AJC Soccer Insider: Imagine these players in an MLS Atlanta jersey

Imagine Steven Gerrard or Didier Drogba wearing an MLS Atlanta shirt.

Not saying it will happen, but it could happen. The list of Premier League players whose contracts expire in 2015 came out last week.

Gerrard, one of the best players to every suit up for Liverpool, and Drogba, back with Chelsea, will be free agents and available to sign with anyone.

Others who can be signed are: Spurs forward Emmanuel Adebayor, Leicester City’s Esteban Cambiasso, Chelsea’s John Terry, Manchester United’s Anderson, Liverpool’s Suso and Manchester City’s James Milner, among others.

Atlanta won’t play until 2017, but that doesn’t mean it can’t sign players before then and loan them out to other clubs. New York City FC is doing it with Frank Lampard and David Villa. Orlando is doing it with Kaka.

Some of the players like Gerrard and Drogba likely wouldn’t be of interest because they are in the twilight of their careers. Others, like Anderson, who has struggled at United, and Milner may be of more interest. It’s doubtful a player the caliber of Suso will be available.

U.S. soccer: The U.S. finished its two exhibition matches on Tuesday with a 1-1 tie to Honduras, its second tie after also drawing 1-1 with Ecuador.

Manager Jurgen Klinsmann used the matches to experiment with some new or seldom-seen faces, and some familiar faces in different positions.

Who were the winners?

Greg Garza: The U.S. is suddenly flush with fullbacks. Garza looked sharp on offense and defense in both games, picking the right spots to go forward to create problems for defenses.

Jozy Altidore: Altidore scored a magnificent goal against Honduras, showing the touch and skill that he can't seem to replicate with his club team, Sunderland.

Mix Diskerud: It would have been nice to see what Diskerud could have done pulling the strings for the U.S. in Brazil instead of Michael Bradley. Diskerud, playing a defensive midfielder role against Ecuador instead of his customary attacking role, was still able to make the play to start Altidore's goal.

Who were the losers?

Nick Rimando: Normally steady, Rimando was a disaster waiting to happen against Honduras. His bad clearance gave Honduras an easy shot on goal that they failed to convert. He didn't look comfortable with the ball at his feet. Things finally caught up when Rimando inexplicably came off his line to try to stop a low, driven cross that was never going to get to him through a crowd of people. The mistake contributed to the tying goal when Maynor Figueroa's head slammed into an empty net. It would have been nice to see Atlanta's Sean Johnson get a chance to play in the second half.

Michael Bradley: Bradley was playing well leading up to the World Cup in Brazil and then everything changed. Klinsmann pushed Bradley up the field into an attacking role – the same position he once again played Tuesday – and he floundered. He hasn't played well since, even for Toronto, which paid a lot of money to pry Bradley from Roma in Italy's Serie A. He assisted on Altidore's goal on Tuesday, but otherwise once again had a forgettable night. He gave away the ball far too frequently and killed counter-attacks with passes that went sideways or backward. Even before the game, Klinsmann intimated that Bradley's place in the national team lineup was no longer a given.

Bobby Wood: He missed a golden chance to win the game against Ecuador when he elected not to shoot and instead pushed a weak pass across the front of the goal. He didn't much to impress against Honduras. When chances are few and far between, a player must take advantage of it.

The feud: If you missed it last week, Jurgen Klinsmann said he wished that Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley hadn't left Europe for MLS because he implied the competition overseas is greater and will aid their development more.

It’s a fair point, one few would argue against.

Garber demanded that Klinsmann no longer disparage MLS. It’s an odd sentiment considering Klinsmann doesn’t work for Garber and his goals and the goals of MLS won’t always line up.

MLS and Atlanta

How MLS players with ties to the metro Atlanta area did this week:

Joe Bendik (@jtbendik), Toronto, GK, Kennesaw

Played 90 minutes and had three saves in team’s 1-1 draw with Montreal on Saturday.

Next game: At New England on Saturday.

Mark Bloom (@markbloom21), Toronto, D, Marietta

Played 80 minutes in team’s 1-1 draw with Montreal on Saturday.

Next game: At New England on Saturday.

Alex Caskey, D.C. United, M, Dunwoody

Did not make the 18 for team’s 3-1 win over Houston on Sunday.

Next game: At Tauro on Tuesday and at Montreal on Saturday.

Ricardo Clark, Houston, M, Jonesboro

Played 90 minutes and had four shots in team’s 2-1 loss to New England on Thursday.

Next game: At Chicago on Friday.

Warren Creavalle (@warrenspeak), Toronto, D, Acworth

Started, played 57 minutes and scored a goal in team’s 1-1 draw with Montreal on Saturday.

Next game: At New England on Saturday.

Sean Johnson (@sjohn25), Chicago, GK, Snellville

Did not play in team’s 2-1 loss at D.C. United on Saturday.

Next game: Will host Houston on Friday.

Alec Kann (@akann90), Chicago, GK, Decatur

Did not make the 18 for team’s 2-1 loss to D.C. United on Saturday.

Next game: Will host Houston on Friday.

Steven Kinney (@stevenhkinney), Chicago, D, Norcross

Did not make the 18 for team’s 2-1 loss to D.C. United on Saturday.

Next game: Will host Houston on Friday.

Chris Klute (@chrisklute), Colorado, D, Silverbacks, Clayton State

Started and played 90 minutes in team’s 1-0 loss to Dallas on Saturday.

Next game: At Vancouver on Saturday.

Jack McInerney (@jackmcinerney9), Montreal, F, Alpharetta

Played 79 minutes and had six shots in team’s 1-1 draw with Toronto FC on Saturday.

Next game: At New York on Wednesday and will host D.C. United on Saturday.

Joe Nasco (@joenascogk18), Colorado, G, Silverbacks

Made the 18 but didn’t play in team’s 1-0 loss to Dallas on Saturday.

Next game: At Vancouver on Saturday.

Michael Nwiloh (mnwiloh6), Chivas USA, D, Conyers

No game last week.

Next game: At Real Salt Lake on Wednesday and will host San Jose on Sunday.