wing, Johnson will move to LB. Sasha will take torres’ spot, but nobody can replace Donovan. Even if they let us put two guys in his place.
It’s not a bad squad by any stretch, but not close to the one we were dreaming about a few days ago…
This stinks. Never have a full side for any of our high profile friendlies.
Maybe add DeMerit.
Honestly, Donovan sick…again?! Dude its called vitamin C, give it a shot. This match is really starting to look like a bit of a disaster
Never. It seems we are NEVER healthy. I think the last time we were healthy was over 2 years before the 2010 World Cup…
I don’t think we can rise above our current results on big stages until our best players are consistently healthy. The best teams have their best players playing when they are on the top.
Imagine if Spain consistently had + or – 6 players missing during their top flight 2 years of playing. Would they have remained undefeated for so long? No doubt they would have been good, but as good? No way!
I’m not saying we would be Spain if we were consistently healthy (If the trolls are out there), I am saying that we are better than our current results and ranking but we will not see that we are until we are consistently healthy. I believe if we were we would consistently be a top 15 team.
We have been unlucky with injuries the last 4 -5 years, but I am optimistic about the future.
We need another fullback. Cherundolo and Williams are not enough.
bummer. Without donovan, I am not optimistic about italy game. his two way soccer in the wings is invaluable against the big guns. thinking about the way he manned up on messi during the last argentina friendly (i was there), and parking the bus against brazil in the confed cup but then blazing forward on the counter
Yes he’d been slumping a bit last few friendlies. I think he’ll turn it up against good competition after a nice rest.
Unfair. Sacha’s playing better than he ever has and Shea is very green (slumps and inconsistency at his age are to be expected).
Yeah sorry coach. (Cough cough) I’m really (cough) sick. (Ahem)
No! I’m going to the U 23 game, and now Shea won’t be there!
But this is the last scheduled game before Olympic qualifying….time to gel….continuity….etc. The senior team has 3 more games to play with before theirs start counting. Ergo I’d have left the U23s in place and just called up someone other than Shea.
Don’t get me wrong, Shea deserves it on merit, I just think the U23 pool could really use an Olympics both as an end in itself and a bridge to the senior team.
I’ll go ahead and chance the comment that constantly rotating from Galaxy to US to Everton might be wearing him out? All due respect to Klinsi’s loan and schedule theories but over-working one of the Meal Tickets is not to the Greater Good.
Has Donovan played for Klinsy on the Nats yet?
and Holden
Williams is terrible on the wing.
Take a look at what I said and in the context I placed my analysis in. I am referring to the International stage. They are both wonderful for their respective clubs.
That said, my point is that they are both indecisive and inefective on the national stage. Ive seen all thier games with the national team and the only one with upside is Brek. Im selling Sasha stock.
feel free to guess how folks would interpret the act of responding to “dumb” posts.
Johnson has more games at LB than Chandler does. He’s currently starting there for his club team.
……………….-Altidore-
………-Shea-…………….-Dempsey-
……………-Edu-……..-Bradley-
…………………-Williams-
…..-Johnson-………………..-Cherundolo-
……………-Bocanegra-..-Goodson-
I know a lot of us don’t like playing single striker formations, but I think this is a well balanced line up. Give Shea and Dempsey a lot of attacking freedom and see how much Altidore has improved upon bringing others into the game. With Edu and Bradley playing where they are, either or can cover balance for Shea or Dempsey when they get forward. However the player I’d be worried most about in this formation is Edu. Bradley is well suited for it especially since he has been playing wide and this would essentially be a carillero type role, but I’m not so sure Edu would have the offensive acumen to keep possession. If nothing it’d be interesting to see
MB has to start. let johnson play left back.
I wonder, does Davies count aymore? He may never find his former form, but that is due to injury…. Does that still count as an injury loss to the team or do we throw that one away since he is playing again.
As far as the U23′s go it’s good to see John Anthony Brooks finally back from his injury. He was out over two months after starting every game for Hertha Berlin II squad. He should help shore up the middle of the back line once qualifying comes around.
not too much merit to what you say (especially about brek). shea has been one of the best players for the us over the last year. sure he has been a little inconsistent, but he is a young attacking player, so that is going to happen. fact is, he is a very dangerous player and always provides a threat on the wing. kljestan needed to be called because of the circumstances. who knows if he’ll get any pt, but we need another midfielder who can provide something that we are missing without players like holden, torres, adu, (maybe feilhaber), and some of the younger guys available. thought – not a fan of this, but could be a time to give spector a chance in the midfield for the us.
last thing – don’t get so defensive when your original post is so negative. a lot of fans (and coaches) like to see players for what they bring to the table or for what their potential is. when you only point out negatives (and act like you should be some revered talent evaluator), you come across as someone who wants these players to fail and that is just lame.
pretty sure donovan went to everton on his own accord. that was not a developmental move. besides freak injuries like gonzalez’s, not much bad can come from those stints. meanwhile they could be huge in terms of a young player’s development.
they should bring in Lichaj or Zach Lloyd and see Fabian Johnson at lm/lw… that also would’ve allowed Brek to stay wit u-23′s. like someone already said earlier, these games were much more interesting about a week ago before both sides got depleted. tough break =\
wow. honest to gosh, that has to be one of the best posts ever on SBI.
if Castillo keeps starting and playing solid 90m per game i have no doubt Klinnsman will give him another shot. But it might be counter-productive to disrupt club play for a long trip to Italy and then back again. My conspiracy theory on Jose Torres is that his not really injured that badly, if at all, but after his three teammates were injured Saturday his coach wants to keep him close to home for the club. I bet Torres will be playing club ball this weekend.
Beckerman is injured now isn’t he. He also will be back. Klinsmann has made clear that Beckerman has locked a spot on the team. That said, Danny Williams the last few games as DM for Hoffenheim has looked v ery good and he will continue improving under the new coach.
+10
Williams is a D-mid. Has not been effective on the outside.
———Josy-Boyd——
———-Dempsey——-
—Shea————-Williams
———-Bradley——-
F.Johnson-Boca-Whitbread/Goodsen-Dolo
———–Howard———–
Fabian Johnson has played LB for like the last five games at Hoffenheim.
I don’t see anyone else being flown over from the States on such short notice, especially someone who is both redundant and already unable to play due to injury, like Beckerman. If Klinsmann calls someone else in, it will likely be someone who is based in Europe to fill an immediate need. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Eric Lichaj get a call due to our lack of depth at fullback or Zak Whitbread, who is now healthy again.
I can’t see any conceivable way a fit Michael Bradley doesn’t earn a starting spot. He is one of our best eleven in any formation and nobody in the team knows Italian football better.
Has he been injured for the last two months? I was wondering what happened to him.
Back before the first camp in Germany I was expecting our starting CBs at the Olympics to be Brooks and an overage CB like Omar Gonzalez. He totally disappeared after that, and after cycling through a bunch of CBs who are either likely not good enough (Fennel, Boss) or not really CBs (Kitchen, Valentin), my current feeling is the best duo would be Opara and Cameron. But I’d love to see Brooks get a chance. My worry is that it’s too late for him, he’s not at the current camp, that only leaves the final camp and that’s for the actual qualifying roster so I really doubt Porter would bring in new guys. Tough luck for him, but then again he is age eligible for the 2016 Olympic team….
Danny Williams is not a winger!
“Lame” is what I told Kljestan when he asked me what I thought about his hairstyle and mustache.
As you can see in the picture, he just told me, “Shhhhh.”
+1 Honest, respectful, and truthful. Nice work.
US fans are such excuse making whiners.
Shoulda, coulda, woulda,
The difference between the Spains of the world and the US is that with their back ups in long term (a guy like David Silva for example)they might have wound up making the team even better.
That is why JK keeps preaching competition, competition for spots.
Consistent health is not something a team can do that much about.
Consistent competition for places and the resultant development of depth is something you can do something about.
What does Davies have to do with the current USMNT?
Im not pointing fingers to anyone in particular, but there is so much wasted thought about what could have or should have been with this person or that person in the team. Accept the circumstances and please move on. Backwards thinking gets you nowhere. Onward and upward!
Are you saying LD travels around and works harder than the other top US players?
People get sick. LD is not as youhg as he used to be.
JK does not set Donovan’s schedule.
And Dempsey is? Of this call up, without LD, no one really is. Dolo in the attack is the closest! It’s a friendly, I’d rather see some sort of an attempt at attacking, than parking the bus!
Kljestan is the most dapper-looking gentleman in the American pool.
I don’t think there is any ambiguity in what he said. He is stating that you could mention Davies in a list of injuries that are affecting the current USMNT. But-for Davies injury, he may be on the current squad. You could say the exact same smart @$$ “what does [x] have to do with the current squad” about any injured player.
Yes, but not with Dempsey.
Started v mexico and costa rica in summer 2011.
——————-Altidore—————-
—————-Dempsey——————
—–Shea———Kljestan——-Chandler—
—————–Bradley——————-
Johnson—Bocanegra—Goodson—Cherundolo
—————–Howard——————-
Would love to not see Johnson wasted at LB, since the talent/vision in the midfield took a hit.
————-Jozy———
———–Dempsey——–
-Johnson—————-Shea-
——–Bradley-Sacha———
Spector-Bocanegra-Cameron-Dolo
Danny Williams could slot in at CDM for Sacha or at LB for Spector…he’s played both. All this said, we’ll probably see Johnson at LB.
I think its funny that Davies (who has played in 2 of the last 3 games (as a sub yes)for Sochaux in Ligue 1) is completely written off. If this was back 10 years he would be a lock it up USMNT starter. I think I’m getting old…
or Donovan have something against Klismann since he hasn’t play in most of all friendly that klismann been a coach.
yeah, williams isn’t good on the wing. i would put dempsey in williams spot, move sasha to dempsey’s spot and then but williams back there with bradley.
i’m hoping we play a 4-4-2 though.
Funny how Donovan seems to have some problem whenever there’s a long plane ride involved
I totally disagree with the Brek callup. He should have stayed with the U23′s
Not a Sacha believer at all… maybe he’ll get some minutes and prove once again he shouldnt get any.
Benny must have totally pissed JK off. To call in a guy like Shea over Benny is an insult. Heck, to even call in Sacha over Benny is an insult. JK should work with Benny, not shun him. He’s emotional but then the best ones often are
yes, dempsey is absolutely more of a winger than williams!! switch those two and i like it.
he isn’t a LB for us? what does that even mean. he plays LB for his club. yes, he is a utility player, but this is a perfect game to see him at LB.
yup. while williams hasn’t play fullback at all. someone people just make up positions for players.
you have to have Sasha in that formation. Edu, Bradley AND Williams? they’ll be no one in the midfield moving forward…
/facepalm @ Chandler….
“kljestan-and-shea-replace-donovan-torres-and-CHANDLER-on-usa-roster”
Anyone else unhappy that skilled players are out (Donovan, Jones, Torres and Chandler)? I would have preferred some skilled players to replace them like Feilhaber, Corona, Adu and Lichaj.
“Not much bad?” Gonzo hurt his ACL (remember, Beckham hurt his Achilles on a similar loan a couple years back…not like it’s unprecedented), John hasn’t been signed yet and may have to return to Dallas hat in hand, and Landon is sick for the second time in a handful of months for a friendly. FWIW, none of them are 18 (Landon will be 30), these are not “developmental” in the true sense, it’s farming out our players over the winter.
Klinsi may not sign the paperwork and go on loan himself but he has been encouraging these sorts of loan moves and I think they are of limited overall cost-benefit value, because “proper rest” and “health” and “having the player when I need them” are countervailing interests. Landon used to be Mr. Reliable but ever since he went to a year-round schedule he’s experiencing breakdowns. Everton has given no hint of buying Landon; it’s a showy waste of time.
Glad to see Sasha called up. Didn’t like the guy at all after his drop in form following his hat trick against Sweden. But he has stepped it up and is in great form. He deserves this call up!
I’d like to see Whitbread and Beasley called up for the final spots. Lets leave the U-23s as is. I do wonder if someone will get called into that camp to replace Shea though.
Jozy, Boyd
Shea, Bradley, Sasha, Dempsey
Johnson, Boca, Williams, Dolo
If Whitbread and Beasley are called in, I would drop Boyd to bench, move Dempsey up and put Beasley out wide. I am interested to see how Williams would do there given he has been playing well at CB for Hoff. I’d be ok with Whitbread starting as well.
The only reason I have Boyd starting is because I’m just curious to see how the kid will do.
I love Benny and have always liked him more than Sasha, but right now, Sasha plays in a better league and on the top team. Benny, who I think is awesome too, never played on a team that was at a higher level. Derby was one of the worst teams in the history of the EPL and the Danish league isn’t as god as Belgium.
Still two spots to be filled (only replaced 2 out of 4 so far), he could get the call. Personally, I’m hoping Beasley and Whitbread get it. But I’d be fine with Beasley and Feilhaber too.
Corona and Adu need to stay with the U-23s. Lichaj needs to continue to get back to fitness before we talk about him again. He’ll be good to go by the summer. I would say it would be good to have him replace Shea on the U-23s, but doesn’t really make much sense to travel all the way there at this point.
shea-jozy-buddle/boyd
fabian-bradley-dempsey
lichaj-boca-goodson-dolo
may not be our A-tema, but its the best line-up we have on the roster if he calls in lichaj…maybe Benny up top if he gets called in and put spector at LB…
or move dempsey up top and put kleisten somewhere in the midfield…
while no one should be excited about 3 holding mids and 1 forward this is probably the most realistic line up vs. Italy. possibly Kljestian in for Edu..
use this line up to keep the game in hand for a 50-60 min and then throw in boyd or buddle for on of the cm’s.
yes the pool has improved, and no need to rush Davies back. He has a great club that is doing the right thing with him. if he keeps progressing he could get a call for the summer games.
He’s out injured.
I agree that playing Williams on the wing is not the way to go in the long run, but this is what Klinsi how Klinsi has used him so far, so we should try to minimize the experimentation in the a lineup that is already pretty experimental. I agree it would interesting to see a Willams/MB cm. If Edu starts I will be very disappointed. I don’t see how you can rate him above Sacha right now.
not in 2010. Onyewu was still injured and struggled in the training sessions leading up to the W.C. Torres had seen limited time at Pachuca due to nagging injuries, Beasley likewise had seen limited playing time due at least in part to injury. The best players for the US in the W.C. were healthy; Dempsey, Donavon, Bradley, Boca, Dolo and Howard. Altidore, Gomez, Buddle and Findley were all more or less healthy, but I’m not sure you would name them among the best.
and Holden and Davies who weren’t really healthy enough to be in the camp.
Honestly, I have to give him credit. He used to look weird/sloppy/creepy, but I think he’s refined his look to the point where he actually looks kind of suave now.
plus one mi amigo
We just don’t play well in the 4-2-3-1. Look at the Slovenia game as an example of why we need to play a 4-4-2.
Also, if we were playing what you suggested, you should switch Johnson and Williams.
Agreed, a long flight would take quite a bit of one’s legs, but at least as far as jet lag goes, it would be like playing a game in the early afternoon on the East Coast of the US. It is just the long sit and lost sleep which most of these young guys can recover from quickly. Still expect to see Whitbread, Williams, or some random euro-based player.
in a 4-4-2
Altidore-Dempsey
Shea-Bradley-Williams-Sasha
Johnson-boca-goodson-dolo
in a 4-3-3
Shea-Altidore-Dempsey
Johnson-Bradley-Sasha
Boca-Goodson-Cameron-Dolo
the 4-3-3 is more adventurous and risks loosing too many physical battles in the defensive end, but the 4-4-21 is not much better in that regard. I expect it will be the performance of the USA’s back 4 that will determine how well we do.
4-4-2 not 4-4-21
Damn, right you are bud. My mistake.
got to call whitbred or ream and DMB or Gyau.
i dont see boca being moved to the left, worst case scenario: spector at LB, who’s in good form at the moment…maybe fabian at LB but i have a feeling JK doesnt want to use him there…ive never seen sasha play out wide but if he has that might be the right move…im hoping for a 4-3-3 only to be more offensive minded…lets let the defense figure itout for themselves, y must we always protect them with 2+ DM’s??? this hurts the NATS in the long run
GW–What do you have to do with this thread?
First…there was nothing defensive about my response. All I did was post an opinion on brek and sasha based on their time with the national team.
Second, why would you not like to respond to someone responding to what you said originally; especially if they completely missed your point and at the same time, validated what you actually posted?
With regards to brek being one of the best players for the…I disagree. Again, that’s your observation…I have mine.
“not too much merit to what you say (especially about brek”)
“…sure he has been a little inconsistent”
back to my original point. Breks is inconsistent. What did I say that is off-base? I mean, you just made that same point.
Last thing: It looks as if you lack argumentative writing skills. Here are some pointers. In order to effectively discredit the person’s points, you need to identify the position of weakness in the other person’s argument. Take that weakness and attack it. Most of the time an inexperienced person (as yourself) will most likely argue your point yet make it for you in their own post. With a little more practice and focus, you will be able to debate much more effectively.
so did dempsey bang donovan’s ex or did donovan bang dempsey’s wife?
This team is quite different from what the US was sending out there in October of 2009.
Davies has not played for the US in over two years.
I see no reason to consider Davies as any kind of realistic option for the current team. The chances of him coming back as the player he was are pretty slim. If he does get good enough to be considered for the US it will be as a different player than what we saw in 2009.
JK has said he is keeping an eye on him but Mr. Positive would say that.
The team has moved on and I’m suggesting to ThaDuece he might want to do that as well.
Injuries affect he US more than the big boys because we only have three outfield players Donovan,Dempsey and Dolo who have proven they can play consistently at the highest level.
Rather than whining about all our injuries,and waiting for CD9 to show up and save our butts,we should be thankful that those three by and large have mostly avoided injury and get on with integrating the new guys (like Shea, Boyd, Johnson and Williams )with what is left of the old guard.
He just played against Manchester United and had an assist that game he is healthy and back andif Jurgen knows best he should add Whitbread to the team!
i don’t believe that there is merit to the comment about brek being inconsistent because that is to be expected from a player in his position. he is a young attacker who has a certain flair to his game, and there is no way that he is going to be able to pull that off at this level for 90 minutes straight, several games in a row. that said, i would bet that he has created far more chances and been more dangerous than any other us player over the last year. even with his “inconsistency” he has produced a positive performance in just about every game he has played.
who has been better than him in a us jersey since klinsmann took over? bocanegra – probably. chandler – close, but i don’t think so. torres – maybe, but limited opportunities due to injury. dempsey – maybe, but i think brek has been more dynamic.
brek has been damn solid under klinsmann and shows GREAT promise for the future. labeling him as “inconsistent” and “ineffective” (you spelled both of those words wrong in your original post) does not seem like just criticism to me.
when you use demonstrative phrases and tell people to “feel free to…” and “take a look at…” it seems defensive to me. i just think you could have been a little smoother in your rebuttals, that’s all — nothing personal.
thanks for the pointers on the argumentative writing skills. i am sure those will come in handy somewhere down the line.