The 1st preseason match is over. Just got some info from the game that was played today in Florida. Rapids took on Florida Central University (Chicago played them couple of days ago and lost the game). Interestingly the Rapids let up the 1st goal in around 15 min mark. After that is was all Rapids. Carrieri ad 2 goal, Casey Schmidt had 2, Seth and Richie both scored 1. The line up for us was 4-4-2 Up top Carrieri and Schmidt Mid: Seth - Pablo - Kyle - Craford Def: Rizzo - Shak - Stewart - Hart Goal: Byron Foss Subs after half time: Richie in for Rizzo, danny Jackson in for Shak, Borchid(sp?) for Pablo and Brian Jackson in for Crawford Grimandi played last 15 min (Kyle out) Out were most of the starters Flu: Garlick, Chung, Frazier Still out due to surgeries that were done off season: Zak and Sleeth Knocks/Nothing serious - more of a precaution: Hendo, Spenny and Zizi. I hope I got most of it covered. Overall impression: the youngster and trialists looked good and solid and this was a good start for the preseason. Stewart, Schmidt and Rizzo looked very good. Saturdays opponent will be a better gauge of where the team is (U-20 team).
winning 6-1 while playing a lot of 2nd teamers is always a nice start, no matter the competition. who's schmidt and who's rizzo?
Schmidt is one of the draftee is I'm not mistaken (one of the lower, lower rounds). He's a forward and doing nicely. Rizzo is the 24 yr-old Mexican Left back that should be signed shortly.
You can't go wrong with 6 goals. It's also nice to see a draft pick that might actually do something right out of the gate. That's something we don't see every season. I realize the competiton here was a college side, but maybe Schmidt has his killer instinct fully on already. Only time will tell. Is it April 12th yet?
Alex Blake is most likely back at Williams, finishing his schooling. Williams is a damn good college, and he's making the right decision by graduating first, then joining the Rapids. Should things not pan out in MLS for him, a Williams degree will do very good things for him.
Yes, he's a left back. And a fine one going forward. He hasn't been tested much in training so far as a defender so we'll have to wait and see how he is at that aspect. The U-20 game will be a good test.
Blake is back at school finishing his degree. He should join the rapids end of May when school is over.
Amen. ballboy, you rock. Thanks for the update. I think this match is purely the confidence booster to kick off Florida training on a positive note and give the lads a good run for 45 or 90 minutes... not much else can or should be read into what happened out there, I think.
This is great info, ballboy. Are you down in Florida for spring training? If so, have you seen any of the other MLS teams? I am curious to know how Ryan Futagaki is playing for the Fire.
This newest update shows a continuing evolution in the squad that could make the lineup different from what most thought. I read JoeyClams' article in CyberSoccer news about the scrimmage posted on the other thread and this jumps out: But what caught everyone's eye was Beckerman's poise and maturity on the ball while being pressed by opponents. Last season there were flashes of this during his limited run in the starting lineup, but on Thursday his control and distribution were first-rate. He even scored on a laser shot after faking a through ball to Carrieri that had both Jackson and Fraser on their heels. "Kyle looked outstanding today," said an obviously delighted Hankinson. "I think he's sniffing that he can be in the picture and play important minutes for us. He is working hard and he just has to keep on doing what he's doing." If Beckerman keeps up this big push, can he knock Grimandi or Pablo back to the defensive back four? Then the team could look something like this: Carierri Spencer or Roberts Chung Beckerman Mastroeni Henderson Rizzo Fraser Stewart Grimandi If Beckerman can keep this up, I think we are in better shape for the obvious reason that we have a truer holding/passing midfielder and not two defensive mids in the middle. On the bench we have Herdsmen, Hart, a revitalized Shak and Jackson, Kingsley, a third striker, and some new talent that could end up being competative for starting spots. We could really stay competative through injury and fatigue spells.
If you're going to read into anything so early in the preseason, then I think all you can say with regards to Hank's comments about Beckerman possibly "getting important minutes for us" is that perhaps the kid is making a case that the team should make him the first-choice sub in every game, and a starter when others are missing due to injury, suspension or international duty. Granted, in the preseason every single player has a chance to win a starting role. But small intra-squad scrimmages and this early match against a college side -- that likely didn't field their best team, either -- are rarely indicators of what actually happens come opening day. And no way will you ever see Grimandi as a flank defender in a 4-back system.
This becomes problematic because if you have Grimandi and Mastroeni in the midfield, that is a completely different dynamic than having Grimandi and Beckerman. Beckerman plays a different role and I am guessing would not be inserted for defensive help. So the flow of the attack has to change in a fairly big way if Beckerman is to stay involved. In my American mind, the change would be like going from an option quarterback to a drop back passer. (Oops, He's in Fashion, there I go again.) I know people are speculating that Mastroeni or Grimandi will step up offensively, but we are counting on guys that have not had big offensive rolls. In checking the web about Grimandi in the Arsenal days, I gathered he filled in all over as a defender and defensive midfielder. Pablo has been a defender and defensive midfielder. So with these guys in there, the attack would have to go up the flanks with Chung and Henderson. Put in Beckerman, and you want to send more through the middle as well. I am not sure this can change smoothly game to game. Of course it is early, but I have now heard more about Beckerman than I heard all of last year. He also played a lot with the U whatever team in Europe and may be ready to step up. If not, I think they will have to be ready for a change when he is in there. There's no Pibe for him to stand near and pass the ball to every time he gets it like last year.
I think it is great to see Beckerman getting more in the mix. I would love to see a young passing midfield with the skill to orchestrate the team. It would be great if it pushed Mastro or Grimandi into defense, even though I think it would be in the center not on the wings. I could see the lineup being what Ingmar posted with Grimandi & Stewart flipped.
Take out any key starter on this team and you can't be sure of a smooth transition from game to game. Just because a player's experience and talent may lean more towards a specific position or style of play doesn't mean they can't adapt to another position when necessary. Look no further than Wes Hart in 2002, who routinely played different roles on the team, dependent both on the lineup around him and the opponent the Rapids were facing. Furthermore, when you have two players like Grimandi and Mastroeni in the center of midfield, when one of them is not present you're going to face a rough transition regardless of who you have lined up as a replacement. Regardless of skills, tendencies and general approach to the game, there is only one Pablo in this league and there is only one Gilles. No matter how much a reserve player may try to play their style, they will ultimately be a different player on the field. For games where Beckerman -- or anyone else -- fills in as a starter for either Pablo or Gilles, the question will not be how well the replacement midfielder fits in but rather how well Pablo/Gilles will modify their game as instructed by Hankinson. If indeed Beckerman gets the starting nod and is a complete attacker, we'd see Pablo/Gilles stay much farther back, and we'd probably see Chung and Hendo float less and play wider on the wings. Given the talent of those surrounding Beckerman, I'm pretty confident the transition would not only be smooth but an unexpected and potent challenge for the opponent. Similarly, you can bet that Spencer/Carrieri will be a different type of attack than Spencer/Zizi or Zizi/Carrieri. Determination versus opportunity versus raw strength; a ball into space versus a ball with back to goal; laying the ball back to the 18 versus a cross into the box; tiring out a defense versus overpowering them. The best teams will adapt how they play based on available personnel and the flow of the game at hand, and the best managers will make sure their teams are prepared to do so. In 2002 we saw a variety of games out of the Rapids, ranging from all-out attack to physical, stifling defense. There's no reason to think that 2003 won't be any different.
I think a more interesting scenario might be inserting Beckerman into the team and make a 5 man midfield. With Pablo and Gilles on the field, they could play more defensively and act as a schield for a back three. Stewart, Fraser, and Herdsman or Rizo in the back would be pretty solid. I think Hanki should really look into this possibility.
Problem with a 3-5-2 is that you force Chungy and Hendo into even wider and often more defensive positions, whereas I think Hanki would prefer that each of them have the freedom to float throughout the attack as they see fit. With all the defensive power that comes out of the middle combination of Pablo and Gilles, it's likely that opponents will be forced to take their attack wide. With Rizzo and Stewart generally focused on marking opposing forwards, this wold mean a greater reliance on Chungy and Hendo to track back to mark their opposing wings. Not to mention, this would also be limiting the ability of Pablo and Gilles to move forward and distribute, something which Hankinson has noted as a strong desire. The vast majority of 3-5-2 executions result in a team playing a slower defensive and possession game rather than an explosive attack, and with the quality of playmaking and finishing that we have in our midfield right now I'm not so sure that's the best option for the club.
Greenie’s argument makes a ton of sense to me. For those like me who know formations basically but not the intricacies, here are a couple of “formation for dummies” links I reviewed to figure out what he was saying. http://www.pointme.to/soccer/352formation.htm http://www.pointme.to/soccer/442formation.htm Then here is one with a fleshed out explanation of the 4-4-2 that is all over the web. It’s kind of cool and I assume it is not nonsense. http://www.osysa.com/Modern442Formation.doc The 3-5-2 link shows that the defense is more vulnerable than the 4-4-2 at the back. Two central midfielders cover for the center midfielder while the backs pick up the opposing forwards. So what Greenie states would seem to play out. If we have Beckerman leading the attack flanked by Pablo and Giles, we have a formidable interior presence. That means if a team wants to get around that, they burn down the flanks dragging Chung and Henderson all day. This also wears out two of our most potent offensive players. I suppose that this is what Hanki was trying to do last year with his protection of Carlos. The little for dummies page notes that it is easy to get outnumbered on defense in the 3-5-2 so great communication is crucial. Perhaps our back line had some problems this way last year. I would think that a good counter attacking team could eat a 3-5-2 alive if the defense was not up to par. The Rapids did score a bunch of goals but gave up at least as many. A couple of things I noted in the article on the 4-4-2 are that in the author’s view, Chung and Henderson are help defenders with the central midfielders and outside defenders. This would be better than the 3-5-2 when they could be forced to be the only defenders on the on opposing outside midfielders. But conversely, he states that (I love this quote just because of the way it is worded) “Usually, one of the central midfielders is the architect of aggressions on the pitch while the other one supports him.” Wouldn’t we all want to be the architect of some aggression? Anyway, are Giles and Pablo up to this? I think that this becomes crucial to our success. If they are not creative passers, then we may end up being impotent attacking (FSW junkies fill in your Enerex quotes here) through the middle of the field and become predictable as a team that works up the field with Henderson and Chung crossing to our little forwards and Zizi. I don’t know if Pablo and or Giles can pick up their offensive game now that a coach is calling on them to do so. Does anyone have any information to know one way or the other? I guess we will find out in the next batch of preseason games. I saw in the U20 game, Beckerman did not generate much offence anyway. But I am hoping this was just a bad game.