TiVo season pass. So yeah.
Plus, I usually always watch RBNJ games when I get back from ours because I like fun soccer.
Toronto (Away) - Postmatch
- Thread starter NYCFC_Dan
- Start date
Plus, I usually always watch RBNJ games when I get back from ours because I like fun soccer.
Think you misunderstood him. He was complaining about availability, not quality.
Amen.
If we have a global network, why did we buy Mitrita and/or Maxi and not Pozuelo?
Is it because we wanted to save the money? Because that blows up all the folks saying “CFG will spend!”
Or is it because we aren’t good enough at scouting and BI to know of the availability or effectively execute the acquisition of Pozuelo? Because that blows up the actual only argument for CFG being a good owner.
I don't agree. Yes, he had a ridiculously good nose for goal, and his late runs into the box were brilliant. He scored with butt and thigh, which may be the same kind of luck that allowed ISI to demolish any reasonable Gx expectations last year. But he wasn't excellent. He frequently looked slowed and behind the play, and he never that I can remember took over a game looking just superior class to almost everybody else the way Pozuelo did on Friday, or Giovinco, Vela etc. have done several times in MLS. Villa is the only DP we've had who could do that. Our DP spending has been pitifully misguided, at least from a strictly soccer perspective.
27- year old Pozuelo and 37-year old Lampard is not a fair comparison. You can argue it was a bad signing given the Man City mess and the likelihood of an old guy getting hurt, but not that he didn't produce.
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Well, that's my argument. Lampard was a very good 37 y.o. Maybe from a marketing perspective it was the right move. From a soccer perspective we've only done really really well with one of our higher-priced DPs. The others have been debatable (Lampard, Maxi) or disastrous (Pirlo). Young, relatively cheap DPs are always a gamble but we've also done bad there (Medina). Many MLS teams go for the barely-a-DP category, like Colorado, NE, Minny (who still did great with Quintero), SJ, Vancouver, etc. Their results are expected. Among the big-spending clubs only the Galaxy has arguably had as many misfires as us. Pozuelo is just one more example of what others get and we don't.
You're arguing that we have been bad at picking our DPs. I'm not saying otherwise. I just think, although not an unqualified success, Lampard played well for us when he was on the field.
There is also the notion that in addition to the scoring Lampard provided, which was a lot compared to all other players the club has had not named Villa, he also was a massive leader in the locker room and on the field. That coupled with him taking Harrison under his wing, which Harrison has commented on frequently, and Lampard paid huge dividends for us.
I mean as bad as some of our DPs may have been i think you guys are going a little too hard on Maxi. Hes a 10 and a ball distributor, so he can only be as good as the players around him allow him to be. But even with all that he was an MVP candidate, hardly a flop. One good game for Pozuelo does not make him anywhere near a better signing than maxi is/was. He may end up being better but saying it now is a bit absurd to me.
Pozuelo’s been here for one game and NYCFC gave him a ridiculous amount of time and space on the ball. Pretty sure he won’t get that too much longer, especially after teams look at the tape from friday’s game. He had a worldly debut (and yeah, probably a better individual game than any of NYCFC’s non-Villa DPs) but it is way too early.
Counterpoint, there are some #10s in the league who can create the chances themselves despite the talent around them. Piatti. Lodeiro. Valeri. Almiron last year.
I think he’s terrific but it’s obvious he is struggling this year. He’s definitely DP worthy but let’s not confuse him with Valeri.
beating a dead horse but im not so sure this years struggles are his fault. I think it has more to do with him being well out of position.
Counter-counter-Point.... as I’ve already posited in another post, what if last season was an outlier-peak Maxi and while he’s playing out of position this year, he’s reverting to his norm? Has he ever had stats like last year that would suggest he’s an all-star caliber player every season?
I think Maxi is a guy that can unlock your offense.
I don’t think he’s a guy that should be your focus point. And I’m also afraid that Mitrita should probably be the guy operating underneath the Striker. Which means two of our DPs are playungnthe same position.
I don’t think he’s a guy that should be your focus point. And I’m also afraid that Mitrita should probably be the guy operating underneath the Striker. Which means two of our DPs are playungnthe same position.
I don't argue that it is a visceral and hurried reaction. And I love Maxi and am very happy we have him, all things considered. OTOH we have played shitty teams many many times, shittier than NYCFC was on Friday. And Maxi has never done to any shitty MLS team what Pozuelo did to us. Not to Colorado or first-year Minny or NE or San Jose. So there's that.
I also think the discussion needs to take into account cost. Pozuelo was an 11 million transfer, and I think his salary is also higher than Maxi. So he is supposed to be better. Part of my rage at CFG is why aren't we going after that level of talent.
I agree completely, and I am not too optimistic regarding Mitrita's final grade. Obvious talent aside, he seems petulant and unfocused. On Friday there were a handful of passes where he seemed to let the defender beat him to the ball out of.... who knows? But in the small sample thus far he doesn't strike me as the the kind of guy who will raise to the challenge if the going gets tough, as it is sure to get this year. He's not a leader. Ring sure is, but the problem is that his leadership spirit encourages him to act as our de facto CAM, which is misguided. We need Maxi fast, in his natural position, and wearing his big-boy pants. Yikes.
