The Right Midfielder Question

Somehow, the Chicago Fire made it an entire season without adequately addressing the fact that they didn't have a single player who fit the bill as a natural right-sided midfielder. You could argue that they've lacked a true right winger since John Thorrington first got injured.

At this moment in time, the depth chart for right mid seems to be Chris Rolfe, then Calen Carr, then John Thorrington, and Thorrington is the only one out of those three that's not playing out of position. So, unless Rolfe and/or Carr suddenly make a wholesale conversion -- and even in half a season, that doesn't seem to be Juan Carlos Osorio's style -- what is the Fire going to about this next year?

Using today's roster, you could start Chris Rolfe and Chad Barrett up top and slot Justin Mapp on the right wing, in a similar role to what Rolfe played once he returned from injury. This still preserves that 3-3-2-2 formation (or 4-2-2-2) that Osorio seems so fond of, but Mapp has always been more effective on the left than on the right.

But if you're looking for a more traditional 3-5-2 or 4-4-2 formation, the only real option on the roster since we gave up on rookie Jerson Monteiro is Thorrington. Or Logan Pause, but he would also be playing out of position and is more likely to assume the Chris Armas role next year. Without thinking too hard about who might be available, the question that springs to mind is if Andy Dorman would be a better option than Thorrington. It couldn't hurt that he'd feel like he has something to prove when playing New England. The only issue is if a drop in form is what precipitated his benching, but again, it's more a question of whether he'd be better than current options.

And then there's Sammy Ochoa, but I can't tell exactly where in the midfield he plays.