what to do with letoux

The guy played like he was pissed that his red shoes didn’t start against San Jose.

I agree that Le Toux should spot in at forward and wing as a starter and sub. I would sit Montero first though not Jaqua based on recent performances.

I agree that Le Toux should spot in at forward and wing as a starter and sub. I would sit Montero first not Jaqua based on recent performances.

From the radio, it also sounds like Roger Levesque deserves a chance to play at forward, Maybe in a subsitute role.

I was only able to listen to the first half but the announcers, albeit from Salt Lake, made it out that Seba missed at least 4 almost give-me´s in the 1st half.  I guess I´m not sold on him starting at forward, as this was a weakened RSL team.

Honestly, I´m a Jaqua fan after disliking him the first game.  I think he adds to much to our possesion as he has been great at posting, holding the ball and distributing it back.  I also think he´s gotten better every game.  So I´m not a fan of replacing Jaqua with Seba. 

I don´t think you can replace Montero, at least yet.  We need to give him a few more games to get out of his slump…besides I´m sure he´s the talk of the opposing team´s practices in the week leading up and he changes how teams play because they have to worry about him (just a hunch).  But if he doesn´t produce in the next few games I think he´s a decent option to ride the bench and let Seba have a chance.  I was hoping that Sigi was going to play Montero in the US cup game and on the smaller field to hopefully let him find the back of the net a few times and build up some confidence…although I´m not sure that it is lack of confidence that is his problem. 

Unfortunatley, I´m also not the biggest fan of Seba on the wing as well.   I didn´t think his service in the center was adequate enough and he didn´t seem to be as dangerous as Zak in terms of beating people one on one.   I like his work-rate and think he does great at coming in when we have the lead to work his tale off on both sides of the ball. 

For now I think he should stay on the bench at the beginning and prove he can score and be dangerous (in the MLS league games) when he comes on the field.  I think it is amazing that a expansion team has this kind of depth…and this is a long season, so I´m sure he´ll get plent of opportunities. 

I wouldn’t start with Montero and Seba together for the simple reason that they both are 2nd strikers. Jaqua gives us that physical presence up front and I would bring Seba on for Montero at around 70 minutes into the game…

Casey-you were only able to listen but if you could have seen what Le Toux and the King (Roger) were doing.  Add in to that mix Sanna, and the Horror Fiction writer that ball was bounding around like a Pachinko set and we had all the control. RSL had the dirty Hippy on the Field so they definitely weren’t sitting out all their star players.

Yeah, Le Toux missed that early sitter in the first half, one or two, not four.  Most of those chances he created himself. 2 goals, 2 assists. If my numbers are correct that means he was involved in all goals for the team.  He has broken the seal, scoring in MLS tends to be streaky, and it took a while for Seba to open up his tally, I look forward to more goals.

The guys ripped it up last night.  Le Toux deserves at least a game start at forward.  He hasn’t settled in at mid in previous matches, though hustles a ton.  I agree with taking out the lumbering Jaqua for Le Toux… but I’d be fine with Montero if that’s the choice.  Levesque, Le Toux, King, Nyassi and Zakuani were the stand outs for me last night.  Just a constant reminder of what a deep team we have.  Go Sounders!

I think Seba coming off the bench in the 60-70th is a legit threat and should scare our opponents’ defenses shitless.

Letoux should start in place of Montero. Letoux is definitely a striker not a winger. He is a totally different player up front.you can tell he is  very comfortable playing there.
Montero has been worthless the last two and almost three games. He holds the ball way too long and missed Ljungberg several times last game in critical situations. Montero needs to learn that he must be a team player to see the field. Sitting the bench against the Fire will teach him that.

Don’t think we need to go there quite yet (starter). The team is basically playing well and winning. Enough to keep us in the upper echelon of the standings. But it’s always nice to have options and I’d love to see Le Toux get consistent enough to warrant those considerations.

If you watch Le Toux in warm-ups, he is obviously the most “skilled” player on the team. The guy’s juggling skills are insane. Often you’ll see three or four players watching him, smiling and laughing at some of the stuff he does. But it doesn’t translate onto the field and I see it as a confidence issue. He’s easily intimidated by both the pace and the physicality of play at the MLS level. Once he settles down, I think he’ll be a great tactical option on the front line. 

Can’t agree with you MadMax. Yup, Montero has been in a bit of a scoring slump, but he’s getting tons of attention (which means other guys need to step up and keep ‘em honest), is also having a little trouble adjusting to the physicality/athleticism of MLS, but is still making some killer passes off his few possessions. I’m not worried–players like him make those adjustments pretty quickly and that’s what he’s here for, afterall…..

I think this talk about sitting Montero is crazy.  I have also noticed that he has lost alot of balls and is not quite in sink,  but come on!  It is not that hard to see the talent he posseses.  He is the kind of player that you watch all game long and say that he isn’t doing very well and booooom!  He hits one.  He is off a little.  He is not a problem.

I’m a big advocate for sitting Montero in favor of Le Toux and was surprised when Le Toux started playing outside mid.  I think Montero was successful early on because of all the hype surrounding him and the fact that he was an unknown quantity to opposition defenses.  These two factors combined, defenses tended to give him more space to counter him as a threat.  From my point of view, the match with Real Salt Lake was the turning point where oppositoin defenses saw that he is succeptible to tight marking and physical play.  Since that match, Montero has been playing closer to the midfield, trying to get uninhibited service, with Jaqua stretching the defense.  With Montero’s not-great speed and a lack of cohesion with Ljungberg, he disappears for long stretches of the match and effectively eats up a valuable spot on the field.  In this regard, I think the onus is on Montero to elevate his game and become a more effective member of the  whole team for a full 90 minutes.

In the case of Le Toux, at the forward position, he is a constant presence on the feel.  I agree that he’s not been stellar at outside mid, but that is adapting to a new position (and being unhappy about it, I suspect).  Having played 90% of my soccer life at outside mid myself, I tend to be extremely critical of that role.  On the upside though, I feel like he’s done better overall in that role than Evans, who seems more comfortable in the central midfield, but Osvaldo and Ljungberg has a solid clamp on those positions so I don’t expect him to go back inside any time soon.  Back to Le Toux…he easily has the highest work rate on the team and those of us that followed him over the last two years with the USL Sounders know that his work rate combined with his great speed allow him to manufacture opportunities (against both USL and MLS teams) whereas Montero seems, for the most part, to be much more dependant on particular types of service from the midfield.

Long story short, I think now is the time to experiment with moving Le Toux into a forward position in favor of Montero.  As a youth coach, I’d rather understand that scenario early in the season so that I have all my options in front of me as the season progresses.  I’d hate to not have tested this option and be in a run for a playoff spot or actually in the playoffs when Montero or Jaqua go out with an injury, introducing a scenario that I am unfamiliar with.

One more thing, what I will give Montero full credit for is that he is a game changer.  This is why I favored putting him on the bench as opposed to Jaqua.  Le Toux has the fitness to maintain his speed and work rate for a full 90;  Jaqua is by no means quick and gets slower in the last 20 minutes or so.  It’s not an uncommon scenario to need goals in that last 20 minutes, so you pull Jaqua, insert Montero and now you have a fresh Montero going against a tired defense that has been used to playing against an enormous Jacqua combined with the speed and  high-intensity pressure of Le Toux.  It’s a complete flip of the coin and defenses will have trouble adjusting and that when they are most succeptible.

So here’s my ideal lineup (at the moment):

FWD: Le Toux, Jacqua
MID: Zakuani, Ljunberg, Alonso, Evans
DEF: Graham,Marshall, Hurtado, Riley

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Sigi has fully accepted Le Toux up top.  His comments after the Open Cup match seemed like he’d consider Le Toux only if Jaqua or Montero were injured or otherwise unavailable.  My fear is that we’ll lose Le Toux if he continues to be pidgeon-holed into a position that does not take full advantage of his abilities.  Now, I’m well aware of the old rule of thumb in coaching: don’t change a successful lineup, but we do have gaps and limitations in our lineup, and to be frank, in top flight soccer, whether here or in Europe or South America, it’s about results.  Either elevate your game and overcome obstacles, or sit down and let someone else do that.  Le Toux has taken that message to heart.  As of now, Montero has not.

Time will tell if Sigi is right in putting Le Toux outside and keeping Montero up top.  Can we still be successful in that formation?  Probably.  But I hope he only gives Montero a game or two more before pulling the plug on him.  Sometimes sitting a player out is what it takes to restoke the flames.

Ultimately, this comes down to personal preference.  In my case, as a youth coach, I’ve always favored consistent hard work and perserverence over sporatic flash and dazzle.

Cheers.