Midweek Notebook: Birmingham's back three and the Sterling sweepstakes
Catching up on a fresh formation for the Legion, their options at forward, and the Kazaiah Sterling trial in Pittsburgh
Absolute dorks like myself may be familiar with “Legion Quest,” a ‘90s storyline in the X-Men comics where our favorite mutant heroes go back in time, only to horrendously screw things up. Enter the Age of Apocalypse.
The lesson, at least for hack bloggers trying to spin this back to soccer? The past is the past, and you’re only to going to move forward by carving out your own future. In the USL, the Birmingham Legion are taking that lesson to heart on their own quest, and their preseason opener against Atlanta United last weekend showed a forward-looking mentality to be excited about in 2024.
Because of course, fellow preseason sicko Nicholas Murray beat me to the punch in discussing the warm-up. Watch out for a future Hammering Down podcast from fellow USL Show co-host Kaylor Hodges as well. Still, I’m interesting in digging into the changes on display for Birmingham.
The big innovation was a back three shape to start the match, one that put new signing AJ Paterson on the left side of a center back trio to round out the usual pair of Phanuel Kavita and Alex Crognale. In a full-field sense, the Legion pressed up in a 3-4-3 that defended deep in a very boxy 5-4-1.
Maybe a back three is Plan A for 2024; maybe it isn’t. If you consider the top contenders in the East, having that shape in your back pocket becomes invaluable. Charleston and Louisville will play with three forwards or a single striker flanked by outrageously aggressive wingers. For a team like Birmingham, using three center backs maintains parity.
The shape suits the Legion’s midfield talent, too. Enzo Martinez started in the pivot against Atlanta, where his deep-lying creation was easy to activate, especially compared to his occasional false No. 9 outings. Ditto for accessing Matthew Corcoran in a similar sort of pivot role.
Tommy Soehn was aggressive in his use of the outside defenders throughout phases of play. In possession, Paterson moved up the left sideline into a proper full back’s positioning; the Legion attacked in a hybrid sort of 2-3-5 when they fully advanced into the final third, with Paterson as a wider third man in the midfield.
The fluidity extended to both flanks. Either Paterson or Crognale on the right could make similar advances. Their communication and give-and-take chemistry will be crucial this year, lest both push up and leave Kavita exposed against the counter.
Indeed, there’s a real burden on the pivot to track back in those cases of turnovers or overextensions, especially given the aggression of those wide defenders.
Atlanta got their second goal in the friendly by taking advantage in the 22nd minute. Crognale, the right-sided center back, stepped beyond the halfway line just as the right wing back did the same; both were played past by an opponent. Instantly, then, the burden fell on Corcoran to track deep into the defensive line and fill in as a proxy CB.
To his credit, the teenager did so responsibly; there’s a reason he’s one of the best prospects in American soccer. You can assign blame for the allowance either way from there, whether to Corcoran for giving the Atlanta winger an inch to breath on the inside cut or to Matt VanOekel in goal for getting beat on his near post. Still, it’s the preseason, and Corcoran’s effort and awareness in rotation is more important than the outcome.
Elsewhere, Mohamed Bura Turay started up top, listed with his name rather than a trialist moniker. There’s meaning to that, surely? In any event, Turay boasts a Golden Boot win in 2019 in the Swedish first division, though only seven goals in 34 appearances have come since then.
The Legion returned to a more standard 4-4-2 later in the game with trialist Stefano Pinho at striker next to fellow camp invitee EJ Johnson. You got some very classic Birmingham play, especially in the form of a 4-2-4 press out of possession, but the striker options are worth pondering further.
Johnson had a bright stint up top, showcasing his speed and dynamism; he’s got a natural ability to keep defenders off balance and find shooting angles. Still, Johnson isn’t a sure thing at the USL level. In just under 1,000 minutes in MLS NEXT Pro last year, he was worth -1.00 goals added per American Soccer Analysis, and he had an unspectacular tenure on loan in an admittedly messy Charleston team in 2022. Tons of potential, but can Johnson bring it together in Alabama?
Pinho is more of a journeyman, a poacher’s poacher that’s been a lower league stalwart since his Fort Lauderdale Strikers era. The Brazilian is very much a form player who needs a run of time to get settled and find chances. Pinho had a 19% conversion rate during his time in Indianapolis during the last two years, but that also included a 2023 season in which he didn’t score and didn’t even play 500 total minutes.
The general takeaway, between the trap-laden press in both formations and the speed of the forward options - Pinho excepted - is that this team wants to move fast in 2024. Birmingham will turn you over, let a technical pivot spark chances, and do damage before defenses can settle. Say that fails? Crognale and Paterson will get adventurous in the half spaces by leaving the back line. There are Plan Bs, Cs, and Ds here that the Legion missed in 2023.
Per the essential John Krysinsky from Pittsburgh Soccer Now, former South Georgia Tormenta forward Kazaiah Sterling is on trial with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds this preseason. It’s a potentially table-shaking move, one that signals real ambition from the Riverhounds this year.
Sterling, a native North Londoner, was snatched up by Tottenham at age 17 but never debuted in Lilywhite amidst a series of loans. Never able to find his footing in the unapologetic morass of the English lower leagues, the striker joined Tormenta. The rest is South Georgia history.
In his debut season in Statesboro, Sterling scored 13 times and garnered four assists, converting at a 99th percentile rate and generating chances in the 92nd percentile to boot. His galvanizing energy took Tormenta to a title. Though the 25-year-old missed the start of this season and his club took a step back, Sterling still repeated that 13-goal return.
Rumors abounded of fresh opportunities in League One, but now Pittsburgh seems the likeliest destination for the star No. 9. What is it that makes Sterling so good, and why is he suited to replace Albert Dikwa?
The above reel features a few clips of Sterling going to work late in 2023, and it’s a reel full of the subtleties teams fiend for at the striker spot.
Consider the first example. Sterling shifts his body on a dime, sealing out a defender pursuing from behind. Around his man, the Tottenham product takes a right-footed touch to carve back inside, uses the same foot to edge into the box, then squares to the ball for a left-footed finish driven low across the face of goal.
The second play doesn’t even directly involve the Englishman, but it’s a keen representation of his influence. Sterling simply stalks in the left channel, hedging into the center seam without making a run over the top. Coming from a known scoring threat, the patient movement draws the defense up and allows a teammate to get in behind.
You see the play freeze-framed and marked up here. Sterling occupies two defenders just by existing and knowing how to modulate his tempo, picking moments to exert himself but always keeping the opposing reaction in mind.
Tormenta is firmly entrenched in the final third in the next instance, and #9 reads the play fluently to get a teammate involved. Posting up defender as the ball crawls towards the center of the box, Sterling never looks back but instinctively knows that a central midfielder is crashing towards the net. Maintaining that deep position against the center back, he half-turns, softly re-directs a centering pass to that late runner, and picks up an assist for the effort.
There’s some luck in the ultimate assist shown, but it’s still an ode to Sterling’s gravitational effect up top. Only a quarter or so of his passes went backwards last year despite advanced positioning, and he completed 71% of his attempts in the opposing half. The mix of accuracy as a passer, skillful dribbling, and a goal threat force the defense to encroach upon Sterling when the ball comes his way, freeing up a quick-twitch redirection to put a teammate on net.
Kazaiah Sterling’s special because of his finishing, but that’s only possible because of incredibly soft feet and incredible spatial awareness that also conspire to make him a play-linker in the box. Sterling isn’t the kind of striker that demands the ball at every step of build, but he’s resplendent when he gets it, and that’s why he’s an optimal fit in Pittsburgh.
Albert Dikwa scored 20 goals, but he only ranked in the 64th percentile of Championship strikers for touches per 90 minutes; Sterling sat in the comparable 70th percentile in League One. Despite playing 600 less minutes than Dikwa, Sterling forced twice as many takeaways in the press. The Cameroonian averaged 2.3 shots per game at Highmark, while his putative replacement averaged 2.1
Physicality is the main distinction, but it may be less marked than it seems on the face of things. The 6’2”, 185 pound Dikwa contested 139 aerial duels, but he only won 39 of them. At 5’9”, Sterling only contested 35 such challenges. In the Pittsburgh 3-5-2, you’d imagine that the Englishman would pair with the hefty Edward Kizza or newly-added, 6’5” Babacar Diene to make a fairly direct offensive system tick.
Sterling is going to be a star somewhere, so why not Pittsburgh? This is a club typically averse to big-ticket signings, and adding a piece of Kazaiah Sterling’s caliber and reputation would be a statement heading into 2024.
Bit of a format break to come at you on a Tuesday, but I had weekend news to hit. Be on the lookout for the usual Saturday post and some big Backheeled content to come.