That's what I thought too. It's hard to tell a consistent story of what the front office was doing since Pedro, Jones and Lletget to some extent are all 8's.
So it seems in Boateng and Alessandrini we finally got the wingers we've desperately needed, but now, once everyone is healthy, we've got a bunch of 8's and no 6's.... go figure...
Guessing Bruce saw Lleget as an 8, told the FO that he's an 8, but Curt came in and said "Nah, he's a winger." Not to float my own boat, but at the beginning of last season I suggested we try Lleget as an 8, and I got shot down and someone told me it wouldn't work (don't remember who), but maybe it was Curt Onalfo and he's here watching us.
I think that's plausible. For me, Boateng is a bit one-dimensional to start at wing/amid long-term so I expect to see Lletget there a lot.
Another wrinkle - you can't just say player A playing position X is good/bad/indifferent w/o taking into account the preferred playing style of the teammates around him. For example JJ is primarily a pedal-to-the metal, balls out, straight ahead type player. He might have meshed better with LD and RK who both were fans of the quick, give-n-go pass to a sprinting teammate. Gio and Pedro otoh seem to prefer a more measured, controlled approach to the game. Alessandrini somewhat fits in with the Gio/Pedro style as well, although he likes the 1 touch pass as well. Anyway, the point is that it's entirely possible for a player like JJ to be a star for one team (say NE) and a disruption to another (LAG) even if he is playing the same way and in the same position. Personally I think the jury is out on JJ - too many variables moving at once to say our turnaround is just due to his injury. I do think he has lost a step and has been in poor form and been poor at decision making for a while. But I'm not completely writing him off yet. PS - Gio has suffered from this "playing style" issue since he came to the us. Part of it is a reflection of the LigaMX style and part of it is just his personal style that would exist wherever he played. But his slow-down, multiple touch approach to getting open is a rough fit for the Galaxy; in the past our players have tended to look for the quick 1 touch wall pass to a sprinting teammate as a way to regularly get behind defenses. Gio seldom makes these runs and he often ignores teammates who do. Instead he is often looking for the more leisurely, deceptive and spectacular pass. To put it succinctly Gio has never seen an obvious simple pass he likes nor a fancy one he doesn't. The result is a few beautiful assists/goals and a lot of frustration in between. For all involved.
I think people seem to forget that Rev's team had Lee Nguyen in MVP form for the 2nd half of the season. Jermaine Jones came in mid season and contributed, but their offensive throughput was centered around Lee Nguyen.
Hey, I like Boateng, but I can think of scenarios we might want Lletget, like when a team sits deep and we expect to have more possession. I've bitched about Lletget, too, regrettably, but he's got more weapons than Boateng.
Before Jones the Revs had lost 9 of 12 previous matches with the 2 wins coming against Chivas and Colorado! After Jones, Lee had 8 of his 18 regular season goals in that last 11 matches plus 2 more in the playoffs. New England Revolution fans know this better than anyone. When Jones joined the Revs in late August 2014, the team was under. 500 with playoff hopes sinking. The Revs, suddenly steeled and inspired, went 9-1-1 the rest of the way. They blew past Columbus and then squeezed past Thierry Henry’s Red Bulls in the playoffs before falling to the Galaxy in the MLS Cup final. https://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/jermaine-jones-intangible-influence-rapids-usmnt-klinsmann Jones playing with a properly functioning #6 could do the same for Gio.
So you would rather play poorly now in the hope that perhaps in 3 years Pedro just might be an acceptable number 8? Fortunately, I think there is a much more likely scenario for future years. First, I think its much more likely that given Ema's play that when/if Lleget returns (probably next year), the Galaxy will put him at the number 8/10 slot. Another possibility is that they might sign another attacking DP either for that position or and move someone else into one of those roles.
Maybe, but Bruce played Lletget on the wing almost exclusively for the Galaxy and when it came to the national team he continued this, choosing to use others for the numbers 8 and 10 roles. I don't see this as a Curt invention.
LA did not buy the 2014 version of Jones, that version cost $3MM. LA hoped they bought the 2016 version, the one that came back after a 4 month injury and helped Colorado get past LA in the playoffs. Check out the "disciplined positioning" of the Husidic and Lletget CM pair at 0:39
Becasue we didn't have any viable options at the #8 when Gerrard went down. However Bruce had Boateng as our best reserve player to slot into LM. Which made changing Lletget's position from LM to the #8 a necessary experiment.
I think it's because #8 is Lletget's natural position and Bruce knew that. There were other options like Villareal, JL, Mendolia
Lleget won a call up the national team camp from his performances playing as an 8 down the stretch when Stevie G decided to grace the bench with his presence. I think Bruce played Lleget out wide because he had to play Gerrard in the midfield (big DP signing had to play, whether that's Bruce's call or AEG), and Lleget is too good to not be on the field. The best we looked before Lleget got injured was when Curt would push Lleget into a more central position and he could then dictate play. Onalfo brought in 2 people (knowingly or unknowingly) that play in Lleget's best position, so I'm guessing Onalfo thinks he's a winger.