- Neds stat box is misleading. Just
look at this. You might see 86% passing completion and think that's "effective" football. It's not when you scroll down and see style of play as layoffs and short passes. One key thing they left out... BACKWARDS. Even looking at
overall ratings over the season, Ned is at 22... down with a group that was either injured or just didn't get much playing time. For 1884 minutes, he has managed 2 goals in a lightning strike game and 1 assist. Poku has 4 goals 6 assists and an 81% PSR in 983 minutes...
I'm not sure that I argued that Poku got enough minutes. If you extrapolate his performance in small minutes to games where he plays the full 90 (and to be clear, I'm not sure you really can - he can't play as physically if he's having to save some gas for all 90), he's certainly starting quality, and given that Kreis was given full control over his lineups (not sure he was w/r/t Lampard and Pirlo), Poku probably should have received more minutes. But people have been complaining all year even when Grabavoy comes off the bench - Grabavoy's far and away better than any of the other options we have coming off the bench.
- True on Mix but he is young and capable. That will be a great measure of what this next coach is made of; if he can direct Mix into the player that he is supposed to be.
Mix is a decent cog in an already good team, but is not a guy you can depend on as a true gamechanger. He has fantastic ball skills but lacks the vision or creativity to make plays happen on a consistent basis. I can't blame a coach for trying to find a place where he can contribute. He does some nice things, but isn't worth the money we pay him - I'd trade him for Sacha from NJRB in a second.
- Nobody that I recall hated Mullins. The guy has been fantastic for us in his limited time!
I read several posts on here that questioned why Mullins was coming in the game, and were very, very negative on his impact. I remember it around the Montreal road game.
These guys can play. There is no doubt about that. They are not speedsters but their cunning far outweighs their lack of speed. So, as "old" as they may be, they can still contribute greatly.
We didn't see it last year, and there's another year on the tires this year. And "cunning" really only gets you so far when you aren't surrounded by talent that can complete plays - pinging in great passes only means so much when Villa's the only player that can get on the end of them.
I'm not arguing that they can't help - of course Pirlo and Lampard can play better than they showed this past year. But are they effective uses of designated player spots on the field (rather than just selling tickets)? Absolutely not.
- He didn't need to get a on a mic and scream but he needed to show leadership. I never SAW it in any form. I said the same thing about Iraola. Is he a leader? Yes. His career proves that. Was he the right kind of leader here? Nope. Thus, he was quickly shuttled to the bench.
It's not Kreis' job to show leadership to the fans. It's his job to show leadership to the players. And other than a few vague quotes that have either been fabricated (the one from the comedian and the "I'd rather lose under another manager than win under Kreis" that was actually a Chelsea joke) or taken out of context, I don't know that I have any window into that. I really don't give a shit about a manager's facial expressions on the sidelines. I may be alone in this, but that doesn't matter to me.
- "At one stage in his career." Interesting, different rule set for Pirlo and Lampard. Let's chalk this one up to misspeaking. Wingert was the type of player that you built a team up WITH, not around. Around implies that the subject is the center piece.
It's a different rule set because we're talking about two completely different things. Kreis was making a roster construction philosophy statement about how you win in MLS. And under those standards, he was 100% correct - guys of Wingert's type are how you succeed in MLS, and not the Thierry Henry signings.
You can't build around Pirlo and Lampard because they'll only be here for one or two more years. By the time you brought in shuttlers to complement Pirlo, he'd be retired. Because of the roster acquisition methodology in MLS, you can't turn over a roster to fit a new philosophy the way you can overseas. That's why a measured approach that's painstakingly consistent with a guiding philosophy is critical. That's what Kreis had at RSL, and that's what he's not been given the opportunity to do here.
- They're world class. Period. They didn't just dominate on arrival but that's a good thing. The league is competitive and coaches know how to adjust tactics. Saying Pirlo is not world class and he just played a CL Final is absurd. Same for Lampard. He is a world class player. Still.
They were world class. The Frank Lampard we saw last year is a guy you bring off the bench for a late winner. Pirlo is world class in the right system, and you can't build the kind of team that Pirlo works with in MLS -- not in one year.
The next coach will have certainly have his hands full but he will also have a much greater frame of reference.
I totally lack faith that CFG is going about this the right way, and think some here are blinded by a misguided distrust of a manager they didn't connect with. I can't fault Kreis for pushing back on a CFG administration that I myself considered full of shit all year.
Edit: That being said, Rox - appreciate the response.
