Clavijo, Nicol heap praise

The list continues to grow of former coaches and teammates who heap praise on the new coach of the New England Revolution, Jay Heaps.

Frank Dell'Apa of the Boston Globe speaks to former New England coaches Fernando Clavijo and Steve Nicol about their protege turn manager.

“It’s a bold move, isn’t it?’’ Nicol said yesterday. “Obviously, I hope he does well. If attitude and commitment and hard work are involved in doing well, you know he’ll do well.’’

Clavijo brought Heaps to the Revolution by trading Brian Dunseth to the Miami Fusion midway through the 2001 season. Heaps soon earned a starting role and became a driving force as the Revolution advanced to four MLS Cup finals, two US Open Cup finals, and won a SuperLiga title.

“I think he will do well,’’ Clavijo said. “He has no experience, not even as an assistant coach, but he has the profile, he is mature, and, hopefully, they let him get his own people, his own staff. He will need somebody with experience.

“If you look at New England, they have had a lot of good players, but not as many today. He can be a great coach, but if he does not have the resources, they are not going to get better.’’

Both Clavijo and Nicol were impressed with Heaps’s attitude as a player.

“He always liked to study the game and he was not the guy who just followed along,’’ Clavijo said. “He was always ahead of the group, the player rep, he was always there and always wanted more than just, ‘Yes sir.’ ’’

Heaps was among the first pieces in Clavijo’s plan to rejuvenate the Revolution.

“First of all, I saw he was a competitor, I saw how competitive he was in Miami,’’ said Clavijo, now technical director for the NASL’s Fort Lauderdale Strikers. “He could play in different positions. He didn’t have the size for central defender but he had incredible jumping ability. More than anything else, he grows on you as a player.

“We had a lot of older players but we had some draft picks and we made changes and made a quick turnaround the first year, and also regenerated the roster. It’s going to be hard to do that now with how tight the salary cap is.

“I took a chance on Shalrie Joseph, we got Taylor Twellman in the draft, took Steve Ralston when some people wanted me to take Chris Henderson. Where do you get those players now? They are going to need some players who can change a game, and those are going to cost you money.’’

Heaps started as a winger with the Revolution, but Nicol moved him to right back and also used him as a central defender in emergencies.

“His desire to win, that in a defender is huge,’’ Nicol said. “A defender who cares about not getting beaten by his opponent is a huge step in the right direction.

“He played injured. You used to have to tie him to a chair in the dressing room if you wanted to stop him getting on the field.

“He’s a guy who would do anything to win, and that’s certainly what you need to coach. You need that desire and to be able to find a way of making it happen. That desire, it’s huge, and it’s infectious, and everyone feeds off that.

“But we all need somebody beside us who is the mixture of a lot of things - a calming influence, a cool head, and someone who knows the game. It’s important that whoever he gets beside him [as an assistant] is the right person for him, the two of them fit in well.’’

Nicol coached at Notts County before moving to the US as player-coach for the Boston Bulldogs in 1999. He turned down an offer from the Revolution because he was not versed in the rules of Major League Soccer.

“Initially, I didn’t know enough about MLS players and how the system worked,’’ Nicol said. “But [Heaps] knows a good part of it. I’m sure now he’s on the other side of the fence, a lot of things will make sense to him now that didn’t when he was a player.’’

Heaps has been working as the Revolution’s color commentator for the last two years, using the position partly as preparation for a coaching role.

“He has been looking at the game every day, but you get a completely different view of the game as a reporter or as a fan,’’ Clavijo said. “You might know what the problems are but maybe you can’t find a solution. You might want to try to change everything but sometimes you can’t.

“But one thing he has is passion for the game. He is not going to be sitting down on the bench - he was always fighting for 90 minutes and he is going to bring that to the team.’’

Fiery Heaps Leads Revs

Jay Heaps has always been known as a fiery competitor as a player during his professional and collegiate career, and know has the opportunity to translate that as the new coach with the New England Revolution.

Brian O'Connell of ESPNBoston.com writes of the Revs' new head coach.

"When Michael and I were putting our list together, we knew that Jay was going to be one of the candidates," Revolution president Brian Bilello said. "We were confident that he had the makeup to be a great coach."

Even though Heaps' résumé lacks any MLS coaching experience, Bilello and general manager Michael Burns knew what to expect from him.

As a player, Heaps was known for his tenacity, leadership, and cerebral approach to the game during his 11-year career. But even without the vast coaching experience that so many clubs crave when making a managerial change, Heaps was the one to steer the team in the right direction, the Revolution braintrust believed.

"In our discussions with Jay, it became clear to us that he was ready to step in immediately and take the role," Bilello said. "Not only was he ready, but he was our top choice."

It would have been easy to go with a candidate who had a proven track record. But that's not the path Bilello and Burns wanted to pursue.

Instead, they were looking for someone to challenge the attitude of a club that needed a jolt of fresh energy,

"He is a tremendous leader and motivator," Bilello said. "He has a keen knowledge of what we need to do and what we need to excel at."

That, perhaps more than anything else, is what appealed to the Revolution -- Heaps' ability to diagnose a problem and offer solutions.

One of those problems, in Heaps' view, is that the Revolution suffered from inadequate game-day preparation.

"We're going to implement a game plan (every week)," Heaps said. "To see what advantages we can take from video (analysis) and impose our will on other teams. We will not be outworked and we will not be outsmarted."

From here, Heaps hits the ground running in searching for ways to improve the squad. With the expansion draft and re-entry draft on the horizon, Heaps will have a number of decisions to make about the roster.

"We're not thinking three to four years (into the future)," Heaps said. "We're thinking now. We're thinking how of we add the right players and right chemistry to build this team from day one."

Michael Bradley proves his worth in US victory over Slovenia

Michael Bradley only started once in Jurgen Klinsmann's first five games in charge, but proved in his second that Klinsmann may need him as much as his father had.

Frank Isola of Goal.com writes of the leadership, grit and playmaking that Bradley provided in the US 3-2 victory away to Slovenia.

Michael Bradley walked slowly, almost deliberately through the thick fog and toward the U.S. bench. His job, on a damp cold November night in Slovenia, was done.

In just his second start since his father Bob Bradley was sacked as head coach, Michael Bradley had contributed an assist and much needed leadership in the United States' 3-2 win over Slovenia on Tuesday. It was only the second win under Jürgen Klinsmann and the team’s first win on European soil in three years. (If Gen. Patton had failed this much aboard Americans would be speaking German today.)

Klinsmann, who had given Bradley the surprise start, shook hands with the young midfielder when Bradley crossed the touch line in injury time. It seemed only fitting that Bradley played such a significant role in Klinsmann's best moment as U.S. coach.

"We know that Michael has tremendous qualities in terms of his commitment," Klinsmann said afterward. "He covers so much ground, stays calm and is very experienced."

Klinsmann used a more conventional 4-4-2 formation against Slovenia which included Bradley playing a holding midfield position. The U.S. erupted for three first half goals and went ahead 2-1 when Clint Dempsey headed home Bradley's corner kick.

"It was a great ball in from Michael," said Dempsey. "I tried to get away from my man and make sure that I put it on frame because I had a chance earlier in the game where I put it a little bit wide."

It was an important result for the United States and a bittersweet moment for Bradley, whose adjustment to a new coach and system is justifiably awkward. It's never easy playing for your father on any level, especially for the national team. It's even harder when your father is fired.

Bob Bradley had a good run with the national team: finalist in the 2009 Confederations Cup followed by winning the group at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. In the group stage, the U.S. was minutes away from losing to Slovenia before Michael rescued the team with a late goal. It wasn't as memorable as Landon Donovan’s injury time goal against Algeria but was just as important.

But within 14 months, Bradley would be gone as coach while his son was back to trying to prove that he belongs on the national team.

"Anytime you have a new club, anytime you're in a new team, everyone is trying to prove themselves," Bradley said. "Guys are trying to get a feel for how the coach wants to do things - the way they want to play, the way they want to train, the way they want to run things off the field. On the flip side, coaches are trying to get a feel for players and guys they want to count on and the group they want to have together as you move to more important games."

Last season was a tumultuous one for the 24-year-old Bradley. In February, Bradley was loaned to Aston Villa from his German club, Borussia Mönchengladbach. He expected to sign permanently with the English Premier League club but a coaching change nixed the move. Meanwhile, Mönchengladbach told Bradley he had lost his spot on the team.

It turned out to be a blessing for Bradley who instead signed with Chievo Verona on Aug. 31. He's become a regular starter for the Italian Serie A club, a move that Klinsmann feels in crucial for Bradley’s development.

"Going to Italy, for him, as a midfielder, in an environment where they are tactic fanatics, the Italians, will teach him a lot," said Klinsmann, who played three years in Italy with Inter. "It will help him a lot to read the game better, to anticipate the game better to know exactly when to go into certain spaces and when not to go in certain spaces. So I was very pleased."

Klinsmann is still experimenting with different lineups and trying out different players. But when World Cup qualifiers begin next summer there's a good chance Bradley will be on the squad. Klinsmann will need him just as much as Bob Bradley did.

Being a leader is in Heaps' blood

Jay Heaps is only just starting out on his young coaching career with the New England Revolution, but he has plenty of supporters in his former coaches.

Sean Donahue writes of how Heaps' former coaches see his potential as a leader.

Brian Ainscough was right in his assessments about newly named New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps as a player in the past. Now fans of the Revs will be hoping the Northeastern Huskies men’s soccer coach’s good judgment continues in his beliefs about Heaps as a coach.

Ainscough coached Heaps at the club level when the Massachusetts native played for the FC Greater Boston Bolts. The former Irish youth international knew Heaps had what it takes to be a successful professional player and wasn’t the least bit surprised by the career Heaps had.

“He was special,” said Ainscough. “His competitiveness back then was unbelievable. His competitive spirit and his will to win were just amazing.”

Heaps took that competitiveness to his 11-year career in Major League Soccer that included an MLS Rookie of the Year award in 1999 and four appearances of the U.S. National Team in 2009. He became etched in the history books as the longest ever tenured player on the Revolution with nine seasons that included four MLS Cup appearances, a U.S. Open Cup Championship and a SuperLiga Championship.

None of that surprised Ainscough.

In 2005, Heaps joined Ainscough’s staff at Northeastern as a volunteer assistant coach. It was a role he would serve for two seasons.

“He passed along his experiences to the players who had respect for him because he was such a quality player,” said Ainscough.

The same qualities Ainscough admired in Heaps as a player came through in his coaching.

“The qualities that served him as a player and as a coach here were his passion and his competitive nature,” said Ainscough. “They’re unmatched when I coached him years ago and when he was here coaching.”

Ainscough has coached no shortage of players from the U.S. Soccer Olympic Development Program, Providence College, Bowdoin College, Northeastern and the Bolts, but Heaps competitiveness stood out above the rest.

“It’s unmatched by most players and I think that will serve him as well as a coach as it did as a player,” said Ainscough.

And just like Ainscough knew Heaps had what it takes to make it at the professional level, he believes Heaps has the qualities to succeed as a head coach. Heaps stint as a volunteer assistant with the Huskies made Ainscough realize the former Revs defender was destined to coach one day.

“I knew coaching was in his blood,” he said. “He sidetracked himself for business, but I think that was always his passion and it’s hard to stay away when that’s in your blood.”

Now that Heaps has his chance Ainscough will undoubtedly be among his coaching influences along with former Revs head coach Steve Nicol and others.

Of course Heaps can also draw on his experiences with legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, who recently became the winningest coach in NCAA Division I Basketball history. In addition to playing soccer at Duke under John Rennie, the Blue Devils’ former soccer coach who has quite the impressive resume himself, Heaps also was on the basketball team with Coach K.

Like Ainscough, Krzyzewski also sees a successful future for Heaps as a coach.

“I’m really excited about Jay becoming the head coach,” Krzyzewski said. “There’s nobody who has the combination of spirit, energy, charisma and talent like he does. I loved coaching him. He was a walk-on for our basketball team because he was an All-American soccer player, but everyone on our team always followed what he had to say.

“I see him spreading that same type of energy, spirit, and using his charisma to build back a storied program,” he added. “I wish him the best. He’s an outstanding leader, and for management to have the confidence in such a young guy – that they saw a special guy – I think it’ll pay off greatly.”

Heaps certainly has a monumental task ahead of him to turn around a Revolution side that’s missed the playoffs for two consecutive seasons, but it’s not just the Revs front office that believes he’ll succeed.

Bradley era begins in Egypt

Egypt ushered in the Bob Bradley era this week with their friendly versus Brazil.

John Duerden of Sports Illustrated writes of the task ahead of Bradley in his tenure with the Pharaohs.

Even two hours before kickoff, the Egyptian fans were in full voice, chanting a soccer version of a refrain familiar to anyone who had been in Tahir Square earlier this year as the Arab Spring reached its zenith. Instead of singing Asha'ab yureed isqat annizam (the people want the downfall of the regime), Asha'ab yureed isqat albrazeel rolled down the sides of the Al Rayyan Stadium in Qatar giving Bob Bradley the task of toppling the Brazilians, the long-reigning kings of world soccer, in his first game in charge of the Pharaohs.

In June 2009, Bradley watched as his U.S. team took a 2-0 lead against the South Americans in the final of the Confederations Cup on a chilly evening in the concrete jungle of downtown Johannesburg only to end up losing 3-2. On a warm November night in the desert on the outskirts of Doha, it was Brazil that established a two-goal advantage. This time though, despite the backing of the vast majority of the vociferous 25,112 crowd at the Al Rayyan Stadium, Egypt never really looked like getting back in the game. It finished 2-0.

There is nothing to worry about yet. "Egyptians forgive easily" smiled an Algerian journalist, using the example of the pre-match entertainment, Tamer Hosny. The king of the Cairo pop scene, booed and punched during an appearance in Tahir Square in April as he tried to apologize after earlier dismissive comments about the protesters, brought the house down with a series of hits.

If his countrymen are still coming to terms with the new regime at home after the ouster of former dictator Hosni Mubarak, having an American in charge of the national team after eight years of Hassan Shehata is also going to take some getting used. "We can't judge from one game but I think the old coach was better," said one fan Mohammed Hassan, a Cairo-born Petroleum engineer now working in Qatar. "Everyone knows that the old coach made up champion of Africa three times. Bradley has inherited a heck of a team but he needs to prove himself. I think we will give him two or three more games. We don't know too much about him and don't know what to expect."

In the press box a large contingent of Cairo-based journalists expect and hope that Bradley will bring better discipline, organization and fitness to a talented but inconsistent group of players. What they didn't expect was Sunderland star Ahmed Elmohamady on the left of midfield, placed there by Bradley to nullify the attacking threat of Dani Alves. It worked for a while as the Egyptians started well but Alves and his colleagues saw more of the ball as the half progressed. It was felt that Elmohamady was uncomfortable, the team unbalanced and Mohamed Zidan isolated in attack. It came as no surprise when the impressive Hulk broke free down the North African left to square into the six-yard box for Jonas Oliveira to score the simplest of tap-ins.

If there was a lack of balance, fans had their own ideas on what was necessary and called for Mohamed Aboutrika. The midfielder has long been regarded as one of the best in Africa with a list of awards and accolades to prove it but was left out of the roster by Bradley. If the same decision is repeated, it is sure to become a question that the American grows accustomed to fielding especially if results are less than satisfactory..

"Aboutrika has been a great player for Egypt," said Bradley. "He is also a favorite player of the fans and we will continue to watch him in the league and then make a decision to help us become successful." The philosophy major could have made a difference to an Egyptian team that struggled to retain possession and ran out of ideas long before the end of the game in the face of a controlled display from a Brazil missing such stars such as Kaka, Pato and Neymar. The second goal killed the game coming on the hour with another close-range strike from Jonas after El Shanawi had dropped a free kick. The goalkeeper subsequently redeemed himself and made a series of good saves to prevent Brazil from extending its lead.

There were words of encouragement from Brazilian coach Mano Menezes who could afford to be gracious with a sixth victory in seven games helping to erase memories of a disappointing Copa America. "I have a lot of respect for Bob Bradley," said Menezes. "It is difficult to take on a new job and you need time to adapt to new ideas. This is what we did a while ago and we are improving now."

Bradley has some time before the hard work and qualification for the World Cup begins. With the last of Egypt's two appearances on the global stage coming in 1990, the American will automatically become one of the country's most celebrated coaches if he can lead the team to Brazil in 2014.

It would be some celebration and Monday was just a small taste of the atmosphere that he can expect on a regular basis. "The fans tonight were tremendous," said Bradley. "They like football and the national team is very important to them. That is one of the big reasons why this opportunity is so special because of the passion of the fans. Football culture in the U.S. continues to grow. In Egypt it is not growing because it is already incredibly big and has been that way for a long time. You feel it every day and people come up to you in the street and talk about selections."

You feel he wouldn't shy from such debates and it was noticeable how well he reeled off the names of players both in and out of the team, as well as different members of his coaching staff -- a small detail but one often overlooked by English-speaking coaches in Africa and Asia. To avoid too many impromptu sidewalk conversations however, Bradley will have to negotiate the first stage of 2014 qualification that starts in June. In truth, the seven-time continental champion should have little trouble finishing top of a group containing Zimbabwe, Guinea and, assuming, as all do, it defeats Comoros, Mozambique. Then comes the real test: a home and away all-or-nothing playoff late in 2013.

Bradley knows he has to have everything in place before then. "When you watch players in the league, it is normal that if you test them against Brazil, they will learn a lot. It is a big step and every time we play against a good team, we get more information and this will help us. I saw things tonight that I think were good things and I saw things that we worked on in training starting to show. I also saw things that we need to improve. This is a first step and we have a lot of hard work ahead of us."

United States 3-2 Slovenia

The United States were able to gain a victory on European soil in their final friendly of 2011, defeating Slovenia, 3-2, in a rematch from the FIFA 2010 World Cup.

Mike Woitalla of Soccer America covers the United States' 3-2 victory over Slovenia.

It's what we've been waiting for since Jurgen Klinsmann took the helm in July: An entertaining, attack-minded performance from the USA. Here's why we're much more optimistic about Klinsmann's rebuilding process after the 3-2 win at Slovenia on Tuesday. ...

GOALS, THANK GOODNESS. The Americans, who had scored only twice in Klinsmann’s first six games, entered the game with a 234-minute scoreless streak. Edson Buddle broke the drought in the 9th minute against Slovenia when he hammered home from 25 yards after delivery from Clint Dempsey, who had stripped Darijan Matic of the ball. After Slovenia equalized, Dempsey headed in Michael Bradley’s corner kick in the 41st minute and Jozy Altidore converted a 43rd minute penalty kick after Fabian Johnson was fouled. Hitting the net -- and finishing a frustrating year with a win -- injects a crucial boost of confidence into a team that’s supposed to be rebuilt and well-tuned when World Cup qualifying starts next summer.

TWO STRIKERS A MUST. Such is the sad state of modern soccer that it’s news when a team fields two true strikers. After a catenaccio look in last Friday’s 1-0 loss to France, Klinsmann simply had to field a more attack-minded formation. Pairing Buddle and Altidore on the frontline, and giving Dempsey a free role behind them, resulted not only in goals, but enabled the Americans to play more of the game in the opponents’ half. A lone forward lineup should never again be considered for a U.S. national team.

BRADLEY IMPROVES MIDFIELD. Kyle Beckerman returned as a deep-lying defensive central midfielder at the bottom of a diamond that had Dempsey on top, Johnson on the left, and Bradley on the right. Returning the veteran Bradley to the starting lineup paid off because he combined well with Dempsey and often steered the U.S. attacks through the middle. With Bradley and Johnson, who looks the most promising of the German products, the USA played less predictably than in the previous games when storming down the wings seemed to be the main strategy.

FUN TO WATCH. Seconds after kickoff, Johnson, with a 20-yard volley, forced a save from keeper Samir Handanovic and the Slovenians responded with a chance shortly after that keeper Tim Howard handled – and from there the game lived up to its promising start. We had plenty of end-to-end action and scoring chances, such as Dempsey’s diving header that went just wide in the 36th minute. The Slovenians hit the woodwork twice and had a ball cleared off the line before Tim Matavz scored his second goal to make it 3-2 in the 61st minute, but the USA held on for its first win on European soil since March 2008, a 3-0 victory at Poland.

A good performance and a good result is the best of both worlds -- and especially satisfying is that Klinsmann’s team finally entertained.

4-4-2 formation the preferred tactical choice in MLS

Tacticians stress a lack of true '#9' central strikers in the modern game, and the evolution of a 'false 9' like Messi or Rooney who are drawn up on the board as a 9, but really drop back much deeper like a '#10'.

Where alignments like 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-4-1 are becoming more en vogue to counter some of the changes to the modern game, it seems like the 4-4-2 formation still appears to be the system of choice in Major League Soccer.


Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com writes of how there is some diversity in team tactics in MLS, the teams that have mastered the 4-4-2 have had the most success.


In a league filled with a somewhat diverse set of tactical approaches, one common tactical thread always seems to emerge at the end of the biggest match of the MLS season.

The winning team usually starts out in a 4-4-2 formation.

There are, of course, other influences to determine the outcome of a match, but the recent patterns indicate teams that start out in that setup – or one of the various derivatives employed by coaches around the league – gain an advantage in the tussle for silverware. Seven consecutive MLS Cup winners – including the victor of Sunday's MLS Cup battle between Houston and Los Angeles – have preferred a version of the 4-4-2. Los Angeles has already made it four straight Supporters' Shield winners deployed in a similar manner.

It is somewhat of a coincidence that one base formation has consistently dispatched the others. Two of the league's top five sides chose another way to play during this campaign and fared well during the regular season. One of those two clubs, FC Dallas, lost in the final last year with its 4-1-4-1 approach. Other teams like D.C. United (the last MLS Cup winner to eschew a 4-4-2 back in 2004) and New England used a 3-5-2 setup during the last decade. One kick here or one slice of luck there would have broken the pattern.

Although the sequence of results does not establish omnipotence for one tactical setup over another preferred arrangement, it does reinforce the dominance of the 4-4-2 formation as a governing principle within league circles.

One look at the generally selected base formations – the primary setup chosen without regard for the tweaks that turn a 4-4-2 into a diamond 4-4-2, a so-called “empty bucket” 4-4-2, the en vogue 4-1-3-2 or whatever other variation is devised to create an advantage for a particular personnel group – shows how deeply MLS coaches prefer that particular formation.

Most common base formations selected by MLS teams in 2011

4-3-3: Sporting Kansas City, Toronto FC

4-4-2: Chicago, Chivas USA, Colorado, Columbus, D.C. United, Houston, Los Angeles, New England, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Real Salt Lake, San Jose, Seattle, Vancouver

4-1-4-1: FC Dallas

(Note: Breaking down the tactical differences between the 15 teams employing some form of a 4-4-2 represents another column or series of columns. Suffice it to say that MLS isn't as tactically bland as the breakdown of base formations suggests.)

The general absence of one-forward formations and the persistence of the 4-4-2 setup as an influential formation contradicts the current operating practices at the highest levels of the game. The intermittent quality of tactical and technical education provided at the youth and university levels explains some of the reluctance to shift in a different direction. Those foundational issues, however, do not mask some of the personnel constraints that play a significant role in the debate.

Many of the practical problems sprout from the absence of true number nines. MLS clubs acquire and deploy plenty of forwards who can hit the back of the net at this level, but few of those strikers possess all of the traits required to operate alone up front. In an ideal world, a lone forward possesses the following attributes: (1) the finishing touch to polish off buildup play, (2) the physique to occupy two central defenders and win aerial battles, (3) the technical ability to facilitate play in the middle third and (4) the turn of pace to present some threat to get in behind defense.

Most of the players who tick many, if not all, of those boxes ply their trade in a league with higher wages. Occasionally, the right player can make such a system work – Toronto FC's Danny Koevermans offers a decent example without the pace as the central figure in Aron Winter's 4-3-3 setup – under the right circumstances in MLS, but those players are hard to locate. Complementing those suitable choices with the right mix of creativity and service from midfield creates another series of issues and underscores the difficulty of implementing a different approach.

(Note: The pervasiveness of the 4-4-2 at the domestic level could also explain a portion of the consternation encountered by Jurgen Klinsmann as he installs his 4-1-4-1 formation with the U.S. national team. Previous managers Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley leaned on a 4-4-2 setup for much of their tenures. Their reliance on the familiar formation drew howls from Americans craving a bit more tactical diversity, but it also made use of the common and shared experience of that formation within a player pool primarily cultivated in MLS and subsequently shipped off to Europe. As the performances during Klinsmann's tenure indicate, he faces more pressing and significant issues in terms of the suitability of his approach to this player pool and his overall team selection. But do not discount the dearth of collective knowledge within the group about this tactical shift and its impact on the situation.)

FC Dallas' struggles to find a competent operator for its lone forward role provide a recent example to illustrate why MLS coaches often prefer to play with two or more forwards up top.

FCD coach Schellas Hyndman tried several different potential choices up front without finding the right person for the job. Maykel Galindo never found his fitness and never looked comfortable operating alone when he did. Ruben Luna needed more experience before he could attempt to carry that burden on a regular basis.

Milton Rodriguez couldn't compete physically at this level any more. Maicon Santos fared well enough in FCD's generally tight build up play, but he didn't offer enough sharpness in front of goal. The situation deteriorated to the point where Hyndman chose the versatile Jackson to fill the breach during the waning stages of the season and hoped that the Brazilian's physical gifts and work rate would overcome his lack of polish as a forward.

Instead of wrangling with these personnel and selection quandaries like Hyndman did (in an effort to protect influential club captain Daniel Hernandez's deep-lying role in midfield), most MLS coaches dismiss them and opt for a variation on the tried and true 4-4-2 setup. Given the formation's track record of success in recent years and the problems presented by the alternatives, it is hard to quibble with their adherence to the status quo.