ursula
05 Jun 2005, 03:00 PM
First, some folks here know what I'm talking about when I say that so-and-so was playing The Earnie yesterday. (And they know who.) But not everybody. So what is The Earnie?
The Earnie is named after Earnie Stewart and the special place he had in Bruce Arena's lineups. You see, Bruce trusted Earnie to do the right thing on the field, probably more than any other player. As such he gave Earnie more freedom than any other player. Usually Earnie lined up at right wing; sometimes however he was listed as the a-mid, a forward or as the d-mid. but whatever position he lined up in, Arena gave Earnie freedom to roam about the field. Earnie was the ultimate complimentary player in his roaming. he could read the game better than most of the other players and he would use that to go to where he was needed- back with the defense stopping a counter, up to forward helping in a goal scoring chance, etc.
It did make a slight difference where he was nominally listed as playing. Usually the opposite winger was a "lock". This guy would often (not always) be more conservative in his offensive forays and would focus on shutting down the opposition's right wing. Earnie would then see opportunities when the ball was on the opposite side to find the most effective spaces to influence the outcome of the game.
As described above, this was the classic Earnie. Of course game circumstances would change the flow of the game but Earnie was trusted to change his patterns accordingly. Again, Arena trusted Earnie.
Now that Earnie is no longer with us, Arena has not dropped the concept. But he can't tell just about anyone to Earnie on the field. No. For instance Landon Donovan isn't a good Earnie. Maybe he'll develop into one as it takes a fair amount of field sense and wisdom to do it as it's similar to a libero. Most young players can't do it.
But Arena has found his Earnie and has been using him in that capacity for some time now. As Eliezar said in another thread (on Convey):
Convey at left back and DMB in the Ernie role?
I can buy that.... Although I saw it a bit differently and the reason I think that it wasn't a 4-4-2 was that Cherundolo pushes up often in the 4-4-2, but was holding back in the line up yesterday. That is not indicative of a BA 4-4-2 nor indicative of Cherundolo's play with club nor country.
However, it could have been 4-4-2.
I think a lot of our (BS's) confusion on the formation is that Beasley was popping up everywhere- both sides of the field, defense, forward, midfield. He was no more of a forward as listed by ESPN as anything else. This is exactly the Earnie role and as Arena said post-game:
Beasley when he's at his best , is a dynamic player. When he's on the field working with Landon, it makes us a more dangerous team going forward," Arena said. "When they're healthy, Landon and DaMarcus are a great duo. Arguably, DaMarcus is our best player.
Compared to four years ago, LD is playing Reyna in the a-mid role (in his own fashion) while DMB is Earnie. Beasley plays off LD (and everyone else) as he sees fit in a way that's unique on the team. This also explains why Arena keeps LD at a-mid: because of the chemistry between the two. Guys like Dempsey or maybe Noonan may be suited to a-mid on paper, but on the Nats in real time there isn't the dynamic there between them and Beasley. In fact because the stress on vision demanded for the a-mid with a guy Earnieing around the park I think if LD got hurt we'd see Beasley most likely taking over the role if Reyna wasn't available.
The Earnie is named after Earnie Stewart and the special place he had in Bruce Arena's lineups. You see, Bruce trusted Earnie to do the right thing on the field, probably more than any other player. As such he gave Earnie more freedom than any other player. Usually Earnie lined up at right wing; sometimes however he was listed as the a-mid, a forward or as the d-mid. but whatever position he lined up in, Arena gave Earnie freedom to roam about the field. Earnie was the ultimate complimentary player in his roaming. he could read the game better than most of the other players and he would use that to go to where he was needed- back with the defense stopping a counter, up to forward helping in a goal scoring chance, etc.
It did make a slight difference where he was nominally listed as playing. Usually the opposite winger was a "lock". This guy would often (not always) be more conservative in his offensive forays and would focus on shutting down the opposition's right wing. Earnie would then see opportunities when the ball was on the opposite side to find the most effective spaces to influence the outcome of the game.
As described above, this was the classic Earnie. Of course game circumstances would change the flow of the game but Earnie was trusted to change his patterns accordingly. Again, Arena trusted Earnie.
Now that Earnie is no longer with us, Arena has not dropped the concept. But he can't tell just about anyone to Earnie on the field. No. For instance Landon Donovan isn't a good Earnie. Maybe he'll develop into one as it takes a fair amount of field sense and wisdom to do it as it's similar to a libero. Most young players can't do it.
But Arena has found his Earnie and has been using him in that capacity for some time now. As Eliezar said in another thread (on Convey):
Convey at left back and DMB in the Ernie role?
I can buy that.... Although I saw it a bit differently and the reason I think that it wasn't a 4-4-2 was that Cherundolo pushes up often in the 4-4-2, but was holding back in the line up yesterday. That is not indicative of a BA 4-4-2 nor indicative of Cherundolo's play with club nor country.
However, it could have been 4-4-2.
I think a lot of our (BS's) confusion on the formation is that Beasley was popping up everywhere- both sides of the field, defense, forward, midfield. He was no more of a forward as listed by ESPN as anything else. This is exactly the Earnie role and as Arena said post-game:
Beasley when he's at his best , is a dynamic player. When he's on the field working with Landon, it makes us a more dangerous team going forward," Arena said. "When they're healthy, Landon and DaMarcus are a great duo. Arguably, DaMarcus is our best player.
Compared to four years ago, LD is playing Reyna in the a-mid role (in his own fashion) while DMB is Earnie. Beasley plays off LD (and everyone else) as he sees fit in a way that's unique on the team. This also explains why Arena keeps LD at a-mid: because of the chemistry between the two. Guys like Dempsey or maybe Noonan may be suited to a-mid on paper, but on the Nats in real time there isn't the dynamic there between them and Beasley. In fact because the stress on vision demanded for the a-mid with a guy Earnieing around the park I think if LD got hurt we'd see Beasley most likely taking over the role if Reyna wasn't available.