We're set to regain several strikers in a few short weeks at most, and one person has a lot of work he needs to do to prove he deserves a spot in the starting XI: Jean Alexandre. The boy's taken some real stick from supporters at times, some justified and some not, but he's come into the side and performed reasonably well.
He has, a few times, rescued points for us, and that contribution won't go unnoticed by Kreis. But when we're full strength, and we have Alvarez and Saborio back, and Aghasyan starts firing on all cylinders, it's hard to see where Jean Alexandre fits in. He's not exactly a natural forward, and his performances in midfield have been largely lackluster. Maybe this forward role is one he's better suited to — or maybe, and I hope so, this confidence from Kreis so far will give him a confidence boost, and he can get about a midfield role.
He's proved his work rate can be top notch, so I do think it's only a matter of time until he sees regular minutes in the midfield, but he's largely unproven in the role. In our diamond midfield, it's hard to say where exactly to play him, too — and that may be a bit of a problem. I'm not entirely sure a player like Jean Alexandre fits concisely into our midfield setup.
His performance tonight against D.C. United will be an important one for his future at the club.
News Roundup:
D.C. United are hit a bit by injuries, so they're bringing a necessarily weakened squad to Utah.
Nick Rimando on the Bill and Spence show on ESPN700
James Edward of the Des News thinks RSL's offensive creativity is suffering without Javi. That's pretty obvious, though, isn't it?
Another "Fortress" video — watch it before the match or, like me, be patient. Honestly, I don't care that much, but if it gets people moving and riled up, I'm all for it.
Michael Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune (@rsltrib) wonders if Luis Gil will be starting tonight against D.C.
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