Major League Soccer is taking a Gold Cup break. The Crew’s next game isn’t until July 17, when it hosts a friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Eintracht has historical problems with its defense (see: 1960 European Cup final). The Crew is having a similar difficulty. Columbus fans are wondering: Is it the personnel or is it the system?

In a span of one month, ending on Friday the 13th of January 2017, the Crew signed Alex Crognale to a homegrown contract, signed Jonathan Mensah to a designated-player contract and drafted Lalas Abubakar. These moves came six months after the team signed Nico Naess.

Crew coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter was bent on bolstering the center-back position and, by golly, he tried.

The last line of defense is critical in any system — particularly in Berhalter’s preferred formation, a 4-2-3-1, and given his preferred style of possess and attack. It is a high-risk, high-reward system. The outside backs, serving the ball from the wings into the box, are a big part of the offense. The center backs are often left naked to handle counterattacks. They need to be smart, mobile and technically sound.

Mensah has not been a big help. He has a designated-player salary that is north of $840,000 a year but has yet to earn his money. I’m not saying he won’t, or that he has been alone in his transgressions, but to this point he has been the poster boy for the Crew’s egregious defensive breakdowns. Stupid mistakes have cost the team points and compelled fans to wonder aloud: Is it the personnel or is it the system?

The Crew started 3-1-1. Since, it is 6-11-0 with a minus-8 goal differential across all competitions. My barometer on how the team is playing is based upon the line: “You know, this is a very tough league.” Berhalter and his players have been saying this with increased frequency, which is disconcerting. Win some games.

Recently, the Crew lost to minor-league Cincinnati in U.S. Open Cup competition and also has dropped two games to Atlanta United, an expansion team. Just before the break, the Crew went on the road and beat expansionist Minnesota 1-0. It was an ugly game, but the three points were delicious.

By my count, the Minnesota outing marked the fourth time Berhalter loosened his collar — or, tightened it, depending on your perspective — and featured a formation with three center backs instead of two. The others: a 2-0 victory at DC United on March 18; a 2-1 loss at home against Toronto on May 10 (in which the Crew would have gained at least a point if not for a late-game meltdown); and a 2-1 loss at Colorado on June 3 (another late-game meltdown).

When everything is humming in Berhalter’s preferred 4-2-3-1, the Crew can be breathtaking. At the same time, it can be an easy team to game-plan against. Portland exposed this in the 2015 MLS Cup championship, when the Timbers put an emphasis on taking away crosses from the flanks.

We’ve seen it since. The Crew is given the middle, but its attack is designed for service from the flanks. The Crew, then, must be brutally efficient in converting chances — and in handling the inevitable counterattacks coming down Route 1. The Crew has struggled in both regards, especially on the defensive side.

Flexibility in game-planning, shifting formations and changing rhythm are things to think about over the break. To me, it looks like the 3-5-2 lends comfort and stability to the back end. Play around with it.

The Crew needs points, beautiful or otherwise. It missed the playoffs last year and it would be folly, given the league’s generosity with postseason bids, to miss two years in a row.

marace@dispatch.com

@MichaelArace1