Midfielders at the forward position?

[brainer 99]

How many of our midfield pool players have been mentioned on these boards as having the potential of actually playing some time at forward in the world cup? which players have actually seen playing time with their clubs at forward? Donavan, Dempsey, Noonan,......who else and how would they play off of the other forwards? has O'Brien ever played forward? Just curious?

[westcoast ape]

I really don't think O'Brien has played forward in his professional career, but I do think Beasley has. Donovan, Dempsey and Noonan have played forward.

I'm really on the Midfielder as Forward bandwagon. I think the only true forwards who have what it takes to play against our scheduled opponents are McBride and Wolff. Mind you, I'm not saying that Wolff will score, but he can make things happen that I seriously doubt Ching, Twellman, or even Johnson will be able to.

So, though I'm an advocate of Wolff over those other MLS forwards, really I would consider starting Beasley at forward, especially since Convey is showing well at left mid.

[brainer 99]

I guess my main reason for this question is that players like Donavan, Dempsey and Convey really seem to like and go at defenders, where as our current choices (other than BMB) seem to like to play the ball back and need the perfect pass played to them to score. it just seems like we have a plethora(always wanted to use that word in a sentence) of talented players at the midfield position? I'm just really concerned with our choices at forward after BMB. Maybe we play some 4-5-1?

[chad]

Playing some of our mids as forwards requires a shift in attacking strategy. Our midfielders will need the ball at their feet facing goal or in combination play. This will require an abandonment of the slow-buildup, get it out wide, cross it in that we tend to see.

I'm all for it.

[Zeppelin]

What do you think if we put Dollo in forward position, since the guy is good on 1 v 1 , i think he will be succeed in there .....

[brainer 99]

What do you think if we put Dollo in forward position, since the guy is good on 1 v 1 , i think he will be succeed in there .....
Dolo is a defender though, oh wait, were you being silly? I think we're discussing midfielders with attacking abilities and finishing skills who have played forward with their club teams before, not just 1v1 skills.

[MikeLastort2]

How about no midfielders at all?

Sampson : 3-6-1 :: Arena : 4-0-6

[Sachsen]

How about no midfielders at all?

Sampson : 3-6-1 :: Arena : 4-0-6

Forward, my brothers! Forward!

[SccrDon]

I guess my main reason for this question is that players like Donavan, Dempsey and Convey really seem to like and go at defenders, where as our current choices (other than BMB) seem to like to play the ball back and need the perfect pass played to them to score. it just seems like we have a plethora(always wanted to use that word in a sentence) of talented players at the midfield position? I'm just really concerned with our choices at forward after BMB. Maybe we play some 4-5-1?

Please, no 4-5-1. I ran that with my U16s last fall because we were getting killed in the middle of the park so I wanted to get a 3rd central midfielder. It helped some - we had the ball more - but it's hard to score with 1 forward.

I share the concern about the forwards. I'm pretty sure we'll see LD up front with BMB, because none of the others look like they'll score against a good D. That way, we can get more of our mids on the field at the same time - LD, Claudio, JOB (if if if), Convey, DMB, Dempsey, Pablo.

[BenfromUSA]

4-5-1 is the same as 4-3-3 its just depends on whether the mentality of the team is to attack or sit back.

I made an earlier thread about beasley at forward. he is very smart, fast, makes good runs, has good touch, can create, and he is also one of our top finishers. DMB (along with LD) pose the most serious threat for our opponents without a doubt.

[Bajoro]

If the midfielders include Donovan and Dempsey and DMB, we'll have no shortage of players going forward.

...................McBride...................
.
DMB............Donovan......Dempsey
.
.........O'Brien.............Reyna.........
.
Lewis.......Gibbs......Gooch.......Dolo


That's a pretty aggressive team, even with one true forward. In fact, you could just as reasonably call this a 4-3-3. (what Ben just said.)

Convey, Johnson, Mastroeni, Heydude and Spector ready to sub. Not bad.

[VOwithwater]

How many of our midfield pool players have been mentioned on these boards as having the potential of actually playing some time at forward in the world cup? which players have actually seen playing time with their clubs at forward? Donavan, Dempsey, Noonan,......who else and how would they play off of the other forwards? has O'Brien ever played forward? Just curious?

If O'Briean has he was not a scorer.

[brainer 99]

If the midfielders include Donovan and Dempsey and DMB, we'll have no shortage of players going forward.

...................McBride...................
.
DMB............Donovan......Dempsey
.
.........O'Brien.............Reyna.........
.
Lewis.......Gibbs......Gooch.......Dolo


That's a pretty aggressive team, even with one true forward. In fact, you could just as reasonably call this a 4-3-3. (what Ben just said.)

Convey, Johnson, Mastroeni, Heydude and Spector ready to sub. Not bad.
I would love to see this line up, but would that make us vulnerable to counterattacks?

[Remember1950]

I made an earlier thread about beasley at forward. he is very smart, fast, makes good runs, has good touch, can create, and he is also one of our top finishers. DMB (along with LD) pose the most serious threat for our opponents without a doubt.


I agree with you. Beasley at striker some of the time is an option. He's done well there for PSV.

[sidefootsitter]

I'd like to play some of the US forwards as midfielders.

So far only Noonan has done it, with some success.

Donovan's been a tweener throughout his career and played both spots.

Wolff tried a withdrawn spot vs. Germany until Metzelder withdrew some blood from his face. But I liked what I saw from Josh there and would like to see more.

[Winds350]

Just some data for the discussion.

Goals Caps goals/cap
Johnson 9 13 0.69
McBride 29 89 0.33
Donovan 25 77 0.32
Twellman 5 17 0.29
Dempsey 4 18 0.22
Beasley 12 55 0.22
Wolff 9 43 0.21
Ching 3 15 0.20
O'Brien 3 28 0.11
Pope 8 77 0.10
Reyna 8 107 0.07
Convey 1 35 0.03


code tags to make a table, huh?

Obviously it's just one stat, and the sample size may be small (see Johnson), and a single multi-goal game may have a greater impact than it should (see Twellman).

Still, it's data.

[Sachsen]

Just some data for the discussion.

Goals Caps goals/cap
Johnson 9 13 0.69
McBride 29 89 0.33
Donovan 25 77 0.32
Twellman 5 17 0.29
Dempsey 4 18 0.22
Beasley 12 55 0.22
Wolff 9 43 0.21
Ching 3 15 0.20
O'Brien 3 28 0.11
Pope 8 77 0.10
Reyna 8 107 0.07
Convey 1 35 0.03


code tags to make a table, huh?

Obviously it's just one stat, and the sample size may be small (see Johnson), and a single multi-goal game may have a greater impact than it should (see Twellman).

Still, it's data.

I applaud any attempt to bring some facts into a BS discussion. But it would be more accurate to look for goals per minute rather than goals per cap. For instance, the vast majority of Twellman's caps prior to this year were of a very short gametime duration, whereas Wolff almost always has been a starter when he played.