And yet not everything is rosy in Lucho-Land either. He had 19 assists last year. This year, with nearly half the season gone, he somehow has 0 assists. Womp womp... I think I'd have more assists than that playing with Dallas, when a ball whacks off my nose or something when I'm not looking, and into the path of Peter Musa.
I agree with the formation change being another option but I was simply assuming that the 3-4-3 is here to stay since most will say “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” Hernan is a top 3 player on this team at least and, as much as many Quakes fans would lament me saying at this point in time, the great coaches find a way to get their best players on the field regardless of personal preference or ego. Hernan is too good of a weapon to misuse or not get the best out of so my hope is that Bruce will find a way to integrate him much more and not leave him on the bench all game like last night.
Yeah, my thinking is that the 3-5-2 is a fairly minor tweak to the 3-4-3 we've been playing. When Chicho is back, I don't see Hernán displacing Chicho, Josef, or Espinoza, so if we stick strictly to the 3-4-3, he'd have to be a sub or spot starter, which....isn't great
And he shouldn’t be playing in place of any of them as he is not suited to play as a forward. I would like to see him get a game in place of Harkes as a more dynamic option but he’s going to need to put in a shift defensively there as well.
Yeah, I don't see him in that 6/8 role though in a 2 CM double pivot style center midfield. The system is already weak in the middle defensively. Don't think we can afford to lose much more.
I really like Hernan, though I don't see him fitting into the system Arena wants to play. So if we sell him and turn the cash into a player Arena can use, I wouldn't be upset. If we sit on the cash, that's a whole different story.
If you think about our needs outside the context of a specific formation, CAM is a need. The only other real option is Niko, and I don’t think he’s good enough yet to be a regular starter (and for some reason he’s injured a lot). So I could see Bruce wanting to hang onto him because it gives us technically flexibility. For example teams could flood the central midfield where we have little cover, and then what? But Hernán’s gotta make his case, i.e. play well. I thought he did OK in his last outing. Of course the other possibility is that Bruce exchanges him for say a stud 6, or a more cerebral style CAM like Gil. Those are the 2 scenarios that I can see playing out.
Hernán isn't riding the bench because we don't play with a CAM. It's more that we don't play with a CAM since there isn't anyone who currently plays that position well enough to incorporate it in the formation.
Remember we started the season in a 3-5-2 with Hernán as CAM and Espinoza as the right wingback. Then Hernán got injured in the 2nd game or after the 2nd game, and we tried a 4-3-3 a few times and though I think we lost those games, we were generating tons of chances. I think that got Bruce thinking that it Espinoza should play up top and not be saddled with wingback defensive responsibilities. When we got DeJuan Jones, Bruce chose to play him at right wingback and that's when we went to the 3-4-3. Since then we've been playing well and I don't think Bruce wants to mess with a good thing. We could go back to the 3-5-2 any time but the only reasonable way to do it is to bring Espinoza back to RWB and move Jones to LWB. That would be a very good lineup for us too, and Bruce may go back to it, either regularly or occasionally, depending on game state and opponent. There isn't much difference between the 3-5-2 and the 3-4-3. Both are 3 CB formations with wingbacks. You're just pulling out a forward to move into CAM. I think it all depends on how well Hernán does from here on out (as long as he's still with the team) and how much he convinces Bruces that he should be starting.
Or you could try Hernán again on the left side of attack like against Houston, but it might work better if he plays narrower so more of a 3-4-2-1 than a 3-4-3. This might work better if DeJuan moves to his preferred left side since he is more flexible than Vitor in terms of either playing wide or tucked inside, i.e. adaptable to Hernán's freelancing. I'm intrigued by the idea of giving Benji more PT at RWB too, the aggregate attacking acumen on the pitch would be staggering.
Hernán on the left is OK too (how could it not be better than Pellegrino?) but when Chicho comes back that’s been his spot in the 3-4-3 when Josef is also healthy. So it would only be stopgap unless Hernán’s just a sub there, but that’s also where Bouda subs in. Benji on the right and DJJ on the left is fine too. It winds up being Benji for Costa, and also bolsters our attack from the left. DJD is a righty so he can cut in and shoot, something Costa doesn’t normally do because his right foot is almost non-existent. Benji is also good in the air, so could be a far post target for DJJ.
I think priorities for the team should start with getting Pelle, Costa, Harkes and Romney onto the bench. If Benji and Hernan can help with that (neither have shown their ready yet imo) then that would be great. Getting Harkes to the bench is the harder part as we likely need a summer signing but I would be ok with some experimentation with Rodrigues or Roberts. I hope we can move Romney to the bench after Wilson gets back to form (I'd leave Munie in the middle and move Wilson to the left).
Pelle is already on the bench. Harkes has been playing well of late and has developed familiarity with Leroux, I'm less inclined to bench him at this point as Hernan has shown zero/nada/nilch since his return. Romney has been solid and is better in the attach than Wilson. However, I would be fine with rotating. Munie has won his spot. Benji needs more time and I'm not sure that he will be far enough this year to replace Costa (or move Jones and have Benji start).
Yeah, the interesting thing will be what happens when Wilson comes back. Munie's been playing really well in the center. Do you move Munie to the right and bench Floriani and Rodrigues? Maybe. Give the center CB to Munie and just keep Wilson around as depth / spot starter until his contract expires (probably end of this year)? I think I'd probably do the latter. We don't need to continue to pay guys $1.1M to play CB when they are really no better than our young cheap guys, and they are often injured. Sign a quality CDM with the money saved (next year or whenever).
I think Wilson is the back up central CB now...Munie has played too well to get moved out for a guy like Wilson. Munie is by far our best CB right now....he's really really good...imo, lock center CB starter...hopefully for many many years. RE: flopping Jones to the left side...only if Benji really improves at RWB. And Imo, it would be ridiculous to move Espinoza back to RWB...for what?! to make room for Hernan, if Chicho is healthy...no way. I'd prefer to play Hernan exclusively up top, even if he has to rotate in, but even then, he drops pretty deep to get more touches on the ball...and him dropping deep has never looked great...actually it was at point before he got injured that I thought Bruce had seen enough. what's pretty cool is we have a lot of potential flexibility in Floriani and Roberts, both quality players, with imo, the ability to slot into different positions of need, possibly as dmid in a 3-5-2. Floriani had that role when he subbed in and looked pretty good. I think bruce will fast track them with more minutes. Our defensive shape from midfield to the back line should be our primary focus. Sounds harsh, but I don't think Hernan is critical at all to our attack...When healthy I like Martinez, Chicho and Espinoza up top...just me, but I rather see Judd or Bouda as first forward sub then throw Hernan in there late...but there again, he isn't looking to stay high...Bouda and Judd with their speed and direct play really put pressure on the opposing D.
Munie emerging as a dynamic libero does make the outlook for Wilson a bit awkward, but assuming he stays healthy and ready to go it's not a bad problem to have. Along with Romney we have 3 guys who can potentially do a decent job in the central orchestrating the 3 man back line. The likelihood of Wilson's 2026 option getting picked up is kinda questionable though. Would he have any trade value this summer? The problem with Hernán is that you never know what you're gonna get. If he's on his sh*t in a particular game, he can create opportunities out of nothing - but he is just as likely to screw up the team with bad decision making. The positional fit isn't really concerning to me, you can always slot him in as a shadow striker / left winger in a 3-4-2-1 / 3-4-3 and it should basically work, it's not like he's lacking the pace or willingness to press. He just needs to trust his teammates to find him in his most impactful spots and play solid positional defense behind him, instead of trying high-risk / low-upside plays which were kind of excused last year. I can understand why his big ticket overseas transfer move was to the San Jose Earthquakes rather than a club with a more serious reputation.
Positional fit is only a problem because we are at this point it seems committed to 3 CB’s, 2 wingbacks system, and if we’re gonna play a front 3 whether it’s a 1-2 or 3 or 2-1, if we’re gonna include Josef, Chicho, and Espinoza there, there’s no spot for Hernán. And he’s not gonna play as one of the 2 double pivot CM’s. Hernán was a good young attacking player in Argentina. He wouldn’t just be a target of “unserious reputation” clubs. Godoy Cruz was looking to make him a permanent transfer after he helped lead them to a top of the table finish. We probably overpaid, maybe significantly so, but that’s how we got him. Reportedly Estudiantes and Velez were interested in acquiring him during this offseason. https://totalfootballanalysis.com/a...inents-most-creative-young-players-using-data
From German Garcia Grova on X: Argentinos Juniors abrió negociaciones por Hernán López Muñoz. Busca un préstamo con cargo alto y opción de compra. San Jose Earthquakes también tiene propuestas por el zurdo y evalúa su futuro. Se define en los próximos días. Argentinos Juniors have opened negotiations for Hernán López Muñoz. They are seeking a loan with a high fee and a buyout option. The San Jose Earthquakes also have offers for the left-footer and are evaluating his future. The decision will be made in the coming days.