In 2017 the Fire put out one of the best fullback combos in the league in Brandon Vincent and Matt Polster. Both of them proved to be threats on both sides of the ball and helped the Fire on their way to 3rd place in the overall standings. In 2018 the fullback position took a step back. Polster made only 3 appearances as he had knee surgery early in the season, and Vincent was less effective and at times asked to play center back. This offseason saw the Fire lose both Polster and Vincent. Vincent retired unexpectedly at 24 years old, and Polster headed to Scotland to sign for Rangers. So where does this leave the Fire in the fullback department, and why will the fullback position be vital to the season?
Let's start by looking at what we do have.
Left Backs
Raheem Edwards: Despite his history playing as a winger, Edwards looks to be the favorite going into the season as he started in both of the preseason friendlies in Madrid. As a winger he's fast on the ball and effective at progressing the ball up the field, but ineffective once he gets into the final third. If he plays as an overlapping left back he would only be a supplemental piece in the attack, and simplifying his role could help him be more effective. However, we have yet to see him show the defensive instincts to play left back on a playoff team in MLS.
Jorge Corrales: One of only two players on the roster whose primary position is fullback, Corrales started 15 games at left back in 2018. He also played left back for the Tulsa Roughnecks before the Fire acquired him in 2017. Corrales doesn't cut it at the MLS level in many ways, but he is a left back.
Andre Reynolds II: The second player whose primary position is fullback. Unfortunately he's also 18 years old, has never played a minute of professional soccer, and isn't expected to feature much for the Fire this season.
Right Backs
Nicolas Hasler: Hasler is perhaps the most versatile player on the roster, spending time at central midfield, right midfield, and right back during his career. Acquired in late July of 2018, most of his appearances were at right back. Based on what we've seen from him on the Fire, he plays right back kind of how you would expect an out of position CM to play. He is able to receive the ball in pressure and keep the ball moving smoothly, but he's not going to play vertically like we saw Matt Polster do. He's very safe. He, like Edwards, does not have the natural defensive instincts to be up to par as a fullback on an MLS playoff team.
Diego Campos: Campos is the least suited of all of these options to play fullback. He's a natural attacker that got a chance at right back at the end of 2018 due to injuries, and played right back in both Madrid friendlies. As an attacker he wants to get the ball and run at opponents. He will work hard defensively, but does not have the positional awareness or tackling ability that we need from our starter.
If we could combine the skills these players, they could be really effective. The ability and willingness to take defenders on of Campos combined with the measured possession style from Hasler? Sign me up. Physically, Corrales and Edwards are more similar than our Franken-back on the right, but their skills would be complementary to each other if combined. Unfortunately, I have been told that this technology is not yet available.
The presumptive starters right now are Edwards and Hasler. Edwards will be allowed bomb forward while Hasler and the rest of the back line shifts to cover his empty space. The problem remains that neither are good defenders and will need to have help, often from the center backs. That will add to the responsibility that Kappelhof and Marcelo will need to take on, and will have a knock on effect to Dax McCarty and Bastian Schweinsteiger in midfield. Finding fullbacks that don't need babysitters on defense would do a lot of good to alleviate some of the responsibility on the central defense and defensive midfield. It would allow every player to focus on their roles instead focusing on multiple things at once.
The current situation isn't a solution; it's a Band-Aid. It will become a solution if one or more of these players develop defensive abilities on par with the rest of the league. The other solution would be to just sign a fullback, but it doesn't seem like that has been prioritized this offseason.