There is no way to sugarcoat the most visible responsibility of a soccer coach. Making up a game lineup is a difficult -- and sometimes painful -- task.
"There is a lot that goes into it," said Chicago Fire coach Denis Hamlett.
For Hamlett, the Fire's first-year coach, the task is uniquely straining because he has so many quality choices for each of his three lines of players.
The depth of talent the Fire have gathered for the 2008 season is one of the reasons the team is 5-1-1 in the early stages of the campaign.
Here is a look at the candidates Hamlett has at each position and the choices he has made so far this season:
DEFENSE
Gonzalo Segares and Bakary Soumare have started all seven games, while Diego Gutierrez and Brandon Prideaux, the pickup from Colorado, have started six. That means Hamlett has had to sit former starter Dasan Robinson and Colombian Wilman Conde, who have each had one start.
Veteran C.J. Brown, who has been injured all season, is expected to be available to play in late May, and the Fire also have Paraguayan Lider Marmol set to go once his visa and work orders get sorted out. Hamlett has also used rookie Daniel Woolard as a substitute three times, including the last two wins.
MIDFIELD
This part of Hamlett's lineup seems set, now that John Thorrington has offered his help (three goals, solid defense). He joins Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Logan Pause and Justin Mapp as a starter, while rookie Stephen King has been used as a substitute six times in seven games.
FORWARD
This is another complicated situation for Hamlett, who has used Chad Barrett as a starter in all seven games. Chris Rolfe, who played midfield in the early games before getting injured, got back to a forward role in the last two games, while Polish national star Tomasz Frankowski has sat out with an ankle injury.
That still leaves Fire returnee Andy Herron and speedster Calen Carr as backups, looking for playing time. Carr has seen playing time in five games and Herron in four.
Hamlett said the science of making up a lineup requires a look at the entire field, not just one line at a time.
"It's a combination," Hamlett said. "You see how guys train throughout the week, you watch videos of the other team and you try to see how you can put our guys in a situation that will limit the other team but at the same time give us a chance to win. There is a lot that is involved."
The difficult process does not end when he comes up with his starting 11, either.
"Picking 11 is hard, picking 18 is even harder," Hamlett said, referring to selecting his available substitutes for each game. "One guy always gets left out of it for technical reasons. But you let those guys know that they have to keep working, they are doing well and their moment is going to come.
"When you have a competitive team it adds more to it, because you have guys who are itching to get on the field and you want to make the right decisions," he said. "You look at the strength of your team and what you are trying to get accomplished and you try to put players in position to get that accomplished."
Kent McDill is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
