Without Further Edu: Why not more Mo?

“Where art thou, Edu, that thou forget’st so long?”

On the bench. That’s where, and it looks like he’s going to be there for the rest of the Gold Cup unless Bob Bradley wakes up.

The United States central midfield is loaded with several quality players, providing the biggest selection headache for Bob Bradley when he’s picking his starting XI. The conundrum is also one hotly debated issue among fans, who have as many opinions about what the center midfield should look like as there are  fans scratching their heads after the 2-1 loss to Panama on Saturday.

It was the first group stage loss the US has ever had in the Gold Cup, and was the end of a week of unconvincing performances from the squad. (Even in the win over Canada we looked beatable on defense.) One of the big gripes to come from the Panamanian disaster besides Tim Ream’s public spat of growing pains was Jermaine Jones inability to support the attack. Solid at the back, but average bringing the ball up.

There are two things that make it so frustrating. One, we know he’s capable of playing in great attacking balls. Two, we’ve got a younger option in Maurice Edu.

I’ve heard a few valid arguments against the deployment of Edu: age doesn’t matter, win now, win later. Still, there’s an alternate option on the bench that not only will be around for the next World Cup, but also has more experience with the guys around him on the big stage.

I can’t sit here and argue that Edu can spread the ball around like Jones, and I can’t sit here and say that Edu is even a better player. But, he could provide the tonic for a bona fide link between the back line and midfield. When you have Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey on the flanks, that should be the focal point of the attack, not the middle. Imagine Edu hovering just in front of the back line, plugging the defensive gaps that have found their way into the team recently. He wouldn’t have to do the ball spraying that we ask Jones to do, rather, link it up to Bradley (or Holden when he’s fit – but he’s a missing ingredient I don’t even want to dream of cooking a much more palatable line-up with right now) and spread it to the wings to the team’s real threats going forward.

Even in the wake of last summer’s World Cup, in which Edu proved a game changer, Bob Bradley seems reluctant to employ the Rangers regular. After coming on at half down 2 goals against Slovenia for J.F. Torres, the midfield settled, kept possession, and was effective going forward in a two goal comeback. He cut out passes and disrupted Slovenia’s attack in a dominant second half for the stars and stripes. And if it wasn’t for the worst call in US Soccer history, Edu would have capped his performance with a much deserved injury time winner. Following that performance, he was rewarded with his first World Cup start against Algeria. He picked up where he left off, disrupting Algeria’s attack for 60 minutes until he was sacrificed rightly for more attacking power in the form of Edson Buddle.

Then, Ghana. Round of 16. No Maurice. Again, he’d been handed the über-shaft.

In a move that still bewilders a year later, Ricardo Clark was preferred to Edu. Rico’s performance was a nightmare complete with an awful give away for Ghana’s first goal, a yellow card, and a substitution after just 30 minutes. Although Edu put in a solid performance, we know how the game turned out. Had he been in at the start, maybe Donovan’s penalty would have been enough to get the team to the Quarterfinals. Speculation, yes, but reasonable none the less.

What ifs and second guessing aren’t going to get the team back on track after the stunning loss to Panama. However, realizing certain players values will. Edu has proven that he can be a solid presence anchoring the center of the pitch if employed in a defensive midfield role. With the US center back situation more fragile than it’s been in years, it seems like a no brainer to include Edu in the starting lineup, at very least until the Goodson/Ream partnership gets sorted out.

He was a regular for Rangers’ SPL winning squad this season, and he’s been a top performer in some of the national teams biggest games over the last year. Despite the talents of Ricardo Clark, JF Torres, and Jermaine Jones you’ve got to feel for Edu. He’s like our Rodney Dangerfield: he gets no respect.