Just curious as to what people think the starting 11 would be if everyone we have on the roster is healthy and available.. This is what I would do, not necessarily what Hudson would do.... 3-5-2 formation: ------------------- Rimando --------------------- Prideaux ------------ Pope ------------ Nelsen -------------------- McKinley -------------------- Olsen --------- Etch ------- Convey ------- Reyes --------------- Quaranta ---- Moreno ------------ 4-4-2: -------------------- Rimando -------------------- Reyes ------- Pope ------ Nelsen -------- Prideaux Olsen ---------- McKinley -- Etch ------- Convey ------------- Moreno ------- Quaranta ----------- Subs: Q2 Villegas Curtis Williams McGinty
I like your 3-5-2 with Reyes and Olsen pushing forward. What speed we lose on defense with Reyes forward, we would make up in additional offense being generated. Anything to shake out the lethargy.
Your formations don't change what is on the field at all since Reyes plays up and down the whole flank anyway. MF/D he don't care. which is a great thing.
I was wondering about the same thing, Chris. Here's my lineup without looking at yours. It's a 352: -----------------------Rimando Pope------------------Nelsen---------------Prideaux ---------------Reyes--------------Mckinley Olsen-----------------------------------------Convey ----------------------Etcheverry -------------Moreno-------------Quaranta subs: Q2 Wee One After that it makes no difference. Let's see what we have in common, shall we? -No Richie Williams in the starting lineups! Are you figuring that his lack of offense is too great a burden for this team? -I don't think a 442 is a good formation for this team, though it could get by. Prideaux at left back in a 442 is worse offensively than Williams is IMHO. The other option, Mckinley at left back is a bigger hole defensively. On the plus side, Reyes could create some mean mojo with Olsen on the right. Those two would dominate any other team's left side I think. -Still I think the 352 is the way to go with this team. The hard part is choosing who to put in the middle vs the wing: Reyes or Convey? I chose to put Convey on the side and Reyes in the middle because I think Convey and Olsen could develop great understanding with each other and could flip-flop with ease confusing opponents. Those two could also be free to pinch in to the middle thereby letting Convey get away from the left touchine frequently. I put Reyes at d-mid since he's a good defender and also because this will give him the chance to read the game and go forward up the middle or two sides depending on the situation. I also think Reyes and Mckinley could develop a good rapport too about who's going forward and who's covering. However I can also see Convey in the middle and Reyes on the wing. -As for subs, I think we only have two decent ones: Williams and Quintinilla. Everyone else is just taking up roster space and only The Cartographer has much opf a future.
===========Rimando ===========McKinley =======Pope-Nelsen-Reyes Quintanilla-Etcheverry-Olsen-Convey ========Moreno-Quaranta Subs-Lassiter Williams Curtis Prideaux
I like what Chris and Skip put out there and with Reyes it seems it does not matter if you call him a midfielder or a defender. he plays the whole field for 90 minutes. BTW, he is fast!!!
352 I like both Cweedchop and Ursula's 352. I'm a bigger fan of Richie Williams than most on this board though. Here would be my lineups: ------------------Rimando-------------------- -------Pope------Nelsen-----Prideaux--------- -----------------Williams--------------Reyes-- Olsen------------------------Convey---------- ------------------Etch------------------------ --------Santino--------------Moreno---------- I really like McKinley's distribution, but I cannot see him marking most attacking mids in MLS without either Williams or Reyes in central midfield defense as cover. Nowak, Mathis, Ekelund, Vaca/Pareja, and others would just blow by him and be on top of Nelsen--who is not the fastest of our backs. Or, here's another idea: -----------------Rimando--------------------- --------Pope----Nelsen----Prideaux----------- Olsen----------Reyes--McKinley-------Convey -----------------Etch------------------------ Santino---------------------Moreno---------- Either Reyes plays centrally, or Williams is on the pitch, those are the options. But I like the options now that we have some healthy stars. -Tron
At meet the team day, I suggested switching Reyes and WIlliams to Ray. His response was that he felt Reyes would get bottled up, and not be as productive as he is now. I replied that I felt Richie plays the ball back way too much, and Reyes is much more offense oriented. I also told Ray that I felt Reyes could prove to be a follow me men! kind of leader for the club in the future. Ray didnt blow me off, but he didnt shout Eureka!!!!!! either. Mark
RMDad is DaMan! Great, thanks for mentioning it to him! I agree that we could get a lot better offensive opportunities if we moved Reyes into Dmid. He has the speed to cover a lot of ground and recover if Nelsen gets beaten. In addition, he can make the simple dribble to either side where Convey or Olsen could receive the pass and initiate a give and go. This should fly the ball through our midfield from defense to offense and FINALLY give our forwards some very very open opportunities in space, rather than having to beat a very compact back line of several layers of players. Kudos to you RMDad! -Tron
Very many kudos to you sir, for speaking your mind. Personally, I feel that after some observation, Reyes is the type of player that could thrive in just about any midfield or defensive position, barring a strictly offensive midfield position. IMHO, he is probably our most versatile player at the moment. In fact, he is our most important acquisition in the last 2, perhaps 3 seasons. Reyes is, IMHO, a franchise player.
Regardless of whether he cried Eureka, he finally did take our advice. Perhaps your words started him thinking. Now he is playing Reyes in midfield, and our defense has become dominant. Great job speaking your mind RMDad! -Tron
Cheers, Tron. Lets see how Ray plays it tomorrow. Hopefully, the lads will have a great game tomorrow. Wherever Reyes is, he is certainly an energetic, committed force for the team. Mark