With all the personal invective flyin' around on these boards, I thought it might be time to refocus on the task at hand: Colorado. Given Colorado's particular strengths and weaknesses, what does our resident braintrust think will be the starting eleven and their formation? Ziadie on the left again or was that to neutralize Hedjuk only? Strikes me that Colorado is equally strong on both wings and it is unlikely that Leitch would be left that exposed this Saturday. At the same time they are weaker in the attacking mid than either Columbus or the Galaxy. Thoughts please. V.O.R.
Colorado doesn't have anybody dangerous enough to make a specific line-up just for them. With the team as new as it is, I'd like to see a consistant line-up start to emerge. Down the middle, we're pretty much set, with Howard in goal, Pope and Jolley at center mid, Williams and Clark at D-Mid and Guevara at A-mid. I'd like to see Digi and Ziadie as the outside backs, as they've both been playing well this season. Mathis and Moreno up front. The key question mark becomes the wings. Can Lisi play there? Is he healthy? Is Leblanc an option as a regular starter? Also, is Bradley going to stick with the 4-4-2? If he goes to a 3-5-2, we could see something like: Howard Jolley Pope Regan? Williams Clark Ziadie Guevara Digi Mathis Moreno Do you all think the Pope/Jolley tandem would work as well in a 3-man back line?
If i were the coach i try the same line-up, if it works don't mess with it, besides we need to start building chemistry between players. I am not sure if Moreno will be available, he was out with back pain. We have back Guevara. Keep the same line-up as in last game minus Moreno add Guevara.
Leitch acquitted himself qutie well working in a back 4, and I doubt Regan gets the start ahead of him, even if Bradley moves to a 3-5-2. My bet is he more or less stays with last week's starting lineup (which was defensively working together quite well), and hopes that 90 minutes of Moreno and Guevara makes the difference on the offensive end. Magee on the bench. We still haven't had much of a chance to see Clint, Moreno, and Guevara work together, and Bradley must want to get them on the pitch and see what they can do offensively. If Moreno's injury is still nagging him then Magee starts.
I think with Guevara in the lineup Bradley would prefer a 3-5-2. Digi can play the left wing, but I agree the right side seems to be the question mark. Bradley might prefer to stay with the 4-4-2 as it is working ok, at least defensively. Is Lisi ready to return? haven't heard that yet. Ziadie played pretty well at left back. We might see: Howard Leitch Pope Jolley Ziadie Clark Wiliams Guevara DiGiamarino Mathis Moreno That of course is assuming Moreno is ready to go. Any word there? V.O.R.
http://www.metrostars.com/metronews/injuries.htm F Moreno, Jaime - strained lower back - Probable If accurate, I'll go with: ...............Moreno....Mathis................ ...Digi.............Guevara...................... ..............Williams....Clark................... ..Ziadie.......Jolley....Pope.........Leitch.. ....................Howard........................ How Colorado may lineup: ...............Roberts....Spencer............... ..Chung..............................Henderson. ..............Beckerman...Mastroeni............ ...Rizo..........Fraser...Stewart......Hart.... .......................Vallow........................
Moreno will not be ready and he sucks Howard Leitch Pope Jolley Ziadie Wiliams Clark DiGiamarino Guevera Mathis Magee
what i keep wondering is when we have everyone available, it seems a 3-5-2 is our best formation suitable to the players we have...the only thing that really affects is one thing that everyone the league has been gushing about, and that's the jolley and pope tandem in the middle of our D...we know jolley can play outside, but it might require richie to drop back more and maybe limit clark's freedom to push forward?...i like: howard leitch pope jolley richie clark ziadie digi guevara mathis moreno ...and please don't discount colorado, just one week ago crew fans were saying we didnt have a lineup to worry about and look what happened, they certainly have talent on that team and if anything, they have a bunch of guys trying to prove they belong on the starting 11...i think Gamblor's predicted starters for the Bleue is right on
I agree with your lineup. Against someone like Chung, we can't leave Leitch exposed like we did against Columbus. Also, I wasn't putting Colorado down, just stating that, Unlike Columbus (with McBride and Martino), the Rapids don't have anyone dangerous enough to warrant changing a formation specifically to stop them.
absolutely...to be honest, leitch is OK, but i'm worried about leaving him 1v1 against just about any wing player in MLS right now until he proves otherwise...it's why i'd like to ziadie in front of him, bc ziadie plays 18 to 18 much more than digi (from a defensive standpoint), and that's not a knock on digi...also, jolley's played on the left in the past...maybe i'm still just nervous after leitch misplayed that ball off his chest, but so many guys calmly make that play in their sleep, maybe he'll just gain confidence with more playing time...OR boca I or boca II can help sooner than not... Metros 3 (guevara, clark, pope) Bleue 2 ( roberts 2)
With the exception of the Hatt who would have Magee start over Moreno, we all have the same bodies on the field. So I think whether we call it a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2 is less important than what roles each will play. In your lineup, "In Bob", you are relegating Clark to a more defensive role than Ziadie. I think we are better off reversing those. I think Clark can cover the ground in front of Leitch and still enter the attack more frequently. Clark tracks back very aggressively. Digi showed in the last game that he needs a stronger back behind him when he is in midfield, so I went with Ziadie on that side. V.O.R.
Only difference I would put is to have Digi at LB and Ziadie at left mid. Digi is a better defender and Ziadie has been known to make defensive mistakes however, he is good at going forward.
The Metros will not only have Chung to worry about on the left side, apparently their left back Rizo (from Mexico) does a nice job getting forward as well. However, our lineup in Colombus was designed to counter the Crew's speed and attacking potential. Colorado doesn't present the same challenges (more defensive minded) and besides we are playing at home. I look for Bradley to have the guys take the attack to the Rapids. Howard Ziadie Pope Jolley Digi Williams Clark Lisi Guevara Moreno Mathis We'll stick with the 4 backs, however Digi will make his runs forward. Lisi is not on the injured list and might be an option on the right.
-----Mathis--------------------------- --------------------Magee------------ ---------Guevara---------------------- --------------------------Clark-------- -------------Williams------------------ DiGiamarino---------------------------- Ziadie--------------------------Lietch -----------Pope--------Jolley---------- Colorado will get shutdown this weekend. Can't see them winning.
hey V.O.R....i agree with your post, and i apologize, my post came out different than when i wrote it out...i did not mean for it to be 4 of them in a box, simply clark and richie in the middle, and ziadie and digi playing outside mid...clark is definitely key in many plays in pushing forward so you're right, but as you know, a lot of times it's just situational in who goes up and who stays back, and so i really just meant for the 4 of them playing mid, with guevara between them and our 2 forwards...as for Lisi starting, i'd love to see him turn in to a great player, but he can't seem to crack the starting lineup, and it may take Nat callups for mathis, guevara, and pope for him to get another chance to show what he's got...i do look for bradley to show some more offense at home this time around, so V.O.R...again, i think you're right in it not so much being speculating who's playing, but the roles they play
This is what is known as the 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 formation. Leaves us a little thin on the wings, though.
Howard Leitch Pope Jolley Ziadie Clark Wiliams Guevara DiGiamarino Mathis Wolyniec Leitch had a much better game last Saturday. I just don't know who else can we have instead of him, so I'll go with him for now. Wolyniec is a better option as a starter then Magee. He is much stronger and can hold the ball much better. Scoring that one snap of a foot goal doesn't make Mike a starter in my book. Coming off the bench in the second half is a much better option, he does have some skill and speed on the ball, especialy usedful when there will be some tired legs out there. Lets hope the rain will hold off or be gone by then, and we can see an improvement in play, hopefuly a good result.