Klinsy warned us all up front that results in the early games of his tenure were not of primary importance to him. His main objectives were to get the players comfortable with his system and to evaluate the player pool. I think he's done well in implementing his system, the players certainly seem to have taken to it well, though whether that is a credit to JK or just that they were pretty tired of Bradley's tactics I cannot say.
The results on the scoreboard have not been stellar obviously. Defensively I think the team has been respectable, but offensively not so much. Klinsmann's system requires them to play a more possession oriented, passing style versus the counter-attacking style Bradley favored. This system demands that the offensive players break down an established and organized defense in order to score goals, something they have not done much of so far. Of course the US two most creative players in Donovan and Dempsey have yet to see the field at the same time under Klinsmann, and Holden is still out with his knee injury. I expect that once the WC qualifiers begin and we start seeing our best offensive players on the field more regularly the goals will come.
Michael Bradley will adjust. I think that ultimately he is a possession and passing oriented type player, which suits the JK system just fine. I think Jermaine Jones is a tremendous talent and would love to see him on the squad but he really needs to be playing regularly and he isn't really doing that at Schalke. Shea looks promising but is still pretty raw. I don't know that Beckerman is up to the international game. I know, he's been playing for us pretty regularly under JK and hasn't done poorly really, but I am not sure his game can ever rise to the level of Bradley's or Jones'. Plus there's Benny Feilhaber, and Maurice Edu, and Jose Torres. All should probably combine to push Beckerman out of the lineup IMHO.
For me the biggest problem area for Klinsy to sort out in the future will be the central defense. I think Chandler has the RB locked down come 2014, and at LB well... I dunno but we hardly ever have a LB worth writing home about so it doesn't really seem like a deficiency. At CB though, Onyewu isn't getting any younger and has never been quick. Boca can play there of course, but he is slowing down as well as age creeps in. There are a few prospects to be tried (Omar Gonzalez comes to mind), but they remain untested for now.
We'll see. I expect JK will have em playing well enough by the time WCQs roll around, and they will likely cruise through that. Beyond that who knows? The one thing prior WC cycles have taught me is that 3 years is a long time. There may well be 4-5 players on the 2014 roster who aren't even on the radar right now. Given Klinsmann's apparent penchant for looking for talent in unconventional places it seems quite likely.
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