First of all - check out David La Vaque's profile of forward Max Griffin from today's paper.
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Asking United head coach Manny Lagos about formations usually prompts a mildly impatient response. This week, I asked him about his decision to play a 4-4-2 against San Antonio, instead of the 4-2-1-3 with which the team had begun the fall season - and his answer was no different. "For us, the system is important, but the habits that we are trying to incorporate and build off of are important as well," he said. "I think the guys embraced that for large periods of the game against San Antonio."
That said, Lagos did single out a pair of areas as impressive - the forward partnership between Pablo Campos and Mike Ambersley, and the wide midfielders and their combinations with the fullbacks. Given that I was also impressed with the central midfield and the center backs, that's everybody on the pitch. In other words, it wouldn't be surprising to see more or less an unchanged starting eleven against Edmonton tonight.
The only certain difference is with Campos, who is suspended for the game tonight. Otherwise, I've been told that the squad has no injury concerns - at least as of Thursday's practice - so Lagos has a full squad at his disposal.
Avoiding the letdown
Last time United got a late winner, they lost their next three games. Lagos, though, feels there's no comparison between the two situations. For one, United had two weeks off in the spring after beating Fort Lauderdale in the 96th minute; for another, the two squads look very different. "I think we've moved on," said the coach.
He also pointed out something else about the game following that Fort Lauderdale win, at Carolina. For most of the first half, United was in control against the RailHawks, who have proved impossible to beat at home. Minnesota took a 2-0 lead with two early goals, and only gave up a penalty to allow Carolina back within 2-1 at half.
