Latest thoughts on a Right Mid

[milkduds]

I am not a big fan of playing guys like Beasley, Convey, or Lewis on the right side just to get them on the field. As much as I like Olsen, he has not been able to fully regain his form of old between injuries. Klein and Ralston are good, but not world class. I'm not convinced that Claudio has the speed to play on the wing, and if Sanneh is ever fit enough to play with the Nats again it will be on the backline. So who will it be when qualifying begins? We've seen just about all we are going to see from this MLS season, and that spot is still wide open.

I think Cherundolo might be the best one for the job. He seems to be playing well in Germany and gets himself into the attack fairly well. I know he's a decent defender, but it scares me to see a guy that small on our back line. Why not use him on the right side of midfield? Other options I see include Donovan and possibly Ricardo Clark. Who am I missing?

Maybe a 3-5-2 works best, but even in a 4-4-2 I think Cherundolo could be in the midfield.

[petezuke17]

I say give Ralston a shot until he loses or wins the job, I dont think McBride will disagree. He may not be the fastest guy, but he is starting to play well agian for the Revs so I say keep running him out there. Then again I'm not Bruce Arena.

[onefineesq]

Well, this has been quite the quandary for the U.S. Personally, with the personnel that the U.S. has, I would prefer that we ATTEMPT to play a 3-5-2, and if we do, the obvious answer is to give Ricardo Clark a try. And despite what Beasley wants and what other people may say, I still think that he should consider a move. Right now, Beasley plays on the far left, and he really has very little ability to cross the ball, which is a liability at that position. When I have seen Chicago at his best, he and Ralph have been playing tic-tac-toe in the middle of the field with the ball, using their speed. Is the guy even truly left-footed? half the time i see him with it on his right foot, it doesn't seem like he is. Anyway, I really wish that Eddie Gaven would go in a time warp or something and be about 3 or 4 years older, because i think it would be an easy choice then.

[Sandon Mibut]

Brian Mullan. Fast, plays D, crosses well, takes good shots and takes guys on 1-v-1.


And, based on the way he was playing when he got hurt, Olsen had played his way back into the picture. If he can come back to that form, he'll be in the mix.

[Blong]

I disagree with those suggesting Rico Clark on the right. He's been serviceable for the Metros on the right, but not nearly as impressive as when he played in the middle. I may be wrong, but from the last few games it seems Bradley has been trying to get him back in the middle, despite the overload of talent that the Metros have there.

I'm still going with Donovan at right mid, as long as we are solid at a-mid and forward.

[ChrisE]

Originally posted by Blong
I disagree with those suggesting Rico Clark on the right. He's been serviceable for the Metros on the right, but not nearly as impressive as when he played in the middle. I may be wrong, but from the last few games it seems Bradley has been trying to get him back in the middle, despite the overload of talent that the Metros have there.

I'm still going with Donovan at right mid, as long as we are solid at a-mid and forward.

Part of the reason that Bradley is pushing Rico towards the middle, though, is that Eddie Gaven seems to be establishing himself as a solid right mid at 16. I wouldn't suggest him for the nats right now (just as I wouldn't suggest Freddy, etc.), but I would imagine he will be given a shot before Germany rolls around.

However, I would also not be displeased if Donovan got slotted in to an attackind right-mid kind of role.

[Nutmeg]

I agree with Sandon. On the "5 players you'd want to see called in" thread, one of the first players that came to mind was Brian Mullan.

Mullan has played out of his head in San Jose this year under the tutelage of Frank Yallop. He has 6 goals and 9 assists, making him second on his team with 21 points. His 9 assists make him 3rd in the league behind Preki and Guevara.

Even more intriguing is his versatility. How good is this guy? He played the first part of the season at forward while Donovan was away on Nat duty and DeRo was hurt and out, and as many Quake fans will tell you, Mullan at times was the one and only offensive outlet for San Jose. Not that he was a bad outlet - he led the Quakes to the best record in the league.

Then Donovan and DeRo come back and Mullan exits the front line and moves to the right wing. He racks up a few assists, looks dangerous out on the flank and creates opportunities for Donovan and DeRo, and then he is rewarded by getting put as a Right Back.

By the way, he did well there, too, shutting down the Colorado Rapids.

Between the Deuce, the Shootout, and HDNet, I've been able to watch a ton of San Jose games, and Mullan has really stuck out as their impact player all year long. He's 25, just coming into his prime, and in my opinion is worth a look.

But I would still like to see Landon played in the Earnie role just once.

[voros]

Originally posted by Nutmeg
I agree with Sandon. On the "5 players you'd want to see called in" thread, one of the first players that came to mind was Brian Mullan.
Put me on the list as well. Mullan might be worth a look.

[DCFAN]

Olsen will be ready by the time the Nats. play again in January or December. He is probably the best option based on his performance in the last 15 games he played, and he is still fairly young.

[appoo]

Originally posted by Nutmeg
But I would still like to see Landon played in the Earnie role just once.

You saw that in South Korea. We know what we can get out of him their. Its just a question of where Arena thinks Donovan will have the biggest impact upon the game. We need to run the offense through Landon.

onefineesq

IMHO I don't think we have the defenders to play a 3-5-2. We have Bocanegra, whe needs no introduction, and we have Eddie Pope (assuming he is healthy), but who would our 3rd Central Defender be? Cory Gibbs? He of BL-3. Danny Califf? Gregg Berhalter? Orange Traffic Cone? Find a 3rd Stud for Central Defender, and I'm sure Arena would more than happy enough to throw out a 352. At which point we can put all our blue-chip midfielders on the field at the same time. My dream US midfield would look something like this

------------Reyna----JOB-------------
--Jouquin (stolen from Spain)----DMB
-------------Convey--------------------

[juventino3]

Originally posted by voros
Put me on the list as well. Mullan might be worth a look.

Agreed. The guy has skill, speed, hustle, and has drastically improved his crossing in the last couple of months. Mullan, Klein, and Ralston are good options for the time being. They are the best MLS has to offer at the position. Its a shame about Olsen, but hopefully he will come back strong from this injury. Donovan and Justin Mapp will get looks on the right as well.

[onefineesq]

Originally posted by appooOnU


IMHO I don't think we have the defenders to play a 3-5-2. We have Bocanegra, whe needs no introduction, and we have Eddie Pope (assuming he is healthy), but who would our 3rd Central Defender be? Cory Gibbs? He of BL-3. Danny Califf? Gregg Berhalter? Orange Traffic Cone? Find a 3rd Stud for Central Defender, and I'm sure Arena would more than happy enough to throw out a 352.

Yes, as of right now, we could play Cory Gibbs of BL-3, because the bottom line is that he played for the US a whole bunch of times this summer in the different cups that we played, and he did VERY VERY well. He was far from lost on the field and showed himself to be a rugged defender who intimidated people with physical play at 6'3". You can't always look at the league that you play in. Cory Gibbs was actually GIVEN the chance, and when he had the chance, he performed well from the moment he stepped in.

[ursula]

I agree that Mullen that should be called in, but the vast majority of people here are not realizing how good Ben Olsen had been for the month before his recent injury.

For that month, Olsen had finally regained all that he had plus he was showing stuff that he never had before. He was scoring regularly and that in an offensive system that is just brutal and unsupportive. No question in my mind that if you put him on the Quakes and had him compete with Mullen, Olsen would win the battle.

Since his current injury should be history by mid Novemeber I fully expect him to be called in by Arena this winter.

[MLSNHTOWN]

I agree that Gibbs would be the #3 in the 3-5-2 currently. Califf and/or Berhalter add depth.

If we did go to this system, Dolo on the right and Beasley on the left are perfect wing backs.

But what is the difference between that and running a 4-4-2 with our back four of Dolo on the right, Boca and Pope in the center with Gibbs on the left.

If it is the same personnel, it probably is somewhat irrelevant. Dolo will end up playing a lot of defense on the right, but will edge forward when appropriate.

I agree that Mullan deserves a look. Olsen was really coming around at the end, but another setback. Klein has played ok. Nothing spectacular, and a tad bit slow but brings enough to the table.

Donovan is who you would want at that position in my opinion. The problem with that though is that without Josh Wolff, the USMNT is a little thin at forward and really doesn't have anyone who can "stretch" the defense. True Donovan will help on the right. But a Donovan up top keeps a lot of defenses more honest than any combo of Mathis, McBride, Twellman, Razov, etc.

Pace is needed at forward when one is teaming up with a McBride or a Mathis or a Razov. Donovan is one of the few forwards in the USMNT pool with it.

[Nutmeg]

Originally posted by ursula
No question in my mind that if you put him on the Quakes and had him compete with Mullen, Olsen would win the battle.

No offense, ursula, but that makes one of us. I really like Olsen, but I don't think a Mullan v Olsen battle would be as cut and dry as you make it out to be.

From a club standpoint, I would take Mullan over Olsen for a variety of reasons - his versatility and durability being key. He also has set up his teammates and been a tireless worker all season long for the Quakes. As others have pointed out, he is a creative, fast player who doesn't shy away from 1v1's.

Not bagging on Olsen, as he has many of the same qualities, and he has the added bonus of knowing Bruce Arena and the Arenaball system better than most, but as a coach, I really question how much time you invest in a player who unfortunately cannot stay healthy. It's something Arena will have to consider.

[sch2383]

I haven't seen a whole lot of Mullan, but I have seen Olsen play. He has been an absolute terror, taking on defenders and tracking back on D. He is hindered by a coach who deep down want to play bunkerball, and yes injuries. However, it is not his ankles that are causing the problem, so that it a good sign of sorts.

[ursula]

Originally posted by Nutmeg
No offense, ursula, but that makes one of us. I really like Olsen, but I don't think a Mullan v Olsen battle would be as cut and dry as you make it out to be.

From a club standpoint, I would take Mullan over Olsen for a variety of reasons - his versatility and durability being key. He also has set up his teammates and been a tireless worker all season long for the Quakes. As others have pointed out, he is a creative, fast player who doesn't shy away from 1v1's.

And as I said I like Mullan too. He however is the beneficiary of a) a much brighter coach, especially on the offensive side of things, and b) a much better supporting cast this year. Mullan has had no games here he was the main player- defensively or offensively. Olsen had to shoulder that burden. But let's see them play under the same system- Arena's and see how they go. Honestly either one winning the job will benefit the team.



Not bagging on Olsen, as he has many of the same qualities, and he has the added bonus of knowing Bruce Arena and the Arenaball system better than most, but as a coach, I really question how much time you invest in a player who unfortunately cannot stay healthy. It's something Arena will have to consider.

You mean like JOB? Or Reyna? I mean how many games did JOB miss the last go around before Korea? Even when he was healthy he still had Ajax problems. I think Arena will take and invest in who he thinks are the best players if they are healthy.

[lurking]

Originally posted by ursula
And as I said I like Mullan too. He however is the beneficiary of a) a much brighter coach, especially on the offensive side of things, and b) a much better supporting cast this year. Mullan has had no games here he was the main player- defensively or offensively. Olsen had to shoulder that burden. But let's see them play under the same system- Arena's and see how they go. Honestly either one winning the job will benefit the team.

Actually, he had several as a forward where offensively hes had to be "the man". He was paired up front with Manny Lagos, with Corrales, Ekelund, Russel and Alvarez behind him in Midfield. And he shouldered the role, being very productive in that time. The more touches the guy gets the better he is, I think at times with Donovan and especially DeRosario up front he has been underutilized.

As for supporting cast, I dont think thats really true. I think the Quakes certainly have their share of talented players, but a good number of them have missed signifigant time. Really in the midfield I wouldnt rate Ekelund, Corralles or Lagos all that highly. Ekelund has been injured much of the, Corralles inconsistent and Lagos's best days are behind him. They have all fit in and helped the Quakes do well, but thats a testament to Frank I think. Roner and Waibel at right back have been spotty, and unfortunately Ching and Donovan have been absent quite a bit of this season. Yallop has been a genious, but Mullan has been an insturmental part of that.

Id take Mullan in a heartbeat over Olsen, but hey, Im biased.

[Nutmeg]

Originally posted by ursula
And as I said I like Mullan too. He however is the beneficiary of a) a much brighter coach, especially on the offensive side of things, and

b) a much better supporting cast this year. Mullan has had no games here he was the main player- defensively or offensively.

I agree with point A, but point B I've got to disagree with. At the beginning of the year, Mullan was sometimes not just the main player, but pretty much the only player, the Quakes had going for them on offense. His work in setting up Ching in large part transformed Ching from an A-leaguer one year and a Nat the next.


Olsen had to shoulder that burden. But let's see them play under the same system- Arena's and see how they go. Honestly either one winning the job will benefit the team.

It is certainly interesting to see how quickly DCU has gone from looking like maybe a MLS Cup contender to, well, manure when Ben went down. I think Olsen has the inside track to Arena's squad, but the point I was trying to make in my initial response was that in my mind, Olsen is not worlds ahead of Mullan at right mid.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, there's a 19 year old in Dallas who will probably get his first U23 minutes at Right Mid tomorrow night against Haiti. If this experiment works out, and it turns out Eddie Johnson can play the right midfield position at a big-time level, the question between Olsen and Mullan might be who gets to be the back up.

You mean like JOB? Or Reyna? I mean how many games did JOB miss the last go around before Korea? Even when he was healthy he still had Ajax problems. I think Arena will take and invest in who he thinks are the best players if they are healthy.

Yes, I do mean like JOB and Reyna. Of course with those two we are talking about, by far and away, the two most skilled players in the 2002 pool. It wasn't even close. That's not the case with Olsen or Mullan. In my opinion, both can be serviceable at the International level, but I don't see either one starring as did JOB and Reyna. I hope they both go out and prove me wrong.

[Chowderhead]

My hunch is that Bruce will not have the guts to introduce new players. He will rely on the versatile veterans and a handful of familiar, reliable players, and just make do.

After the World Cup, he said that he learned that the competition is one for younger players. Yet, look at the continued reliance on Stewart.

He could well be right for still turning to Stewart. But using him as he has recently only demonstrates a reluctance to change his ways.

Don't get to imaginative with your guesses. Bruce won't pick any of them.