It’s a sunny Thursday and only two days until the match, and what am I doing? I’m inside, writing this post. No mind, it’s a bit hot anyway, and I was never likely to go out. I’ll address a few things today then leave you to it. The first, and perhaps the most pressing, is whether we stand a chance with even our best possible lineup on Saturday. I’ll probably ramble about some other things, then I’ll address one of my favorite topics: youth development. Right, on with it.
I’ve already gone over what players will be missing on Saturday, but perhaps it would be prudent to go over what players will be eligible to play for the squad against Philadelphia. At the back, we should be relatively unchanged, less the absence of Nat Borchers, who I hope is taking this time to rest mentally and prepare himself for the rest of the season. It’ll probably look something like:
Rimando
Russell - Olave - Schuler - Beltran
though we may well see Blake Wagner start on the left so we have Russell’s defensive cover on the bench. There’s even a slight possibility that he’ll move up to midfield, though I reckon that’s a long shot at best. In the middle, we’ll thankfully have Kyle Beckerman, and we may even have Ned Grabavoy back from injury, so it could look something like:
Beckerman - Grabavoy - Williams - Gil
but again, that’s somewhat dependent on Ned’s state. Up front, we’ll have no Saborio, so I’d expect Paulo Jr. to be handed a start for the first time in an age or two, and I’d also expect Fabian Espindola to play a role:
Espindola - Paulo Jr.
You know, that’s not so bad a side, and I fancy our chances if they can make it 90 minutes. Who’ll we have on the bench, though?
Melia, McKenzie, Wagner, Warner, Toia, Arnoux
But as you see, that’s only six. If I’ve missed somebody obvious, give me a reaming. It’ll be at the very least an interesting match, and to be honest, it’s not a terrible bench. Any of these players I’d be comfortable with on the pitch, so that’s something, right?
Is There in Youth No Beauty?
In a recent interview with MLSSoccer.com, our kind overlord Garth Lagerwey (that’s his title, right?) discussed the long-term strategy of youth development and how that fits in with the Real Salt Lake and MLS models. I’m impressed and pleased — and not a bit surprised — that they’re going this route, especially as we’re in possession of one of the premier residential academies in the U.S. and are already developing prospects through that system.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/09/01/rsl-focused-youth-development-despite-dp-initiatives
Given the financial restrictions that come with being perhaps the smallest market currently in the MLS, it’s common sense that we’d not be seeking out designated players to make our system work. Our sole DP, Alvaro Saborio, is a DP in name only, as he’s paid under the salary cap allowance for that slot — it was, of course, the transfer fee that put him in that position. But could we afford somebody like a Thierry Henry or a (shudder) Robbie Keane? Not if we were to maintain a squad balance. I’m sure we could sack some of our best players and afford a high-profile DP, but that’d be no more than a bad joke.
I do very much look forward to a day when our academy developments are playing at the top level for us, and painfully, I hope they’re able to make the jump to the “big leagues.” We’ll definitely lose top players if we bring them in young, but there should be benefits from even that, ranging from financial windfalls to that extra bit of respect garnered worldwide.
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