The Center Back Situation Post Copa: Where do we go from here? Who Stays who goes?

I’ll be curious how Ream does in MLS (assuming that still goes through).

I also wonder if we hire Matarazzo we see the return of Brooks. On one hand Brooks was benched and lost his spot and Hoffenheim this past season. On the other hand it’s good to have someone who already is familiar with how you want to play.

The really potential is in Neal and the U20 group. They just are unlikely to be read by 2026.

If I had a must win game tomorrow my call ups are probably Zimmerman, Richards, Robinson, and Ream but we’ll see how much Ream has left. McKenzie is probably next in line for me for now after those four.

 

Switch to a 3-5-2 system.
Two attackers — Balo and Puli.
Two wingers — Jedi and Weah.
Three midfielders — any combination will be fine between Reyna/Tillsman/Aaranson/Musah/Jonny/DLT/Wes/Tessman/Busio.
Three backs—Richards/Brooks/Scally

 

Not bad as a concept. It really will be interesting to see what if any changes a new coach brings with personnel, formations and schemes.

 

I love the idea of running a 3-5-2. MF/WB choices make sense to me.... however...

1) I would likely pair Balogun and CP up with a striker that can hold the ball up and win flick-on headers... I.e. Pepi/Sargent/Wright. I actually see CP and Balogun sharing time in this formation.

2) I wouldn't bring Brooks back to play sweeper. I would likely play Zimmerman for the time being w/ Richards at LCB and Robinson at RCB. All three play those positions for their clubs. Scally could indeed play RCB but likely as a backup IMO. Neal would be the next in line as a true CB added w/ the hopes that Banks pushes for a spot w/ Augsburg and therefore the USMNT. On a final note... it is ideal to have a very good passer/tackler w/ good ball skills and athleticism to play the sweeper CB. Not sure we have that kind of CB coming up which could hurt us in this formation. Tessmann could fill that role if given the opportunity w/ a club.

AAR, I really want a new coach that is willing to play different formations based on the match up. The GB 4-3-3 system that was pretty much forced on every level of US Soccer has become to predictable. Study a team at one level you kind of know how to compete against all of them.

 

The question on a 352 system is where does Pulisic play? Where does Reyna play? We’ve got to have good answers to that before we adjust our system. Those 2 players must be on the field.

I guess Pulisic would need to play forward in such a ststem. And Reyna would need to be a 2 way mid.

I’d probably make this a fluid system where one of the center forwards might drop in, as a 10, and the CM drops back as a CDM. Not sure yet.

—————Balogun—Pulisic——————-
———-McKennie—Musah—Reyna———-
Jedi———————————————-Dest
————CB———-CB———CB—————

—————Wright———Sargent—————
————Johnny—Adams—De La Torre—-
Paredes—————————————Scally
—————CB——-CB———CB—————-

——————Pepi——-Vazquez—————-
—Aaron/Tess——Maloney——-Busio/Tillman
Tolkin/Wiley———————Reynolds/Fossey
—————CB———CB———CB—————

…I dont know…. We would have to see.

 

the reason i would use scally over miles, richards, etc at rcb (currently, at least) is we still have the problem of a really mediocre-average cb crop. i think one way to address that is using one true attacking wb (ie jedi) and one attacking wing (weah) who can defend, while scally gives us the luxury of a somewhat skilled player in the "middle" of the defense without that being the only starting point of our entire attack. dest and paredes (will eventually) give us 4 good options for those roles (with scally as a possibility there as well, but his attacking leaves a lot to be desired). being overly optimistic (just in terms of being "ready") you could say tolkin, reynolds and maybe wiley fit that role.

but richards, cannon and trusty are reasonable fits for outside cbs who- as im picturing it- are basically on a pulley. weah pushing up leaves a back 4 of scally/zim/trusty/jedi, or jedi goes leaving weah/scally/zim/trusty.

cause matarazzo (really getting ahead of myself) doesnt use attacking width much at all, and i think the one certainty with him would an asymmetrical team. out of possession puli and likely one of the cms will press/defend wide(r), but in the attack i would expect puli to play far more centrally with our effective width coming almost exclusively from the outside backs. pm has used/uses 3 man cm lines with two attackers, two 6/8s and two attackers in a christmas tree 343, etc.

two even vaguely wide mids/wingers would be the departure for him.

which is good (our ability/having players able to play in a "hybrid" 5/4 man backline), cause i dont think 3 out-and-out cbs is the best idea for us. those guys from scally to trusty who can play as nominal right or left backs in possession/attack allow that one extra "attacker" we probably need- even if its jedi or dest.

 

consider this an extension of my last post, but i think using 2 fwds is pretty similar to 3 stict cbs- its not really ideal.

using your example of puli and gio as the attackers that "have" to be utilized (which i agree with), i think puli pressing/defending "wide" but playing next to/off of balo with reyna behind is an option, as is two cms deeper, puli and gio as "narrow" attacking mids off balo.

wright could offer depth for puli in either scenario if you just have to find a place for him, while tillman or weah (i maintain the best hes looked in his club career was as an am/ss for lille before one of his injuries), who could- in theory- back up either. brendans another option...

but i just dont think we have the quality strikers/cfs to justify starting 2. a 3-5-2/5-3-2 with say balo and sarge as a very infrequently used wrinkle? sure. but in the same way we dont have the quality in the pool to fill every position (cb, gk in particular), we dont really have the quality of depth to fill out standard, balanced 4-4-2s either.

we have to find a balance between asymmetrical/hybrid chaos and prohibitive drops in quality just filling in blank lineups.

 

Matarazzo almost seems to use a different style of 3 atb than the classic 352

A team:
———————Balogun————————-
—————Pulisic——Reyna——————
————Musah———McKennie————
Jedi——————————————Scally
——McKenzie—Richards—CCV—————

*Dest, Adams out injured.

B team:
———————Sargent—————————
—————Tillman——B. Aaronson————
—————Johnny——-De la Torre————
Paredes—————————————Weah
————Trusty—Walker—Miles—————

Possible replacements:
CB Doesn’t look good…
LB Tolkin, Wiley, Gomez, Bello, Lund, Brown
RB Reynolds, Fossey, Jones
MF Tessmann, Busio, Maloney, Sands, Morris
AT P. Aaronson, Booth, Puktsas, Yow, Cremaschi, Luna
FW Pepi, Wright, Vazquez, Pefok


I guess that could work in theory. But at the same time, that appears super defensive. That’s taking the 6 and adding a CB. And that would require the holding mids to carry the offensive load in the middle of the field. I don’t know. Maybe it could work. I’d have to see it.

 

In my mind, the only US player deserved to be in starting lineup is Puli. One and only. All others have to compete and have to fight.
Puli and Balo as two on the front are very good, even better than Donovan+Dempsey.

 

JAB while only 31, is currently without a club after his contract expired at Hoffenheim. He is currently a free agent.

“With his qualities and his remarkable presence he had an influence on our game from day one,” Hoffenheim’s managing director for sport, Alexander Rosen, said in a statement.

Rosen added that Brooks made a “significant contribution” to Hoffenheim avoiding relegation from the Bundesliga last season and placing seventh this year.

https://apnews.com/article/john-brooks-hoffenheim-11cdaf849679d40aa459ed65e2ae3f8b