Brian Ching, a shocking selection
This morning, I began to create (I may actually finish it) a table with two columns; one listing Taylor Twellman’s accomplishments and the other listing Brian Ching’s. It quickly became a farce. Ching does not match up on paper, nor, frankly, does he match up in any other respect.
No one can question Bruce’s success. But when Brian Ching’s name was flashed on the screen yesterday, we sat agape, speechless. Was this the Brian Ching who looks lost on the pitch? The guy who is completely disinterested and cannot finish? The player who makes strange, ineffective runs? The one who is always a split-second or a step late?
And that doesn’t even cover the Twellman side of the equation. Twellman puts himself in spots to strike. He makes strong, attacking runs. He has a nose for goal and a penchant for finishing.
By the way, I suspect I’ll take a lot of heat for saying that Ching can’t finish. “After all,” his supporters will say, “he scored four against the Rapids earlier this season!” Well, that’s true; and if you think Eric Denton or Chris Wingert are comparable to Alessandro Nesta or Zdenek Grygera (two defenders the U.S. will face in group play) I can’t help you understand.
11 comments
I too was shocked at the selection of Ching over Twellman. Hopefully Ching won’t be seeing that much time on the pitch.
You know, I keep looking for reasons, and I think there must be something we don’t know. A personality conflict? An attitude problem?
Who knows…
Perhaps the Hawaii tourism board offered the decision makers some nice perks – ala any of the recent Olympic bid committees.
Perhaps the Hawaii tourism board offered the decision makers some nice perks – ala any of the recent Olympic bid committees.
My wife made a similar crack last night, suggesting that Bruce has a free month in Hawaii next winter.
Like everyone else, I was surprised that Bruce took Ching over Twellman. After reading more about it, though, Bruce’s decision makes sense to me. First, and perhaps foremost, their recent form in MLS suggests taking Ching over Twellman. With the World Cup only a month away, it makes sense to me to choose the striker who’s hot.
Another reason for going with Ching is his physical presence. In certain situations, against certain teams, Bruce may want to play two target forwards. He also probably wants a target-forward backup, in case McBride gets injured (imagine that!). To be sure, Twellman can play in a target forward role, but if you’re picking a target forward, I would think Ching would be preferable.
Finally, although Ching hasn’t done much for us in his recent appearance with the USMNT, he scored two key goals for us in WC qualifiers. As I recall, one was a stoppage time goal that salvaged a draw against a team that we should have beaten (I’m blanking on who the opponent actually was). Although Twellman has shown he can light it up against the Norwegian U-23’s, he hasn’t scored any clutch goals for us the way Ching has.
Now don’t get me wrong — I’m not at all completely convinced that taking Ching instead of Twellman was the right choice. But I can see why Bruce might have made that choice, and it doesn’t strike me as completely ridiculous.
Mirarchi,
Good stuff.
I’m still not convinced, but your comment about Ching’s physical presence is well-taken.
[...] Are you as puzzled by some of the selections for the US National team as we are? Smug Bruce Arena surprised everyone – several bloggers have already expressed outrage – by selecting Brian Chung and Jimmy Conrad to the team instead of scoring machine Taylor Twellman and Kerry Zavagnin. [...]
I have to agree with Mirarchi. I said the same thing in my coaching blog last night.
http://nssacoach.blogspot.com/
I also found another article today that also said he will be a back up to the other Brian, (McBride) because Ching is a big boy and I think what Bruce is telling us is that McBride is his man. A system will be built around McBride as a target player, back to goal laying off to speedy players like Donovan, Beasly, Johnson and The Duece. I think there also may be something in the comment about the chemistry thing.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=366780&root=us&cc=5901
Well now, that didn’t last long.
Albright Replaces Injured Hejduk on U.S. FIFA World Cup Roster. Heydude diagnosed with a torn ACL.
Hey Ching is a good player plus he is from the motherland…Hawaii Nei. So you all better stop hating…Josh love the web site. Jess and I just bought a new 42″ plasma to watch the World Cup on since we can’t be there in person…are you going? Well Jess is going to love your website…he is soccer 24/7.
[...] Tactically, Arena could not have managed his World Cup side more recklessly. It started in May, when he picked his 23-man roster. He allowed John O’Brien to ride on the planes and buses with the team, knowing that he was unfit. He chose Brian Ching and left other, more talented attackers behind. During qualifying, every fan saw that the U.S. was not scoring goals. Arena’s response for the World Cup, where goals are priceless? A defensively-oriented 4-5-1 formation. [...]
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