Can the USA CM's play well enough for us to win consistantly?

This seems to be the problem game in and game out for the USMNT. We've been getting solid play every game from our strikers and wingers (Davies, Altidore, Donovan and Dempsey except for the T&T game), and our defense has been pretty solid except for the occasional breakdown in every game since Egypt in the Confed cup, but our inability to control the game in the midfield is what's keeping us from being a REALLY dangerous team imo.

Bradley, Feilhaber, and Ricardo Clark seem to lack the composure, ball control and passing ability to really control a game from the midfield. It doesn't matter which two of the three are playing at the time, they seem to lack the chemistry with one another and their other 10 outfield players to truly link up for a 90 minute match. Now don't get me wrong, I really enjoy watching them play, but have almost ripped through a couch pillow or two with the amount of turnovers in our own half that that trio have caused. Dempsey is one, who on a bad day can fit right in with the afformentioned trio, as when he's bad, he's really, REALLY bad.

Basically, I don't know if the growth of our defense and forwards is going to matter if our CM's keep turning the ball over and making costly, unforced errors in our own half.

Thoughts?

---

I agree with you from what i've seen theres no coordination between our midfielders for example when the U.S is attacking. I'm okay with one of the CM going upfront and helping the attack and one staying to prevent a counterattacks or something and in the last few games I've been watching, I've seen that both Bradley and Feilhaber have that tendency of always leaving their natural positions, There for making it easier for the other team to counter attack us, But I don't know is not like we have a lot of options in the Midfield? But I think that we need to take care of that key line to me the Midfield is where football starts. I believe if you have a really good solid Midfield you will have a very successful team, But I hope we start to get our act together or we could be in trouble in our upcoming games. I'm really hoping for a good result when we visit Honduras..it will be a very tough match..

Well, since we lack quality fullbacks/wingbacks, all of our support in attack comes from our CM's as the back four basically stays all the way back in attack. Our midfield is good enough to hold down starting European gigs but when paired up with one another on the USMNT, can't seem to make a pass form point A to point B. This is the problem, and not over-extending themselves and leaving us vulnerable to a countr attack imo. We're getting beaten on opportunities created from turnovers in our own half...either from horrible clearences or a turnover stemming from one of our CM's (or Dempsey) more often than not. Once the ball moves into the Final third, we seem to get enough quality chances.

If we can clean up the midfield play in our own end/middle third of the pitch, we'll reach our full potential for this world cup which (based on group seeding) seems to be a 1/4 final with a lofty goal of semi-final finish.

There's no way we should not qualify, but it's possible if we keep doing all the work for our CONCACAF opponents by giving them the ball in our own end. Assuming that we qualify, which is a reasonable assumption, there's no way we shouldn't finish top 2 in our group unless we end up in some impossible group of death.

Here's to hoping that we can actually complete some passes to link our defenders to our forwards...COME ON MIDFIELD, I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!

Well we have Spector, But like Dempsey very unconsistant. What do you think of that Mexican-American player Edgar Castillo who at one point decided to play for Mexico, But then changed his mind and now apparently will be playing for the U.S National team? I think he is a really good full back he will contribute a lot to the NT..imo. Wingback we have Ricardo Clark, Maurice Edu, Sam Cronin and Kyle Beckerman. But some are not at their best moments and they lack of that experience like Clark, Maurice Edu well we don't know if he will be back in form soon after that injury. Beckerman needs more International experience seen how he has only played in the MLS..don't know..but we need to get our Midfield straighten up.

This is what I got

Our wing fullbacks are slow, a risk in defense and virtually non-existent in the counterattack. It leaves the focal points of our offense–that is, our outside middies generally and Landon and Clint specfically–to sit back way in their rearguard. This eliminates a quick and effective counterattack all too often...

I don't know, but I would honestly love to see Clark at one of the fullback spots (not his natural position, but one he's well suited for at the international level) and Jermaine Jones at the CM with Bradley moving to holding midfielder (CDM). This may give us our most potent attacking team, while not giving up anything at the back. It would also give us Carlos Bocanegra (Charlie Black Mouth to my circle of friends) and Clark at the Fullback positions which would give us a little more offensive minded/capable players in those slots. Jones is reputably more offensively capable than any of our CM's currently, and Bradley is a heady CDM, who tends to falter when put into the playmaking midfielder's role.

Who knows if any of this will ever happen, but when I play with the US on FIFA 10, I can assure you it will.