Last week provided an exciting coup for the Houston Dynamo as forward Sergio Koke was brought in from Greek side Aris FC. Not only will Koke energize the fanbase and provide some creativity up front, but the Dynamo reportedly also nabbed him without using their designated player exception, meaning the team could still find another star to help them out later in the season should they need it.
Dynamo Theory's Zach Woosley took a look at Koke's skills and what role they project to, and came up with a few possible options for manager Dominic Kinnear:
If Kinnear is determined to stick with his patented 4-4-2 diamond, with Koke in the CAM role, either Andre Hainault or Jermaine Taylor will be riding the bench in order to keep Geoff Cameron on the field. However, there's another option to consider but it's a little tricky.
Logic would tell you that if you have multiple good options in the midfield, then why not tinker with your formation to get both Koke and Cameron on the field in attacking roles? Of course all this is mute if Koke is fine with going back to a traditional striker role, but if he'd rather stay as the CAM then why not toy with a 4-5-1 or 4-3-3?
The reason I say this idea is tricky because Kinnear loves the 4-4-2 and that while we've seen variations on it during matches if a situation called for it (holding a lead or chasing a goal), when is the last time you can remember the Dynamo starting a match in anything other than the 4-4-2?
Go ahead and check out the full article; it's a good read. Also, Kinnear's reluctance to leave the 4-4-2 would get him killed in Xpert Eleven. Thank goodness he manages real football instead.