NYCFC v Columbus - Postmatch

[SoupInNYC]

Mata getting caught forward constantly was the other thing I meant to include here. Mainly puzzled that it kept happening the entire game. Did no one say, "hey, maybe hang back a little, they're killing us on counter attacks"?

On this note, coupled with the ineffectiveness of our wingers to date. Is it time to maybe move Mata to LW and bring in Diego behind him at LB?

Or at the worst, start the normal 4-3-3, then in the 60' sub off LW and sub in Diego, play for 10 minutes with Mata at LW, then sub Mata out if this goes poorly and bring in whatever LW sub we want?

 

[joe]

On this note, coupled with the ineffectiveness of our wingers to date. Is it time to maybe move Mata to LW and bring in Diego behind him at LB?

Or at the worst, start the normal 4-3-3, then in the 60' sub off LW and sub in Diego, play for 10 minutes with Mata at LW, then sub Mata out if this goes poorly and bring in whatever LW sub we want?

That seems a little drastic, especially without having seen enough of Martinez to have a strong opinion. Certainly want to see Mata's tactical awareness improve.

Also, we should be getting Harrison back in a week or two, which could help our width.

 

[FootyLovin]

That seems a little drastic, especially without having seen enough of Martinez to have a strong opinion. Certainly want to see Mata's tactical awareness improve.

Also, we should be getting Harrison back in a week or two, which could help our width.

Agree with this. These should be veeerrry coachable issues. You can't coach speed. But you can coach positioning. Even someone with bad habits can be retrained. Mata is a very good defender (when he is on his goal side of the ball). Clearly in the first half he roamed forward too much (either from his own prerogative or from PV). Also, clearly in the second half he was asked to play a MF role with a 3 man backline. He can be coached. Give it time. Don't throw his LB career away just yet.

 

[NickA]

The Pirlo hate would be more justified if the rest of the team didn't suck too. His reputation creates a microscope...but if you watch the games objectively and not looking to point out his shortcomings, you'd see that everyone else around him makes double the mistakes. Pirlo shines when he has talent around him, we don't have that. The best QB or Pointguard would suck too if the players on the receiving ends didn't have a clue on how to play the game correctly. Why do you think Villa is stuck trying to dribble through 2-3 defenders every time and not get a decent shot off...because we have wingers that frankly don't know what the F they are doing.

 

[NYCFCfan]

Everyone has said what needed to be said about the game but I'll talk about the actual stadium. I finally made it out to Columbus, the stadium itself is underwhelming. It's pretty basic in terms of everything from amenities to design.

I sat front row in what was little more than Yankee Stadium style metal bleachers with a metal back to it. It reminded me of a basic college stadium, it was like someone just upped the seating capacity at St. John's or Columbia. There were a good amount of empty seats and it was pretty disheartening considering that I also went to the Ohio State University spring game earlier in the day, which is literally an intra-squad scrimmage, and it had over 100k people there.

16,715 total attendance was depressing but their supporters section was pretty good. The Crew supporters also had some sort of smoke go off in their sections during goals. There were a good amount of NYCFC supporters there and they kept making noise throughout the game, they were pretty well received, people seemed to admire their enthusiasm; that is until they started chanting things like "fuck Columbus"

All in all, it was a good time with cheap tickets.

 

[Christopher Jee]

That cross from Iraola was a beauty. I have been impressed with him this year. He gets caught up field occasionally but other than that I think he's been solid.

I know what you mean, but I don't think we can blame our full backs for following orders. And I think it's only a problem because our offense stalls when we are pushed high up the pitch.

I would guess that Vieira is hoping we fix the wing problem and that that will solve our defensive problems. There's an argument that we don't have the personnel to do that, but the alternative would be to sit deep and try and spring our forwards on the counterattack and I think we're even less equipped for that.

 

[gbservis]

Everyone has said what needed to be said about the game but I'll talk about the actual stadium. I finally made it out to Columbus, the stadium itself is underwhelming. It's pretty basic in terms of everything from amenities to design.

I sat front row in what was little more than Yankee Stadium style metal bleachers with a metal back to it. It reminded me of a basic college stadium, it was someone just upped the seating capacity at St. John's or Columbia. There were a good amount of empty seats and it was pretty disheartening considering that I also went to the Ohio State University spring game earlier in the day, which is literally an intra-squad scrimmage, and it had over 100k people there.

16,715 total attendance was depressing but their supporters section was pretty good. The Crew supporters also had some sort of smoke go off in their sections during goals. There were a good amount of NYCFC supporters there and they kept making noise throughout the game, they were pretty well received, people seemed to admire their enthusiasm; that is until they started chanting things like "fuck Columbus"

All in all, it was a good time with cheap tickets.

Thanks for the summary I guess Columbus will go on the bottom of my away stadiums to visit list. Look on the bright side at least the scoreboard didn't catch on fire this game:

 

[FootyLovin]

There were a good amount of NYCFC supporters there and they kept making noise throughout the game, they were pretty well received, people seemed to admire their enthusiasm; that is until they started chanting things like "fuck Columbus"

I wish we could do away with this. And only partially because it's crude or offensive. Mostly because it is pathetically lacking in any creativity.

Case in point. "Chicago sucks!" is a stupid cheer. "Deep dish sucks!" has much more meaning and panache.

Couldn't we have cheered something like a call and response with one group shouting "Bob Barker" and the next shouting back "beats Drew Carry!"

 

[william straiton]

I haven't seen the game because it wasn't on in the UK.

Reading the comments though, it has a familiar theme. The ability of Saunders to pass it out. Playing a high line with defenders who lack mobility. A midfield that is still trying to fit Pirlo into it without being exposed.

I just hope the job isn't getting to tough for PV. He is on trial as much as the players are. There are a lot of fans who hope he is successful, but have no idea if he is good enough to be a manager. The next couple of months may prove it one way or the other.

Like all managers he can be stubborn and believe he is doing the right thing, even when it looks from the outside he keeps making the same calls without success.

 

[SoupInNYC]

Agree with this. These should be veeerrry coachable issues. You can't coach speed. But you can coach positioning. Even someone with bad habits can be retrained. Mata is a very good defender (when he is on his goal side of the ball). Clearly in the first half he roamed forward too much (either from his own prerogative or from PV). Also, clearly in the second half he was asked to play a MF role with a 3 man backline. He can be coached. Give it time. Don't throw his LB career away just yet.

This is well put. But my main idea of trying Mata at LW wasn't to get him out of playing LB. I think he's more than capable of playing there. I think he has some things that can be coached, but my post was not meant to criticize him.

Moreso, I wanted to see if there was a way we could not have Mendoza or TT play so much time on the wings. My main takeaway from Saturday night's game was that our wingers were significantly underwhelming. Mendoza's play has already been criticized enough here, and I really never thought TT brought anything to the table from an offensive standpoint. I did think Khiry brought some good energy and change of pace when he came on, but I think we all know his limitations as well.

Currently, I think our depth on the wing is suffering. Mata has played on the wing prior to NYCFC and he is extremely talented. I know our tape on Diego is limited, but he has looked somewhat decent when playing. I think its worth a shot, at least until Harrison is back and we see what he can provide.

Lets put it this way....we are at Philly on Saturday. If our offense is sputtering in the final third again and we can't seem to generate many chances, why not take Mendoza out at LW, play Mata higher and bring Diego in at LB?

I don't know if it would bring us success, but I think it may be worth a shot.

 

[FootyLovin]

This is well put. But my main idea of trying Mata at LW wasn't to get him out of playing LB. I think he's more than capable of playing there. I think he has some things that can be coached, but my post was not meant to criticize him.

Moreso, I wanted to see if there was a way we could not have Mendoza or TT play so much time on the wings. My main takeaway from Saturday night's game was that our wingers were significantly underwhelming. Mendoza's play has already been criticized enough here, and I really never thought TT brought anything to the table from an offensive standpoint. I did think Khiry brought some good energy and change of pace when he came on, but I think we all know his limitations as well.

Currently, I think our depth on the wing is suffering. Mata has played on the wing prior to NYCFC and he is extremely talented. I know our tape on Diego is limited, but he has looked somewhat decent when playing. I think its worth a shot, at least until Harrison is back and we see what he can provide.

Lets put it this way....we are at Philly on Saturday. If our offense is sputtering in the final third again and we can't seem to generate many chances, why not take Mendoza out at LW, play Mata higher and bring Diego in at LB?

I don't know if it would bring us success, but I think it may be worth a shot.

Makes sense. I would be surprised if PV made that significant a change. I think the more likely switch is back to the 3-4-3. The only players I think have a chance of seeing their first action in a new starting role are Poku (false 9?) and/or Lurch.

#mobilepost

 

[PaddingtonB.]

Well on a high note: Didn't think I'd receive my 10 TV Bonus Points via Cityzens after the glitch but I did.

 

[Ulrich]

Makes sense. I would be surprised if PV made that significant a change. I think the more likely switch is back to the 3-4-3. The only players I think have a chance of seeing their first action in a new starting role are Poku (false 9?) and/or Lurch.

#mobilepost

If Harrison trains well this week and has the fitness to go, he will possibly get 5-10 minutes.

 

[LionNYC]

If Harrison trains well this week and has the fitness to go, he will possibly get 5-10 minutes.

I can definitely see a Harrison for Mendoza/Taylor sub.

 

[Ulrich]

I can definitely see a Harrison for Mendoza/Taylor sub.

Bite your tongue.... Harrison as a Taylor sub.... Repeat that.... Taylor..... Mendoza shouldn't be anywhere near the field as a starter this weekend....

 

[NYdoesitEZ]

Every comment in this thread has pointed out one thing clearly. Our player acquisition sucks...we clearly did a shitty job this offseason, again. Time for a new GM/director next season. We need an average caliber of Irola in the starting 11. Only when we have that, the quality of Villa and brilliance of Pirlo will shine

 

[FootyLovin]

Every comment in this thread has pointed out one thing clearly. Our player acquisition sucks...we clearly did a shitty job this offseason, again. Time for a new GM/director next season. We need an average caliber of Irola in the starting 11. Only when we have that, the quality of Villa and brilliance of Pirlo will shine

Even assuming you are right, that's just hindsight. Show me where you posted that 3 months ago. In January these boards were full of praise for Claudio.

But I don't assume you're right. Mata is a big win. Bravo is a big win. Brillant is progressing just fine. Harrison is still to be seen. Any offseason that produces 3-4 good non-DP additions is a pretty darn good offseason. Expecting 100% success is unrealistic.

 

[Sabo]

I know the results are the same after 6 games this year than last, but we are a much much better team this year.

MLS Shots/game #1 NYCFC
MLS Shots on Goal/game #1 NYCFC
MLS Possession #1 NYCFC? (we were #1 going into the game then got 53% against Crew)

I am not disagreeing with everybody on the thread down on the team for various reasons, but in my book the teams playing way better than their record this year are Portland, Columbus and NYCFC.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

Even assuming you are right, that's just hindsight. Show me where you posted that 3 months ago. In January these boards were full of praise for Claudio.

But I don't assume you're right. Mata is a big win. Bravo is a big win. Brillant is progressing just fine. Harrison is still to be seen. Any offseason that produces 3-4 good non-DP additions is a pretty darn good offseason. Expecting 100% success is unrealistic.

That is the key to why optimism is still appropriate. We are significantly better at many positions. CB, LB, CM than we were last year. That talent should be able to beat last years team, hopefully it is matter of time and appropriate coaching

 

[Viewfrom226]

Here are a few (somewhat late) thoughts on the match without, hopefully, repeating all of the good stuff said above.

- I have been touting Mendoza including even last week, but as many have noted, he was poor. I tweeted during the game that Villa was having an animated conversation with him just before the start of the second half. In addition, there was a point late in the match where Hernandez lit into him. I think he wanted him to run down the field to provide a release ball. He's way out of sync with his teammates now.

- I thought Brillant and Hernandez were very good again and basically suffered for the poor tactical decisions about the set up generally. I actually didn't have a huge problem with Saunders either. There are plenty of games where he is a problem, but I didn't really se this as one. His forays off the goal line in the first half were Vieira-endorsed.

- I talked about Matarrita's positioning in my preview of the Philly match which I just posted in the thread for that match. Check it out and let me know what you think. I'm pretty convinced there was some tactical approach there, but can't really figure out what it is. I don't think it was just a case of him running wild on his own, but I don't know what they were hoping to achieve.

- As said above, Columbus is sort of a glorified high school stadium. But, I did think the atmosphere was quite good even with the small overall attendance number. The Nordecke is good and it is a testament to have a SSS where everyone sits close to the field. As a stadium, it is definitely behind some of the others I've been to, but it was a fun trip and a good place to watch a game.

- Obviously the midfield defense is a problem with Pirlo playing as the d-mid. I don't have anything new to say about that. But, what is also increasingly disappointing is that, even with playing three midfielders who are purportedly technical offensive players, we are getting out-passed in the midfield. Even Chicago was much more fluid there. Part of it is because I think that Mix and TMac are too far up the pitch relative to Pirlo and are too narrow. Essentially, we aren't creating the triangles that are key to moving the ball through traffic. One of the things that Poku really brought was the ability to drop back and take the ball as an alternative to Pirlo. Even if PV is going to stick with this three, I think he needs to alter the positioning on the field so one of Mix and TMac are helping to build play. Too often, the only way they get a pass is if they are running back towards Pirlo, thus facing back towards our own goal.

- I'm pretty convinced that right now my perception of our wingers is directly inversely related to how much they've played. So, Harrison is no 1 because we haven't seen him at all, Khiry is 2 because he only played a bit (and played well) and Taylor and Mendoza are last because they've been exposed in the past two matches. Fortunately, we can dream on Jack being the answer -- at least until he plays! So frustrating that none of them have really stepped up in any consistent way.