Why Jozy Just Isn't Enough

When Bob Bradley announced his final 23 man roster of the World Cup on Tuesday, the biggest shock for most people was his selection of attackers: Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle, Robbie Findley and Hurculez Gomez.

At 20 years old, Villareal's Jozy Altidore leads the group with 24 senior team appearances and 8 goals. Buddle, Findley and Gomez have just 9 appearances and 1 goal between them. An experienced front line this is not. So when international sites such as Australia's SBS.com.au point out that the US has hung its hopes on Altidore, they're on to something.

The cold hard fact of the matter is that Altidore is not enough. While he had some moments of pure brilliance in the Saturday match again Turkey and his domineering physical presence was used to great effect during the USMNT's shock win over Spain in last year's Confederations Cup, he is far from a prolific scorer. He has averaged just one goal every 17 appearances at the club level outside of the United States and just one goal every 3 games at the international level. And let's face it, one goal from him in the group stage will not be enough to get the team through.

Not to mention, if his loan at Hull City FC in England is any indication of how he'll fare against English opposition, then we can expect little but frustration out of him when he comes up against a defense well versed in dealing with powerful strikers. And if his young, hot-headed nature gets the best of him early in the group stage, a red card becomes a real possibility.

So although I've been slapped around for asking this question before: Where are the goals going to come from?

And if we're relying on Dempsey and Donovan to provide the goals from the midfield, then how are we locking down the lightening transition play of the world powers? Does this mean we're looking at a 4-5-1 setup (a setup which has been used to disastrous effect by the Yanks in the past)? I remain hopeful, but incurably skeptical.