With the match against the Fire impending (and with it the glorious return of one Javier Morales), I thought it might be apt to discuss a bit what our strongest lineup might look like — particularly as we may be playing something very close to it. I'll try to not make this yet another in-season review, but rather just a short discussion of our positional options with an eye toward tactical decisions.
The goalkeeping slot sort of writes itself. Perhaps Nick Rimando has some genuine competition in Kyle Reynish and Tim Melia, but he's been a stellar performer for our side, a fan favorite, and part of the public personality of Real Salt Lake. I'd like to see him stick out the rest of his career for our side, and I think he proves a very interesting case study about the viability of short goalkeepers. Perhaps I will write about that at some point once the season ends.
The center back pairing, too, writes itself: The Magnificent Borlave! Nat Borchers and Jamison Olave form a pair that relies on understanding and tactical nous, and we've seen how well it works. Olave charges, Borchers stands off, and we cut out nearly every dangerous situation coming our way. While injury and suspension has hampered our ability to play both at times, we've discovered capable backup in the form of Chris Schuler, who started the season with a whimper but has been looking to end it with a bit of a bang. You know, a good bang, not those bad "oh, dammit, what broke?" bangs.
On either side of Borlave comes our first selection dilemma, as we have three capable full backs in Robbie Russell, Tony Beltran, and Chris Wingert. Russell may not be getting any younger, but he's still quite capable, and he has a good understanding and a mean right foot. Tony Beltran is young, full of promise and tactically strong, but perhaps more importantly, he has made himself an important part of our offensive possession play. Chris Wingert has been good on the left, and like Beltran, plays an important possession role — and his last-ditch clearances and tackles have been immense. On any given match day, I'd opt for Wingert on the left and Beltran on the right, but that we have three battling for two positions can only be a good thing.
In the deep-lying playmaker spot (or, rather, what has become a deep-lying playmaker spot through the hard work of the man who's made it his own), we've got Kyle Beckerman, our dreadlocked captain and one of the hardest working players to have suited up in the Claret and Cobalt. He's added to his game this year, and with the absence of Javier Morales, it's hard to imagine anybody else starting there. Still, we saw Yordany Alvarez there, and he looked awfully impressive — now, I don't imagine Jason Kreis will drop Kyle, but we could see a tactical shift to accommodate both if we do sign the promising young boy from Orlando City. I'd envision something of a double-pivot system where Kyle or Yordany would be further forward, one utility spot, and a playmaker — that's something for another post, though.
Ahead of the defensive midfield spot, we have the two utility midfield positions, and this is where we have some genuine questions, though I think they're answered rather easily. The positions, ideally, are rather safe in possession and effective in the pass, but one of the two should be slightly more attacking oriented and capable of laying on through balls and long passes.
Our best partnership this season has been that of Ned Grabavoy and Will Johnson, who have developed it seems a keen understanding in the midfield. Andy Williams, until perhaps a month ago, wouldn't have been a consideration in this spot, but he's showed defensive solidity that makes him a very good third option. The others we've tried in those positions haven't always impressed for various reasons: Nelson Gonzalez wasn't quite ready (and suffered a season-ending injury), Collen Warner has been more suited for the more attacking position, and Arturo Alvarez hasn't been a solution in any position we've put him in.
In the attacking midfield slot, it might be unfair to a certain Luis Gil to name Javier Morales our best option there, as while it's true, it isn't until now that he's been an option at all. I'll discuss, then, what our options have been this season (from May forward), but keep in mind that our best option is now coming back. It's fascinating, then, that we can call our best option the 17-year-old Luis Gil. He's displayed play that belies his years, his passing has been effective, and he's scored the odd goal. Now, he's not been faced with too much competition for the spot, as Arturo Alvarez simply can't play there, Collen Warner is not particularly adventurous there, and, well, there's not been much other option. Keep in mind, also, that Luis has also played in the striker position usually filled by Fabian Espindola, and you'll see that he's a player who has been absolutely essential to our chances this season. That's a lot of weight for a youngster, but I'm sure he's capable of handling it.
Up front, our first-choice pairing is reasonably obvious: Fabian Espindola and Alvaro Saborio, with Espindola in the roaming spot and Saborio in the more static spot. They've developed a good understanding that plays to both their strengths, and when we've had both of them fit, we've been hard to stop. Both of them have volatile attitudes, so that they've worked well together is sometimes quite remarkable. In reserve, we have some great options, with Paulo Jr. for Fabian Espindola being the biggest and most obvious choice now that he is fit. Jean Alexandre hasn't been a revelation in the Saborio spot, but we've seen a glimpse of Cody Arnoux there, and we have Chris Agorsor who can likely play in either spot as well. That we haven't seen Arnoux is perhaps down to injury and Agorsor is certainly down to it. The tale of our season, I suppose.
Right, I said this would be a short one, but clearly, that's not been the case. Check back tomorrow for more of a match preview. Come on you Claret and Cobalt!
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