Sorry, got this one posted a bit late.
Next match is against Chicago on Sunday 04/10 7 pm
Broadcast - Fox Sports 1
Next match is against Chicago on Sunday 04/10 7 pm
Broadcast - Fox Sports 1
Home - Chicago 4/10
- Thread starter NYCFC_Dan
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We have 2 points out of 9 from a three game home stretch so far, if we continue to drop points at home we'll quickly find ourselves out of the playoff race early.
Last year we were one of 2 teams to go below .500 at home. If we don't win this game then it's going to be a long April.
Last year we were one of 2 teams to go below .500 at home. If we don't win this game then it's going to be a long April.
Sure, but if we extrapolate our away record with the same parameters, we're going to be 17-0-0 and that's 51 points! I think with our increased speed and lacking height, we're actually built to play better away from home on larger fields.
If Johansen doesn't get a start, I'm going to be pissed.
If we don't get three points, I'm going to be livid.
If we don't get three points, I'm going to be livid.
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NYC24
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We have a lot of issues that need to be fixed. This is what I see as our 3 main problems:
1) Vieira sees Saunders as a team leader, but his play is hurting us and frankly it looks like there is something deeply wrong (possibly beyond soccer) with him this year. It is only a secondary problem that Tommy Mac is also seen by the coach as an important leader. TMac is only a so-so player in an extremely important on-field position.
2) On the wings we are prioritizing speed over the ability to link up (via multiple passes) with team mates.
3) I don't think our coach thinks much about coaching defense.
Clearly, in my view, a lot of this is on the coach. I don't think we should change coaches all the time, actually, though. I hope he improves.
1) Vieira sees Saunders as a team leader, but his play is hurting us and frankly it looks like there is something deeply wrong (possibly beyond soccer) with him this year. It is only a secondary problem that Tommy Mac is also seen by the coach as an important leader. TMac is only a so-so player in an extremely important on-field position.
2) On the wings we are prioritizing speed over the ability to link up (via multiple passes) with team mates.
3) I don't think our coach thinks much about coaching defense.
Clearly, in my view, a lot of this is on the coach. I don't think we should change coaches all the time, actually, though. I hope he improves.
Has there been anything that PV has said or shown (post game interviews or otherwise), that would suggest he's been unhappy with how Saunders has performed? I know there's a vocal group of fans that thinks he's been doing horrible, but what does the coach feel?
Personally, I feel our lack of ability to finish has been our problem the last few games rather than our defense. The goal we conceded last game took a nasty deflection off of Mendoza, otherwise Saunders looked like he was going in the right direction to save it. I know there are comments about Saunders; inability to distribute the ball, but I'm not familiar enough with the sport at the moment to really know how bad it really is and how much it plays into us not being able to get the ball in the opponent's goal.
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NYC24
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PV's entire philosophy relies on the GK being our first offensive player, yet he starts the worst distributor in the league because he sees him as "a team leader."
I predict that you'll be pissed, sadly.
It should be really interesting (or quite really interesting, PV-style) to see how far we and Chicago have come since the season opener. Our defense has gotten a lot more organized and we seem to have moderated our desire to pass it out of the back. On the flip side, I don't think we've seen as many of those slick passing combinations that we saw in pre-season and in the first game, which tended to arise from having the goalkeeper play out and essentially creating an overload that cascaded forward from the back (opposition player presses goalkeeper, leaving a man free. As the free man receives the ball, defender commits and leaves another man free, and so on until we get a look at goal and balloon it into the stands).
We've also played a 3-2-2-3 since that game. I don't think we can attribute too much of our offensive stagnancy or our defensive robustness to the formation switch. I'd love to see us start with a 4-3-3 and give Tony + other winger a shot at attacking without being forced to track back. Did we play 4-3-3 against Chicago because Chicago or because it was a larger field or because we had spent most of pre-season in that system, or for still other reasons. I look forward to finding out.
Will we see Lampard?
I don't think anybody who came in for our players on international duty did enough to earn a spot in the 11. Mendoza was surprisingly ineffectual but I think he may just pip Khiry for a starting slot. Regardless of the system I think Bravo has earnt his place due to his superior positioning and graft, and in spite of his poor passing.
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Is Bravo paying off the officials? Is that how he has avoided being sent off so far?
Seriously though, great post.
Presumably the refs are afraid he'll tackle them
Vieira said last game that the 343 was not working because Bunbury was abusing the 3 man back line since Mendoza and Taylor weren't tracking back. Since formations are usually described as the defensive shape, that means we are really playing a 541 or something. No wonder we can't get any offensive movement.
I still think most of the problems come from our inability to dribble out of the back. Saunders and hernandez have proven over 1+ years that they are skittish under pressure and make bad passes sometimes to the other team. You cannot ask your wingers to constantly move up the field and then sprint back to cover a shitty turnover and think they will have any energy to play offense.
New coach, but as long as hernandez and Saunders are scared to have the ball at their feet, same as the last coach.
I still think most of the problems come from our inability to dribble out of the back. Saunders and hernandez have proven over 1+ years that they are skittish under pressure and make bad passes sometimes to the other team. You cannot ask your wingers to constantly move up the field and then sprint back to cover a shitty turnover and think they will have any energy to play offense.
New coach, but as long as hernandez and Saunders are scared to have the ball at their feet, same as the last coach.
I'm hoping we see (if at all possible) Shelton and Mendoza on the wings next match. But I'm torn, because Stiven has such great quickness, it almost makes him the perfect 70th minute sub.
Tom, in the modern game, it is expected that the wide men will help out when defending. If they don't then this will leave the defence exposed to being outnumbered in the wide areas.
PV would have told them what was expected of them before the game. If they failed to do that then he would be right to point that out.
With regards to your comment about dribbling out from the back. Well that is frowned upon in Europe because it could easily lead to an interception and conceding a soft goal. I think Brilliant was caught out that way in Chicago. It's much better for the players to pass out from the back, but this needs composure as well, and I agree with you in that regard about Hernandez and Saunders. I would defend Saunders though because he is their to stop goals not make them. If PV wants a keeper to play out from the back with his feet then he should select Johansen.
I agree that they are supposed to defend, but that plan backfires when you turn it over before it gets to midfield. Then the forwards have to sprint backwards to defend, then sprint forward again to be ready to attack.
Dribbling, passing, either one, they are not comfortable. Hernandez is the worst possible guy that Vieira could have gotten stuck on, since he is the worst of our four CBs when it comes to that.
It is clear that Vieira is learning on the job and that portends a long season. These strange formations aren't used because they have exploits. Maybe they can be used by a very solid team ,and that we are not.
Dribbling, passing, either one, they are not comfortable. Hernandez is the worst possible guy that Vieira could have gotten stuck on, since he is the worst of our four CBs when it comes to that.
It is clear that Vieira is learning on the job and that portends a long season. These strange formations aren't used because they have exploits. Maybe they can be used by a very solid team ,and that we are not.
I do agree with your regarding Hernandez Tom.
If I was PV I would be looking at the position of Pirlo. To ask him to play the same role that he played for Juventus is wrong IMO. He had players like Pogba, Vidal & an Italian lad who's name escapes me lol around him.
I would try and play him ahead of a defensive two and more in support of Villa.
This would be my team against Chicago:
Johansen
Allen, Brilliant, Bravo, Mattarita
Mix, Lopez
Pirlo
Khiry, Villa, TT
I like Saunders as a shot stopper, but if we want to play out from the back then Johansen needs to come in. I would rather have Allen over Iraola because he has the pace and IMO is a better defender.
For me Brilliant needs to be given another chance or shipped out. There is no point in having a Visa player that you believe isn't better than Hernandez.
I have liked the energy of Lopez when he has come on and would like to see him play that defensive midfield role. He seems to have the pace that could benefit us there. Mix would be our box to box midfielder, allowing Pirlo to pick up space between their defence and midfield. This would hopefully allow him to get the ball in more dangerous areas where he could slip either of the front 3 through.
If I was PV I would be looking at the position of Pirlo. To ask him to play the same role that he played for Juventus is wrong IMO. He had players like Pogba, Vidal & an Italian lad who's name escapes me lol around him.
I would try and play him ahead of a defensive two and more in support of Villa.
This would be my team against Chicago:
Johansen
Allen, Brilliant, Bravo, Mattarita
Mix, Lopez
Pirlo
Khiry, Villa, TT
I like Saunders as a shot stopper, but if we want to play out from the back then Johansen needs to come in. I would rather have Allen over Iraola because he has the pace and IMO is a better defender.
For me Brilliant needs to be given another chance or shipped out. There is no point in having a Visa player that you believe isn't better than Hernandez.
I have liked the energy of Lopez when he has come on and would like to see him play that defensive midfield role. He seems to have the pace that could benefit us there. Mix would be our box to box midfielder, allowing Pirlo to pick up space between their defence and midfield. This would hopefully allow him to get the ball in more dangerous areas where he could slip either of the front 3 through.
I can't remember if I wrote this elsewhere or just thought it, but I agree that Pirlo here is not the same proposition as at Juve. In addition to the quality of the specific players you note, Juve had more talent than the vast majority of the teams they played against which is, pretty much by definition, never going to be true in MLS. It would be interesting to go back and see how he/they played in tough Champion's League matches.
I'm actually not sure what to do with him. There are matches where he is arguably the most important player on the pitch (Toronto and Orlando) and then others where his influence is relatively minimal (Chicago and NE) and one might think that we'd be better served by someone else for that match. I don't think this variation is attributable to him playing well or poorly as much as it is that there are certain matches where the overall flow is such that he cannot have the same impact.
I'm not smart enough to crack the code on how we create more of the former or whether it is even predictable pre-match as to which type it is going to be. In any event, he's going to start and play whenever healthy, so maybe it doesn't much matter.
This is the problem. He shouldn't be starting just because of who he is and what we are paying him. We either need to find a system that gets the best out of him 8/10 times or look to replace him with a player who can be more effective for us.
I don't disagree at all, but the question that interests me is what it is about particular matches that lets him be so influential while in others he is less relevant which makes his deficiencies seem all the more pronounced.
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