It matters that this was his first year.
Maxi was awful in year one. This year? He was one of the top 5 players in the league.
2020 Roster Discussion
- Thread starter LionNYC
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It matters that this was his first year.
Maxi was awful in year one. This year? He was one of the top 5 players in the league.
I agree with the overall point you're making, but Maxi was anything but awful in year 1. He was quite solid, but definitely a top player in the league the last two seasons.
I was probably the harshest on him on the board. I thought there were a dozen equal or better #10s at the time
One game was 100% of the playoffs. Also, what about the first 28 matches of the year, ya know, the other 80% of the season?
Also, the whole team isn’t a set of Galaxian DP’s. Some players have higher expectations to meet.
How's this?
OUT: Castellanos, Medina, Ofori, Matarrita
IN: DP Forward, TAM Attacking Mid, TAM Leftback, Parks
4-1-3-2
F | Heber, DP
M | Mitrita, Maxi, TAM
M | Ring
D | TAM, Callens, Chanot, Tinnerholm
Top Bench/Rotation Options: Sands, Ibeagha, Sweat, Scally, Parks, Haak, Tajouri-Shradi, Mackay-Steven
Score 80 goals.
OUT: Castellanos, Medina, Ofori, Matarrita
IN: DP Forward, TAM Attacking Mid, TAM Leftback, Parks
4-1-3-2
F | Heber, DP
M | Mitrita, Maxi, TAM
M | Ring
D | TAM, Callens, Chanot, Tinnerholm
Top Bench/Rotation Options: Sands, Ibeagha, Sweat, Scally, Parks, Haak, Tajouri-Shradi, Mackay-Steven
Score 80 goals.
Okay, I was being a bit snarky. Everyone keeps talking about "playoffs" - which because it is plural, makes it sound like a lot of games & a decent sample size. Our "playoff game" is more accurate. It was one game, and most of the team was rusty and downright poor.
My longer thesis on Mitrita is that his regular season was very good, not great. 12 goals, 3 assists in 29 games. He showed enough flashes of brilliance that it leaves fans expecting & hoping for more, but he certainly wasn't poor.
And, he got better as the year wore on, which we have often said shouldn't be surprising. He had 4 goals and 1 assist in the first half of the season and 8 goals and 2 assists in the second half. Plus, as he adapted to his team and league, he not only scored more, but his actions and influence in other areas of the game improved as well.
The ultimate test will come over the next couple of years, but I am happy he is on the team and predict that barring injury, he will exceed both this season's goal and assist numbers in 2020.
If we take what you described at face value, it still doesn’t meet the criteria of a lethal DP that can take over a game with the flip of a switch. Nothing he’s done shows he’s an every-match difference maker.
NYCFC DPs in their First Season (Goals plus Assists)
Villa: 26 (18 goals, 8 assists)
Mitri: 15 (12 goals, 3 assists)
Maxi: 14 (5 goals, 9 assists)
Medina: 13 (6 goals, 7 assists)
Pirlo: 5 (0 goals, 5 assists)*
Lamps: 4 (3 goals, 1 assist)*
* - Half season. If you combine the end of 2015 and start of 2016 to create a full season, the numbers become: Pirlo - 12 (1 goal, 11 assists) and Lampard - 10 (8 goals, 2 assists).
Villa: 26 (18 goals, 8 assists)
Mitri: 15 (12 goals, 3 assists)
Maxi: 14 (5 goals, 9 assists)
Medina: 13 (6 goals, 7 assists)
Pirlo: 5 (0 goals, 5 assists)*
Lamps: 4 (3 goals, 1 assist)*
* - Half season. If you combine the end of 2015 and start of 2016 to create a full season, the numbers become: Pirlo - 12 (1 goal, 11 assists) and Lampard - 10 (8 goals, 2 assists).
Like Dome found a gem from Spain to play MF?
We will see. I think there is a chance he gets there, but you are also talking about someone who would be in the top 2 or 3 players in the league. It is not an indictment of Mitri or the Club that they don't have someone like that. Also, I am dubious that it is necessary for a team to win a title. More important to have a roster that is strong and deep across all positions.
Villa was on an expansion team with a roster equal to a bad high school
Mitrita was part of the best NYCFC squad assembled with the #10 having an all-time best MLS season
Maxi played far better than his stats indicated as the recipient of his passes oftentimes didn’t have the skill to finish.
Medina was an anomaly before everybody figured out how to kill his game with a little physicality. He’s since flames out in spectacular fashion.
Lampard was a walking wounded on what was still not a great roster.
Pirlo was beyond his sell date. Pure marketing signing.
I agree with all of this. In addition:
Everyone was streaky this year except Heber, and he missed enough games that it felt streaky.
Shradi was injured a long time and did not score until his 7th game back after he returned. Many of those were limited sub appearances, but combined he had no goals from June 6 to October 6.
Taty went 6 games without a goal midsummer, then scored 5 of his 11 in 4 games, then scored 1 in the last 9 games.
Mitrita scored 6 of his 12 in 6 games from Aug 31 to September 25.
Maxi had 1 non-PK goal after June 6.
That's to be expected when scoring by committee. The absolute best scorers are less streaky, if only because it's hard to score 25+ goals in a season of 34 games if you go 6-8 games in a row without any. I would prefer that the guy who the team signed to fill Villa's DP spot be among them. He might in the future, and if not, well not everyone hits at that level, not even all the DPs. I think we're fortunate that we have a non-DP who scored at a DP rate though I wish his health were more reliable. I share the optimism that Mitra's numbers will improve, but I also still expect him to remain streaky. We all hope they replace Medina with someone absolutely top level.
And as you note, the big failure point was 1 game. I checked, and after a 1-1 draw with Orlando on April 27, NYC had 12 home games. They scored at least twice in 9 of the 12. Of the 3 times they scored less, half the team was missing for 2 of them. Yet it happened again in the playoffs. Rust? Citi field? Random bad luck? Lack of grit or inability to perform under fire? Whatever it was, I agree it was the entire team.
Word was Taty will stay till Summer window to make Argentine Olympic team. Will also help our club with CCL depth in Spring and a larger transfer fee if he makes it.
Would be ideal as we can wait until the summer to bring in a third DP.
I wouldn't mind swapping the DP forward and the TAM mid. I think we did okay this year spreading the goals around upfront. We often struggled when we couldn't control the midfield. If we could get a ture DP caliber box to box type player and stick with the 4-3-3 I think we'd be unstoppable. 4-3-3 lets Ring sit deep and Maxi roam free up top, putting them both in their best spots.
I don't know that the list proves a whole lot. I do think it is very interesting.
One thing I think it shows is that Mitri had a very good year. Whether he will turn out more like Maxi or Medina remains to be seen. Given that Mitri's numbers got better as his first year progressed, while Medina's got worse, I am optimistic he will be more like Maxi.
Also, Maxi's first year was in 2017 - the other year that we finished 2nd in the Supporters' Shield standings. So, to say his numbers understated his production because the team wasn't that good seems inaccurate.
At this rate he's gonna score 48 goals and 12 assists in 2020.
Dome's pissed it took so longer just to sign a TAM striker. Imagine how pissed he'd be if he'd have to wait until the summer to sign a DP.
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