P/I/P Match 18: Revs vs CIN, Sun 7/3/22 7:30p [R]

Tommy Mac and his new extension are out; if Polster is still out, our depth would be tested a bit. Probably Maciel to pair with Kaptoum.

Would be great to get Kessler back, even though Bell has been improving in form (despite some scary giveaway passes last week).

 

I wouldnt mind an Arnor/Kaptoum pairing and get Rivera on the field.

With Lletget and Polster injured, and Tommy suspended its basically Wilf/Arnor/Maciel as the midfield options. Buck is so far from ready its not worth including him

 

If Bruce Arena feels that Sebastian Lletget is fit and sharp enough to start Sunday against Cincinnati, here is one line-up that Arena should consider starting in the match:
-----------------------------------------------Petrovic---------------------------------------


Bye (or DeLaGarza)------------Farrell------------Bell----------------------Jones


-------------------------------------Kaptoum-------------Lletget-----------------------


Traustason------------------------------------Gil--------------------------------Borrero


-----------------------------------------------------Bou-------------------------------------------


Another reasonable option, especially if Arena doesn’t think Lletget is ready to start, is the following:

------------------------------------------------Petrovic--------------------------------


Bye (or DeLaGarza)------------Farrell--------------Bell--------------------Jones


--------------------------------------Kaptoum------------Gil-------------------------


Traustason-------------------------------------Bou--------------------------------Borrero


---------------------------------------------------Altidore-----------------------------------------

As rkupp said, Tommy McNamara is out against Cincinnati because of yellow card accumulation. And Matt Polster is in the concussion protocol. So, Arena has a challenge as far as deciding who should start in central midfield against Cincinnati.

One option is to start Lletget next to Wilfrid Kaptoum. According to a tweet that Lleget made yesterday, he is ready to play against Cincinnati this weekend. Here:

Back with my boys this weekend @NERevolution #nerevs pic.twitter.com/qOgDCO98XB

— Da Boy (@SLletget) July 1, 2022

Moreover, Lletget has a good deal of experience playing central midfield in MLS, including for Arena with the LA Galaxy. In fact, in the knockout round of the 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs, Lletget started for Arena as a central midfielder in a 4-2-3-1. Here is a link to the starting line-ups for the match:

https://www.lagalaxy.com/competitions/mls-cup-playoffs/2016/matches/lavsrsl-10-26-2016/lineups

That same year in both legs of the Western Conference Semifinals, Lletget started for Arena against Colorado at central midfield in a 4-2-3-1. Here:

https://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/lavscol-10-30-2016/lineups

And here:

https://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/colvsla-11-06-2016/lineups

Moreover, Lletget has good ball-control and has been good at maintaining possession and passing well in midfield. So, against Cincinnati on Sunday, Lletget, if he were to start as a central midfielder in a 4-2-3-1, probably would help the Revs build out of the back, which is a role that Polster and McNamara have been playing for the Revs.

However, Arena may feel Lletget is not sharp enough to start (given that he has been out since June 15). Arena may also not be comfortable starting Lletget in central midfield against Cincinnati, given that Lletget hasn’t played that position much for the Revs. If that’s the case, it would be reasonable for Arena to start Carles Gil as a central midfielder next to Kaptoum and start Gustavo Bou underneath Jozy Altidore.

During his career with the Revs, Bou has played quite a bit underneath the center forward. And, last weekend against Vancouver, Bou played essentially that position when Altidore came into the match in the 62nd minute. Although, in the past, Bou has turned the ball over a bit too much when playing underneath the center forward, he has been adequate at the position. And I thought he played pretty well there against Vancouver.

In addition, Gil is excellent as a central midfielder. He has tremendous ball-control and passing ability. If he plays next to Kaptoum, Gil could help the Revs a great deal at building out of the back, the way Polster and McNamara have.

Another option would be for Arena to start the Revs in a 4-2-3-1 with Kaptoum and Maciel as the two holding midfielders and Gil underneath Bou. So, the line-up would be this:

------------------------------------------------Petrovic-------------------------------------


Bye (or DeLaGarza)------------Farrell-----------------Bell---------------------Jones


--------------------------------------Kaptoum-------------Maciel----------------------------


Traustason---------------------------------------Gil--------------------------------Borrero


--------------------------------------------------------Bou--------------------------------------------

But the first and second options that I laid out probably would be better (for Arena to start) than this third option. Kaptoum and Maciel don’t have a great deal of experience in MLS, and I wonder if either of them has the composure and/or ball-shielding ability to help the team build out of the back the way Polster and McNamara have. Moreover, Henry Kessler is injured, and I’m not sure how good Jon Bell can be at playing the ball out of the back. So, it’s important for the Revs to have a central midfielder who is particularly good at keeping possession and playing the ball well as the team builds out of the back.

I also didn’t think Maciel played particularly well in his 120 minutes in the Revs’ 1-0 US Open Cup loss to New York City. He turned the ball over too much. And since that game, he’s played only 18 minutes (1 minute against Sporting Kansas City on June 12 and 17 minutes against Minnesota on June 19). Although I remember Maciel playing well against Cincinnati in the Revs’ 5-1 win against them in their May 11 US Open Cup match, the Revs were playing against Cincinnati’s second team in that match.

As tsb11 said, Arnor Traustason is another option to start as a central midfielder against Cincinnati, either underneath the center forward or as one of the two holding midfielders. But I haven't seen Traustason play those positions much for the Revs. And when he has played as a central midfielder, I haven't focused on him. So, I wouldn't be comfortable starting him as a central midfielder on Sunday. However, my impression is that he is a decent tackler, which is an asset for a holding midfielder in a 4-2-3-1.

On a different note, against Cincinnati, it’s important for Revs to be very aware of Cincinnati’s forward Brenner. He scored a hat-trick in their last game and has four goals in their last two games. Brenner is fast, moves well laterally and is a good dribbler. In Cincinnati’s last two games, Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan has started Brenner at forward next to Brandon Vazquez in a 3-5-2. In the Revs’ 3-2 win against Cincinnati on May 21, Brenner did not play, I believe because he was injured.

 

If Lletget is healthy im a fan of him playing in our CM. Any 2 of Kaptoum/Lletget/Traustason as the CM duo should be good. With Bye still out we need a more dynamic/attack minded player at RW, so I'd hope to see Rivera or Ema start opposite Borrero on the wing.

I dont think the extra running that Rennicks does is enough to move Bou out of the striker spot, and Jozy just doesnt offer anything on a soccer field right now, so short of fitness I dont see any reason not have Bou at the 9

 

So, would this be the starting line-up that you would favor for tomorrow’s game?:

------------------------------------------------Petrovic----------------------------------------------


Bye (or DeLaGarza)------------Farrell---------------Bell-------------------------------Jones


----------------------------------Kaptoum-------------Lletget (or Traustason)-----------------


Borrero------------------------------------Gil------------------------------Rivera (or Boateng)


-----------------------------------------------Bou--------------------------------------------------

What if Bruce Arena does not start Lletget in central midfield? In that case, I tend to think he should start Jozy Altidore up front, with Gustavo Bou underneath him. I don’t agree that Altidore doesn’t have anything to offer on the soccer field right now. First, this season, he has been solid at holding the ball and making passes. And he does have one goal and has come close a couple of other times. In addition, he doesn’t seem to be injured now, and he’s moving better than he was earlier in the season. So, he may be an asset at center forward for the Revs now.

However, I do think Altidore has done too much weight-lifting with his upper body. For the rest of his pro soccer career, I wish he would stop doing bench presses, shoulder presses, lateral raises, lat pull-downs and curls. The amount of weight-lifting he has done with his upper body may have slowed him down a bit, probably has made him less nimble (he doesn’t move as well laterally as he used to) and perhaps has contributed to his having been somewhat injury-prone. If he continues to lift weights with his upper body while he’s a professional soccer player, I’d like to see him lift very light weights that won’t add muscle mass to his upper body.

He must remember: His not doing mass-building lifting with his upper body now will not preclude him from doing so later in life. He can always resume such lifting once his soccer career is over. (My soccer was hurt a great deal by the amount (and kind) of weight-lifting I did with my upper body. While I was doing the lifting, I didn’t realize how much it was hurting my soccer.)

In addition, I’m not that confident that Traustason should start as a holding midfielder tomorrow. I can’t remember for sure him having played that position for the Revs in a 4-2-3-1. And if he has played that position for the Revs, he hasn’t played it a lot, and he hasn’t stood out when playing the position.

I concede that it would be a lot to ask of Jozy to start tomorrow. It’s fairly important for the Revs to get three points out of tomorrow’s match, especially given that they are playing at home. And how fit is Jozy at this point? But I also like Jozy, believe that he has been an excellent professional soccer player, including in MLS, and hope that he still can be a good forward in MLS. So, I would be inclined to start him.

An additional point: When the Revs beat Cincinnati 3-2 on May 21, Maciel played the final 26 minutes of the match. And he played well. For instance, according to fotmob.com, he completed 22 out of 25 passes, for a completion percentage of 88% and had three accurate long balls, including the pass to Brandon Bye that led to Bye’s assist on Tommy McNamara’s game-winning goal. Here is a link to a video of the goal, with Maciel’s pass to Bye the second pass in the sequence:

https://www.revolutionsoccer.net/vi...my-mcnamara-strikes-from-distance-for-the-win:

Arena could start Maciel next to Wilfrid Kaptoum and give Kaptoum the role that Matt Polster and McNamara have had at helping play the ball out of the back. Arena has generally been giving the left holding midfielder the responsibility of helping build the ball out of the back. Specifically, as the team is building out of the back, that player—whether it be Polster or McNamara—has been dropping in between the left center-back (e.g., Jon Bell) and the left back (e.g., DeJuan Jones). The player receives the ball and then makes a pass to help the team advance the ball forward while maintaining possession.

Moreover, Kaptoum has a good handle of the ball. He’s skillful. So, the line-up would be this:

---------------------------------------------------Petrovic--------------------------------------------


Bye (or DeLaGarza)-------------Farrell-------------------Bell--------------------------Jones


--------------------------------------Maciel-------------------Kaptoum----------------------------


Traustason--------------------------------------Gil---------------------------------------Borrero


-------------------------------------------------------Bou----------------------------------------------

But sometimes Kaptoum gives the ball away in bad spots. If tomorrow he is given the responsibility of being the central midfielder that helps the Revs build the ball out of the back, I worry that he will turn the ball over in an area that leads to a Cincinnati goal.

In addition, I would be somewhat uneasy about Maciel’s starting tomorrow. In big moments, he sometimes seems to get overwhelmed and turns the ball over too much and doesn’t make a positive impact. It’s like he gets shy.

Finally, your idea of starting Damian Rivera or Emma Boateng on the wing (opposite of Dylan Borrero) is reasonable. They’ve both been dynamic players for the Revs. They may well add more offensively to the wing position than Traustason would. They’re both faster than Traustason. But, against Vancouver, I thought Traustason was good defensively and solid in possession. I also like that he tends not to make mistakes that result in the other team getting good chances. If Traustason were to start on the wing tomorrow, Boateng or Rivera could come in for him at halftime or in the second half.

 

Boateng!

 

If you start a front 3 of Jozy/Bou/Lletget with Gil underneath you have no one who can do any running. The opposition back line is under entirely no threat. That means we have to play a slow possession game, which because we have no one making runs in the box and no aerial targets for crosses means well be relying on long shots to score. Its extremely unsustainable and would show a real lack of game understanding to try it.

Also, Jozy has played 500 minutes. He has 2 total shots on goal. Thats 1 shot on goal per 3 games worth of minutes. Thats just not enough for a striker. His advanced stats are even worse. Per fbref he is in the 22nd %ile for npXg/90, 12th % in XA/90, and 6th % in shot creating actions/90. He doesnt carry the ball, dribble defenders, or pressure the ball in defense. Aka hes a liability on the field.

There is an old adage that every soccer game requires a minimum amount of running from your team. Not every player has to do it, but it has to come from somewhere. Both Bou and Jozy are players that do not give you running, to the point where someone else has to do some of theirs for them. Lletget doesnt really give you much either (for arguments sake lets say hes neutral). Choosing to play these guys means you have to make up for it elsewhere, and both together leave too great a deficit to overcome.

 

Thanks for the comment.

I didn't mean to suggest that, for tonight’s game, I favor the Revs' starting in "a front 3 of Jozy/Bou/Lletget with Gil underneath." If Arena does not start Lletget in central midfield tonight, I tend to think Arena should start the team in a 4-2-3-1 with the following line-up:

-----------------------------------------------Petrovic----------------------------------------------


Bye (or DeLaGarza)------------Farrell---------------Bell-------------------------------Jones


--------------------------------------Kaptoum---------------Gil----------------------------------------


Traustason------------------------------------Bou----------------------------------------Borerro


--------------------------------------------------Altidore-------------------------------------------------

So, Gil would be one of the two holding midfielders (along with Kaptoum), Bou would be underneath Altidore, and Borrero would be one of the outside midfielders. Borrero would provide some of the running and stamina that you rightly noted is important to have in midfield and on the wing.

A question I have: If Lletget does not start tonight as the central midfielder next to Kaptoum, do you think Traustason should start as the central midfielder next to Kaptoum? According to my research, Traustason doesn’t have much experience playing as a central midfielder for the Revs, especially playing as a holding central midfielder. In fact, I don’t think he ever has started as a holding central midfielder for the Revs. Here’s a link (from football-lineups.com) to the positions he has played for the Revs this season:

https://m.football-lineups.com/footballer/70887/

To see the relevant part, you have to scroll down a bit.

And last season:

https://m.football-lineups.com/footballer/70887/?t=2587&s=265

Last season, in a match against DC United on October 21, I remember the Revs playing at least part of the time in a 4-2-3-1, with Traustason playing as the attacking center-mid, underneath Buksa. Here:

https://www.revolutionsoccer.net/co...season/2021/matches/nevsdc-08-18-2021/lineups

Traustason had an assist in the game, but he also had a red card.

According to my research, Traustason has played a little central midfield for Iceland. For instance, in a January 2022 friendly against Uganda, he started as a central midfielder in a 4-5-1. Here:

https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2022/01/12/world/friendlies/iceland/uganda/3719489/

But, for Iceland, he generally has been a winger/outside midfielder. For example, here is a link to information on the positions he played for Iceland during qualifying for the 2020 European Championship:

https://m.football-lineups.com/footballer/70887/?t=2022&s=591

So, Traustason’s lack of experience playing as a holding midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 is one of the main reasons I probably would not start him there tonight against Cincinnati.

However, a downside of starting Kaptoum and Gil as the two holding midfielders would be that neither is a great tackler. That might support the notion that Maciel -- rather than Kaptoum -- should be the holding midfielder to start next to Gil. But I would go with Kaptoum, partly because he has been playing reasonably well for the Revs lately.

If Arena does start Lletget tonight in central midfielder, here is the line-up I would like to see him start:

-----------------------------------------------Petrovic----------------------------------------------


Bye (or DeLaGarza)------------Farrell---------------Bell-------------------------------Jones


--------------------------------------Kaptoum---------------Lletget----------------------------------------


Traustason------------------------------------Gil----------------------------------------Borerro


-----------------------------------------------------Bou-------------------------------------------------

On a different note, I understand why, for tonight’s match, one might prefer starting Damian Rivera or Emma Boateng at outside midfield instead of Traustason. They have more speed and dynamism than Traustason. But Traustason does play good defense, and he seems to have pretty good endurance.

 

On Traustason, per transfermarkt he's played around 400 minutes as a central midfielder for the revs, out of his 2000 revolution minutes. So roughly 20% of his time here. Over his entire career he's played close to 2500 minutes in central midfield, including almost the entire 2019 allsvenskan season for Malmo (who play in a traditional 442 with 2 holding CMs).

On a career basis I don't think it's out of the question to play him there, both in terms of his skill set and experience in MLS and abroad

 

That's helpful research. Thank you.

If I'm not mistaken, Traustason never has played as a central holding midfielder for the Revs. For instance, I can't remember a time when, for the Revs, he played as one of the two holding midfielders in a 4-2-3-1.

Also, I would have more confidence in Carles Gil as the central holding midfielder next to Kaptoum than I would in Traustason as the central holding midfielder next to Kaptoum. For one thing, Gil is a fantastic attacking center-mid, and one can play central midfield in a 4-2-3-1 so that it is not that different than playing as an attacking center-mid in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2. Consider, for instance, Toni Kroos and Luca Modric.

But I agree with you that it's not out of the question for the Revs to start Traustason tonight as a central holding midfielder in a 4-2-3-1. But would it be better for the Revs to start him there tonight or to start Kaptoum and Gil as the two holding central midfielders, Altidore at center forward, and Bou underneath Altidore?

I would go with the latter. First, both Altidore and Bou would be starting at positions at which they have significant MLS experience and at which each they have had at least a reasonable degree of success in MLS. Second, Gil has been an outstanding central midfielder in MLS. Third, as mentioned, I don't think Traustason ever has played as a holding central midfielder for the Revs. Finally, according to my (limited) research, in his pro career, Traustason hasn't played much as a central holding midfielder, or at least not much recently.

Although I'm uneasy about Gil's tackling as a central midfielder and don't want him to get hurt while trying to dispossess someone, he's good at avoiding going in hard when trying to dispossess someone. And his ball-possession and passing as the Revs try to build out of the back (and through midfield) would be outstanding.

If Arena does not start Gil or Lletget in central midfield next to Kaptoum, would you favor Arena's starting Traustason next to Kaptoum or Maciel next to Kaptoum? Maciel has much more experience than Traustason at playing as a holding central midfielder in MLS. But Maciel also can be mistake-prone.

 

Starting lineup:

 

Very happy to see that Kessler is back starting!

 

Cue the Steely dan song now…”Hey Nineteen”..congrats to the MLSNext team

 

A dart by Dylan!

 

Nice flick from el pantera

 

I have no idea why Arena cant see what most of the fans here can see when when it comes to Jozy? He adds nothing and we are basically playing a man down when he enters the game. There is a lot of talk about an upcoming #9 signing? Cant happen fast enough for me but I wonder how this will affect the rotation? Hopefully it will spell the end of Jozy? The big question is...where does Bou go if this new works out? I think Bou is too slow to be a starting #9 but he's better than Jozy.

 

Rivera definitely gets the worst optics for that play, and his long touch to narnia doesnt help him, but Petrovich deserves half the blame.

You're up a goal, late-ish in the game, and FCC have all their players in your half. 3 of them are near Tico. Petro playing quickly put Tico is a spot to fail.

 

The 2nd goal was Petrovic's fault. He put Rivera in a no-win situation because there were 3 guys surrounding him. However, were Knighton or Edwards Jr in there, Cincinnati would have scored a few minutes prior when Petro made those 2 great stops.

I actually thought Jozy had his best stint in a Revs uniform as he at least looked like he was competing. I wasn't a fan of the dive he took trying to draw a penalty but he at least put a little pressure on Cincy and his holdup play was good.

Jones quietly had an excellent game as did Farrell. They should have gotten 3 points, but when you consider the opponent, that they had to start Khaptoum and Maciel lost Borrero and couldn't get a full match out of Kessler, a draw was an OK result.

 

A few random thoughts about the game:

I thought the second goal was basically Petrovic's fault. Kind of a double whoops. First, the poor decision to roll the ball to Rivera in a bad position; then I thought he went to ground too quickly on the shot, allowing Brenner to lift the shot over him. But overall I am quite happy with his play so far!

I thought the mid-fielders had the ball tackled away from them numerous times, this includes Gil. With Tommy Mac and Polster in there, you usually don't see that; but then again, they are usually passing the ball to the CBs. I guess it's a trade-off if you want more attacking play.

Jozy again gets subbed in, goes to the penalty box, and as soon as someone gets near him falls down. He should have been yellow-carded for that dive. I think even Allie Mareno would have been embarrassed by that dive.

I like the two new young additions to the team. I hope the next one is just as talented and fast. The Revs do need some speed up top, that was a big hole that Tajon left.

 

I put more blame on Rivera for that goal. He had time and space to make a play but didn’t. The revs want to work out of the back and to do so they need to be able to make those plays.

 

Rivera was closed on when the ball got to him. However, looking at the replay - from a 2nd angle - it appears that Rivera he could have one touched it to, I think, Kaptoum. In person I put it on Petro. Also from the initial replay angle, it looks like he has nowhere to go.