Why we might see Brad Evans coming off the bench as a super-sub.
Defender Román Torres returns to the active roster after a 10-month recovery from a torn ACL just 4 games into his career in the Rave Green. This news means we will see the return of possibly the most formidable centerback pairing in the MLS: Chad Marshall, 3-time MLS Defender of the year, and Torres, the captain of the Panamanian national team.
Though the two started just three and a half games together before the injury, they allowed an average of one goal per 105+ minutes. One of which came on an unfortunate handball that led to a penalty kick by Torres.
There is no question that Torres will slot in next to Marshall; the question is, where does Brad Evans play?
Last year, when Torres arrived, Brad moved up into the midfield in Sigi’s beloved 4-4-2. With the current formation, Schmetzer’s 4-2-3-1, and the importing of high-quality players, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of room. He can’t play CAM, while Andreas Ivanschitz and certainly Nicolás Lodiero would be seem to be untouchable: they’re both simply too productive or skilled to move down.
And in the defending midfield, where Evans would be more likely play naturally, there also seems to be a bit of a logjam. Osvado Alonso is another untouchable (you can’t replace Honey Badger), and Cristian Roldan, who would seem to be the logical choice to be relegated to the bench, at least in the midfield, is on fire as of late.
Roldan netted a pair of goals, assists, and penalty kicks drawn in the four games before the Houston match. He also has been a force on the defensive side of the ball. He’s been pairing nearly as well with Alonso as Gonzalo Pinedo used to. It’s hard to imagine Schmetzer would sit a young kid bursting with confidence and on a tear as of late.
This leaves the two fullback positions as what seems to be the only alternatives.
Tyrone Mears has been a steady presence at the right back position. He led the club in both minutes and starts in the 2015 season, and is second in both this season to Alonso. He missed just the season opener against Sporting Kansas City.
Joevin Jones at left back seems to be the only
choice left to make way for Evans. Evans started two games at left back back in May of 2014, so he has experience at the positon. However, Jones also has been quite a solid contributor for the Sounders as of late.
His play in particular looked great in the home fixture against Portland, making several important clearances. One of these came against after a save, which saved a certain shot on goal. He also balanced his forward runs with the defensive side of the ball.
The final Portland match this Sunday won’t reveal to us too much about what a “best XI” might look like. Torres isn’t yet 90-minute healthy, while Mears, Evans, Roldan, Lodiero and Alonso all played in Houston and Portland last Sunday. We’ll likely see another modified lineup for this final Timbers match.
However, given a fully healthy and rested squad, I think we’ll see something similar to this:
Frei, Mears, Marshall, Torres, Jones, Alonso, Roldan, Ivanschitz, Lodiero, Dempsey, Morris.
Only time will tell what Schmetzer has in store, though. We’ll see how highly he values Evans’ role as the emotional leader of the team.
If Evans must come in from the bench, I hope it’s with more grace than you see here from Francesco Totti. Totti, a longtime captain of A.S Roma, has since been turned into a super-sub, and does not seem happy about it, refusing the captain’s armband from Seydou Keita:
Let’s say Brad Evans is relegated to the bench for the last leg of the season. It would still mean that Brad freaking Evans is coming off of our bench. This speaks to the depth of the Sounders squad, and can mean only good things as we push forward toward the playoffs.
Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments below!