U.S. Camp: Early (Involved) Commentary

All y'all know by know that "Coach" Bradley called in 29 players for his inaugural training camp (list here). And, judging by my choice of headlines, I've got to be the last amateur pundit to look into this. But that's not completely true (I'm not slacking!): I did sneak an update into yesterday's post on USA Today's Q & A with Bradley.

Even there, though, I touched on the roster only tangentially. Before seeing it, however, I voiced one hope for Bradley's tenure:

"I'm hoping he begins by showing a willingness to build the team as opposed to playing for results by calling in veteran players. I'd like to think that would make a better impression with the right people."

According to the training camp report Steve Davis turned into ESPN, that's precisely what we can expect from Bradley's tenure:

"That in itself confirms a little something, although nothing shocking: that Bradley understands his work is all about development, and that he won't stray from that endeavor in some thinly veiled gambit to win insignificant matches and solidify his hold on the spot."

Well, super. I'm still on the same page with Bradley.

Davis' piece ain't bad, but it's also nowhere near as involved as the efforts turned in by heavy-hitters Ives Galarcep (LINK) and Marc Connolly (LINK). Both pundits pick through the names, explain eye-raising absences (Brian Ching (bum knee) and Brad Davis (wedding), to name two), and propose rosters for the January friendly against Denmark; hell, Connolly proposes three and tinkers with formation as well. My level of enthusiasm - which I'd compare in terms of relative satisfaction to coming across a thimble-full of water after crawling out of the desert - doesn't compel me to look at this in similar detail, but I have a thought or two on some questions they mentioned:

1) Justin Mapp: The time is now to start him on the left.

2) Michael Parkhurst: ditto - the time is now to play him. Groom him now, figure out where he'll work best. Concerns about size do come into play, but now is the time to see whether he can massage these at the international level as well as he does in MLS.

3) Twellman: As much as I like Twellman (love/irk sums it up fairly), I'd leave him on the bubble and give others more time to earn the spot; I'm thinking mainly of Nate Jaqua and Kenny Cooper here. If they fail, then recall Twellman and see what he does. In a related note, I see more in Jaqua than Galarcep; as he would say, that's just my opinion (and he's correct about that).

4) In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I liked seeing Eskandarian in the mix. I still do, but respect Davis' "mild surprise" at Esky's inclusion. It's been a while. To be honest, the same goes for Joshua Gros, who, as I saw it, seemed to fade deep in the past season.

Obviously, there's talking points to keep us chatting past the New Year in there, but that's all for now.