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Phoenix was one of USL’s dominant sides yet again this season, but the end of their campaign presented some off- and on-the-field question marks. You can get a sense of their system and statistical profile below, but I mainly want to focus on their late-season wing play.
The unbalanced setup that PHX rolled with late in the year was predicated by Junior Flemmings’ suspension. Compare an early-season touchmap from Flemmings (the first graphic) to a playoff equivalent from Moar (the second), you can clearly see how the roles were different.
Moar is much more of a patient creator compared to the direct Flemmings, and his naturally deeper positioning forced Darnell King to stay home at the back. Without a teammate upfield stretching space, King simply couldn’t overlap like Whelan could on the other flank.
You can see why this is counterintuitive when comparing Whelan to King. The latter is a much more natural attacker, but the personnel changes stunted his best abilities.
Meanwhile, Solomon Asante operated as a wide forward on the right. You can this in an example heatmap from the playoffs, and his season-long numbers reflect this aggressive style as well.
Substantively, PHX’s league-leading shot on target margin evaporated in the postseason. They ended up with a deficit in that category, taking punches with a countering style predicated on stout defense and bits of Asante magic. This was a departure from their earlier dominance.
How can Phoenix recover heading into next year? Getting a true winger would help. Free agents Russell Cicerone and Christiano Francois are industrious and creative options that have proven their chops in USL. They’re different from Flemmings but could fit the bill.
Rising could run things back and be fine, but they need a proper left winger to make things tick. Moar is fantastic, but his best role is in the middle. There are plenty of options out there, and PHX needs to pursue them if they’re to mount another title challenge.
