Unless of course the ref and linesmen were always frustrated by being yelled at in Spanish.... that could be annoying as hell if you don't speak the language.
Iraola Retires
- Thread starter Jon
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Unless of course the ref and linesmen were always frustrated by being yelled at in Spanish.... that could be annoying as hell if you don't speak the language.
In the same match I realized noticed it with Iraola (@Toronto in May), Drew Moor yelled at the linesman "Raise the fucking flag" after a missed offside call. Not understanding could be a benefit
Not sure we can psycho-analyze the refs. I just like watching funny stuff.
Oh it IS funny, but I'm always imagining Iraola talking to them and they have no idea what he's saying, but they humor him while ignoring the banter.In the same match I realized noticed it with Iraola (@Toronto in May), Drew Moor yelled at the linesman "Raise the fucking flag" after a missed offside call. Not understanding could be a benefit
This is the second worst news I could get this offseason, Villa leaving would be first. Terrible. We will miss him terribly. This makes the right CDM at DP a priority for me.
I always felt he gave Pirlo a short outlet that he could dump it to if pressured, that he could trust to hold the ball. Bravo just isn't that guy. Pirlo requires certain pieces around him, and Bravo might be a good CDM in another set up, but not this one.
I posted in the off-season thread b/c didn't see this one, but you guys nailed it.
AI saved our season and would have been my preference to retain out of any of our midfielders. People that think $200k guys with his mind and vision and technicality are just hanging around waiting for NYCFC to call are sorely mistaken.
He was a pivotal player for the club and deserves every accolade for us getting to 2nd in the east. Without that move, we don't sniff the playoffs.
Hats off to him. Absolute class, total professional. I'm going to miss the hell out of him. One of my favorites because he truly was a technician in a role that most players need years to understand. Quite a testament to just how smart a player he was.
What if we just keep moving our RBs to CDM spots, and throw RJ in there. Can't be worse than RJ as a LB, which is what Vieira had him do half the year when Mata was out...?
RJ has a worse touch than Jared from Subway
Also true, but Bravo also doesn't have a touch at all and he plays as a CDM. Just wanted to get the idea rolling on people other than players who have only played in the attacking half for us this season as being good CDM possibilities. I like Jack and TMac, but I don't think they'd thrive as CDMs, being that they haven't exactly played defensively. Tracking back as a winger is much different than being a CDM and knowing whose run to cover/ when to pressure the ball/ when to stall the ball carrier in an effort to allow more defenders to fall back.
If only there were a shunned CDM, who has both the ability to defend and pass, has played for great coaches like Jogi Löw, Pep, LVG, and is a World Cup winner..... hmmm....
We saw a flash of this towards the end of the season and it was a disaster. I forget which game it was but PV had RJ pinch into the midfield as we played out of the back and he looked totally lost. People keep forgetting that Iraola played CDM on and off again throughout his whole career. He played RB considerably more but this wasn't some random NYCFC late career shift, he already had considerable experience playing the position.
ETA: I think yeah already proved how bad this would be, RJ gets lost when you change which sideline he has to cover, you're going to put him in the middle of the field?
That's a bit unfair regarding RJ. He was asked to play an inverted fullback which is tough to do when transitioning from inside/offense to outside/defense, and it was the first time we tried it. I don't know if RJ could become a DMid, but staying centrally on off/def would make it that much easier if a transition.
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How the hell are we going to replace him. He will be sorely missed.
