2019 Roster Discussion

[Ulrich]

Off the top of my head, orange was all variations on the 4-2-3-1, with Maxi mostly playing as a very high 10 or a left winger. The first half of blue mixed in some 4-3-3 experimentation, then the diamond kicked in over the international break against New England.

This overlaps pretty well with the "4-3-3 continuation" era vs. "diamond experimentation era" too doesn't it?

Putting aside the eyetest, this opens up a couple of hypotheticals - that the slump was due to Villa's return (and shaking off effects of being injured) or that the diamond was an attempt to accommodate Villa. Probably others.

The other variable left out is Maxi’s level of fatigue. With Villa out, he was working extra as the focus, and it’s telling that his rating goes down from the 1st to the 2nd match of the second group of congested weeks. I remember thinking Maxi looked less spritely, and looking back he very well may have crossed the proverbial red line and maxed out his engine. This was also a problem for him last year where he basically emptied the tank against Chicago when we were short handed in the heat and his fitness went down for nearly all subsequent matches.

 

[mgarbowski]

I kind of think if we hire a "full-time Villa replacement" - then it's fair to assume the minutes for Berget, Medina and Shradi would just about stay the same.

You think so? Put aside the specific players, I assume a team's top scorers would be getting full time minutes -- roughly 2600-2800 a season -- unless they are old and need rest, are injured or whatever. I would not expect the extra minutes that the #1 scorer gets (compared to 2018 Villa) would come at the expense of playing scorers 2 and 3 full time as well.

 

[dkalev2]

Maybe we are too deep in the weeds now, but I'm 80% certain we rolled out a diamond in at least the first half against Philly away.

You're reminding me of something I've been thinking about recently, though, which is the possibility that we will use Maxi as a false 9. As you mentioned, he got a bit of time in this role when Villa was out. The intelligence of his movement overcomes whatever physical disadvantages he has. I'd rate him equal to or better than Berget in the air, honestly. Maxi as false 9 wouldn't really help us fill the two 10 spots we think we'd like to fill, but does give us some optionality.

I really hope we don’t use maxi as a false 9, I feel we’d be stifling his main talent of working the ball up from the midfield to the box

 

[Korker]

I really hope we don’t use maxi as a false 9, I feel we’d be stifling his main talent of working the ball up from the midfield to the box

If we get another 10 in, we should be okay with Maxi as a false 9, and that's also Dome's preferred play style according to himself so I think it could actually work better.

 

[Kjbert]

We’ve come to an agreement with a CB. More info next week. Announcement probably in two weeks.

 

[Kangaroo Jack]

We’ve come to an agreement with a CB. More info next week. Announcement probably in two weeks.

Midas Mulligan

 

[dkalev2]

If we get another 10 in, we should be okay with Maxi as a false 9, and that's also Dome's preferred play style according to himself so I think it could actually work better.

Id much rather have a heading threat in the box finally, someone who can connect with all those crosses into the box we gave maxi and maybe actually score like four of them

 

[dkalev2]

We’ve come to an agreement with a CB. More info next week. Announcement probably in two weeks.

Chanot or bust

 

[adam]

We’ve come to an agreement with a CB. More info next week. Announcement probably in two weeks.

Foreign or Domestic?

 

[413Blue]

We’ve come to an agreement with a CB. More info next week. Announcement probably in two weeks.

Are we going to be screwed whenever Peru has matches?

 

[adam]

Are we going to be screwed whenever Peru has matches?

Or have to play in a USOC match.

 

[dummyrun]

Maybe we are too deep in the weeds now, but I'm 80% certain we rolled out a diamond in at least the first half against Philly away.

You're reminding me of something I've been thinking about recently, though, which is the possibility that we will use Maxi as a false 9. As you mentioned, he got a bit of time in this role when Villa was out. The intelligence of his movement overcomes whatever physical disadvantages he has. I'd rate him equal to or better than Berget in the air, honestly. Maxi as false 9 wouldn't really help us fill the two 10 spots we think we'd like to fill, but does give us some optionality.

The structure at Philadelphia was weird. Dome was trying to figure out how to get Villa and Berget into the lineup together, so he put them both in the middle of the 4-2-4 we'd played for most of July and moved Maxi out right. But Maxi of course kept wandering inside and still wasn't seeing enough of the ball, so we blew the whole thing up in the second half. Here's how the original formation looked in action:

https://streamable.com/s/5zk7n/oqthgt

 

[FredMertz]

Rodney Wallace.

Born in San Jose, Costa Rica. Moved to the US when he was 9.

Green card holder. https://web.archive.org/web/2012022...11/09/timbers-wallace-gets-it-done-costa-rica

That's an out of date article. He became a citizen shortly before coming to NYCFC.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wa...llace-will-represent-costa-rica-at-world-cup/

 

[Kjbert]

US eligibleplayer

 

[sbrylski]

US eligibleplayer

Lol tell me it's Omar.

 

[Kjbert]

Who?

 

[EganSoccerWords]

Who?

Omar Gonzalez

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Omar Gonzalez

Never speak such evil again, please.

I’d rather have Alvarado over him. No idea why, but if I had one guess, that would be it.

Second would be CCV, only because skc managed to somehow wrangle first dibs on EPB returning.

Eta: shit. I wonder if it’s Tim Ream. He probably needs an out sooner rather than later. Get another nice contract in before he stinks of relegation. Right now, it’s just his own stank ass play.

 

[gbservis]

The structure at Philadelphia was weird. Dome was trying to figure out how to get Villa and Berget into the lineup together, so he put them both in the middle of the 4-2-4 we'd played for most of July and moved Maxi out right. But Maxi of course kept wandering inside and still wasn't seeing enough of the ball, so we blew the whole thing up in the second half. Here's how the original formation looked in action:

https://streamable.com/s/5zk7n/oqthgt

One thing I haven't seen discussed yet is the constraints Villa's strong preferences/tendencies placed on the offense. In no way is this a complaint, when you are lucky enough to have a guy like Villa, you build around him. But we can't ignore that every system during his time had to be designed to have him start and play in the middle while also drifting wide left and only ever left whenever and as often as he liked. It impacted everything from which side we brought the ball up more often on to the tactics of the wingers to what types of players could play where along the front line. It will be interesting to see how the offensive tactics take shape with out having those constraints designed into the system.

 

[LionNYC]

So aside from a striker, biggest holes in the lineup?

I'd say another box to box center midfielder, left back, and center back.

And taller forwards.