Cosmos postgame

[Gotham Gator]

I will add that I don't get all the praise for Johansen last night. I don't think he was better than Saunders, particularly not in distribution, which is the biggest complaint against Josh. Johansen shanked several kicks out of bounds and looked really awkward with the ball at his feet. He is a big guy, but kind of lumbering and not that athletic. I don't see how anyone could have watched that game and thought he was the answer unless they were just seeing what they had hoped for.

 

[mgarbowski]

I will add that I don't get all the praise for Johansen last night. I don't think he was better than Saunders, particularly not in distribution, which is the biggest complaint against Josh. Johansen shanked several kicks out of bounds and looked really awkward with the ball at his feet. He is a big guy, but kind of lumbering and not that athletic. I don't see how anyone could have watched that game and thought he was the answer unless they were just seeing what they had hoped for.

I'd rate EJ a bit higher than you but last night but overall I agree. I'd still like to see EJ play over Saunders because he was better than Saunders but that's a very low bar. In the off-season we have to get 2 new keepers for 2017.

 

[mgarbowski]

I waver between thinking this is pointless and rather important. So I'll throw it out there for your consideration

NYCFC have played 51 games in all competitions not counting friendlies. 30 have been in NYC or within a short commuter rail trip. 21 have been outside the metro area. In the 21 very away games they managed to win 33%, with 7 wins against 10 losses in 21 tries. Locally, they have won only 23% of the time, with 7 wins and 14 losses in 30 tries.

This basically conflates our crappy home record with our catastrophic record in derbies. Watching this team in person has been a chore, and the inability to get results either at home or against local teams is reaching cosmic levels of inexplicability.

 

[Gotham Gator]

This is a nice analysis by NYCFCfan. I also did a calculation. In our Starting XI vs. Cosmos, we had a total of 38 starts this season in 18 MLS games. So basically, there were only 2 starters out of the 11. (As mentioned, I thought this was the right approach.)

https://twitter.com/x/status/743436728036372480

 

[Ulrich]

I will add that I don't get all the praise for Johansen last night. I don't think he was better than Saunders, particularly not in distribution, which is the biggest complaint against Josh. Johansen shanked several kicks out of bounds and looked really awkward with the ball at his feet. He is a big guy, but kind of lumbering and not that athletic. I don't see how anyone could have watched that game and thought he was the answer unless they were just seeing what they had hoped for.

He was playing the ball to a scrub lineup and had to worry about the field causing high bounces. Why take any chances under those conditions? Last night was NOT the time to judge anybody on distribution. It's not like he had Brillant, Iraola, or Pirlo to outlet to. And frankly, he saved every single shot that he was expected to save - the lone goal was from an unmarked header in the 6yrd box.

 

[roxfontaine]

I think I'm in Twitter jail for the first time ever.

 

[BxLio91]

I always say everyone plays against us like its a Cup final and we walk in there like a kick around at practice.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

MIx was fine. Where was Ballouchy? He was supposed to be the other CM, was he ever anywhere near Mix? Mix had few options and he tried them all. Balls to Khiry were laughably wasted. There were three defenders on Mullins constantly since none of the other forwards can play their position. Poku was supposed to be the left wing! He was literally never there. Finally the position I wanted to see him in, and he proved why he is unplayable. You need some position discipline. Love his individual skills, but don't see how he can play on a team where he isn' t the focal point of the whole team. Defense played well too. for me, game was lost in the advanced midfield, right where Ballouchy never was.

Johansen was 100 times better than Saunders. We built out of the back against a high press with literally no mistakes or turnovers with our second string defense. He commanded our box like Saunders doesn't do. I've been harping on Mena for a while, but I don;t see how he is not playing. Best one on one defender we have and good with the ball. And adds to offensive threat on corners.

Chalk this one up to bad scheduling. One or two more starters in there and we win easily.

 

[Gotham Gator]

What you say about Ballouchy reminds me of what my buddy was saying last night. Often when a mid was in possession and looking to build, he would have 2-3 defenders around him, and no teammates running up to take a short pass. Alone on an island, all night long.

I do disagree about Poku. I think it was part of the plan that he would switch positions with Ballouchy from time to time. The two did the same thing in the Toronto game except Poku started in midfield and Ballouchy at left wing. It was on one of those trades to left wing where Poku scored his goal.

 

[Ulrich]

MIx was fine. Where was Ballouchy? He was supposed to be the other CM, was he ever anywhere near Mix? Mix had few options and he tried them all. Balls to Khiry were laughably wasted. There were three defenders on Mullins constantly since none of the other forwards can play their position. Poku was supposed to be the left wing! He was literally never there. Finally the position I wanted to see him in, and he proved why he is unplayable. You need some position discipline. Love his individual skills, but don't see how he can play on a team where he isn' t the focal point of the whole team. Defense played well too. for me, game was lost in the advanced midfield, right where Ballouchy never was.

Johansen was 100 times better than Saunders. We built out of the back against a high press with literally no mistakes or turnovers with our second string defense. He commanded our box like Saunders doesn't do. I've been harping on Mena for a while, but I don;t see how he is not playing. Best one on one defender we have and good with the ball. And adds to offensive threat on corners.

Chalk this one up to bad scheduling. One or two more starters in there and we win easily.

Two MASSIVE changes that need to take place are:
1. Lurch plays instead of Saunders. He is absolutely no worse and per last night I venture much better and more composed.
2. Pair Mena with Brillant. Hernandez's ship has sailed & Mena is everything he isn't: Mena is calm on the ball, tall and gets to headers, fast, and can man-mark 1v1. Is it a coincidence that they score right after Hernandez comes on? Yes, Medhi should have covered Szetela & he would have if he wasn't gassed, but Hernandez was double-teaming the guy White was marking and Szetela ghosted in behind him - Hernandez had no feel for the box.

We still may not score much unless Villa is on fire, but with those changes hopefully we don't give up circus quality goals.

 

[mgarbowski]

I think I'm in Twitter jail for the first time ever.

I just read the last hour or so of your stream. I feel your pain and frustration, but not sure I get the jail reference. You're not suspended or anything. Did some team accounts block you?

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

What you say about Ballouchy reminds me of what my buddy was saying last night. Often when a mid was in possession and looking to build, he would have 2-3 defenders around him, and no teammates running up to take a short pass. Alone on an island, all night long.

I do disagree about Poku. I think it was part of the plan that he would switch positions with Ballouchy from time to time. The two did the same thing in the Toronto game except Poku started in midfield and Ballouchy at left wing. It was on one of those trades to left wing where Poku scored his goal.

Was ballouchy then on the left wing? I didn't see him there, seemed like he was always in some no man's land near center of field.

 

[roxfontaine]

I just read the last hour or so of your stream. I feel your pain and frustration, but not sure I get the jail reference. You're not suspended or anything. Did some team accounts block you?

Twitter severely limits your ability to post after so many successive tweets.

 

[Goodfella]

Putting a B Team in was the right decision. We have another game on 2 days rest that is much more important.

Respectfully disagree, While league matches are more valuable, this match had psychological value, morale value, organizational value and value to supporters. When you say you're going to play to win, you don't play your B side. Furthermore, when you stand 0 - 5 against NY/NJ opponents, you really should try to win at least once.

 

[BxLio91]

Respectfully disagree, While league matches are more valuable, this match had psychological value, morale value, organizational value and value to supporters. When you say you're going to play to win, you don't play your B side. Furthermore, when you stand 0 - 5 against NY/NJ opponents, you really should try to win at least once.

0 - 6

 

[Goodfella]

0 - 6

yes but at the time of PV's lineup decisions, we stood at 0-5. We are indeed, now 0-6

 

[21Architect]

FWIW, the Ft.Lauderdale Strikers beat DC United.

 

[Keith Putnam]

Twitter severely limits your ability to post after so many successive tweets.

Are you going to Storify that series? It would be a good way to re-post it, in order, outside the context of Twitter. And I think that's a good idea.

 

[doctorhoosier]

I get that the fans don't care about the US Open Cup, but I also think that the lack of emphasis on the competition by most MLS clubs is very dumb, and goes against their own interests.

NYCFC's biggest complaint with roster construction is the salary cap. You can raise your team's salary cap by getting allocation funds due to CONCACAF Champions League play.

You qualify by:
1. Winning the MLS Cup
2. Winning the Supporters' Shield
3. Winning the US Open Cup
4. Missing the playoffs

The MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield are competitions that we're not going to win with our current roster. It's a year long competition, and we're frankly just not that good. We're not well managed, and our roster is really poor.

The inefficiency is in the US Open Cup. Teams don't care about that competition until the Final (and even then, not really.) So you're mostly playing against reserve teams. So it's a considerably easier run to the final, but you still qualify for the CCL if you win it.

We could improve our roster considerably with the allocation funds raised from CCL play (and release of some of our expiring contracts).

So, frankly, I get that we've not emphasized this competition, but that's fucking dumb.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

I'm not sure why conclusions are being drawn as to the strength of our team based on this game. There were two starters playing. This basically tells us our second string is worse than the best NASL team. There is no shame in that. We are a second year team, with roster construction that has been focused solely on getting a competitive MLS team up and running. Not saying we are great, but this game has zero bearing on our worth as a team.