I read in Goff's latest that Olsen has talked to DeLeon about playing in the middle. Does this mean Arnaud to the outside RM? I like the idea and DeLeon seemed very pleased. The squad still needs an above average MLS left back. -----------------------EJ ---------Espindola ---Pontius----DeLeon-----Arnaud ----------------Kitchen NewLB--Parke--Boswell--Franklin ---------------Hamid
I'll have to reread that, but I thought it was more of a situation where DeLeon said he would like to play there more because he's more involved in the game and that he would like to talk to Olsen about it. As in it came from the player and his desires and not the coach.
I remember seeing DeLeon in the middle on occasion and he wasn't half bad. But I don't think he is the answer.
Ultimately I like Martin in (or toward) the middle, he's possibly our most composed midfielder. That could be because he's too young to know better and we'll soon coach that tendency out of him But DeLeon is not a bad guy to sit in there in a pinch.
Actually, I was thinking of a very dominant outside Fullback who could cover the wings and flanks while also supporting the middle up to the Center line. Najar's offensive talents would be wasted in that position.
True, cause he can do more than that. When he left us, he could basically play as many as 6 positions at least remotely competently. (in descending effectiveness) RB RM RW CM DM RF I'd be happy with him playing just the three you mentioned.
Haha! Touche! Yes, he's a bit of a concern of course. But I see him as a decently athletic and physical defender who should be able to hang with his guy for the most part. He's not horrible, just maybe a bit naïve, so hopefully some Boswell coaching and some specific guidance from the coaching staff and he becomes "not a liability" at least. I think people under-estimate Parke. He's a solid pro who can man mark reasonably well and is smart enough to be in the right position and not to get caught out constantly. Any defender can get pulled out of position from time to time, so to say he's more prone to it than any other MLS defender is I think unjust. As is his lack of athleticism. He's not Olave, but he's not immobile either. He can hold his own athletically in MLS and let's face it, speed is always going to be the trump card and win against most defenders in this league. Few rosters have a truly good matchup against a burner. Also, almost no team doesn't have a weak link somewhere in their starting IX. If we upgraded Attakora at the expense of getting difference maker in midfield, I don't think this team is better off. That's debatable of course, but that is my thinking. Obviously if you can do both, well I'm good with that too. My thinking is we're only going to get one more guy. We'll see.
I wonder if Olsen is just going to simply abandon all midfield width. That would explain why we're going into camp so thin on wingers. It's not the worst idea in the world. It's a very progressive philosophy you see a lot in Europe these days. Basically the width is provided by very attacking fullbacks. The defense is bolstered by an extra defensive midfielder ... so you invest more in protecting the center. As for the attack instead of traditional wingers you overload the attacking midfield zone with 3 players who constantly interchange and drift wide and back to center and always make runs to wherever space presents itself. And of course it culminates with one central target striker.
The problem to me is we don't have the players to play with any width, from anywhere-- except maybe with 3 forwards. I don't think we have the FB, starting or depth, to play the way you describe.
I agree it's a problem, but for different reasons. The formations here (including mine) are really more of a reflection of our desire to see DC do something new than anything else. But I'd say we have better fullbacks for width than any other position. Franklin and Korb should provide at least moderately effective wing play, and we're supposedly looking for another starter in this mold (at least I would be, given EJ up front). Kemp fits much better in a 352, and we have Porter and Robinson as backups on the other side. The real problem is the speed of the back 3, which might require players more like Korb and Franklin to play those positions - unless you're relying on the DM(s) to follow runners, and the backs to step up. I'm not sure if that kind of coordination is possible or desirable. So maybe it depends more on the ability of what we're thinking of as the centerback corps to handle the speed and guile of the opposition, given our roster options? You would probably have to kiss a high line goodbye.
I agree. With the way Korb hustles, I would love for nothing else than for him to come out this year with a wicked cross. If he could learn to cross fairly well, say, as good as Hejduck or better, his career in MLS would be set until he loses his wheels. And it would be a MAJOR benefit to this team. Of course, the other question is why we don't go get that player... edit: to just say that if it were me, I'd be outside in the snow whipping in 100 crosses a day with each foot. I remember reading about Diaz Arce staying for hours after practice-- does anybody seriously do this?
Messi - Messi stays after practice and works on his own (free kicks, etc.). Ronaldo does as well (well maybe not fat Ronaldo).
plenty of players do the question is: do any United players stay back? and, if so, what are they working on?
Ha ... I was watching a Ligue 1 match recently and the announcers were talking about how an entire team decided to forego their recent winter break and come back to practice a week early surprising and forcing the coaches to cancel their plans and come back to practice too. Forget which team ...
OK scratch whatever lineup I posted earlier ... I'm gonna go with the one with NDL on bench Between this pic and the pics of the guys in Indonesia that looked like they had cholera makes me more concerned for their general well being than actually winning games.