and a related migration in how in impacts things on a larger level.
Officiating has been increasingly under the microscope in MLS. Even the Commissioner is talking about referees, as Don Garber addressed the ongoing concern last week. (Garber believes officiating is imperfect, but improving and generally on level with other leagues around the world.)
As the men in the middle, through the guidance of U.S. Soccer, move forward in attempts to clean up the action a bit, it's affecting the play in two ways: The first is obvious, as teams keep seeing red cards and the one-man disadvantage that follows.
Obviously, that has a big influence on proceedings. (The last five red cards, including three over the weekend, have been issued to the home team. That tends to shift priorities and targets, as the home team becomes more amenable to a draw -- which is exactly what happened in each match over the last three weeks that included an expulsion.)
But there's one other way a shift in officiating impacts matches: When referees crack down on foul play, it increases the chances for goals from set-piece opportunities.
And that's exactly where a shift in the bigger picture might be developing slowly. Follow along here:
Major League Soccer has long been a place where physical defenders can flourish. But in terms of player selection going forward, I'm wondering if we'll begin seeing a very slow tilting toward defenders who can manage their tasks with just a little more finesse?
It's not just the free kicks near goal that are killers. It's the corner kicks, too.
So I'm thinking that, going forward, more of a premium will be put on defenders who can win the ball without fouling, who can then work it out of trouble without giving up corner kicks or throw-ins. Until now, the player who could win the ball at any costs may have been preferred when all else was equal.
Set-piece goals played a huge part in MLS Matchday 10. Four of seven contests featured goals that came directly from free kicks or corner kicks, or from the melee that followed when the original set-piece service couldn't be immediately cleared.
Toronto's third against New England came via free kick, as the Reds put that match out of reach. All four goals in Houston's 3-1 win over San Jose originated on restarts. FC Dallas' equalizer against Los Angeles came off a corner kick. And both goals in the Chivas USA-Kansas City draw were from free kicks.
The marking and positioning on free kicks can always be debated and discussed. But so can the origins of the action. To wit, the telling free kick at BMO is an example of a free kick that might not have been necessary.
New England midfielder Wells Thompson had pretty good position on Adrian Serioux as the Reds defender carried the ball into New England's defensive third in the 68th minute. Serioux had just won the ball near midfield, and Thompson's early pressure was essential, since it provided Revolution defenders a chance to get organized. But Thompson's quick action had more or less neutralized Serioux, who didn't really have anywhere to go.
Still, Thompson was too aggressive, fouling the TFC defender. On the restart, Amado Guevara's well-hit free kick neatly tied off the match for the home side.
Even better examples of conceding unneeded restarts could be found down in Houston, where the summer grass has finally come in at Robertson Stadium, making for better soccer in south Texas.
Early in the match, Brian Mullan was facing away from his goal, with nowhere to go against San Jose. In fact, a second defender was on the way and in a good position to win a tackle or force a hasty pass. But Ryan Johnson came in from behind and took an ill advised swipe for the ball. Given Johnson's position (behind the attacker) and the fact that Mullan wasn't in a position to do much, it wasn't a chance that Johnson needed to take.
But chance it, he did, giving the Dynamo a free kick from a dangerous spot. Brian Ching got on the end of Brad Davis's excellent service and, just like that, the desperate Earthquakes were down a goal in the fourth minute.
Just a few minutes later, Earthquakes center back Jason Hernandez gave up a corner kick as he dealt awkwardly with a driven cross from the right side. Admittedly, this is a little nit-picky, since it was a good, early cross from Stuart Holden. Then again, maybe Hernandez's positioning could have been just a little better, just a tad more precise. Maybe if Hernandez, who was making his injury-delayed 2009 debut, had his body oriented just a little better, he could have cleared the ball over the touchline for a throw-in rather than over the byeline for a corner kick.
But another terrific service from Davis turned into a 2-0 lead in the 12th minute, and the Dynamo never lost control of the match.
Again, these are little things. And in the bigger picture, as it affects personnel and the way rosters are constructed, the shift may be glacial. But eventually, as the dash for playoff spots and berths in SuperLiga and CONCACAF Champions League continue to tighten, defenders and midfielders will be ever more important who can wins balls without fouling and move matters carefully out of danger areas without giving away possession.
FYI, last year after Columbus beat New York for the MLS championship, what's one of the first things Red Bulls manager Juan Carlos Osorio mentioned in his postgame comments? He lamented an unnecessary corner kick conceded by his defense -- one that the Crew converted into a game-winning goal.
TACTICAL CORNER
• Jason Kreis' efforts to go more defensive on the road -- in the Utah outfit's desperate search for point away from Rio Tinto -- finally paid off. In fact, this time, as the team faced D.C. United at RFK, it worked just as you'd draw it up.
An extra midfielder (Ned Grabavoy) was favored over the second striker. So Kreis deployed a 4-5-1 setup, with Grabavoy playing as an extra holding midfielder alongside Kyle Beckerman. Yura Movsisyan, who has struggled much of the year, was moved to the bench.
United controlled things early, but the road team absorbed the pressure, remained patient, and by the end RSL had managed quite a few chances. In fact, if not for a big night by Josh Wicks in United's goal, Kreis' side might have come away with all three points.
• Danny Dichio gets a lot of credit for being physical and winning balls in the attacking third for Toronto, etc. Which he does quite well, although his mobility isn't what it once was, so he can't get to as many of those long, speculative efforts.
What the veteran TFC striker doesn't perhaps get enough credit for is the work he does with his feet near goal and, sometimes, when he tracks back into the midfield. He's most dangerous working just at the top of 18. In fact, that's where he set up Guevara's first-half equalizer on Saturday. Later, Dichio controlled a ball in the center circle, then put Dwayne De Rosario cleanly through with turn and a tidy, early ball placed perfectly for his teammate.
• This was a great observation courtesy of New England broadcast analyst Greg Lalas: On New England's left side, Chris Tierney wasn't at all interested in taking on Marvell Wynne, Toronto's speedy right back.
Instead, Tierney knew he would do much better to aim for early service. Not only does he stand a better chance of success against Wynne in this way, but he's in a better spot to defend should his centering attempt get knocked back toward midfield.
Sure enough, early in the match, Wynne held back a bit, waiting for Tierney to come at him. Instead, the early service found Shalrie Joseph, who gave his team a chance in the match with the early lead.
• It's been interesting watching Joseph line up at striker lately for New England. There's no doubt that he can be effective as a forward, as he seems increasingly comfortable getting the ball with his back to goal.
The problem for Steve Nicol's Revs is that they lose so much of a linking presence when Joseph is taken out of midfield. Pat Phelan just can't do the same things that Joseph can in terms of making simple passes when needed and hitting the defense dicers when available.
Joseph's instincts as a long-time midfielder did fail him in the 33rd minute Saturday as he takes one too many touches and way too much time on an opportunity from about 15 yards. Aggressive, decisive action is the only way to go once inside the 18, as any good striker will tell you. Instead, Joseph's hesitancy to unleash the shot cost the opportunity.
• Schellas Hyndman, dealing with injuries to two defenders, opted out of his preferred 4-4-2 and into a 3-5-2 for Saturday's match against Los Angeles.
He admitted afterward that he was never truly comfortable with the setup, as Dave van den Bergh and Andre Rocha aren't the kind of worker bees necessary on the outside for a 3-5-2 arrangement. Sure enough, Los Angeles was getting behind Dallas, finding space along the wings and getting too many chances. Hyndman made two changes at halftime, removing Rocha along the right and subtracting striker Brek Shea in favor on an extra defender for a four-man back line.
• It wasn't hard to figure out Houston's target in the attack against San Jose. It was "Go right!" time at Robertson Stadium.
Brian Mullan and Craig Waibel, making his first start of 2009 in place of the injured Richard Mulrooney, went directly at Earthquakes left back Eric Denton from the opening whistle.
Ryan Johnson was along the left in San Jose's midfield, and he was tasked with helping Denton. But Johnson had his own issues, perhaps having the most eventful day of any MLS player in Round 10.
He gave up the free kick that led to Houston's first goal, also losing track of the goal scorer on the restart. Later, he scored a goal and had another one disallowed, all while getting ping-ponged around the field. He started as a midfielder, was moved to striker as manager Frank Yallop rearranged the order at the break, then moved back to midfield later in the match.
• There was lots of re-arranging required for Sigi Schmid, who is dealing with his first injury crisis at Seattle.
James Riley and Nate Sturgis returned to the fullback spots as Schmid was able to get his first-choice defense back on the field.
But there was lots of improvisation in the midfield, as Peter Vagenas replaced the injured Brad Evans, who was replacing the ill Freddie Ljungberg. Two minutes into the match, holding midfielder extraordinaire Osvaldo Alonso fell with a quad injury; Stephen King came in and made a decent account in his longest run-about of the season in a 2-2 draw in Colorado.
Steve Davis is a freelance writer who has covered Major League Soccer since its inception. Steve can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
