Cincinnati (Away) - Postmatch

[413Blue]

the flip side is Maxi could return home with a bank account of a few million (who knows how frugal he's been?) and live like dynastic royalty, starting/buying businesses that would set him up for life even if the economy recovers.

Very true, but does he need to be there next year to do that? Will the extra $US of non-bounced check income be enough to keep him here? Will he want to have his family down there while being a wealthy high profile athlete as the country is in turmoil?

I totally understand that as an American my opinion is slanted, but I sure would be happy to stay here another year.

 

[canchon]

Good management would have 3 DP slots open next year (Maxi isn’t returning and dump Treats and Medina. Sign Mertens to replace Maxi and you still have 2 DP slots left.

What’s ridiculous is that this team is close to the top of the East with basically nothing from 2 of its DP slots.

 

[mgarbowski]

IIRC, Maxi gave one interview where he was asked if he'd like to finish his career back in Argentina and he said yes. There's a lot of space between that and he goes there next year.

 

[JayH]

MIller just doesn't seem that comfortable going forward,

backward, or sideways

 

[mgarbowski]

backward, or sideways

He must suck at Frogger.

 

[FootyLovin]

There are a lot of Mitri haters on here. He's on pace to end the season with 9 goals and 3 assists. Not superstar numbers, but not bad either. This is especially true given how much goal scoring we are getting from others on the pitch. At some point goal scoring is a zero sum game. Everyone can't be a 20 goal scorer. He is playing a valuable role. I'm with those who aren't ready to give up on him.

I'd even go a step further. If he can improve just slightly, I'd sign up today for Mitri giving us 10 goals and 5 assists next year if we can get a Medina replacement.

Also, I'll throw in the same questions I raised last fall about Dome. Anyone know what his English fluency is? I would think he is fluent, but I don't know. And if not, I can imagine him feeling a bit isolated/lonely.

 

[Fantazma]

Maxi won't be around next year... his contract is up after this season and word is he's looking to go back to argentina... i'd love it if he signed for another season, but i don't think it's going to happen.

He wants to retire in racing but they ain’t gonna Pay him big bucks, so I think we can persuade him for one more year or he goes somewhere else but I don’t think he goes back to Argentina right away at least not til he’s like 34 ish I think.

 

[canchon]

I think Crooks or Abramowitz earlier this year said that Maxi wanted to come back for another year. Maxi is leading the league in assists. You give him another year if he wants one.

 

[Ulrich]

There are a lot of Mitri haters on here. He's on pace to end the season with 9 goals and 3 assists. Not superstar numbers, but not bad either. This is especially true given how much goal scoring we are getting from others on the pitch. At some point goal scoring is a zero sum game. Everyone can't be a 20 goal scorer. He is playing a valuable role. I'm with those who aren't ready to give up on him.

I'd even go a step further. If he can improve just slightly, I'd sign up today for Mitri giving us 10 goals and 5 assists next year if we can get a Medina replacement.

Also, I'll throw in the same questions I raised last fall about Dome. Anyone know what his English fluency is? I would think he is fluent, but I don't know. And if not, I can imagine him feeling a bit isolated/lonely.

I’m being serious when I ask this, what is this “valuable role” you speak of???

There is no part of his game that he’s demonstrated is able to take over a match, or even push it in our favor. He loves running full speed at the defense, trying to beat multiple defenders, and ultimately getting stripped of the ball.

While not all can be 20-goal scorers, he’s logged more minutes by a fair amount than Heber and Taty, and he’s trailing both in scoring - the very trait he was touted to be an expert at. If he was a player willing to involve his teammates, then maybe I’d be more open, but he’s incredibly selfish when he receives the pass and is worse when losing possession.

And if you’re bad at everything above, which he is, then it’s important to be a fan favorite and draw, which he isn’t. He’s not ticking any of the boxes for keeping him around.

 

[sbrylski]

Good management would have 3 DP slots open next year (Maxi isn’t returning and dump Treats and Medina. Sign Mertens to replace Maxi and you still have 2 DP slots left.

What’s ridiculous is that this team is close to the top of the East with basically nothing from 2 of its DP slots.

This logic would have replaced Maxi after his first year and Dome after a few months. Probably Taty after last year too.

There's definitely a balance to be struck between continuity and high expectations for your designated players.

If we replace Medina with Mertens next year and Mitri takes even a half step forward, that's our best set of DPs in franchise history.

 

[canchon]

This logic would have replaced Maxi after his first year and Dome after a few months. Probably Taty after last year too.

There's definitely a balance to be struck between continuity and high expectations for your designated players.

If we replace Medina with Mertens next year and Mitri takes even a half step forward, that's our best set of DPs in franchise history.

You can make the case that Mitrita needs time, and he does have a high ceiling. I’ll buy that.

Medina, though...he needs to be dumped ASAP. LAFC did that with Horta. Admit the mistake and move on.

 

[413Blue]

This logic would have replaced Maxi after his first year and Dome after a few months. Probably Taty after last year too.

There's definitely a balance to be struck between continuity and high expectations for your designated players.

If we replace Medina with Mertens next year and Mitri takes even a half step forward, that's our best set of DPs in franchise history.

Maxi was still impactful in his first season and was probably our 3rd or 4th best player that year. Mitrita is not impactful, and is far lower than 3rd or 4th. In fact, our roster fully healthy probably doesn't have Mitrita in our starting XI.
People really need to stop acting like Maxi's first year was a total disaster. It wasn't, it was a borderline DP season. 8t wasn't just his stats, it was the fact that he really ran the team and controlled games through and through. Mitrita makes an impact every now and then, but nothing sustained and is not the constant threat he needs to be. For a team which has so much attacking possession, he is underperforming big time.

 

[FredMertz]

I tend to have a longer leash, but I'm not ready to give up on Mitri yet. Transfer fee is a sunk cost, and Mitri is not our least talented DP. He just needs to find his role and ride the confidence that comes with that. Maybe next year that's as the fourth option and late game sub behind a front three of Heber, Mertens, and Taty. Is it an inefficient use of a DP spot? Yes. Can he win games for us from that role? Also yes.

Transfer fee isn't a sunk cost because we are allowed to sell him.

 

[FredMertz]

I’m being serious when I ask this, what is this “valuable role” you speak of???

There is no part of his game that he’s demonstrated is able to take over a match, or even push it in our favor. He loves running full speed at the defense, trying to beat multiple defenders, and ultimately getting stripped of the ball.

While not all can be 20-goal scorers, he’s logged more minutes by a fair amount than Heber and Taty, and he’s trailing both in scoring - the very trait he was touted to be an expert at. If he was a player willing to involve his teammates, then maybe I’d be more open, but he’s incredibly selfish when he receives the pass and is worse when losing possession.

And if you’re bad at everything above, which he is, then it’s important to be a fan favorite and draw, which he isn’t. He’s not ticking any of the boxes for keeping him around.

When you play on a surface that frequently comes up, you can't overestimate the value of a guy who spends so much time on the ground patting the turf down...

 

[Ulrich]

You can make the case that Mitrita needs time, and he does have a high ceiling. I’ll buy that.

Medina, though...he needs to be dumped ASAP. LAFC did that with Horta. Admit the mistake and move on.

Does he have a high ceiling?

He played in the Romanian League, and not for the top team, so was he in demand there? And not saying MLS is a top league, but teams employ a lot of defensive discipline which seems to befuddle Mitri - contrast this to his highlight reel where he slices and dices through defenses like a Ginsu knife cutting first through a beer can and then through a tomato. I really wonder if the CFG scouts were high watching his greatest hits while forgetting the relativity of his success?!?

He also is supposed to be a free kick specialist and we don’t see him designated as the go-to kicker in matches. Why is that I wonder?

He also doesn’t take our PKs while we let Maxi claim them all, and yet Maxi has missed something like 4 this year, so what gives?!? Is it simply because he hasn’t earned the right to take them with his me-first style of play, or is there another reason - I really don’t know, but if he’s money with them it’s crazy that we’re still letting a 50% kicker take our PKs instead.

So far, he’s proven he’s just an average MLS player - 6g/2a is nothing to write home about. Maxi has the same number of goal and 14 more assists 6g/16a. Isi has 2 fewer goals 4g/2a on less than half the minutes. Heber is doubling him up with 12g/4a in fewer minutes. Hell, even Ring has the same number of points with 4g/4a and he’s not a scorer or service guy. In MLS, Mitri is the 48th guy in the league in scoring - same number of goals/assist as player in front of him but that player has 2-300 fewer minutes.

48th?!?! That’s not what I want from a DP that’s resume touts he’s an electric scorer.

 

[sbrylski]

Transfer fee isn't a sunk cost because we are allowed to sell him.

That's not what sunk cost means. Yes, we can sell him. Compare that fee to the value we would receive to make the decision whether to keep him. Our purchase price doesn't factor into the equation.

What would you sell him for today? $2 million? Because that's probably what we'd get. I'd be ok with keeping him another year if the alternative is to take another chance at a similar profile DP.

 

[sbrylski]

Maxi was still impactful in his first season and was probably our 3rd or 4th best player that year. Mitrita is not impactful, and is far lower than 3rd or 4th. In fact, our roster fully healthy probably doesn't have Mitrita in our starting XI.
People really need to stop acting like Maxi's first year was a total disaster. It wasn't, it was a borderline DP season. 8t wasn't just his stats, it was the fact that he really ran the team and controlled games through and through. Mitrita makes an impact every now and then, but nothing sustained and is not the constant threat he needs to be. For a team which has so much attacking possession, he is underperforming big time.

You're right, but this is revisionist. Everyone thought he was underperforming his contact that first year. My point being you don't just dump someone immediately if they seem to be underperforming their contact after a half season.

 

[Ulrich]

That's not what sunk cost means. Yes, we can sell him. Compare that fee to the value we would receive to make the decision whether to keep him. Our purchase price doesn't factor into the equation.

What would you sell him for today? $2 million? Because that's probably what we'd get. I'd be ok with keeping him another year if the alternative is to take another chance at a similar profile DP.

I imagine Girona would pay more than $2M for him, but only if CFG understands their mistake and wants to fix it.

 

[Ulrich]

You're right, but this is revisionist. Everyone thought he was underperforming his contact that first year. My point being you don't just dump someone immediately if they seem to be underperforming their contact after a half season.

There's a difference between under-performing and not performing. Mitri has been eclipsed by a TAM player, who didn't seem phased by the transition to MLS, and to a project-type player from a low-rung South American team. It's crazy, but the heart that Taty shows in matches easily eclipses anything Mitri has ever shown - it's evident who is emptying the tank and doing everything to win.

 

[FootyLovin]

I’m being serious when I ask this, what is this “valuable role” you speak of???

There is no part of his game that he’s demonstrated is able to take over a match, or even push it in our favor. He loves running full speed at the defense, trying to beat multiple defenders, and ultimately getting stripped of the ball.

While not all can be 20-goal scorers, he’s logged more minutes by a fair amount than Heber and Taty, and he’s trailing both in scoring - the very trait he was touted to be an expert at. If he was a player willing to involve his teammates, then maybe I’d be more open, but he’s incredibly selfish when he receives the pass and is worse when losing possession.

And if you’re bad at everything above, which he is, then it’s important to be a fan favorite and draw, which he isn’t. He’s not ticking any of the boxes for keeping him around.

I don't agree with all of your analysis.

• I do agree Mitri is too eager to run at multiple defenders and is a soft and lazy defender.
• I don't really agree that he is selfish. I just think his decisions are a bit off. There are actually tons of times in recent weeks I've been surprised by him giving the ball up. But a lot of his passes are just missing the mark. I'd like to think this will improve.
• Point of comparison, Maxi in 2017, playing with Villa, had 9 assists and 5 goals. That's about what Mitri is on track for but swap the goals/assists.
• He has shown that he is absolutely capable of magic scoring moments. If he is placed in that space more often, I'd think he would (will) have more of those.

So I think he is a talented shooter, a learning passer and a lazy defender. I believe the passing is exactly the kind of thing that is likely to improve and will also make him more of a target for his teammates and move him more frequently into dangerous territory. The lazy defending is up to Dome to work with him to improve. (And maybe up to GMS and Isi to challenge his minutes.)

I do see a lot of parallels with Maxi's first year. I hope we will see lots of parallels with Maxi's second year. I'm happy to give him that leeway.