Reality check

By: Chris | June 3rd, 2007

Last night, a red card, a refereeing decision and an injury to defender Jeff Parke were the only factors standing between the Red Bulls and victory against an excellent KC side. Or so we would like to believe.

While I agree Kerry Z. deserves an award (and perhaps a real elbow to the throat) for his theatrics, the fact is he did his job: seize whatever advantage presents itself. Whether last night’s loss was justified or not, this match will certainly shatter any illusion of depth and points to an alarming trend in our away from.

Against FC Dallas in our only away win, our boys performed like a well drilled machine, defending for one another and attacking on the break. Subtract a few key players however and our defense becomes as ineffective as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest.

It is clear that we need defenders, but my point is we need quality rather than numbers. Taylor Graham and Tim Regan have proven useless time and again and while Carlos Mendez continues to excel, many of our breakdowns stem from poor marking and organization which only the presence of experience can prevent.

So where do we go from here? Listed below is my take on the possibilities in order of likelihood:

1. Sign Leitch and move to a 4-5-1:

Not the option most would opt for, but moving Leitch to fullback would allow Dema to revert to the center, providing an experienced partner for Mendez. Most certainly a stopgap measure, it would still prove the best solution in the short term. Leitch is a guy who is familiar with the team and wouldn’t eat up much cap space on a short term deal.

2. Promote from within:

After Graham and Regan stepped up to the plate and missed their shot, Macdonald and Ikangu may rightly consider themselves next in line. The problem is they did little better in conceding two questionable goals in a 2-1 loss to KC reserves. Ives has also observed in the past that the coaching staff view both as more of a work in progress. Maybe next season.

3. Look outside the league

So what ever happened to Mariano Fernandez? As reportedly previously, he was only here for a short trial and will be reassessed in a showcase of players sometime next month. This is a good thing considering he arrived well short of match fitness and didn’t impress trainers Barrieu and Guter. This option looks especially unlikely given the European transfer window is closed until July 1st. But if we hold out until then, don’t put it beyond Bruce to pull in a bargain for the playoffs.

My take: Start Leitch at fullback, move Dema inside and shift Stammler in to a destroyer’s role in a 4-5-1. While neither may be the long term solution, this formation paid dividends in our lone away win and would provide greater protection on the road.