Can the dude cross the ball ?(I dunno, never seen him try...but imagine he can). If so, I think he has inside track on the right outside mid for the Nats for some years coming. Caught some of him today, and think he is one of the most talented up'n coming mids US has. I think he- for Nat purposes- is Ben Olsen redux in many ways (before Not Forest injury)...actually more talented, maybe a tick slower....but a good fit on right-side mid for Nats. I think his playmaking skills will come in handy, if Landon and he form a partnership on right side of midfield- they could be somewhat interchangeable parts (if fast-growth Freddy explodes on schedule, Freddy (inside left) Beasley (outside left) as the same interchangeable parts....I think that could be a dynamic midfield across by 2006 (left to right: Beasley, Adu, Donavon, Martino) with either Claudio or O´Brien filling a holding/defensive overall general/support role (controlling pace of young studs) behind the four. We would be small (4 across mids, but quick and talented...and I think size dis-advantage could be overcome by large/physical enough back line). Martino could also fill Landon´s slot, and given Bruce´s desire for multi-taskers...well Mastro,Clark, and Convey also in mix somewhere (likely in the rotation that Bruce prefers in tourney play)...Olsen may recover to figure in...but I like Martino upside better now..(especially when sliding in middle on exchanges) I could see Clint, and either Buddle or Casey upfront starting....got a feeling that Twellman= Razov, but we´ll see.. Pope, Boca, and one other big stud fullback (Gooch? Suarez? Spector? Gibbs?) in a 3 defender lineup.....Cherundolo I have as fill-in, though he could be that right mid if Martino fails to pan or injury.. I think that´s most of the team right there...and I don´t expect that much will change between now and 2006..(yeah, I´´ll go out on a limb)
Well, Martino didn't play nearly as well as he against NE last weekend. Credit to the Metrostars because they were very very well organized and kept the entire Crew attack in check.
Williams took him down several times after being beaten.. I did see him some last week too....you can tell a guys skills/potential fairly quickly...Martino has a broad set of skills/style of play that will translate well to the next level....the fact that he has been in playmaker in college, and now for Crew means he must be a good thinker on pitch (so much so that Andrulis entrusted him at young age with such vital position)....I expect pretty big things..
Martino needs to play quicker. In the game vs Metros he constantlly looked to beat his player off the dribble. A center midfield should be thinking pass first, dribble second. Martino will be in the picture down the road. For now this is how I see things things shaping up for 2004. ----------------McBride----Donovan ------Beasley ----------------Obrien----------Reyna -------------------Mastronei Lewis---------------------------Cherundolo/Hejduk ---------------Bocanegra----Pope -------------------Friedel Right mid is a problem depth wise. Stewart still owns this position for a little while longer. I think Bruce needs to try a lefty at this position. Obrien, Beasley, or Convey would be ok. Assuming no Reyna or Stewart: The midfield looks like this -------Beasley ------------Convey/Martino--Obrien -------------------Mastroeni Ultimately, I prefer one outside midfielder to be attacking by nature. The other midfielder can drift middle to let the outside back attack. Cherundolo and Hejduk both have the speed and endurance to run the length of the field. Another way to look at it is a 4-3-3 with Beasley playing all over the field and Convey, Obrien, and Mastroeni holding the fort. Stewart was all over the field last time around.
Credit Bob Bradley with finally giving the Metrostars some defensive shape that can be retained for more than 3 milliseconds. That's what Martino was up against. And he was holding the ball while looking for opportunities to play the ball forward. For the most part, they were all shut down. Perhaps with Buddle running off the ball, things would have opened up. Martino does need to make the quicker decision to play the ball back when there is nothing open instantly. On the defensive side, he did some awesome tackles and seems to have a knack for sneaking up on players in their blind spot to stick a foot in as they make a turn. I am increasingly impressed with him and look forward to seeing him in the midst of CR, LD and JOB.
You're right. After hearing all about his attacking skills, I was impressed by his tackling. He picked the ball away from Mathis a few times.
I'm surprised no one brought up Chris Klein. We already have a ready made winger in Chris, I'd rather have him than having Kyle have to adapt to the wing. Beasley on the left wing, O'Brien at left center mid, Donovan at attacking mid, Clark at right center mid, and Klein on the right wing. IMO, but I think we got a pretty kick ass midfield developing for 2006.
On the size side, Klein is a plus...however, by 2006, I see no way that Klein will be a better "thinker" than Martino, he will be slower (slower to effectively interchange with Landon)...I can't judge crossing/shooting, but I like better (what I think will be Martino's) ability to beat a guy to a spot, and put the ball in a dangerous position in front of goal better than Klein.. At an international pace, Klein appears a bit lumbering to me.. Defensively, I think Martino will read plays better/intercept (as some noted from the weekend's game)...in fact, with a midfield of Beasley, Landon (if he works hard defensively) and Martino, opposing offenses could get awfully frustrated by their speed and anticipation....Klein would help out (size) however, given what appears to be a very small midfield, that I grant you. (US will definently need size on its back line...because of it, I could see Cherundolo getting squeezed out of a spot, or maybe being pushed up as competition to Martino/Olsen et al in right mid) Klein, I think, is a decent back-up option, if Martino (or an "old" Olsen) are injured/not up to snuff....the same will be true for Eddie Lewis on left side by 2006 (I reckon)...neither Klein nor Lewis will be good enough to get US past 1st round (in my view)...we will need to be younger, more talented, and quicker..
Klein's still a question mark IMHO. Yeah, he can fill in. But I'm hoping that we can find a better option.