So is Kante definetly not a starter anymore?

I would expect some of it may have to do with matchups. If we're playing teams with big target forwards - McBride, Buddle, Quaranta - he's more likely to start. Plus, he will start if Pierce or Llamosa, or maybe even Heaps or Franchino get hurt.

Not sure what the Revs will do if Moore starts in place of Harris. That may be enough to get Kante a start as well. I think we need at least 3 big guys for set plays. Harris and Hernandez are two. Heaps is good enough in the air that he counts as a third. But if any of them goes out, we have to get that third big guy from somewhere.

In the end, Kante will see a ton of time, I'm sure.

Lee

 

Does anyone know? I suspect Steve Nicol knows. I certainly don't, but then why should I? I'm only a fan.

I continue to root for Kante to be a starter, however.

 

After the way Rusty played on Sunday, I don't think there is an easy way to rank the central defenders. I don't think that you're losing anything between Pierce, Llamosa, and Kante (and Joseph??). Although I'm concerned about Carlos' lack of speed, not that he had much to begin with.

 

It's a good situation to have. All three bring something different. Kante's size and tackling, Pierce's speed and marking, Llamosa's experience and positioning. Hopefully they will all buy into a rotation system and Nicol will be able to use whoever best suits the needs of the moment.

Joseph looked good on the wing down in CR. I haven't seen him play centrally. Kamler looked pretty decent in central defense, and Cullen and Hernandez both have played there as well. Plenty of options, but hopefully we won't have to go beyond our 1st three.

Lee

 

If Llamosa is hurt or not quite match-fit, as some reports suggest, I suspect we'll see DK start on Saturday.

 

My understanding is that Pierce got the start primarily b/c he was better in practice. While I personally think Kante is the better player, there is a lot of value to coaches telling players that practice matters and then rewarding those who bring their game to practice and perform well.

And, as any team in MLS knows, it's pretty rare to start the same central defender tandem for the entire season. NE is fortunate to have 4 guys who are pretty credible at that role. I might worry about how good the organization would be with a tandem of Joseph and Kante but individually all 4 of those guys can get the job done.

 

Good summation.

And the fact that Llamosa won't be around forever leaves the thought of having these guys well established as a boon.

Solid.

 

I would have said the same thing prior to Sunday's game. There was no better player on the field than Pierce.

 

I thought so too. Kante's a good one on one player, but Rusty covers a lot of ground and has great closing speed. If someone gets by another defender, Rusty's more likely to get to the play than Kante. I'm still concerned about Llamosa and his wheels, though. Even when he'd beat Faria or DMB to a through ball, the Fire would either end up with a corner or a throw-in about 20 feet from the end line.

I think that Kante should start and Carlos could sub in for him when we are protecting a lead and are keeping a lot of guys behind the ball. When we're all pushed upfield and he has to cover a forward over 40 yards of space he's in trouble. When we pack it in and he doesn't have to stray too far from the box (like in C-bus in the playoffs) his positioning and experience are great to have.

I wonder if Llamosa's contract helps to push him into the lineup. From all accounts I've read, he's making good money, probably more than last year. If they hadn't signed him they'd have had about twice as much to spend on an attacking mid. Signing someone to a contract like that and not playing them doesn't look great. I don't think that Nicol plays people based on salary or reputation (see APC last year) but signing Carlos was probably his call so on some level he probably wants Llamosa to start.

 

This is not a criticism of Pierce, Kante or Joseph, but don't under-estimate the value of Llamosa's experience, especially internationally. I would think that matters a lot. And, while Llamosa may not be primarily an organizer, I'd think that he'd do a better job at it than any of the other 3 (while a pairing of Kante and Joseph might be more prone to some mistakes). Last thought--unless Nicol is going to take a radically different approach this year, his MO is to make sure the defense is solid first and not get over-extended. Revs were successfull last season when the team played as a team and worked together. Kamler made a run forward and someone dropped back to cover for him. Thus, Llamosa's lack of speed (especially when compared to the other 3) seems less of an issue to me b/c he's less likely to be exposed than he would be with other teams. In short, I don't think his salary dictates that he starts or plays (if anything, it might be the reverse since he probably has encentives in his contracts for games started, minutes played, tackles, etc. and the less he plays, the less he'd count on the cap for next year). I think Llamosa is likely to start when healthy b/c he's a major asset, especially when 2 of the other 3 central defenders are good but inexperienced.

 

I agree with JoeW on almost all points.

1)I suspect that SN was sending Kante a little message.

2)If he didn't reward Pierce's pre-season work, he'd have a festering problem on the roster.

3)SN realizes that Llamosa is his saaviest defender, and one of the smartest, most composed in the league.

4)I'm wondering if all the defenders are working hard and are healthy, whether SN will have a little rotation. If all had been healthy this week, I wouldn't have been surprised to see Heaps sit for a game. And then Llamosa after that. If he's getting the effort he wants from them all, then the "fairest" thing is to get everyone their opportunities. And it's "fairness" that prevents dissention!

As much as I love Llamosa, I was nervous as hell with the defense until Kante came in. He has the athleticism to cover for each of the other defenders.

Kante should play every minute of the season, IMO.

For all of the good defensive plays that Pierce made, that's only half the game. I thought they had a really tough time making the transition out of their end when he had the ball.

 

I have a lot of confidence in Kante in the middle, although on Saturday it seemed to me that most of his clearances ended up out of bounds or in the possession of Chicago players. I think Llamoso's distribution is better.