D.C. United Approval Ratings: Clyde Simms

Glad to see Clyde won’t be joining the list of retirees this year – the Revolution officially announced that he’s signed with the team. Will be very weird to see him in other, hated colors next year, but I’m really hoping for nothing but the best for Simms.

I like Simms as a player, and I also still think we’ll regret letting him go rather than offering him a pay cut. I’m not optimistic that we can find a better back-up defensive midfielder, and between qualifying for the Olympics and the actual Olympic tournament, we will be without Kitchen for something like 2 months this season. Our best hope at this point is the unlikely signing of such a player, or King learning the job at an unexpectedly fast pace. Morsink is not an acceptable answer.

Sure, we’d have had to overpay for Simms as a 2nd choice defensive midfielder, but I’d rather overpay by $30k and not have to worry so much about our games in March (qualifying) and July/August (Olympic tournament). We will probably have the cap space to afford that.

All that said, Simms in 2011 did not quite fit in with the rest of the team, nor did he fit in with our version of the 442. Simms has never played as deep as Kitchen does, or as deep as Carroll used to. Playing that way requires a certain level of positional acumen, and Simms has always been a different kind of defensive midfielder than the “anchor” types that I’m comparing him to. Simms wants to roam and cover tons of ground while breaking up passing lanes rather than out-think his opponents and never let those passing lanes exist. He actually reminds me quite a bit of Ricardo Clark; less impulsive and less athletic, sure, but in roughly the same mold.

I don’t think Simms is the type of player United needs. In the modern game, a player like Simms doesn’t fit into a 442 unless he’s alongside the sort of barnstorming, box-to-box type that MLS doesn’t often produce (think Stuart Holden, who had plenty of success alongside Clark for the Dynamo). As such, I think Simms needs to find himself in some variation of a 451 (probably 4231) where the defensive midfielder alongside him has a more cerebral approach and a better passing range while Simms does the glory-free running and clogging. It would probably also help Simms if that formation was used by a coach who preached a more conservative mindset.

DC didn’t play like that this season, and as a result Simms was not at his best and the team was not getting the defensive shield it needed in midfield. Offensively, we couldn’t rely on Simms in possession like we needed to; he has always looked rushed on the ball, and on a team that aspires to outpossess opponents you can’t afford to have that problem.

Defensively, Simms has to be everywhere to be effective, which means there is often a hole right down the middle of the field. Playing a diamond (or T-shape) as we often did, there was no one available to help cover that space for Simms, leaving him to choose between playing his natural style or trying to be someone he isn’t. This problem was compounded by our young, fluctuating defense.

So, to sum up: I approve of Simms the player, and I would like to still have him – flaws and all – in 2012, but I did disapprove of him as a DC United player in 2011. Conflicted enough for you?