2019 Roster Discussion

[sbrylski]

Like I said, I don’t respect your contributions and I don’t care what you think of mine.

You see the irony in this quote right?

Only one person has gummed up discussion on this thread with walls of text devoid of contribution, and honestly nobody has derailed more threads into meaningless conversation (or shouting) on these forums.

Inb4 "guys I'm just a wild and crazy guy who speaks his mind, lighten up and don't take everything so seriously" aka "I'm all about actions and fuck consequences"

 

[FootyLovin]

I know the optimists are in the minority here. But count me one of them. Midas Mulligan you can call me a sycophant if you wish.

I think a large portion of it is how uncomfortable he feels when speaking English.

I chalk up the hate on Dome's comments 100% to language barrier. I live with two people who learned English late in life. It took a long time of living together to really understand just how frequently (a) I was misinterpreting them and (b) their ideas were way more intelligent than I gave them credit for.

I took this to believe that we shouldn’t expect to sign a Striker. He’s telling us straightaway that we should expect a very fluid front 3 with no target man.

This seems 100% in line with his early experiences at Barca and seems to fit exactly the roster he is building.

 

[Kjbert]

But at Barcelona he had Messi

 

[gbservis]

I know the optimists are in the minority here. But count me one of them. Midas Mulligan you can call me a sycophant if you wish.


I chalk up the hate on Dome's comments 100% to language barrier. I live with two people who learned English late in life. It took a long time of living together to really understand just how frequently (a) I was misinterpreting them and (b) their ideas were way more intelligent than I gave them credit for.



This seems 100% in line with his early experiences at Barca and seems to fit exactly the roster he is building.

I've been critical of him but you make some very good points about the language barrier. In general I think he deserves a chance to try things his way and show what he can do. My biggest concern is that he tinkered a lot last season and the players often looked confused (could also be another artifact of the language challenges for the non- spanish speaking players). The roster got considerably younger this off season which is exciting but I think success will require consistency. Dome is going to need to lock in his approach early and be consistent to make sure everyone is on the same page.

 

[ZYanksRule]

I've been critical of him but you make some very good points about the language barrier. In general I think he deserves a chance to try things his way and show what he can do. My biggest concern is that he tinkered a lot last season and the players often looked confused (could also be another artifact of the language challenges for the non- spanish speaking players). The roster got considerably younger this off season which is exciting but I think success will require consistency. Dome is going to need to lock in his approach early and be consistent to make sure everyone is on the same page.

The other thing I wonder is whether Dome can afford to get off to a slow start. The drumbeat was already starting in October questioning whether he was the right man for the job. If we get off to a 3-5-3 start or something, does he even get that long?

Maybe he does because the organization wants him to get a full season, but a slow start is going to make things much harder on Dome.

 

[Kjbert]

The other thing I wonder is whether Dome can afford to get off to a slow start. The drumbeat was already starting in October questioning whether he was the right man for the job. If we get off to a 3-5-3 start or something, does he even get that long?

Maybe he does because the organization wants him to get a full season, but a slow start is going to make things much harder on Dome.

I don’t think he has any pressure whatsoever on him. If he has an awful season, they’ll quietly reassign him back to Manchester next winter. But he could go winless, and they wouldn’t make a change in season.

 

[gbservis]

The other thing I wonder is whether Dome can afford to get off to a slow start. The drumbeat was already starting in October questioning whether he was the right man for the job. If we get off to a 3-5-3 start or something, does he even get that long?

Maybe he does because the organization wants him to get a full season, but a slow start is going to make things much harder on Dome.

If he was an outsider I'd be worried but he's CFGs guy, I think they will give him a full season.

 

[gbservis]

The biggest outstanding question is where the goals are going to come from this season. 19 of our 59 goals last season were scored by departing players (Villa - 14, Berget -4, Wallace - 1). We have yet to sign a frontline player, unless we do we will need a big leap from combination of Lewis, Taty, and/or Medina. It's possible, the talent is there but adding one proven goalscorer just incase would be nice.

 

[mgarbowski]

The other thing I wonder is whether Dome can afford to get off to a slow start. The drumbeat was already starting in October questioning whether he was the right man for the job. If we get off to a 3-5-3 start or something, does he even get that long?

Maybe he does because the organization wants him to get a full season, but a slow start is going to make things much harder on Dome.

I agree with the prior responses. If the team has a slow start it will get ugly on Twitter, Reddit, and here -- and maybe even in the stadium (most likely if they lose a couple of early home games). We also will probably see some painfully awkward press conferences, at least until they stop making him available. But he gets a full season almost no matter what.

A slow start seems very likely if we don't have our 3rd DP until the summer.
In 2016 the club started terrible under Vieira. 18 points in the first 15 games. But it wasn't just a new coach and a new system and lots of turnover on the roster that caused it. Lampard played a total of 44 minutes in that stretch. He then played at least 75 minutes in each of the next 14 games, scored lots of goals off every body part, and the team earned 1.875 PPG to save the season. Jack Harrison had a similar injury/recovery schedule. Those 2 probably had more to do with the team's poor start and fast finish than anything Vieira did.

I would not be shocked if we have a similar trajectory to this season. People were pretty upset in 2016 (especially after RBW), but Vieira had the advantage of taking over after a bad season and began fresh in 2016, while the start of 2019 will be Dome's second half-season coming off a bad finish to 2019. If that happens it will get ugly, but the team stands by him.

 

[ZYanksRule]

I agree with the prior responses. If the team has a slow start it will get ugly on Twitter, Reddit, and here -- and maybe even in the stadium (most likely if they lose a couple of early home games). We also will probably see some painfully awkward press conferences, at least until they stop making him available. But he gets a full season almost no matter what.

A slow start seems very likely if we don't have our 3rd DP until the summer.
In 2016 the club started terrible under Vieira. 18 points in the first 15 games. But it wasn't just a new coach and a new system and lots of turnover on the roster that caused it. Lampard played a total of 44 minutes in that stretch. He then played at least 75 minutes in each of the next 14 games, scored lots of goals off every body part, and the team earned 1.875 PPG to save the season. Jack Harrison had a similar injury/recovery schedule. Those 2 probably had more to do with the team's poor start and fast finish than anything Vieira did.

I would not be shocked if we have a similar trajectory to this season. People were pretty upset in 2016 (especially after RBW), but Vieira had the advantage of taking over after a bad season and began fresh in 2016, while the start of 2019 will be Dome's second half-season coming off a bad finish to 2019. If that happens it will get ugly, but the team stands by him.

Dome has already has his slow start, which is why he doesn't get much leeway with the fans.

I agree, BTW, that the team isn't touching him this year. It's hard to imagine a scenario in which that would happen. But it definitely has the potential to get ugly off the field if they really struggle.

Also a slow start doesn't kill your season -- as long as we do something in the summer window we can still save the season in July, though maybe that philosophy changes with no more home and home in the playoffs.

 

[mgarbowski]

I would not be shocked if we have a similar trajectory to this season. People were pretty upset in 2016 (especially after RBW), but Vieira had the advantage of taking over after a bad season and began fresh in 2016, while the start of 2019 will be Dome's second half-season coming off a bad finish to 2019.

The fallout from Vieira's decision to abandon the team midseason -- in what also turned out also to be Villa's last season -- really is huge. Reyna was tasked with replacing a coach midseason, which led to a disaster of a transitional half-season, and then he has to replace the team's signature player 6 months later during the weaker transfer window.
Viera's midseason departure put a lot of stress on everything, including the team's relationship with its fans.

ETA: And on his successor.

 

[adam]

Been tracking the average roster ages over the seasons...

 

[Ulrich]

I agree with the prior responses. If the team has a slow start it will get ugly on Twitter, Reddit, and here -- and maybe even in the stadium (most likely if they lose a couple of early home games). We also will probably see some painfully awkward press conferences, at least until they stop making him available. But he gets a full season almost no matter what.

A slow start seems very likely if we don't have our 3rd DP until the summer.
In 2016 the club started terrible under Vieira. 18 points in the first 15 games. But it wasn't just a new coach and a new system and lots of turnover on the roster that caused it. Lampard played a total of 44 minutes in that stretch. He then played at least 75 minutes in each of the next 14 games, scored lots of goals off every body part, and the team earned 1.875 PPG to save the season. Jack Harrison had a similar injury/recovery schedule. Those 2 probably had more to do with the team's poor start and fast finish than anything Vieira did.

I would not be shocked if we have a similar trajectory to this season. People were pretty upset in 2016 (especially after RBW), but Vieira had the advantage of taking over after a bad season and began fresh in 2016, while the start of 2019 will be Dome's second half-season coming off a bad finish to 2019. If that happens it will get ugly, but the team stands by him.

If the season starts off poorly, you can bet it’ll be ugly in the stadium. And it should be. The players will unfairly suffer the brunt of it by being on the field and hearing it, and frankly it won’t be their fault that they’re part of a poorly constructed team. But if it goes south, even with less than perfect English, Dome will understand what’s being said. Whether he cares, that’s another story.

 

[Ulrich]

Been tracking the average roster ages over the seasons...

View attachment 9478

Haak is 17

 

[FootyLovin]

players often looked confused (could also be another artifact of the language challenges for the non- spanish speaking players

This is actually my biggest concern with Dome. If so many people here are getting angry with him and (I would argue) failing to appreciate how the language barrier is influencing that anger, I wonder how many players are doing the same.

 

[Ulrich]

This is actually my biggest concern with Dome. If so many people here are getting angry with him and (I would argue) failing to appreciate how the language barrier is influencing that anger, I wonder how many players are doing the same.

I’m sympathetic to the problems of mastering a language, but if language is an issue, he can (should) use a translator. No commands towards the players should be misunderstood, and if they are, it’s onDome for not conveying them correctly. Part of being an effective leader is conveying information, and not being able to do that, for whatever the reason, is a failure in the role.

 

[Kjbert]

Been tracking the average roster ages over the seasons...

View attachment 9479

Thank you for doing this. It’s by design and I’m cool with that.

 

[ZYanksRule]

If the season starts off poorly, you can bet it’ll be ugly in the stadium. And it should be. The players will unfairly suffer the brunt of it by being on the field and hearing it, and frankly it won’t be their fault that they’re part of a poorly constructed team. But if it goes south, even with less than perfect English, Dome will understand what’s being said. Whether he cares, that’s another story.

Dome's angry interviews last season tell us he absolutely does care what people think. He does, however, seem to be the kind of coach that doesn't want to hear criticism, and doesn't believe the criticism is legit.

 

[NYCFC_Dan]

K. Because you have that power.

Other than being a parrot, you do nothing.

Yeah. I’ll get real. For real.

Edited myself.

Point is, offer a POV. Give some rationale. I don’t give a shit if I agree. Just do something. And explain it. IOW, contribute some content worth reading.

Is it really necessary to go over the top like that because you disagree with someone? I really do value your contributions here and your opinion but man you step over the line and get personal way too often over comments and opinions not even directed at you. Not referring to the Go comment, more so the reply at JohnB. It’s soccer dude.

 

[sundance]

Dome's angry interviews last season tell us he absolutely does care what people think. He does, however, seem to be the kind of coach that doesn't want to hear criticism, and doesn't believe the criticism is legit.

Other than the blowup at Araos in at that one presser, I don’t remember him being all that angry. Did I miss something?