Pick Your Midfield – Four Players Battling For Three Spots

So, we have a bit of a conundrum on our hands. It's not a bad conundrum to have, by any means, but it's a conundrum nonetheless. Colorado has come out in a 4-2-3-1 formation for most of the season, which has been mostly held together by the three men in the center of the park. The 'spine' is what Ben and myself usually call it, and it usually contains one anchor guy, one linking man who usually stays back but travels farther up the pitch to keep the offense and defense linked together, and the attacking central man at the top of it, behind the center forward and level with the striker/wingers.

We already knew all that, of course. Those three spots are suddenly going to see a bit of competition when the game against Vancouver comes around, because the four usual suspects are all available:

Martin Rivero is the de-facto starter in the attacking position, but he has missed almost all of the season with injury.

Dillon Powers can play all three spots in the spine of the midfield, and, indeed, has played all of them this year. Out of these four guys, he's been the most ever-present because he's avoided injury and played very, very well for a rookie.

Nathan Sturgis has had a breakout year, not playing much at the start of the season but turning into a very consistent midfield general, playing both the linking and holding roles.

Hendry Thomas has been the most consistent passer on the team since the Rapids picked him up late last year. He's also provided leadership and solid tackling in the back of the midfield.

There are certainly other guys who can play in that midfield. Nick Labrocca has had a few spot starts in any of the three spots there, and Dillon Serna has always been an option as well, though one that hasn't been used yet. With the form that those four guys have shown though, it's not a stretch to assume that if everyone's healthy, it'll be a combination of them in those spots.

Here's the question though, which three do you pick? Do you leave out the still on-fire Sturgis? The suspension-happy Thomas? The versatile but raw Powers? The injury prone Rivero? Who's your group of three?

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