Thomas McNamara [Midfielder]
- Thread starter einwindir
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Can anyone do a breakdown of his stats pre and post haircut?
Hard to imagine they don't find a place for him coaching at the Academy when he hangs it up.
He and Ballouchy competing for the 1st team job in 2022.
He and Ballouchy competing for the 1st team job in 2022.
I believe those findings were published in Judges 16:15–21.
If he can find success at Houston and they play him as a 10, then I’m happy for him. He was never going to beat out Maxi for the role here, and every other position he was played in put his deficiencies (hustle/running) in the spotlight.
And if he does find success with a new team, it’s just one more former player that’s gone on to do so after being maligned while at NYCFC - really makes you wonder about our roster creation/usage.... does the FO simply go out and try to find the best player they can or do they talk with the coaching to figure out what parts “work” as is and which are more important to upgrade..... I’m not saying I’d have wanted TMac as our 10, because the style PV played required non-stop hustle, but It does make you stop and think if we’re trying to force players into a system or adapting our tactics to the players skill sets.
It's a stretch to fit McNamara into this framework, even if it's otherwise a valid analysis.
NYCFC acquired Tommy because he was one of the best players available in a putrid expansion draft, and in 2015 he was one of the team's best players. He also contributed strongly in 2016. Really, the decision to acquire him was one of the best the team made at the beginning. When they re-signed him, it was a paradox: cap limitations made it hard to replace him with equal value even while his value to the team became much less while it was being rebuilt around him. Also, I think everyone hoped it would somehow work out that the local boy would hang around long enough to retire and stay with the team either as a coach or in the FO. It just didn't develop that way.
I understand what you’re saying, and realize TMac is a different situation, but it can still apply to him.
If TMac truly can play an effective 10, more in a Valderama style of play not running on defense, would the team have had a better skill-set Floor by keeping him as the 10 and bringing in a different DP than Maxi which would have raised the floor at another position??? If I remember correctly, Maxi was a bit of a panic buy, so if the FO has been looking for a wing or striker or whatever, would it have raised the team’s level of play overall instead of making a guy superfluous (not that I believe TMac would be a long-term solution at 10)?
Granted, it’s easy to second guess, but I’m just amazed by how former players have had success going to other teams and getting a fresh look/position, when they couldn’t get anything right here.
Have they done to other teams that were successful though?
There's a possibility we could have come up with systems better optimized for our players yet more poorly optimized for doing well as a team.
I realize you're also suggesting that maybe we could get better players if we were more open to finding best available players and building around them, but that also has its issues and can mean round holes for square pegs around that player. Also, if that player leaves or is injured it's a matter of finding and training a new system. Also "best available DP" is necessarily harder to replace than "system player".
Not disagreeing with the bulk of your response, but I highlight this because we seem to currently have a DP (Medina) that was neither the best available nor right system player.
Yeah. But I don't think he's necessarily a non-system player. His issues aren't really stylistic or otherwise relating to fit for me - rather they're frustratingly individual and fundamental. But I'm also one of those who thinks he has a decent ceiling.
