So with Hack's comments and the offseason approaching. I was curious where people want to see Okugo. Would you rather him stick at CB or go back into the midfield where he has started?
To Hack's credit Okugo has played his best as a C. Def., but that is because he is maturing rather than his ideal spot. I still think he is best as D. Mid. He has the vision and skills to play mid-field, and BC although good is only going to get slower next year.
As things stand now I'd rather see him as a CB. My opinion might change with acquisitions. But for now I don't want Parke anchoring the center without Okugo there to cover his sometimes sloth-like play.
CDM. He mostly looks better at CB since it's the only spot he has seen consistent time with us. He's a bit short and doesn't really have the hops to be dominant in the air. I'd rather see him boss the midfield where a leader is badly needed.
I like him at CB because of his offensive skill set. He scored a few for us this season. Maybe he would have had more at CDM? I don't know. But I think its very useful. Similar to Williams and Gaddis in the attack.
He's done well enough to score a few goals from corners...You don't have to be 7" tall to beat a man to the ball in the air. Positioning and awareness go along way.
I voted CB but I'd take him at either position. His best minutes have been at CB so far. As @Handsome Pete said, Parke's lack of speed means that someone quicker needs to be covering for him. If the club acquires another CB, I'm OK with Okugo being moved to d-mid, especially if it moves Caroll to the bench.
The real question is, if given a choice to get a new CB or DMid, which can Okugo perform at better. I say he is lacking more CB skills and has the ability and pace to be an excellent CDM.
As a centerback. He may be an mild upgrade over Carroll as CDM, but until I see otherwise I'm assuming whatever new CB we have would be much, much worse.
I agree that Okugo is a better fit as a CB, but Hack toyed with the idea of a 4-2-3-1 during the season. If the team had kept Soumare, it would have been interesting to see Okugo pair with Carroll as DMs with Kleberson as the CM. That may have meant that McInerney would have been the odd man out, but the formation would have looked like this: Casey Cruz-Kleberson-Le Toux Carroll-Okugo Gaddis-Parke-Soumare-Williams MacMath (Slot in Fabinho, Farfan, McInerney, Hoppenot, etc.) This also may have "cured" the problem of Kleberson being a defensive liability. It would have been interesting to see.
I'd love to see him get a shot starting at central midfield. That said, it would require signing an equal or better CB.
We already have a natural fit to take over at CB. It involves a special uniform modification that allows Brian Carroll to ride around on Danny Cruz's shoulders. It's the best of both worlds... DC's legs and BC's vision, intelligence, and experience. Plus when you put them together like that you end up with a respectable overall height. I just wonder if Cruz would crash into people more or less often if he were unable to see while running around the field.
Yeah. I'm hoping we draft a top CB prospect at 5 so we can have the flexibility to try Okugo out as a midfielder.