January 03, 2017
Earl Gardner/Philly Soccer Page
Injuries limited Ilsinho to 14 starts and 1,286 minutes in 2016.
Next up on the MLS winter calendar is the adidas MLS Player Combine, which takes place from January 7th to January 12th in Los Angeles. Earnie Stewart and Jim Curtin will be there scouting rookie talent, though the club does not have a first-round selection in next Friday's SuperDraft, which also takes place in LA.
We'll see if the technical staff trades back into the first round. Otherwise, we're waiting for transfer news as the preseason approaches.
In part one of our New Year's resolutions series, we talked about Union defense and goalkeeping.
In part two, the focus was on the forwards.
The midfield is up next.
Strengths – high-level international experience, ability to play multiple positions, veteran instincts and reading of the game
New Year's resolution – become a game changer, demand the ball
A proper preseason should allow the Union's record signing to adjust to new surroundings and a new league.
Bedoya spent his first half-season playing in Vincent Nogueira's number eight role, which is a spot that I don't think maximized his abilities. Problem was, he was stuck behind Tranquillo Barnetta, a player who was clearly at his best when playing further up the field. Barnetta, you'll recall, originally moved back to the No. 8 spot when Nogueira left in the summer.
Bedoya had some good early performances in that deeper role. He won tackles, broke up plays, and displayed some needed physicality. What he didn't do was move the ball effectively, and I felt like he needed to be the guy to link play from the center backs, through the midfield, and up to the front four. He had some poor performances down the stretch.
In 2017, he has to shoulder responsibility and drive the squad, which is a job that I think he's up for. Bedoya is the first seven-figure Philadelphia Union player, and he needs to be a focal point of what they're trying to do this year. Surely the club did not pay a million dollars for a utility knife midfielder, right?
I think he's certainly capable of being the key cog in the Union attack. He played one game in the attacking midfield role, the regular season road match in Toronto, and turned in a good performance. He can be a number ten, a winger, or a box to box midfielder in a variety of shapes.
One issue is that Bedoya's deployment affects Roland Alberg's role. Alberg, a pure goal-scorer, is more limited in where he can play on the field. Curtin needs to find a way to get both of these guys on the field without forfeiting shape and structure.
You can get them both involved with something like this, which is a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 that puts Alberg on the field as a second striker. Bedoya then works a flat, two-way role behind him. His central midfield partner is ideally a healthy Maurice Edu or a rangy type like Warren Creavalle who can put out fires and protect the back four.
Strengths – elite level ball skills, silky touch, smart-flank interchange
New Year's resolution – impact the score sheet
The flicks and tricks were something to behold, especially for a fanbase that really hasn't seen that level of pure skill in seven years of watching Union soccer.
Ilsinho's problems were twofold.
For starters, he couldn't stay healthy. Ilsinho lost more than ten pounds in the spring, and looked to be in good shape, then suffered a series of nagging injuries that limited him for eight straight games. He put in a good spell when he returned, then went back on the injury list with plantar fasciitis and played limited minutes down the stretch.
Ilsinho logged just 1,286 minutes and started only 14 games.
The second problem is that he wasn't impacting the score sheet. The elasticos and nutmegs were fun to watch, but he wasn't scoring goals or bagging assists. He finished with two goals (one a penalty), and two assists.
Part of the reason for that is wild inaccuracy. Ilsinho actually attempted 30 shots, but only put seven on frame. His scoring chance percentage of 6.7 was the worst on the team, falling below Brian Carroll of all people.
I don't really buy the idea that Ilsinho was "fat" or "out of shape" or "lazy" or whatever Union fans observed. No, he's not going to be the team's best defender or fastest runner, but he's not supposed to be. He's a 31-year-old Brazilian veteran with elite-level ball skills who just needs to show more purpose going forward.
Here's Ilsinho failing on an elastico but still nutmegging a guy anyway https://t.co/T0jgyAdj0N
— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) July 6, 2016
Strengths – lateral field coverage, ball-winning ability, strong motor
New Year's resolution – improve passing game
Creavalle was a nice surprise in 2016.
Here's a guy who was shoved into the right back spot by Toronto, struggled in that role, then found himself in Philadelphia as a depth piece. Injuries to Maurice Edu and Vincent Nogueira, followed then by the latter's departure, provided Creavalle with an opportunity to grab significant minutes in the defensive midfield.
We saw him first in the Columbus road game when Curtin went for a defensive double pivot that included Carroll at the No. 6 and Creavalle playing slightly ahead of him. That maximized his abilities as a ranging ball-winner who was able to roam and destroy without the onus of building from the back or holding position in front of a young back four.
The limitation on the Creavalle and Carroll combo is that Warren just isn't a high-level passer. He's good enough in short-range situations and will cycle the ball from side to side, but he's not going to hit that field-switching diagonal or split the lines at 20 or 25 yards on a consistent basis.
When Creavalle played by himself as a number six, he had to be a bit more conservative, because he was the last line of defense before a vulnerable center back pairing (at least later in the year). The pairing of Creavalle and Bedoya made for a sturdy middle but left a lot to be desired in distribution.
It should also be noted that Creavalle played with three broken ribs in the playoff game, and was one of the best performers on the field.
What is Warren's role this year? Is he relegated to a backup role? Does he have the passing instincts to be a starting-quality number six in Major League Soccer?
Philly's Warren Creavalle w/ a pretty industrious effort winning the ball vs Orlando City last night. #DOOP pic.twitter.com/f5HdSpFAr2
— John Bava III (@LWOSJohnBava) May 26, 2016
Strengths – veteran savvy and anticipation, plays a smart and simple game
New Year's resolution – N/A
It feels wrong to talk about what Brian Carroll can "improve" in his game. After 300 matches and 14 seasons, we know what "BC" is. He's a smart and savvy veteran with apex-level game recognition.
Carroll really wasn't supposed to play as much as he did this year. Like Creavalle, he was called upon when the Edu injury and Nogueira situation altered the club's midfield depth. He performed about as well as a 35-year-old veteran could perform.
This season, Brian can probably play the role he was supposed to play in 2016, which is to provide a veteran depth option in the defensive midfield. Philly is long overdue in developing a starting-caliber No. 6, and has relied on Carroll for way too long.
Brian Carroll on retirement: "I think I proved to myself that I still have a little more left in the tank."
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) November 2, 2016
Strengths – elite athlete, ball-winning ability, makes two-way contributions
New Year's resolution – get healthy and stay healthy
Continuing with that last paragraph, part of the reason that Carroll was relied upon was because Maurice Edu had to be moved from the midfield to defense in 2014 and 2015.
Edu was supposed to be the guy in that holding role, but failure to build a legitimate backline, first with the Aaron Wheeler experiment, then with the Steven Vitoria signing, resulted in Jim Curtin asking his captain to deputize at center back. It was the right decision in both cases, and I really do think that Maurice is a better defender than midfielder.
Anyway, this season, Edu was supposed to reclaim that midfield spot but suffered a devastating injury setback that kept him out of action until September. Then, when he was finally ready to play in late October, he suffered a leg fracture that put him back on the surgery table.
This is a simple situation. When Edu is healthy, he tops the depth chart at two different positions. This year, we have to stay away from artificial timelines and just let him rehab for as long as it takes.
