Depth Matters.

[JoeW]

Just reading some more about Mathis' surgery (that an operational definition of an MLS fanatic--one straight guy reading about the groin surgery of another man and being interested in it) and encountered a small footnote that Mark Lisi has a stress fracture and is out for about a month. Combined with Dillon Shepherd being a little more limited than the SoS originally expected, it got me thinking about how thin their midfield suddenly became.

The more I think about it, the more I think depth is going to be the big decider in MLS this year. I wish I felt we were the deepest team in MLS but I think all of our national (youth WC, Olympic, National team) commitments will mean we'll have some thin benches for a number of games.

One other footnote: Colorado was required to use their allocation (for El Pibe) on ZiZi Roberts (the Liberian striker) who may or may not beat out Carrieri.

[DigitalTron]

As long as Prideaux stays healthy and one of our Dmid backups steps up (Namoff, Carroll or Woodstock), then we should be OK. We're a good 2 deep at every other position. I singled out Prideaux because his versatility allows him to literally play anywhere along the back line in either a 442 or a 352.

Our forwards concern me still, but we do have 4 or 5 contributors no matter how the roster shakes out. Our primary trio will be Stewart, Santino and Esky, with likely either Santino or Esky present for almost every game. Our backups will be drawn from Ali Curtis--who had a good point per minute rating last season actually--, Eliseo Quintanilla, and Devin Barclay. So, that's 6 legitimate forward candidates, 3 of which are starter quality. So, I guess I shouldn't be concerned about our forwards ... but I am. One injury to Stewart and our whole house of cards could fall down up top.

-Tron

[stopper4]

Originally posted by JoeW

One other footnote: Colorado was required to use their allocation (for El Pibe) on ZiZi Roberts (the Liberian striker) who may or may not beat out Carrieri.

Zizi has, so far, been beaten out by their superdraft pick, some guy named Schmidt. Something like 6 goals in 4 preseason games. Makes him an early favorite for the Junior Agogo MLS Preseason Star award.

[Cweedchop]

As JoeW so elequently states in the thread title, depth indeed does matter..

We only need to look back to last season to see how lack of quality depth can scuttle an entire season..

United is in an almost unprecedented position in having quality choices for a starting XI on most nights where as last season we were wondering just who in the world was even capable of scoring a goal for this team..

My how times have changed..

Hudson and Kasper promised big changes.. They sure as hell gave it to us in a big big way.. The most important thing though is they did it the right way.. They supplimented positions all over the field with the aquisitions of Petke, Kovalenko, Ivanov, Stewart and Hristo.. They also drafted very wisely by basically filling in the holes where needed... They didn't just go for the big name player and stood by that, they did the best thing possible in MLS by getting the support players to play alongside the big name players...

Great job by Hudsper.. Let's see if it brings us some results now....

[JAnderson14]

Originally posted by DigitalTron
One injury to Stewart and our whole house of cards could fall down up top.

-Tron
It would be quite bad, yes, but not to the depths of last season. The midfield is more capable of getting goals, and the group of forwards we have now, even without Stewart, is improved. Quintanilla and Curtis are a little further along, Quaranta was out for almost all of last season, and Eskandarian (who looks like he's making me eat my words, which is a good thing) has to be better than Lassiter and/or Zambrano. Not to say that without Stewart we'd still be deadly, but we're stronger nonetheless.

[Sachin]

I'll trade all that depth for one forward who can score 30 goals in 30 games.

Sachin

[rymannryan]

Originally posted by Sachin
I'll trade all that depth for one forward who can score 30 goals in 30 games.

Sachin



And when he tears his ACL in game 6 . . . . . . . . .

[greatscott]

Originally posted by rymannryan
And when he tears his ACL in game 6 . . . . . . . . .

No make that 6th minute

[DigitalTron]

The quality of MLS has improved every year, but it's improved in the middle and at the bottom this season.

2002: With contraction teams were afforded the opportunity to fill in their holes. Some teams had defense without offense, some teams had strong midfields without finishers, some had a complete attack but lacked defenders. With contraction the mediocre players were culled out and replaced by competent players that filled the teams' needs.

2003: Now that the P-40's have come out in force and two more developmental spots have been added, there are far more good young players in MLS. Except for Chicago, San Jose and possibly Kansas City, every team added depth. In the past injuries often made the biggest difference between being good or mediocre. Now most teams have capable replacements for all but a few players.

But the formula hasn't changed that much. If you lose too many man/games from your top salary players, you're going to struggle. Hudson has given United 3 forwards, 6 midfielders, 4 defenders and 2 keepers that are of starting caliber. Our other subs include Hristo, 3 local P-40 players, and some young inexpensive players with potential. That's a nice mix.

We have 4 tall defenders for set pieces (Nelsen, Petke, Ivanov, Stokes). Decent team speed. Very good passing ability. Good team defending. Strong ball-winning. The only places we could use a little more depth is finishing (forwards), aerial play (forwards), left wing and Dmid. But all in all, it's a good mix of players. IMHO, when Etch retires after this season (pure speculation), we should replace him with a target forward.

-Tron

[Sachin]

I'm sorry.. but when we talk about depth being a strong point, all we are doing is admitting that we're not particularly strong in any one facet of the game, but that we've got a lot of people who can contribute. But what's the point of that if we don't have someone who will step up and deliver the killer blow?

That's the biggest question mark we have. Who is going to be the go-to, ice in the veins, takes delight in shutting up the opposing crowd, will do anything within and without the rules to score, "daggerman"?

I don't see one on the roster.

Sachin

[rymannryan]

Originally posted by Sachin
I'm sorry.. but when we talk about depth being a strong point, all we are doing is admitting that we're particularly strong in any one facet of the game, but that we've got a lot of people who can contribute. But what's the point of that if we don't have someone who will step up and deliver the killer blow?

That's the biggest question mark we have. Who is going to be the go-to, ice in the veins, takes delight in shutting up the opposing crowd, will do anything within and without the rules to score, "daggerman"?

I don't see on the roster.

Sachin


True, but I think we should wait until the season before ruling out the possibility of such a player. I too don't see it, but we could be in for a suprise. I just can't wait until MLS teams can financially have more than one such player on a team.

[nick]

I just don't see Hudson keeping 6 forwards. In this scenerio he will keep the following players in order:

1. Stewart
2. Quaranta
3. Esky
4. Barclay
5. Q2

Curtis is gone. I just can't see him making this club. And this was before Hudson made those remarks about how unimpressive Curtis had played during preseason to date.

[DigitalTron]

Originally posted by nick
I just don't see Hudson keeping 6 forwards. In this scenerio he will keep the following players in order:

1. Stewart
2. Quaranta
3. Esky
4. Barclay
5. Q2

Curtis is gone. I just can't see him making this club. And this was before Hudson made those remarks about how unimpressive Curtis had played during preseason to date. I had Hristo as the 4th forward. Are you listing him as a midfielder, or did you forget about him? He's definitely going to make the team.

-Tron

[Flying Weasel]

Originally posted by nick
1. Stewart
2. Quaranta
3. Esky
4. Barclay
5. Q2and Stoichkov.

But Stewart and Stoichkov can also be used as attacking midfielders. And Barclay and Q2 can be used as wingers. So you have some flexibility with how you classify and use these players. So who's to say where Hudson thinks he needs more cover.

Also, with Harkes not being signed, I think there's only 25 players currently in the mix (with Hudson saying the roster is close to set but mentioning the possibility of few more invitees in Steven Goff's article in today's Wash. Post). That's only one over the limit. (18 Sr. + 6 Dev. = 24).

Maybe Curtis makes the team, maybe not. But I don't think the case for him being cut is as strong or clear-cut as you suggest.

[JAnderson14]

Originally posted by Sachin
I'm sorry.. but when we talk about depth being a strong point, all we are doing is admitting that we're not particularly strong in any one facet of the game, but that we've got a lot of people who can contribute. But what's the point of that if we don't have someone who will step up and deliver the killer blow?

That's the biggest question mark we have. Who is going to be the go-to, ice in the veins, takes delight in shutting up the opposing crowd, will do anything within and without the rules to score, "daggerman"?

I don't see one on the roster.

Sachin
I'd say we are strong in a few categories. Our midfield should be as good as anyone's, and our defense looks like it will be very solid again. It's true, we don't a proven player who steals us points when we don't deserve them, but I'd say we have several players who can play that role on occasion. Stoitchkov and Stewart are both men for the big occasion, and I'd also look to Olsen for the critical play in a tense match. No, we don't have one go-to player, but that can also play to our advantage...opposing teams don't know who to focus on, and with the flexibility in the lineup, the killer goal could come from almost anywhere.

As for Curtis...the only advantage Barclay has over him is P40 status. Frankly, I think Barclay has proven to be too dainty for MLS and will have to toughen up mentally, and show he not only is willing to be a part of the physical side of things, but perhaps even relish in it. Curtis may not be Pele, but he's got commitment to spare and if the P40 issue didn't come up, I'd prefer him over Barclay every time. As it is, I wouldn't be surprised to see more of Barclay in midfield than at forward, since he's not going to outplay any of our established strikers.

[Lowecifer]

Originally posted by JAnderson14
Frankly, I think Barclay has proven to be too dainty for MLS ...

You're just saying that because of his draft day picture...

http://www.dcunited.com/assets/personnel_image/mug1151.gif
Leif Garrett

http://www.lasvegasmercury.com/2001/MERC-Apr-20-Fri-2001/photos/leif.jpg
Devin Barclay

[JAnderson14]

Originally posted by Lowecifer
You're just saying that because of his draft day picture...
Wow.

Actually, I played a scrimmage against McDonough before he left, and I recall him being very irritated by how physical our marking backs played him. It seems to have carried over to MLS, because he seems to shy away from physical play and that leads to him fading whenever we play someone physical (read: just about every team in MLS). If there's a coach who can turn him around, though, it's Hudson.

[dadman]

When you start talking depth, I always think of Brian Kamler. He is a tough player (I haven't seen his chest, but he may have some Bulgarian blood in him) who is very versatile, and does very well on the left. With Convey out a few times this season, he'd be a great sub, combining a great work rate with defensive and offensive skills.

I wish that Ray had either the roster room or the desire to re-sign him. After trading him twice, that's a pretty thin chance. What i don't doubt is that Kamler would give his best.

Seven weeks to the home opener. That's a very. long. time. :(

dadman

[Sundevil9]

Originally posted by Flying Weasel
and Stoichkov.

But Stewart and Stoichkov can also be used as attacking midfielders. And Barclay and Q2 can be used as wingers. So you have some flexibility with how you classify and use these players. So who's to say where Hudson thinks he needs more cover.




.....you didn't actually mean Eliseo Quintanilla as a winger did you? While I think he has some versatility and midfield qualities, he needs to be sheltered in the middle of the field, where his glacieresque speed won't be exposed.

[Cuchulain]

Wasn't earnie used as winger in one of the scrimmages? it seems that maybe when olsen and convey are called away, barclay and stewart could take the wing spots, with etch or hristo at a-mid and the fowards coming from whoever's not a-mid, plus tino or esky. I don't know... just thinking out loud here, but I guess I'm not as concerned with winger depth as others. maybe I should be.

question: does anyone know anything about this "spanish player" scheduled to visit? and does anyone thinks it's strange that sugar ray is calling in another player after not signing harkes with the excuse that it's too late to make any big changes to the team? just wondering. in no way am I criticizing hudson, I just think it's a little ironic.