Some personnel choices are difficult and others are no-brainers.
Starting Tranquillo Barnetta on Saturday falls into the latter category, assuming the Union's veteran midfielder is fully healthy and ready to go.
Barnetta came into the season as the starting No. 10 on the depth chart, but a bout of knee tendinitis kept him out of the lineup until week four in Chicago. He's made three straight appearances off the bench and should be a straight swap for the suspended Roland Alberg at the CAM spot.
Ilsinho, who himself is recovering from a hamstring issue, started the season in the 10 role before moving over to the right wing. You can probably play a midfield three of Chris Pontius, Ilsinho, and Sebastien Le Toux, going from left to right. If the Brazilian is forced to the bench with Barnetta, then you're probably looking at Leo Fernandes in that attacking midfield role instead.
The diagram at right shows my projected starting XI, assuming that center back Ken Tribbett (ankle) does not play.
I've got your six
One of the storylines from last week's loss was the decision to go with Warren Creavalle in a more conservative midfield role.
In prior games, Creavalle played in the No. 8 spot with veteran Brian Carroll occupying the deeper role. For the Seattle game, it was a first-time pairing of Nogueira and Creavalle.
"We have three guys that have been playing really well between two spots to choose from, three guys playing well at the 6 and the 8 spots," Curtin said of his options during his midweek press conference. "It's not just one (factor), but with the travel and the turf, (Brian Carroll) had given us five very strong games. The idea that Clint Dempsey is a guy who doesn’t really play as a true forward and comes deeper and tries to create numbers up advantages in the middle — we thought that Warren would be a good matchup to break plays up. I thought on the day he had a very strong game. He missed a couple of easy passes, but usually, he wound up correcting it by winning the ball right back. So, I'm happy with how Warren played.
"I thought Vincent had his best game of the year. So, again,we have three really good players right now for two spots. We’ll have to be smart how we get through the 34 games. We saw a window — on the turf, away, long travel, all the variable that I’ve already brought up, as well — to get 'BC' a bit of a breather, for lack of a better term. I hate saying that because we didn’t really rest him, but you guys get the idea: three good players, two spots. We went with Warren and Vincent, who I thought both did a very good job."
It's a thorough explanation from Curtin, but don't misinterpret the idea of having two positions for three guys. There are definitely differences between the six and the eight spot; it just so happens that Creavalle can play both of them.
Nogueira can't. He's not a definitive holding midfielder.
It's true that Nogueira will pull deep, receive the ball, and begin attacks from inside the Union half of the field. But you won't see him put in a crunching slide tackle and break up plays like a Matias Laba or Dax McCarty.
Conversely, Carroll is comfortable as a backline shielder, but he's not going to be the guy who begins the buildup or attacks the box. His skill-set is much more conservative in that regard.
Creavalle has traits that fall somewhere in between. He's not as good of a passer as Nogueira, but he's more physical and more mobile. He's not as savvy as Carroll, but he has better stamina and younger legs.
Even though you've got three guys fighting for two spots, they really are treated as different positions on the depth chart.
From last week's game, take a look at how the combined heatmap of Nogueira and Creavalle (right) panned out against Ozzie Alonso and Cristian Roldan (left).
Five boroughs, zero tactical awareness
In summary, they really lack presence and bite going down the spine of their formation because they insist on using 36-year-old Andrea Pirlo by himself in a deep-lying role.
At the risk of beating the dead horse (again), I'll vouch for the 3-5-2. Give me NYC FC in the formation at right.
This shape solves a lot of problems.
First, you're adding another defender to help strengthen the spine and take some defensive pressure off of Pirlo.
Second, you can get another striker onto the field and give David Villa some help up top. I like Patrick Mullins, but you could also try Kwadwo Poku up there and put Mix Diskerud or Federico Bravo into the midfield.
The key to the shape is the wingbacks, and I'm not sure how exactly Matarrita and Iraola would work in this setup. If you trust the NYC center backs, which I don't, then you can bomb forward on the left and right.
If the shape looks familiar, that's because it is.