Formation Speculation

[sbrylski]

A couple more formation ideas:

4-2-3-1

-----------?????-----------
----^----------------------
--Villa-------------?????--
------------DP3------------
------------------^--------
----Jacobson---Lampard-----
---------------------------
-Brovsky------------?????--
----W.Siriboe---?????------
---------------------------
-----------?????-----------

4-4-2 Diamond

-------Villa---------------
----------------DP3--------
---------------------------
----------Lampard----------
--?????-------------?????--
---------Jacobson----------
---------------------------
-Brovsky------------?????--
----W.Siriboe---?????------
---------------------------
-----------?????-----------

 

[doctorhoosier]

I'm not certain that we'll be able to tell anything until after the expansion draft. If we're able to pick off a guy like Luis Gil (I know - not likely), that may change the formation up a bit.

However, if they're sticking to the City philosophy (which I'd bet due to Kreis' experience over the past year in Manchester), I'd expect a 4-4-2 with Villa playing as a deep lying forward.

 

[MagnusPax]

No Saunders?

 

[Vito]

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

Everything I've read says kreis will play the diamond

 

[Paul]

View attachment 905

Isn't a diamond midfield Kreis' calling card? (Or at least is HAS been). It'll be interesting to see if he sticks with that.

Edit: Tom beat me to it.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

Put villa and Mullins up top in the 442, with lampard underneath, with grabavoy providing possession, and you start to see this team coming together

 

[Vito]

Not sure who'd play LM/RM so I just threw Zizzo and Taylor in there but I do like this lineup

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

I bet dp 3 will be a wide midfielder.

 

[BxLio91]

View attachment 906

Not sure who'd play LM/RM so I just threw Zizzo and Taylor in there but I do like this lineup

Switch Lampard and Grabavoy and put Jacobson at the bottom of the diamond.

 

[MrE]

Our team will need to be able to adapt to the opposition, some of our players will need to be specialist, others adaptable

4 -1 - 3 - 2

4- 2 -2 -2

3 - 5 - 2

3 - 5 - 1- 1

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

According to this http://m.mlssoccer.com/players/ned-grabavoy Grabavoy can play any position in the diamond. Maybe he plays wide?

 

[sbrylski]

I think we are still missing 2-3 starters, with DP#3, a loanee or two, and maybe another international signing or two under the DP threshold.

And the players we netted are super flexible. I'm finding it even more difficult to mock out a formation now than I did before the expansion draft, surprisingly.

EDIT: I've read that Kreis' diamond plays pretty narrow, maybe something like this?

 

[sbrylski]

Another thing to keep in mind when thinking about the players we've acquired and how they'll line up on the field:

KREIS:

In an ideal world, all of my midfielders, anybody that plays in the midfield, needs to be very versatile. Needs to be able to sometimes show up on the lines when the space is on the lines, needs to be able to show up in the middle when the space is in the middle, needs to be able to defend in the middle, to defend wide, has to be very, very fit to cover a lot of ground. I’m more interested in finding very good minded soccer players than I am going to find somebody to play the left side of midfield. You know what I mean? That’s more interesting to me, to get good soccer players. Because good soccer players are smart and can be taught, “Okay, this is what he wants. This is what he wants at this moment. This is what he want at that moment.”

So we didn't just select Grabavoy because he can start at any of the four midfield positions, but rather because he is versatile enough to handle the duties of any of the four midfield positions within a single game. That's exciting to me, because Lampard is the same way, as is Jacobson, as is Dunn, etc. I think it's more accurate to say Kreis' 4-4-2 diamond employs four CM, or just four midfielders:

KREIS:

I think that people overestimate putting players in boxes in our formation. For me, the formation is actually a lot more fluid, especially in the midfield, than people want to put it in. Some of that is our fault too because we have gone through times where the midfielder that starts, he stays there. And another midfielder starts there and he stays there. That’s not my ideal. My ideal is that those players are interchanging all the time.

If one is particularly good at forcing turnovers and playing aggressive, he'll start at the bottom and hang back a little more. If another is particularly good at creating opportunities, he'll start at the top and naturally play as a #10. But really, it doesn't matter where these guys start. They'll play narrow and all over the field.

Full article: http://www.si.com/soccer/planet-futbol/2013/10/01/real-salt-lake-jason-kreis-interview-part-two-mls

 

[USAfan6]

--------------Mullins---------Villa------------
---------------------Lampard------------------
------------Taylor?----------Grabavoy--------
----------------------Jacobson------------------
---Wingert--Hernandez---John----Williams-
-----------------------Meara---------------------

 

[whill4]

It's definitely going to be a diamond. It's why Grabavoy was such an important pick up. He can play anywhere.

 

[Kjbert]

Right now, we have the following on the roster:
GK: Saunders Meara
LB: Wingert
CB: Watson Hernandez John
RB: Brovsky Williams
CDM: Jacobson
LM: Grabavoy Ballouchy
CM: Lampard Dunn McNamara
RM:
ST: Villa Mullins
LW:
RW: Taylor

If they play a diamond, looks like we could use another right sided player. Probably looking at 1 more GK, 1 more LB, another CB, two RMS and two more strikers. 4-4-2 with Villa up top with another DP. I think Mullins is a sub.

 

[MagnusPax]

I agreed with sbrylski that is the type of formation we will see. If John is still hurt, and earl reports say maybe by April he will go, I bet we see Wingert in CB and Brovsky and Williams as fullbacks. Wingert doesn't have the pace any more but he is a decent CB.

DP3 will be some kind of attacking mid.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

Reading about the Calle guy from Colombia, sounds like a great fit. right sided CM, sounds like it fits perfectly with what Kreis wants, and he wouldn't be a DP
-----------------------Meara/Saunders---------------------
Williams/Brovsky---KWS/John-----Hernandez----Wingert
------------------Grabavoy/Jacobsen-----------------
------Calle--------------------------------Lampard-----------
-----------------------DP3/Xavi--------------------------
------------Mullins----------------Villa-----------------

 

[MagnusPax]

I can't imagine Kreis doesn't use both Jacobson and Grabavoy in his starting 11.