Backpass: Hell is, indeed, real
Backpass: Hell is, indeed, real
Rabbi takes a trip to Cincinnati. And tries to discover the mysterious allure of the 5-3-2.
Against FC Cincinnati, the Colorado Rapids rolled out a 5-3-2 formation for the second time this year1. And, since we won 2-0, one ought to conclude that it worked. They rolled out the same formation and lineup against Sporting Kansas City; and it didn’t work. The Rapids lost 3-1.
This has led to some legitimate griping and consternation amongst the legions of the Rapids hardcore.2
So first, there are four things to note about Fraser’s 5-3-2.
All 5-3-2’s are not the same. Moreover, formation itself is only shorthand for tactics - it is not a tactic. One team can play a 5-3-2 in a very attacking style while another chooses to bunker deep. Some teams have their wingbacks very involved in buildup, while others use the central center back to advance into the midfield. There’s more than one way to get to the center of a tootsie pop.
Colorado has lost their most dynamic attacking midfielder, Younes Namli, after an ankle injury. The team reported on June 6 that he was expected to miss 12-16 weeks for rehab; add to that whatever time it would take to get reintegrated into the team. Realistically, if nothing goes wrong, he’s gone till early October. Namli was a good option at either right wing or attack mid, but without him, and with Andre Shinyashiki struggling to produce, Fraser seems to have concluded that the way to get his best XI on the field is to use three center backs. Because I really like Danny Wilson3, Lalas Abubakar, and Austin Trusty, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad call.
All three of the matches where Robin rolled out a 5-3-2 were on the road. The 5-3-2 offers some defensive advantages that a road team might prefer. Simply put, in the 5-3-2, you have more defenders on the field (duh!) - and those are guys that are experts at putting out the fires and stopping attackers. If you are going into an away game knowing that it will be hard; knowing that a draw is a good result to shoot for; then there’s a certain logic to going to a 5-3-2 .
The best thing about a 5-3-2 is it maximizes the impact of one or both of your wingbacks. This is why (PTSD trigger alert) Anthony Hudson used a 5-3-2. His best player was Edgar Castillo. The 5-3-2 gives a roaming wingback defensive cover, as well as partners nearby, when it shifts in the second phase of possession into a 3-5-2. For the 2021 team, I think it is not that outlandish a claim to say that the team’s best player is Sam Vines. Giving Vines less defensive responsibility and more freedom is a laudable notion.
Of course, the team is 1-0-2 (WTL) in this formation, and the one win was against woeful Cincinnati, who created 2.37 xG on 22 shots but could not hit the broad side of a barn.
Yes, William Yarbrough was very good. And also, there was a whole lot of this:
But what I mean by bringing up the record is - one is correct to be skeptical of this formation. Simply put, it hasn’t been successful.
I guess I’m both a little disappointed in how the Rapids are playing in the 5-3-2, and also willing to wait and see for a few more matches. I feel like the idea is right - a formation that maximizes Sam Vines’ abilities would be really excellent. However, against SKC, Vines wasn’t really a factor. SKC spread out the field in attack, forcing the Rapids to defend a lot of terrain, which hurt their ability to press. Sporting also used that massive spacing to exploit the main weakness of the 5-3-2, which is the three midfielders. If you put four guys in the midfield against three, you have an advantage. You can play through three defenders easier than four, and it felt like once SKC got past the first two or three pressing Rapids, it was a virtual walk into the final third.
But: it’s SKC, one of the best teams in the league. The data we’ve collected on this formation so far is anecdotal. It hasn’t really told us anything yet. We beat a bad FCC team, but it took some luck. We lost to a good LAFC and SKC team on the road, but that’s kind of to be expected.
I got nothing to tell you so far. Be patient, maybe. But also - keep an eye on whether Sam Vines is thriving in this system, or whether the system is putting too much expectation on Sam Vines, while putting other players in spots that don’t maximize what they have to offer.
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Another One! A few thoughts on going away to Cincinnati
I’ve been away to Seattle, to LAFC, and now to Cincinnati. They have all been amazing experiences, and I highly, highly recommend hitting the road for a match. This season is perhaps better than any other, consider most of us haven’t gone … anywhere in 18 months.
Cincinnati’s stadium is gorgeous from the outside, and the environment inside the stadium is electric. The neighborhood around the stadium is a gorgeous mix of stately older brick buildings and converted industrial warehouses in something of a classic ‘downtown urban redevelopment’ model. Supporters told me the entire area around the stadium is unrecognizable from 20 years ago - bars everywhere, people everywhere, a light rail trolley car that runs for free from north to south. On game day there were hundreds of blue and orange clad-fans hanging out at perhaps a half dozen different bars. I went to one with some fellow Rapids away supporters - shoutout Juan, Jared, Jared (not a typo, two Jareds) and Justin - and got to meet the Wooden Spoon in person - a bucket list achievement, for sure.
I have some minor gripes. The press box is a little tight and uncomfortable. The place to get grub before games for press and staff is decorated in early-modern ‘warehouse breakroom your fifteen minutes are up’. The post-game press conference room is just like LAFC’s - it has a big glass window adjoining it to a special ‘stadium club’ so that those that shelled out enough bucks to get past the velvet rope can see in and watch FCC Manager Jaap Stam explain the latest defeat. I love that! It is also almost impossible, with all the barroom noise, to actually hear the press conference if you are a reporter. I do not love that.
There were also elevator problems that I witnessed repeatedly throughout the game. And the corridor for the field level - where the locker rooms and special suites and the velvet rope stadium club - had a sewer smell to them at matches end. Maybe someone hadn’t fully anticipated what happens when 27,000 pee right after the match and then flush. But hey, this was the stadiums first sold out match - ever. Some lessons were, hopefully, learned.
Overall, the experience of TQL Stadium was a good one. The crowd was passionate. The soccer game was good. The stadium amenities - fancy club, good food selection, accessible, downtown stadium - were all very good. The meta-question the supporters and Cincy media were discussion with me over a pint or in the press box was: if Cincinnati keep losing like they have for going-on-three-years now, can the excitement and momentum this team has be sustained? Or will it peter out - will FCC become a little-loved shiny object - or a short lived experiment? As a Rapids supporter (and reporter), I can say that 24 years after the teams inception, your soccer team clearly needs to be more than just an alternative venue in town to get overpriced nachos. Winning matters.
I want the Rapids to have it all. I want the supporter culture to rebound - our overall attendance and the membership in Centennial 38 need to grow. I want a stadium that has a vibrant life around it, with bars and restaurants pre and post game. And I want to win. It’s a process that I feel like we may in some ways be on. 4
But I think a lot of us really wonder. Cincinnati made me wonder it all the more so.
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Oh yeah. Also:
Colorado first played a 5-3-2 against LAFC on May 22nd in a 2-1. I think that result - on the road, to one of the best sides in the league - may not be useful as something that indicates much of anything.
“Am I part of the Rapids hardcore?” You are currently reading a substack for a podcast that spends most of its time dwelling in the minutiae of ‘Expected Goals’, Marvel movie jokes, and complaints about defenders we signed eight years ago. Maybe you even subscribe to this site and help support the good work we do. Yes. Yes, you are the hardcore.
Guys, the Danny Wilson Redemption Tour Train has left the station. It’s time you got onboard.
Many, many people would say ‘DOWNTOWN STADIUM NOW.’ I’m of the opinion that a robust development of Commerce City, with the once promised, never delivered ‘Victory Crossing’ development, might in some ways be as good as or even better than a downtown stadium. I really, really like the idea of kids growing up playing on the fields surrounding DSGP, someday hoping to play in the stadium. I have other reasons, but this is a footnote, not next week’s Backpass.