Don't fire Facu, just reposition him

I've always defended Facundo, but there have been lots of good points brought up lately that make him nearly indefensible. He is being paid quite a bit of money to play on the backline, and he simply hasn't been getting the job done. There have got to be other options out there. As worthless as I believe John Wilson to be, perhaps he should get the next start over Facu. Give him something to think about.

 

True. I still wonder if we could get Robinson for something else? He hasn't started for Chicago in either of their games this season. Perhaps DC could still swing a trade for a reasonable price?

 

Erpen is not an outside back, he doesn't have the speed.
It could be a 5-man backline, he still isn't the answer on the outside.
Now, a 4man back with Erpen and Boz in the center, that might work.

 

It would but Erpen would have to get back or the line would have to squish in when he makes a run up to aid offensive tactics and avoid a gaping hole in the center.

 

You guys are way too hysterical. Just calm down and let Soehn and co figure out what's wrong. I'm all for reasoned debate but threads like these lack that. Why not start an online petition to get the kid cut? It would be just as futile.

 

We've already had this debate. We had it last year, we had it over the offseason, we're having now on three other threads. I get it that many here don't like Erpen. Hate all you want, but don't try and pass it off as analysis.

My take is that Facu was put in a position he's not suited to by Nowak. Nowak, to me, seems like the kind of guy to smash a square peg in a round hole. We've lost some of the peices that made the 352 work and the rest of the league has figured out how to attack us. So Facu's weaknesses are being exposed, as well as Boswell's, Namoff's, along with the claring lack of a serviceable wingback. That doesn't mean that the bile and vitriol spewed in this thread and those like it is deserved. It means that our couching staff hasn't yet put our players in a position to succeed.

I'll quote your first few sentences in this thread and ask you if you think your words really rise to the level of reasoned debate:

To me, this quote is nothing more than a personal attack coupled with a stunning lack of familiarity with the player's skill set with few actual facts or incidents to prop up your assumtions.

 

Really? It actually looked spot on to me.

Your right though we had this thread in the offseason and the consensus was yeah he didn't finish last season strong but he has potential lets see what he can do next season. Well we've played 6 games so far this year and he hasn't looked good in any of them so I think this thread is warranted.

 

I doubt a thread about any contentious issue on these boards has reached consensus. Unless by consensus you mean a rare instance where posters may have agreed to disagree with each other and left it at that.

I don't think Erpen is being played out of position and he was one of our many poor defensive players Saturday. I don't have the answer to what ails him, but I do think we need more depth in our backline.

New England just released Tony Lochhead to sign another UCSB Gaucho, Irishman Bryan Byrne. I'm not really sure how good Lochhead is but he is a tall central defender. Unfortunately he's also a 25-year-old Kiwi, so unless he has a green card, he'd be a SI (or TI?).

http://sports.yahoo.com/mls/news;_y...KkvrYF?slug=revolutionbyrne&prov=st&type=lgns

 

What if someone started a thread about how poor a thread starter you are by writing something like:

Would you take that person and his/her argument seriously? Or would you construe such a post as a personal attack devoid of any constructive, reasoned analysis? I imagine you'd lean toward the later.

Now I tried to contribute to this thread. I even posted the second response. However, as all Erpen threads do, the conversation turned into a hate fest. This is opinion obviously but I get the feeling that many posters here would prefer to hate on Erpen without considering any of the actual events, consequences, or play during the games. IOW, I feel that it has become virtually impossible for anyone, including myself, to talk about Erpen without bias. Therefore, realizing to continue would be Sysiphean I wrote that this thread and those like it are futile. Forgive me.

And I hold to my theory that Erpen is being played out of position. Goff wrote in 2005 that , "According to sources close to negotiations, the club has targeted Facundo Erpen, a 22 year old central defender from Talleres de Cordoba." Facu spent 5 years at central defender for Talleres. I believe in a 4 man backline. Playing as the outside marking back in a 3 man line is an entirely different position. Would any of you put Boswell outside? It's the same with Facu, IMO.


Edited to add that Harrington is a midfielder. McTavish should've been following his man and not chilling in no-man's land. Harrington wasn't Facu's man to mark. Let's focus on McTavish blowing his assignment instead of Erpen slipping. Hell, let's even talk about the defending Goalkeeper of the Year getting nutmegged for a goal.

 

This wins for STUPIDIST POST in years on Big Soccer. the pointless bike kick was cheered by everyone in the stadium and got the ball clear didn't it? The slide tackles were nessecary to get the ball away and ERPEN is one of the best slide tacklers in MLS... Am not saying Erpen has been shaking if not BAD. But DC has been GOD AWFUL! DC's problem is NOT ERPEN it is a 3 man backline that is WAY TO SPREAD OUT! ERPEN, Boswell, and Carrol are OUT OF POSITION because they are covering for each other because they are getting NO HELP. DC has NO defensive Midfielder, that is what DC is lacking. Fred and Olsen are not players who will track back and defend DC has 7 players attacking and a 3 man back line who must sustain a counter attack. BOTTOM LINE before we start cutting of heads dc MUST SCRAP the 3 5 2. Get a 4 man back line and use a DP spot or find a reasonable defender or MOST OF ALL holding midfielder. because if not DC is gonna lose 4-2, 5-3 alot this season.

 

Amen!

 

"you must spread some reputation around before giving it to Section 106 again"
Help me out please.

 

I mean honestly, what do people expect when you are played in a different role than you are used to, and one that does not really fit your skillset? Yes, its defense, but there is a big difference. It all comes down to the back 4. You dont leave a so called liablity in that position. Atleast in a back four, his weaknesses can be masked by fullback and his CB partner.

 

Section106, you've made it clear in every discussion of Erpen on this board that you're unwilling to see any flaws in his play. Please don't attack others for their willingness to attempt such an analysis.

I'm getting the impression from the Erpen supporters that they blame the 3 man back line for his drop in form. I don't think constantly diving in and leaving one's feet, passing the ball to the other team, failing to mark, and roaming way out of position are problems solved by a switch in formation. They are fundamental problems that have to do with a player's mental state.

Right now Erpen is the laughing stock of MLS. Teams freely admit to targeting him in their game-plans. The original question was, would a position switch help? I'm of the opinion that none of a switch to center back in a 442, a switch to midfield in a 352, or a switch to Boswell's spot in a 352 would help. I believe Erpen is fundamentally incapable of focusing for 90 minutes and therefore should be traded or transfered.

 

You really have to look at this in depth. A lot of errors are averted by adding a man to support the player.

It doesnt help that he will most likely be isolated with the opposing teams winger [and the pressure of the overlapping fullback in certain cases]. That all changes with a back four.

Then add that the weakness of the formation that we use, are the wings. the KC coach admitted that it was a vunerable spot for us, and Colorado exposed us, and then KC showed us again.

The first and second goal could have been avoided with proper support.

Point is, the formation makes a big difference. That one player playing deeper that occupies the space on the flank and provides support at the same time...

 

I don't like going down the road of rejiggering our formation to suit the positional preferences of one player, unless we think he's dominant at the position we're proposing to move him to.

4-4-2 is a different discussion. It has costs and benefits of its own. But to preserve a defender who we couldn't really be sure would thrive anyway is a shabby reason to do it.

 

I think we're forgeting someone in all of this talk, Josh Gros. He plays in front of Namoff and is well known for his defense. Erpen hasn't had any help so far this year and it shows. Why not mitigate the lack of a real right sided wingback and switch to the 442? It has less to do with Erpen's shortcomings and more to do with the lack of an Earnie Stewart on the roster.

 

Just for the sake of discussion, being targeted in a teams game plan does not make one a bad player, just that they are tactiacally the weak link the formation. For example, Many teams that play Man U (and want to win) want to exploit C. Ronaldo and his lack of defence and Cronaldo is rated as the best player in the world by quite a few at the moment.

 

Possibly true but people aren't targeting Erpen becuase they want to keep him busy so he can't score and create goals. They are targeting Erpen because he is not very good at defending. This is a key part of being a defender. of course he did have a really cool bicycle kick in the middle of the field so that may make up for his other mistakes.

 

I have to disagree with you and have section106's back on this one. For starters, your claim that an Erpen supporter is incapable of seeing his flaws is A)false and B) an ironic comment considering the Erpen bashers are equally unable or unwilling to see that those flaws are no worse and no more frequent that the flaws suffered by each and every player that has suited up for DCU so far this season. The only exceptions to this would be Gomez and Emilio.

Moreno has gotten slow and ineffective, Carroll has lost the ability to pass to his teammates, Olsen can no longer tackle, Deroux has trouble when the ball is at his feet, Fred's new, Perkins has canola oil on his gloves, Namoff needs a bonescan because he's apparently 46 years old instead of the 26 he claims, Walker can't shoot on frame, Gros is having trouble crossing, Boswell is hampered by a low budget on bobbyboswell.com and must play in slow motion until he can afford cameras that allow him to play at full speed, McTavish doesn't mark, Casal is British, and Erpen can't handle the entire right side of the defensive third by himself. He gets beaten by fast attackers that take him on in footraces and makes rash decisions when trying to adapt to the mistakes of his teammates (such as the aforementioned example of the Harrington goal). We had gotten used to defenders like Nelson, Pope, Llamosa, and Agoos in their primes. Guys that knew every inch of the defensive third and always knew where to be even if their teammates didn't. Erpen is young and accustomed to the cover of a 4-man backline. A backline that I insist we should convert to. We need the stability and balance of a 4-4-2 right now. Not just for Erpen's sake but for the whole team's. Three defenders is completely wrong for our team. We have Erpen, who is a centerback in a 4-4-2; Boswell, who spent the bulk of his soccer life as a forward; and Namoff, who looks like he'd appreciate some cover in the back as much as the rest of them.
Bottomline, if you're going to call yourself "analytical" then you have to be equally assiduous towards each and every player because this entire team has underperformed from day 1.

 

I agree and disagree with people on both sides. Yes Erpen has played terrible. Almost everyone on the squad has played terrible, and those who didn't have been marked by to many people to get around. I would say that just about everyone has underperformed in almost every aspect of the game. I have even wound up defending the Goalie of the year last year. Look it is the beginning of the season we still have time to right the ship so to speak. I understand that 4-4-2 has its flaws, but with the pace, or lack-there-of, on our back line adding that extra defender, provided they actually stay back and play defense, would help those already getting beat time and time again on the back line.

Let us not just blame the back line though for there shortcomings. Our mid-field play has been atrocious. Not controlling the point of attack, giving the ball away consistently. And Benny I love you man but come off the trying to dribble through 3 or more defenders. The vision just hasn't been there since the first Chivas game. Passing hasn't been crisp anywhere on the pitch except for very few times. Maybe our guys did need the stern guidance of a Nowak kind of guy.

Whatever the case may be I am sure our coaching staff and front office will handle it like they always do, and keep us in the playoff hunt. So hows bout we all just simmer down and have another drink. Hey it could be worse, still trying to think how, but it could be.