Orlando City’s Fullback Dilemma

Orlando City has compiled a 6-2-2 record over the last 10 matches, climbing into the playoff picture in the process. The club sits in seventh place with 37 points heading into the weekend, which puts the Lions four points above Toronto FC in eighth place. During those 10 matches, the Lions have scored 25 goals while allowing 14 goals for a +11 goal differential. That all seems pretty good, but it doesn’t mean everything is clicking.

One of the reasons for the 14 goals allowed in that period — and the 41 goals allowed all season — has been the quality of play at the fullback position. There aren’t really any new faces from last season’s record-winning club, so what is going on? Let’s take a look at the left and right back positions.

I’m going to start on the right side, because things aren’t nearly as dire over there. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson hasn’t been perfect, but most of the time he’s pretty good. He’s had the odd game where he didn’t seem to be clicking, but more often than not he’s been fine. Offensively, he has two goals and four assists on the season. There have been defensive lapses, but he is in some ways still developing as a left back. If he wasn’t doing well, we might have seen more of Michael Halliday by this point.

It’s the left side that is more concerning. Oscar Pareja has gone back and forth between Rafael Santos and Kyle Smith. Santos has played in 25 matches, starting 16 and logging 1,451 minutes. Meanwhile, Smith has played in 23 matches, starting nine, and logging 834 minutes. Neither of the two have been consistent enough for Pareja to name one as the go-to starter.

I think the dilemma stems from both players struggling on the defensive end of the pitch, which is the primary assignment for a left back. Both have been culpable on goals allowed by the defense. I think that Smith is exactly who we think he is. He has a pretty good game, is otherwise fine, but probably shouldn’t be a starter in MLS.

Santos, on the other hand, showed us what he is capable of after he locked down the position last season. I’m not certain what happened, but he hasn’t been as good this season, at least not consistently. It poses quite the conundrum for Pareja as neither has made a definitive case to be the starter. That is a potential problem for a club chasing a playoff spot.

This is where you might expect me to have an answer for the fullback dilemma, but alas I do not. I’ve previously suggested letting Luca Petrasso get a start to shake things up, but the truth is he’s probably not ready. That means that we will still see either Santos or Smith get the start. It will probably depend on which player looks better in training.

This isn’t a great situation as the end of the regular season approaches. Santos was able to step things up late last season, and frankly he needs to do so again.

Let me know your pick in the comments below.