CCL - April 6 - Seattle (Away)

[moogoo]

not james sands, took forever for people to even know who he was. then he has one bad game in honduras and then was not really thought of until this past window. he can improve his passing but i dont think it moves him in the NT depth chart at all. thats why the rangers move meant something. he can improve while potentially facing tougher opposition in europa league. it was time. Sands has no hype.

edit: could he have helped yesterday, yes. but i still fault FO for lack of options at RB/ LB to begin season anyway.

you think kelyn acosta has more hype than sands? he's not playing at rangers. his minutes are limited. maybe he's improving? but playing consistently is the best way to improve and he's not doing that. if he were part of our squad and we were doing well, he'd be highlighted as a key reason as he was last year. he might not get the media hype but coaches and scouts still notice.

our wingback situation is another story. but with sands and chanot to solidify our center defense, we could deal with our less than stellar wing back situation better.

 

[Fantazma]

you think kelyn acosta has more hype than sands? he's not playing at rangers. his minutes are limited. maybe he's improving? but playing consistently is the best way to improve and he's not doing that. if he were part of our squad and we were doing well, he'd be highlighted as a key reason as he was last year. he might not get the media hype but coaches and scouts still notice.

our wingback situation is another story. but with sands and chanot to solidify our center defense, we could deal with our less than stellar wing back situation better.

lol yes acosta had massive hype when he was in dallas and he was " the next guy" to go to europe then he got injured. that hype remained or at least they think of him as someone that is close to euro quality but still in MLS.

 

[VernonJohn]

but i still fault FO for lack of options at RB/ LB to begin season anyway.

We have options galore! Gloster, Cacha, the kid who gets fouled all the time…

 

[moogoo]

some lightheartedness to brighten up the gloom from this loss

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511950342342197253

 

[VernonJohn]

Don’t know much about Schmetzer but always thought he had a nice disposition and dude seems to make magic happen with his team.

 

[mgarbowski]

some lightheartedness to brighten up the gloom from this loss

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511950342342197253

I looove that

 

[KevinJRogers]

We've done that in both Comunicaciones games.

The main issue I had with it is that Ronny put Martins in the central spot, but usually you would want someone better on the ball there while Martins has some limitations with his passing. I would much rather have Chanot in that spot, leaving more pace on the RCB spot.

The first Comunicaciones game is where we played a diamond midfield with Alfredo in that spot and it kind of left him in no man's land. Especially with the other midfielders being Maxi, Santi, and Talles.

I think the diamond midfield can work, but you'd need one of Parks or Acevedo (preferably Parks) to help provide some defensive cover to a degree.

Which then also means you're likely taking one of Talles Magno or Santi Rodriguez off the field unless you play one of them at WB.

Forgot about that. Looking back, I thought Callens/Chanot/Martins worked well enough as a back line in the first Comunicaciones game. I try not to think too much about the second. LOL

But definitely you're absolutely right: Chanot has to be in the middle of those three if that's the back line. And you're right about Parks, too. I'd actually argue his not being quite 100 percent yet has been one of our key problems overall.

Anyway, I thought we looked good enough in the second half yesterday. And I think Martins had his best stretch of play starting with that sequence when he broke up a pretty effective attack, pretty much single-handedly. It's possible the light bulb went off right there.

 

[SoupInNYC]

Something else I found myself saying out loud last night. How good is Thiago Andrade?

He scored the goal, which was nice from him, but I often find myself wanting way much more. He reminds me of a slightly more talented Khiry Shelton. Sometimes I'm saying "OMFG that was nice" and other times wondering if he should be playing for a USL team.

The pace is electric and he strikes the ball very well, but his defensive work rate isn't great, his first touch lets him down often, and his off ball movement is very lacking.

Now I think all of those things are things that can be coached or learned through repetition, he's really young. But with the way he began his time with NYCFC last year, I think we all (including myself) really overrated him. And again, the goal was nice last night, but I thought overall he was one of the poorer performers from the starting XI.

 

[KevinJRogers]

Something else I found myself saying out loud last night. How good is Thiago Andrade?

He scored the goal, which was nice from him, but I often find myself wanting way much more. He reminds me of a slightly more talented Khiry Shelton. Sometimes I'm saying "OMFG that was nice" and other times wondering if he should be playing for a USL team.

The pace is electric and he strikes the ball very well, but his defensive work rate isn't great, his first touch lets him down often, and his off ball movement is very lacking.

Now I think all of those things are things that can be coached or learned through repetition, he's really young. But with the way he began his time with NYCFC last year, I think we all (including myself) really overrated him. And again, the goal was nice last night, but I thought overall he was one of the poorer performers from the starting XI.

Exactly as I see him. Sometimes it's "Wow, look at that." And then 30 seconds later it's, "Dude, what are you DOING."

Those flashes keep him on the pitch, but does the rest of it make it worth the price? So far I have to say "no." He's not in my Starting XI.

That being said, I do think you're right: if he's amenable to coaching -- a big if, but he seems like a really good guy -- he could improve to the point where he truly is an impact player rather than just a dramatic one. And were I working with him, I'd start with that first touch. Once he learns to keep the ball on his feet (let's show him Luca de la Torre tapes) he's going to be really tough to stop.

Whether he could ever be made into a good defender, I don't know. But he could certainly be adequate enough hustling back, and he could definitely do with a clearer vision of where he should be positioning himself.