Toronto Away Postmatch

[TabascoDiva]

My summary of today's game.
1st Giovinco goal - mortally bludgeoned
2nd goal - Dead on arrival
3rd goal - Buried
4th goal - dust to dust, not even a speck of ashes to rise like the Phoenix

Do I write l like a mortician?

 

[Davo15]

There were some bad calls and some bad bounces but they are better than us. I don't think their four goals better than us when we're full strength or even today honestly. Not to say we remotely deserved to get any points today but the actual gulf in class is not THAT big. What really bothers me is how Jersey is suddenly on fire and right up our asses again. Next week looks a lot scarier and more important than it did a few weeks ago.

 

[LionNYC]

TFC obviously has a better full roster than us, depth wise. That's why they are the best team in the league. It's incredible difficult to build a roster deep that is good. They have that this year. That gets one through the marathon of the regular season to win the supporter's shield. The playoffs are a spring and you really need 11-14 guys for that, pending healthy issues.

But if it's a game just on paper with our best 11, I think we're honestly better.

Wallace, Villa, Harrison | Moralez, Ring, Herrera | Matarrita, Chanot, Callens, White | Johnson

I think that is honestly the best 11 in the league. And of course that 11 could be improved once Pirlo retires and we have his DP spot and his salary to sign other players.

That being said, we don't have consistency. And I don't think we have every had consistency with our team.

 

[ZYanksRule]

We really need to add some squad depth before this transfer window ends. When healthy, this team is good enough to win the league. We're not going to be healthy until September or October. Going to be tough to manage the final 15 games at half power.

We're one or two more injuries from being in serious trouble. In a capped league, it's hard to survive when this many players are banged up/on accumulation issues.

 

[Seven]

TFC obviously has a better full roster than us, depth wise. That's why they are the best team in the league. It's incredible difficult to build a roster deep that is good. They have that this year. That gets one through the marathon of the regular season to win the supporter's shield. The playoffs are a spring and you really need 11-14 guys for that, pending healthy issues.

But if it's a game just on paper with our best 11, I think we're honestly better.

Wallace, Villa, Harrison | Moralez, Ring, Herrera | Matarrita, Chanot, Callens, White | Johnson

I think that is honestly the best 11 in the league. And of course that 11 could be improved once Pirlo retires and we have his DP spot and his salary to sign other players.

That being said, we don't have consistency. And I don't think we have every had consistency with our team.

Agree with pretty much all of this

 

[Angela Miller]

You're either very new to soccer or you didn't watch the match.

Give um Hell 21Architect and NickA for your reply's!!!

 

[ferrarinycfc]

credit where credit is due.

Giovinco had a blinder of a game.

 

[mgarbowski]

Last thought of the posting.... maybe Reyna and company want to think harder about how they construct the team and not import so many players in their respective National Team Pools?!? We have a bunch of guys hurt, a few of which are directly related to their extra-curricular MNT matches (Wallace & Camargo) and a few that are tied to their MNT duty and worsened from repeated play once they returned (Mata never fully recovered from his initial injury away at camp, was in/out for us, and then got stomped on and is out for good, and Chanot was injured a while back and pushed through ever since for us until his body broke down). I pray Ring, Callens, Hererra and SJ (and the others, but doubtful newly healed players would be called) don't get called up next month for no other reason than to rest during the international break.

You've clearly identified a problem, but I'm uncertain about the solution. It depends on there existing a pool of available players basically as good as the National Team ones we have that we can tap instead of the pool we have been drawing from. Maybe you can go a half-notch lower in quality and still come out ahead because they will be here more regularly, but even if such talent exists in sufficient quality, they're probably even harder to identify.

Reducing the use of NY players has its own risks-- namely foregoing the potential payoffs. Most NT players return to their clubs perfectly healthy. NYC has been very unlucky this year with injuries both to NT players and others, such as Chanot. Sands got hurt seemingly simultaneous to being called into a US U-something (U17?) camp but clearly not related to his NT duties. We've had guys get knocks before but noting this widespread. The previous worst was probably Jack and Lampard for most of the first half of last season, and since Harrison never played before that and Lampard barely did, they did not create as much of an obvious hole. Yesterday we missed 3 hurt starters, a solid sub, plus another starter was suspended. That's extreme, and I'm not sure building out for extreme bad luck is a luxury we can afford. I guess I'm saying I don't see this changing until the academy is in full effect, which is a common song around here.

 

[mgarbowski]

mgarbowski - PV almost certainly does not have a plan for TFC. But they also haven't the effective higher pressing team that includes both Herrera and Wallace.

NYC definitely has the potential to be much better -- even against TFC -- if all the pieces are there together. We just have never seen that in the 6 games PV has coached against Toronto, mostly because 4 of them were last year before many of those pieces were on the team. I'm still concerned, though, that we seem to underperform against Toronto compared to the team's base level against everyone else regardless of who is playing.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

NYC definitely has the potential to be much better -- even against TFC -- if all the pieces are there together. We just have never seen that in the 6 games PV has coached against Toronto, mostly because 4 of them were last year before many of those pieces were on the team. I'm still concerned, though, that we seem to underperform against Toronto compared to the team's base level against everyone else regardless of who is playing.

I don't disagree. I'm just hoping the element of newness on the field is enough to overcome PV getting his ass kicked by Vanney.

I by no means think we're favorites against them were we to meet in the playoffs. But I think we will be better IF we have both (Wallace & Herrera) of those two players. They and Maxi are the best pressing defenders we have. Only one pressure defender is worse than none.

 

[JayH]

 

[Midas Mulligan]

You've clearly identified a problem, but I'm uncertain about the solution. It depends on there existing a pool of available players basically as good as the National Team ones we have that we can tap instead of the pool we have been drawing from. Maybe you can go a half-notch lower in quality and still come out ahead because they will be here more regularly, but even if such talent exists in sufficient quality, they're probably even harder to identify.

Reducing the use of NY players has its own risks-- namely foregoing the potential payoffs. Most NT players return to their clubs perfectly healthy. NYC has been very unlucky this year with injuries both to NT players and others, such as Chanot. Sands got hurt seemingly simultaneous to being called into a US U-something (U17?) camp but clearly not related to his NT duties. We've had guys get knocks before but noting this widespread. The previous worst was probably Jack and Lampard for most of the first half of last season, and since Harrison never played before that and Lampard barely did, they did not create as much of an obvious hole. Yesterday we missed 3 hurt starters, a solid sub, plus another starter was suspended. That's extreme, and I'm not sure building out for extreme bad luck is a luxury we can afford. I guess I'm saying I don't see this changing until the academy is in full effect, which is a common song around here.

From my experience with my "other club", it is absolutely related. Can't send guys away and them come back healthy seemingly ever.

England effed up Sturridge big time. Always nick up Lallana and Hendo, too. And Brazil isn't much better.

 

[roxfontaine]

https://twitter.com/x/status/891750445571596292

I will blame him. Soccer isnt an individual sport. Our midfield plays better as a unit without him.

That tweet sums it up. Pirlo doesn't work for this team.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Guarding the worm burner. I would ask why he is in the wall at all. But I know the answer.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Here's all the match summary you need:


-Giovinco scored two RIDICULOUS goals (it's not that we make Gio look good -he is good).

-As usual, NYCFC did nothing with a half dozen really good balls from Pirlo

Yep. The discussions around roster and tactics are interesting, and the officiating cost us big time. But, the only real story here is Giovinco, who basically manufactured two goals out of nothing. He's the best player in the league when he is healthy, and for all of Toronto's talent and depth, when he is making magic, it doesn't really matter which team is playing better, and that's a rare thing in soccer. If you want to know why we lost, look no further.

https://twitter.com/x/status/891766731475214336

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

Injuries happen, NT call ups happen. What kills us is that the drop off is from an above average to great starter to a worst in the league back up.

I dont know what Tmac's deal is this year, but he's worse than last year, and he's one of the worst players I've ever seen in MLS right now. He cant hold possession, cant shoot cant dribble. I'm convinced he has a significant injury that he's hiding. there is no way someone drops off that far that quickly.

We lose ONE central mid and the drop off is from top of the league CM to bottom with either Pirlo or Michael Lopez. If jack gets hurt? who plays RW? God forbid, if Villa gets hurt, Okoli is not good enough fort this league.

Brillant and Sweat have been credible backups, you probably don't want them startin, but they aren't the worst players in the league.

 

[JayH]

I hope that we can get to a point later in the season when Sands becomes the option for a spot or emergency replacement for Yangel or Ring rather than Pirlo (or, ugh, Mikey). It would allow us to avoid revamping tactic and game flow the way we have to when Pirlo plays. Maybe that's optimistic given injury and youth, but it would be a great development.

 

[Joseph Bianco]

our biggest problem is still our wing backs. and we only have one major injury there. Ethan White was on level with TMac as far as how bad they were.

 

[Sabo]

Interesting Stat from the Game from Nate Silver's 538. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/mls/?ex_cid=rrpromo

ShotBased xG Toronto 1.4 NYCFC 1.6
Non-Shot xG Toronto 1.2 NYCFC 1.2

We got Giovinco'd. We are so much better with Herrera and Ring in front of our back 4 than without. With Lewis and Harrison on the wings we could have attacked the space on both sides of the field and opened the middle up more than we did just attacking on Jack's side of the field.

 

[EganSoccerWords]

Someone please photoshop Lampard into here.