Pittsburgh’s had one of the most interesting offseasons in the league to my taste. They’ve seen some key contributors (James, Mertz, Vancaeyezeele) exit and don’t currently have a CB on the roster. Still, if there’s anyone you trust to bring things together, it’s Bob Lilley.

In recent years, Lilley’s teams have tended to return solid cores of starters. Lots of offseason to go, but the ‘21 Riverhounds are bucking that trend to a certain extent.

This is the depth chart at the moment. I’ll get into the new signings, but this is a team that’s bare in the midfield and at the back as things stand.

Russell Cicerone figures to replace Ryan James as the LWB, and Pittsburgh fans should be overjoyed. Cicerone may be the best crosser in the USL, and his defensive solidity is numerically belied by the fact that St. Louis often used him in their front three.

You can see a clip of his dribbling and guile in the linked tweet, and I’ve also attached a clip of him putting in a killer cross for Tyler Blackwood (who needs to be signed ASAP). Cicerone will be a great fit in such a ball-dominant Pittsburgh team. https://twitter.com/usltactics/status/1315390351390109696

At striker, Steevan Dos Santos headed to Tampa only to be replaced by Alex Dixon, a Lilley favorite. Dos Santos gives you more pressing and hold-up skill, but Dixon provides much more spark and self-creation.

These two clips show Dixon’s explosiveness. He can drop deep and pull the strings or use his speed to stretch back lines and wreak havoc on the counterattack.

Tomas Gomez exited for the Western Conference, but he and Vitiello exactly split regular season minutes in goal last season. Vitiello is a slightly better distributor and gives you comparable shot-stopping skills.

Coming into the offseason, I thought that PIT needed a slight tactical change. They romped the regular season but fell in the playoffs when LOU tucked their wingers in to own the middle. This overload drew PIT’s wingbacks out of shape and freed isolating passes into the channels.

The Hounds don’t need a full system change, but they do need to solidify in the center against top sides. With Mertz out the door, I want to see a hard-tackling #6 come in to complete the Griffin-Forbes-XXX trifecta.

This tweak would let Griffin stay high in attack, provide extra control in deep, and shield the CBs while allowing Kenardo Forbes to burst forward with full box-to-box abandon. That latter point is key; a higher, more lethal Forbes is a huge win.

Overall, clarifying the midfield issue and signing some defenders should see Pittsburgh right back in the title mix in 2021. This is a side that’s going to look different next year, but enough of the core (Lilley included) is back to assure another solid campaign at Highmark.