I'm not usually one for forced structured posts that attempt to cleverly categorize players, teams, coaches, etc.; I prefer to simply present my opinions and viewpoints in a old-fashioned prose format and let you do the parsing. That's not the suggested blog method, but I try not to let that "how to" noise dictate too much around here.


Sometimes, though, it makes sense to use a black and white delineation of items to present a few concepts.


I will, however, avoid any clever categories or analogous wordplay. That's where I draw the line.


Never mind all that. Let's just get on with it.


This is an overview of the US National Team's positive and negative trends heading into 2010. Bob Bradley has a lot on his plate, much of it with as yet unknown results, and will need every opportunity presented to flesh out what is what for the World Cup in six months time. I've also thrown in an "unknowns" for good measure, just to be sure we're hitting all of the major issues.


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Back and Front Line Depth

Not only did the loss of Oguchi Onyewu and Charlie Davies take two positions of strength in the starting lineup and make them weaknesses, it highlighted the lack of depth the United States has at each spot. The drop in quality and experience from Onyewu to Jay Demerit is significant if not debilitating, but it's the second line behind the assumed pairing of DeMerit and Bocanegra where things get iffy. Chad Marshall is a class behind the European-based group, Jimmy Conrad is a very good MLS defender who likely won't hack it at his age on the international level, and none of the other possibilities (Cameron, Goodson, a re-positioned Jonathan Spector) inspire much confidence.

Up top, and how Bob Bradley will handle being (likely) without speedster Charlie Davies, also creates problems of depth. Depending on who Bradley taps to replace Davies in the support striker role, the move we all assume he'll make though he could certainly adjust his strategy, it might open a hole or thin the reserves somewhere else. Both Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey could be slotted in alongside Jozy Altidore. From a quality standpoint, either of those moves would make sense; it's the replacements in the midfield that then become tricky.


Confidence

Collective team confidence, especially with in international football, is a tricky thing; there's just not enough continuity to really know how much the effect of poor results will carry over to a meaningful competition like the World Cup. Do the two friendly losses in Europe, neither of which included a few integral parts of the team, mean anything heading in 2010? I doubt it, but there aren't any positives to be taken from them, either.

The months leading up to South Africa, and the friendlies on the schedule (beyond January's match against Honduras) will have a lot to do with the collective feeling of Bradley's squad. Wins would be nice, but perhaps more important is level of play; the Americans can draw or lose against Mexico (assumed to be lined up) and the Netherlands and still move forward feeling good about themselves provided they perform at a high level. I'd much rather see them lose 2-1 to the Dutch while competing than win 1-0 on a lucky break despite getting dominated.


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Possible New Options

Despite the ongoing struggle of German-American Jermaine Jones, who wasn't a lock to figure in the team but certainly has the quality to do so, to get back to the field, Bob Bradley's potential player pool might have a few added names come June.

At Rangers, both Maurice Edu (who made his first team return Sunday in a sixteen-minute substitute appearance) and DaMarcus Beasley are on the road to recovery. For Edu, it's the culmination of his rehab process after a knee injury suffered earlier in the year; for Beasley, it's finally getting playing time after struggling to get any for almost all of 2009. If Beasley can consistently stay healthy (he was out Sunday with a thigh injury) and return to his old form, Bob Bradley will have a dangerous new option on the wing. That option might allow Donovan or Dempsey to move up top without a significant drop in quality behind them.

Edu's possible role in the World Cup team, should he make it, is less clear; even with Jones not figuring, central midfield is a position of relative strength. Bradley, Clark, Feilhaber and Torres are all capable, available, and likely to be playing for their clubs more consistently than Edu. Still, Edu's box-to-box quality would be a nice thing to have in reserve.


Important Contributors Playing in High Quality Leagues

This is a bit dependent on where Dynamo starts Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden end up, but it's likely one or both will end up in the English Premier League. With Landon Donovan headed to Everton on loan to join Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey an established starter at Fulham, Michael Bradley contributing for 'Gladbach, and Jozy Altidore getting solid time at Hull, more Americans should be playing regularly for clubs in top level European leagues as the World Cup gets ever closer.

The experience and competition against high quality opponents will only do those players good before the tournament in South Africa. Projected back line starter Carlos Bocanegra has hit a rough patch in France, so everything is not entirely rosy; but the positives (provided all of these players get first team time) clearly outweigh the negatives. MLSers will naturally play an important role in the World Cup team, but the higher the proportion of players facing world class competition in the months until June, the better.


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MLS Labor Trouble

Speaking of the MLSers likely to be in the squad, there could be a problem for them if the league and players union are unable to come together on a collective bargaining agreement before the scheduled start of the 2010 season. No league means no playing time, and the United States cannot afford to have so much of their potential World Cup squad doing nothing but training. The sharpness needed for the pressure of the tournament will only come through games.

Bradley's "policy" of only calling in players who are getting regular time at their clubs would be stretched if the MLS season does not happen as planned. While there's every reason to believe that things will be sorted eventually, how much actual game competition the MLS players will see could be an issue. Bradley might take extraordinary steps, like running camps while MLS is in labor hell (just a guess), or be forced to rely even more on players based abroad.


This taking of the National Team temperature as 2010 looms is not mean to be comprehensive; there are many issues Bob Bradley will face in the New Year that are either under the radar, unknown to us altogether, or will crop up in due time.