When we signed Halsti I think most people saw the benefit. A solid, hard working player that would help Arnaud get rest and play well off Kitchen, who himself will likely have yellow card issues again. Of course an injury right before the season means Halsti has played zero minutes in competitive matches. From my understanding he was fine to play against Kansas City and Orlando recently, but sat on the bench the whole time. This is understandable as Arnaud and Kitchen have been playing great and the subs we did make against Orlando were positive and what the match required. My question is, how do you bring him in? This is assuming he will get significant minutes in 2015. 1. Slowly work him in as a sub for Arnaud, see how he fairs in regards to fitness. The challenge here is this requires luxury of doing the subs you'd like rather than one you need. If we are down 1-0 against Philadelphia Halsti could very well sit out another match while attacking options are used. 2. Just start him and see how it goes. Arnaud is understandably going to need rest and against worst side in the league take the chance Halsti can hold his own and play 70-90 minutes before assessing if he can go the distance or needs to come out. This is riskier option, but I don't think we'll have a better opportunity to try than Sunday. What do you think? How do you handle the good problem of players such as Arnaud playing better than expected with your big signing getting little of that needed playing time to integrate into the club?
Personally, I think we'll see him in the next stretch of 3 games, depending on the situation, of course. I could see him starting in Philly, or coming on as a sub for Arnaud if we've gotten a lead.
Whether he starts or not is entirely a fitness issue. If the coaches are comfortable with his fitness level, I think they may give him a start. He was brought in to be a starter, he's experienced, he's got some talent. It's not like you're inching a rookie onto the field to see how he responds. Halsti, if fit, should be able to play the game. He may, and probably will, have some trouble and bad games, but it shouldn't be a disaster. If he's not completely fit, which seems likely to me, then I imagine we'll see him come as a defensive sub for somebody, even a winger, and just shuffle some guys around. But as you say, if we tank a few games and are chasing it, it gets much harder to give him minutes, barring a multi-goal deficit late in a game, and then he's only getting his feet wet which doesn't help us or him much. With the heavy game schedule nobody is going to get their feelings hurt if they don't start a game somewhere.
With Philadelphia being such a mess right now, it's inconceivable to me that things will transpire in such a way as to keep him off the pitch entirely @ Philly. So, of course, that's exactly what's going to happen, isn't it?
There's an argument that home field is such a big deal that home vs Orlando should have been easier than @ Philly. This year, though, HFA has been historically weak across the league, so I'm not as sure it applies.
Door Nbr 2 - Just start him and live with him in there through at least the 50-55 minutes - He's fit, just needs minutes on the field - And Arnaud, like Rolfe, will benefit with at least a partial rest.
I think I go with option #2. We had two chances to work him in and it just didn't work out, so you just go for it. Arnaud deserves/probably needs the rest - and you can tell him to plan on playing the second half, then if Halsti is doing fine, he can rest the entire game.
I know on Saturday he was not in the 18 or even dressed (I saw him up on club level). Can't comment on last night as I did not see him or look at the subs list.
Start him with Kitchen. When he fades, if he does, replace with Farfan. NDL and Pontius outside, Silva and Espy up top. Arrieta and Aguilar the two offensive subs. Possibly put Jeffrey on the subs bench and give Arnaud the day off.
Also, Franklin has been a bit off of late and perhaps could use a rest. Start Korb on the right and Kemp on the left.
Give Arnaud a break and start Halsti against Philthy. They are for all practical purposes the worst team in the league. If we struggle to have any offense as we normally do in first halfs swap for Arnaud. James
I confess that I am a born contrarian, but isn't there a teensy little chance that Ashton may actually be a good coach responsible for at least some of our recent success? After all, the FO has kept him on through, I believe, two coaching changes, and there exists the possibility that he has helped Olsen grow as a coach/manager. Naw, probably not.
I'm not going to credit Ass-shton for anything until someone affiliated with the club actually points out how he positively contributes to the team (other than keeping the athletes healthy by eating all the pies). James
Didn't "Tim" Twellman on ESPN2 mention that Kitchen's contract runs out at the end of the season and there is plenty of interest in his services in Europe? Maybe Halsti is his replacement if Kitchen transfers this summer or year?