General MLS Discussion

I like this insight re: roster building in our league.

 
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I like this insight re: roster building in our league.


Wolf and Martinez fit that mold. Swap any of the dead weight of Jovan, Ojeda, and Frenedez for a few more Wolf and Martinez types and we are probably favorites right now to win the ECF. At the very least Nick would have more than 2 subs that he could actually trust.
 
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Wolf and Martinez fit that mold. Swap any of the dead weight of Jovan, Ojeda, and Frenedez for a few more Wolf and Martinez types and we are probably favorites right now to win the ECF. At the very least Nick would have more than 2 subs that he could actually trust.

martinez has been great. my hope is it's not just a freak heber type year and he can repeat the performance next year.

i'm still not convinced wolf is a great signing. i don't think he gives us a whole lot other than effort and some IQ in the press. he's just simply our best option on the right wing with this roster. i'd take another gabby over wolf in a heartbeat.
 
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martinez has been great. my hope is it's not just a freak heber type year and he can repeat the performance next year.

i'm still not convinced wolf is a great signing. i don't think he gives us a whole lot other than effort and some IQ in the press. he's just simply our best option on the right wing with this roster. i'd take another gabby over wolf in a heartbeat.

It feels like he's been a little unlucky in front of goal. I think he's a creative, smart player who knows the spaces he needs to get to and is a threat in the attacking third. I definitely feel like he's one of those players who will really have a strong season in his second season with us.

According to ASA, he has 5 goals and 6 assists, but his xG is 5.76 and his xA is 7.44. So he has been a little unlucky.

As for Martinez, he has 16 goals but an xG of 9.28, so he's scoring at a rate of 6.72 goals more than expected. The only two players in MLS that have been more "lucky" are Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
 
It will be interesting to see how things shake out for Wolf. In his first 21 games, he had 4 goals and 7 assists. In the 13 games since, he’s had 1 of each. Most of his productivity was in a 14 game stretch mid-season, when he had 5 goals and 6 assists.

So, is there a reason why he was so productive in that middle stretch and less productive before and after? Or is it just randomness and he’s a 5/8 kind of guy? What should we expect going forward?
 
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It will be interesting to see how things shake out for Wolf. In his first 21 games, he had 4 goals and 7 assists. In the 13 games since, he’s had 1 of each. Most of his productivity was in a 14 game stretch mid-season, when he had 5 goals and 6 assists.

So, is there a reason why he was so productive in that middle stretch and less productive before and after? Or is it just randomness and he’s a 5/8 kind of guy? What should we expect going forward?
This season he has given me Medina vibes without the DP tag. There are long swaths of the game where I forget he’s on the field until he gets subbed off. But I think he’s doing what the coach is asking of him, I’ve noticed him on transition opportunities. But those usually fizzle out quickly. I’d keep him on the roster as a TAM player but would be pulling out the pitch fork and torch if he’s upgraded to DP
 
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It feels like he's been a little unlucky in front of goal. I think he's a creative, smart player who knows the spaces he needs to get to and is a threat in the attacking third. I definitely feel like he's one of those players who will really have a strong season in his second season with us.

According to ASA, he has 5 goals and 6 assists, but his xG is 5.76 and his xA is 7.44. So he has been a little unlucky.

As for Martinez, he has 16 goals but an xG of 9.28, so he's scoring at a rate of 6.72 goals more than expected. The only two players in MLS that have been more "lucky" are Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
Alonso has definitely been "lucky" in terms of his finishing, but he's also generating 0.53 nPxG per 96 minutes, which is good for 8th in the league. Willie Agada, Messi, Felipe Mora, Joveljic, Benteke, Suarez, and Ramiro Enrique are the only ones ahead of him. That's good company.

Even if he finished at his xG level, he'd be a damn productive striker in this league.

I think Alonso needs to add a few things to his game next year:
  • Hold up / link up play. He's shown the ability to make some nice passes in the final third, but he hasn't been very strong at being involved in the buildup, holding up play, etc.
  • Set piece chances. He's had very little here and if he can figure out how to generate chances off of set pieces, that would be massive. Especially considering how bad this team has been from that standpoint this season.
 
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