Cosmos postgame

[JCMore]

Got to watch the game for the first time today and let it sink in and I have to say I feel some of you guys are over reacting about our situation. I thought we dominated the second half which is a really great thing because it was our B squad against the best team in the NASL (albeit a lower level league). But still I thought we were able to play very good Vieira style football which is always something good to see from your B-squad. They stuck to the game plan which is good especially against a team that I thought was going to be better than our B-squad. I thought our midfield played awesome and I think it was 40% Mix, 30% Poku, 15% Medhi, and 15% Lopez. The Defense linked up well with the midfield and the midfield played a great possession game. Really like Martenez and Gomez which makes me happy that we have some back ups just incase (and hope we will never have to use) At one point I thought about that stupid ball passing circle drill that's always on snapchat and social media, and I could see it working well with their movements on and off the ball.

Our final third struggled and I am a Mullins advocate but I think he had an awful game and I was quite disappointed with his game last night. I think he would work best as a supporting striker. Him and villa up front I think would make Mullins shine brightly. Villa pulling most of the opponent's defense and Mullins would be able to either feed Villa or slot it in the net. But I thought Shelton killed the plays more than a triple covered Mullins.
EJ played a better game than Saunder IMO. Not much better but better. I saw him kick a long ball that went out of bounds and thought smugly about some of you guys complaining about Saunder's crap kicks. But he played and did the best he could and does everything that a normal non-Rimando Keeper can do.
They got a goal that was against the run of play. It sucks. We can't change it and we can continue to complain about it if we like (which we will) but I think we just need to move on from it and say our prayers to which ever god(s) (soccer gods?) that you do or don't believe in hope that we can take down Philly.

 

[QuigrNYCFC]

B

It shouldn't be that surprising, given where we are in our history. Our team (ex DPs) is still predominantly made up of youngsters and MLS / 2nd tier Europe cast-offs, many of whom wouldn't be altogether out of place on a NASL roster.

But that's the thing, we're not in the NASL. We're in the top league in the states. We should hands down win against inferior competition no matter what team is on the field.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

They like us they really like us.

I do my part, Dan. And I do it to the best of my ability. That's all I can do.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

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

Further, the bench players should have been highly motivated to play since this was a rare opportunity to get on the pitch and prove themselves to the coach. Sadly, too many seemed to be going through the motions and not playing with passion and maximum effort.

The team seemed to really struggle with the turf - high bounces, balls coming in faster than normal. It threw off the team's rhythm quite a bit and turned simple touches into an adventure.

Poku was strong last night. Maybe best on the team at dribbling at people. His work rate was much better in both phases, I thought. I believe he has earned the right to be an offensive sub off the bench if we need one.

Mix was not/is not "terrible". He is a good player for us, but he is not producing in line with his salary, and it is something we need to figure out. He also plays the most redundant position on the team, with $12 million sitting in front of his $700K on the depth chart. It may be the better thing for both sides for him to just move on, and I really hate saying that because he is one of my favorite guys.

I also think Mix is one of the guys that needed to work harder last night. I wonder if his situation here is getting to him.

I am sick of all the hate on Khiry. He is fine. No, it was not a strong night for him, but he is a project playing what is effectively his first season. He is getting better and just needs time and support.

I thought Ballouchy played a good game up until his bad judgment sprung the counter that lost the game. That goal is mostly on him...

... And on Ethan White, who lost track of his end of the defense and gave up the cross. His bad positioning has cost us 4-6 points in MLS and now put us out of the US Open Cup. I don't want him anywhere near the 18 anymore.

That was some pretty bad soccer last night. Too bad, as the crowd was good, and the Club set things up as well as it could. The turf was bad, but everything else about the venue was great.

I often agree with you. I don't see much here to agree with beyond calling it bad soccer.

Khiry was horrendous. Mix was fine. He's the least of our worries on salary waste. He can trap a ball and attempt a dangerous ball.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

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.

See above. He passed to actual people. Sometimes, I think I don't even watch the same games other people do. If you didn't see the difference, one of us is taking crazy pills.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

I'm always confused out of what people expect from a CM. He got the ball to the forwards and he got the ball back from LI's midfield. We had most of the ball, and our forwards had plenty of ball in good places to start something. How is it MIx's fault that Khiry can't hit a cross, Mullins is triple covered and POku is running around in midfield somewhere. Mix is not Lee Nguyen who scores and creates at the top of the 18, he's not Pirlo who drops balls on a dime from 50 yards away. He is a hard worker who gets the ball from the other midfield and gets it to the forwards. Teams with bad midfields play counter attack ball because they can't consistently get it through midfield, eg most MLS teams.

Apparently, we have a lot of people here who don't understand what a good midfield is beyond an EA FIFA game rating. It's pretty humorous. Mix was pretty fucking good last night.

 

[S1ARK5]

I absolutely dread Janusz Michallik. If Ian Joy isn't in the booth with Joe Tolleson, have Joe call the game alone or just but a cardboard cutout of someone next to him.

Janusz is not easy on the ears.

 

[Acupofbeans]

Got my days wrong and missed the Cosmos match.

I'd be thankful, if I wasn't so bemused.

Can't decide whether we are unbalanced, inconsistent or poor.

We look exciting at times, but horrendous at the back.

I wanted to win this cup.

 

[Seth]

Apparently, we have a lot of people here who don't understand what a good midfield is beyond an EA FIFA game rating. It's pretty humorous. Mix was pretty fucking good last night.

Agreed. Hard to understand how people could say Mix was terrible. He was the captain, and he drove the midfield (and hence the rest of the offense along with it) for the whole match. Just like it's not Pirlo's job to score goals, for the Cosmos match it wasn't Mix's job either. His job was to get the ball to the front line when there were openings. Unfortunately the front line hardly ever got open and made few runs worthy of mentioning. That's not Mix's fault though. I thought he did a great job in this match, and could see him doing this for us for years once Pirlo and Lampard depart.

For me the problem with the Cosmos match was our front line not working. If we had had Villa and Lampard as targets for Mix things may have been very different. In a way, that match was a testament to how good Villa is. He wasn't on the field, and you could definitely tell.

 

[ktdNYCFC]

Really getting sick of the "we looked good" and "we dominated for most of the game" arguments. Sure, they are usually true, but I don't see how you guys have the stomach to write things like that when we consistently blow games in the final minutes. All of the hard work is thrown out the window. We need results. The 88th minute "oh shit, they scored" Harrison sub really fucking pissed me off. PV knew the kid can score. He also knew the game was tied and about to go into extra time with another game in 3 days. We haven't seen any indication that Harrison will be a consistent starter anytime soon. Why he didn't throw him on at 70 and try to close out the game I have no clue, but it fits our style perfectly.

Choke City FC

 

[roxfontaine]

Yeah, I get your point. I'm saying either way, he should have faced us. If they have to sensor him or threaten to fine

The skill is there, but if the guys you're passing to are scrubs - Last night Shelton, Mullins, Medhi & Taylor, but add Mendoza or regular nights - then Mix can only do so much beyond making a good pass. Even Poku upended him last night by selfishly taking the ball off his foot once or twice as Mix was going forward.

BINGO.

 

[NickA]

After watching all these Euro/Copa games and trying to watch this game...I honestly turned it off at the half. What an embarrassment. This isn't a big club...it's more like the Mickey Mouse Club.

 

[NYCFCfan]

Honest question being asked: does the player or the club decide who speaks after games?

The players know they have a certain amount of time before the media are allowed in (usually it's because they're talking to Vieira). When players are really pissed they'll leave before anyone makes it in, it's happened a few times before.

 

[roxfontaine]

Remember this lineup vs Toronto at the end of that crazy stretch of games last month?

This is the lineup vs Cosmos...



For me, Mullins and Shelton cost us this game with their atrocious play that just suffocated attacking plays. Khiry has no skill on the ball and everyone knows (except for him apparently) that defending him is a game of rock paper scissors. First, just wait to see if he falls down. If so, take the ball and run the other way. If he stays on his feet then he's going to to do one of two things: If he charges forward in a straight line to the center of the box, just cut his angle and wait for him to knock the ball on six yards ahead. Box him out; take the ball and run the other way. If he pulls the ball to the end line and attempts a lame duck of a "cross" just wait for him to get to the end line and stick your foot out. Block the "cross;" take the ball and run the other way.

Mendoza is much better there because he can actually hold the ball and be creative.

Poku should have had two goals I think. Skip to 1:30 in the video. The back to back highlights show Poku calling for the ball while Mullins just ignored it. I think either of these lineups work if Poku is the focus of the attack. Seems to me that Mullins was trying to prove too much. It had the opposite effect.

 

[Gotham Gator]

See above. He passed to actual people. Sometimes, I think I don't even watch the same games other people do. If you didn't see the difference, one of us is taking crazy pills.

He had at least 3 shanks out of bounds. Minimum.

 

[Ulrich]

He had at least 3 shanks out of bounds. Minimum.

Geez, did you see how much the ball bounced on the field?!?!?

Blaming him for that is akin to blaming a date for being late when the subway is stalled. Shit happens and conditions dictate.

 

[S1ARK5]

OK now that I have calmed down a bit and saw as many highlights of the game as I could find here is my thoughts.

Honestly, the lineup PV put out there should have beaten the Cosmos. End of Story! The chances we have, again judging from the highlights should've had us up at least 1-0 towards the end of the game. Shoulda, coulda, woulda, if my grandma had....etc you get the picture. The bottom line is this, I am not as pissed off at PV about the player selection as much as I was game night. Our second and third stringers played well and should have won the game except for some stupid plays by Mullins.

I didn't see much of Shelton but by all accounts on here, he was his usual shitty self so no surprise there. Again, this falls on the players. The fucking cosmos had Danny Szetela, Adam Moffat, Hunter Freeman, and again Jimmy Fucking Mauer in net. Jimmy Mauer. How the fuck do you lose to this team? Its all on the players.

 

[S1ARK5]

And someone asked if this is the Cosmos A team. Yes that is the Cosmos A team. They played all of their starting XI if I am not mistaken, maybe sans a player or two. If you ask Savarese if he would trade the Cosmos starting XI for our starting XI that we put out there, he would do it in a heartbeat. The starting XI we put out would probably win the fall and spring league in the bar league that the NASL is.

Seriously who the fuck has a Spring and Fall league? I know Mexico does but whats next a league every month so you can have 12 different champions in one year. Inexcusable to lose to that team. End of Story!

 

[Goodfella]

And someone asked if this is the Cosmos A team. Yes that is the Cosmos A team. They played all of their starting XI if I am not mistaken, maybe sans a player or two. If you ask Savarese if he would trade the Cosmos starting XI for our starting XI that we put out there, he would do it in a heartbeat. The starting XI we put out would probably win the fall and spring league in the bar league that the NASL is.

Seriously who the fuck has a Spring and Fall league? I know Mexico does but whats next a league every month so you can have 12 different champions in one year. Inexcusable to lose to that team. End of Story!

played without 2 main starters: Kranjcar & Yasmani Duk. Which only makes the loss worse

 

[S1ARK5]

played without 2 main starters: Kranjcar & Yasmani Duk. Which only makes the loss worse

Big deal