Ya gotta know when to Holden

Here's the roster for next Wednesday's qualifier in Mexico:

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard, Brad Guzan.

No real surprises here, but I really think there are more capable No. 2s than Brad Guzan. I'm not a fan. He has allowed some soft goals and he's not as athletic as he needs to be for his size.

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector, Jay DeMerit, Steve Cherundolo, Jonathan Bornstein, Chad Marshall.

Not a bad group, but some assembly is required. Although I am a fan, I think Bradley needs to sit Gooch for this one or perhaps bring him off the bench. His tendancy toward the stupid foul/booking/red card could land us in real trouble, and he's looked pretty terrible playing for his new club (AC Milan) recently. Of course, he's still fitting in, but I think you go with the hot hand and not the hot head for this one and play DeMerit. So, I'd like to see Bornstein-Bocanegra-DeMerit-Spector.

Midfielders: Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Benny Feilhaber, Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden, Jose Francisco Torres.

Wow! No DMB. It's the right move (for both the team and Beasley who needs time off to figure out where his talent went). I like this group a lot. Donovan is actually officially listed as a forward, but I put him in the midfield because that's where he should play. I love the Holden pick, but it was a no brainer after his performance in the Gold Cup.

Forwards: Brian Ching, Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, Conor Casey.

Time for the Chuck 'n' Jozy Show! I hope.