Amid midfield options, McGlynn is a difference-maker
CHESTER » For the people clamoring to see more of Jack McGlynn in the Philadelphia Union lineup, last Saturday’s 2-1 win over New England was a bit of a “told ya so” moment.
McGlynn was excellent, in a rare but needed squad rotation that included a formation shift. The lineup that Jim Curtin settled on, a 4-2-3-1, happened to suit McGlynn’s needs, if that wasn’t the explicit reason. The Homegrown midfielder shined, pinging passes from the center circle, generating attacks, generally dictating the game and helping the Union (10-2-9, 39 points) win for a third time in nine days.
But midfield is, more than any other position, a series of tradeoffs. The strengths that McGlynn brings are pitted against the 19-year-old’s shortcomings in other areas and the strengths others provide. It sets up a balancing act for Curtin to manage the rest of the season, including Saturday’s trip to Orlando City (7:30 p.m., PHL17) for which Alejandro Bedoya is suspended due to yellowcard accumulation.
For sure, it’s a fortuitous challenge, given the merits of a young player Curtin referred to as “a unicorn” for his cultured left foot and ability to open up the game with his passing.
“He does something that nobody else really can do,” Curtin said Thursday via Zoom. “His strength is obviously on the ball. He can play through the lines, his composure in tight spaces is really good. That left foot, he kind of sees things in the future and can play balls that can open up defense, which is something we’ve missed at certain moments, when teams especially sit a little lower against us as they have in the past.”
For much of the season, the question of shape and matchup in midfield has come down to McGlynn and Leon Flach, two talented players who contrast significantly in their playing styles. Both can play on the left, though Flach is suited ideally as a shuttler in the 4-4-2 diamond and McGlynn is more adept as an 8 with defensive cover, as in a 4-2-3-1 next to Jose Martinez or as a free-floating mid with a ballwinning 6 behind in a 4-3-3, in which he thrived with the U.S. Under-20s. Flach is a defensive maven, fifth in MLS and second among midfielders in tackles won with 36. McGlynn’s defensive fundamentals are still maturing, understandably so for his age, with the Homegrown covering ground but not yet polished in his closing speed or change of direction.
“I feel comfortable in both,” McGlynn said Saturday. “I’ve been training a lot more as that left 8 (in the diamond), but when I play there (in the 4-2-3-1), I have more freedom to get on the ball and drop deeper and make things happen.”
The New England game showed it’s not necessarily an either/or: Flach started on the left wing of the 4-23-1, mainly as an advanced defender to clamp down on dangerous Revs right back Brandon Bye. With one goal and four assists in more than 4,300 MLS minutes, Flach is in little danger of becoming an elite chance creator, but he is indispensable to the Union’s counterpressing efforts. No matter where in the formation he is, Flach has the engine to defend when the opponent is in the final third, an inborn compulsion to disrupt plays and get stuck in.
“That’s my strength, and that’s also the kind of offensive contribution I do,” Flach said Wednesday at training. “I may not be the guy who’s playing the last ball, but I make it possible that the last ball is played because I maybe won the ball before. I think that’s also something that is not seen as much as the offensive contribution, which is normal and I totally accept it, especially here because I think the offense is still a little bit more favored than the defense, but that’s fine. I take a lot of pride (in defense) because it means a lot to me and it shows that I am doing something right.”
Curtin’s task, in the final 13 games, is maximizing those contrasts. Which games call for Flach to press teams into oblivion or doggedly defend to preserve results? Which require McGlynn, who had four shots from outside the box and completed 53 of his 57 passes against New England, to use his magnificent passing like a crowbar to pry open a defense?
For much of the year, Curtin has sought a Plan B. The Union are a great counter-pressing team, but when clubs decide to forsake the ball, defend deep and dare the Union to break them down, they can struggle. Those situations don’t suit Flach, as shown in the team’s 22 goals in 18 games to start the season. (Flach did, it must be noted, have an assist in the 7-0 onslaught of D.C. United on a heady run into the box to set up Julian Carranza.)
Plan A is counterattacking, turning teams over in dangerous positions and launching quick actions to goal. Plan B will never be a methodical, possession-based style that strings together passes to gain field position and create opportunities. That’s too big a divergence.
A more attainable Plan
B is to have McGlynn hunkered in midfield and opening up the defense with his distribution. That impetus to play forward is just one step removed from how the Union press.
“Jack can play in a way that does maintain possession, but the best passes that he has are the home runs, where it’s either leading to a chance at goal,”
Curtin said. “It’s forward every time. He takes risks, and we want that. I wouldn’t say he doesn’t fit the way we play at all. He is the one who takes the most risk going forward.”