Center Defense and Mr. McTavish

Devon McTavish and I go way back. See below for yourself:

He totally has his arm around me.

In the beginning of 2007 we had our first team backline but we had a backup shortage. Then when DC went to the 4-4-2 instead of the 3-5-2 we lacked a fourth starter. We tried Gros and we tried Simms, both of which worked ok but not great. Within our reserves we were able to find two defenders worthy of starting, one of those being Devon McTavish. His previous minutes were mostly at midfield so it may have been an partial conversion. Here's what I like about him:

1. He is quick, not necessarily fast, but quick.
2. He is often in the right place at the right time to disrupt the attack.
3. He can be brutal. I recall him "going up for a header" against one of the SuperLiga Mexican teams and not getting any ball but getting a lot of the opposing attacker. I like that. Strike some fear into opponents.
4. He puts his arm around me in pictures.

He is still green and made some mistakes but not nearly as many as the other defenders. Maybe that is because others can make up for him easier because he plays in the middle or maybe he is just that good. I recall many times where he came swooping in to deny a scoring opportunity when others had been beat. I am looking for him to become even more solid as he gets more and more minutes.

Next time: Will Vanney be back to complete our central defense duo?