2020 Roster Discussion

Maybe. Here he is again in a similar but completely different context. So he's not a NYCFC or even CFG person.


But it's kind of weird to celebrate a successful deal by having people on the same side of the negotiations shaking hands.
Next time we sign a player, let's celebrate the deal by taking a picture of you and I shaking hands.
 
Shake on it?

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I keep hearing that NYCFC is fine, returning the starting XI, are deep...
If Maxi goes isn’t on the pitch the upside is someone else takes penalties but the downside is that who is going to run the attack?
If Taty is on Intl. duty and Heber is hurt who steps in?
Who fills in for Tinnerholm? Dude I as overworked last season?
Are we really that confident with Medina, Tocha, GMS? While it looks like other teams are signing players and improving. NYCFC is basically the same. This is a repeat of previous posts but I keep reading things that I believe exhibit overconfidence about this team as it currently stands.
on the bright side, having a lot of returning players gives us great chemistry. but we do not have solid backups for maxi, tinnerholm and mata. and by solid, i mean someone who can step in and play the position with little to no negative impact on our style of play. i am not convinced zalelem can step in for maxi and be the play maker/pace setter for us.

having medina sucking up a DP spot while being fairly useless has been really shitty for us when looking for new talent. not having a head coach til about a few weeks ago and no CBA in place have all negatively impacted our ability to sign talent in a reasonable amount of time. sure, we can say we don't really need a lot of new players but at the very least, I think we need solid talent to backup the guys i mentioned above. ones who are proven in MLS would be great. we need more depth in practically every position. as of right now, we are competing in 3 different competitions in an already fairly congested MLS schedule with lots of travel and summer heat.

we need more quality players.

Moving this to the Roster discussion.

Below is our current depth chart, and a few observations.
  • We are good at striker - two deep with solid quality, at least so long as Taty isn't sent to Europe.
  • We could use another winger - or maybe even two.
  • Midfield has the depth. The question is the quality. We need 4 starting level players to cover a full 34-game season. Maxi, Ring and Parks fit the bill. Maybe the 4th guy is Sands, who can double up playing on the back line or just in front.
  • We are two-deep at both right back and left back. The quality of the backups at each position is an open question, but we have the bodies.
  • We are 5-deep at center back, which should be enough unless we plan to play a lot with a 3-man backline.
Overall, it's a really good roster. I agree with those who point out that we have not made any big improvements since last year, and that's a risk in a league where the level keeps rising. I would love to have another top-level midfielder who can play as an 8 or move up as a 10. We need another winger. But generally, this is a team that should be able to compete for trophies.

NYCFC 2020 DEPTH CHART

Striker: Heber, Castellanos
Wing: Mitriţă, Tajouri-Shradi, Mackay-Steven
Wing/CAM: Moralez, Medina
CM: Ring, Parks, Rocha, Zelalem, Torres, Haak
RB: Tinnerholm, Scally
LB: Matarrita, Thorarinsson
CB: Chanot, Callens, Sands, Ibeagha, Gray
GK: Johnson, Stuver, Barraza
 
I have the impression we'll need to be lucky to compete for trophies without reinforcements, which OTOH would be admirable considering that we are now below average in salary expense for the league. The league has really invested a lot of money coming into the season, even Cincy, so I don't know where the easy points are going to come from. If the last 2 years are any indication we have no plan B for any long or medium-term injury to Maxi, and I don't know if any other MLS team is as dependent on one player as we are right now. Mitrita is still a question mark for me. We would all love to see him play like he did against ATL, but he's not been consistent, and his defensive efforts (if we are to believe ASA's charts) are so non-existent that we can't afford him not being great offensively every single day. Medina has done nothing to suggest he can actually sub for Maxi and have the team not plummet in terms of performance. Zelalem is a hail-Mary option there, and Parks is not dynamic enough to replace Maxi. Maybe Maxi can be replaced by committee but I think it is dangerous not to have a decent replacement, especially if we are playing both the league and CCL.
 
I have the impression we'll need to be lucky to compete for trophies without reinforcements, which OTOH would be admirable considering that we are now below average in salary expense for the league. The league has really invested a lot of money coming into the season, even Cincy, so I don't know where the easy points are going to come from. If the last 2 years are any indication we have no plan B for any long or medium-term injury to Maxi, and I don't know if any other MLS team is as dependent on one player as we are right now. Mitrita is still a question mark for me. We would all love to see him play like he did against ATL, but he's not been consistent, and his defensive efforts (if we are to believe ASA's charts) are so non-existent that we can't afford him not being great offensively every single day. Medina has done nothing to suggest he can actually sub for Maxi and have the team not plummet in terms of performance. Zelalem is a hail-Mary option there, and Parks is not dynamic enough to replace Maxi. Maybe Maxi can be replaced by committee but I think it is dangerous not to have a decent replacement, especially if we are playing both the league and CCL.

lol what? atlanta is very martinez dependent. LAFC loses alot without vela. its true we are maxi dependent, but we are not the only team that is like that.

IMO only DC got really reinforced, orlando a bit less. New england may see even more improvements now that arena has a full preseason. lol ciny is not a force. im not saying they trash like last year but they are not all of a sudden automatic playoff contention team. Miami still missing tow DP's and they keep saying they getting big names and yet nothing, and i think one of their main signings just got injured long term.

every year i see same comment that the whole conference got better and we end up in playoffs, heck it was similar comments last year and we ended up in first.
 
Moving this to the Roster discussion.

Below is our current depth chart, and a few observations.
  • We are good at striker - two deep with solid quality, at least so long as Taty isn't sent to Europe.
  • We could use another winger - or maybe even two.
  • Midfield has the depth. The question is the quality. We need 4 starting level players to cover a full 34-game season. Maxi, Ring and Parks fit the bill. Maybe the 4th guy is Sands, who can double up playing on the back line or just in front.
  • We are two-deep at both right back and left back. The quality of the backups at each position is an open question, but we have the bodies.
  • We are 5-deep at center back, which should be enough unless we plan to play a lot with a 3-man backline.
Overall, it's a really good roster. I agree with those who point out that we have not made any big improvements since last year, and that's a risk in a league where the level keeps rising. I would love to have another top-level midfielder who can play as an 8 or move up as a 10. We need another winger. But generally, this is a team that should be able to compete for trophies.

NYCFC 2020 DEPTH CHART

Striker: Heber, Castellanos
Wing: Mitriţă, Tajouri-Shradi, Mackay-Steven
Wing/CAM: Moralez, Medina
CM: Ring, Parks, Rocha, Zelalem, Torres, Haak
RB: Tinnerholm, Scally
LB: Matarrita, Thorarinsson
CB: Chanot, Callens, Sands, Ibeagha, Gray
GK: Johnson, Stuver, Barraza

Sure they can compete but at what level and success?

When I look holistically at how last season went down and think about this season a few things stand out.

This team as comprised did not win any hardware in 2019 including the U.S. Open cup where NYCFC lost to an Orlando team that finished 11th out of 12 in the Eastern Conference last year.

They lost at home (looking pretty lost and inept for a good portion of the match) in the MLS playoffs to a 4 seed that was playing without their top striker.

"A win is a win, is a win..." but I think it's significant that last season NYCFC played (I believe) 5 games against opponents a man up. My recollection is they were pretty darn fortunate to end up with the 13 points.

I imagine that CCL is going to make the season even more difficult and will test the fitness of Maxi, Tinnerholm and Heber as well as most starters.
That is not a scenario I find comforting. Are people that confident in Medina, GMS, Zelelam, Torres, Haak, Scally, Rocha....

NYCFC had it's moments but overall my sense was they lacked creativity in the final third for long stretches and not so great 1 v 1.

NYCFC's DP scenario is questionable. Mitrita did not play to the level that the money and the spot demand and Medina is pretty unremarkable.

Chanot and Matartita seem kind of prone to the kind of mistakes that lose games.

I hope you are correct that the team has what it needs to win something.
 
I hate to sound mean-spirited but all they need to do is swap out Medina for an effective DP MF and everything pretty much falls into place. I just don't get why they haven't done this. Seems the obvious critical path.