By Mark Lee
The Seattle Sounders are in Chicago this weekend for a date with the Fire. In lieu of our normal preview, here’s Prost Seattle writer Mark Lee’s take on the state of Seattle’s front 6:
As the final whistle sounded on Saturday, the Sounders walked off the field with another disappointing result. A makeshift Toronto team was able to waltz into Seattle, grab a goal, soak up the pressure and possession, and come away with a win. It’s beginning to look like a familiar story for the Sounders – this wasn’t the first time they’ve had greater than 60% possession and failed to make it show. With an enviable lineup of attacking talent, where is it going wrong?
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Taking a closer look at the front 6, what is the best position for each player, and can you fit them all into a viable formation?
Formations only explain so much
For example, let’s take a look at the formation the Sounders fielded on Saturday. Seattle started the game in a 4-5-1 with Will Bruin up top as a lone striker, Clint Dempsey sitting just in behind as an attacking center midfielder, Jordan Morris on the left wing, Nico Lodeiro on the right wing, and Osvaldo Alonso and Christian Roldan playing defensive center midfield. But that was just the starting formation – what space do the players actually take up on the field?
Lodeiro likes to drift inside and find the ball closer to the middle of the field, while Morris tends to take up a position high on the opponent’s back line, almost like a second forward. Dempsey likes to float in the space between the opposing team’s defensive and midfield lines, withdrawing deeper into the midfield to get touches on the ball when he’s not as involved. In addition to the front six, Joevin Jones and Jordy Delem push high up the field as wing backs, often both taking up positions 40+ yards in front of the center backs.
While it starts as a 4-5-1, this formation ends up functioning much like a 4-3-3 with attacking wing backs. It also shares many similarities to a 4-4-2, with Dempsey or Morris performing similarly to a second forward for much of the game. It doesn’t much matter what you want to call the formation, the Sounders’ front six will end up interchanging fluidly throughout the match. Aside from Bruin, who stays up top as a target man, everyone has the freedom to roam wherever the space opens up. Morris and Lodeiro swapped wings multiple times on Saturday, Dempsey dropped back deeper than Alonso more than once, and Jones and Delem spent much of the game in the attacking half of the field.
“Attacking options that don’t crowd the center midfield are scarce for the Sounders at the moment.”
This type of movement is key to what the Sounders want to do offensively. With so much flexibility, they can often draw teams out of shape and exploit the space to create clear-cut chances. Especially with personnel like Lodeiro, Dempsey, and Morris, an attacking outburst is always a possibility. However, fluidity, just like possession, must come with a purpose.
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It’s great to be flexible and move freely around the pitch, that movement can lead to games like the 3-0 demolition of the LA Galaxy just over a week ago (with the same formation and same players on the field). But with no end product, with too much time spent in build-up and not enough incisiveness, it’s just a pretty game of possession. The movement must be quick, and speed of play needs to match.
In addition to sharper movement, the quality of delivery needs to be better. Aside from the free kick that resulted in the disallowed goal, the service was poor. Despite the high volume of corners and crosses whipped into the box, virtually none of them led to dangerous situations or even half-chances. If the Sounders want to play with Bruin up top, and continue to focus on creating chances from crosses, the service needs to be better. In case you want proof, two of the goals against LA came directly from excellent service (and incisive movement). If the service is there, the goals will follow.
Wing backs and gummy bears
One thing to keep any eye on as the season progresses: the Sounders’ positional tendencies often lead to four players taking up space in the central midfield, clogging space that is needed for creative movement. Bringing in someone like Alvaro Fernandez adds a pure winger to the mix, but his attack is as toothless as a gummy bear. Harry Shipp is another player most comfortable in the center midfield, and his addition to the lineup often means Roldan’s transition to outside back.
Attacking options that don’t crowd the center midfield are scarce for the Sounders at the moment, and that could lead to some spatial issues if their current formation doesn’t work out. With the return of Brad Evans to the lineup, look for players like Delem or Jones to get more time pushed up into attacking roles.
Whatever the formation, the Sounders need to find a way to convert their possession into goals. They have their next chance to do that this Saturday in Bridgeview, Illinois when they take on the Chicago Fire. Can the front six overcome a tough midfield featuring Bastian Schweinsteiger, Dax McCarty and Juninho?
Chicago Fire
Sounders FC
