This season's stunning reversal in Columbus would suggest that a wholesale winter storm of makeover raged during the offseason in Ohio. But that's just not the case.
Eight starters from last year's Crew are back in the lineup this year. And, with two notable exceptions, the difference makers are essentially the same.
So why does this year's version seem destined to bust up the playoff pox? Columbus hasn't drank from the cool, refreshing postseason pond since 2004. But Sigi Schmid's side leads the East -- the tougher conference this year, by all appearances -- and the Crew is off to a brilliant start on their march to playoff rediscovery.
How, then, did Schmid orchestrate the revival? It's a confluence of several factors, all of which are supporting the others, the way one wall supports another as a house goes up. Here's why we're no longer talking about the Calamity Crew. Now, folks are just referring to the team in yellow as plain ol' "first-place Columbus."
• Lineup consistency: First it must be said that Columbus has been fortunate, generally, to avoid injury. Outside of left back, the lineup has remained static all season. That kind of familiarity provides huge benefits and creates a grand, collective will.
For instance, Columbus vowed to take a stand in 2008 and make Crew Stadium a house of dread. So far, so good, as the Crew is 4-0 on Black & Gold Boulevard.
• Balance in the roster: No player shows this like Ezra Hendrickson, who is playing for his sixth team in his 12th MLS season. The long-legged wonder was a starter for most of Major League Soccer's early years, and he's been in and out of a starter spot in recent seasons. Now he sits happily in reserve.
And teams need a couple of Ezras, versatile vets who can step into spots without freaking out, worried only about the task at hand and unconcerned about impressing the boss. The key is being satisfied with the role and, therefore, making the locker room a more placid place.
• Robbie Rogers' development: Schmid has known Rogers since the young winger played alongside the manager's son back in under-14 days. So Schmid knew how to handle Rogers' development, bringing him along slowly last year.
This is fast becoming a breakout year for the left-sided attacker, who has three goals already. Rogers still needs more confidence and might need to be encouraged to run at defenders more often. His goals so far have come from slashing runs off the ball and, in the case of last weekend's strike, from general hustle and good finishing. Still, that's been enough so far.
• A hot striker: Ask teams like New England, Houston, Chivas USA, Colorado and maybe others how much they'd love to have an in-form striker. Alejandro Moreno has always worked hard, but he hasn't always been productive. This year Moreno has four goals, a big reason for the 5-1 start.
Last year, Columbus frequently looked like the best team in the league that could never collect the points, and much of that was down to poor play in front of goal. This year, Moreno is seeing that the business gets done.
And speaking of coming up big in the "six," goalkeeper William Hesmer was steady last year once he won the starting spot, and he's only gotten better in 2008.
• The newcomers, Brian Carroll and Adam Moffat: Carroll has finally solved Schmid's problem in the middle, providing the Crew with its best holding presence since Simon Elliott, who is now at Fulham.
The industrious Moffat has struck for two timely goals, including one in last weekend's win against Kansas City. Equally important is the work he does behind Guillermo Barros Schelotto, freeing the wily Argentinean attacker to float and seek out the weak spots in a defense.
• Continued performance from two old cats: Schelotto and Frankie Hejduk remain the team's beating heart on offense and defense. Schelotto's service on set pieces has sharpened after some issues earlier this year. And all along he's been brilliant in his ability to hold the ball in tight spaces and supply passes that cut a defense clean through to the bone.
• Ability to keep the peace: Everything adds up to a confident side, one that can problem solve and walk bravely through the minefields of adversity. To wit: Schmid is stubborn committed to Danny O'Rourke's move from midfield to center back, and as of now it must be said that it looks like the right call. O'Rourke has certainly had his issues, having conceded three penalty kicks in six matches. Still, the win-loss record says that, overall, things are fine. That means O'Rourke is learning his lessons without paying the ultimate team price.
Thus, all is well in Crew-ville.
TACTICAL CORNER
• With Nathan Sturgis and Carey Talley nicked by injury, there was an obvious move to be made by RSL boss Jason Kreis. Lucky for him, he had Kyle Beckerman who could easily move into the holding midfield role. Beckerman played there extensively at Colorado and has, as recently as two weeks ago, manned that role at RSL. (Most often this year he's been out on the left, with lots of freedom to roam inside.)
Interesting, then, what Kreis chose to do last weekend against L.A. at Rice-Eccles: he kept Beckerman on the left, where the young U.S. midfielder could deal with David Beckham. And it worked to a large extent as Beckham was fairly quiet in terms of providing service in the run of play.
Beckham did, of course, strike beautifully on a free kick. And he certainly exploited the opportunity when RSL defenders were slow to move out towards him, leaving Beckham to perfectly place a shot into the upper left corner.
But during the run of play, Beckham had fewer dangerous deliveries than in the past few weeks, and he often had to roam inside to find more of the play.
• New England midfielders are having a tough time finding their forwards right now -- but it's probably not the midfielders' fault.
Simply put, Adam Cristman and Kenny Mansally don't have the experience to spot the early runs that Taylor Twellman and Pat Noonan once used so effectively. (Twellman remains injured; Noonan moved to Europe in the offseason.) Plus, Steve Ralston hasn't been around to make those movements behind the forwards, the kind that force defenders into making choices and open space for strikers to exploit.
All that is to say that Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz can't hit those quick, telling balls, the ones that harass defenses before they have a chance to get organized, if forwards don't make the bold movements into those spaces.
• Having young starters is like having friends over to your house; you enjoy it when a couple of them stop by, but if you get too many at once they're probably going to make a mess.
Kansas City's lineup over the weekend included rookies Chance Myers and Roger Espinoza, second-year men Eloy Colombano, Michael Harrington and Kurt Morsink and third-year former backup Tyson Wahl. Myers' mistake contributed to Columbus' first goal and Espinoza's needless forearm delivery (and subsequent red card) severely damaged K.C. chances for a rally.
Underrated vet Davy Arnaud can't get back quickly enough for the Wizards, who have one goal in the run of play in their last five contests.
• One final note about Columbus: Schmid aligned his team in a 4-3-3 for Week One. Since then, the Crew has settled comfortably into a 4-4-1-1, with flank players Eddie Gaven and Robbie Rogers pinching in to support a compact midfield diamond shape. It was an important tweak, because Schelotto can now move from wing to wing, the same way Cuauhtemoc Blanco does for Chicago. That makes him harder for defenses to locate, which makes it more difficult to shut off passing lanes.
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