EJ/Findley: Time for Another Plan?

One of the key points of focus for many USMNT fans yesterday was the second striker, as Robbie Findley and Eddie Johnson each got a chance to stake their claim to a world Cup ticket. With Jozy Altidore, a target option, and (hopefully) Charlie Davies most likely occupying three of the forward spots on Bob Bradley’s final 23, it has been generally speculated that a final fourth spot will come down to the Findley/Johnson battle.

Unfortunately, after yesterday’s performance from both players, I’ve been left wondering if it’s time to go to Plan F (or whatever letter we're at, at this point).

Findley has been the flavor of the season ever since his strong finish to the MLS season. USMNT fans have been swooning over the prospects of the RSL striker lining up with the full team, believing he was the closest thing in the player pool to an adequate replacement for Charlie Davies. Coming into Wednesday’s match, the jury was still out on Findley, who wasn’t able to make a huge impact in either of earlier 2010 friendlies. Of course, the Jimmy Conrad red card, the weather in Tampa, and the comparatively lower level of talent around him were all used to explain those performances.

While those points are valid, there was no real opportunity to reason around a poor performance yesterday, as Findley finally got his shot with Bob Bradley’s first XI. And that’s exactly what he turned in: a poor performance. Findley’s first touch was off, his runs were mistimed, and he was far too slow in his decision making for the international level. He struggled to maintain possession in the attacking half, looking like a player earning just his fourth cap rather than someone who is ready to make a splash at the World Cup.

That’s not to say Findley should be cast away from the USMNT forever (you all should know by know how much I hate when people do that). He looked like someone who still needs a good deal of polishing and experience at the international level, and he will likely be on the radar for 2014. I just don’t think three friendly matches before the World Cup is the time to jam in all of that needed growth. Let him play in next year’s Gold Cup and a couple early qualifiers to get him some minutes in a meaningful match. But let’s not just bring him along to South Africa and hope for the best, because he did not look like a player ready for that stage in yesterday’s friendly.
 
Now, I’m sure I’ll get hit with arguments from some Findley apologists at this point. He’s out of season; the Dutch are very good, etc. etc. But the things that Findley was doing poorly had less to do with the opponent and more to do with his own shortcomings. His first touch caused him a number of problems, and he was very slow with the ball at his feet. Yes, he had a nice moment or two when he got behind the defense, but they all ended in disappointing fashion. Also, the out of season argument could be countered with the fact that Findley has the same number of competitive games under his belt as Stuart Holden in 2010, and one more than Alejandro Bedoya. Granted, Holden’s games came against stiffer competition, but it’s not as if the level of play in Findley’s MLS matches will be much higher than those January and February friendlies. With just two months to go until the roster will likely be released, I’m just not ready to wait and hope that Findley’s form can jump exponentially with a few MLS games. If Bedoya and Goodson were able to turn in solid performances even though they’re in their respective offseasons, why shouldn’t we expect the same from Findley?

Eddie Johnson, meanwhile, was not much better. Before I go on, let me preface this by saying that I have been an EJ supporter over the past year or so, and I had thought he would surprise some people and make the World Cup squad. So don’t just write me off as an Eddie Johnson basher. With that being said, his performance yesterday gave me no reason to feel optimistic about the idea of having the Aris striker in South Africa.

Yes, EJ only got 20 minutes at the end the match, but it was enough time to see some fairly unsettling things. For someone being referred to as a “speed option”, EJ looked slow yesterday, even though he was coming on fresh late in the match. I don’t know if he was disinterested or maybe playing with a nagging injury, but it just seemed as if he wasn’t going in hard on 50-50 balls or attacking crosses with any kind of aggression. He looked clumsy on the ball and often took far too many touches while holding the ball up in the midfield. After Findley’s underwhelming performance, EJ didn’t have a tough act to follow, but still he managed to disappoint.

Of course, either player could go off at the club level in the months leading up to the World Cup, allowing them to come into South Africa brimming with confidence. But are we really ready to just sit back and hope for what is nothing more than wishful thinking? Particularly when both players have been very underwhelming in their international appearances of late? At this point, I’d rather starting looking at some other options that are out there.

There’s the Cunningham/MLS striker option, but the 33 year old FC Dallas striker was not particularly impressive with the USMNT over the past couple of months. Further, if he or any other MLS striker were unable to outshine Findley enough to earn a spot in the Amsterdam camp, it’s hard to believe that they’d be a better option for Bob Bradley.

Then there’s Kenny Cooper, who still retains a small but fervent group of supporters within the national team fan base. Cooper’s strike rate with the national team has been pretty impressive, as he seems to make the most of his limited minutes, but he’s never been a “Bob Bradley guy” and isn’t getting a lot of playing time over at Plymouth Argyle. While Bob Bradley’s selection tendencies in the past shouldn’t impact what happens going forward, I would be very surprised if Cooper somehow worked his way back into the World Cup picture (if he was ever there in the first place). His minutes at the club level have been spotty, and he hasn’t really made much of an impact in those few appearances. Heck, he was even taken out of USSD’s Yanks in Europe posts, which is as damning a condemnation as can be.

Then there are the Aalborg guys. Marcus Tracy is an impressive athlete with a lot of upside, but he’s coming off an injury and has 0 caps to his name, so he wouldn’t be the best alternative. Chris Rolfe, however, has been impressing in his time in Denmark thus far and has been capped 10 times. It may be wishful thinking, but Rolfe may a viable dark horse option for South Africa that would be a step up from Findley or Johnson. Once again, though, I’d prefer not to just bank on him heating up in the next couple of months.

The last option I’ll present is the one which I ultimately think is the best option for the fourth striker. Don’t bring one. Instead, bring nine midfielders, giving Bob Bradley the flexibility to bring both Ricardo Clark and Maurice Edu for the defensive midfielder role. With Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey both more than capable of playing up top, only bringing three out and out strikers shouldn’t be that off-putting. With DaMarcus Beasley, Stuart Holden, and Benny Feilhaber (not to mention the possibility of Alejandro Bedoya or Freddy Adu) serving as depth on the wings, it wouldn’t be hard to rotate Dempsey or Donovan up top with the other three strikers.

All of this is only viable if Charlie Davies is in fact match fit come June. While that still remains an “if”, I don’t think I’m the only one who genuinely believes he’ll at least be ready for a super sub role. In that case, either Dempsey or Donovan could be utilized as a starting striker (preferably Dempsey given Donovan’s fantastic play at LM), with Holden or Beasley providing a solid option to fill the void at outside mid. If Davies is fit enough to start matches (and seriously, would you expect anything less after this ridiculously miraculous recovery?), then Dempsey or Donovan could slide up to striker late in a match to spell him. I’d much rather have a tired one of those two or a fresh Brian Ching than a fresh EJ or Findley at this point.

Only three true strikers were utilized in Germany back in 2006 (EJ, McBride, Wolff), so it’s not if such a roster would be without precedent. Of course, it might not be too comforting considering the poor showing in ’06, but Bruce Arena’s side was really just a bad penalty call and an awful Claudio Reyna turnover away from making the Round of 16 out of the Group of Death, which would have been a lot more palatable.

Am I making too much out of one game? Maybe. But with just three months until USA-England, my patience is wearing thin. I guess all we can do now is just wait and see things shake out from now until roster selection time in May.