According to Jim Smith (apparently phoning in from Portugal, where Craig wasn't allowed to go) the reports about Ross Paule being with Dallas at the moment are bogus, and he has the guys' passport to prove it. http://www.1460thefan.com/tf.php?story=dispatch/news/sports03/feb03/1652010.html Some other interesting tidbits as well, particularly that our man Frankie the H is playing right back. I don't knwo about you, but Dunseth, Clark and Hejduk across the back line would make me compfortable enough to try that 3 man back that Dennis wants.
Do you really think that Clark could hold a three man back line playing centrally, or do you have him on the left? With as much as Frankie gets into attack I wouldn't yet go to a three man back line, and if we did I may put McCarty in centrally. Also, if we do go to a three man back line of Frankie, Dunseth and Clark, would you be willing to give the boot to Torres?
I have complete faith in Mike Clark. Always have. I know some people disagree, but I think he only gets in trouble when he's asked to do too much, trying to cover for other people's mistakes. I see it over and over at every level; one defender gets beat, so another defender leaves his mark in a desperate attempt to stop a score, and either doesn't get there quite in time or his original mark ends up with the shot. Either way, people say "Jeez, look at that - the guy keeps getting beat" when it wasn't even remotely his fault. I think with guys on either side who know their jobs, he could handle it fine. I also think though that Oughton as the stopper is a big part of this. He blows up the play upfield, or at least disrupts it enough to let the back line sort it out. Either way, if you stay with a four-man back line, then Hejduk, Clark, McCarty and Dunseth right-to-left is a very comfy prospect as well. Then Frankie the H can run out of the back more often than maybe you might otherwise like to see, and the quick counter is well covered by Clark, McCarty and Dunseth, with Oughton dropping back as well. Nobody is going to quick-fry that group.
Has Dunseth played much on the left at all? I'm with you I think the four you mentioned are our best defenders, I just wasn't sure how to get them all out there at once. But if Dunseth is a viable option on the left, I would love that backine.
Bill, isn't one of the criteria for success in a 3 back the disciple and ability of the wing to cover back when the back goes forward. If Westie/Buddle/Freddie/Denton/Lucci can do this it could make us much more difficult to defense than last year. I don't know about Dunseth's left back ability, though. Seems a major question mark at that position. Torres/Denton seem better fits.
Maybe I'm just becoming a big ole softie, but I didn't think Denton did too bad of a job last year. He's not the best, and I'd always love to upgrade any position, but I think we could do worse.
Agreed, FF. He can be a defensive left winger, too. He threw in some OK crosses from that side (for a natural defender) and plays with a nice edge to his game.
id rather have denton than torres....i dont ever need to see torres chasing after someone who just beat him with his arms outreached towards their jersey again.
I still prefer the 3 back system. I agree with Bill that a line of Hejduk, Clark and Dunseth (or McCarty for Clark with Dunseth covering the middle) would make sense with the firepower we would have in the middle. Assume K-Mart at a-mid and Oughton at d-mid. The other piece of the puzzle would be the other central player. In a 3-man system, it has to be a d-mid with some attacking ability. Harkes and Maze both filled that role in the past. Walsh and/or Paule are of that mold as well. If we look back, the team that destroyed the 3-man system we had didn't do it with the counter. San Jose beat us with some quick passing and midfielders making runs into the box. The SJ team of 2001 did that to perfection, not just against the Crew, but against almost everyone else as well.
The picture begins to clear. The line-up you mentioned, Dennis, could be very potent and have plenty of depth. Ther would be many interchangable parts to make initial matchups and strategic substitutions. We could have competent subs at all positions and plenty of style diversification. Denton for Freddy; Westie for Buddle; McCarty for Hejduck; Lucchi/Buddle for McBride/JC; Freddy/Mais for Martino; Paule for Duncan/Mais... Seems like a logical plan. An exciting, attacking plan in depth. Plenty of depth to cover injuries, cards, and Nats. This SHould be a FUN season.
I think you hit on it about Clark with his ability to do a job...it just has to be right one Have Clark mark an opposing forward...he'll do a very good job of shutting him down. (Serna is still his beeatch) Ask him to start swinging crosses in from the wing, and he's probably not going to do as well.
I agree with the sentiment that Mike Clark can do a good job when he is asked to man mark a specific player... he can usually make it difficult for that player to receive the ball which makes Clark effective in that role... the thing is, if you play a 3 man back line you typically have both of your backs marking and the central defender a little deeper... i'm not sure that Hejduk is best suited for a man-marking role... what makes him effective is his ability to overlap on the wing (thus making someone on that side track back) and having the ability to recover quickly... if Hejduk is going to overlap on the right, i think it would be risky to play with only 3 in the back if Clarkie is one of the 3... if we play 3 in the back and Frankie is asked to get forward, then i would have McCarty and Dunseth as the other two backs... having said that, i think it could work... i think we would need to have Mais and Oughton in the central midfield with Martino playing in front of them... this way, Oughton could shade a little to the right and cover for Hejduk when he goes forward... Mais could cover a little for Garcia on the left and get forward himself on occassion... with that in mind, i would not mind the following: *****************Busch***************** ****************Dunseth**************** ****Hejduk**************McCarty****** ***********Oughton********************* ************************Mais************ **West*************************Garcia* *************Martino******************** ******************Cunningham********* ************Buddle********************* Obviously when Bake comes back it's Bake for Buddle... what do you guys think?
I agree with Dennis about the midfield mix; I think Paule would be the ideal guy for the swing role - as much as anything it's a "read" spot, where your role is defined by what the other guys are doing. He's tough and experienced enough, IMO, to get it done. And after his horrible experiences in NY I'm betting he's ready for a breakthrough.
It would appear to match our personnel perfectly. Mais is probably best suited there and it moves Martino farther out in the defensive end. Weren't we pretty effective with this when Harksey was healthy? The last time we tried a 3-5-2 we were weaker on the left side attack and teams could jam the right and middle on us. McBride and Martino could really spread the ball around and the Mais/Martino/McBride central route would be an excellent direct attack option, IMO.
I think that if you see the crew come out in a 3 back line you won't see Hejduk in the back. He would more likely play RWM because he is better getting forward than man marking. With him on the RM it would allow him to get forward more and also cover the right flank when needed, neither West or Buddle is very good at doing this, as they like to get and stay forward. As for Clark, I think he's the best defender the Crew has, but his speed makes him valnurable on the outside in a 3 back line. That's where Hejduk would really help slowing down people coming from the right where Clark can pick them up because once he does, they aren't going anywhere. You could switch McCarty for Clark if Clark's hamstring acts out on him. If they do go to a 3-5-2 this is what I'd want to see out there. ------------Busch-------------- -----------Dunseth------------- -Clark-------------------Denton- -------Oughton----Mais------- -Hejduk------Martino-----Garcia- --Cunningham----McBride/Buddle- Well anyway, I don't think the 3-5-2 is going to happen. All indication is that Greg is going back to his 4-3-3 lineup that he likes so much. This is what I think you will see opening day ------------Busch---------------- Hejduk---Clark--Dunseth---Denton ----------Oughton-------------- -----Martino---------Garcia------ Buddle------McBride-----Cunningham
i can't see a 3 man back with dunseth and clark working. one or the other in the middle i'd say. and geeesh, am i the only guy in ohio that thinks a healthy torres belongs on the field. anyhoo, my 2 cent- four man back line with our left or right back stepping in to make a 3-5-2 when the opportunity presents itself.
myshap... those two lineups are very plausible... just a couple of points... Garcia is very much a wide player (at least that's the impression i got of him during his brief time with us last year)... in your 2nd lineup, this version of a 3 man midfield makes Garcia have to pinch in quite a bit... this goes away from his strength... also, he's very much a left footed player which means his tendency will be to run from the center of the field towards the wing to protect the ball, taking him away from his teammates... when he starts out in a wide position, he can take people on coming towards the center of the field (which i think suits his strengths a little more)... also, i think McCarty will get the nod over Clark in either a 3-man or 4-man backline... i like Denton much better than Torres as an outside back... finally, Torres is a central defender... he cannot, and should not, play out wide where he's left on an island... i would not mind seeing Torres playing alongside Dunseth in the middle with Denton and Hejduk on the outsides...
If you're gonna have Frankie on the right side in either a 4-3-3 or 3-5-2, you better put a solid defensive right sided mid to cover his inevitable runs up the wing which result in running out of gas to get back or in turnovers and counterattacks while Frankie stands there cursing himself. I'm still of the mind that Frankie is going to do more harm to an otherwise solid C-Bus lineup than he is going to help. But that's just one man's opinion.......
If you do run a 3-5-2 with Frankie as the RB, one of the D-mids would always be there to drop back to cover for his runs... ... or am I wrong?
Thank you, Captain Obvious....my point is that you will need someone good DEFENSIVELY because Frankie has always shown an inability to get back and help.