by PART I: Rebel Scum PART II: Forwards PART III: Attacking Mids & Wingers PART IV: Center Midfielders PART V: Fullbacks
CENTERBACK
Without question, the unsung hero of City’s 2017 season was Stephen Carroll. He started 14 of his 15 appearances, and was one of the keys to City’s massive defensive improvement over a sub-par 2016. Although Tyrone Mondi took home the Black Arrow Award, some supporters were adamant that Carroll was even more integral to the team’s success.
While not a towering physical presence, he’s very strong and wins his share of headers. He also possesses good positional awareness, but his greatest strengths may be his calmness with the ball at his feet and his distribution from the back. He was a close second on the team last year in total minutes played, and I expect him to be at or near the top again this season.
While Rafa Mentzingen should bring flair and excitement to the attack, the best newcomer on the team could very well be Jimmy Fiscus. Fiscus just wrapped up a stellar career at Michigan State in which he made 73 career starts and was named a team captain in both his junior and senior seasons. In 2017, he was named First Team All-Big Ten and Second Team All-America.
What makes his addition particularly sweet, aside from his undoubtable talent, is that he spent last summer with AFC Ann Arbor. Capturing his services while simultaneously depriving your primary competition for the division of their best defender is an absolute coup. A 6’2” aerial specialist, he and Carroll should form the best centerback pairing in the NPSL Midwest.
Perhaps the one player on the team who has Fiscus beat when it comes to heading prowess, Seb Harris returns for his fifth season. One of City’s emotional leaders, his biggest impact in 2017 came in the final month of the season, when he scored 3 goals and trademarked a new celebration:
He looks to be in better shape than he was last year, and has a good chance to win a starting role. Even if he doesn’t, he’ll see plenty of time and probably do something highly entertaining with it.
Besides Carroll, the only current college centerback on the roster is Lawrence Tech’s Santiago Amigo. A 6’5” skyscraper, he hails from Madrid, and should fill the role occupied last year by Owain Hoskins: countermeasure to teams that play a tall target man at forward, and big body to put into the game when you’re down late and need a goal.
Rounding out the field players are two veterans with extensive professional experience. Cory Miller comes to Detroit after spending 2014-2017 with Indy Eleven. He’s another tall, classic central defender that should factor into the rotation. Fun Fact: he’s currently valued at 113k euros on Transfermarkt.
As a late-season addition, Greg Janicki made a playoff appearance for City last year. Capable of playing centerback and defensive midfielder, he spent several years in MLS with D.C. United and Vancouver, and was a teammate of Miller’s in Indy from 2015-2016.
One Reason to Be Excited 🙂
There’s a really nice mix of young players (Carroll, Fiscus, Amigo) and veterans (Harris, Miller, Janicki). Also, this position looks immune to mid/late-season departures; Fiscus, Harris, Miller, and Janicki are all post-college, and Carrol and Amigo both go to small schools who should allow them to compete for City for the duration of the season.
One Reason to Worry 🙁
There’s plenty of size and strength here, but opposing teams who put out smaller, faster forwards could give City’s centerbacks some problems. A year ago, Zach Bock gave City a quick, athletic central defender who excelled at chasing down and tracking attackers across the field. It remains to be seen who from this group can fill that role this season.
Player to Watch 😎
Jimmy Fiscus is a potential MLS-caliber player, and to capture his services for the summer is massively large and hugebig. Gaining someone of his talent level would be a coup in and of itself, but doing so while at the same time diminishing the main challenger for the division title was a masterstroke by Ben Pirmann.
Header Photos: Robert Sherman/MSU/Detroit City FC
