2020 Roster Discussion

[Shwafta]

Three games in. Nada to show for it.

Same could be said for some of the other players playing in the last view games, though. And to be fair to Medina, he did have some slight moments of brilliance in some of the games where I thought "wait, that was Medina right?" so I'd give him one or two more games and then out!

 

[adam]

We’ve had 3 matches. 1st we looked good. 2nd, a second leg match where we were so far ahead we were better off not playing our game and bunkering down. The 3rd match we went down to 10 men from the starting whistle (where medina was pulled). I’d argue Ronny hasn’t even had the chance to even tinker yet. With a short turnover from Toronto to tigres, I don’t think we see what Ronny wants to do till Wednesday.

 

[Ulrich]

Same could be said for some of the other players playing in the last view games, though. And to be fair to Medina, he did have some slight moments of brilliance in some of the games where I thought "wait, that was Medina right?" so I'd give him one or two more games and then out!

Those few moments of brilliance you’re referring to was against an MLS 1.0 equivalent team.

 

[moogoo]

Three games in. Nada to show for it.

Medina has only played 2 games. He was on the field for 10 minutes vs the crew. can't really fault him for that. By my eye he has played a lot better in those 2 games than he did any time he was on the field last year. and while he needs to work on his physical ability and attacking hunger in the final 3rd, he's at least tracking back and playing some defense unlike a certain romanian who just watches from 5 yards away.

 

[Ulrich]

Medina has only played 2 games. He was on the field for 10 minutes vs the crew. can't really fault him for that. By my eye he has played a lot better in those 2 games than he did any time he was on the field last year. and while he needs to work on his physical ability and attacking hunger in the final 3rd, he's at least tracking back and playing some defense unlike a certain romanian who just watches from 5 yards away.

Don’t distort the facts. 3 games. It was a coaches decision to remove the player least likely to contribute. 10 min is more than some subs are allowed yet they still prosper.

 

[Annagram]

IMO the biggest onfield issue is that the club hasn't strengthened the team where it's lacking most obviously, namely at LB and CB. Guðmundur arrived, yes, but we don't know if there's a player there, and to pretend that Matarrita is good enough is just to hide your head in the sand. Also, Chanot's sell-by date has passed. To me it seems that he has some attitude problems, and another commanding CB would have been a very important purchase. Sands can do the job, but we don't know how he progresses, and you cannot rely on just one player. Ibeagha is a solid replacement for Chanot, but the club does need an upgrade there.
Medina is less of an issue, because he can always be left out of the team, although I feel that at Columbus that wasn't possible, and he was there to make up the numbers. Cue his quick substitution after the sending-off.

 

[JayH]

Medina is less of an issue, because he can always be left out of the team, although I feel that at Columbus that wasn't possible, and he was there to make up the numbers. Cue his quick substitution after the sending-off.

The biggest issue with Medina is not what he is, but what you can have instead.

 

[Marito]

We're certainly not a perfect team, but we are the best and deepest team in the East. So yes, there are things that we'd like to have addressed, but we should also appreciate that we are one one of the top 2 or 3 contenders to win MLS Cup.

And with a relatively modest payroll and a pretty good record of finding very good players available on TAM contracts (DPs not so much)

 

[SoupInNYC]

IMO the biggest onfield issue is that the club hasn't strengthened the team where it's lacking most obviously, namely at LB and CB. Guðmundur arrived, yes, but we don't know if there's a player there, and to pretend that Matarrita is good enough is just to hide your head in the sand. Also, Chanot's sell-by date has passed. To me it seems that he has some attitude problems, and another commanding CB would have been a very important purchase. Sands can do the job, but we don't know how he progresses, and you cannot rely on just one player. Ibeagha is a solid replacement for Chanot, but the club does need an upgrade there.
Medina is less of an issue, because he can always be left out of the team, although I feel that at Columbus that wasn't possible, and he was there to make up the numbers. Cue his quick substitution after the sending-off.

This is the first I've heard it suggested that we were lacking at CB I believe.

And I just don't see it.

 

[moogoo]

IMO the biggest onfield issue is that the club hasn't strengthened the team where it's lacking most obviously, namely at LB and CB. Guðmundur arrived, yes, but we don't know if there's a player there, and to pretend that Matarrita is good enough is just to hide your head in the sand. Also, Chanot's sell-by date has passed. To me it seems that he has some attitude problems, and another commanding CB would have been a very important purchase. Sands can do the job, but we don't know how he progresses, and you cannot rely on just one player. Ibeagha is a solid replacement for Chanot, but the club does need an upgrade there.
Medina is less of an issue, because he can always be left out of the team, although I feel that at Columbus that wasn't possible, and he was there to make up the numbers. Cue his quick substitution after the sending-off.

Chanot was one of the best CBs in the league last year. He made some mistakes... glaring mistakes.. but on the whole, he was still one of the best CBs in the league. You've gotta be kidding if you think Ibby is a solid replacement. Every time he touches the ball with his feet, he looks like a nervous fawn preparing to walk for the first time. He has his moments and certain games where he absolutely shines, but his footwork has never been a strong point and our system works best with two capable CBs. Have you ever seen ibby dribble his way out of trouble? No. How bout Chanot? many times. THere's a huge difference in ability there. Can we get a better CB than Chanot or Callens? Sure. Will we? Probably not this season or next season or whenever their contracts run out. Even then, it'll probably be Gray who steps in to take the reigns and who knows, he may become a top CB prospect like say - ATL's Miles Robinson.

Sands will be sold by the summer or offseason at the latest if he continues his form.

 

[moogoo]

Don’t distort the facts. 3 games. It was a coaches decision to remove the player least likely to contribute. 10 min is more than some subs are allowed yet they still prosper.

I didn't distort any facts. I actually stated them and gave my opinion on his performance thus far. But hey, you know. You be you.

 

[Annagram]

Chanot was one of the best CBs in the league last year. He made some mistakes... glaring mistakes.. but on the whole, he was still one of the best CBs in the league.

I didn't at any point say that Chanot is a bad player, but rather that it looks to me that his head and heart are not there anymore. Remember that he was out of the team for a long period in 2018 due to some unknown personal reasons, and was then released after the season... only to be re-signed after a week or two. That looked really strange to me. It was as if he had had some kind of rift with the club, and had then been forgiven after some kind of apology. I don't think everything has been right between the club and the player ever since.
Ibeagha is far from the complete player, but with his head in the right place he can do a job, and I said the club should have signed a good CB to make Chanot (and at times even Callens) to fight for their place in the team. At the moment there are only three or four players in the side whose position in the starting XI can't be questioned (Maxi, Ring, Johnson, Heber).
Of course I hope Sands will become a top class player, but that's a different story.

 

[moogoo]

I didn't at any point say that Chanot is a bad player, but rather that it looks to me that his head and heart are not there anymore. Remember that he was out of the team for a long period in 2018 due to some unknown personal reasons, and was then released after the season... only to be re-signed after a week or two. That looked really strange to me. It was as if he had had some kind of rift with the club, and had then been forgiven after some kind of apology. I don't think everything has been right between the club and the player ever since.
Ibeagha is far from the complete player, but with his head in the right place he can do a job, and I said the club should have signed a good CB to make Chanot (and at times even Callens) to fight for their place in the team. At the moment there are only three or four players in the side whose position in the starting XI can't be questioned (Maxi, Ring, Johnson, Heber).
Of course I hope Sands will become a top class player, but that's a different story.

It's been made known (i think during an interview he had) that he was out of the team for awhile in 2018 due to family stuff. I think it had to do with his daughter but I don't recall the exact issues or maybe it wasn't made public. But it was definitely due to family stuff. They released him at the end of the season, but they resigned him on a multi-year deal because they wanted to keep him. If they didn't want him, they wouldn't have signed him. I recall hearing him talk about resigning for the club that year and saying that he wanted to stay because he loved the club for understanding his family situation and he wanted to show his gratitude.

 

[Antidote P. Smiley]

I think this week is going to test the “NYCFC has the best depth” theory. If this team is a championship caliber squad, no better time to make a statement against the team that made you shit the bed last year.
Then go out against Tigres and win at, dare I say it, home.

 

[Shwafta]

Don’t distort the facts. 3 games. It was a coaches decision to remove the player least likely to contribute. 10 min is more than some subs are allowed yet they still prosper.

I didn't distort any facts. I actually stated them and gave my opinion on his performance thus far. But hey, you know. You be you.

It's not 'played 3 games' and it's not 'played 2 games'... It's 'played in 3 games'.
Also I think saying 'subs only get 10 minutes and he also got 10 minutes' is unfair due to the nature of when the substitution happens. A player getting 10 minutes at the beginning against a team roaring to go is very different from 10 minutes at the end of a game when a team is tired and slowing down.

 

[The Toe]

If you remember, Dome wanted his WBs to pinch in and play on the interior and have the wings play wide. It seems that Ronny wants the WBs to stay wide and have the wingers cut in, which I think are Mitri's and Medina's (believe it or not) strengths.

 

[Ulrich]

It's not 'played 3 games' and it's not 'played 2 games'... It's 'played in 3 games'.
Also I think saying 'subs only get 10 minutes and he also got 10 minutes' is unfair due to the nature of when the substitution happens. A player getting 10 minutes at the beginning against a team roaring to go is very different from 10 minutes at the end of a game when a team is tired and slowing down.

Yes, because a goal has never been scored in the first 10min of a match.

 

[Shwafta]

Yes, because a goal has never been scored in the first 10min of a match.

I'm not saying that. I'm saying that there's a different expectation for someone coming on 10 minutes to the end of a match and someone starting the match.

 

[Ulrich]

I'm not saying that. I'm saying that there's a different expectation for someone coming on 10 minutes to the end of a match and someone starting the match.

The expectation is that a starting forward will score/set up goals just as the expectation of a substitute forward will score/set up goals.

There may be a different strategy of use for each, but there is not a difference in expectations, especially if the starting forward is a DP. Although, it’s easily arguable that a starting DP forward has much higher expectations than a substitute forward, so if you want to go that route, it’s even more damning that he’s not producing, your choice.

 

[moogoo]

The expectation is that a starting forward will score/set up goals just as the expectation of a substitute forward will score/set up goals.

There may be a different strategy of use for each, but there is not a difference in expectations, especially if the starting forward is a DP. Although, it’s easily arguable that a starting DP forward has much higher expectations than a substitute forward, so if you want to go that route, it’s even more damning that he’s not producing, your choice.

out of these first 3 games - i dare say Medina has out performed Mitri. Yes, Mitri has a goal off a PK rebound, but other than that, he's been abysmal. His touch is off, his dribbling is off, he doesn't even shoot anymore, and worst of all, he doesn't track back on defense or fight for the ball. Medina has his flaws, but he's at least putting in more effort than Mitri and Mitri costs a whole lot more than Medina. So, if you want to be down on Medina, it's only fair to lump Mitri in there too.