The Black and Gold Standard has a game report from the three scrimmages the Crew played today against the United States U-17 National Team. The Crew dominated, as expected, with 8 goals over 105 minutes.
It’s still very early in preseason, but I found the the lineups very interesting. Herrera slotted into the first eleven immediately into the first group. Setting up a goal and scoring one himself. Jed Zayner’s recap is confirming my suspicions that the Colombian may be a poacher rather than a bruising back to the goal target forward. This has big ramifications on how the team will operate on the offensive end.
On that note, it’s also interesting that Gaven, Rogers, and Ekpo all played in the midfield with Gaven and Moffat the central midfield I assume. That is a very offensive midfield; one that can probably spring out in a counterattack and keep possession, especially against an overwhelmed opponent.
On the other end of the spectrum, we get a look at the players that may be on the bubble. Dike and Garey were the last forwards to get a look. Grendi and Elenio are getting a chance to prove their versatility and worth by playing fullback. Burns and Oughton worked with the trialists in the final game as well. These are some of the players I would think would be on the bubble.
The Crew landed one of their top priorities of the offseason today as they landed Colombian forward Sergio Herrera. He arrives on a free transfer from Colombian side Deportivo Cali and enters a crowded forward situation with four other signed players vying for playing time.
I know only what I have read about Herrera; with Bliss saying:
"He’s doesn’t have the speed of Jeff Cunningham when Jeff was 28 or 29, but he’s not Conor Casey, either. He’s got an ability to get separation in the box, some good soccer sense and positioning, and he is clean when he strikes a ball.
And looking a bit at his YouTube highlights:
It seems as if he is a bit of a “fox in the box” poaching forward. He may be the replacement for Alejandro Moreno, but they appear to be different types of players. Moreno was the linking target man. Herrera seems to be a true goal scorer. He might actually be a better fit to be paired with Schelotto. Schelotto is a craft vet that can find a player in goal scoring position. Herrera gets into goal scoring position with 33 goals in 93 games with Cali.
As promising as this signing is, I still have some reservations. Herrera has some injury issues, suffering a major injury in 2007. Cali had enough injury concerns not to resign him. Additionally, there is always concerns about how a player settles when he moves away from his home country. The Crew does have plenty of Spanish speakers, but only the recently arrived Emilio Renteria is from northern South America.
Overall, the deal is a shrewd one. The announced terms are for one year and three club options years after that. He is a veteran forward who has played for his national team. This isn’t a signing with upside. This is a signing that is expected to make a difference this year. Overall a good piece of business by Bliss, Warzycha, and the front office to add a veteran striker to an already strong team without breaking the budget.
There have been several stories recently about the Crew looking for a scorer. Craig Merz was first last week recalling a bit of 2009’s struggles and how preseason is an effort to hone a previously inconsistent offense. Mitchell followed by noting that Coach Warzycha is still looking to find the right mix of players to spark a consistent offense. Now Mitchell is reporting that the Crew have an offer out to a foreign striker. Will this international striker solve the team’s offensive worries, perhaps, but I remain skeptical. I see the problem lying elsewhere.
The dangerous balanced attack of 2008, sputtered in 2009. The Crew struggled without the aerial prowess of Chad Marshall and inconsistent performances from Ale Moreno and Robbie Rogers. The 2009 team only scored 41 goals, compared to 50 in the MLS Cup winning year. Some of the drop can be attributed to schedule congestion and the forced lineup juggling, but I also think that Warzycha’s tactical shift towards a 4-4-2 also contributed to a one dimensional offense that proved easier to stop.
The revolving door in central midfield last year handicapped the Crew offense. Without linking play from the center and with Schelotto pushed up higher as more of a striker rather than a trequarista who can control the offense, the wings became far more important. The ball was often pushed outside to Gaven or Rogers by the backs in an effort to break out. Without much support in the middle, the only option would be to swing in a cross.
I would love to see the more balanced and flexible attack of 2008, but that is predicated on getting some possession from the midfield. Brian Carroll is an outstanding defensive midfielder who can connect the occasional pass, but he needs to be pared with player who is looking to make an offensive move.
The Crew tried Ekpo, Gaven, Burns, and O’Rourke to varying effect. With Schelotto playing higher, that midfield creator has to be a much better passer than Brad Evans was in 2008. Eddie Gaven could be that player, but he is valuable at right wing as well. O’Rourke is far too defensive minded, Burns and Moffat didn’t look like they could connect a series of passes together.
Without new personnel in the midfield, the Crew could try narrowing the field. It’s not a recreation of the magical 2008 offense, but it does provide flexibly. Tucking Rogers and Gaven in towards the middle would shorten the distance to connect passes and cover for the lack of inventiveness centrally.
This would free Schelotto to float to the sidelines in effort to find space and would allow for different points of attack. Schelotto picking out targets, Rogers and Gaven pushing up more centrally with freedom to move wide, overlapping runs from Padula and Hejduk, it certainly creates a distributed attack.
Take the above with a grain of salt. I am sure I have forgotten or overlooked something basic a gaping hole on defense perhaps, but I can certainly imagine the finer points of this offense being hard to contain. It’s an attack can change rapidly and doesn’t rely on a couple weak points. On the other hand, Coach Warzycha has decades of soccer experience and has a vision of what the 2010 will look like. For it’s faults, the 2009 Crew did win the Supporters Shield. I think he can safely ignore a back seat tactician.
And someone besides Mitchell shows up. Matt Bernhard of the Examiner got the inside scoop from yesterday’s first training session and even got an interview with Bright Dike. Thanks to Mr. Bernhard, I get a nice little picture of Day 1 of the 2010 Crew.
Of note, the Crew has brought in a few trialists in an effort to improve the team. It sounds like the team is still trying to shore up it’s two biggest weaknesses from last season, striker and central midfield. Midfielders Yevgen Bredun and Hugo Acosta only cost a plane ticket and room and board. It’s a cheap price for the Crew to possibly solve it’s central midfield problem. It’s also interesting to hear that there are a couple Discovery tagged strikers joining the team in Florida.
On another note, is interesting to hear that the staff is still looking to shuffle the team up a bit. There are some trialists in, but it also sounds like Warzycha is trying to shake up some of the complacency. I actually like what he is doing. The 2010 Crew looks a lot like a championship contender without any additions, but this is the third year with essentially the same team. A level of fatigue sets in; bringing in some competition will help sharpen everybody.
I have been keeping an eye on the annual January U.S. National Team camp. The Crew had three of the 30 players originally called into camp. Chad Marshall, Robbie Rogers, and Eddie Gaven all had a chance to impress Bob Bradley six months before the World Cup. Over three weeks of work and preparation may have landed Marshall and Rogers into the starting lineup but a 3-1 friendly defeat to Honduras certainly didn’t allow anyone to distinguish themselves.
With Frankie Hejduk looking very much like a player losing a step, Chad Marshall has taken the title of Crew player most likely to get a free trip to the World Cup. He got another start, paired with veteran Jimmy Conrad. If Marshall looked good, it was only in relation to Conrad. The ref, obviously trying to get his own World Cup call up, dished out two yellow cards to Conrad for lazy shirt grabs in the first 17 minutes.
Marshall was left to be the only stabilizing force in the center of defense. Left back Jonathan Bornstein covered for the missing Conrad, but also had to back up the deputized left back in Rogers. A makeshift defense like that was bound to be pulled all over the field and they were, but Marshall looked slow, unsure, essentially flat footed, he may have been rattled with the red card, but cards happen in the World Cup.
Rogers never got many chances to show his offensive potential. Rogers again showed that he isn’t a threat that forces the defense to adjust and focus on him. Initially, he played tucked in with Bornstein overlapping. It really didn’t suit his game. His shift to left back after Conrad’s repeated mental lapses were even less suited to his skill set.
Rogers would try to spring the attack from deep, but he looked timid attacking players one on one. He also refused to cut inside, rather deciding to take the ball towards the end line and fire in a cross in a vague attempt to threaten the Honduras defense. His one lone highlight was his right footed rocket shot early in the 2nd half from 30 yards out that rang off the post.
The final Crew standard bearer couldn’t make the 18. Eddie Gaven’s national team career is probably dead at this point. I always have a vague sense of disappointment when I watch Eddie Gaven play. He will show sparks of brilliance mired in long stretches of languidity. I guess I always expect something different that what I see in Gaven’s game.
I keep thinking about writing something longer about his ability to always stay in the picture, but always on the edges and slightly out of focus. Gaven has been around for seemingly ever, but he is still only 23. He keeps on confounding me, it’s a study that will have to wait.
So it was only a friendly, but there aren’t a lot of chances for any of these players to impress. The National Team only has 2 or 3 games before Bob Bradley sets the roster for the World Cup. Rogers and Marshall will probably get another chance against El Salvador in a month. Others like Jimmy Conrad, Sasha Klejstian, Marvell Wynne, and Jeff Cunningham probably shouldn’t.
As far as how this effects the Crew, I see the same troubling things, Rogers lacking confidence to take players on, Gaven hanging around the edges, and I hope (and expect) that Marshall’s shaky game was just preseason rust. I still would have liked to see a sharper U.S. team (signs point to Bradley’s preparation and the MLS talent pool) and specifically, sharper games out of the Crew contingent. It is still only January.
The Crew officially announced that Gullermo Barros Schelotto will return to the Crew this season. He won’t be a Designated Player and “Per club and league policy, no further terms of the deal were disclosed.” Mitchell did say that there is an option for 2011 as well.
I am certainly excited that the Argentine maestro will be back in a Crew uniform this year. He is the smartest player I have seen in person. He can wriggle out of the tightest jam and still split the defense with a killer pass. It’s something that doesn’t quite come across on television. It doesn’t quite capture the Gulle magic.
Columbus now has most of the pieces for another strong title run. I hope the Crew are still looking for a top class striker and more importantly a difference maker in central midfield. Without either of those, the team is relying on the wingers to start the offense and that did not work out well towards the end of last season.
I refrain from talking about things I don’t know about and things that aren’t terribly important to me. The expiration of the MLS Collective Bargaining Agreement falls into both of these categories. I am by no means an expert in labor relations, but I also know that there is a lot of posturing on both sides and often times the real negotiations don’t begin until just before the deadline.
It just hasn’t been worth the time to worry over every little pronouncement by the erratic players union or the same boilerplate language from the tight lipped owners. That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed reading Fake Sigi’s take on the sparring and it’s effect on the Crew. That’s quality stuff.
Steve Goff, however, had a few updates that piqued my interest. First he noted a general improvement in tone:
I’m getting positive vibes about the negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement between MLS and the players’ union. Might we see a tentative agreement before the expiration of the current deal at the end of this month?
That’s good right? Both sides are starting to talk. The players realizing they don’t have much negotiating power and the owners possibly realizing the very negative effect a work stoppage could have in a World Cup year. I would still prefer something based on more than “positive vibes”, but that would mean the Crew are in the clear for their Champions League games in March.
I would still feel good if I stop quoting there, but Goff then goes on to say:
A work stoppage in preseason, which for many teams is scheduled to begin in two weeks, wouldn’t be catastrophic, but any delay to the start of the league schedule in late March would be a public relations setback for the league and sport in this country.
There is the problem. Preseason doesn’t matter much for 15 of the 16 teams in MLS until it gets to real games. The Crew have real games coming up in less than two months. The team has repeatedly said that the Champions League games mean something to the organization, the money would be nice as well. This has the chance to seriously impact the balance sheet and the prestige of the Crew, but the rest of MLS has until the end of March until they start missing games.
The negotiations may be going better and the prospects of a deal may be looking up; I am not sure if it will be in time for the Crew. For me, that would be truly disappointing as a fan of the Crew and the league.
Another January, another MLS Draft. The Crew drafted 5 players and with their track record, I expect one to be an MLS contributor. With their two first round draft picks, they picked up midfielder Dilly Duka and forward Bright Dike. They then finished out with three picks in the fourth round, choosing midfielders Kwaku Nyamekye and Othaniel Yanez and defender Shaun Francis.
I won’t pontificate on the picks or grade the draft. It really hard to say too much about the players. Honestly, I think I may have seen Duka play 60 minutes total in the U-20 World Cup. Dike has a few YouTube clips. Nyamekye, Yanez, and Francis will be struggling to make the roster and I wonder if they will even make it to Columbus for preseason.
I do think the Duka and Dike picks especially show illustrate Warzycha’s thinking. Duka is supposedly raw and may not help for a couple of years. The team depth on the Crew will allow him to develop slowly. Perhaps he is looked as a possible successor for Schelotto. He supposedly has good vision and is skillful with the ball at his feet. If he can play as a two way midfielder, he could still play a valuable role for the 2010 campaign.
The Dike pick is especially interesting. Many had him pegged as a lower round pick so he is certainly a reach, but he is a big, strong player who has scored goals. Warzycha has quite a collection of bruising forwards who can scrap for goals. I wonder if we will see more of the same winger based offense with goal poaching forwards who can pick up scraps. I can’t say I am looking forward to that.
There is still a lot of guess work, the Crew may not stand pat as they look for a midfielder or a speedy striker. Another pickup at either of these positions will change how this team looks on the field, but today’s draft picks seem to signal more of the same for the Crew offense and if I remember 2009 didn’t end well offensively.
Sam Fahmi, good friend, purveyor of fine photography, and source for most of the images on this blog, is holding a gallery show tonight at Claddagh Columbus in the Brewery District. Sam’s photography has been featured by Crewture and The Original Winger among others. You can check out his work on his flickr page.
Studio 79 Gallery Show @ Claddagh
7:00pm – 10:00pm
Claddagh Irish Pub
585 S. Front St.
Columbus, OH
A New Columbus Fixture? (Fahmi/Studio79)
It’s becoming clearer and clearer that Guille loves Columbus and is probably sticking around town for the foreseeable future. He has a chance to become a legendary player for the Crew as he winds down his career and beyond.
First, the Dispatch reported he is getting his green card for permanent residency. Certainly it raises an eyebrow. He can seek a P-1 work visa if he just wishes to play for another season and then head off to Argentina and retire. A green card is for someone looking to stay in the United States for an extended period of time. It could even be a path to citizenship.
If Schelotto’s green card application signals he wants to live in America; his emailed comments to Shawn Mitchell of the Dispatch reveals how much he wants to stay with the Crew.
I hope come back. I am talking right now with the Crew. Tomorrow I will talk with (Mark) McCullers and I will fix the new contract.
Judging from the email, Guille will sit down with management in a room until they get something done. He won’t let the agents and other intermediaries get in the way; he’s going to do what he can so that he is back with the Crew in 2010.
This could be an important turning point in the history of the Crew. Other teams have developed tradition and history over the course of the early years of MLS. Cobi Jones is established as an MLS pioneer and L.A. Galaxy legend. Ben Olson exemplifies the qualities of the D.C. United franchise (no matter if you love or hate Olsen and United).
Guillermo is in the position to achieve the lofty status of ambassador of the franchise. Guille is beloved by the fans. He is a respected figure in both MLS and Argentine soccer. This is the type of player that teams need to build off of both off and on the field. He helped the team win an MLS Cup, but his value will be immense if he stays around the city and the team continuing to build soccer in Columbus.
I am certainly getting ahead of myself. He hasn’t signed a contract to play in 2010 (but that seems likely) and who knows what he will decide to do once his playing days are done. However, I am absolutely ecstatic at the possibility that Guillermo would call Columbus his home and make the Crew his team.
