PART I: Reclamation  PART II: Forwards  PART III: Wingers  PART IV: Center Midfielders
Part V: Fullbacks  PART VI: Centerbacks  PART VII: Goalkeepers  PART VIII: Team Overview

U.S. Open Cup

Last year’s highly anticipated matchup with the Michigan Bucks went about as poorly as possible, a 3-0 smackdown in which the home team looked superior to Le Rouge in every phase of the game. This year’s rematch will take place at outdoors at Oakland U, which should level the playing field to a certain extent. The memory of last year is still fresh in my mind, though, so I just can’t pull the trigger on a happy prediction. It will be a much closer match, but I’ll pick the Bucks to win 2-1.

Midwest Region – Great Lakes West Conference

Every year when I get to this section I try not to pick City to finish first, but every year the other teams in the division fail to give me enough evidence to choose them instead. This year seems even more cut and dry – Ben Pirmann has upgraded the overall talent on his roster while his team has been placed into a conference made up mostly of expansion and second-year sides. The complete lack of long road trips, which should cut down on player availability issues, is another positive development. Here’s how I see it shaking out (the top two teams make the Midwest Playoffs):

The stiffest competition should come from AFC Ann Arbor. Eric Rudland – HC of Lansing Utd. in 2014 & 2015 – is a very good coach and will get the most out of his roster. They may not start fast, but I think they’ll surge in the second half of the season to grab the other playoff spot.

They’ll have to beat out a revamped Michigan Stars team that now features a quality, non-felon head coach in Andy Wagstaff, and several former DCFC players such as Shawn Claud Lawson and Michael Lamb. I went back and forth, unable to decide who to pick to finish second, then I remembered this guy and made up my mind. (context)

Lansing will still be a tough matchup, but losing both your best player and head coach is not a good omen. Additionally, their attendance dipped last season, so this will be a crucial year to see if the club will bounce back or continue on a slow decline.

From this point, I see a big drop off. Dayton and Kalamazoo are both brand new clubs, which generally doesn’t bode well for first-year success in the NPSL. Grand Rapids has tremendous fan support, but they were a .500 team in the GLPL last season and there are big questions regarding how much they’ve actually improved their roster. I see them about on par with Dayton, and I’m extremely confident in my pick of Kalamazoo to finish in last place. #SmellsLikeZanesville

Playoffs and Beyond

Ah, the playoffs, every City supporter’s favorite topic of discussion. For whatever reason – unavailable players, long road trips, back-to-back matches – the playoffs have become Detroit City’s bugaboo. This year, as with every year, they have a very good chance to change that narrative. Deep down, though, I have serious concerns about the central defense, and I think it will eventually prove to be their undoing. They’ll make it to the final, but no further. And it will probably be against Cleveland or Erie because of course.

5 Wild Guesses

(1) City will host the Midwest Playoffs. I obviously hope I’m completely wrong about DCFC’s playoff outcome, and the best way to break the bad mojo of years past is to play the matches at home. The teams in the Great Lakes East will beat up on each other enough to allow City to collect the most overall points in the region and host.

(2) Three City players will score at least 5 goals. Believe it or not, this has never happened in a season before. I’ll go with Deakin, Bautista, and Adkins.

(3) Average home attendance will top 4500 and the 5000 mark will be broken. Last year’s average was a shade over 3500, so this is a big jump. With the increased publicity, the success of the Keyworth investment campaign, and the fact that the stadium is in the middle of a residential neighborhood with plenty of potential new fans within earshot, I think an average of 4000 is too conservative. As for the single game mark, the best chance to break 5k has to be the FC United of Manchester friendly.

(4) City will not drop any points against Dayton, Grand Rapids, or Kalamazoo. Six matches, six wins. Mark it down and fight me if I’m wrong. Or be a decent human being and just tease me about making a bad prediction.

(5) The noise at Keyworth will visibly affect an opposing team. This one is a bit tough to prove because it’s not quantitative, but at the Hamtramck H.S. soccer match that a few dozen of the Northern Guard attended back in October, the noise level generated with a mere 100ish total people was incredible. With the re-finished concrete and 4000+ people in the stadium, I fully expect to see at least one team experience communication problems and appear visibly rattled. Hopefully it happens to all of them…

 Recap: Predicted Finishes

USOC: 1st Round

Great Lakes West: 1st

NPSL Playoffs: Midwest Region Runner-up

Hype

#DCTIDhttps://t.co/l1PDgcammq

— Detroit City FC (@DetroitCityFC) April 29, 2016

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PART I: Reclamation  PART II: Forwards  PART III: Wingers  PART IV: Center Midfielders
Part V: Fullbacks  PART VI: Centerbacks  PART VII: Goalkeepers

Even with the permanent departures of Will Mellors-Blair and Zach Myers, the top two goalscorers in club history, the number of quality attacking players on Detroit City’s roster is staggering. This should allow Ben Pirmann to interchange and rotate pieces freely without too much, if any, drop in the level of play from one match to the next. A good early test of this theory will come in the very first week of the season, when the Open Cup rematch with the Michigan Bucks on May 11^th will be followed up with a return to Wisner Stadium to play Michigan Stars on Friday and a longer away trip to Dayton on Sunday.

Scoring goals shouldn’t be too much of an issue; the biggest question heading into the season is how the heart of the defense will hold up. The starting goalkeeper and central defenders have the talent and experience for City to win a healthy majority of its matches, but for the team to seriously challenge for a Midwest title, they will need to develop a strong relationship and progress together over the course of the season.

The depth at those two positions is what will be foremost in my mind heading into the final preseason match. It’s comparable to the situation at striker the past couple of years where the main man (Myers in 2014, WMB in 2015) was very good, but there wasn’t an obvious replacement for him if he was hurt or unavailable. Needless to say, both of those seasons didn’t end on the notes that anyone wanted. While guys like Deakin, Al-Gashamy, Adkins, and a healthy Javi should provide plenty of firepower up front, centerback and keeper are the spots to watch the closest, starting this Saturday.

A possible strategy, and one that was experimented with in the first preseason friendly, would be to go with a three-man back line. In this formation, one of the center mids, probably Troy Watson, would drop deep while the other team attacks…

…and would push back into midfield when City has the ball.

This may be something to watch for as the season goes on, but I’d be surprised if they lined up that way against the Bucks. Here’s what I think we’ll see on the 11^th:

I believe Channell and Bautista are roughly equal in the pecking order at striker right now, so it’s really Pirmann’s preference as to who gets the start. Since the Bucks’ pace of play was something that City couldn’t cope with last year, I think he’ll go with the bigger forward in order to maintain more possession and get the talented attacking midfielders more time doing what they do best, rather than chasing the ball around the field trying to win it back.

Similarly, you could pick any two of Saydee/Adkins/Al-Gashamy to start. I think Cyrus gets the nod for his ability to keep the ball, and the other side will be a coin flip. Bautista and Al-Gashamy would be my first two options off the bench, for what it’s worth.

For the remainder of the season, the goal will be to find the best combinations with an eye towards (hopefully) the playoffs. I wouldn’t be surprised to see fewer total players make appearances than in 2015, though there should be plenty of variation in game-to-game lineups, especially up front.

3 PREDICTIONS

Key Player: Troy Watson (CM) All of the exciting forwards, wingers, and attacking mids won’t be able to showcase their skills without someone getting them the ball. Watson is the most important player in the starting XI not only for his ball-winning proficiency, but for his responsibilities in shielding the back line and tracking all the way back when needed. His performances in the early part of the season will be crucial, especially if the defense is still finding its footing.

Breakout Player: Danny Deakin (FW/Att. Mid.) Not to put too much pressure on him, but Deakin is a future pro and should have a definite, noticeable effect on how City plays. He should lead or be near the top of the team in both goals and assists, and it may get to the point where everyone gets a little quieter and pays extra close attention when he’s on the ball, a la WMB last season.

Unsung Hero: Cyrus Saydee (Att. Mid.) This may seem odd, given that Saydee is one of City’s best and most recognizable players, but with the extra talent around him, I think he’ll blend in more and won’t draw the same attention from defenders because of all the other threats. This should allow him to have one of his best seasons, you’ll just have to watch more closely to fully appreciate him.

PART I: Reclamation  PART II: Forwards  PART III: Wingers  PART IV: Center Midfielders
Part V: Fullbacks  PART VI: Centerbacks

GOALKEEPER

For the first time since 2012, when they were an expansion side, Detroit City heads into the season without a goalkeeper who’s made an appearance for the club. The baton passed seamlessly from Jeremy Clark to Bret Mollon to Alex Bouillennec , and it will now have to be picked up by someone new.

The presumed frontrunner is Seattle Pacific’s Cody Lang. Lang is reminiscent of Bouillennec, a 6’4” D-II athlete with an impressive statline, most notably his 9 goals allowed in 18 starts and .868 save percentage this past year. He helped SPU to a GNAC title in 2015, he’s been named to the all-conference first team in each of his three seasons, and is his conference’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

Robbie Beckwell of UDM joins college teammates Matt Ybarra, Spiro Pliakos and Tyler Moorman on the City roster. At just 5’9” and with only 4 career starts for the Titans, he’s almost a complete unknown quantity. As he’s currently the only other keeper on the roster, however, he’s in line to see a decent amount of action.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Despite being a total newcomer, Lang should be a solid #1. One key will be how quickly he forms an understanding with the four defenders in front of him. Since communication and organization of the defense was one of Bret Mollon’s greatest strengths, both keepers should benefit greatly from his coaching this summer.

One Reason to Be Excited 😀

By the end of last season, Alex Bouillennec had grown to the point where many supporters were entertaining thoughts of him as City’s starting keeper if/when the club eventually made the move to a professional league. Judging from all available evidence, Lang shouldn’t be too far off of that level, and he may even surpass it. He has comparable size and experience, and his save percentage was actually better than Bouillennec’s in his only year at Saginaw Valley St. – .868 to .756.

One Reason to Worry 😕

As with centerback, the current depth situation here is not ideal. It’s obviously less of an issue with goalkeeper since there’s only one starter, but it’s essential for at least one more to be added to the team, even if it’s only to compete with Beckwell for the #2 spot.

Player to Watch

Lang, and not just by default. He comes in with an impressive resumé of stats and accolades, and his height is perfect for the position. He’s a bit of a mystery man since, at the time of this writing, his school hadn’t allowed any requests for interviews, but I’d be surprised if he doesn’t turn in a quality season for City.