Post by epjr on Jan 14, 2011 21:51:20 GMT -6
Right Fit: Perry Kitchen, D.C. United
According to head coach Ben Olsen, Kitchen was “far-and-away the best player in the draft.” Hyperbole aside, there’s a reason he was a top-3 pick, a reason he was the centerpiece of this past year’s NCAA champions, and a reason almost every pundit figures he’ll compete for a spot with the US national team within the year.
Kitchen, much like Ream last year, has the luxury of walking into a squad that’s in a rebuilding mode. For all of Najar’s attacking heroics, United were the worst team in the league in 2010 and are doing a full-fledged roster overhaul.
Part of that overhaul will likely be pairing Kitchen, a d-mid with great field vision and skill but limited range, with Dax McCarty. McCarty is the prototypical two-way central midfielder. He’ll do the harrying and disruption, covering more ground than any other player in the league, and let Kitchen protect the backline and control the tempo.
www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/armchair-analyst-who-fits-who-doesn%E2%80%99t