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[QUOTE="IthacaMatt, post: 3948193, member: 405"]
Absolutely.

Well, in Dest's defense, moving him from side to side, experimenting every game, isn't helping him develop chemistry with the winger on either side.

Otherwise, I agree.  He's in there to take people on, to rampage down the flank.

Yes, against El Salvador, their passing from the midfield to the final third was just not there, and they all took on people one-on-one, often dribbling into dead ends.  They needed a guy to be looking for those one-two's, and Reyna is the key to that.

Yes,

I kind of disagree here.  I think they showed poor judgment in this last game, but we've seen a bunch of these guys dribble past people, run into spaces and use the channels, play smart one-two's to progress the ball up the sidelines against a press.  We've seen the long diagonal balls out of the back, which have largely been accurate.

Yesterday was growing pains.  For the fact that so many of these guys are playing on elite teams, none of them are really "The Man" who a team leans on to win matches.  None of these guys have matured to that level yet.  This is part of the process.

But there are a lot of guys on this team who can play the way you (and we) want them to play.  We saw it already earlier this summer.  Just not in such hostile atmospheres - both of those cup wins were on US soil.

I think Dest is a wingback, not a fullback, because he doesn't defend well enough.  He is kind of like a Calum Hudson-Odoi - the final product should be better, he needs to be more consistent, but sometimes produces spectacular plays or bits of skill.

You always hope you can channel that guy into being productive for the team.  For me, Dest is too good to give up on at such a young age.  But playing 4 at the back is something that he's just not ready to do in CONCACAF.

Playing in CONCACAF is like playing in some central European league where half the refs are crooked, and people hurl insults and debris at players every game.
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