Our Back Line

[Gordon]

The back line has been letting us down lately, and frankly, there is cause to be concern. I just perused the CSA site to see who we had in the U-23 and U-20 player pools. It looks a little bleak boys.

Centre Backs:

Problem #1 - Jason DeVos' health: Injuries have plauged him of late and, worrisome to me is that the last two have been of the same ilk. This usually indicates a susceptibility. Can we expect future injuries with regularity? His health may be the key to finishing top 4 in CONCACAF.

Problem #2 - Tony Menezes: where is he and what happened to him? Alleged deterioration in skills seems unlikely. Fitness an issue? Outcast by a penny pinching CSA?

Problem #3 - Kevin McKenna: Looked like a bright prospect, now a sub playing behind a Scotland U-21 international. Seems as if he is being groomed as a forward by Hearts. Allegedly subject of Bundesliga interest according to Craig Forrest, but hard to believe that given his lack of PT in Scotland. Sitting on the bench isn't helping.

Problem #4 - Paul Fenwick: His useful days are behind him. He had a not to terrible Gold Cup, but his swan song should have been the Scotland friendly.

Problem #5 - Marco Reda: Being clamoured for by many on the board, playing well in Norway, but still only a year and a half out of the A-League. Playing in a second (third?) tier European League. Has not been given real a look. Why? Perhaps an indication that he is not an upgrade over Fenwick? He won't be 104 in 2005, so that is one upgrade over Fenwick. Gotta be worth a look.

Problem #6 - Nevio Pizzolitto: A-Leaguer who played against Germany. Didn't impress me to be truthful. Perhaps has a future as a back-up, but unless their is a serious upgrade in his game, not a player we can qualify with.

Problem #7 - Mark Rogers. Done at Wycombe after some poor games. Not even on the bench.

Problem #8 - Nobody else in the youth player pools who are making a buzz until we get to a pair of 16 year olds in Andrew Hainault and David Edgar.

A fit DeVos, A fit Menezes and a 'getting some playing' time Kevin McKenna is a decent start. Reda has undoubtedly improved in Norway. Fenwick and Pizzolitto are not answers although Centre Backs do tend to improve with age, so Pizzolitto may re-enter the picture. Possible "out of position" guys include Pozniak and Klukowski. Hoping for the best, we perhaps have a pool of DeVos, Menezes, McKenna and Reda at Centre back. Slow, and another problem: DeVos and McKenna play when the other two are off season, making injuries especially problematic. Hate having to include a guy - Reda - who I have only seen play once.

Right back

Problem #1 - Tam Nsaliwa: should be a fixture here, but looney CSA NT coaches have yet to fully figure this out. If the new coach tunes in, look out, the rightback position to be a strength. Tam will be able to play in one of the top four leagues in the World at right back with a little more experience. Put him there: he has all the tools!

Problem #2 - Everyone else who can play right back is a midfielder with their club sides except Stalteri, who we want as a midfielder! Backups include Bent & Imhoff. The former bing a bit faster is my second choice. I can live with either starting in Nsaliwa's absence.

Problem #3 - Watson's return. Can't imagine him cutting it any more. Good lord, he is one professional athlete I'd gladly race for money!

Left back:

Problem #1 - Richard Hastings. Dicky is getting the starts. He is just not skilled enough to play at the national team level. As a stop gap, we've been devastated by injuries replacement, I can live with an occasional appearance. But he has started virtually every match for the last 18 months.

Problem #2 - Ante Jazic. Will he or won't he? How good is he really? Can we rely on him to show up, and what kind of game will he bring? The jury is out on him. He may be the solution, but many questions remain to be answered. I didn't see his half against Finland.

Problem #3 - Mike Klukowski. Seems to have re-entered the LL lineup as a regular - played 90 on Saturday BTW. But, like Reda, is never selected. Why is that? Perhaps he is not an upgrade over Richard Hastings? Does he lack the speed to play this position at the international level? Again, due to non selection, the jury is out. He may be more useful in the midfield as well. Or as a centre back

Problem #4 - Chris Pozniak. Plays regularly for Orebro in a decent second tier European League. Has looked like a more useful player than Richard Hastings from what I have seen but still has a way to go yet. I'd be happier with him as a back-up at this point.

Problem #5 - Jim Brennan. Playing in the midfield for his club, apparently, (or at least that was the intention) and country. If a player emerges who can play wide left in the midfield, then perhaps he is the answer.

Unlike the right back position, there is not an obvious answer already on the team, and I don't think that either of the U-23 or U-20 teams have anyone close.

Unlike the midfield and forward positions, I am not very optimistic about the back line. Is the solution to go to the 3-5-2? Can a back line of, say, Jazic/Brennan - DeVos/Menezes - Nsaliwa play a 3-5-2 successfully? Its certainly a faster line-up than Hastings - McKenna and Watson.

BTW - the centre of the midfield in a 3-5-2 has to be Hutchinson - DeGuzman - Stalteri. So, out of curiosity, lets look at a potential 3-5-2 line-up.

Hischfeld

Nsaliwa - DeVos - Jazic(?)

Bent (?) - Stalteri - DeGuzman - Hutchinson - Brennan

DeRosario - Radzinski

Although, perhaps, the midfield could be, if Aguiar can play for another year or two:

Stalteri - Hutchinson - DeGuzman - Aguiar - Brennan

[BearcatSA]

Lots of good stuff there, Gordon! Thanks

A solid centreback partnership is crucial, and that means planning around the absence of DeVos (considering his recent durability), so let's find a partner for McKenna. McKenna, of course, needs to be playing regular first team football, but I think he has the physical tools to be effective. Watson is past his "sell by" date (quickness/speed issues), but could be an effective stopgap defender who provides veteran depth (if his ego can accept that role).

In previous post I was disappointed with Imhoff's performance as the defensive holding midfielder, but did he not play some central defence with St. Gallen? Maybe that's his niche?

Right fullback is a funny one: Nsaliwa has excellent defensive tools one on one (dominated DeBeasley in the Gold Cup semi a couple of years ago), but both he and Bent have a disturbing propensity for giving the ball away. That's maybe why Nsaliwa has not progressed as quickly in Germany as he should. However, if being able to nullify the opposition's offensive threat on the left side is the primary purpose of the position, then right back should go to Nsaliwa (Bent as the alternate).

Left back: Hastings is another squad guy (not a starter, but good in a pinch); perhaps try dropping Jazic back there if Brennan is not available.

Playing 3-5-2 requires some depth in mobile defenders who are also effective in the air. The Gold Cup triumph owed much to the tremendous work of the two markers (De Vos and a younger Watson), a composed sweeper who's lack of pace was compensated by his ability to read the game and intercept passes (Menezes), and a commanding keeper (Forrest). I just don't think we have enough experienced central defensive depth to do 3-5-2 right now.

My proposed line up:

Hirschfeld (Onstad);

Tsaliwa, McKenna, Imhoff, Jazic ;

Bircham , Statieri, de Guzman, Hume;

De Rosario, Radzinski

(injured: De Vos, Brennan)

[snake]

here is my lineup

onstad

tsaliwa-mckenna-devos-pozniak

stalteri-xausa-hume-bircham

derosario-radzinski

i would also bring into the box for corners mckenna

xausa has played a bit at attacking midfield and has shone.

[Canuck Oranje]

Nsaliwa playing regularly in Bundesliga 2 at age 21 is pretty good if you ask me... That is not a bad league...

[Canuck Oranje]

You can't be serious playing Xausa ahead of DeGuzman...

quote:Originally posted by snake

here is my lineup

onstad

tsaliwa-mckenna-devos-pozniak

stalteri-xausa-hume-bircham

derosario-radzinski

i would also bring into the box for corners mckenna

xausa has played a bit at attacking midfield and has shone.

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by Gordon

Problem #3 - Watson's return. Can't imagine him cutting it any more. Good lord, he is one professional athlete I'd gladly race for money!

Ha! Now that's funny.

Hmmm. Good post. Not realy a lot to argue with. Except formation. Don't think we can pull off a 3-5-2. BearcatSA posted some of the reasonings but I'll add one of my own. I don't think we can develop a midfield understanding which'll make a 3-5-2 work. Not without a playing regiment which we just don't get for our national team. It's not that I think we don't have the men to do it, it's just a little less cut and dry as say a 4-4-2 when it comes to player assignments, roles and freedoms. And of course, building that understanding takes team training which we'll never get.

If you've got trouble defending, maybe think more about going forward;).

Menezes falling off the planet has realy reduced our back line options. I'd say more so than the loss of JDV.

[snake]

xausa is way more creative and dangerous as an attacking midfielder.striker just seems to not be the best position for his playmaking abilities.deguzman would at this stage be an excellant sub.also give johnny sulentic a call up,he has great playmaking ability.

[Canuck Oranje]

Hmmmm... Xausa Div. 1 in Scotland??? over DeGuzman Bundesliga, Germany???? This is a joke right?

quote:Originally posted by snake

xausa is way more creative and dangerous as an attacking midfielder.striker just seems to not be the best position for his playmaking abilities.deguzman would at this stage be an excellant sub.also give johnny sulentic a call up,he has great playmaking ability.

[Cheeta]

Xausa as an attacking mid? Have to admit I've given that some though in the past myself but I don't think we'll be seeing it. Ever. And even if he developed into that role in Falkirk, which I think he isn't, on the depth chart of left side attacking midfielders he's just been bumped down another rung by the addition of Bircham.

Unless Falkirk turns heads in Scotland with David leading the charge, I'm sorry to say Mr. Xausa's international career is over.

The humble oppinion of a Xausa fan.

[Canuck Oranje]

Gordon.. I am with you on that lineup .. It is worth a test run..

quote:Originally posted by Gordon

Hischfeld

Nsaliwa - DeVos - Jazic(?)

Bent (?) - Stalteri - DeGuzman - Hutchinson - Brennan

DeRosario - Radzinski

Although, perhaps, the midfield could be, if Aguiar can play for another year or two:

Stalteri - Hutchinson - DeGuzman - Aguiar - Brennan

[snake]

getting the ball to our strikers is our midfields top priority.we need speed,high energy,playmaking ability in our midfield to compete with other concacaf national teams.we have to face the reality that in concacaf it is more of a south american type of game.canada always counters with a defensive style which never works for us in concacaf.a couple of friendlys with solid south american teams would do wonders for canada leading up to 2006 qualifying.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by Canuck Oranje

Nsaliwa playing regularly in Bundesliga 2 at age 21 is pretty good if you ask me... That is not a bad league...

You're right, but didn't he play at Saarbruken at the same time as De Guzman? Granted, both play different positions but De Guzman's star has been rising faster.

No slur against Nsaliwa . . . he brings valuable pace and quickness to the table, and that's why I think he's our best choice at right back.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by snake

xausa is way more creative and dangerous as an attacking midfielder.striker just seems to not be the best position for his playmaking abilities.deguzman would at this stage be an excellant sub.also give johnny sulentic a call up,he has great playmaking ability.

I disagree, and my argument centres around quickness, both physically and mentally. When I watched him play, whether in kick and run Scotland or for the nats, the X man always seemed a step behind: pass blocked, shot blocked, pass intercepted, caught in possession and tackled, etc. I think he has really good skills: cannon shot, probably good technique, and physical attributes. He's probably a world beater in practice but may be he can't translate that into game situations.

You can argue how wrong I am but the fact remains that this player is currently playing for a first division Scottish side (after losing his job with a mid to lower table Premier League team), compared to De Guzman, who is starting for a Bundesliga team: now who would you rather have in your midfield?

[snake]

xausa has above average soccer sense.striker is a position that he has outgrown.his passing, anticipation,and one touch has improved immensly over the last few years.getting the ball to radzinski derosario is xausa's most valuble asset to the nats.we cannot play the defensive cautious game canada always falls back on,but to open it up.jamaica,costa rica,t&t,and mexico all play the up tempo south american fluid game.canada cannot try to get a concacaf team to play canadas game,itll never happen.with a fluid uptempo midfield canada can press forward and control the level of play.our strike force is the best in concacaf.

[matthew]

To get back to the backline debate. To me there is only one sure starter and that is DeVos. Obviously he will need to be healthy and I agree his health is a concern, but I don't think we have many options to replace him.

Who to pair him with is a question with many possibilities and few answers. A problem compounded by Holger's unwillingness to try too many options. Personally choice one is Tony Menezes circa 2000. Does that man still exist? I don't know. Will the CSA ever call him to find out if he's still our best option? I don't know.

No. 2 Marco Reda - He's earning rave reviews. Can he do the job? To quote Phillip Seymour Hoffman: "Well Dude we just don't know." I'd love to find out.

No. 3 Kevin McKenna - I think its two players who are too slow and too similar to work well in this role. I'm also stuck for other ideas if Menezes is lost in China and Reda turns out to be prettty average. Big Mac needs to be in the side though. Good defensive cover and a nice option up front.

No. 4 - Gabriel Gervais - Montreal fans are high on him. I liked what I've seen of him and by many accounts he's playing better than Nevio Pizolitto in the A-League. I would like to see him in a camp so we can judge where he stacks up.

No. 5 Pizzolitto - I thought he looked decent agaijnst Germany. Not great, by any means, but it was Germany. I think of the known quantities we've seen recently, he's only behind McKenna.

No. 6 - Mark Watson - I'm glad he got recalled and I'm glad we got to see that his best days look to be behind us. I like Watson a lot, but it's time to move on I fear.

No. 7 Mark Rogers - had been a decent professional. If he catches on anywhere else might be worth a look. I haven't been really impressed with him in Gold Cup 2002, but well let's be honest we can't be too choosy.

No. 8 Paul Fenwick - He didn't look awful in the Gold Cup. No playing for his club and hasn't basked in glory with us in awhile either.

No. 9 - Victor Oppong - A possible option. I mean we're talking pretty far down in depth here, but he has the pace, some size and decent ball skills. It's conceivable he could still become a senior international at some point.

The outside backs are interesting and for similar reasons. We're quickly learning who can't play there while still having lots of good players who seemingly can play there.

Right back:

I feel based on the Germany performance Tam Nsaliwa is capable of doing the job. I'd rate him ahead of Chris Pozniak, who I also feel can fill the role, but wouldn't be my first choice.

Now Marc Bircham and Jason Bent can seemingly fill this spot, but we haven't tried them as far as I recall. Of the four, Pozniak seems the steadiest and perhaps the most comfortable in the spot, Nsaliwa has maybe had the best game for us in a 4-4-2 and has pace, decent touch and good man-marking skills. Bent isn't a great crosser, but man-marks well, had played here often for Colorado and has good pace. Bircham brings that intangible spirit we all love and is great on set pieces. Perhaps a little rash in the challenge, but I can't see him finding anywhere in our midfield.

Until we can answer the right back spot it's tough to figure out our midifeld either. I like the way Bent works with Stalteri, but I think Aguiar deserves a shot at holding mid ahead of Bent.

Left back is quite similar to right back. I think we need Brennan on the field and if we need to put DeGuzman in the left mid spot, then Brennan should be left back. If we can get Brennan and DeGuzman in the midfield I'd lile to see Jazic and Klukowski each get a shot. Jazic has shown little offensive flair, but has been steady defensively and positionally IMO. Klukowski is doing well and we haven't seen him since Libya and never at left back. We can use Pozniak on this side as well and given Hastings current run of form, I'd prefer Pozzy given a try. I haven't lost faith in Hastings either though. He had some great games in early 02 for us (Switzerland springs to mind) and though he struggled at the Gold Cup and wasn't great against Finland, I'm hoping he can settle somewhere and get his game back on track.

Maybe Bartolomeu is the answer.

It's tough to even pick a starting 11 since we know so little about the squad. We should have been trying Reda, Klukowski, Bent, Brennan, etc months ago. There's no guarantee any of this will work (I was shocked at how the Stalteri to right back experiment panned out, I liked him better in the middle so I didn't like the idea, but I thought he would be effective there. I didn't think he was effective saturday).

If we can draw from a pool of: GK: Hirschfeld, Onstad

D: DeVos, Reda, Menezes, McKenna, Nsaliwa, Bent, Jazic, Klukowski

M: Stalteri, Brennan, Aguiar, DeGuzman, Bircham

F: Radzinski, DeRosario, Hume

we could start to answer a lot of questions. I'm not neglecting Pesch or Imhof or even Hastings, but I think we know what we'll get from these types of players. It's nice to have a big pool, but considering we have no coach and perhaps no idea who to use, it's pretty scary too.

cheers,

matthew

[Canuck Oranje]

I think that may have had as much to do with timing as anything else. Most clubs were downsizing rosters this past summer so the opportunities may not have been as plentiful. But then that is only speculation. Nsaliwa is the same age this year as DeGuzman last year. I suspect there could be a great deal of debate as to what is a better development opportunity, playing and starting all games in B-2 or 18 in B-1, some as a sub like DeGuzman last year. I suspect it depends on what happens the following year. I only hope Nsaliwa is next year about where DeGuzman is this year.

quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA

You're right, but didn't he play at Saarbruken at the same time as De Guzman? Granted, both play different positions but De Guzman's star has been rising faster.

No slur against Nsaliwa . . . he brings valuable pace and quickness to the table, and that's why I think he's our best choice at right back.

[An Observer]

On the centre backs issue, I agree that this is our biggest problem area unless De Vos can stay healthy and Mckenna and Reda develop quickly in the next year. For this reason, I believe we really need to switch to a 4-4-2 with Jazic, Brennan, or Kluklowski on the left and Nsaliwa or Bent on the right

This being said, with De Vos and one of Reda, Menezes or McKenna back there. This should be enough to get through the preliminary round of qualifying and I dare say the semi-final round depending on our draw. At least this is my hope, as I believe we match up well with a full team against the likes of Honduras, Jamaica, and Trinidad, one or two of which we will have to beat to get to the final round.

For the final round, in a little over a year and half's time, I hoping that Reda and/or McKenna will be playing at a higher level and one of Harmse or Marshal will emerge from our U-20 side to push for a place. Harmse in particular impresses me and if he can have a good U-20 tournament in Dubai he may attract some interest from a club at a bit of a higher level than Tromso.

The other kid to keep in mind is Simon Kassaye but I believe he is more than a year a way (probably 3 or 4) as he is playing on the fridges of the U-20 side now as an underage and from accounts, can actually move the ball out of defense.

[Gordon]

First off, a DeVos injury update (might be back 4-5 weeks):

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/preview?id=108021&cc=5901

In terms of formation, the 3-5-2 option was more speculation on the basis of not having a reliable partnership in the middle of a 4-4-2. Although, what I really hope occurs is that the new coach does a Pellerud and insists on an increased budget and more friendlies as a condition of taking the job. With WWC over, some of that $ can be redirected for a couple of years. I do wonder about DeVos' durability. At the start of 2002, with DeVos, Menezes and McKenna, I thought we were looking pretty good in the middle of the back line. But DeVos has encountered injuries, McKenna has found the bench and who knows what is up with Menezes.

[Canuck Oranje]

I read somewhere that DeVos had a pin inserted because this was a recurring injury. Let's hope it resolves the problem for good.

[CanD4]

I've got some great pictures of Tony Menezes in China taken in the last couple of months but I don't know how to post them here - I have them on my email.

There are 4 players on a massive billboard posted in the city Tony is playing in and 1 of the players is Tony.

The cover of the local chinese newpaper has a picture of Tony signing some kids heads - they have shaved the hair off the sides of their heads and Tony's signing his autograph on them. The fans love him in China.

Just trying to answer the question everyone seems to be asking "where is he?"

[MikeD]

quote:Originally posted by CanD4

I've got some great pictures of Tony Menezes in China taken in the last couple of months but I don't know how to post them here - I have them on my email.

There are 4 players on a massive billboard posted in the city Tony is playing in and 1 of the players is Tony.

The cover of the local chinese newpaper has a picture of Tony signing some kids heads - they have shaved the hair off the sides of their heads and Tony's signing his autograph on them. The fans love him in China.

Just trying to answer the question everyone seems to be asking "where is he?"

That's great news about Menezes - we really need him. I understand that the Chinese season was delayed for several months due to the SARS outbreak in the spring, which may explain why Menezes was so out of shape when he showed up for the Germany friendly. If we can get Menezes and DeVos back together for our World Cup matches next year, our back line will be fine. McKenna is adequate cover if one of the other is unavailable but, if both of them are unavailable, we'll be in trouble.

[strobe_z]

Outta curiosity, whatever happened to Carl Fletcher? Last I remember, he got his noggin cracked by JDV in that GC game against Haiti. I think he played once more after that.. but then dissappeared. With some of the "old school" guys (especially defensive-minded types) showing up, I'm surprised a little that Carl hasn't even been mentioned.

I remember having a lot of faith in him at the right back position once upon a time.

Don't get confused.. I'm not calling for his return.. just wondering whatever happened to him.

[strobe_z]

Outta curiosity, whatever happened to Carl Fletcher? Last I remember, he got his noggin cracked by JDV in that GC game against Haiti. I think he played once more after that.. but then dissappeared. With some of the "old school" guys (especially defensive-minded types) showing up, I'm surprised a little that Carl hasn't even been mentioned.

I remember having a lot of faith in him at the right back position once upon a time.

Don't get confused.. I'm not calling for his return.. just wondering whatever happened to him.

[Guest Ed]

quote:Originally posted by strobe_z

Outta curiosity, whatever happened to Carl Fletcher? Last I remember, he got his noggin cracked by JDV in that GC game against Haiti. I think he played once more after that.. but then dissappeared. With some of the "old school" guys (especially defensive-minded types) showing up, I'm surprised a little that Carl hasn't even been mentioned.

I remember having a lot of faith in him at the right back position once upon a time.

Don't get confused.. I'm not calling for his return.. just wondering whatever happened to him.

Played for Atlanta Silverbacks in the A-League last season.

[Gian-Luca]

Some comments on Marco Reda. Marco Reda's main strength is often said to be (and no anagram pun intended) his ability to read the game. That isn't to say he is weak at everything else. He's a tall fellow, good in the air - the question for me will be how his possession or distribution skills have improved since moving to Norway. He isn't a speedster (typical for a centre-back) but I don't think is as slow as some of the other candidates for the central defense position.

However, if the coach of the Norwegian national team (they who managed to qualify for several major tournaments in the past 10 years & are in the play-offs for Euro 2004) says Marco is good enough to play for Norway, it is absolutely insane for us not to give him a proper look (which did not happen last January in Fort Lauderdale).