After two games under Mitchell, what do we know?

[gkhs]

How are people feeling about our lineup?

Who has established themselves in our first choice side?

IMO:

100% Certain

- DeRo on the left

- de Guzman in the middle

- Hutch in the middle

- Stalteri at RB

85%

- Brennan at LB; as much as I liked Jazic at GC, JB was stellar last night working the overlap with DeRo.

60%

- Bernier in midfield; he wasn't up to the standard of the Big Three, and I don't love his work on set pieces.

- Serioux at CB; I thought he was solid, especially given that he is still recovering from injury.

- Keeper: I think Lars v Onstad is a toss-up, Lars has an edge given his relative lack of grey hair (any hair).

Still Up For Grabs

- Right Side of Midfield: Radz v Hume v Issey. Radz was fine, but notably less a threat than DeRo opposite.

- CB: Hainault looks too mistake prone to be trusted.

- Striker: I like all of our options here, but I'm not sure I see AG as a solo striker.

[gkhs]

I'm sure this is poor forum form, but I'll respond to my own post in hopes of jump starting it.

Does it seem like we're settled on a 4-5-1?

[Massive Attack]

I actually like the 4-5-1, especially if DeRo and Radz/Hume are the outside wingers.

[gkhs]

quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack

I actually like the 4-5-1, especially if DeRo and Radz/Hume are the outside wingers.

I do too. I worry that our strikers aren't well matched with the system. In that Friend is IMO a clear notch below Gerba and Occean, but neither of them is as well suited to a single striker system.

[David C.]

1. The hybrid 4-5-1/ 4-1-4-1 formation really suits us well. The target forward causes much concern for opposing defenses and the defensive midfielder really helps spread the ball up to our midfield quartet. Our attack is balanced between using the flanks and going up the middle.

2. Our midfield quartet of deRosario, deGuzman, Hutchinson and Radzinski are a real joy to watch and offer our real hope to qualify. Anyone who claims that we can't play real soccer should watch these four play. Man, if we could get Jonathan on board, he would add much needed depth at this crucial spot.

3. I'm worried that we can't use Hume or Serioux during qualifying. They are red cards waiting to happen. Shame, since both are great additions -- especially Serioux, who really has an impact on a game.

4. While loaded at the wingback positions, we still need to settle on a solid centreback combo. Hainault might be improving but I don't know if he'll be ready in time for qualifying.

5. Keeper might be bullpen-by-committee. Whoever is healthy and in form at the time, gets the nod. No one is a clear #1 at this point.

6. I would rather have calm and rational men like Mitchell and Hart on my bench, than an over-dramatic queen like Medford. Yikes!

[youllneverwalkalone]

I was surprised to see him throw on all those attackers yesterday. Pleasantly so. I hoped/suspected he was a tactician who would do what it takes to get results. He really seemed to want the victory yesterday. And he actually wore a jacket! And it wasn't even a CSA blazer. That impressed me more than anything.

I was definitely not feeling confident about Mitchell after the U20s, but he I thought he did a good job. His call-ups were solid, his selection was solid, his formation was reasonable, and his substitutions were excellent.

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack

I actually like the 4-5-1, especially if DeRo and Radz/Hume are the outside wingers.

Any formation which widens the pitch and makes elbow room for The Guz and Hutch is okay by me.

May have over played that a little last night, but maybe not.

As to Mitch, he sure seems like he's not taking any chances with players. Don't expect any surprises out of him and after just these two matches am convinced he has a pecking order written out. If not in ink than very firmly in pencil. Which is fine by me from what I've seen.

Hope it doesn't become too difficult for some of the fringe players to work there way into the squad, but they may have to do some real work at their clubs to earn the chance.

[Soju]

screw. fringe. players. Keep the same 11 on the field together for as many games as possible OR see last qualifying cycle.

[gkhs]

quote:Originally posted by Soju

screw. fringe. players. Keep the same 11 on the field together for as many games as possible OR see last qualifying cycle.

I don't think fringe players are the question. Mitchell's not wringing his hands that Pozniak and Harmse didn't get into the match.

There are at least three open questions that need resolving before we can settle on an 11.

As I said, I think Serioux will play his way in, having seen his performance on Saturday and last night. But, Hainault in a meaningful game is a non-starter IMO; Tam may never play for us again; we haven't seen McKenna in a year; de Vos in 3; Peters or Stewart ever.

And then there are the happy questions, where we have a wealth of options and we have to sort out who's best...those are the nice questions, no fringe players need apply.

[Gian-Luca]

In any meaningful lengthy WCQ campaign we are going to need those "fringe" players, so getting them in the set-up is good. More & more friendlies is what is needed. That should be the next thing we are vocal about.

Harmse had a slight knee injury they said on the broadcast, that's why he didn't play. Having him making nice runs driving up the middle and smashing the crap out of a few Tico players that deserved to be smashed wouldn't have been a bad things IMO.

[loyola]

Hainault is better than Serioux IMO. Serioux is a disaster waiting to happen at CB.

I think we need to see Mckenna and find him a partner, Hainault, Tam, Hastings or Serioux.

Keepers, I have no idea who's the starter, that might be between Hirschfeld, Onstad if he's still interested and Stama.

Up front, I,m not convince by Ali, I would like to see Occean starting the next game (he looked quite good for the 15-20 min he played yesterday and against Iceland too).

Our midfield is pretty much set and the only newcomers I could see would be DeGuzman 2 and maybe DeJong.

[bingham]

I think Gerba is the #1 upfront guy in 5-4-1. Both Friend and Ocean lack his mobility and he is certainly their equal as far as strength goes. Friend, to me is not quick or mobile enough and is therfore behind Ocean in the pecking order. I would love to see Hume playing off Gerba but we cant play ALL the attacking players at one time. But what a time for us when we have the luxuries of quality players like Hume, Ferren and others on the bench. By the way it is great to see the superb attitude of Radzinski, now transformed to a great team man and a true Canadian.

Cant wait for World Cup Qualifying!! We look great!!

[gkhs]

quote:Originally posted by loyola

Hainault is better than Serioux IMO. Serioux is a disaster waiting to happen at CB.

I think we need to see Mckenna and find him a partner, Hainault, Tam, Hastings or Serioux.

I know that this is the bias against Serioux that Voyageurs tend to have...I don't see it. I thought he played under control last night, and in his entire MLS career he's been carded 4 times total, and never red carded.

If McKenna is his old self, I'm confident with him and Serioux...I'd be ok with Tam or Hastings...beyond that I worry.

[FigoIsGod]

On the right side, I want JONATHAN!

<center>Lars

Stalteri - McKenna - Hainault - Brennan

Bernier - Hutchinson

Jonathan - Julian - De Rosario

Occean</center>

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by gkhs

I know that this is the bias against Serioux that Voyageurs tend to have...I don't see it. I thought he played under control last night, and in his entire MLS career he's been carded 4 times total, and never red carded.

If McKenna is his old self, I'm confident with him and Serioux...I'd be ok with Tam or Hastings...beyond that I worry.

Yeah, that foul against the CR player was under control and he was save by an offside call when he made a big mistake in the second half. I also think that sometime he keep too much of the ball when he should just release it.

Serioux could've easily been ejected for 2 yellows yesterday.

I like the man but just think he's a midfielder not a CB.

[difab]

Many people are concerned about Serioux, but in a WCQ campaign, I love to see a player with that intensity. He will have to settle down a bit, but, you want someone in the CB position that will make the forwards think twice, Serioux can definitely do that. I'm sure Mitchell will have a talk with him about the off the ball stuff. IMO, I like Serioux over Hainault.

Up front, I like Friend as a target guy, but yesterday at least, his finishing was disappointing. IMO, Gerba seemed to be more of a threat and disruptive to the Ticos defense.

The constant pressure on the ball created all sorts of turnovers allowing us to maintain possession.

Great job boys..I can't wait for WCQ.

[kclee]

quote:Originally posted by FigoIsGod

On the right side, I want JONATHAN!

<center>Lars

Stalteri - McKenna - Hainault - Brennan

Bernier - Hutchinson

Jonathan - Julian - De Rosario

Occean</center>

That is one helluva midfield! Come on JDG2!

[gkhs]

quote:Originally posted by loyola

Yeah, that foul against the CR player was under control and he was save by an offside call when he made a big mistake in the second half. I also think that sometime he keep too much of the ball when he should just release it.

From where I was sitting it looked like a pretty ordinary challenge.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by gkhs

From where I was sitting it looked like a pretty ordinary challenge.

Well, that was a pretty good push with two hands, even without the CR players embellishment it was a yellow in my book.

[El Hombre]

quote:Originally posted by Cheeta

As to Mitch, he sure seems like he's not taking any chances with players. Don't expect any surprises out of him and after just these two matches am convinced he has a pecking order written out. If not in ink than very firmly in pencil. Which is fine by me from what I've seen.

I think this might be because he's working closely with Hart which was exactly what I wanted to see when he was hired. Hart did all the legwork and evaluated a ton of talent and now Mitch is using his evaluations to settle on a starting 11. That is fantastic news.

As for the CB pairing, I don't think Hainault is all that bad. In a pinch, I wouldn't mind seeing him out there for WCQ. My preferred pairing would probably be McKenna and Brennan/Klukowski. I was really impressed with Klukowski in the Iceland game and he brings some intangibles like being a half-decent dead ball man. I think having both Brennan and Klukowski out there would be really good.

quote:Originally posted by gkhs

I know that this is the bias against Serioux that Voyageurs tend to have...I don't see it. I thought he played under control last night, and in his entire MLS career he's been carded 4 times total, and never red carded.

Actually, I think Serioux's biggest fans are Voyageurs. However, he is a bit of a loose cannon and can have up and down games from what I've seen. His intensity can be a positive or a negative depending entirely on the whims of the referee which is a dangerous game to play.

As for his card total, he's really only played 3/4 of a season in MLS in total. When he was with Millwall, I believe he was red carded at least twice (once for throwing a ball directly into an opponent's face who was only a few feet away, if reports were true).

I see him as a D-mid sub and would probably rank him ahead of Harmse.

[gkhs]

quote:Originally posted by loyola

Well, that was a pretty good push with two hands, even without the CR players embellishment it was a yellow in my book.

I'm not saying it wasn't a foul, I'm just saying it was an ordinary foul, and certainly not evidence that he's 'a red card waiting to happen'.

quote:Originally posted by El Hombre

As for his card total, he's really only played 3/4 of a season in MLS in total. When he was with Millwall, I believe he was red carded at least twice (once for throwing a ball directly into an opponent's face who was only a few feet away, if reports were true).

And when he was 8 he threw a trantrum at a shopping mall.

I don't want to beat this point to death, I just think, on his recent performances he hasn't been especially prone to card worthy fouls.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by gkhs

I'm not saying it wasn't a foul, I'm just saying it was an ordinary foul, and certainly not evidence that he's 'a red card waiting to happen'.

I'm not referring to this foul in particular but his behaviour on the field (he's been red carded for Canada before and also at Milwall) and can make some dangerous challenge and I've seen him loosing possession too often for a CB.

I'm pretty much in the same opinion as El Hombre on the subject of Serioux, good depth at midfield but not really a CB especially in CONCACAF where players will drive him crazy with their antics.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by gkhs

I'm not saying it wasn't a foul, I'm just saying it was an ordinary foul, and certainly not evidence that he's 'a red card waiting to happen'.

And when he was 8 he threw a trantrum at a shopping mall.

I don't want to beat this point to death, I just think, on his recent performances he hasn't been especially prone to card worthy fouls.

You didn,t quoted me there, this was El Hombre post.

[Aljarov]

I didn't like Mitchell's 4-5-1 for the U20s and I can't say I care for it now.

I'm not Canadian, so I don't know that I have a voice on it or not. Only reason I can accept it is that midfield is clearly Canada's strongest position, but i'd be tempted to play DE RO as a withdrawn #2 striker than put hium on the left. Especially with Jazic, Brennan and Peters (potentially in the future) who can all do a job there.

[Ivan]

One thing about Serioux: We watched his throw in from the left side from the beer garden, the one Hainault got his head to but put over the bar. It was unbelievable, like it was shot out of a cannon.