Orlando City: When exactly is ‘Mueller Time’?

Orlando City’s Chris Mueller has had mixed results in mixed action as a starter and reserve. Which role serves him and his team best?

Under a night sky in early April, as lightning still flashed overhead after an hour-long halftime weather delay, a different sort of electricity filled Orlando City Stadium in the 79th minute.

When second-year forward Chris Mueller stepped to the touchline to enter the game for Sebastian Mendez, the Lions supporters that stuck it out through the storm to see the finish against Colorado cheered in anticipation. Orlando City had conceded its first-half lead to trail 3-2. Inspiration was needed.

Almost immediately after checking in, it would be provided. Mueller scored from the left side of the goal box. Two tricky passes from Nani and Tesho Akindele put him through one-on-one with Tim Howard, and all at once, the stadium erupted. A thunderous release of excitement and frustration gave way to a renewed belief that Orlando City could find a way to win the game — which it did, 4-3, on a penalty kick by Nani in the 89th minute.

Mueller’s spark-plug performance added fuel to the debate about whether or not the 2018 SuperDraft first-rounder should be a regular starter or is best used as a super sub. After four subsequent matches, in the midst of formation and line-up changes at other positions, arguments could still be made for either option, but his efficiency off the bench might be what tips the scale in that direction.

In the nine games that Mueller has played so far this season, Orlando is 1-2-2 when he’s started and 1-1-2 when he’s entered as a sub. On March 3, he was subbed in at Chicago very late into the game and didn’t have a significant chance to impact the 1-1 result. In Orlando’s 1-0 win at New York Red Bulls on March 23, he didn’t play at all.

Even keeping in mind that he was little more than a toss-in at the end of the match against the Fire, Mueller has the same number of goals and assists in fewer appearances as a sub — one of each — as he does in a starting role. The assist that he is credited with as a starter was of the secondary variety on a pass to Santiago Patiño, who pushed the ball forward to Dom Dwyer for OCSC’s lone goal in a 3-1 home loss to Montreal. Granted, as a reserve, he naturally has fewer opportunities, but his accuracy as a passer averages out 13-percent higher when he is called off the bench. On the ball, he’s been steady enough, but generally takes more chances to create in possession as a dynamic playmaker.

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The most concentrated success for Mueller this year came as a substitute in the win against the Rapids and the previous week against D.C. United. In both of those appearances, he typically found himself attacking at the top of the formation from the left side of the box. In addition to his goal against Colorado, he assisted on a cool cross to Dwyer from deep inside the box for a goal against United.

Despite the latter example, Mueller’s most obvious deficiency this season has been his effectiveness crossing the ball, which may also be just as much of an indictment Orlando’s finishing from its other attackers. In his last six appearances, only four of his 27 crosses found their way to an intended target, further supporting the argument that his best role is higher in the formation running on goal, rather than pumping balls in from out on the wing.

Mueller has won the hearts of an Orlando City fan base that has seen a pretty heavy roster turnover on an annual basis over the past three years. Outside of Cyle Larin, the Lions haven’t had too many other players that inspire expectations of a goal from their sheer presence on the field. When it comes to Mueller, Orlando manager James O’Connor should remind himself of the weather and result from the win against Colorado.

Pick out the right time to release the lightning in a bottle.