I don't believe Clarke would've named Kreis as the captain without projecting him into a major role on the club once he returned from injury. Presumably, he expected to slot in Kreis with Nlecko on the frontline. Howeve,r after the performance against Chicago I think Clarke will be hard pressed to break up the Nhlecko/Johnson tandem. So, are there other options for Kreis? For instance, moving Davis back to the left-side, in place of the struggling Quill, and pulling Kreis down into central midfield where he can act as a playmaker? Or does Clarke simply sit down with Kreis and ask him to play a secondary role while remaining a good influence in the locker room?
One or two games, man... if Kreis is out a couple more weeks and Eddie and Toni keep this up then we can talk.
Why not just do the logical thing and start by bringing Kreis in as a sub? He is coming back from injury after all. What a luxury it is not to have to rush him back as soon as humanly possible. If Eddie and Toni keep pairing well together, Kreis will have to work his way back into the lineup just like any other player. Right now, Kreis would have to be 4th on the forward depth chart given Rhine's white hot start. I think Kreis will be lethal coming in at around 70' against tired defenders and will most likely work his way back into the starting lineup. But I think that under Clarke he will have to earn it. But no way does Kreis ever go into the midfield. We've been down that road before and it simply does not work. Besides, the midfield is not broke so don't fix it.