Obviously we all like what we've seen from JL on the pitch. If y'all have a better idea what's happening here, and what it'll take from him to earn starts, I'm all ears.
Houston - Postmatch
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
maybe the PV thinks Wallace is just better each coach has there own preference JL isn't a good as Wallace defensively
I agree with that defensive statement. Though, seeing Wallace's shot vs. Houston, with Ring on the field put the on the pitch.
We've discussed this over and over and many people have chimed in saying that Lewis works hard in training.
We know FO people do occasionally visit the forums and I wouldn't be shocked if some players family did as well based on how active some are on twitter. There's been people here that rode Lampard regardless of what he did and no one accused them of being Lampard.
He still never answered me about what he thought of Tab as a coach. Damnit.
H hank you have any thoughts on him?
You guys are crazy, hes not Jonathan Lewis because I AM Jonathan Lewis
So, I took a few photos at the match in Hartford but perhaps from not the usual angle.
Emily called mid-week to ask if I could be part of the "welcome tunnel" before the match. Maybe 50 or 100 people or so were there to line the tunnel when the players came on the field and to cheer them on. This is the welcome crowd before the chaos started:
They had us gather at the top of the lower bowl, walked us down the stands, out onto the field briefly, and then into one of the tunnels behind the goal. Here's what the warmups looked like from in the tunnel beforehand:
The escort kids arrived next, then the team flags a bit later. They were lined up just a bit further up the tunnel and on the other side of the two lines we were in.
The kids then lined up between our two existing lines. Chaos levels increasing.
Next came the refs and players. Chaos level still rising.
Maximum chaos has been achieved with the addition of the camera crews and the hordes of photographers right before the march out. Tunnel now completely full:
Whew, survived and have room to breathe again now that they're out on the pitch!
It was like being backstage at the circus almost. There were loads of front office people running around with clipboards, walkie talkies, and lots of arm waving. Each successive group that was added to the tunnel had to be positioned, instructed, watched over, organized. Utter chaos, but also totally controlled at the same time. So now I'm thinking that a large part of what the front office has to do during the week is organize and plan all this gameday activity. And that it wasn't our stadium only made it worse as all the offices and rooms had to have custom signage designed, printed, put up on the wall (things like Match Officials, Visiting Medical Staff, etc.). But then I realized somebody has to do that every match when we're at home as well as it's not actually our stadium. It was a madhouse in the best of ways, and vastly entertaining in addition to being a bit of an education.
Emily called mid-week to ask if I could be part of the "welcome tunnel" before the match. Maybe 50 or 100 people or so were there to line the tunnel when the players came on the field and to cheer them on. This is the welcome crowd before the chaos started:
They had us gather at the top of the lower bowl, walked us down the stands, out onto the field briefly, and then into one of the tunnels behind the goal. Here's what the warmups looked like from in the tunnel beforehand:
The escort kids arrived next, then the team flags a bit later. They were lined up just a bit further up the tunnel and on the other side of the two lines we were in.
The kids then lined up between our two existing lines. Chaos levels increasing.
Next came the refs and players. Chaos level still rising.
Maximum chaos has been achieved with the addition of the camera crews and the hordes of photographers right before the march out. Tunnel now completely full:
Whew, survived and have room to breathe again now that they're out on the pitch!
It was like being backstage at the circus almost. There were loads of front office people running around with clipboards, walkie talkies, and lots of arm waving. Each successive group that was added to the tunnel had to be positioned, instructed, watched over, organized. Utter chaos, but also totally controlled at the same time. So now I'm thinking that a large part of what the front office has to do during the week is organize and plan all this gameday activity. And that it wasn't our stadium only made it worse as all the offices and rooms had to have custom signage designed, printed, put up on the wall (things like Match Officials, Visiting Medical Staff, etc.). But then I realized somebody has to do that every match when we're at home as well as it's not actually our stadium. It was a madhouse in the best of ways, and vastly entertaining in addition to being a bit of an education.
Watched it, so you guys don't have to.
Said it should have been a PK on the Deric take down on Villa, but he comments Villa didn't seem to protest much.
Also says the FK restart shouldn't have counted because the ball never stops moving. However, he also says VAR cannot be used in this instance because restarts are not reviewable, even if they lead to a goal.
So, thanks again Chapman!
What?!? Villa was completely protesting while rolling on the ground.
So not just fuck PRO but fuck IFAB. If a restart leads to a goal in the attacking phase of play it should reviewed. It's ludicrous not to review it.
I've been posting all over the wrong threads about this match, but I finally got done watching the replay and figured I'd summarize here.
tl;dr – I think we dropped 2 points because Paddy is trying to be too clever. Any assessment of individual player performance is pretty much moot given the fact that we are entirely hamstrung while trying to get used to a new and rather complicated new system.
In D:
Villa - Moralez
Tommy - Ring - Pirlo - Harrison
Sweat - Callens - Brillant - Struna
In attack:
Villa
Moralez - Harrison
Sweat - Tommy - Pirlo - Struna
Callens - Ring - Brillant
I just don't see us turning into a 3-4-2-1 team in time to make a run for the playoffs. We were never able to find quick outlet passes after regaining the ball, because the movement that players have to make to get set up for attack are batshit. Moralez drops, Harrison runs inside, Tommy shifts inside and only Sweat and Struna move forward. That is a lot of compacting of space when you really want to be stretching it to make Houston chase the ball and leave holes.
Paddy, what are you doing?
I figure he wants to preserve the sanctity of his back 4 while trying to find a way to get numbers into midfield. But the practitioners of 3ATB systems have it the other way around - they flood midfield when they don't have the ball and spread the field when they get it. We spread the field when we don't have the ball and flood midfield when we get it. It doesn't work and I don't think it will work.
Once we shifted into a 4-3-3 we looked a lot happier. And then Shelton came on and we looked bad again. I feel like the 4-3-3 is our low-risk, low-upside formation at this point. If we are gonna try 3ATB, I think we have to go all-in and forget this hybrid stuff. I think the upside is higher but the risk is ridiculously high right now given that we don't have many games to get it right and then build up a head of steam going into the playoffs. It may be too late, but if we are gonna try to make this work, I would go:
Villa - Harrison
Wallace - Maxi - Ring - Pirlo - Allen
Sweat - Callens - Brillant
Overall, I can't help feeling like we got caught sleeping at the wheel a little this season. We may have been hampered a little by injuries, but we should have been trying this out back when we got outplayed by TFC at Yankee Stadium when they were down 5 of their starters. Given where we are with injuries, games left and overall system familiarity, I would say we persist with a 4-3-3 and hope we get lucky and somebody takes out TFC before we have to play them, or we get the rub of green if we end up having to play them, or lack of rotation eventually takes its toll on them.
tl;dr – I think we dropped 2 points because Paddy is trying to be too clever. Any assessment of individual player performance is pretty much moot given the fact that we are entirely hamstrung while trying to get used to a new and rather complicated new system.
In D:
Villa - Moralez
Tommy - Ring - Pirlo - Harrison
Sweat - Callens - Brillant - Struna
In attack:
Villa
Moralez - Harrison
Sweat - Tommy - Pirlo - Struna
Callens - Ring - Brillant
I just don't see us turning into a 3-4-2-1 team in time to make a run for the playoffs. We were never able to find quick outlet passes after regaining the ball, because the movement that players have to make to get set up for attack are batshit. Moralez drops, Harrison runs inside, Tommy shifts inside and only Sweat and Struna move forward. That is a lot of compacting of space when you really want to be stretching it to make Houston chase the ball and leave holes.
Paddy, what are you doing?
I figure he wants to preserve the sanctity of his back 4 while trying to find a way to get numbers into midfield. But the practitioners of 3ATB systems have it the other way around - they flood midfield when they don't have the ball and spread the field when they get it. We spread the field when we don't have the ball and flood midfield when we get it. It doesn't work and I don't think it will work.
Once we shifted into a 4-3-3 we looked a lot happier. And then Shelton came on and we looked bad again. I feel like the 4-3-3 is our low-risk, low-upside formation at this point. If we are gonna try 3ATB, I think we have to go all-in and forget this hybrid stuff. I think the upside is higher but the risk is ridiculously high right now given that we don't have many games to get it right and then build up a head of steam going into the playoffs. It may be too late, but if we are gonna try to make this work, I would go:
Villa - Harrison
Wallace - Maxi - Ring - Pirlo - Allen
Sweat - Callens - Brillant
Overall, I can't help feeling like we got caught sleeping at the wheel a little this season. We may have been hampered a little by injuries, but we should have been trying this out back when we got outplayed by TFC at Yankee Stadium when they were down 5 of their starters. Given where we are with injuries, games left and overall system familiarity, I would say we persist with a 4-3-3 and hope we get lucky and somebody takes out TFC before we have to play them, or we get the rub of green if we end up having to play them, or lack of rotation eventually takes its toll on them.
Last edited:
I like the 352 you have, but if everybody available is healthy enough to go 90, I'd rather have Mata in for Wallace as LWB and move Wallace to the middle instead of Pirlo to clog it and provide some strength in tackles. I realize he isn't a prototypical central player, but he's good in tight spaces as long as he isn't pinged with an overly heavy pass. Physically he's closer to a like4like with Hererra being able to go box to box.
I don't see the similarity. I toyed with the idea of having Mata in there at LWB, but I feel like he's made of glass at this point. If I had to move Wallace, I'd put him up front with Villa for the hold-up play. He has the killer instinct of a panda though.
I have to agree with Chris here, Wallace as a center mid is destined for a disaster. even as an attacking mid i see him losing way too many balls and trying to do too much
Agree that it is our low-risk, low-upside formation, but if we have everyone healthy, I feel as though we should be able to hang with any team. Yeah, TFC and Atlanta may still beat us, but with everyone healthy and in a 4-3-3, we got a strong XI.
Any particular reason why Allen over Struna? I know we don't have a large sample size on Struna yet, but just curious
Similar threads
- Poll
