Thursday, March 29, 2007

2007 MLS Probable Starting Lineups

This is what I've been able to gather from the message boards, quotes from coaches, and match reports. Shape of the formations is definitely not going to be 100% accurate.

CHICAGO FIRE

...............Rolfe.......Barrett..................
...Guerrero.......Mapp.......Pause........
............Armas.......Gutierrez...............
......Robinson....Curtin....Brown.........
........................Pickens........................

There's been talk that Pascal Bedrossian will start on the right side of midfield. Can't say much about him, so who knows if he's up to it. Also, there's been talk three up top. If that's the case, then Mapp starts as the left sided forward. Gonzalo Segares and Thiago are both in the mix to start as well. There's definitely a lot of versatility with the Fire's players.

COLUMBUS CREW

.....Virtuoso.....Herron.....Gaven.........
.................Grabavoy..................
..........O'Rourke.....Oughton.............
...Pierce...Gonzalez...Marshall...Hejduk...
..................Gaudette...................

Sigi will go with the 4-3-3 as well. Grabavoy has been supposedly playing well in the preseason. I still think Joseph Ngwenya will likely start, but then where do you put Gaven? Jacob Thomas is another guy who could be in the lineup (for Oughton?).

DC UNITED

.......Moreno.....Emilio.......
...Gros......Gomez.....Fred....
......Carroll.....Olsen........
....Namoff...Boswell...Erpen...
.............Perkins...........

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS

...........Johnson........Sealy.................
...Harrington...Zavagnin...Victorine...Arnaud...
...Burciaga...Conrad.....Garcia...Jewsbury......
.................Hartman........................

It was just reported that Jewsbury has been playing right back. Very interesting. Harrington is probably the most likely rookie to be a full time starter. Who else do they have there, Will John?

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

.........Twellman.....Noonan..........
...Franchino.....Dorman.....Ralston...
........Joseph........Hernandez.......
.....John.....Parkhurst.....Heaps.....
................Reis..................

If Franchino is out, then Marshall Leonard or Khano Smith are likely replacements. Noonan has been injured, so rookie Adam Cristman may start the first match. He's looked good so far.

RED BULL NEW YORK

................Altidore..............
...v.d.Bergh................Schopp.....
................Reyna..................
........Stammler.....Kovalenko.........
...Dunivant...Mendes...Parke...Wynne...
.......... .....Waterreus..............

The Red Bulls are also going with the en vogue 4-3-3/4-5-1, although here it's probably due to their lack of forwards. They do have talented wingers, though. Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel is rumored to be on his way. I just read about the Clint Mathis trade, so there's the possibility he could start up top. Is Altidore ready to carry the load at 17?


TORONTO FC

........Casey.....Eskandarian.......
...Welsh.....Cancela.....Robinson....
.......Mulrooney...O'Brien....
......Brennan...Braz...Pozniak......
...............Sutton...............

Edson Buddle could start up top. The defensive picture is still murky; there's also Canadian Marco Reza and New Zealander Andrew Boyens. O'Brien has been called the "leader" of the midfield by Johnston. Maybe he'll take Cancela's spot, and Paulo Nagamura or Maurice Edu will start next to Mulrooney? Or they could go with the 4-4-2. We'll see against Chivas on opening day.

CD CHIVAS USA

....................Razov........Galindo........................
...Mendoza...Marsch...Kljestan...Guevara......
...Bornstein...Suarez...Hernandez...Zotinca...
..............................Guzan...................................

Bornstein is hurt, so it appears Perez will start the season in his spot. When he is healthy, I guess it makes sense for him to play left back because of the strength of this midfield. Also, based on the the match reports, it seems that Zotinca is starting over new addition Jorge Barrera. Preki must have good memories of him from KC. Barrera came on for Perez in one match, so maybe he could start on the left as well.


COLORADO RAPIDS

...............Hernandez.......Brown.......................
...Gomez...Beckerman...Mastroeni...Cooke...
...Vanney...Ihemelu...Petke...Prideaux.........
..........................Thornton.................................

It seems Gomez will play on the left, not Hernandez. Clavijo has previously stated that Vanney will play left back. As for right back, I assume Prideaux will get the nod over the likes of Dan Gargan.


FC DALLAS

..........................Ruiz.......................
...Cooper.......Nunez.........Mina.....
..................Toja.....Richetti............
...Gbandi...Goodson...Moor...Yi...
...........................Sala......................

3rddegree does a great job keeping us to date on the FC Dallas roster dance. It appears that Argentine Richetti will be signing and starting alongside Colombian Toja. Bobby Rhine could easily replace Yi in this lineup and Arturto Alvarez could start as well. Shaka Hislop will start the first few games while Sala is suspended.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

...................Ching............Dalglish..................
...........................De Rosario...........................
.........Davis.................................Mullan.........
................................Clark...............................
...Barrett...Robinson...Cochrane...Waibel...
..............................Onstad.............................



LOS ANGELES GALAXY

......Quaranta...Jaqua...Donovan.............
.......Martino...Vagenas...Jones................
...Jazic...Thomas...Marshall...Albright...
.........................Cannon.............................

Yallop will go with the 4-3-3. Jaqua can play on the right in a three forward system, but it says here that he'll be the target man. Midfield spots are still uncertain, but David Beckham will take one when he arrives.

REAL SALT LAKE

..................Cunningham....................
...Adu..........Ballouchy.......Klein.......
.............Talley.........Kreis..................
...Forko...Torres...Pope...Stewart...
......................Rimando......................

RSL will play with four in the back and likely will leave Luis Tejada on the bench. They dropped the 3-5-2 when Ellinger realized that they needed more defensive cover. Ballouchy probably isn't going to play on the left, but Adu was brought in to be the AM, so who does? We'll find out. Somebody mentioned on rslfm.com in the comments that he would like to see Adu as a withdrawn forward (or an "SS" if you're a Pro Evo fan). Hmm....

Comments on "2007 MLS Probable Starting Lineups"

 

Blogger Charlie Helms said ... (10:54 PM, March 30, 2007) : 

Nice job on pulling together the possible starting line-ups!

P.S. - Ricchetti has two c's and two t's

 

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