NASL: How would Miami FC do in MLS?
![MIAMI, FL - JUNE 10: Fans look on as Jamaica takes on Guatamala at FIU Stadium on June 10, 2011 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images) MIAMI, FL - JUNE 10: Fans look on as Jamaica takes on Guatamala at FIU Stadium on June 10, 2011 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/64ad9918741675e14a55ffea93a575dfd4e8e70c186eebdd64b0acec0d5503ba.jpg)
Compared To MLS Offenses
Make sure to watch @poku take on @ussoccer today as he looks to make his second appearance for Ghana! #VamosPoku #VamosUSA pic.twitter.com/RXd0BnwiT6
— Miami FC (@TheMiamiFC) July 1, 2017
Miami is definitely missing Designated Player type players, or possibly Target Allocation Money players with their current setup, although a case could be made that all three attackers would require TAM to land on an MLS roster. DC United have scored a league-fewest 12 goals this season and recently purchased Deshorn Brown from the Rowdies in USL in an attempt to strengthen the attack. The Miami trio would thrive ahead of Luciano Acosta if Poku played striker, and with a playmaker like Acosta behind them, they could take their attack a step further.
The same could be said with Real Salt Lake and playing with Albert Rusnák, or the Union and Alejandro Bedoya, and definitely with the Colorado Rapids and Shkelzen Gashi. Real Salt Lake’s struggles stem back to Yura Movsisyan, Joao Plata, and Luis Silva not being able to finish chances, something Miami has done routinely. RSL is fifth in the league with shots on goal, but only DC United have scored fewer goals. The Union and Colorado have struggled to create shots at all.
Miami FC definitely has the pieces to finish ahead of all four of those MLS teams. Teams with struggling defenses like Minnesota, Portland, New England, and Columbus would all have a hard time with the three-headed monster, and given Miami’s strength on the road, something that MLS teams have almost unanimously struggled with this season, it’s not hard to see Miami earning results against those teams as well.
So that begs the next question, the attack would likely hold their own outside of everyone except probably Chicago and Toronto and could go toe to toe with the likes of NYCFC and Atlanta, but how would the defense keep up?