During Wednesday night's 3-1 win over Seattle, astute observers noticed something different about the way Austin FC was playing under interim head coach Davy Arnaud. It then got talked about in the post-match press conference — inverted wingbacks in a new-look back five formation, with right-footed Jon Gallagher playing on the left and left-footed Joseph Rosales playing on the right in order for them to both cut inside and direct passes as de facto midfielders.
In Saturday's match at Houston, Arnaud similarly deployed inverted wingbacks, but the result was far less effective, with the Dynamo finding success in lofting long balls over Verde's high press. The wingbacks couldn't keep up with Houston's attackers — and the center backs couldn't either — which led to a 3-0 loss and questions about whether the new look is a necessary element to learn as the team transitions from Arnaud to incoming head coach Jim Curtin or an experiment that Arnaud is trying to both improve the team he's leading and to make a name for himself as a potential head coaching candidate at season's end.
Not to mention questions about whether inverted wingback deployment makes the team better or worse.
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