This was probably the easiest decision for Jurgen Klinnsman, and our strongest position. We will be heavily relying on our goalkeepers to keep us in games with the offensive fire power in our group, and a few big saves from Howard could very well make the difference between making it out of the group or not. Tim Howard Club: Everton (EPL) Age: 35 Howard has been the stalwart for the US Men's National Team for the last 2 World Cup cycles after Kasey Keller's retirement in 2007. He was probably the first name Klinnsman picked for the roster and will be the starting goalkeeper barring injury. Brad Guzan Club: Aston Villa (EPL) Age: 29 Guzan would probably be starting for at least half of the other teams in the World Cup and even pushed Tim Howard for his job during qualification. You'll be hard pressed to find a better backup in the tournament. Nick Rimando Club: Real Salt Lake (MLS) Age: 34 Rimando comes in as our 3rd goalkeeper and has seemed to have that spot on lockdown for the last couple of months. He's been in incredible form for RSL and provides good veteran leadership in the locker room. Just Missed the Cut I'm not sure there was anybody who "just missed" it at the goalkeeper position with the quality of our top 3, but these are the guys who were closest. Sean Johnson Club: Chicago Fire (MLS) Age: 25 Johnson is probably best known at this point for his mistake that cost the U-23's Olympic qualification a few years back, but he was at one point in the cycle considered a promising young talent. He hasn't shown all that well for Chicago or the Nats in a while though, so he was never really close. Bill Hamid Club: DC United (MLS) Age: 23 Hamid got some minutes in friendlies and was the #3 guy multiple times in qualifying, but struggles at DC and the emergence of Rimando left him out of the picture. He's still young with plenty of time to prove himself though, and could be competing for a spot in 2018. Cody Cropper Club: Southampton (EPL) Age: 21 Cropper is another promising young goalkeeper who actually filled in to help out at camp the last couple of weeks. He's had a lot of success with the U-20's and is definitely one to watch for the future. He may even have jumped Johnson and Hamid on the totem pole.
Hopefully that formatted alright, I typed it up on my phone on the way back from Charlotte lol. Boring ride back. I apologize for any grammatical/formatting errors.
Why don't you just cut to the chase and mention Donovan so people can go back and forth for 39 pages arguing it was right or wrong or unbelievable, etc...
I think this guy will be the next big US goalie after Howard. If something doesn't go wrong of course, and things fall into place.
Lol I want to get all of then done at some point. For the record I'm not surprised. He was an 80th minute sub at best, so I don't mind most of the guys that wet over him. Davis was the questionable one for me but I think JK just wanted a lefty for late set pieces.
Yea I'm not surprised either. And I'm very ok with the decision. I hear people talking about this like it's the end of the world, and I think most people are talking based on the name and not really following the team much. If you follow, you could have seen it coming easily, and also not be surprised or upset with it. And yes, Davis is a question mark for me. Some people also question why Brooks or Yedlin went over him but that's kind of dumb to question because they're not considered for similar positions or areas of expertise. And Green is also a question mark but more understandable, he is probably an investment for the future and a gamble. Why invest on a Donovan who doesn't have much left in him while you have a youngster with great potential and this could be the game changer for him to lock himself with US instead of Germany? Some say we need Donovan's experience and leadership. What leadership? "Ummmm I wanna take a break.... Ummm I'm homesick, I don't want to go play in major European leagues...". That's the example you want for the next generation? I don't think so. Anyways, here it is, I fired it up in the goalie thread all of sudden. And it's your fault. You shouldn't have given even the tiny opinion on this matter
