Your October Questions Answered (Part Three)

Welcome to the latest installment of Your Questions Answered, now with more national team content.

The U.S. men's national team has dominated October's batch of questions as you might expect, but this installment includes some interesting inquiries about the likes of Brad Friedel, Jeff Cunningham and yes, Freddy Adu.

Now, without further Ado, here are some more of Your October Questions Answered:

SUSHANT- Based on what you've seen so far, how would you rank the Center Mids in the USMNT pool and where would M.Edu and J.Jones fit once they are healthy?

IVES- It’s tough to rank the central midfielders in the pool on one scale since they all bring different components to that part of the field and essentially play unique roles when used. That said, here’s my ranking:

Michael Bradley

Benny Feilhaber

Jose Francisco Torres

Ricardo Clark

Kyle Beckerman

Sacha Kljestan

It’s really hard for me to rank Edu because the popular hype surrounding Edu, and the love many fans have for him as a national team prospect, stems from the games he started for Rangers late last season. As good as it was for him to get games there, he has yet to show on the national team level that he’s an impact central midfielder so we shouldn’t just assume that he catapults up this chart when healthy.

Jermaine Jones is another story. He’s a proven commodity who I can’t see not starting when healthy. I happen to think we will see a Bradley-Jones tandem at the World Cup if both players are healthy.

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TR- Ives, why are there so many ties in MLS? I ran the numbers ... this year in MLS 31% of the games end in draws. Samples from elsewhere: last year's EPL had 26% draws, Serie A 25% draws, La Liga 22% ... and this year in the EPL (ok, small sample size I know, but still): 12% of the matches end in a tie. I don't want to be an American "you have to have a winner!" type, but the shear amount of ties do bug me a little. Is there a reason? Statiscal anomaly, or a result of parity due to the salary cap, or just dumb luck, or ... ?

IVES- Parity. It’s that simple. When all 15 teams are essentially operating with the same budget, you will get so many more evenly-matched games. Throw in a rampant habit of teams settling for ties, and fewer teams really going for wins late, and we wind up with an environment where ties are just too acceptable a result.

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SOME DUDE IN NYC- Hey ives how do you see the teams from concacaf(costa rica included if they qualify)performing at the world cup. Do you see one or all three/four teams getting out of the first round?

IVES- It all depends on groups. Mexico has been very fortunate with the groups it has been placed in during the past few World Cups so if that keeps going I’m positive Mexico will progress. The same goes for USA. I also happen to think Honduras is the type of team that can absolutely surprise people and be a team like Senegal was in 2002.

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JACOBI MILLIONAIRE- Did you see anyone on the U-20 team that you think has a future on the senior team? If you say Brek Shea you will lose all credibility.

IVES- I still think Ike Opara is a great prospect, and someone who got put in bad spots. Dilly Duka looks like a promising player, and Tony Taylor showed some flashes. I didn’t see enough of Mikkel Diskerud to think he’s someone with a chance in the immediate future. Bryan Arguez also showed some good promise, though he's still pretty raw.

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DB- Whats the deal with Spector. He played fantastic in South Africa, but has struggled over the last few qualifiers. Do you think its a matter of motivation, he didn't have a starting spot so he forced his way in, and once he had it laid off a bit? Or do you think South Africa was more of a fluke? I hope its not the second cause if he played like that I'd be satisfied with the RB situation.

IVES- Not sure it can be simply stated that he’s “struggled over the last few qualifiers”. He’s had some nervy moments here and there, but he’s also been very solid. I think lack of playing time with West Ham early in the season might have thrown him off a bit, and I also think he was simply beaten a few times by quick opponents. The fact that Spector is once again in the mix for major minutes at West Ham tells me he’s a legitimate national team player who was anything but a fluke this summer.

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BRIAN- If offered the USMNT Coach job, would you accept and what changes would you make?

IVES- Well, I’d take the job but then it would be a bit weird because Sunil Gulati would probably then be fired for hiring me. I’d probably want to get a coaching badge of some kind before I accepted a coaching job, but I’d have to say yes because the money is too good.

Seriously speaking though, I’d be much more inclined to take a GM/technical director position in MLS. I’m thoroughly convinced that I could do a better job than a handful of the current holders of that job in the league. I would apply for the Red Bulls GM position but they don’t really like me over there.

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PAUL D- When will people realize that Adu doesn't deserve a spot on our roster based on current form?

Does Jay Demerit come back into the centerback picture now with Onyewu's injury?

IVES- Some people are simply in love with the flashes that Adu has shown in the past, and some people just can’t accept the fact that at this moment in his career he hasn’t become the player they thought he would be. I’m not going to go as far as to say he’s finished, but I don’t think anybody is doing him any favors by continuing to try and put him in the national team conversation when he hasn’t gotten steady club minutes for years.

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ADAM T- Ives, what are the chances castillo and jones make our world up team? Also, in your opinion, whose the best outside back in the world?

IVES- I think Jones is a lock of healthy. I’m less certain about Castillo, who simply hasn’t proven himself on the international level or a very high club level yet. That said, it wouldn’t shock me if he made it.

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MICKND- I'll keep it simple: What is the most frustrating part of your job?

Thanks

IVES- I’d say simply not having enough hours in the day to do everything I need to do and want to do for the SBI website. After that, I’d say useless PR people make life miserable (MLS has plenty of great ones, but there are a few who I wish would find a new line of work).

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KAR- With 16 teams, any chance MLS will go to home & away matches between all the teams (keeping the 30 game season)? If not, has anything leaked out around how scheduling might happen?

IVES- I think that’s been pretty much established as what we will see going forward. I know it hasn’t been formally announced, but how can you have a schedule where one team doesn’t play in a certain stadium in a given year?

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KLINSIGRINSI- You have written a piece on Bob Bradley's success with the USMNT and that he receives unfair criticism. I think you are by and large right, but personally I have been a Bradley critic due to one main issue - he has not developed a QB in the mold of Claudio Reyna who can hold the ball, dictate pace, and allow us to play a possession game when we need it. For two years I have been clamoring for Feilhaber and Torres (the only two who might fit this mold, though they arent there yet) to get playing time in this role. Its a very tough role, and perhaps one we dont truly have the right personnel for, but thats the reason for cultivating a successor asap. We dont hold possession well, and when we do its against Tier 2 teams. If we dont improve this aspect of out game then against the bog boys - Brazil, England, Germany, Argentina - we are solely reliant on the counterattack, we are not equipped to play a possession/build-up play game against that level of competition without some players who fit that mold. Your thoughts on this quandary?

IVES- KlinsiGrinsi, I wholeheartedly disagree with any assessment that suggests it is a national team coach’s job to "develop" players. Seriously, think about your statement. How does a national team coach, who interacts with players a total of a few weeks out of the year, truly develop players? A coach can help a player's development by being a positive influence on their work habits and understanding of the game, but national team coaches simply don't have enough time with players to truly impact their development the way club coaches can.

A national team coach’s job is to identify talent and then select the best of that talent and find a system that maximizes the ability of that talent. To suggest that Feilhaber and Torres aren’t now Claudio Reyna-like players because Bradley simply hasn’t played them enough to “develop” them is a misguided statement in my opinion. Those players will grow and develop on the club level, which they are doing, and if they’re ever going to come close to being the kind of player Reyna was (which is still a long journey for both) they’re going to do so on the strength of their club exploits, not by virtue of some national team appearances.

All that said, I will agree that I would like to see Torres get more minutes. He's a talented young player with a bright future.

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KEVIN- Love the site. What is your take on Freddy Adu's situation. Should he just come back to the MLS for a little while.....maybe as a DP? Having been a Sounders supporter for close to 20 years, I know that I would much rather have him than Ljungberg.

IVES- Adu needs to stick it out in Europe, but he needs to do a better job (or his handlers need to do a better job) of identifying a quality destination for him. It’s a sin that he has bounced around in Europe the way he has and STILL hasn’t found a workable situation.

As for Adu being a DP. There isn’t a team in the league that would take Adu as a Designated Player. Not a single one.

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DOUG- In the next 12 months, which high-profile players will make the move to MLS?

IVES- I wish I knew. Thierry Henry is the most popular rumor, with him coming to New York this summer. There seems to be plenty of smoke with that one so I’m not about to rule that one out. One other player who’s name I’ve heard mentioned is forward Fernando Morientes. Not sure where he might wind up, but the Spanish striker is a quality player.

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FREDDY- What do you think? International retirement be damned, Brad Friedel should be our #2 in South Africa. God forbid something happens to Howard, Guzan is to much of a drop-off.

IVES- Freddy, while it would be ideal to bring a player of Friedel’s quality, I absolutely don’t see Friedel accepting a No. 2 role to come to South Africa. He never really wanted to accept a No. 2 role to Kasey Keller back when he was still an active national team player, so I don’t see him swallowing his pride and accepting being the back-up.

And while Brad Guzan is a notch below Tim Howard, he has shown that when he gets playing time he’s a very good option. His heroics in Cup play with Aston Villa are the stuff of legend so I’m not sure it should be assumed that he couldn’t handle starting in case of an emergency. It’s AFTER Guzan when things get really shaky.

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B NATI- What position did you play in your college football days? I'm guessing D-tackle.

Where would you see yourself playing on the soccer pitch?

IVES- I was a nose tackle. On the soccer pitch? In my prime I could have seen myself as a goalkeeper. My cat-like reflexes belied my big frame. You could have called me a Peruvian Zach Thornton (and yes, I'm kidding).

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MR DERP- You can pick one American soccer player/coach/GM to be a new caller on "Special 1 TV." Who do you pick?

IVES- Hands down, no question about it, Bruce Arena.

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ETJ- First of all, love the website probly spend about half an hour on it a day, its my homepage

Now that Bornstein has had a solid three games in a row in qualification, not to mention a brilliant goal, how confident do you feel about him as a left-back option?

Also, could the injuries to many important players help the USMNT establish more depth? Obviously that was a major problem at the Confed Cup and look at the play of Holden filling in for Dempsey, could this be a silver lining...

IVES- Hey ETJ, thanks for the love.

I think Bornstein has shown in his recent run of national team games that he is maturing as a player and as a defender. His time in central defense with Chivas USA is really paying off and you see a player who has a much better understanding of positioning and how to close attacking players down. Nobody is saying the guy is Patrice Evra or anything, but he’s growing as a player and I think he’s a pretty decent option right now (and yes, I'll take complete credit for his recent form since it began soon after my "Bornstein isn't the answer at left back" column for ESPN. Okay, not really).

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MICHAEL C- With all his ups and downs Altidore is a fix up top now with Davies injured. I just don't see who his partner should be right now, doesn't Jeff Cunningham deserve a look?

IVES- It’s hard to argue with the way he finished the MLS season, but does a ridiculous three-month run cancel out the widely-held belief that he simply isn’t technically proficient enough to be an effective international striker? I’d say it’s a safe bet he gets a look because the loss of Charlie Davies has the team in a serious search mode for speedy forward options. I wouldn’t say it’s a safe bet that Cunningham can duplicate his recent MLS form on the international level.

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JFC- remember a couple of months ago Kandji from the redbulls said he was interested in playing for the USMNT. Do you think there will be room for him in the future on the squad?

IVES- Kandji showed in the Red Bulls’ season finale that he’s a player with some very impressive talent, but nobody seems to know how his asylum status impacts his proximity to American citizenship. He’s essentially come out and said that he’ll play with the national team that calls him up first out of Senegal, Gambia and USA. I’d say his chances of being a U.S. player are remote.

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