2015 Offseason Megathread

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I'd suggest AJ at CB but he can't or won't defend so it's a wash. He's more technical that the CBs and he's tall and physical enough. The problem is keeping him in position. That would then allow Mix to play as Pirlo's understudy until Andrea retires, and then we could bring in an enforcer to bodyguard Mix.
 
Vito said:
In the post game press conference with Kreis he said John has started running and will be pushed in the next couple of weeks to see where he's at.
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Kreis said that we are no more closer to John playing then we were last december. That is real discouraging and I think we will never see George John in a NYCFC jersey.
 
I missed the last few games because of time difference and other factors. So not sure how the team have played recently.

In regards to the squad, I believe three things are important. The club need to buy a leader on the pitch. With respect to Villa & Lampard I have never seen them as Captain material. Pirlo obviously has been captain, so it could be him. I personally would prefer a centre half as Captain and that is what I would be looking at hiring. Secondly, this squad has been devoid of natural width. This has been the most glaring error in the recruitment process. Finally, I don't really believe Kries is a good fit for the club. Like players, managers fit certain teams and are a fish out of water in others. I would think it is best we cut our ties with him and bring in someone else.
 
Facey and Angelino are now gone

If Mena is here next year on that salary, he needs to be a stalwart. He needs to be as good as a Barrett or Borchers. Or he needs to be gone too. The entire South American scouting operation is a cluster right now. Guys didn't even want to be here.
 
Kjbert said:
Facey and Angelino are now gone

If Mena is here next year on that salary, he needs to be a stalwart. He needs to be as good as a Barrett or Borchers. Or he needs to be gone too. The entire South American scouting operation is a cluster right now. Guys didn't even want to be here.
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What's your source on Facey and Angelino? They're loans can be extended. CFG is having its meeting with Kreis in a week.
 
MagnusPax said:
The problem isn't so much that KWS is bad, not that he is that good, but is depth. Will NYCFC go get a starter and then have someone other than Mena or Facey as a backup? This year we were on life support even when our 1st choice Facey and Hernandez were out there. We need a new defense and then we need to keep some depth. Otherwise we might have a decent defense and be ultra thin which will also kill us.
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I agree on the depth issue. I'm not sure where those saying we need to dump and replace 8+ players think we are getting all the replacements from.
 
Here's the big issue that might lead to some surprising moves in the offseason. Too many central midfielders. Pirlo, Lampard, Mix, Poku, AJ, even McNamara. All are better deployed centrally. That's clearly too many, and the list mostly includes key players that are core to our team. I would not be surprised to see 1-2 people off that list jettisoned in exchange for a quality CB or winger.
 
Gotham Gator said:
Here's the big issue that might lead to some surprising moves in the offseason. Too many central midfielders. Pirlo, Lampard, Mix, Poku, AJ, even McNamara. All are better deployed centrally. That's clearly too many, and the list mostly includes key players that are core to our team. I would not be surprised to see 1-2 people off that list jettisoned in exchange for a quality CB or winger.
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The glut of CBs work if you play a diamond. Starter (backup): Pirlo (Mix) at CDM----- Lampard (AJ)-Mix (AJ) at the 2 CM spots ------ Poku (McNamara) at CAM.

That's the weird thing about the roster, it is set up for a diamond, but we didn't play it, even when the games didn't matter anymore. Spend the offseason on getting one or two very good CBs and another striker.
 
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Tom in Fairfield CT said:
The glut of CBs work if you play a diamond. Starter (backup): Pirlo (Mix) at CDM----- Lampard (AJ)-Mix (AJ) at the 2 CM spots ------ Poku (McNamara) at CAM.

That's the weird thing about the roster, it is set up for a diamond, but we didn't play it, even when the games didn't matter anymore. Spend the offseason on getting one or two very good CBs and another striker.
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I slightly disagree. From what I understand about the diamond, Lampard would be a terrible fit as a LCM or RCM. Needs to run too much.

Due to our old guys, a less fluid 4-3-1-2 would seem more appropriate. I know it's nearly the exact same thing, but I think the subtle difference is that Lampard would be allowed to play as a holding midfielder and Mix/Jacobson could have more of a stable defensive mindset.

I still think we shape best in a 4-2-2-2, though I'm not sure of my overall opinion of the formation in general.

(LWB, CB, CB, RWB) - (Pirlo, DM) - (Poku, Lampard) - (Villa, ST)

Mix can play all four midfield spots, so he'll get plenty of playing time.
 
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sbrylski said:
I slightly disagree. From what I understand about the diamond, Lampard would be a terrible fit as a LCM or RCM. Needs to run too much.
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The problem with NYCFC is that if you are going to put Pirlo in front of the CBs as a CDM, you need to have two box to box hard runners to cover the ground that Pirlo will not do. (See: Vidal and Marchisio). That leads you to play the 4-4-2 diamond most likely, or a 4-3-3.

The central issue is where do you play Frank Lampard? He's not a Vidal or Marchisio and it is suicide to expect his 38-year old legs to run like a bulldog. But he needs to be on the field. So do you play him at the tip of the diamond? Frank is not a CAM either. You can't play 4-3-3 either because Frank is not a LW/RW/ST either.

If you are playing the 4-4-2 diamond with the players you have today, you put Pirlo at the back, play Mix and Tommy Mac (the two midfielders closest to the Vidal/Marchisio role) around him, put someone like Poku in front of them, and then play Villa and Mullins up top. If you had to put Lampard on the field, the only option is at the tip of the diamond but he's not going to provide that linking play and would probably be running into Tmac and Mix trying to play their role.

Now, if you get rid of Pirlo and go something more like 4-2-3-1, there Lamps plays well as one of the 2 (would partner great with Mix as box to box midfielders) and you could play a front 3 of maybe Tmac, Poku, Shelton and Villa up top. Or 4-2-2-2 with Lamps, Mix, Tmac, Shelton/Poku as your 4 midfielders and Villa/Mullins up top. Or even put in a Ballouchy as another mid to control possession late.

Oh wait. Scratch all of this. Forgot this is Kreis, Grabavoy needs to fit in here somewhere. I give up.
 
DanC said:
Iraola was injured...plain and simple. Tried to play hurt. Hopefully he recovers during the offseason and is 100% before the start of next season.
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This is important. He is a quality, quality player - likely the most talented fullback in the league when healthy. To have a player that caliber for what he makes is exactly what we all constantly point to as something you have to have to really compete in MLS.

Now, because of that, we also need to keep RJ Allen at his small salary so that we have some semblance of cover.

You don't keep a 6-figure Stache. And you sure as fuck don't keep the $500k worth of doo doo diapers that is Grabavoy and Wingert.

And cut Jacobson because I can't stand to watch him suck another minute, even if he would be a semi-serviceable fill-in player from time to time.

I do agree with BxLio91 that he ought to be someone we could convert to CB, and I even recommended him to drop back there in my ranting for 3 CBs. That said, BX also rightly points out the problems we'd surely face. Look at Brad Evans early this year and how shit he was despite having significant RB experience. And AJ is no Brad Evans.
 
Best case scenario is that Kries wants out and another MLS team wants him. We trade him for allocation money. He shows up at his new team and wants his guys there to help implement his system he loves so much. Kries then turns around and trades us players he doesn't like similar to Poku since he doesn't like young talented players for Grabavoy, and Wingert. No more Kries, Wingert and Grabavoy plus allocation money and a few decent players. That's my wish for the offseason.
 
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