Najar seems like a key piece but that’s no good, he’s hurt all the time. I could even see him taking O’Brien’s slot when the time comes but he can’t not get injured. If we’re counting on Najar, that’s a losing proposition. I say play him every minute he’s available because he won’t be for long.
Olsen's plan was two fold: 1) get solid MLS journeymen that didn't cost much but had skills and more importantly heart. 2) Bunker and counter because you have players that read the game well but aren't going to have the skills to break down a bunker or play against a top team, so by making it hard to score, you pull the other team out. Would have been much more effective with players like Benteke or Zaha...
I like the fact that (last night notwithstanding) we generally look fluid in the attack, at least as fluid as we can be with Najar injured and mediocre attacking options on the left. I really like that he’s gone to 3 at the back. Pines has gone from a liability to a modest strength because of that. That is good management. Watching our goalkeeper wander around the pitch like a box to box mid has its charms as well.
For all of Olsen's misgivings, he gave us several short lived periods of consistency, and while they got completely blown up, at least we got them- see early 2012 and early 2015. Suggesting Olsen never had a plan, despite how clear his plan was is pretty much peak Rooney era DC United banter. Olsen and Losada with bad squads and management have essentially identical records to us also, which is hilarious. I now return you to your regularly scheduled "we look a bit more fluid" and "we have some injuries" programming.
Part of the downfall of Olsen's plan was the age of the players. They just couldn't sustain the level of work rate needed to play counter attacking ball for the full season so by September injuries and exhaustion wiped out the team...
I don't the group of solid journeymen was Olsen's plan so much as who he was given, or least the best of who he was offered by Kasper and the budget constraints that were in play. The squad was being blown up every year, whether it was injuries which happen to every team, to players who were already at the end of their career finally running out of gas or earning another chance somewhere else. You just don't throw 11 average/good/great players on the field every year and automatically have an average/good/great team. Roster consistency is always important and valuable part of the building process. Roster consistency was always issue #2 after the budgets the team was constrained by. Look at the current Houston roster situation in Houston. He's got 33 yo Hector Herrera plus Sebastián Ferreira & Teenage Hadebe who haven't played yet this year. He's got some kids, some journeymen and he's managed to get this team right around the middle of the table from a GF perspective while giving up the 2nd fewest GA in the conference. It may not be pretty and we may well have been over it, but his approach works. There were only 2-3 seasons here where the team's place in the table wasn't better than the budget he was given would dictate. In England, he'd be the equivalent of Big Sam.
I agree with your assessment. I don't want to suggest that Olsen's plan was what we saw. It was Olsen's plan to make a cheese plate with the few bits of old cheese the owners allowed him... And it worked more than it should have...
Heh. I never had the sense that Olsen could adjust on the fly very well or adapt to what his players COULD do well if they didn’t fit his plan or style. It always seemed a “we have to try (the same thing) harder!”
His plan to me seemed to be lock it down in the back, don't give up goals, and hope one of your more talented players can score somehow. It worked with DeRo MVP, or Espindola for a bit, or Rooney or even a red hot Mullins for a minute. I just think it's dinosaur soccer and I'd rather have a sustainable plan of attack.
Olsen also seemed to be very biased against low work rate but skilled and smart players, especially Europeans.
Remember Halsti? That guy got like three games before Olsen said nope. Didn’t you scout the guy and realize he is not fast that isn’t his game? What did he hope to get out of a guy like that, there was no plan just stick him in and hope for the best.
The one constant in the Olsen years was Dumpster Diving Dave Kasper. Vinny Cerrato with a lifetime job.