Well, the summer has come and mostly gone. We still have the U-17 World Cup to get out of the way, but with the senior and U-20 sides involved in three major tournaments his summer, we got a better picture of what the national program looks like heading into qualification for the most important tourney of all - the World Cup. In this first of a five-part series, we'll take a look at the five players who surprised or impressed me the most - the five who "planted their spears" and gave "fist shaking performances" in the parlance of everybody's favorite Geordie.

Before we get to those players who shamefully "filled their pants" this summer for the Red, White, and Blue, lets take a step back and take a look at the big picture. Sure we had individuals put on some good displays, as well as some who were, shall we say, less than good - but what did we learn about the player pool as a whole?
1. Some Surprises
Bradley made a few surprising call-ups, particularly with his Copa roster, and the results were a real mixed bag.