Reflections on last night

In a word: depressing. Sure, Oguchi Onyewu was not 100%. Sure, most of our starters were enjoying cheeseburgers and wings in the luxury boxes overlooking Rentschler Field. Sure, there were two goals off set pieces, including a promising finish from Herculez Gomez in his final shot at squeezing onto today's 23-man roster announcement. But the 4-2 loss to the Czech Republic highlighted what I've been pointing out since he took over the job. Bob Bradley has failed to develop any depth past his World Cup starters.

The very fact that Gomez and Buddle were getting try-outs in the zero hour underscore Bradley's lack of foresight. Silly early call-ups (Jeff Cunnningham, Eddie Gaven, Frankie Hejduk) and late injuries forced him back into a very muddy player pool and he's been digging around for diamonds in the slop like a single mother on Minute to Win It.

I don't mean to indicate that Gomez and Buddle shouldn't be on the team (because I think they should be, at the expense of DMB and Eddie Johnson) but the fact that he’s waited so long to add new components to the national team means that the U.S. could struggle with continuity and collaboration if these players are called upon.

But putting aside the argument over who should be playing alongside of Jozy Altidore, last night’s match revealed a bigger problem: the lack of depth in defense. Hopefully, Gooch, Carlos Bocanegra and Jay DeMerit are in game shape for June 12 because after those three I shudder to think of who will cover. Bradley’s positive assessment of Clarence Goodson’s performance was mind-boggling. Sure he assisted on three goals; unfortunately, two were for the Czechs. And Maurice Edu at centerback = failed experiment.

But even if the Big Three stay healthy in the backline, there is still the issue of left back. Jonathan Bornstein and Heath Pearce made the Czechs look like Brazilians. They were dreadful! But since Bradley didn’t discover and develop American talent at that position (read: Marc Burch among others), we have to bring one of them, I guess. The only other option is to put Bocanegra there and hope that DeMerit can hold his own. At right back, Jonathan Spector should be the starter because Steve Cherundolo really should be a right winger, not a straight right back. He’s not physical enough to fit the U.S. formation or style.

At 1pm Bradley will announce the roster and although I’m expecting maybe one or two surprises, my optimism for this year’s World Cup is tempered with anxiety that our depth will be challenged in those first three matches.