Away - 3/31 San Jose

[LionNYC]

New York City FC at San Jose Earthquakes
Avaya Stadium
Saturday, March 31st 8 PM ET
ESPN2, WNYC 91.5 FM, WADO 1280 AM
Stream on WatchESPN and the ESPN app (with cable subscription)

NYCFC earned a draw on the road in New England last week. We'll head across the country to face the San Jose Earthquakes. Ismael Tajouri-Shradi has netted three goals in his past two games, both starts for the club. NYCFC looks to continue its undefeated streak to start the season.

If you're MOT, be sure to speed read your haggadah as it's the second seder or have a mobile device handy under the table.

 

[SFphoto]

Really pissed that I have to work next Saturday and can’t go to this...

 

[Taurus]

What I would like to see.



Bench:
Stuver, Ibeagha, Saad, Sands, Awuha, Berget, Wallace

 

[Christopher Jee]

What I would like to see.

View attachment 8448

Bench:
Stuver, Ibeagha, Saad, Sands, Awuha, Berget, Wallace

This totally contradicts what I said about Ofori in the NE post-match thread, but I wonder if Paddy was frustrated enough about the bottleneck in midfield that he might try dropping Maxi deeper and bringing Medina into the center:

Villa
Shradi - Medina - Wallace
Maxi - Herrera
Sweat - Callens - Chanot - Tinnerholm
Johnson

That way we avoids having to make a tough choice between Wallace and Shradi, and maybe Medina is in a better position to influence the game. Also not sure what the extent of Ofori's injury might have been.

I haven't seen SJE play this season - sounds like they are willing to give up the middle of the pitch and most of the ball, though. Stepping out in a 4-4-2. So maybe Patty decides we can go with a little less physicality in midfield (drops Maxi deeper), or maybe he decides it's a good opportunity for Ofori to build his confidence with a 3 v 2 overload (plays a similar lineup to NE).

 

[Keith Putnam]

he might try dropping Maxi deeper

Maxi was dropping himself deeper throughout the Revs match, and to me that's a bad sign meaning the midfield isn't working. I think what we need is Ofori being willing to make more positive passes than what we saw, looking to find Maxi, Medina, Villa and Toujouri ahead of him.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Really pissed that I have to work next Saturday and can’t go to this...

That really sucks.

 

[Gotham Gator]

What I would like to see.

View attachment 8448

Bench:
Stuver, Ibeagha, Saad, Sands, Awuha, Berget, Wallace

I think this is the lineup. One change might be to leave Wallace at home since he’s got a midweek game with CR and bring Lewis or Tommy instead.

 

[Christopher Jee]

Maxi was dropping himself deeper throughout the Revs match, and to me that's a bad sign meaning the midfield isn't working. I think what we need is Ofori being willing to make more positive passes than what we saw, looking to find Maxi, Medina, Villa and Toujouri ahead of him.

It's not just about making more positive passes, it's about showing to receive the ball from the backline or Johnson. Ring goes very deep, sometimes deeper than Chanot or Callens. If he doesn't get the ball, then it opens up that space for other players, or opens up channels to our striker.

So yeah, either Ofori needs to be firmly told / instructed to fill that space. I'm hoping it's a question of confidence and not intelligence. Or we could ask Maxi to do it, because we know he can. My suggestion was not to have Maxi drop deeper to fill the role of a CDM instead of the real CDM (i.e. wasting a spot), my suggestion was just to give him a role as one of the double pivots and have Medina be the #10.

 

[Ulrich]

It's not just about making more positive passes, it's about showing to receive the ball from the backline or Johnson. Ring goes very deep, sometimes deeper than Chanot or Callens. If he doesn't get the ball, then it opens up that space for other players, or opens up channels to our striker.

So yeah, either Ofori needs to be firmly told / instructed to fill that space. I'm hoping it's a question of confidence and not intelligence. Or we could ask Maxi to do it, because we know he can. My suggestion was not to have Maxi drop deeper to fill the role of a CDM instead of the real CDM (i.e. wasting a spot), my suggestion was just to give him a role as one of the double pivots and have Medina be the #10.

Aside from Ofori not playing the DMid “correctly” like Ring, I think the other issue is having a double pivot. Our base 433 uses a single DMid with Maxi and Hererra pushed higher. Yesterday Hererra had dropped alongside Ofori, and it removed one of the outlets used to reach the next level. Later in the game, it did seem as though Hererra was pushing higher, with Ofori as a single pivot, and the ball was moving better.

 

[Christopher Jee]

Aside from Ofori not playing the DMid “correctly” like Ring, I think the other issue is having a double pivot. Our base 433 uses a single DMid with Maxi and Hererra pushed higher. Yesterday Hererra had dropped alongside Ofori, and it removed one of the outlets used to reach the next level. Later in the game, it did seem as though Hererra was pushing higher, with Ofori as a single pivot, and the ball was moving better.

When Herrera dropped deeper, neither of them were anywhere near our backline. Mind boggling.

 

[Ulrich]

When Herrera dropped deeper, neither of them were anywhere near our backline. Mind boggling.

There were a lot of positional issues yesterday.

 

[Christopher Jee]

There were a lot of positional issues yesterday.

Maybe but I think they all came from one major one. Which gives me hope that we just need to solve one problem to solve all the downstream problems, instead of having to solve like 5 different ones.

 

[Ulrich]

Maybe but I think they all came from one major one. Which gives me hope that we just need to solve one problem to solve all the downstream problems, instead of having to solve like 5 different ones.

Yeah, injuries. Fix that and we gonna ball.

 

[Christopher Jee]

Yeah, injuries. Fix that and we gonna ball.

Ha I was talking about tractable problems

 

[Ulrich]

Ha I was talking about tractable problems

So was I.

 

[Christopher Jee]

So was I.

Fix injuries. Got it.

 

[gbservis]

It's not just about making more positive passes, it's about showing to receive the ball from the backline or Johnson. Ring goes very deep, sometimes deeper than Chanot or Callens. If he doesn't get the ball, then it opens up that space for other players, or opens up channels to our striker.

So yeah, either Ofori needs to be firmly told / instructed to fill that space. I'm hoping it's a question of confidence and not intelligence. Or we could ask Maxi to do it, because we know he can. My suggestion was not to have Maxi drop deeper to fill the role of a CDM instead of the real CDM (i.e. wasting a spot), my suggestion was just to give him a role as one of the double pivots and have Medina be the #10.

Ofori dropped into Rings typical deep spot between the CBs a lot more in the second half. I think he got exactly those instructions at halftime.

 

[The Toe]

PSA: Most Easter Vigil masses are 2 hours, taking place after sunset (7pm). If you go, you'll miss the first half, assuredly.

 

[Ulrich]

Fix injuries. Got it.

Preventative physio. Physical therapy. Science.

 

[adam]

PSA: Most Easter Vigil masses are 2 hours, taking place after sunset (7pm). If you go, you'll miss the first half, assuredly.

And Passover seders start around 8. This match was not scheduled with the religious commitments in mind. That’s what DVRs are for.