I would always rather have Lewis in the 18 over McNamara or Wallace, but there is something to be said that 2 different coaches have seen something lacking in Lewis and limited his minutes. We can’t still be blaming Chateau Bow Wow
2018 Roster Discussion
- Thread starter The Toe
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Lewis missed one match on the bench after getting minutes in every prior game Dome has been here (no, I didn’t look it up and maybe he missed one), so it’s a stretch to say “2 different coaches” - because nearly every match Lewis has been in has resulted in a direct G/A for him or he spring the play that made it.
I suspect that he didn’t make the 18 last match purely because he was pissed about Taty starting the prior, but let’s wait and see if Dome now thinks there’s a reason to limit his minutes on a macro level rather than this micro incident. I would doubt it.
Medina struggles on defense because he's not that strong and skilled on that end but he always runs hard to get back and the effort is there even though the execution is lacking a bit at times. Lewis has the strength to be a good defender but struggles on D because he doesn't pay attention and he doesn't try. Lewis has successfully dispossessed opponents a number of times this year in the high press when he wants the ball back near the goal so the skills are there yet I cannot think of a single time he's completed a tackle in our defensive third. The whole thing is infuriating. You know the coaching staff is telling him what he needs to do to earn more time yet he comes in a slacks off on defense time and time again, at this point it's just lazy and stupid on his part.
I can’t even count how many times Medina has given up on a play when chasing the ball carrier. That to me is more infuriating than anything Lewis has done/not done. That’s not to say that Medina hasn’t also busted his butt to get back an make some good plays, but giving up is about as bad as it gets, and it happens once or twice every match with him.
How many times has Lewis busted his butt to get back and break up a play?
He’s actually done it quite a bit. Where he falters is when there’s a stoppage of play and he zones out, but when it’s a live play and he’s in the vicinity he closes the carrier down. That’s 100% different than Chasing a play and just giving up.
Nobody is talking about the fact that he was loaned to Phoenix in USL even though our USL affiliate is San Antonio.
I was also thinking about him not starting during that stretch that IST, Berget and Villa were all out injured. Such as the Orlando game where both Wallace and Tmac started over him
If there's no discipline/maturity issue there, then that's almost coaching malpractice. Right now, the only positive of our MF/winger glut (with Eloi and Taty on board) is that both Wallace and TMac seem to be pretty much out of the rotation.
i mean we loaned rawls to OC, gomes last year to Pittsburgh. Dont think we really used this affiliation at all. maybe some behind the scenes stuff but not on players. Yes technically we got Ibeagha but i thought he was out of a contract and signed as free agent.
Nobody knows why he didn’t start, but I have a theory:
if Lewis starts, then the team has no viable options off the bench to give itself a boost - Wallace is admitting we’re parking the bus and TMac is a liability of not knowing how the other team will take advantage of the loss of effort. But if Lewis is on the bench, then Dome has a card he can play to alter the tactics.
It’s like, if you can start a match with a slightly subpar lineup and either hold or take a lead, then you have the ability to do many things with quality sub(s). Whereas if you blow your wad with your best players starting and they don’t break through, you’re then suffering from potential negative sub options.
It makes sense, a fresh Lewis running at tired defenders is also terrifying for a defense.
I don’t disagree he is s good super sub but every young player has ambition. Especially seeing all his u20 teammates playing every game he probably feels he should be a starter and it only makes sense for him Awuah and Sands to go seek minutes at places where they can get it consistently.
I don’t disagree, and felt he should have been starting over Medina a few matches, but when the bench is razor thin, with no good options, sometimes it’s more important to have that sub to play late in a match.
Lewis provides a spark every time he steps on the field. And he's one of those players who pulls you out of your seat with anticipation when he is involved in a play. With that said, Dome, with fresh eyes and at this point my full trust, has used him selectively and/or strategically. If I had to guess, it would be that he is continuing to have significant difficulty with defensive awareness and some of the technical learning, and, as a result, Dome doesn't (yet) view him as a full 90 minute player or starter. The fact that an intelligent (and reasonable) Dome left him at home and brought two bags of balls in his stead to Toronto makes me a bit nervous that there's a little more to it (frustration, immaturity, etc.) but hopefully it was just tactical (for whatever reason). I would also guess that the situation frustrates Dome (like it frustrates us), because the kid is a baller, and should be a 90 minute baller, not a spark or game-killer. I hope Dome gets him there. In any event, the circumstances should become clearer over the next few weeks once we see how Dome uses him.
Lewis doesn't play defense. It's that simple. Puts a lot of pressure on whomever is behind him.
Someone had mentioned Sands playing as an inverted Fullback - maybe dummyrun - sounds like that may come to fruition.
Someone had mentioned Sands playing as an inverted Fullback - maybe dummyrun - sounds like that may come to fruition.
The fallacy of your comment is that Giovinco doesn’t play defense, unless you consider fouling defense, and yet his team being a man down (two men if you count Giovinco not playing defense) were able to stymie NYCFC and pulled 2 goals back. Yes we had a shit keeper as part of the equation, but having a forward play defense is *not* a mandatory tactic in soccer. Dome needs to use his players according to their skill sets. A chef doesn’t make lemonade if he only has berries and spinach, but he may make an amazing juice that’s equally satisfying.
Let me know when Lewis starts hitting free kicks like Giovinco or generally performing offensively like Giovinco.
It's different though comparing Lewis to Giovinco. Gio is essentially a second striker who floats around behind Jozy, and without Jozy (red card) basically became the striker. Strikers are responsible for putting some pressure on the CBs on defense.
Lewis is a winger, and therefore has different responsibilities. With more and more outside backs (LB/RB) pushing forward to send in crosses, our own RB can't defend both a winger and an outside back, both positions that have a lot more offensive skill than a CB. When a winger misses a defensive duty, it is more likely to be punished. If I'm giving up defensive coverage, I'm fine with allowing a lumbering CB more time on the ball than an outside player (winger/back) the ability to send in a cross or take on our RB 2 v 1.
That's the difference.
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