Agreed ... I'm looking at this as an opportunity as opposed to a cause of panic. We're not desperate for points right now so we can afford a little experiment. I expect Jeffrey gets the start. It'll be his last dress rehearsal to see if he's ready to contribute anything if he's called upon in playoffs. If we look like crap by halftime I expect Ben goes to a plan B ... either Neal or De Leon ... And if that doesn't work at least we know going into playoff that central midfield depth is our achilles heel so Ben will have to make an extra emphasis on no red cards and no injuries. Personally I'd use this opportunity to drop Silva deep into an AM role and start Espy and EJ up top. Get NDL to pinch in a little more than usual to handle the center mid workload and get either Espy or EJ to drift wide left ...
IMHO, Silva didn't look that good when he played as AM in early season matches. He started to shine when he was allowed to play up top, paired with Espindola. I wouldn't drop him back to AM, but I would put Martin there, and let Arnaud play the DM position. I guess we would find out if Martin is indeed "Ready for Primetime." I'm almost to the point where the only place I want NDL pinching in, is on the bench. I would play Inkoom as RM, and platoon Pontius & Neal on LW. Leave everyone else where they normally play. Of course, my opinion + $5.00 will buy you a cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts.
Back four... Inkoom... Arnaud...Neal NDL.....................Pontius .................EJ If we need to score we take out a DM and EJ and put in Espy and Silva.
Still pushing for the 4-3-3? I agree, still probably the best formation to get our best all over the pitch up top. What makes it so compelling, and what's been the undercurrent to this year's success- is partnerships. Silva and Espindola, Arnaud and Kitchen, Boswell and Parke at first, then Birnbaum later. I think we're almost there, if guys can stay healthy... to see more of this on the flanks and up top. Wouldn't it be great to see something similar develop with the 2 offensive subs right now- EJ and Pontius? If we ever did go to the 4-3-3, as amazing as it looks on paper, it becomes crucial to the defense that those partnerships flourish, since the top 6 will need to become even more interdependent to prevent leaking from the opposition's overlapping. Oh, and Heist- the reason no one's ever heard of a 4-5-2 is cause it's illegal- can't have 12 on the pitch, mate.
I'm willing to bet my girlfriend's left arm that Ben will not tinker with the formation this late in the season ...
I think Jeffrey will start. He was on the bench for the Philly match. Martin is an interesting idea, but I think of him more of an AM type. I suppose he could go with Arnaud playing the Kitchen role, but my guess is the Ben will want to see what Jeffrey can do besides hitting the crossbar with a 25-yard free kick rocket against Tuaro.
It's a shame Jeffrey isn't better. He proved last year too he can hit a few from 25 yards (that actually went in). Great asset to have in a center mid.