But for a cold (or perhaps allergies) I’m still buzzing about having three points in the bag and looking again like a team that can put matches away with the best of them. Even after Toronto pegged one back, we didn’t find ourselves caught out more. No, instead, we buckled down and snagged the win in as stylish a fashion as we have in months.
I’ve speculated about the reasons for our unfortunate run of things, and the reasons, I think, are pretty clear to most: It was a deadly combination of bad form, injuries, international absences — and anything else that could go wrong. But if the worst is past us, let’s address something: What’s our full-strength starting lineup actually look like? We haven’t seen it for eons, and given a few weeks, we might be close to getting that back — less, of course, our talisman, Javier Morales.
At the back, we’re pretty close as is. Bring in Wingert once his hamstring strain subsides, boot out either Russell or Beltran — here’s our first genuine selection dilemma — and the Borlave unit takes the center. And do we have any choice but to pick Nick? Clearly not. One of the best in the MLS certainly — and given the recent run of form by the league’s keepers, he may very well be the least error-prone. He’s had a couple high-profile mistakes in his day, but by and large, he’s the assured presence at the back that keeps the center backs aware and awake.
In the midfield, one Kyle Beckerman will do nicely, serving out defense-splitting long balls with abandon. Will Johnson and Ned Grabavoy with their dual-terrier work-rates fill in the spaces, and we’re left with one glaring spot: The tip of the diamond, the role around which the entire team pivots. Javier Morales made that role his own as an attacking playmaker, but we’ve also seen Andy Williams do well in a space-making role there. For now, I’ll drop our Jamaican in there, but it’s a volatile position with some real turnover.
Up front, the Espindola-Saborio partnership could be a very productive one. With Fabian Espindola’s sideways runs and Saborio’s forward-thinking awareness combined with an active, inspired midfield, we could easily put four or five goals past each team in this league — and that’s not much exaggeration at all.
Our system confounds most tactical minds in the league — our two hard-working midfielders in Johnson and Grabavoy aren’t quite wingers in any traditional sense, but they’re in a similar enough position that they either draw the opposition fullbacks onto them, or the two central midfielders in the 4-4-2 latch onto them. That either gives our fullbacks more room to bomb forward or, because Johnson and Grabavoy are typically wider than most central midfielders, Kyle Beckerman is given loads of space to work in, and that’s a huge benefit to our style.
If one of the opposition midfielders chases Beckerman, we merely sling the ball forward to our front line, who are at this point being loosely marked — the third man, the tip of the diamond, becomes essential here. Espindola bursts wide, drawing out an opposition marker, Saborio moves in the box, and our attacking midfielder (Andy Williams here) is given more space to work in. Alternately, Williams makes a diagonal run, an opposition marker chases him down, and more space opens up. At any rate, the opposition is now dealing with difficult marking, giving any of our players a chance to run off the ball into space and make a play. If it’s the fullbacks unmarked, the opposing markers will drift from their man, opening space. If it’s the central midfielders unmarked, they will snap long shots at goal.
It’s really an elegant system Kreis has crafted. By taking on the dynamics of the 4-4-2 in a diamond formation and melding them with the tactically disruptive 4-3-3, our system allows for goals in dynamic, direct play — all while remaining tight at the back. Really, I’ll draw up diagrams sometime, but it’s clear that we are miles ahead of this league tactically.
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