By Jason Kuenle

As I wrote in my last article, I believe that Bob Bradley has caused a storm in the US national team by experimenting during a string of matches against good to great competition (Trinidad and Tobago notwithstanding). His decisions since the El Salvador game lead me to believe that the US is moving from a 4-4-1-1 formation to a 4-4-2. And while this transition and other formation experimentation has been occurring with all its ups and downs, so too have a number of changes to the depth chart.

After the Costa Rica game, I stated two areas of ongoing concern: the lack of a depth in the backline and the missing midfield general. In the six games since the chaos began, the US has allowed 10 goals, yet the backline picture has begun to clear up. While back in March no one knew who the third right back, the third center back, or the top left back were, I’m now fairly confident in those positions and a few others. Onyewu, Bocanegra, and DeMerit are the top three center backs. Spector is at least the number three right back and also the number one or two left back. Beasley is no longer on the chart at left back, replaced by Bornstein at one or two with Spector, then Pearce at three. The top of the right side is still likely Cherundolo and Hejduk. But with the injuries to Cherundolo, Hejduk, and Bocanegra, its hard to know exactly where people fall, though Bradley now seems to have a core of eight defenders that he trusts.

However, most of the goals given up were not the fault of the backline, but the fault of the midfield. From the space given the Italians on their long distance goals, to red cards by Clark and Kljestan, to the inept tackling in Costa Rica, the midfield has been a defensive disaster. Michael Bradley will continue to be a staple of the central midfield, and it is becoming clear that Bob intends to pair him with a defensive midfielder. In the five experimentation games that Michael has played, he’s been paired with Mastroeni twice, Clark twice, and Kljestan once when there were no defensive mids available.

Many will cringe at what they see as a midfield with two holding midfielders. But while Michael is capable of playing defensive midfielder, he’s not an overly effective one, nor does his play when paired with a defensive midfielder echo that position. Michael was the defensive midfielder when early goals were given up to El Salvador and Brazil. His positioning when paired with Clark or Mastroeni has been similar to his games with ‘Gladbach playing the attacking mid in their 4-2-3-1 or his games with Heerenveen when he scored 16 goals in 30 games. Michael has the defensive ability to track back and help shut down attacks and the ability to go for goal; whether he has the ability to orchestrate the attack and be a true midfield general remains to be seen, but it appears that Bob is determined to find out.

For the Confederations Cup, Bradley named a team that, given the current injuries to the US team, looked like a reasonable roster. No Mastroeni and the inclusion of Torres, Feilhaber, Davies, and Adu balanced the continued inclusion of Beasley and the absence of Cooper. Yet through three games, neither Torres nor Adu have been used, making some wonder why they were even called. Especially when in two of the three games, we’ve even finished with an unused sub.

While Adu has been capped 13 times and Torres 5 times, neither has ever played a full match for the US. There inclusion in the Confed Cup roster and the Gold Cup camp roster makes me believe that they will both be fixtures throughout the Gold Cup run, likely with Torres in the Michael Bradley role and Adu on the wing. Bob Bradley learned in the Copa America what happens when a team goes into a tournament without any experience playing together. Judging by the camp roster, he will put a lot more experience on the field then he did in 2007. The US may end up making the Confederation Cup Semis and the Gold Cup finals, something few believed possible with the team spread so thin. Moreover, it will make the Gold Cup much more fun to watch, and Adu’s transfer hopes could get a boost with a stellar tournament.

Now that Bob has answered the question marks at outside back and center midfield to his liking, the search should be on for the midfield and striker backups. Who fills in for Donovan or Dempsey and who is behind Altidore up top? These are all questions that can be answered in the Gold Cup. Getting Torres and Adu training time with the “A” team and field experience leading what is beginning to look like a “B+“ or even “A-“ team will put them in a position to be full contributors in the fall qualifiers if Bradley needs them because of injuries or poor form of other players.

A lot has happened in six games. Altidore has gone from occasional sub to starter. Mastroeni has fallen to the “B” team where he will likely be joined by Beasley. The formation looks like it is being shifted. The depth questions in the back have been answered. And the direction of the midfield looks more defined. Perhaps these changes should have been made long ago. With the exception of the last three months, Bob has shown that he favors stability in formation and lineup. I would not be at all surprised if Bradley’s experiments are close to being over, if his predictable lineups return, and if the storm that is the USMNT's inconsistency dissipates.

How much cleanup there is to do remains to be seen.