http://www.mlsnet.com/content/03/oped0326connolly.html And the most interesting point in the article: When speaking about his situation at defensive midfield, Bob Bradley talked about Richie Williams, Tim Regan and Ricardo Clark as possibilities to play in his dual defensive midfielder system. After pausing for a moment, he added that one possibility is to play Clint Mathis there. “We need somebody who adds something a little different.” Clint would surely fit that bill.
Well I remember in 2001 rite after Clint's magical run with the Nats, OZ put him deep in the midfield against the Revs in the homeopener. I remember that very clearly, specifically because he was launching long balls down the field. Could it work? I don't know, maybe.
First time I even saw Mathis was in his first year with the Galaxy (then coached by OZ), when they played Metro at GS. Mathis was deep in the midfield, came flying up out of nowhere and scored a goal after a long run. I remember thinking, "who the hell is this guy?"
that's great, putting a guy who's don't know how to tackle and is too lazy to in the defensive mid position!
Clint in d-mid might make some sense depending on what the rest of the roster ends up looking like. Personally i'd rather see him up front with Moreno to see what type of chemistry they can develop. But wherever he is on the field, he needs to have the freedom to roam. Coming out of deep midfield, he would be a great offensive threat, but we'd need the type of outside mids that could drop back and cover for him when he makes his runs up front. Right now we don't have that, unless Clark starts on the wing I guess. What do we know about Guevara's defensive / ball-winning abilities? Point is, even if he plays in d-mid, Clint isn't going to *be* your typical d-mid. He'd be more of an offensive libero. You'd need guys to cover for him.