Soccer | Crew's constant roster evaluation led to three recent additions
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Less than two weeks remain until Major League Soccer rosters freeze for the remainder of the 2015 season. Sunday will mark one month since the league’s secondary transfer window closed, a date that capped one of the busiest summers for Crew SC in recent memory.
In an effort to improve the roster, the Crew made two key signings and a trade, all of which were finalized in the final days before the deadline. Right back Harrison Afful and center back Gaston Saurowere signed from overseas and forward Jack McInerney was acquired via trade from the Montreal Impact, helping upgrade a team that now has its eyes set on finishing among the top two in the Eastern Conference and earning a first-round playoff bye.
But the path to addressing the team’s needs began months ago, when one of the winter’s key acquisitions left due to homesickness.
“We’re happy with (our summer moves),” coach Gregg Berhalter toldThe Dispatch last week. “Circumstances beyond our control warranted that we make those moves. If you think about a guy like Hernan Grana, we were planning with him the whole year. When that happens, when you’re forced to make a move then you have to react. We wouldn’t necessarily have liked it like that, but that’s how it came out.”
In the case of right back, Grana’s departure in early May allowed the Crew some time to get in front of a need before the window opened July 8.
“We identified a strong group of right backs that we felt comfortable with,” Berhalter said. “Then it was just working through it. Obviously we were close to (Brazailian defender) Zeca and that didn’t happen in the end but we had a strong list of candidates.”
As the Crew worked to bring in some new players, Berhalter said he was in constant communication with investor-operator Anthony Precourt. The two speak once a week about the roster, the staff and where the need for upgrades is growing.
The evaluation of the roster is a daily, almost hourly process, Berhalter said.
“That’s something that you want to be constantly improving, and whether that’s on the organizational side with the processes of how you’re working or whether that’s in player personnel,” he said. “We’re always looking. There’s always a shadow team that is a list of the top three at each position in the whole team. At any time, if we need to act, we can. We’re always looking to improve.”
That desire to improve also fuels the Crew’s efforts to bolster its international scouting network. Berhalter has repeatedly declined to specify how many scouts the Crew employs or where they are deployed, but said the team has “certainly” made progress in that area.
“In general, to have a proper scouting network, it’s a lot of work,” he said. “It involves a lot of people, a lot of communication, a lot of work time evaluating, watching live and we’ve been working hard to get that established. Having a presence at these games in Europe, in South America, having people there in the stands watching, it is a lot of coordination but it’s certainly worth it.”
It all has the blessing of Precourt, who Berhalter has said will put the necessary resources into the Crew to produce a consistent winner.
“He wants to build a strong team and he realizes that his way to do it is by supporting us,” he said. “He’s very supportive and he will challenge me in terms of, ‘Hey, can we think about this type of player?’ And we respond.”
Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy
Steven Gerrard, LA Galaxy
Giovani dos Santos, LA Galaxy
Andrea Pirlo, New York City FC
David Villa, New York City FC
Frank Lampard, New York City FC
Didier Drogba, Montreal Impact
Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto FC
Kaka, Orlando City
Obafemi Martins, Seattle Sounders
Shaun Wright-Phillips, New York Red Bulls
MLS Star Watch: Lampard's return not enough to stop NYCFC slump
Frank Lampard returned from his latest injury, but Didier Drogba sat out with a toe injury as the two Chelsea legends struggle to get going in MLS.
It has been a tough go in MLS for former Chelsea legends Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, who both have endured slow starts to their time in a new league.
Drogba missed the Montreal Impact's vital derby clash against Toronto FC with a toe injury, and the Impact suffered a 2-1 loss that spurred the firing of head coach Frank Klopas. The Impact are 0-3 in all competitions since Drogba made his debut, and are in jeopardy of missing the playoffs if they don't start to generate results. Getting Drogba healthy will be key to that quest.
Lampard made his own return from injury Satuday, starting and playing 60 minutes in NYCFC's 2-1 loss to the Columbus Crew. His return after missing three matches with a leg injury wasn't enough to keep NYCFC from suffering another disappointing loss. A defeat that puts NYCFC in an even deeper hole as the expansion team chases a playoff berth.
“Unfortunately, we play well for 15 or 20 minutes, then we don’t for 30 minutes, then we play well for another 30 minutes," NYCFC midfielder Andrea Pirlo said after Saturday's match. "Unfortunately, we don’t do very good team play because we don’t know each other very well. It’s a very young team. We need a bit of time to get to know each other better and to work better together.”
NYCFC doesn't have much time left. With just seven matches left in the regular season, the expansion side can't afford many more slip-ups, and with a healthy Lampard playing alongside Pirlo and David Villa, there will be no excuses for NYCFC missing the postseason.
"We’re all aware of the math and there should be a pressure on ourselves every week," Lampard said. "We’ll keep going. There’s enough games, enough points to play for but can’t keep saying it every week when we’re not picking it up. It’s more important what we do than what we say.”
It was a better weekend for some other of the league's international superstars. Sebastian Giovinco registered an assist to help TFC beat Montreal, and strengthen its own playoff position, while Obafemi Martins scored a goal and drew a penalty kick to help his Seattle Sounders register a derby victory against arch-rival Portland on Sunday.
Last game: San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 LA Galaxy
Key stats: 90 minutes, 3 shots, 16 of 23 passes completed
Notes: The Irish striker couldn't get going as the Galaxy struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, then a defender getting a red card early in the second half made things even more difficult for Keane and the Galaxy attack.
Last game: San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 LA Galaxy
Key stats: 90 minutes, 47 of 52 passes completed, 2 shots
Notes: Gerrard enjoyed one of his best passing performance since joining the Galaxy, but that sharpness didn't lead to chances created for a Galaxy side that manage just four shots on goal.
Last game: San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 LA Galaxy
Key stats: 90 minutes, 15 of 20 passes completed, two shots
Notes: His first match since being snubbed by the Mexican national team didn't exactly offer evidence suggesting El Tri made a mistake. Dos Santos failed to make an impact in the first half, and was largely invisible in the second. San Jose's defense does deserve some credit for that.
Last game: New York City FC 1-2 Columbus Crew
Key stats: 90 minutes, 61 of 76 passes completed, 4 key passes
Notes: The Italian star did his best to try and drive the NYCFC attack, but couldn't generate any assists. He also wound up marking Columbus goal-scorer Federico Higuain on the Crew's first goal.
Last game: New York City FC 1-2 Columbus Crew
Key stats: 90 minutes, 6 shots, 3 shots on goal, 19 of 23 passes completed, 3 key passes
Notes: The Spanish striker was deployed in more of a left wing role against Columbus, and the tactical change allowed him to see more of the ball, but didn't produce more dangerous chances for him or the NYCFC attack, which was limited to one long-distance goal from midfielder Andrew Jacobson.
Last game: New York City FC 1-2 Columbus Crew
Key stats: 60 minutes, 2 shots, 23 of 30 passes completed
Notes: Made his first appearance in three matches, overcoming a leg injury to make his third start for NYCFC. Unfortunately for Lampard, NYCFC is now 0-3 in matches Lampard has started.
Last game: Toronto FC 2-1 Montreal Impact
Key stats: Did not play
Notes: A toe injury kept Drogba out of action for the second straight match, and the result was a Montreal loss that led to the firing of head coach Frank Klopas. It remains unclear whether Drogba will play in Montreal's next match, Saturday against the Chicago Fire.
Last game: Toronto FC 2-1 Montreal Impact
Key stats: 51 minutes, 1 assist, 3 shots, 6 of 7 passes completed
Notes: The Italian dynamo did what he could before leaving the match early, setting up a goal and helping TFC take early control of its Canada derby against Montreal. Unfortunately for Giovinco, he wound up suffering an injury that cost him a chance to return to the Italian national team.
Last game: Orlando City 1-1 Chicago Fire
Key stats: 90 minutes, 2 shots, 39 of 48 passes completed,
Notes: The Brazilian playmaker had a better performance than he has had in recent weeks, but he was still not as effective as he was earlier in the season.
Last game: Seattle Sounders 2-1 Portland Timbers
Key stats: 90 minutes, 1 goal, 1 penalty drawn, 25 of 32 passes completed.
Notes: The Nigerian striker bounced back from a quiet showing in last week's loss to Real Salt Lake by scoring a goal and then drawing the penalty on the eventual game-winner in a match the Sounders sorely needed to boost their playoff prospects.
Last game: New York Red Bulls 3-0 D.C. United
Key stats: Did Not Play
Notes: Though he didn't play, Wright-Phillips' brother Bradley enjoyed a dream day, scoring two goals and assisting on a third goal.
MLS SOCCER STATS
| Major League Soccer | ||
| Saturday, September 5, 2015 | ||
| 7:30 ET | ||
| 8:00 ET | ||
| 10:00 ET | ||
| 10:30 ET | ||
| Sunday, September 6, 2015 | ||
| 7:00 ET | ||
Copyright © 2015 by STATS LLC.
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
| Major League Soccer | ||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||
| Pos | Team | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | D.C. | 13 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 44 |
| 2 | New York | 12 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 42 |
| 3 | Columbus | 11 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 41 |
| 4 | Toronto FC | 11 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 37 |
| 5 | New England | 10 | 7 | 9 | -1 | 37 |
| 6 | Orlando City SC | 7 | 8 | 12 | -14 | 29 |
| 7 | Montreal | 8 | 4 | 11 | -4 | 28 |
| 8 | New York City FC | 7 | 7 | 13 | -8 | 28 |
| 9 | Chicago | 7 | 6 | 13 | -7 | 27 |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 7 | 6 | 14 | -11 | 27 |
| Western Conference | ||||||
| Pos | Team | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Los Angeles | 13 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 46 |
| 2 | Vancouver | 14 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 45 |
| 3 | FC Dallas | 12 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 41 |
| 4 | Sporting KC | 11 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 40 |
| 5 | Portland | 11 | 7 | 9 | -3 | 40 |
| 6 | Seattle | 12 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 38 |
| 7 | San Jose | 11 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 38 |
| 8 | Houston | 9 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 35 |
| 9 | Colorado | 8 | 9 | 9 | -2 | 33 |
| 10 | Real Salt Lake | 8 | 8 | 11 | -11 | 32 |
Copyright © 2015 by STATS LLC.
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
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