Are Pablo and Powell the "official starters" in the central midfield ? They certainly look good on paper.
They may be but I think that if the Rapids want to put their best 11 on the field, they would play Powell and Beckerman in midfield and use Pablo at right back instead of Hart. I doubt Pablo would get schooled every game by every left wing in the league.
I think Pablo could replace Fraiser as well, he is getting old and speed kills him. This offseason we need new backs on the left and right.
Name a team that doesn't think this ... Pablo is suspended for the final game of the regular season ... so we'll probably see Becks and Powell. Oh yeah ... except we won't actually be able to see them.
I still want to know which of the two is supposed to be the one going forward. Which is supposed to be the more creative going forward, if you will.
In Hankinson's little world, neither. Not once this season has it ever appeared that the Rapids' strategy is to have one central mid going forward more than the other. Although if you go by what Hankinson said when he drafted him, Mastroeni's attacking and playmaking skills have been vastly under-utilized in MLS, as he was an attacking player in college. Again, that's if you go by what Hankinson said.
I think that this is probably the reason that I thought Beckerman was a decent fit in the central midfield. He brought something a little different to a crucial area of the field. (to all you beckerman haters, I'm not saying that he is the one who will "bring balance to the force") To me powell and mastro are too close to being the same type of player. If this is how we start in the playoffs, IMO we are in trouble. Nothing like attacking the other teams box with only 4 players. Hendo crossing to the two smallest forward tandem (guessing, because spencer brings down the average) in the league with chunger waiting to pounce.
I've been thinking the exact same thing. Hankinson made a comment that Powell and Pablo just needed some more TIME to get used to eachother in the midfield. Has he looked at the season schedule lately?????
Well that's sort of what I was saying. It's not an easy order ... Those are the two best teams in the league ... and I'm not sure I'd agree with DC. It's a very tough position to fill.
Re: Re: Pablo & Powell In case anyone was wondering, this came from today's article in the Post. Hankinson's words were: I'll cut Hankinson a tiny bit of slack, as he's not implying that he's going to go with this pair during the playoffs. He very well may be talking about 2004. Dare I defend Hanki even more, but considering that Beckerman played a full 90 in Florida against Haiti only 3 days before the Chicago match, it wouldn't be a big stretch to think that he was resting Beckerman. Granted, Borchers played in that same match, but against the likes of Haiti I'd guess that Beckerman was spending a bit more time running the field than Thor. Nevertheless, I too am disturbed that Hankinson even mentions that something "needs time" this late in the season... but I'm even more disturbed that he chose to blame Hart and Kotschau when Pablo/PowPow/Becks were equally guilty of letting Chicago players walk uncontested right through the middle.
but I'm even more disturbed that he chose to blame Hart and Kotschau when Pablo/PowPow/Becks were equally guilty of letting Chicago players walk uncontested right through the middle ------------------------------------------------- Why? I think that they should take the heat. The midfield has been changed when things didn't go well in a game. But Kotschau and Hart have had no competition for starting. When they have had bad games , there has been noone to take their place. Someone earlier stated that Pablo could play for Hart. I like that idea.
I'm in favor of putting Pablo in for Hart. If for no other reason then that Pablo gets played no matter how little it helps the team. When the season started I was all over having Pablo be a key to our midfield. He has not stepped up. Our best games have been without him in midfield. His habit of drawing cards hasn't helped. His best game of the season was when Frasier went down. Pablo's a defender. It'll be interesting seeing how this all sorts out. Especially since Pablo seems intent on going abroad next season.
I agree with the switch. More for the fact that Pablo will do his fouling around midfield if he knows he's been beaten. Rather than letting people run by him or waiting til his final third of the field to foul.
Pablo would be fantastic anywhere on the back line -- but unless Hankinson is forced to do so because of injuries, he will always put Pablo in midfield. As for competition, remember that both Kotschau and Hart were benched early in the season in favor of the likes of Crawford. And if there's no competition, then what's the point of Hankinson pinning the blame of a loss on two specific players? Honestly, I can't think of a single time when ANY coach has come out and blamed players like this and gotten solid performances out of them as a result. Finally, the midfield has NOT changed in the way you suggest. Has Pablo ever been benched because of his idiotic misconduct and attitude on the field? Has Henderson been benched no matter how weak his contribution? Every midfield change this season has been spurred by injury, suspension or other absence. Do you really think that Hankinson would sit a healthy Mastroeni because Beckerman/Trembly/Powell have performed better in recent matches and/or training? I'm all for switching out players, and I too think that Pablo would shine on the back line and perform better under pressure against the likes of Beasley. However, singling out two players as the reason a team lost a match that involved 7 total goals -- two of them from a guy who hasn't scored in 3-4 seasons -- is just plain stupid.
"I too think that Pablo would shine on the back line and perform better under pressure against the likes of Beasley." - do you think DMB would get much sleep the night before that match up. You think the slightly built one would hear foot steps if he were to get past Pablo