The fact that Justin Mapp is left footed and can use this skill to cut back inside from his wide right position and be a threat from far away makes him almost irreplaceable. Here is the two options that I would consider barring no more injuries and no trades -- a few roster moves to diversify the attack and a schematic change to diversify the point of breakdown of the defense.
For the purpose of this exercise, I will consider Andres Romero as available even if his presence for the first leg of the semi finals is in doubt.
I was tempted to just replace Mapp with Romero, as Romero can play on the right side and deliver consistent crosses in while trying to maintain a certain control on his corridor and his man. However, that would only have been a temporary band-aid to the problem.
Romero has a different skill set than Mapp. What Mapp does great on the right side is to cutback in at the last minute, twisting his defender in his boots in the meantime, while being able to spot the goal for a 25 yard left foot curler in the top corner or spot the one teammate that is open and create a direct chance.
Romero will use his physical abilities to put himself in a position where he can beat his last man and create a chance. Having said that, Piatti has not yet found his stride in 2015, so maybe the solution his to reconfigure the composition of the midfield to exploits certain known strength of its component.
Nacho always thrived as a left attacking midfielder in his time at San Lorenzo and maybe a return there granted for a short term can help him find his marks and finally contribute to the results of the club. By placing Piatti as the left midfielder, it opens up a spot in the middle where Patrice Bernier could fit in. For a long time we've heard he wants to be more involved in the offensive side of the game, and for the better part of his Montreal tenure, he always had defensive responsibilities that impeded his movement forward. Even thought he has not practice in that position that often lately, the instincts would kick back in very rapidly and could be the way to finally introduce him to the starting eleven in 2015.
As for the direct replacement for Justin Mapp at Left Attacking Midfield position in a 4-2-3-1 , I would go with Dominic Oduro. He will have more space on the side to use his pace to get open and beat his cover man . Oduro does not have the same ball control that Justin Mapp does, but with his speed he can create runs and chaos in the opposing team's backline and be threatening that way. So that gives us a midfield composed of Donadel-Coker, Piatti-Bernier-Oduro and Jack Mack as the lone striker up top.
Again, Justin Mapp is hard to replace player to playe so the best way to go without him might be to change the formation itself in a way to take full advantage of everyone's skills. By changing the formation to a 4-4-2 Diamond , it could not only ease the workload (4 instead of 5 midfielders) but give more space to Nacho who always seems trapped in 2015. Having either Bernier or Coker as the defensive midfield , Duka on the left, Romero on the right and Piatti in the central attacking midfield with Oduro and Jack up top could be a solution. It will give more space between Nacho and the wingers making him less "trapped." It will give a chance to Nacho to overlap with a forward and still have a man with him to attack the goal. By doing this, the Inpact lessen the play on the wings which, in turn, lessens the loss of Justin Mapp and by refocusing the brunt of the passes through the middle of the midfield it implicates Piatti more into the game and that could be what the Impact needs to put a couple pass the goalkeeper.
Maybe I am over thinking the loss of Mapp and its implications to the Impact's play, or maybe I am on to something. Or maybe Montreal does not even have the roster to replace a player like him with the type of soccer they play and maybe a trade or a roster movement of some sort (we are talking about the MLS here) is the solution to this problem? Maybe Tissot is the answer ? At the end of the day, I am left with more questions then answers. What would you do to replace Justin Mapp or to help Montreal's lack of goals?
Quick Thoughts
-Zacharia Messoudi is back in Montreal and is part of the FC Montreal USL Roster
-Nacho Piatti did not take part of many training sessions ahead of the Scotiabank's Concacaf Champions League Semi Final , recuperating and resting on the sidelines,
-As I am writing this, close to 30 000 tickets have been sold for the game this Wednesday at 8pm at the Olympic Stadium
-Kristian Nicht has been re-loaned to Montreal by the Indy Eleven to be the backup during the SCCL, Kronberg beeing cup-tied with SKC and Crépeau being injured
-Come and join me at Taverne Irlandaise Les Trèfles 3971 Ontario East at 4pm for pregame discussions,
-Support and become a patron of the Two Solitudes Soccer Podcast https://patreon.com/twosolitudes5rings
]New Off the Woodworkx Montreal Impact Podcast is out today! OTW #87 IMFC-LDA SCCL SF Preview
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