Observations from Matchweek 8.

by ArchLobster on May 11, 2011 11:46 AM CDT

There's something that I was thinking about while watching the DCU game that I hadn't thought about before: For the first time since last year I looked at our offense and thought "Man, I just don't think we can score."

That's rare. Last year I had faith in our attacking lineup. I thought that Rodriguez had good positioning, that Shea had a great first touch and poise on the ball and that Ferreira and McCarty could combine to give nightmares to any defensive unit. It goes without saying that all of that is moot so far. Ferreira and McCarty are out, Shea has played little time at left mid (a damn crime) and Rodriguez has been almost invisible.

Avi, Ferreira's replacement, was as invisible as Rodriguez in that DC game. It might be the lack of help from Jacobson who is amazing as a defensive mid or holding mid, but he isn't much for threading passes together and splitting centerbacks like McCarty was. Avila's productivity seems to be hurt most by his lack of challenging defenders. Avila just doesn't seem comfortable going one on one with defenders and attempting to break them down into making mistakes. He makes great runs with the ball into the box, especially if it's a finesse thing, but he's small, not very fast, and lacking in physical toughness. He gets knocked off the ball fairly easily and that's what's hurting him more than anything, and that was a big hallmark of El Torito's productive run with us. You just couldn't knock Ferreira off the damn ball.

I have hopes for Castillo being up top with Shea and Chavez as flank support. The outside presence of those two combined with his penetrating dribbles and runs gives me great hope, but until our lineup solidifies we're hurting.

I'll end this with the thought that perhaps the thing that has hurt us the most is our lack of consistency in the lineup. I don't like the idea of MIlton starting anymore because of how little energy he brings to the table. He's positionally very sound and is a great finisher (usually) but he's slower and doesn't seem to want to cut through defenders either, much like Avi. That's where Shea, Castillo and Marvin excel, and that's where Avi and MIlton are hurting.

Thoughts?

(it occured to me this post is all over the place, but I wrote it on my break and had 15 minutes to do so so bear with me)

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by Daniel Robertson on May 11, 2011 11:48 AM CDT reply actions

I didn’t know we could do this!! Good stuff, Archlobster. Everytime I read your username i think of the B52s and Rock Lobster…….that’s a good thing.

I think we are seeing the limitations of 4-1-4-1 without Ferriera to run the show. The attack is less dangerous because there isn’t that engine in the middle that is so adept at going from holding to attacking in a split second. That kind of instaneous change in flow takes many MLS defenses by suprise and they just can’t handle it. Absent that, the FCD attack is being exposed as static.

In my opinion (which is basically worthless) the best way to combat this would be to overload oppossing defenses with bodies in the attack…and that means going with a 4-4-2 where the outside midfielders play up high and the outside backs regularly join the attack. This puts A LOT of pressure on your backline and your D-mid. It also requires an extremely high work rate from the Central Midfielder….ie whoever plays alongside Hernandez….because that guy has to be involved in everything.

There is a lot of noise about the team going to a 4-4-2, and I think this is a logical reaction to the last few performances. Put Castillo up top with Milton, play Brek and Chavez up high in attacking roles, tell Jacobsen that he needs to move up with the ball and if he can’t handle the work rate then he will be replaced by Alexander. See how that works. It will, at the very least, create a lot more scoring chances…..how it effects the team’s ability to defend and possess is a different story.

by texg8r on May 11, 2011 12:27 PM CDT reply actions