Not to toot my own horn, but I have been saying for 2 years that not having a Maxi replacement is our biggest weakness. No MLS team, not even TFC without Pozuelo, is as doomed as we are without Maxi. Have we ever won a match against even a mediocre opponent without him? We have lots of decent 6s and 8s but no one can fill in as a 10, and Maxi is a pretty classic one, and he has dictated the functioning and tempo of the team for his whole tenure. When people here were unsure about Maxi on his first season with us, I mentioned that his one saving grace was that since his first match he had basically asked for the car keys and said "OK guys hop in!" to everybody else, Villa included. Ring has the leadership qualities but not the ability, and unless Zelalem surprises the world nobody will be there to take on that role. Medina will not. So our style of play will mostly resemble Mata-ball: there's some talent there, but you are always wondering what his position is and what the hell is he trying to do. And of course, you know the brain fart will come. That multiplied by 11.
