Have we all had a nice break? Yes? Well, good. Somehow, despite all the movement around the MLS so far, we've managed to really stay out of the fray, and perhaps it's for the best. What's that they say about calm before the storm? Right, well, something like that.
Let's briefly go about recalling where we'll need reinforcements, shall we? We need at least one, preferably two, full backs that can challenge for first-team spots. Tony Beltran and Chris Wingert, good as they are, aren't made of steel or that rare metal Wolverine's claws were made from (though I doubt they'd move very well if they were, so perhaps it's for the best) and they will undoubtedly at some point miss some time. In the middle, we'll need to bring in some crew members there. If we manage to keep Yordany Alvarez (this remains to be seen, though I'm hopeful) I do think we'll be quite good at our deep-lying playmaker-or-maybe-anchor-man-depending-on-the-situation spot.
I did have a thought recently: I think Kyle Beckerman, if needed, could play in one of the two box-to-box spots in front of his typical position. He may not have huge amounts of pace, but in a high-up-the-pitch pressing game, we could move him a bit more forward and slot Yordany in there. Alternately, I'm sure Yordany could play in one of those two spots as well. Really, I'm just wondering if he'll be interested in coming and largely sitting on the bench when Kyle is fit — or if we'll make an adjustment to fit him in there occasionally.
Right, that got me a bit off track, so let's go on: We've lost several midfield players and we'll need to re-up our count. Up front, we're actually quite solid, I think. Espindola and Saborio take the starting spots, while Agorsor, Arnoux and Paulo Jr. (we did keep the boy, right?) can decide amongst themselves who can be the best impact player, and who can deputize when needed. I suppose we'll actually see that at the beginning of the season, as Saborio is set to miss a little bit of time after surgery.
Right, so, more tomorrow — and I think we'll have the full MLS schedule by then, so perhaps some analysis (or, you know, rambling about it) will be in order. But for now, let's just revel in the brilliance of being back to things a bit.
Come on you Claret and Cobalt!
Comments