Is Albert Rusnak the wrong piece?

Recently, a particular unease has settled over the Seattle Sounders' gameplay. An inexplicable dissonance seems to be influencing the way the team interacts on the pitch, as well as how their rivals perceive and tackle them.

In an earlier discussion, I delved into the 'Assistant Coach' theory, which suggested a game-changing turn of events in August 2021. Today, we're dissecting a new theory - could Albert Rusnak's gameplay or the Sounders' tactical deployment of him be impacting their offensive predictability and, as a consequence, their on-field success?

Albert Rusnak became a Sounder on January 13, 2022, for a substantial sum. Currently, he stands as the third-highest-paid player on the squad, naturally inflating expectations about his contribution to the game.

Barring an extraordinary Champions League run, the Sounders have grappled with results since Rusnak joined in a way unprecedented in their history, failing to make the playoffs and leading us on an emotional rollercoaster ride with their inconsistent outcomes.

Rusnak in the '8'

Rusnak operates in a crucial role within the Sounders' possession-centric offense. As the designated '8', his task is to orchestrate plays, connecting the team and making pivotal decisions.

How does one accurately evaluate an '8'? It's arguably a statistician's most daunting task, primarily due to the role's reliance on decision-making and positioning, stats that don't show up in the box score.

Is the '8' pushing the opponents in the right direction while on defense, are they receiving passes that open up movement forward, are they controlling all traffic in the middle of the field or reacting to it.

I've been spending games watching him without the ball and it's clear that he is or the tactics are making him play in a reactionary way. This means that he is late to pick up opponent movements meaning that they can easily move past him in a way that they don't against Joao or he is late to receive passes from teammates and therefore in the wrong spot meaning the forward passes are unavailable because the defense was already anticipating his movement.

When you evaluate Rusnak on some of the available statistics, it also raises a few eyebrows. Defensive metrics suggest he's being outworked by Lodeiro, our designated attacking midfielder, and his progressive passing pales in comparison to that of Joao, our key defensive midfielder.

Are the skills of Joao and Lodeiro covering for the weaker work being done by Rusnak?

This unsettling implication, that Rusnak lags behind our attacking midfielder in terms of defensive contribution and fails to match our defensive midfielders forward-thinking passing, is indeed a concern.

Cristian Roldan displaced

Prior to Albert, the Sounders deployed Cristian Roldan as the primary "8" during the cup win in 2019 and run to the cup in 2020. Now, the odd bit here is that Cristian is still on the team but has been moved outside as a winger. The thought was the team would improve by being able to play both players.

A comparison between Rusnak and Roldan might be enlightening - what was Roldan contributing to the '8' position that Rusnak isn't, and vice versa?

Perhaps, a better comparison could involve not who replaced whom, but what kind of performance should we expect from an '8' position in the midfield?

All this leaves one to wonder if Rusnak as an '8' meets the standards of Seattle Sounders and adequately facilitates the fluid transition from defense to offense or if the Sounders need to take ownership that Rusnak, after 1.5 years was the wrong piece and start searching for a new piece before it's too late.