The Back Four: Championship midfields, League One’s new juggernauts

Tactics, stats, and other developments that stand out for Detroit, Knoxville, Northern Colorado, and San Antonio

Welcome to The Back Four, where I’m analyzing four things that drew my eye from across the USL. Need a recap of the entire Championship? Hit up Backheeled.

Now, let’s get to it.

Detroit’s midfield motor

Detroit started 2024 with five straight wins, scoring 10 goals during that run. With Ben Morris and Ali Coote out wide, Le Rouge could beat you on the outside or force rotations to free Maxi Rodriguez down the middle. Elvis Amoh’s movement at striker supported the entire setup. It seemed that Danny Dichio found gold the first time he panned the offensive river - and that came after a 2023 where City averaged a historically bad 0.88 goals per game.

A slowdown was inevitable, but it hit hard. Coote left for Ireland, Amoh went down injured, and City stopped scoring. Ironically, the xG numbers stayed relatively level - Detroit has hovered around 1.3 or 1.4 xG per 90 minutes as a rolling average for most of 2024. Even so, something was amiss.

Dichio began to mix up the shape, mostly adhering to a 4-4-2 variant but occasionally breaking out back threes. Sometimes it worked, as in an Open Cup upset in Houston, but the attacking returns didn’t really change. What’s becoming evident is that Detroit is actually quite good when they hit the final third. The challenge is getting there in the first place.

Per American Soccer Analysis’ Goals Added metric, Detroit is one of the most additive (or least wasteful) clubs in the USL in the attacking zone. Finishing is another matter, but players like Rodriguez, Rhys Williams, and Ben Morris have been highly efficient when hitting the final ball.

The rub? Detroit is a bottom-third passing team in every other area of the pitch. Though there’s a slight strength arising from the Devon Amoo-Mensah/Brett Levis axis on the left, this club hasn’t got the job done in distribution. It’s an interesting data point to consider against the eye test. For my money, players like James Murphy and Ryan Williams have been clean passers with a good sense of tempo. Indeed, Williams can also hit a switch as well as any midfielder in the USL.

Those solid distributors haven’t had enough options upfield. Someone like Morris has been active in transitional moments, but he only rates in the 43rd percentile for touches per game. Amoh is also squarely average in that category, and that’s despite Le Rouge ranking seventh in the league with a 52% possession share. Detroit spends long periods holding the ball on the edge of the attacking zone while passing sideways.

Last Wednesday’s win in Tampa Bay was a microcosm of the Detroit experience. Dichio’s side could’ve been down by three or foul goals after a brutal first half in a disconnected 4-4-2. The inverted wingers in that shape were completely uninvolved, and the Rowdies dominated possession.

A bold switch into an attacking 3-2-5 changed the dynamic. Detroit’s width took the fight to their hosts, forcing Tampa Bay back and buying crucial space in the channels. The use of the back three allows for effective ball carriage out of the back and improved passing angles. Rodriguez looked like a pure quarterback, making runs from the pivot to the vacant left sideline to dictate terms.

Then Tulsa happened. Detroit returned to their back four and proceeded to bang their head against the wall for 90 minutes against a sturdy visiting side. Penetration was at a premium yet again; Le Rouge averaged 2.1 crosses for every shot they attempted versus a seasonal average of 1.4. That’s a sign of frustration and of being limited to the wide areas.

The upside? Laurent Kissiedou debuted off the bench.

Though the newly acquired winger attempted three shots to little effect against a 10-man Tulsa, he’s got the profile of a difference-maker. Kissiedou, on loan from Czechia, is a right-footed winger that primarily played inverted on the left side during a successful three-year stint with Memphis 901. He’s dually gifted as an incisive passer in the final third and as someone willing to camp at halfway, tuck inside to facilitate build, and co-operate with his partnered left back.

The numbers from Kissiedou’s 2022 and 2023 seasons set him apart from the pack in Detroit. In terms of chance creation, passing accuracy, and shooting volume, the winger laps his new midfield mates. There may be a slight worry that he’ll take touches away from Maxi Rodriguez, but I tend to think their combined gravity will be mutually beneficial.

If 4-4-2 is the path forward for Detroit, Kissiedou is the exact sort of piece that can make it sing. City still needs to find consistency, but they’re adding players and experimenting with tactics that can help get them back to form.

One Knox’s rise

Make it eight games unbeaten for One Knox,¹ who did the wildest thing possible and parted ways with manager Mark McKeever in the heart of that run. McKeever was “investigated for verbal bullying and physical misconduct” by the league last year, and those claims were substantiated after a USL investigation. We don’t know if that behavior recurred to spark the firing, but it did result in a wonderful bit of equivocation:

WBIR also asked defender James Thomas if he knew why McKeever was let go. "What was in the statement is what we are going with," he said.

Nothing to see there!

Either way, this Knoxville team is absolutely sizzling on the pitch. They had a chance to go top on Friday night, and while a draw with Spokane didn’t let that happen, it’s evidential of a club on the rise.

Out of the gates this season, a McKeever-led Knoxville stuck to a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3 shape starring Angelo Kelly-Rosales as a supporting attacker. Direct offense was the name of the game, Kelly-Rosales’ ability to win second balls and contribute to chances let him win a player of the Month award, and this club was off to the races.

One Knox’s bimodal arc has peaked anew in a re-worked 3-5-2 featuring Stavros Zarokostas up top. The Greek forward previously spent two seasons in middling Charleston Battery teams. 2021 saw Zarokostas score three times and assist twice more, but his xA and conversion rate ranked in the bottom 20% of Championship forwards.

At the same time, it was clear that Zarokostas brought a drifting, mobile style that could partner with a traditional No. 9. You saw it in the numbers: that 2021 season also saw Zarokostas rate out as a 92nd percentile crosser, and he’s bringing that wandering ability to Tennessee. As a result, Knoxville has been able to steel their midfield with the knowledge that they’re going to get enough running up top.

During the first two months of action, One Knox’s average pass traveled 7.4 vertical yards. That mark is down to 6.2 yards during their recent unbeaten run, and that’s a credit to the new 3-5-2. Against Spokane, Frank Ross was the third man in the middle. While Knoxville possessed, he was happy to support a shorter sort of game. Out of possession, Ross pressed up to put Knox back into a 3-4-3 against the Velocity’s three-man back line. That variability across phases is a boon, allowing Knoxville to maintain possessive integrity while flexing their defensive muscle as the matchup requires.

You see Zarokostas highlighted in the package above. He’s attempted a whopping 11 take-ons in the last two matches, evidencing someone who can find pockets and go at defenders. There’s unselfishness on display in equal measure; the first clip sees #21 drift into the half space to allow the One Knox midfielders to run ahead of him. One give-and-go later, and Zarokostas can try to hit them with a cross.

That example actually begins with Knoxville pressing up into a front three via Rodolfo Castro, whose ability to jump between lines earned him four shot attempts in a rout against Chattanooga. Indeed, he and Callum Johnson are the central runners seen advancing over Zarokostas in that play.

I haven’t even mentioned Kempes Tekiela, whose nine goals across cup and league play tie him for fifth place in League One. Zarokostas’ linking skills wouldn’t be useful if not for Tekiela’s gravitational finishing. It’s a credit to McKeever - and interim manager Ilija Ilic - that Knoxville identified Tekiela as a building block and made moves to enhance his game.

My modeling now puts Knoxville at fourth place, a point ahead of Greenville and a 100% lock for playoff qualification with eight games to play. If Ilic can prove as deft as his predecessor, there’s no reason One Knox can’t challenge for it all.

The Real Deal

No team in League One can drop the hammer quite like Northern Colorado. They’re unbeaten in their last six matches with wins over Madison, Omaha, and Greenville. They’ve scored three goals in three of their last four outings. Much of that success has come thanks to the variety offered by Real Gill, who has a goal and two assists during that four-match stretch.

Gill, profiled excellently at League One Updater earlier this year, is a hugely dangerous outlet because of his speed. There’s plenty of technique in the Trinidad and Tobago international’s arsenal, but it’s his defense-stretching pace that increasingly defines a vertical NoCo offense.

The Hailstorm are well above par in terms of shot production and expected goal production, and they’ve done so with an atypically direct passing style. Between Gill and stalwart wide man Bruno Rendon, Northern Colorado never lacks for over-the-top electricity.

That style can take multiple forms. A high-seated winger might seek leak out into space while the rest of the NoCo team defends in deep banks of four. A possessive spell that starts patiently at the back could end with a snap diagonal to Gill or Rendon. Good offenses keep their opposition honest; NoCo might as well be conducting a lie detector test.

Gill is the king of those jailbreak runs over the top that can instantly change a game, but he’s not alone in that regard. If you look at the USL League One players that take the most shots on the fast break, you end up with:

1. Luis Alvarez (0.41 shots per 90)

2. Ethan Hoard (0.35 shots per 90)

3. Bruno Rendon (0.35 shots per 90)

4. Kimarni Smith (0.34 shots per 90)

5. Noah Powder (0.34 shots per 90)

6. Real Gill (0.34 shots per 90)

That’s four of the top six! This Hailstorm side is designed in a lab to quickly generate offense. You get two flavors of that tendency in the highlight package above.

In the first, Northern Colorado sits deep in block against a counterpressing Tormenta team. The hosts push numbers up to keep the attacking zone, but Haruki Yamazaki is able to find a touch toward the far sideline. Picking his head up, the Japanese midfielder spots Gill going full track star up the near flank. Though Yamazaki’s outlet pass doesn’t connect, the intention is clear.

The second play starts with a defensive header and quickly ends up at Gill’s feet around halfway. Already, the winger is goalside of a Tormenta winger, so he has room to dribble into the offensive half. A hugely intelligent run to the sideline from Isidro Martinez gives Gill a partner and drags the South Georgia defense over; the result is the space to cross toward Ethan Hoard for a shot.

Northern Colorado tends to build in a 4-4-1-1 shape, and they’re very good about involving their midfield line in deep areas. Jackson Dietrich has been a workhorse in that context, connecting play and doing the little things almost every time out. The central midfielder is accurate under defensive fire (see a 90% passing accuracy this season), and he’s tremendous at making subtle runs to open up space. Dietrich understands the give and take needed to make an offense tick.

Dietrich, Lucky Opara, and Billy King have formed a real sense of chemistry on the left side. They know how to move in concert, and their surefooted passing regularly demands defensive attention. When they’re clicking, opponents have to deal with two major threats: (1) short progression down the left and (2) long balls up the right.

That duality is a huge asset, and you see it pay off above to open the scoring versus Greenville. Dietrich makes a run upfield to open a gap, King (the left winger) tucks into it, and there’s suddenly a window up into the attacking half. Further ahead, there’s another set of runs taking place: Hoard is spacing wide to the left to open a central lane for Martinez.

King sees it happening and hits Martinez for an assist, and it’s the start of a 3-0 Hailstorm rout. Gill and Rendon don’t even have to get involved in that first goal; that’s the beauty of this Northern Colorado team. The mere presence of those right-sided attackers unbalances defenses.

This level of success wasn’t a fait accompli. The Hailstorm have a multitude of weapons, but it’s the structure Eamon Zayed has built around them that sets NoCo apart.

Bura and balance

There’s a scene in a Captain America movie where Chris Evans is on a helipad, desperately anchoring himself to the ground while trying to hold down a helicopter as it takes off. It’s a useful metaphor for San Antonio FC this year, especially regarding Bura’s role in the midfield. Increasingly, it feels like Bura is trying to maintain organization as the structure around him flies out of control.

Alen Marcina has preferred a 5-1-2-2 or thereabouts recently, opting for a shape with Bura as the lone No. 6. Since Kevon Lambert went down injured, the 28-year-old midfielder has arguably been San Antonio’s most important player. That holding midfield role is a poisoned chalice; if you need a defensive midfielder to put up big numbers, that means you aren’t controlling the game.

Bura put in five successful tackles in a shellacking against Sacramento last weekend, and it was emblematic of a “good player, bad team game” dynamic. The Republic held about two-thirds of possession, constantly probing the final third against a San Antonio team that couldn’t get out of their defensive zone.

We’ve seen that formula over and over in August. Bura is 12 for 13 on tackle attempts in his last three matches, and he has 19 ball recoveries all the while. That doesn’t quantify his ability to get a takeaway and dribble upfield like a bulldozer on the break.

That one-man ball-stopping has freed up teammates like Jorge Hernandez and Jesus Brigido to do damage at the best of times. The second half against North Carolina - San Antonio’s only win in the last 50 days - was evidence of that fact. Instead of protecting his net, Bura could dominate as a counter presser, allowing the attacking mids to impose themselves in the final third.

San Antonio’s ability to maximize their midfield around the Guinea-Bissau international is the real question. Double pivots featuring Bura next to Hernandez feel wasteful, limiting Hernandez’s ability to get forward even as he leads the USL in assists. Marcina has been hesitant to pair Bura with Sofiane Djeffal as well. Djeffal, who ranks in the 73rd percentile for interceptions and the 94th for dribbling success, ought to be a perfect No. 8 between the aforementioned mids. His lack of playing time - Djeffal went unused against Sacramento - is a miss.

Finding an answer is a crucial question. San Antonio has put up 0.37, 0.86, and 0.38 expected goals in their last three matches. Against the Republic, they took just six touches in zone 14 and only five in the box. The attacking midfield was invisible.

Something needs to change quickly. My playoff odds model finally turned on SAFC this week, bumping them down to 10th with a lowly 35% chance of making the postseason. In spite of those negative trends, there’s hope. The gap to the eighth seed is surmountable, and Bura’s breakout creates a clear path toward midfield rehabilitation. Whether Marcina can find that balance may decide whether he’s back for 2025.

Threads!

I post too much, so here’s a backlog of my bigger game recaps. Looking for discussion of another win for first-place New Mexico? Check out this week’s USL Tactics Show on the socials.

• Tampa Bay - Detroit (8/21)

• Hartford - Louisville (8/24)

• Detroit - Tulsa (8/24)

• Birmingham - Pittsburgh (8/24)

• Charleston - Orange County (8/24)

• Loudoun - Rhode Island (8/24)

• Tampa Bay - Miami (8/24)

• Monterey - El Paso (8/24)

• Oakland - Memphis (8/24)

• Las Vegas - Indy (8/24)

• Phoenix - North Carolina (8/24)

• Sacramento - San Antonio (8/24)

Final Thoughts

In other news this week…

• Make sure to check out my USL Super League coverage on the site! I published a piece on Week 1 takeaways for all six debuting clubs last week, and I’m planning on weekly or biweekly coverage all season long. The level of play is higher than you could’ve hoped for, and it’s a hoot to follow so far.

• In “John is dumb” corner for the week, how about FC Tulsa? I was nasty about the roster construction and reports of behind-the-scenes disfunction for most of the spring, and I’m eating crow now. Diogo Pacheco is a force on the left, Johan Peñaranda legit might be the Goalkeeper of the Year after signing midseason, and the defense in front of him is implacable.

• Sending all my energy and vibes to Indy Eleven in the Open Cup tonight. I rarely let my inner fan show, but that’s out the window.

That’s all, folks. See you soon!

Cover photo credit: Laurent Kissiedou / LinkedIn

1. No, losing on penalties in the Jagermeister Cup doesn’t count in my book.