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After about 48 hours of reading articles about the weekend’s US MNT game, I’m pretty much sick of the subject. Too much of a good thing you might say. On the other hand, I’m even more excited for Wednesday given what we saw on Sunday, and it has me wondering about the line-up. Will we see more 1st and 2nd CAPS or will more of our (relatively speaking) veterans (some of whom have as much to prove about their form as the youngsters) be standing on the field at time zero? In the countless conversations I’ve had about the Ecuador match, the theories are split. Now it’s your turn to be the US MNT coach. Hey, you never know, that interim tag is still dangling.

There is the idea that Bradley should be looking at all the options at this early stage of the world cup cycle, as Greg Seltzer at Yanks Abroad argued for. Or there is the theory that we need to give our most likely starters as much time together on the field as possible, which honestly, I can’t find an article in support of. No matter, there are good arguments for either position under the context of the best way to build a team.

Bob Bradley – and no doubt his interim tag must compound this even in his own mind – has been burning the candle at both ends a bit. In other words, if you want to see what the new guys can offer, you need to play them for more than 5, 10 minutes. If you want to put priority on building a unit that in three years plays like Arsenal, than substitute in emergencies only. Bradley is yet to show his hand here. Wednesday’s game, against a lesser opponent than previous matches, along with the fact that Howard, Onyewu, and Bocanegra are back in England, Bradley is going to have to pick at least a few different faces.

While most are arguing for the evaluation of more players, call me crazy, but I can see the worth in the latter option, especially given that speed of play and continuity on the pitch have never been the strong suits of the US MNT. But we do need to figure out which youngins will be getting the frequent flyer miles this summer. But it would be nice to enter those tournaments with a squad that has played more than a few minutes together; we’re talking about only two more games before the Gold Cup. But can anybody absolutely know what that line-up should be at this point?

Point. Counterpoint. They just keep coming, around and around one after the other as if amusement park swing chairs in relentless pursuit. So I’m going to get out of the way before I get nauseous or knocked out and hold out for tomorrow. I can’t remember the last time I seriously anticipated the line-up for a friendly.