With Edson Buddle Suspended, Deshorn Brown Must Take Over

That leaves the forward spots, where we have a lot of speed and a lot of finesse, but not many guys who can hold the ball up like Buddle can.

More like Who's That? (BroooOoOOooOOOoOoOoOOOooOOwn)

Deshorn Brown was pegged as a center forward before the season started, and he's not disappointed in that regard yet. He's big, he's fast and he's not all that bad with the ball at his feet. One thing he hasn't shown us yet, though, is an ability to play hold up ball. It's not that he has tried to do so and failed, it's just that I don't think he's been asked to try yet.

Can he do it? I'm sure he can, we've seen his strength and his craftiness a few times this season. The game against the Quakes will be a litmus test for him in that regard, as I doubt we're going to see a return to the 4-3-3 right away, and until we've got three forwards helping each other in the final third with Rivero right behind them, hold up play will be the easiest way to get goals created. I loved the formation that Pareja pulled out against the Crew, by the way. A 4-1-3-2, was it?

The real question is, will Brown start? If he does, I can't think of anyone I'd rather have holding the ball up. And as we've seen the past few games, holding the ball up can help you put balls in the back of the net.