I think making Ring the single pivot again is going to be super important as well.
2018 Roster Discussion
- Thread starter The Toe
- Start date
Someone help me out. Why is nobody calling out Ofori?
He had 104 touches yesterday, second only to Callens with 106. Yet he had zero key passes. Zero tackles. One interception. One shot.
His role can have a massive impact on our play, yet he has none except reasonable ball security. We need way more out of that spot.
Ring should be moved back to the 6. It's nice to have his energy in the attack up the pitch, but he's honestly not very good at it. His shots go flying all over and his technical skills with the ball isn't anything special.
I'm also worried about Tajouri-Shardi's system fit. When he's on the right side (first half), he is great cutting in with his left foot. But Dome wants his wingers to stay wide. When Tajouri-Shardi plays on the left side (second half), it feels like he's taken out of the game. Therefore, I think Tajouri-Shardi should be moved to second striker or attacking mid so he still play in the middle of the field.
In the attack I'd like to look like this, basically a 2-4-4:
Medina, Berget, Tajouri-Shardi, Lewis
Maxi
LB, Ring, Tinnerholm
Callens, Ibeagha
Add Chanot or Villa to taste.
In defense, everyone tracks back except one striker (Berget/Villa).
He had 104 touches yesterday, second only to Callens with 106. Yet he had zero key passes. Zero tackles. One interception. One shot.
His role can have a massive impact on our play, yet he has none except reasonable ball security. We need way more out of that spot.
Ring should be moved back to the 6. It's nice to have his energy in the attack up the pitch, but he's honestly not very good at it. His shots go flying all over and his technical skills with the ball isn't anything special.
I'm also worried about Tajouri-Shardi's system fit. When he's on the right side (first half), he is great cutting in with his left foot. But Dome wants his wingers to stay wide. When Tajouri-Shardi plays on the left side (second half), it feels like he's taken out of the game. Therefore, I think Tajouri-Shardi should be moved to second striker or attacking mid so he still play in the middle of the field.
In the attack I'd like to look like this, basically a 2-4-4:
Medina, Berget, Tajouri-Shardi, Lewis
Maxi
LB, Ring, Tinnerholm
Callens, Ibeagha
Add Chanot or Villa to taste.
In defense, everyone tracks back except one striker (Berget/Villa).
So has a team ever won the cup by only winning home games in the playoffs?
Ring, Villa, Chanot, Johnson, Callens, Tinnerholm just to name a few. Those guys are uber-professional and will put on a shift this weekend. I think Berget is probably that way, too.
Do you think that's what Johnson meant? It'd make more sense that way, but to my mind "uber-professional" and "strong personality" have almost opposite meanings.
I think he meant that we have a team that wants to grab things by the horn on the field, that isn't going to sit idly by and allow the opponent to roll them. The kind of players that get FURIOUS when we lose. I think all the guys I mentioned are like that.
I'm always skeptical when people accuse a pro athlete of not having this mentality. Let me put it this way: is there anyone on NYCFC you'd feel confident saying doesn't have a strong personality by this definition?
I think there are different kinds of strong personalities. For example, Maradona is obviously a strong personality, and a very competitive guy who could, in a good day, carry weak teams to amazing results. But nobody would dare call him an uber-professional guy. His career was short and tumultuous. Alex Ring seems like a natural leader but, clearly, also a very professional guy.
Right, that's what I was saying about the difference between being professional and having a strong personality in the Maradona sense. As far as I've seen not many players on NYCFC have colorful personalities, although that probably has a lot to do with the media environment. But if both Ring (the pro) and Maradona (the wildcard) take charge on the field and hate losing, then ZYanks' definition of strong personality doesn't get us very far.
Oh I completely agree with you, and let me be clear: I think every player on this team plays as hard as he can, and has an overwhelming desire to win. I will never accuse a professional athlete of not caring -- you don't get to this level by not caring.
I was talking more about leadership, about how some players verbalize their annoyance more than others. For example, I don't think Jonathan Lewis is going to verbally chastise his teammates over something. Alex Ring and Sean Johnson, those guys will. That's more along the lines of what I was talking about.
I also think some players can get frustrated on the field and not know how to handle it. The guys I mentioned are guys that I feel will not let their frustration hamper them. It was more a "mature/immature" comparison. The year of the 7-0 loss, we had a lot of immature guys on the team. I don't think we have as many of those players this year.
So I've been thinking about our roster quite a bit lately and I've realized something. NYCFC is a very non-NY team, a team comprised of mostly non-US and non-NY players. Yes, some have gotten green cards and enjoy living here-- but none really have the NY passion, as we've seen over all the derbies.
Obviously, for the skill level NYCFC wants, they search overseas- but if you look at the bulls, they have many players from NJ and NY that play regularly and are actually pretty good.
NYCFC clearly is having an initiative for the next generation of players in New York, trying to increase the love of the sport with all the soccer events, as well as the NYCFC mini pitch initiative etc.. and I'm hoping that eventually this club will turn into a NY youth player production club. I'd love to see other NY players other than T-mac. T-mac is one of the only players in the current lineup I really see the passion in when we play RB.
With over 8 million people in New York (that's a ridiculous amount), we should very easily be able to find top-quality talent if we try hard enough.
That being said, I'm not against the "search elsewhere" mentality, I just think that over time scouting players locally will be better financially, and in terms of passion/connection to fans. We've already seen the signings of Scally, Sands... and we have Cavani 2.0 in our ranks. That's a promising start!
That's my random muse of the day.
Obviously, for the skill level NYCFC wants, they search overseas- but if you look at the bulls, they have many players from NJ and NY that play regularly and are actually pretty good.
NYCFC clearly is having an initiative for the next generation of players in New York, trying to increase the love of the sport with all the soccer events, as well as the NYCFC mini pitch initiative etc.. and I'm hoping that eventually this club will turn into a NY youth player production club. I'd love to see other NY players other than T-mac. T-mac is one of the only players in the current lineup I really see the passion in when we play RB.
With over 8 million people in New York (that's a ridiculous amount), we should very easily be able to find top-quality talent if we try hard enough.
That being said, I'm not against the "search elsewhere" mentality, I just think that over time scouting players locally will be better financially, and in terms of passion/connection to fans. We've already seen the signings of Scally, Sands... and we have Cavani 2.0 in our ranks. That's a promising start!
That's my random muse of the day.
When you look at the American player pool, it seems to me like MLS is growing faster than the American player pool can handle. I wonder if, at some point in the next five years, American players are going to be left behind. The list of Americans who are good in MLS is getting much shorter over the last year or two. Guys who were dependable starters in this league, like Tommy McNamara, now can't sniff the field anymore.
Which is why I'm saying, it feels like we need to try extracting the potential- Thee are 300 million people in this country, and if the league is growing faster than that, that's a sad state our country is in, especially if other countries are pulling out players from us like Pulisic, Sargent, etc... We should, especially in NY, be able to find good players! And it feels like the team is trying to do that.
-edit-
aaaand just like that, we announced coaches heading in the direction i just said LOL
I think this has been true the last few years. I wonder if it will still be true in 5 years or so. The academies are getting better and better, and there is real depth in the U-20 ranks these days.
Sure. Like that’s a bad thing. People said for years it was bad for England. But bullshit. Look where they are now. And them not being there earlier had more to do with a dysfunctional FA and squad dynamic than their quality.
If your best chance to play is in the National first tier, you get good enough or you get gone.
There is nothing, absolutely nothing, not a speck of anything, to be gained for soccer in the US by the likes of Thomas McNamara or Ben Sweat playing one single minute of time in a game that counts in the first division.
I just realized you’re an idiot who can’t remember MLS Virgil plays for us.
Inside look at NYCFC’s stunning international makeover
https://nypost.com/2018/07/12/inside-look-at-nycfcs-stunning-international-makeover/
Great deep dive from Schnitzer on the club's roster build.
https://nypost.com/2018/07/12/inside-look-at-nycfcs-stunning-international-makeover/
Great deep dive from Schnitzer on the club's roster build.
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