Away - 07/30 Toronto

[Seven]

Just hope it is either TMac or Pirlo, please not both.

I probably lean more towards Pirlo, just cause TMac was pretty useless last game, but I also think he won't be as bad if he is playing centrally instead of on the wing

 

[Kjbert]

I personally would go with Pirlo.

 

[dannd23]

Do we know if Toronto will be without Giovinco, or was that injury deemed minuscule?

 

[Sabo]

Do we know if Toronto will be without Giovinco, or was that injury deemed minuscule?

Giovinco played 90 minutes yesterday.

 

[dannd23]

Giovinco played 90 minutes yesterday.

 

[The Toe]

What about....

Tmac - Villa - Lewis
----Maxi----Jack
---------Ring
Sweat(?)----White
----Bril<->Callens
--------SJ

 

[Ulrich]

What about....

Tmac - Villa - Lewis
----Maxi----Jack
---------Ring
Sweat(?)----White
----Bril<->Callens
--------SJ

I cannot bear to watch TMac get outpaced by Hernandez again.....

 

[LionNYC]

Is it conceivable for Vieira to put out a 5 man backline at the beginning of the match consisting of:

---Allen--Brillant--Callens--White--Lopez--

 

[EganSoccerWords]

Front three has to be JLew-Villa-Jack. I think the rest depends on Ben Sweat. Could see PV playing Pirlo, Lopez, or T-Mac at CM depending on training and injuries.

 

[EganSoccerWords]

Is it conceivable for Vieira to put out a 5 man backline at the beginning of the match consisting of:

---Allen--Brillant--Callens--White--Lopez--

That's super unpractical. You basically have zero defensive subs.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Oh yeah, since awuah had played LB before, why did vieira play Michael lopez there? It was painful to watch, him get beaten to the end line three separate times and then chase between two guys passing the ball to each other.

Any one saying he was ok at full back is on crack. He sucked like he does at any other position

I don't entirely disagree with you about him being a LB, but it wasn't his fault he was out there by himself with 2 people.

 

[Kjbert]

If you go with Lewis wide left, you may be able to get away with Pirlo in this match. McNamara doesn't cover enough ground defensively and it causes our midfield players to play more of the width of the field. Lewis spent a good deal of time both centrally and in our own 18'

 

[Midas Mulligan]

I'm not a Pirlo defender but given that list he's my choice. If Sweat is out I think Lopez has proven to be a more capable LB than RJ so I'd rather see him there. That leaves it as Pirlo vs. TMac. After watching TMac get smoked by Jason Hernadez I'm convinced Pirlo and TMac are about equal when it comes to pace. Pirlo gets the edge for me because his positional awareness is excellent so he's usually in a better spot or recognizing much sooner than TMac where he needs to be. TMac on the other hand spends most of the defensive side of the game chasing the play. Aside from pace Pirlo gets knocked off ball when in possession less (TMac sets an extremely low bar in this category). Lastly is comes down to marquee skill, I'll take a couple pin point balls over the top from Pirlo vs. a curling shot from the top of the box once every 5 games if and only if TMac finds himself wide open.

I want to agree because no one hates watching Tommy play more than me. But even so, I can't decide. I hate how Pirlo dawdles on the ball and kills our attacking momentum. I hate how Tommy plays, period, but at least he screws up quickly.

Aw hell. Just let Pirlo play I guess. Or we could try it with 10 again. That's actually probably best. Removes the chance that anyone would expectsomething out of that spot.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

I want to agree because no one hates watching Tommy play more than me. But even so, I can't decide. I hate how Pirlo dawdles on the ball and kills our attacking momentum. I hate how Tommy plays, period, but at least he screws up quickly.

Aw hell. Just let Pirlo play I guess. Or we could try it with 10 again. That's actually probably best. Removes the chance that anyone would expectsomething out of that spot.

I choose option D. Sign backup players that don;t make your whole team fall apart if you have to play them. I'm not even giving Reyna credit for Sweat since he was basically a walk on.

List of positions for which we have no capable back up: LCB, RB,CDM, CM, CAM, RW, CF (Okoli looked so lazy vs chicago)

 

[gbservis]

(Okoli looked so lazy vs chicago)

That was a huge disappointment lost in all the amazing performances of the Chicago game. Lost a lot of respect for him. When your subbing on in that heat fully fresh and 35 year old Villa 80+ min into the game is running 10 times harder than you that's a problem.

 

[LeeNYCFC]

Got the all good broski on Sweat. If March 1st me could see me hunting the internet for Ben Sweat health info.....

https://twitter.com/x/status/888940087190401024

 

[JayH]

Got the all good broski on Sweat. If March 1st me could see me hunting the internet for Ben Sweat health info.....

https://twitter.com/x/status/888940087190401024

Though referring to someone as broski may suggest a concussion.

 

[Marito]

That was a huge disappointment lost in all the amazing performances of the Chicago game. Lost a lot of respect for him. When your subbing on in that heat fully fresh and 35 year old Villa 80+ min into the game is running 10 times harder than you that's a problem.

That has been a problem with Okoli all year. He looks lumbering and doesn't seem to put it a real effort. He looks like Altidore but is garbage.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

That has been a problem with Okoli all year. He looks lumbering and doesn't seem to put it a real effort. He looks like Altidore but is garbage.

There was one play in particular, Villa (i think) passed it to him and the pass was behind him. He just stopped running instead of turning and trying to get the bad pass. I was like wtf, you came on 2 minutes ago

 

[gbservis]

There was one play in particular, Villa (i think) passed it to him and the pass was behind him. He just stopped running instead of turning and trying to get the bad pass. I was like wtf, you came on 2 minutes ago

It seems clear now why he's washed out at two previous MLS clubs, if playing with Villa day in and day out hasn't inspired him to improve his work rate I can't imagine anything will.