Meaningless Club Games Could Be Very Meaningful to USMNT

Most European seasons are winding to a close, and thanks to the single table system, that usually means a couple of meaningless games for a lot of teams who have already assured themselves of safety, a title, a spot in Europe, or relegation.  While those games might ultimately be meaningless for the various clubs involved, they will actually be very valuable to the USMNT over the next couple of weeks.

As much as it's our first instinct to think that playing time is the be all and end all in these final months ahead of the World Cup, we've actually hit a point where some time on the bench might be the best thing for a lot of USMNT players.  Of course, this really only applies to those that have already gotten plenty of minutes prior to this point.  Fortunately, there are a couple of Americans whose club situation permits this, namely Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, and Carlos Bocanegra.

While Fulham is still in the midst of a pretty incredible Europa League run, they've already firmly secured their spot in the EPL table.  They're assured of safety, and another European spot is out of reach, so their final couple of league matches really don't serve much of a purpose other than keeping the Cottagers sharp between their European matches.  This situation has given Roy Hodgson the luxury of taking his time with Clint Dempsey, allowing Deuce plenty of time to rest following the thigh injury he suffered against Wigan a couple of weeks ago.  This could pay huge dividends come June, as Dempsey will likely be a lot fresher and healthier than he would be if Fulham were in the midst of a relegation battle that necessitated a rushed comeback from the midfielder.  Look no further than Wayne Rooney's ankle fiasco with Manchester United to see what a lack of meaningless games can lead to.

Bocanegra, meanwhile, has missed a little bit of time recently thanks to an adductor muscle injury.  But with Stade Rennes safe from relegation and without strong hopes of a European spot, Bocanegra has been able to take a decent amount of time to recover from what has been referred to as a "minor injury".  Even if Boca finds himself on the bench for the last couple of games thanks to some nice fill-in performances by a teammate, it'll be far from bad thing.  The US captain has gotten a lot of minutes under his belt over the past couple of months, so some time off just ahead of national team camp actually might be perfect.

And then there's Bradley, who has really logged a lot of playing time for Borussia Monchengladbach this season.  Unlike last year, Bradley's squad isn't sweating out a battle for safety, being all but assured of a spot in the Bundesliga next year with a 9 point lead over 16th place Freiburg with only three matches to go.  I'm hoping that the final weeks of the season will bring some much deserved time off for Bradley before heading back Stateside, or at least some shorter appearances, as he typically goes the full 90 in most matches.  His form has dipped some in the final part of the season, and I think this might have something to do with the amount of work Bradley has put in over the last year plus.  A few weeks on the bench could give him time to get some more life into his legs ahead of South Africa, where he obviously will play a key role in the midfield.

For others, meanwhile, the meaningless end-of-season games could prove to be very useful in their return from injury.  Both Charlie Davies and Stuart Holden are targeting the final two games of their respective clubs' seasons for their returns following significant layoffs.  As it stands, it looks like everything will fall into place to make those final couple of matches meaningless for both Bolton and Sochaux, meaning Owen Coyle and Francis Gillot will likely have little reservation about giving either international some minutes, assuming their healthy.  In fact, I would be pretty surprised if Davies (whose injuries and time away, to be fair, were significantly greater than Holden's) didn't get at least one appearance before the Ligue 1 season comes to the close (once again, assuming he's fully healthy).  I'd expect the manager to give it to him, particularly in such a no-risk situation, as a reward for all the work he's put in over the last six months; not playing might actually run a bigger risk of some negative back lash from people within the club or the fans.  I'd be remiss if I also didn't include Oguchi Onyewu in this group, but it seems as if he's being purposefully cautious in his approach, not appearing to have any qualms about just waiting for the national team camp to roll around before truly pushing himself. 

And finally, there are the players who will be hoping that some meaningless games will finally get them off the bench that they have been rooted to for far too long.  In Scotland, Rangers will most likely clinch the SPL title this weekend, leaving a couple of matches at the end of the season without much importance (though that might not apply to the Old Firm, where pride is such a huge factor).  Will we finally see DaMarcus Beasley get a consistent string of appearances for the first time since the winter with the league already won?  I'm hoping so, and I think that that variable could play a huge role in whether Run DMB ultimately finds himself on the plane to South Africa in a month and a half.  Ricardo Clark, meanwhile, might finally get to make his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt once their slim hopes of a Europa League spot are finally dashed (which will likely happen this weekend, as well).  In the past four months, Rico has gone from World Cup lock to question mark due to his lack of meaningful minutes across the pond.  A couple of starts to close out the season and show he's still sharp, however, would go a long way towards allaying any fears that I, USMNT fans, and (most importantly) Bob Bradley may have.

So, if you're like me and you don't really have any European club allegiances, start pulling for the results to fall in place that will allow the clubs of USMNT players to have some meaningless games at the end of the season.  There's no avoiding that some will be involved in tight battles until season's end, like Steve Cherundolo, Jonathan Spector, and Jozy Altidore.  But there is the potential for outcomes to render the final couple of matches meaningless in terms of results for the teams of a number of other key players.  This has already proven to be pretty helpful in the short term with respect to Clint Dempsey's return from injury, and it could pay off big time in June by allowing some guys to rest up and others to get back on the playing field.