5 players that BB should consider a position change

[pwip]

Pablo - he played CB under Arena in an emgerency. I thought he did well and distributed out of the back better than any of our current CB options

Spector - DM. Let him loose and just destroy. people forget he is one of US's fastest and most ferocious tacklers.

Robbie Rogers - LB. fast, skill with both feet. U20 cup was an eye opener on how will he can play defense. need to find competition for Jonathan

Edu - RB. need to find him a place on the starting XI. he can give dolo a run for his money in 2 years.

Demp - AM. he's clever enough for the wing but not fast enough. should give him a shot in running the offense

[Maltown]

Pablo - he played CB under Arena in an emgerency. I thought he did well and distributed out of the back better than any of our current CB options

Spector - DM. Let him loose and just destroy. people forget he is one of US's fastest and most ferocious tacklers.

Robbie Rogers - LB. fast, skill with both feet. U20 cup was an eye opener on how will he can play defense. need to find competition for Jonathan

Edu - RB. need to find him a place on the starting XI. he can give dolo a run for his money in 2 years.

Demp - AM. he's clever enough for the wing but not fast enough. should give him a shot in running the offense

Sure, Edu could give Cherundolo a run for his money 2 years, or he could give Benny and Clark a run for their money right now.

I understand that we aren't particularly deep at the outside backs, but Rogers could be the LM of the future, or RM for that matter, considering how well he uses both feet.

[Heathens '87]

Pablo - he played CB under Arena in an emgerency. I thought he did well and distributed out of the back better than any of our current CB options

Spector - DM. Let him loose and just destroy. people forget he is one of US's fastest and most ferocious tacklers.

Robbie Rogers - LB. fast, skill with both feet. U20 cup was an eye opener on how will he can play defense. need to find competition for Jonathan

Edu - RB. need to find him a place on the starting XI. he can give dolo a run for his money in 2 years.

Demp - AM. he's clever enough for the wing but not fast enough. should give him a shot in running the offense

In my view, you're always better off playing someone at their "natural" position unless the situation is rather desperate.

With that in mind, with Simek backing up Cherundolo at RB, and the depth of a veteran like Hejduk and the promise of youth in Wynne, it's not a place where we need to force someone into the slot. We've also plenty of options at attacking-midfield, which is Dempsey's natural role. He's playing there because of a lack of quality and depth at striker, so that's not truly a switch as much as it's a return to what should be. Altidore and EJ need to make that happen.

Your thoughts do gain some legitimacy in my view at left-back, where the mix of Pearce and Bornstein may not produce someone capable of playing in South Africa. I'm beginning to think that Spector may find a slot here and deserves consideration. If there's another possibility (Edu, Clark, etc.) for that position, I'm wide open to opening that competition. Starting that process earlier would be wise as forcing someone into a slot without appropriate experience can create problems.

We'll see what gives, but the biggest "position change" possibilities I see would be at left-back........



P.S. I've seen a lot of Rogers with Columbus. He's not a back. Yeah he's got decent speed, but his instincts are toward goal. Converting him to defense would be a mis-use of his talent ....

[Ringo]

Demp - AM. he's clever enough for the wing but not fast enough. should give him a shot in running the offense

I don't see this, which isn't a knock on Demps. But I don't see him as this type of player. he holds the ball way too much to be an AM. Three guys could be on him and he wants to try his tricks and behind the back moves. The game stops flowing when the ball gets to his foot and an AM has to move the ball quickly and be more concerned about making his teammates look good.

but, I will say this. DeRosario was a backup forward for many years who some people thought had a dribbling problem. Lando leaves, DeRo gets put at AM admist a lot of head scratching and it worked out beyond what anybody could've hoped for. Points this: What the hell do I know? Maybe it would work. But I don't see it.
:)

[FC Tallavana]

I was actually thinking that not having Mastroeni in the midfield is one of the primary reasons we have sucked lately.

A healthy Mastro allows the other central mid to facilitate the attack a bit more without worrying about someone getting in behind him.

[Maximum Optimal]

He's injured now, but I think DMB will be our left back later in this cycle.

[rgli13]

the one change that id like to see most is beasley to left back.

hes better defensively than bornstein, clearly can carry the entire side of the pitch, but mostly it would change everything we (could) do, starting with playing a 4-3-3. beasley and cherundolo giving width, any three of our glut of center mids in the middle (bradley, edu, feilhaber, donovan/dempsey), altidore up top flanked by adu and donovan/dempsey.

it seems so simple on paper...

[Heathens '87]

the one change that id like to see most is beasley to left back.

hes better defensively than bornstein, clearly can carry the entire side of the pitch, but mostly it would change everything we (could) do, starting with playing a 4-3-3. beasley and cherundolo giving width, any three of our glut of center mids in the middle (bradley, edu, feilhaber, donovan/dempsey), altidore up top flanked by adu and donovan/dempsey.

it seems so simple on paper...

Beasley can be a good defensive player, but pairing him with Cherundolo on the outside of a backline would make us stunningly vulnerable to size. That doesn't play so much of a factor in the midfield, but a lack of size on the outside isn't a good idea unless that player happens to be an incredibly talented defender who understands positioning as well as athleticism.

Steve is a pretty heady defender in this regard. But DMB, like most players with that kind of speed, tends to rely so much on that attribute that I think he'd be exposed as a back and we'd see some quality crossing coming into the box against us. I just don't see that being a simple idea........

[Bigrose30]

If anything, I think Mo Edu could be a smooth CB if he switched there.

To be honest, though, players should be in the same or similar positions and roles as they are with their club. It's not about getting the best XI on the field, it's about getting the best team on the field for the task at hand.

[Kevin8833]

1) Spector-CB
2) Edu-CB
3) Clark-RB
4) Dempsey-AM
5) Donovan-SS

[Cannons]

I don't see this, which isn't a knock on Demps. But I don't see him as this type of player. he holds the ball way too much to be an AM. Three guys could be on him and he wants to try his tricks and behind the back moves. The game stops flowing when the ball gets to his foot and an AM has to move the ball quickly and be more concerned about making his teammates look good.
Watched him for years with the Revs and he is not an AM. He's not a forward either. Outside mid might be his best position these days.

FYI - his rise to fame came while he was playing DM and sneaking forward and scoring. Not great on defense but good when given the freedom to go forward. He kind of flew into the goal area unmarked and scored a lot of goals doing it. Even though his defense wasn't anything special, I think he's better at playing DM then anyone BB is currently running through that position and absolutely better on offense then the others. Once Niclol moved him to forward, his production fell way off. I think he's still in that mode now

[shinzui]

Why move anyone to RB to backup Cherundolo when we have Simek right now? Its just a temporary shortage of the depth chart for the Mexico game that both were injured and unavailable at the same time. Wynne could push for playing time within a year as well.

[Heathens '87]

Why move anyone to RB to backup Cherundolo when we have Simek right now? Its just a temporary shortage of the depth chart for the Mexico game that both were injured and unavailable at the same time. Wynne could push for playing time within a year as well.

Bradley wanted to get a better look at Moor to see if he was capable of pushing his way up the depth chart. Both Hejduk and Wynne were available for these early '08 friendlies, so the absence of Dolo and Simek gave Bob a chance to what the competition was looking like deeper in the pool. The result wasn't good in my opinion, which is why I think we'll see Hejduk in the mix later this year as Wynne is off with the Olympic team.

Simek and Dolo both play in Europe so it's good to have a back-up for qualifiers that doesn't have to come that far to sit a bench. Hejduk won't mind that role, and if you need 20-30 minutes of all-out energy defending, Frankie can certainly come in and supply that along with some experience playing on the road in CONCACAF. If Wynne shows some improvement in form, add him to the mix as well as Frankie isn't likely to be a factor come South Africa.

We're fine on the right unless we see some injuries. The left is the big question mark, just as it was heading into WC06.........

[littlerockant]

I'd rather put Michael Bradley somewhere on D, than Edu. Even with the goals he's brought in Holland, anyone who knows the game and has seen the goals he's scored, knows he doesn't bring much going forward (right now).

[flash1316]

Bradley wanted to get a better look at Moor to see if he was capable of pushing his way up the depth chart. Both Hejduk and Wynne were available for these early '08 friendlies, so the absence of Dolo and Simek gave Bob a chance to what the competition was looking like deeper in the pool. The result wasn't good in my opinion, which is why I think we'll see Hejduk in the mix later this year as Wynne is off with the Olympic team.

Simek and Dolo both play in Europe so it's good to have a back-up for qualifiers that doesn't have to come that far to sit a bench. Hejduk won't mind that role, and if you need 20-30 minutes of all-out energy defending, Frankie can certainly come in and supply that along with some experience playing on the road in CONCACAF. If Wynne shows some improvement in form, add him to the mix as well as Frankie isn't likely to be a factor come South Africa.

We're fine on the right unless we see some injuries. The left is the big question mark, just as it was heading into WC06.........
Szetela should move to RB. That's the only move I can think of that currently makes sense. IMO Simek's nothing special and we need a quality RB to back up Dolo in 2010. I've gotten off the Wynne bandwagon. He's a great athlete, not a great soccer player or RB. Unless one of the young MLS RBs steps up we've got no quality behind Dolo. Szetela could make the move I think he's got all the qualities to be a primetime RB.

[thedude83]

I'd rather put Michael Bradley somewhere on D, than Edu. Even with the goals he's brought in Holland, anyone who knows the game and has seen the goals he's scored, knows he doesn't bring much going forward (right now).

WTF? He has been great going forward. He makes excellent runs into the box, creates space once in the box between himself and the defender, and is a great finisher. He does not posses the fancy skill set some other people have but he gets the f ucking job done. He is tied for third in the Eredivisie with 13 goals. That is an astounding strike rate for a 20yr CM. And it is not by chance that he's scored that many goals.
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[pwip]

If anything, I think Mo Edu could be a smooth CB if he switched there.

To be honest, though, players should be in the same or similar positions and roles as they are with their club. It's not about getting the best XI on the field, it's about getting the best team on the field for the task at hand.


Sound like coaches' speak. Just a way to gain leverage in controlling their players. Da Bruce said that alot. I'm of putting the best talent on the field mentality. Couldn't care less if they like each other. That best team BS didn't worked that well for us in the last WC

[passtheblizz]

Dempsey was definitely an A-mid for the Revs... Shalrie Joseph was definitely more defensive, and Ralston was RM. He holds the ball too long only when he has no other options. He likes to make the quick pass in the center of the field and run off the ball without having to worry too much about defensive responsibilities so he can get forward. That is when he is most dangerous.

[ElRoss425]

I don't really see Dempsey as an A-mid. I would prefer him on the right where he's looked his best. Anyone remember WC '06 and MLS directly after?

Also, I think Donovan is playing out of position out wide where he's not getting many opportunities to score. He should play up front or as the A-mid since those are the positions where he played when becoming our all-time leading scorer at such a young age.

As for most of the rest of the suggestions, I think people are getting ahead of themselves in displacing our proven best players for players based solely on potential. I also don't like the idea of putting our best attacking and midfield talent in the back(Edu, Beasley, Rogers, etc).

[Heathens '87]

I don't really see Dempsey as an A-mid. I would prefer him on the right where he's looked his best. Anyone remember WC '06 and MLS directly after?

Also, I think Donovan is playing out of position out wide where he's not getting many opportunities to score. He should play up front or as the A-mid since those are the positions where he played when becoming our all-time leading scorer at such a young age.



I agree whole-heartedly, but it comes down to the issue of having quality options at forward. If Altidore and/or Johnson can grab starting roles up-top and produce, that should give Bob the option of moving Dempsey back into a more-appropriate midfield role. Since WC06, he's been playing that role simply because he's a better option than Twellman, Wolff, Cooper, etc.

So many of our isuses in regard to having players in their natural roles come down to the lack of quality and depth at striker. Ideally, Donovan is a rather free-roaming AM, Dempsey is coming in from the right, and they've got a couple of finishers in the box for distribution. Finding those strikers remains the biggest issue for the squad.......