Yeah I think both are needed at the same time. Torres without good service and link up play from midfield is pointless. (I guess he can feed on Brad Davis crosses but that's not as frequent as in past seasons it seems). For sure though, a quality creative midfielder is needed.
If they were somehow able to find one now, I think Barnes would do well. He just has no one to get him the ball in dangerous situations. He's having to create too many chances on his own from crap balls out of the back. The midfield has been largely non-existent so far.
I imagine Barnes will move back and more centrally once Torres is here. They can'y continue to play both Garrido and Clark in the midfield. Just not enough offense.
And Clark has been terrible, IMO. He's lost a few steps and seems to be constantly in no-mans-land. He'd be the first to the bench if I were Coyle.
Agreed. ^ No one keeps the ball enough in the midfield. Again, Cubo Torres won't be a savior if he can't get the ball, like you said. Someone needs to contain that ball that can't remain in our midfield for more than three passes in a row.
And it's not just Clark. Boniek has become our Carmelo Anthony...without the scoring. The ball stops with him and it's becoming a huge problem, IMO. He seems to have a knack for dribbling into pressure (and then attempting to pass, losing it in the process) instead of keeping the ball moving. Worse, many of his runs seem to be moving at Barnes, clogging the passing lanes and forcing Barnes out wide where he's less effective.
Yeah Clark has been terrible lately. Even his defense has been pretty garbage. If he isn't bringing that to the table, I don't want him on the field. As for Boniek, I think there is too much pressure on him to creat, I think he thinks he has to do everything because there are so few guys on this team that can create opportunities. He's running into a lot of trouble doing that. I also think it doesn't help that it doesn't seem like they even know what they are trying to do on offense
Very true...but Boniek is probably the only one putting that pressure on himself. He could work very well with Barnes. I could see where they could be very dangerous if they're working off one another...but they're not. Barnes is moving to space and Boniek is either dribbling at him or making a run that closes that space off. I'd like to where one is playing with his back to goal and the other is making a run off of it. You're right, though. They really have no identity going forward right now. Coyle had the field widened so they could use the space to create...but they almost never use the wings.
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Nice breakout win there. Lovejoy's goal was lovely. Giles finish was very nice, too. Clark's was bit lucky but he still did well to stay with it.
Alex started 24 games for Chicago last year but has apparently fallen out of favor there (only 1 appearance for 8 minutes so far this season). Brazilian midfielder who is 27. I don't know much about how he plays. Hoping he's someone that can hold and distribute. He's not a goal scorer (3 goals in 76 career MLS games) and not big on assist numbers (2 in his career). here's the announcement from the Dynamo...
It means that Lovejoy is clearly the future. Barnes, Bruin, Torres, Davis... not a whole lot of room for anyone else in mid and up front.
More of a creative midfielder from what I've seen of him in the past and I guess the thinking is that he can provide the Dynamo with better distribution from midfield to the strikers but he's no Javier Morales(not many are in MLS I guess) or Diego Valerie who both chip in a fair amount of goals to go with assists. If Alex doesn't produce in the next two months then hopefully the Dynamo take advantage of the summer transfer window to bring in a quality midfielder that can create opportunities.
Plus he's added depth for when players are expected to be out during the Gold Cup. I'm hoping they take advantage of that window regardless of how anyone is performing. Every position could theoretically be improved.
True- I forgot about the Gold Cup. I figure Boniek and Garrido will be gone for that time period but no way Davis gets called in I'd imagine. For sure more depth will be needed though.
