Well, it looks like United will be without another defensive player today. Clyde Simms has injured his calf and will not be featured in the match tonight against the Revs.
With potential replacement Perry Kitchen away with the national team and Conor Shanosky not yet ready, the choice comes down to two players: Branko Boskovic and Kurt Morsink. Boskovic could get the start if Olsen thinks that he needs a little more offensive firepower to break down the Revs. With three defensive starters out and a good offensive performance against the Crew, however, I do not know if Olsen wants to start out with a different gameplan.
Therefore, I think it is possible that our old friend Kurt Morsink will get the start. Morsink will allow Dax McCarty to play the same role he did in the opener, and not try to shoehorn him into a more defensive role. I liked the way Morsink played after Olsen took over and he can slot into the Clyde Simms role, albeit with a greater likelihood for cards and a bit less quality. If there is not enough firepower on the field with Morsink out there, Boskovic can always come in later (as can/will Charlie Davies).
Therefore, I predict:
Onstad
Korb Brasesco Jakovic Burch
Najar Morsink McCarty Pontius
Wolff Ngwenya
Vamos United!
Before Extra Time 
2 responses to “Does no Clyde Simms mean the return of Kurt Morsink?”
OK, so I need you to tell me if I’m nuts. Specifically about this, cause I know the answer to that question in general. I don’t think it’s the answer for this game, because the defense is all mixed up, but once (if) we get a solid back four who are familiar with each other…
Would our back pair be strong enough for a sort of, um, well, none of the number combinations I can come up with do it justice. A four-man midfield with two attacking midfielders, or possibly one box-t0-box and one withdrawn forward type, sitting behind two forwards? It’s not that I don’t appreciate Simms, though I’ve been a DC fan long enough that I’ll always think of him a bit as the poor man’s Brian Carroll, I just wonder if we might benefit from getting more of our attacking players on the field.
I don’t think you’re crazy, but I don’t think that Dejan Jakovic is a good enough central defender, even when Perry Kitchen is there. And I think we saw in the past two games that he is prone to dumb mistakes and having dumb things happen to him. I think that, for the foreseeable future, we will need someone like Clyde Simms to be that defensive midfielder, until Jakovic either grows up or gets replaced.