Robbie Findley's return to Real Salt Lake marks an opportunity for Jason Kreis to employ a genuinely fast striker for the first time since 2010. More than just raw speed, his arrival marks a chance to facilitate tactical approaches the club's missed out on in his absence.
Speed
There's no denying that Robbie Findley is quick on his feet. Some argued during 2011 and 2012 that Real Salt Lake was missing a fast striker, and perhaps they were right. Not so much because the strikers at the club were slow — Espindola at his best flew past defenses, and Alvaro Saborio has been known to have a good burst of pace — but because of the tactical adjustments it involved.
Working Findley into the side requires a shift in approach up front from what the last two years have brought us. With Espindola taking up wide and channel-running positions, the mode of attack became one that relied on running at defenders rather than finding that same sort of space centrally. Findley presents basically that — it's certainly a different approach, and it's hard to prefer one over the other without seeing how it works again more than two years later.
With Findley's pace and acceleration paired with his more central running tendencies, Real Salt Lake would have a definitively speedy option either in the lineup or on the bench. At the very least it provides a sort of nagging thought in defenders' approach, but it's hardly the sort of thing you plan a match around.
Space
There are two major ways quick forwards create space for a side. The first requires little tactical adjustment: Findley pushes forward, forcing one or two defenders to follow alongside. This allows Saborio a bit more freedom as well, which would be a welcome change, considering he was at times presented with two or three defenders against whom he was to hold up the ball.
The space created comes higher up in the midfield, which would leave Javier Morales (or some other attacking midfielder) with more room to create. The major disadvantage this provides would be a susceptibility to offside traps.
The second major method involves Findley dropping deeper and remaining less involved in build-up play as the opposition is drawn deeper into Real Salt Lake's half of the pitch. This naturally involves some risk and requires a high degree of precision in the passing and movement of the side, but when Robbie Findley streaks clear of the last defender and is through on goal with the shooting angles in his favor, the rewards could really rain down.
System
One major advantage Robbie Findley presents over other forwards is a knowledge of Jason Kreis's management style, his tactical preferences, and what's required in training. The essential pieces of Real Salt Lake's system play strongly into Findley's favor as he looks to pick his career up from its minor slump, and they could well be the key to his finding success at the club once again.
Along with contributing to RealSaltLake.com, Matt Montgomery runs RSL blogs RSL Soapbox and Under the Crossbar. Follow Matt on Twitter @TheCrossbarRSL
