View Full Version : Sold on Lewis at LB?
purojogo
05 Mar 2006, 05:19 PM
I happen to see a lot of agreement on these boards about Lewis for LB....While he certainly is making the roster barring injury...and the first team, if not at LB, then somewhere in midfield...... .I'm not quite convinced he is the LB "answer"... Would like to see other options out there.... but it seems Arena is pretty much set on seeing Lewis at LB in the WC in Germany.... Is he right in seemingly thinking this way? Any thoughts/ideas on why this is so, or why you'd like to differ?
yokefello1
05 Mar 2006, 05:23 PM
I like him at LB.
He can also offer dynamic overlapping runs - very dangerous to defend against.
JoeSoccerFan
05 Mar 2006, 05:27 PM
You got a (healthy) American Ashley Cole - bring him on.
Bruce S
05 Mar 2006, 05:28 PM
I happen to see a lot of agreement on these boards about Lewis for LB....While he certainly is making the roster barring injury...and the first team, if not at LB, then somewhere in midfield...... .I'm not quite convinced he is the LB "answer"... Would like to see other options out there.... but it seems Arena is pretty much set on seeing Lewis at LB in the WC in Germany.... Is he right in seemingly thinking this way? Any thoughts/ideas on why this is so, or why you'd like to differ?
so far , so good.More friendlies to come.
El-Professor
05 Mar 2006, 05:53 PM
I like him there. Reminds of a slower Roberto Carlos but with a bigger motor. I have yet to see him beat 1 v 1 and BA loves having his outside backs overlap into the attack and send in quality crosses.
Scoobs
05 Mar 2006, 05:55 PM
He'll be OK defensively with Bease dominating things in front of him.
purojogo
05 Mar 2006, 06:00 PM
He'll be OK defensively with Bease dominating things in front of him.
see, that's also part of the equation...DMB has not been at its best lately..sometime back , BA liked t place Lewis at LM, DMB at RM.... but now what is the answer? Convey and DMB in the middle? Deuce also could play a role
Anyway, back at LEwis, i'd say he's looked decent, but whom exactly have we had from the opposition that has been a severe test for LEwis at LB? I just want to make sure that we do not find out he was not that good an LB in June when games matter a lot....
Edit: Ellaborating further.... Camoranessi is the RM for Italy....that is one scary dude, and has played that position a long time for a top club...
Shouldn't there be some level of caution thinking Lewis has not had that much experience at the position?.....Hope the Germany friendly and others give a better pic of Eddie's positives and negatives at LB....I really think he has not been challenged enough to be completely comfortable with him starting at LB in June... Time will tell
eissman
05 Mar 2006, 06:05 PM
He owns it in my book.
Lewis and Beasley is a nice combination to start out with. True, DMB didn't have as productive of a game against Poland getting in behind defenders or taking them on 1v1 than in the past, but he did hold well for Lewis to overlap or create that space for him to do so. They work well as a tandom on the left.
That isn't to say Lewis doesn't work well with Convey, who had a better game production-wise in attach than DMB did against Poland. Lewis by then reserved himself to staying behind Convey for support and Bobby took on defender after defender. It also was a great combination.
I think Lewis and Cherundolo are the two wing backs in Arena's Starting XI.
Cheers to Eddie Lewis...
eplkewell
05 Mar 2006, 06:21 PM
I still like Hejduk more than Lewis at left back. He's a better defender than Lewis, and I think is World Cup experience sets him above Lewis.
Hustletown
05 Mar 2006, 06:25 PM
I really like the experience Eddie Lewis brings, but I still think Jonathan Spector can start for us there. I watched him go 90 minutes for Charlton at Anfield against the likes of Steven Gerrard and Djbril Cisse. He held his own out there, and looked very calm in the process. A very composed performance in my opinion.
Whether he starts or not, I think Spector has to be on the roster for his versatility alone. He and Bocanegra are the only defenders we have (that I know of) who can play any position at the back. That's obviously very valuable should someone go down to injury.
I like Lewis, but Spector really intrigues me for the LB spot.
Kernel KlinK
05 Mar 2006, 06:29 PM
I made this argument over a year ago before the switch to EL at left back:
We've got 2 really good LM's in EL and DMB (and now Convey is really inpressing as well, but I digress). Thus one drops to LB, overlaps when appropriate, etc. With a high work rate (similar to Hejduk) but with mre skill on the pitch(than Hejduk - - or anyone else that's auditioning for the position) this was a no brainer. You're bringing out a guy with the best left foot on the team and he's got great speed and attitude, etc.
Add that to our strong CB position and paired with another equally skilled RB in Dolo and you've got a win- win situation.
Eddie will be playing a lot of LB at the World Cup. He's no liablility on defense and his upside for the counter attack is too valuable to ignore.
MikeLastort2
05 Mar 2006, 06:38 PM
Q: Sold on Lewis at LB?
A: Yes
Scoobs
05 Mar 2006, 07:15 PM
see, that's also part of the equation...DMB has not been at its best lately..sometime back , BA liked t place Lewis at LM, DMB at RM.... but now what is the answer? Convey and DMB in the middle? Deuce also could play a role
Anyway, back at LEwis, i'd say he's looked decent, but whom exactly have we had from the opposition that has been a severe test for LEwis at LB? I just want to make sure that we do not find out he was not that good an LB in June when games matter a lot....
Edit: Ellaborating further.... Camoranessi is the RM for Italy....that is one scary dude, and has played that position a long time for a top club...
Shouldn't there be some level of caution thinking Lewis has not had that much experience at the position?.....Hope the Germany friendly and others give a better pic of Eddie's positives and negatives at LB....I really think he has not been challenged enough to be completely comfortable with him starting at LB in June... Time will tell
If Bease loses his starting spot to Convey, then I'd rather Spector or Hejduk(possibly Dunivant) at left back.
What impresses me about Spector is his ability to physically
overwhelm right sided attackers--at least the ones who are
not world class(soccer wise) speedsters.
El-Professor
05 Mar 2006, 07:21 PM
...at least the ones who are
not world class(soccer wise) speedsters.
And there's the rub. Cise beat Spector to the outside many times. To be sure, Spector also got the better of Cise a few times but the speed just wasn't there...or, maybe the anticipation just wasn't there (I think I saw that a couple times) and perhaps Lewis will put himself in better position. Plus with EL's experience and crossing skills you HAVE to find a place for him on that left side.
Scoobs
05 Mar 2006, 07:41 PM
And there's the rub. Cise beat Spector to the outside many times. To be sure, Spector also got the better of Cise a few times but the speed just wasn't there...or, maybe the anticipation just wasn't there (I think I saw that a couple times) and perhaps Lewis will put himself in better position. Plus with EL's experience and crossing skills you HAVE to find a place for him on that left side.
Spector's got a strong base and good wheels imo. I think
it's just a matter of positioning and anticipation.
Convey's and Lewis's skillset aren't as complementary as other
combinations.
Eleven Bravo
05 Mar 2006, 09:02 PM
Spector's got a strong base and good wheels imo. I think
it's just a matter of positioning and anticipation.
Convey's and Lewis's skillset aren't as complementary as other
combinations.
i have to disagree with your post saying that Convey and Lewis isn't the best matchup. you put Convey at LM and Lewis at LB and you would have Convey pinching in to help the middle and Lewis overlapping him to dominate the wings. Lewis and Beasley would just be fighting against each other to control the left wing because Beasley CANNOT play in the middle. however, i do agree with what you said about Spector.
Zeppelin
05 Mar 2006, 11:15 PM
You got a (healthy) American Ashley Cole - bring him on.
Who would that be ?
USAin2006
05 Mar 2006, 11:18 PM
Would like to see Spector get the nod at LB in the upcoming Germany friendly...if he can get released, that is. He was in the Sky Sports Team of the Week, and has started 3 or 4 games in a row for Charlton.
But for now, am more than happy with Eddie out there at LB for us.
Scoobs
05 Mar 2006, 11:24 PM
Would like to see Spector get the nod at LB in the upcoming Germany friendly...if he can get released, that is. He was in the Sky Sports Team of the Week, and has started 3 or 4 games in a row for Charlton.
But for now, am more than happy with Eddie out there at LB for us.
Game against newcastle no the 25.
Scoobs
05 Mar 2006, 11:27 PM
i have to disagree with your post saying that Convey and Lewis isn't the best matchup. you put Convey at LM and Lewis at LB and you would have Convey pinching in to help the middle and Lewis overlapping him to dominate the wings. Lewis and Beasley would just be fighting against each other to control the left wing because Beasley CANNOT play in the middle. however, i do agree with what you said about Spector.
I like Bease's defense along the flanks to complement
Lewis's offense coming out of the back.