I bring this up on twitter from time to time and get thoroughly bitched at for complaining about it. IMO, we have mediocre outside backs. They are rather good at defending. They have to be with how much we put them on 1v1 islands in this formation. Their offensive abilities, however, are way below the mid level of even this league. Tony Beltran, in particular, has no clue how to properly cross a ball. Every time he does it has a shit ton of backspin and floats like crazy. I guarantee he won't get national team minutes (at least not anything significant) until he resolves this.
I was about to say the same exact thing, we are loaded up on mids, fwds (when healthy) and CBs but our defensive wings are questionable and definitely not proven in depth either. I love the continuity of a team but I hope RSL see the need and tries to make a change here this year or over the next offseason. Question is is there really a good enough replacement out there within the budget? This seems to be the weakest point on the USMNT as well.. do we just have a problem developing talent in these spots?
just wow http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...s-alvaro-saborio-dirty-play-anticipate-league bet nobody saw this one coming - simon borg thinks Sabo tried to kill AJ so he should be suspended forever. He also thinks Javi should have been shown red. http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2014...portland-penalties-la-injuries-instant-replay Shockingly nothing on Friend falling over. Though he did 3 times during this post
To be honest, I thought it was a dirty play, and I think we were lucky he didn't get sent off before the end of the game. However, I find it comical that LA is calling him out after the way Riley continually targeted Javier Morales in the two games.
Outside back is probably where our most potential for improvement lies. If you look at what the top teams bring in terms of punch from that position, say a Philip Lahm...it's dramatic. Beltran and Wingert aren't overpaid, but they're not cheap either. I suspect this is why Allen is being talked about w/ regards to that outside right back spot. Outside back feels a bit like what Shortstop became in the last few decades in MLB. A traditionally defensive position that started to become a place to put really talented athletes who could defend adequately but produce offensively...even if they turned into ARods before it was all over.
A-Rod plays 3rd base. But I get the gist of your analogy. I wouldn't mind trading for a guy like Corey Ashe. He's good on defense, and always seems like a real threat on offense.
Actually ARod used to play shortstop pretty much non-stop and did so for the Yankees before they moved him to third as he delined...but yeah, the larger point of developing offensive firepower in traditionally defensive positions is extensible.
I think I brought this up before, but Jason Kreis had said in a coaches coalition thing that he wanted to find a true attacking wingback. He didn't say it word for word, but his ideal choice would be to spend DP money on one. That could really change the dynamic of this team/formation. Imagine if the left side back had the ball and the opposing defense was pinching in. You hit a switching ball to our talented right back who is streaking forward. They get a 1v1 or 2v2 situation and exploit it. As of now, whenever the ball gets to one side of the field, any switching ball is received and then turned back to our own goal. The first touch of Tony Beltran and Chris Wingert, when in our offensive half of the field, has to be 90% negative or sideways.
I'll be disappointed if Sabo gets suspended on this one. I've watched this over and over trying to take off my homer glasses and just don't see anything beyond a yellow. Classic case of Arena hypercrying to me. I think Morales is lucky, two footed challenges like that I think should be red, even without contact. You just should not do it.
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised to actually see Javi fined and/or suspended. It was a frustration tackle as he had been getting mugged all game. That said, leaving your feet and going with the studs is not a way to get on the refs good side.
Watched the replay of the foul and all I could think was, "Who the hell designed those jerseys? My three-year-old could do infinitely better." I know I've said this before, but it's relevant to the current conversation: I talked to Garth last year about an Egyptian player who has played in the Premier League and was looking to move to America. He plays outside defender for his club and midfielder for the NT. He's exactly the kind of player you all are talking about. I didn't really push the idea then because he WOULD require DP-level salary. Wouldn't you all like a winger who could also do this? Anyway, am I the only one who is annoyed by something Chris Wingert does EVERY. SINGLE. GAME?
For some time I've considered Wingert the player most in need of being replaced. He used to do much better going forward. I think he knows he has lost a step of two and that is making him tentative. Beltran at least tries. Frankly I think Beltran is getting better all around. I don't think he is going to be getting assists at a Russel rate, but he does contribute something to the attack, without sacrificing the defense. I don't think we will see a change anytime soon however. Good outside backs are hard to come by in general.
I know it's taboo and whatever (especially with the RSLFAMILY HASHTAG) to want to trade a player. (unless its sabo and findley of course) but I would be all for trading for a better outside back. Problem is who we trade of course
Wingert had a pretty awful first half all around, I thought. But...the above is correct. It's a very demanding position (both left and right back). Where would you all rank RSL's Beltran-Wingert combo amongst the rest of the league's starting fullbacks? I'm having a hard time ranking them any lower than 4th out of 19, and that's probably stretching. Most lists from last year and this year have Beltran and Wingert ranked in the top 5 of their respective positions in the league, if not the top 2 or 3. I think it would be great to upgrade at that position if possible, especially given how hard the RSL system pushes guys their outside backs, but as far as ushering them out the door ... I say be careful what you wish for.
Are they being ranked as a pair, or individually? I don't think either is bad, in general, but combined in our system and it's not very good. I think they'd look great on a team that used the midfielders for width, because they wouldn't be asked to contribute in the offense. Given our system though, and having both of them doesn't help. We're a team that uses the outside back for width, and neither of them is that good going forward. I think if you got rid of one of them for someone that is decent on defense, and good on offense, you'd see our attack look a lot better. I'd look to get rid of Wingert first, due to age, but wouldn't be opposed if we traded either of them for someone that could give us something on the attack. Both good defenders, both aren't good going forward. Depending on the team, either of them would probably be an upgrade defensively.
I'm really sad that Palmer is gone. Although not the best defender, he was better in the attack than any other of our outside backs (unless Schuler was playing outside back).
I LOVE YOUR AVATAR! lol. Good old Neil Degrasse Tyson, Cosmos has been pretty good so far. As for the outside backs....I've stated this several times already this season, but it's literally embarrassing watching Wingert and Beltran get forward. They are horrible at being offensive threats, neither can cross the ball to save their lives and Wingert (especially) is just brutal at being an offensive creator in any capacity. Beltran can get forward up the sideline better, but once he gets into a position to make an offensive impact he shits the bed. Wingert though? Christ, watching that guy with the ball when he is in a position to make a move is cringe worthy. Which is too bad because our formation actually requires something of an offensive outside back in order to provide width. Oh how I long for the days of Robbie Russell. I think the difference between us being perennial first losers last year and probably USOC, MLS Cup, AND SS champions is a guy like Russell. We had pretty much everything else, strong scoring options up front, a dynamic and effective offensive AND defensive midfield, decent central defenders who came up big when we needed them, and a keeper who is the best in the league. And utterly mediocre outside backs....
What kills me about Wingert being bad going forward, is that I swear 75% of the time we run up the left hand side. I'd trade Wingert for a left footed outside back in a heartbeat.
At least last year we attacked more up the right side than the left. At least that I was I am concluding by looking at these numbers. http://ccb1212.blogspot.com/2014/03/statistically-speaking-crossing-ball.html
This is by design of the other teams defense. watch how teams bite down hard when we're on our right/their left but give space on our left/their right. It's really strange to watch. If we had a left-footed (or at least serviceable) left back it would do wonders for opening things up. I would trade Tony Beltran. Chris Wingert, as we've all pointed out on here, doesn't have much trade value given his age and decline. When you make a trade, it has to be done with a player with potential. Tony Beltran is a pretty good defender in the defending sense. His offense is confusing. When I look across the league, though, I don't see a lot of outside backs that I see making our team much better. Remember, that the person you replace Beltran with has to be able to defend on an island. you can't solely look at their offensive production and call it good. This is why 1. you won't see a trade and 2. the only way to improve is to buy a DP level (or close to) wing back.
Maybe it's time to no longer look to our wide backs to provide offensive width. Maybe it's time to reconfigure the midfield to provide width while the wide backs provide backup midfield control.
this won't happen with this "era" of RSL. Javi and Kyle don't have the speed or agility to cover the middle of the park. Similarly, Ned and Luis aren't players that utilize width. If this team were to change it's identity, it would need to do a fairly substantial roster overhaul. I would personally like to see a 4-2-3-1. You could do that with some of the younger guys we have and then a piece or two to fill in for the older players on their way out.
I dont mean that he doesnt have the ability for this level. I just meant what he showed on Saturday wasnt good enough. But for the record i think he is a great player in the making.
This is really important. Because our midfield is narrow, it means that we have to both get offensive width AND outstanding 1-on-1 defending from our outside backs. What I like about Beltran and Wingert is that they're both pretty good at the defending part--Wingert's mistake last weekend notwithstanding. Neither excel at the offensive part of their job. But, unless we're willing to lay down serious cash for a DP, I don't think we'll find an outside back that is legitimately outstanding at both skills. And if we have to pick which one we want our outside backs to be good at, I'd pick defense.