Agreed on both above. Bradley had some lapses on the back end, which makes you wonder if against CONCACAF opponents except Mexico, if he might be better off inverting the triangle so he is farther forward. But if you do that, you either bench Edu, who was doing a lot of the dirty work, leave Dempsey off if you keep Torres and two strikers, or lose Jones attacking as well.
Landon was shut down by one of the best defenders in the world. That shut down most of the team during the first 60 minutes, which is the bulk of your friendly play. That doesnt look good.
As for Gooch, who my friend from Essex who watches the matches with me at the pub calls "Onwayfat", the first step isnt there and the lateral movement isnt there. You wonder if it ever will be again at this point. He can still dominate in the air, so having him on the roster for games at El Salvador, Honduras, etc. makes sense. But he doesnt have the speed, quickness, or reaction time to stay with the elite powers. The back line has been in disarray really starting since 2005 and its patched together ever since. Cameron is not ready and may not ever be. You wonder if George John playing out of position at a skinny 6'3" in the middle makes sense, but its worth a shot. Id say cap him before Greece does. Gooch didnt look comfortable on the ball at all and that's a problem with Klinsmann's system. Bocanegra looked nervous and rushed too, fwiw.
Dolo looked good at times, but showed his wear at the end. Castillo isnt serviceable. Torres was disrupted, but didnt show much ability to overcome that disruption. That may come along with time.
I like playing younger players that want to be there for these matches. You figure it builds teamwork on a team that is patched together with limited training. Boyd, Gomez, Johnson, Bradley, and Torres looked thrilled to be there. Others seemed to be going through the motions.
More later.
