Osei a quiet but strong force for Revs ESPNBoston.com Revs Blog It's not really news but an article published today on ESPNBoston.com is interesting as far as learning about Osei and the lack of communication with Reis. But he gets the job done. That's exactly why he should be moved up the field to a d-mid position where he's not "doing his thing" directly in front of the goal mouth. Nicol's quote is revealing on the Revs' scientific-as-Grady-Little scouting practices:
I'm biased, but I'm on the "If it ain't broke" bandwagon on this one. I would like to see what he can do at DM, but while the Osei/Barnes pairing is working, I don't want to change that. Gibbs/Barnes didn't work as well as this pairing is. I still don't see much offense coming from this team, so we need to keep our back line shored up as much as possible.
Osei is one of the most entertaining players the Revs have, and for that reason alone, he should be kept on the back line. Of course, the price of his high-risk game is the ever-present danger of a gaffe, but it has to be said he hasn't made too many. I'm with patfan -- leave him back there.
I definitely am in agreement about the Osei-Barnes pairing, really hope that does not get broken up. However, does it not make you a bit nervous that he and Reis don't communicate much at all? I'm sure this is obvious from your vantagepoint low in the Fort and clearly it has worked to this point. But just saying, putting on the Eurosnob cap for a minute I don't think that type of "communication" would fly at our "other" clubs Everton/Liverpool. It's possibly a reason Wenger passed him over when he was being considered for Arsenal if not his size. I should amend my DM statement to suggest we keep the pairing the same at the back the duration of the year. However, I hope Nicol signs/drafts a stud CB that reads the game in the Parkhurst mold to pair Barnes next season. Then, maybe he is confident enough to move up Osei to pair with Shalrie at DM. If the CB goes down or does not work out, move Osei right back to pair Barnes again or go to a 3-5-2. I really think Osei could break up a LOT of attacks coming through the midfield, the way he physically leverages his size so well to get guys off the ball and make himself a nuisance. He also has the vision to spring a speedy winger like Nyassi with a Dorman esque defense-splitting pass, something he can't do as effectively in the back. Not to mention his nonchalant approach would be far more welcome 20 yds upfield for peace of mind.
