2018 Roster Discussion

[Kjbert]

I was expecting Tinnerholm to come in and consistently perform as the best RB in MLS. He looked like that to start the year and then he disappeared. Christopher Jee who knows less about footy than my 18 month old blames it on tactics

 

[Christopher Jee]

I was expecting Tinnerholm to come in and consistently perform as the best RB in MLS. He looked like that to start the year and then he disappeared. Christopher Jee who knows less about footy than my 18 month old blames it on tactics

I have no idea what you mean by this but I'm liking it out of vanity for the mention.

 

[Fake Jew]

I was expecting Tinnerholm to come in and consistently perform as the best RB in MLS. He looked like that to start the year and then he disappeared. Christopher Jee who knows less about footy than my 18 month old blames it on tactics

Is Joevin Jones a winger in this ranking? Genuinely curious as that is reasonable but if he’s a fullback I don’t think a fullback has ever impacted games in MLS as much as Joevin Jones.

 

[Kjbert]

Is Joevin Jones a winger in this ranking? Genuinely curious as that is reasonable but if he’s a fullback I don’t think a fullback has ever impacted games in MLS as much as Joevin Jones.

I don't know but the Twitterati seems to think Graham Zusi was the best RB in MLS this year. And he stinks

 

[Marito]

I don't know but the Twitterati seems to think Graham Zusi was the best RB in MLS this year. And he stinks

Not my kind of reading material, but there was an article in ASA where they crunched lots of numbers and proclaimed him the absolute best in MLS

 

[mgarbowski]

Not my kind of reading material, but there was an article in ASA where they crunched lots of numbers and proclaimed him the absolute best in MLS

He also crushed it in fantasy, which is similarly stats based. He had 17% more points than the next highest defender and was 7th among all players. That's not to say he is the best actual player, but he does apparently engage in a lot of measurable activities and it's hard to figure he is among the worst.

 

[Marito]

He also crushed it in fantasy, which is similarly stats based. He had 17% more points than the next highest defender and was 7th among all players. That's not to say he is the best actual player, but he does apparently engage in a lot of measurable activities and it's hard to figure he is among the worst.

Dumb question: do the stats for a defender count how frequently you're dribbled through regardless if that leads to a shot for the opponent or any other measurable danger?

 

[mgarbowski]

Dumb question: do the stats for a defender count how frequently you're dribbled through regardless if that leads to a shot for the opponent or any other measurable danger?

I don't think you lose points for stuff like that, and obviously that is how someone who does a lot of positive things can also fail.
I think there are few negative point actions, and involve big things like getting cards, missing a PK, and own goals. Also Keepers and Defenders lose points for giving up 2 goals in a game.

 

[Jock]

Who would ever consider selling Tajouri-Shradi at this point? You're all mental.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Ashley Cole-like as in lots of Colored cards? Tinny did score 4goals, and he had a great start to the season, he’s just kinda slipped up in the last 10+ matches. Not sure if due to plateauing or fatigue or tactics....

Tinnerholm had 4 goals and 6 assists this season. He's not the best defensive fullback, but his job is to add to the attack. He's been terrific.

 

[Kjbert]

ITS had a great finish tonight and did nothing else. He’s like Sadio Mane

Matarrita was fantastic all match.

 

[Annagram]

Matarrita was fantastic all match.

That was indeed the best performance by Matarrita that I can remember. Apart from giving the ball away once a bit dangerously quite early in the game, he was flawless. I hope he can build on this performance. The signs are encouraging, the team must have gotten a lot of self-confidence from two 3-1 wins in a row. It really looked like a team.

 

[Kjbert]

The through ball. The hustle. The positioning. It was the Matarrita we loved his first year. He flew all over the field.

I will give Dome this. He got the starting xi right last night.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Not my kind of reading material, but there was an article in ASA where they crunched lots of numbers and proclaimed him the absolute best in MLS

I don't think you lose points for stuff like that, and obviously that is how someone who does a lot of positive things can also fail.
I think there are few negative point actions, and involve big things like getting cards, missing a PK, and own goals. Also Keepers and Defenders lose points for giving up 2 goals in a game.

I just remember one of our players absolutely wasting Zusi up the sideline on a play that led to a goal in our first game. Just outran him to an open ball by 5-10 yards.

 

[adam]

Who would ever consider selling Tajouri-Shradi at this point? You're all mental.

This is the PERFECT time to sell him. His value won’t get any higher. And ACON is coming up, meaning his value to us will automatically decrease for us (since we don’t take off all intl breaks) even if his performance stays the same.

It’s the same argument for Villa as a TAM. He’s amazing when he plays. But at his age, can you count on him for 34 matches? We already know we’re going to be missing Isi next year for a good chunk of matches. Even if he’s healthy. Euro teams won’t see it that way though.

 

[bgt5002]

That was indeed the best performance by Matarrita that I can remember. Apart from giving the ball away once a bit dangerously quite early in the game, he was flawless. I hope he can build on this performance. The signs are encouraging, the team must have gotten a lot of self-confidence from two 3-1 wins in a row. It really looked like a team.

Mata was phenomenal last night.

 

[sbrylski]

This is the PERFECT time to sell him. His value won’t get any higher. And ACON is coming up, meaning his value to us will automatically decrease for us (since we don’t take off all intl breaks) even if his performance stays the same.

It’s the same argument for Villa as a TAM. He’s amazing when he plays. But at his age, can you count on him for 34 matches? We already know we’re going to be missing Isi next year for a good chunk of matches. Even if he’s healthy. Euro teams won’t see it that way though.

Yeah my initial reaction was that selling ITS was silly because we don't have any other goalscorers after Villa. But ITS scored on a ridiculous percentage of his shots this year (12 goals in 36 shots, 33%). Insanely good finisher? Or due for regression?

In Villa's MLS career, he has 79 goals in 559 shots (14%). Is ITS that much better of a finisher than Villa? Or just takes better shots?

If someone hits us with an offer, we should probably listen. I'd shop him within MLS so we can get more than 600k allocation money back. Maybe Cincy would pay $1 mil TAM for a 24-year-old proven MLS goalscorer.

 

[sbrylski]

As a follow up, how many new starters do we need next year in the front? Without Villa, we suddenly seem extremely thin up there without anyone to carry us through rough patches.

Mata seems like he could be a fit at a winger in the pineapple, ITS scores at an insanely efficient pace, and Medina and Castellanos have a lot of potential. But are they starters? Is Berget a starter? Overpaid?

I don't think I'd touch the defense over the winter, unless we find a decent priced LB. My priority order:

CM
ST
-
RW
LW
LB

Herrera and Villa need replacements, obviously. Use the DP in one of those spots and a lot of TAM in the other. The rest of the roster:

LW: Medina, Matarrita
CF: Berget, Castellanos
RW: Tajouri-Shradi, Lewis

Decent and youthful, but doesn't really strike fear in anyone. Our competition is Martinez-Barco-Pity. We are nowhere near that with this set of guys.

 

[SoupInNYC]

As a follow up, how many new starters do we need next year in the front? Without Villa, we suddenly seem extremely thin up there without anyone to carry us through rough patches.

Mata seems like he could be a fit at a winger in the pineapple, ITS scores at an insanely efficient pace, and Medina and Castellanos have a lot of potential. But are they starters? Is Berget a starter? Overpaid?

I don't think I'd touch the defense over the winter, unless we find a decent priced LB. My priority order:

CM
ST
-
RW
LW
LB

Herrera and Villa need replacements, obviously. Use the DP in one of those spots and a lot of TAM in the other. The rest of the roster:

LW: Medina, Matarrita
CF: Berget, Castellanos
RW: Tajouri-Shradi, Lewis

Decent and youthful, but doesn't really strike fear in anyone. Our competition is Martinez-Barco-Pity. We are nowhere near that with this set of guys.

I’m hopeful that we’ll bring Herrera back. But if we aren’t, I think one of the other important pieces to replace will be Ofori.

The last few seasons have shown how important midfield depth is, so I think bringing in 1 (or 2 of Herrera is gone) solid CMs is necessary.

Or maybe we just expand Sands role more, which I wouldn’t necessarily be against

 

[sbrylski]

I’m hopeful that we’ll bring Herrera back. But if we aren’t, I think one of the other important pieces to replace will be Ofori.

The last few seasons have shown how important midfield depth is, so I think bringing in 1 (or 2 of Herrera is gone) solid CMs is necessary.

Or maybe we just expand Sands role more, which I wouldn’t necessarily be against

Ofori seems replaceable to me. He seems like a good player but could be a lot better in a different system. I still think he naturally wants to play more like a Pirlo, but was mold-able enough to hold down our midfield for a while (even though our worst stretch of the entire season was when he was a regular starter). I've always maintained that he and Maxi shouldn't be in a 3-man midfield at the same time. Ofori-Ring-Herrera would probably be a great trio, but our system breaks down when we don't have two 8's with bite in there.