Certainly not meant to be a starter but a depth player. I hope I am wrong but I dont have high hopes for this signing. I guess it’s another wide option.
He is not meant to be. This is a guy who is probably below 18th on our roster now but you hope develops into a gameday roster player. Aside from Bendik over Kempin, I would say our gameday 18 is the same. Starters: Steffen; Afful, Mensah, Sauro, Valenzuela; Trapp, Afful; Meram, Higuain, Santos; Zardes. Bench: Bendik; Jimenez, Williams/Abubakar; Clark, Hansen; Mullins +1. If you want to bench one of Williams/Abubakar in favor of another attacker (Sosa, Argudo, Robinho, Opoku) that is fine. But those 7 are our best non-starters. The others are all unproven. Maybe Crognale in the mix.
I go 4-3-2-1 and start our rebuild now Afful Mensah Crognale Valenzuela Argudo Trapp Artur Sosa Opoku Zardes
it's crazy how I can't imagine this playing out. So used to just trapp and artur around that CDM position.Maybe this lets Artur wander further up / overlap with Higs while trapp and argudo do the Berhalter CDM-possession thing. But I do want more from Sosa and Opoku. I think one of the big questions in 2019 is whether Meram can recover his pre-Orlando form back in Columbus. I'm giving up on goals coming fro Santos.
How Porter handles Meram and Santos will be one of this season's biggest stories. At least until the summer window, when he may be able to bring in new talent. I wish that I had more confidence in those two players' ability to turn it around in 2019.
More in jest than anything else. I don't see this team winning anything this year. I think if our top paid players play well and things break our way we make the playoffs at best. So, I bench everyone over 28 that we have any sort of capable replacement for. Then I start the best young players to get them into the new system This way we find out what we need. From there we know what we can go out and get in the summer and the offseasoon with the goal of being a championship contender when we open the new digs. Meram, Pipa, Santos, Afful, are not going to be around in 3 years. We'll use them as a stop gap for now because they're highly paid and we likely don't have anyone "better." I think that playing time is likely wasted on them and keeps that next tier of very young prospects from having a chance to get better and figure out if they can play in the new system. and to @Belgrano I saw that Christmas Tree formation as Trapp and Artur continuing to be deeper, both have demonstrated enough lack of prowess in the final third that I'm fine with them staying back. I had Argudo as the point man, more advanced of the 3. Porter likes inverted wingers/wide playmakers. He had the MLS poster child for that in Valeri. Sosa kind of in that role with Opoku more wide. Full backs coming forward in support as we're used to seeing. and to @Kyle Crew Opoku to start exactly because he's fast. Meram and Santos would have to demonstrate an awful lot before I think they're the answer at the wing spot. We don't have anyone else. I suppose we signed one officially today but having never seen him play and his 30 second highlight video doesn't tell me much, I'll leave that alone for now. I just want to be building toward a championship. I always think of a new coach having a 3 year plan to get there and any wasted time is...wasted. Not to say that I am not rooting for this team to crush everyone put in front of them. I just think our "Best 11" and our "Best 11 to build for a championship" have about 6 players difference.
You would start Sosa over Higuain? That’s why you aren’t anywhere close to being a coach of this team. Nuts.
A benefit of Opoku off the bench is that he is that change of pace. He brings something different when the defense is starting to get tired.
I'll be hones--I like running speed vs a tired defense. Cunningham bought that later in his career (and should have gone to a World Cup as a super-sub).
Not exactly what I said. If I'm putting my best 11 our there, he's in the team for sure. However, I don't think this team is good enough to win anything, especially with him running the show. My point was that I'd be ok with using this season to find out what young guys can ball while implementing Porter's system so that we know what we need to go out and get to build towards a championship team. Young with potential vs Old and experienced but not getting any better. If we could find ourselves on the edge of a playoff spot with either choice I go with the young guys. Now if you're arguing that Pipa and his 1 run of play goal and 9 assists in 2380 minutes form last year makes him invaluable in 2019, I guess you can do that. I'd say that I think wishing he's going to be a 6 run of play goals and 15 assists guy that we need from our #10 is just that, a wish. Last year Trapp, Artur, Pipa, Santos, Meram, Hansen, Sosa, Opoku, Argudo and Martinez added together equal what Almiron did. I know that guy is an elite player, but it took our entire midfield and withdrawn forward and all the subs to equal the production of one dude on the championship team. I wish to be proven wrong. I have hopes that a new system under a new coach with different ideas brings out the best in our best players. No doubt that we didn't see that last year. I just think that squeaking into the playoffs this year and then starting over with new DPs next year may set us back in the long run to a championship which I really hope is the road we're on.
Don’t disagree but he better develop fast at age 23. I just don’t see a lot of upside with him based on his previous level of play. I also will say this feels like the last signing of the AP era. This deal was all but done 2 weeks ago and now time the new ownership fully in place and Bez running the show I would suspect we will start looking at a different caliber of player.
Heck, Pre***t probably told adidas that with our "business metrics" we could only afford new socks...
My body is ready. Seeing your bro again 🙌 // #Crew96 @JustinMeram pic.twitter.com/9ZNLmZCCMj— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) January 21, 2019
Meram seemed to draw 2 defenders once he had the ball. He also had some sorta foot injury(?) toward the end of the season. Hope he finds that spark again. Santos on the other hand is sparkless. He couldn't start a campfire with a blow torch.
That is just crazy talk. But jumping off on alternate formations, especially on games where Pipa rests, I think some sort of 433 is a possibility. And I mean a real 433. 3 mids & 3 forwards. ----------------Steffen------------ Afful---Mensah--Sauro--Valenzuela ---Artur---Trapp---Santos----- Hansen----Zardes----Meram It hides Meram's lack of D by allowing him to play upfield more and Santos' lack of goals hurts less from CM but his industry covers for Meram. Plus if Santos pinches centrally, the thing morphs into a CM triangle or back into the 4231 easily enough. Circling back, I see Robinho & Opoku as wingers and Sosa/Santos more as CM/CAM/wide mids. The way 3G set us up, with Trapp/Artur + Pipa & Zardes givens, the edge MF spots were all that was open. With a little more tactical variation (433, 352, 442) some other spots open up.
I've bolded a key part of zman's excellent post because it jumped out at me. I feel like we have had this conversation as to how reliant this team should be on Pipa for the past 3 offseason's at least. I've held for a long time that this team can not expect to win anything of significance with Pipa as our best player or fulcrum of our offensive game plan. I feel stronger about that as his production has decreased over the past few years. I think Porter has a bit of a challenge here not just with Pipa but with others as well. And I will say that I am glad that we have Porter in to handle this challenge as opposed to Gregg because of the sentimentality and loyalty that is inherent to this challenge. I feel like there is a large section of our fanbase who wants to have one last ride with the group that stuck it out through this whole MLS2ATX/Save The Crew saga. There is now increased engagement between fans and players on social media and in other channels. Their are statements about how several players asked for trades and didn't want to go to Austin. The team presentation and recent hires have doubled down on an Ohio vs the World mentality. Thing is the team as constructed and coached in the past wasn't good enough to win anything. Porter's hiring alone isn't enough to move that needle. But, since Porter has a 5 year contract he should feel secure enough not to give into sentimentality and put together a team that is his team, not beholden to the sentimentality of the past 15 months. I'd be fine with a revolution. I'd be fine with massive turnover in the squad. There is nobody that is untouchable and outside of maybe Steffen while he's here, no starting position should be guaranteed. Pipa's contract is up at the end of the season. This should be his final season with the team. In reality, maybe last year should have been. Sure there was a moment or two of "Playoff Pipa" but over the course of the season he was not good enough. A liability may be a bit harsh, but he surely was not a protagonist. Not the type that's needed to make this team a legit title contender. It's past time for the team to begin moving on from Pipa. He can still still receive the adoration from the fans for what he has given this team while he is out there, but neither Porter nor anyone else on the team should feel the need to defer to him. He's well past that point of privilege at this point in his career.
In terms of Higuain production he is pretty steady. I have actually felt like if we wanted to be a true contender we needed a better version of him in that position with that said. 2018 - 33 games - 8 goals/7 assist 2017 - 31 games - 9 goals/10 assist 2016 - 20 games - 4 goals/2 assist 2015 - 37 games - 9 goals/ 6 assist 2014 - 30 games - 12 goals/ 6 assist. 2018 was either his second worst goal scoring year or second best assist season.
I know they all count, but I tend to take out PK goals when trying to compare players. I believe he only had 1 run of play goal in 2018. He's not the guy earning the PKs in most cases either. We need more from that spot.
I would do one of two things with the current roster: A narrow diamond 4-4-2 Zardes --------Williams Sosa Argudo------Trapp Artur Valenzuela Sauro Mensah Afful Steffen Offensive subs would be pipa/Hansen/meram/santos/opuku/mullins/robinho (boy………not much) Defensive subs would be clark and Lalas/Crognale/Williams Or a 5-3-2/3-5-2 Zardes--------Williams Valenzuela Trapp Sosa Artur Afful Sauro Crognale Mensah Steffen Offensive and defensive subs are the same.