The diamond with dual box-to-box midfielders — if it was ever really a thing — is dead. Long live it, and whatnot, right?
Let's step back. It's not really dead, is it? I hinted that I thought it was in Saturday's match report, and to an extent, I think there's some truth to that. But saying it's dead is rather unlike what's happened, which is that it's been upgraded — significantly so.
Consider the following: Of the players this season to play in the most attacking role in the midfield, all but one of them has played in another spot in the midfield. Who would that be? Oh, none other than Javier Morales. This isn't too surprising, as that's his spot, and he's quite rightly won it through hard work on and off the pitch.
The players to feature in that spot have been, if memory serves: Javier Morales (as above,) Luis Gil, Ned Grabavoy, and Jonny Steele (who has been there only late in matches.) We can argue with varying results the ability those four showed there, and who we prefer to see where. This isn't shocking.
Three of those four have featured more specifically at the right-sided central midfield spot. Now, I'm not going to argue that this is asymmetrical in nature; it's more that Will Johnson has been nearly ever-present, less the first few weeks of the season, and he's filling a different role. But we'll get to that. First, let's talk about roles.
There are, to my mind, four distinct roles in the midfield at current:
- The deep-lying playmaker. This somewhat developed in the middle doldrums of last season, when, without Javier Morales, we were found to be lacking in real creativity. This spot isn't just a defensive one: The player must get forward on occasion, switching spots with the box-to-box player at times, and at others bursting forward to support the attack from the areas outside the box. First choice: Kyle Beckerman.
- The box-to-box midfielder. This player is responsible for covering defensively when the deep-lying playmaker gets forward, patrolling throughout the midfield. They must be capable in the tackle and have a good positional awareness, as this is one of the primary ways in which we will stop a counterattack from starting. First choice: Will Johnson.
- The supporting midfielder. This player is, to my mind, one of the most underrated on the pitch. When done correctly, you don't realize anything's happened at all — most of the time. But the supporting midfielder is there to support the attack — to link play from the two deeper midfield spots into the attacking playmaker and the strikers. They're not too critically involved in defensive work, with off-the-ball pressure being the big thing when the deep-lying playmaker and box-to-box player form a two-man wall in front of the defense.
- The attacking playmaker. This is a position we know well. This spot, our key to unlocking difficult defenses, such is the necessitated ability, is often the difference between one and three points. An ability to dribble in tight spots and unleash passes others don't anticipate is vital. First choice: Who else? Javier Morales.
I could well be wrong about all this, but we've seen, I think, a concerted effort from the midfield to approach this idea. It provides us with additional attacking cover, particularly when our fullbacks get forward, and it allows us to utilize more fully the attacking prowess of someone like Kyle Beckerman. There have been some lapses associated with it, as we've seen through the season. At times, it just hasn't been there. But recently — wins over Colorado, Vancouver, Portland and Chivas come to mind — we've seen that there's a lot of life in this midfield, and when they get it right, they really get it right.
Right, then. 'Til tomorrow, when there'll be a match preview and all that nonsense as we march forward on our quest to become CONCACAF champions.
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