Contending in 2018

[Midas Mulligan]

Bingo. Except for the part that they knew Maxi couldn't create. They thought they were getting Lodeiro. Everything else is 100% true

It’s so obvious that Maxi was a CYA signing. Not sure why we haven’t called it out at least by mid season.

He’s an 8 in the body of a 10. That makes you a guy who is fun to watch and hard to hate but doesn’t change a whole lot of results.

That’s the thing. Hard to blame Maxi for any losses. Hard to credit him for any wins. The FO did what they wanted to do. They Cya’ed.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Meram is ($375k), Paul Ariola is (DP), or Zardes is ($500k).

In order:

Nope, he isn’t.
Yep.
Not having this talk.

 

[Kjbert]

It’s so obvious that Maxi was a CYA signing. Not sure why we haven’t called it out at least by mid season.

He’s an 8 in the body of a 10. That makes you a guy who is fun to watch and hard to hate but doesn’t change a whole lot of results.

That’s the thing. Hard to blame Maxi for any losses. Hard to credit him for any wins. The FO did what they wanted to do. They Cya’ed.

I called it out in April and some people questioned my sanity

 

[Kjbert]

In order:

Nope, he isn’t.
Yep.
Not having this talk.

Since when did you find the Church of Gyasi

 

[Midas Mulligan]

I called it out in April and some people questioned my sanity

I admit to only seeing his value to us. And it was critical to getting us 2nd.

But he was never going to be the guy we needed to actually contend.

So well done on your point. I just wasn’t looking at it broadly enough. Now I see.

Since when did you find the Church of Gyasi

You missed my point. Zardes is a terrible player. He’s apex Shelton.

And our coach insisted on Shelton during the year. What does that say about our club?

 

[Kjbert]

I admit to only seeing his value to us. And it was critical to getting us 2nd.

But he was never going to be the guy we needed to actually contend.

So well done on your point. I just wasn’t looking at it broadly enough. Now I see.


You missed my point. Zardes is a terrible player. He’s apex Shelton.

And our coach insisted on Shelton during the year. What does that say about our club?

Lack of alternatives

 

[Midas Mulligan]

We are literally going to waste the best striker in the history of MLS due to front office and managerial incompetence.

It makes me sad for us and even more for Villa. He deserves better than what CFG has given him.

Here’s what I deserve as a fan: a FO that actually attempts to build a team to win MLS Cup. That’s it. And they have failed. And they have failed in large part because they made decisions that were CYA based.

 

[mgarbowski]

Then honestly, I should print this out and hand it to him at the game on Sunday directly.

I'm not so convinced of my post's power for change, but feel free.

 

[Marito]

Jack has obviously outperformed his contract by 100x. We picked him up at the frigging draft, where in a different year we also picked Khiry with a #2 pick. Any player coming out of the draft who nails a starting role, or even a steady contributor from the bench, is outperforming. In that sense Jack is obviously a find, a gem, Golden Boy, etc.

I think what Midas is getting at, and I second it, is that maybe Jack will not develop into an elite player. Since last year many USMNT fans have been counting the days until he could file for Citizenship and become eligible, and they were dismayed to see him called to the England U20, a confirmation of another USMNT savior that wouldn't be. Maybe the hype is not justified. I hope I'm wrong. His first touch, the way he receives a 50 yard pass without hesitation and with impeccable control suggest he is way above MLS quality, but other traits maybe not. We'll see. I'm 50/50 right now.

 

[mgarbowski]

I think the expectations were that Maxi would be the assist engine and Wallace/Harrison would carry the additional scoring load. Your numbers prove Maxi clearly under preformed but I do think his assist numbers are lower than he deserves based on the limitations of every player other than Villa to convert the chances Maxi created.

I know his age, potential and endearing personality make it rare for people to question him but a good deal of this should fall on Harrison. Personally I think his current game is too one dimensional and the league has figured him out. Every move ends with him trying to cut in on that left foot. Unless he plans to perfect that to arjen robben type levels he needs to develop a few more attacking approaches.

You might be right about the expectations, but everyone one of those 3: Maxi, Wallace and Jack, performed at or above their career norms in 2017 in terms of scoring. Wallace has averaged 3 G and 4.5 A in an 8 year MLS career. He exceeded both of those. Maxi had a somewhat above average year, and Jack is only in his second year, and did better than his first. Expecting that a combination of the 3 of them -- even put Villa in the mix -- would make them all better than they've ever been was a dubious hope. The worst I can say about Rodney and Jack is the second half falloff.

Harrison is a bit more of a wildcard than the others because there is less of a history to go on. He might be better than he has shown, and if so you can fault him for not doing better. But this also might be who he is. And I also have to agree with what Kjbert said below: that Jack outperformed his contract. I think you have to measure every player in MLS by their cost, and a DP slot is the most limited asset in the MLS salary structure, which is why I picked on Maxi.

 

[mgarbowski]

You might be right about the expectations, but everyone one of those 3: Maxi, Wallace and Jack, performed at or above their career norms in 2017 in terms of scoring. Wallace has averaged 3 G and 4.5 A in an 8 year MLS career. He exceeded both of those. Maxi had a somewhat above average year, and Jack is only in his second year, and did better than his first. Expecting that a combination of the 3 of them -- even put Villa in the mix -- would make them all better than they've ever been was a dubious hope. The worst I can say about Rodney and Jack is the second half falloff.

Harrison is a bit more of a wildcard than the others because there is less of a history to go on. He might be better than he has shown, and if so you can fault him for not doing better. But this also might be who he is. And I also have to agree with what Kjbert said below: that Jack outperformed his contract. I think you have to measure every player in MLS by their cost, and a DP slot is the most limited asset in the MLS salary structure, which is why I picked on Maxi.

A further thought on Jack. Even if he did better, scoring 14-16 goals and could be considered a good Number Two scorer who you can say adequately replaced Lampard, then who replaces what Jack gave us. With the production he did give us, Jack should have been our 3rd top scorer. If Jack is just a better #2, then we still have Maxi as an uninspiring #3. And what I would want is ideally a DP who pushes Jack down to #3. At a minimum our #3 should have had 7+ goals and double digit assists, like the #3 guys on the best-composed teams in my post above: Vazquez, Higuain, Almiron, Asad (actually #4 on his team!), and Lodeiro.

 

[Kjbert]

Jack could have an Ethan Finlay type career and it would be a boon.

No ones calling for him to be a DP level player. We're calling on the Front Office to go get three DPs to complement guys like Harrison

 

[roxfontaine]

I also think part of the problem is how much our offense goes through Villa. Meaning how often players try to force feed the ball to Villa even though he is double teamed, or players unwillingness to shot and instead they pass it to Villa. Is this a team strategy from PV, is it Villa demanding the ball all the time, is it a lack of confidence from other players?

My vote is that it's PV strategy. I refuse to believe that players at this level are that dense tactically on their own.

 

[Kjbert]

If you lose Herrera, why not go 4-4-2 and go get a Target Forward for Villa to play underneath?

Spent TAM on a RB or a LB.

If this team had a goal scoring LW that matched Harrison's production, are we complaining about our lack of ability to finish in the final third? Are we complaining about Maxi's inability to finish? Maxi doesn't want to finish. He wants to get rid of the ball and let someone else do that. He does help unlock the defense. You can go 4-4-2 Diamond for all I care, but the tactics have been wrong and we need another goalscorer.

 

[LionNYC]

Also posted this in the Players Wanted Thread, but since eyeballs are here now: https://soccer.realgm.com/wiretap/5...eave-Atleti-With-Offers-Coming-From-MLS-China

Fernando Torres is rumored to leave during the January Transfer Window.

 

[Kjbert]

Torres doesn't fit the stated goal of the Club as of April. I've said this before that I don't know how our stadium fiasco, Pirlo fiasco and our unhappiness with Maxi will change the thinking - but as of April this was a no go.

I still think it's much more likely you get someone in the mold of a Valeri, Adi, Allessandrini

How many goals would a healthy Fernando Adi get playing next to Villa?

 

[LionNYC]

Torres doesn't fit the stated goal of the Club as of April. I've said this before that I don't know how our stadium fiasco, Pirlo fiasco and our unhappiness with Maxi will change the thinking - but as of April this was a no go.

I still think it's much more likely you get someone in the mold of a Valeri, Adi, Allessandrini

How many goals would a healthy Fernando Adi get playing next to Villa?

Torres and Villa could both put up 20 goals each together on the field.

 

[Mario]

how many times does maxi have to pass the ball to harrison for him to get stats?
maybe if jack could do something 1v1 with the keeper you'd see some production in stats.
wallace is useless, so the only outlets maxi and our midfield has is villa and harrison. one scores when he's not double teamed, the other cocks up chances left and right.
harrison cant do it... yet. hes as mediocre as it gets. he had 10 goals this season. with the clear cut chance's he's had all year long, he should have double that, at least. if that's the case, then that whole stat nonsense is nullified because you have maxi with 15+ assists and you don't complain about him. but because the players around him other than villa cant produce, you're putting the blame on maxi because he makes more money and does what he was signed to do.
it's a rarity to find a lampard, an attacking midfielder who scores 15 goals per year... for under a DP contract on top of that.

 

[Fantazma]

Torres doesn't fit the stated goal of the Club as of April. I've said this before that I don't know how our stadium fiasco, Pirlo fiasco and our unhappiness with Maxi will change the thinking - but as of April this was a no go.

I still think it's much more likely you get someone in the mold of a Valeri, Adi, Allessandrini

How many goals would a healthy Fernando Adi get playing next to Villa?

our? im still cool with him .....just wish he would shoot the ball as there has been many times he could of but elected a a pass.

 

[mgarbowski]

how many times does maxi have to pass the ball to harrison for him to get stats?
maybe if jack could do something 1v1 with the keeper you'd see some production in stats.
wallace is useless, so the only outlets maxi and our midfield has is villa and harrison. one scores when he's not double teamed, the other cocks up chances left and right.
harrison cant do it... yet. hes as mediocre as it gets. he had 10 goals this season. with the clear cut chance's he's had all year long, he should have double that, at least. if that's the case, then that whole stat nonsense is nullified because you have maxi with 15+ assists and you don't complain about him. but because the players around him other than villa cant produce, you're putting the blame on maxi because he makes more money and does what he was signed to do.
it's a rarity to find a lampard, an attacking midfielder who scores 15 goals per year... for under a DP contract on top of that.

you seem intent on missing the point