MLS - August 20 - Minnesota (Home)

[canchon]

Maybe that spark is a new manager…

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“Something to spark them…” I can think of one big thing that would spark them.

Sad to say it but look across the river - they fired Struber and now are in better shape to make the playoffs. By the way, they won 1-0 tonight on a goal in the 88th minute.

NYCFC does not know how to win. That’s on the manager.

 

[Kenny]

“Something to spark them…” I can think of one big thing that would spark them.

Sad to say it but look across the river - they fired Struber and now are in better shape to make the playoffs. By the way, they won 1-0 tonight on a goal in the 88th minute.

NYCFC does not know how to win. That’s on the manager.

I agree with everything except Red Bull. They still suck and won’t make the playoffs, or if they do they’ll get knocked out quickly

 

[Keith Putnam]

I agree with everything except Red Bull. They still suck and won’t make the playoffs, or if they do they’ll get knocked out quickly

Interestingly, RBNJ has the best xGD in the East right now at +8.8. Cincy is at +8.7 and then there's a gap to the Crew at +6.8.
The Red Bulls are getting football'd to an extreme degree, being first place in the xGD table but 11th in the points table.

 

[Brooklyn Blue]

Cushing seems like an excellent assistant coach.

As someone else noted, why Pelligrini and Gray? They are both solid squad players, but they are both defense first. This team - for all its struggles - hasn’t had significant defensive issues. They can’t score goals. It is on Cushing when he starts a game with multiple offensive voids.

If either Magno or Ilenic starts, the team gets a result tonight. Cannot convince me otherwise.

(Also, it was an odd deflection for the Gregus goal, but the player closest to him was Pelligrini - our “defensive” wing. How’d that work, Nick?)

 

[CCMore]

Watched at home tonight and the first half was honestly such a great half of football skill in position and getting the ball into dangerous positions. We were pinging the ball into dangerous areas over and over again but just couldn’t finish tonight. I am actually feeling more hopeful than I felt before that we can right this ship just in the Nick of time. Just gotta finish a chance. Bakrar has a higher floor than Taty. Once he and maxi click, I can’t wait to see the ceiling. Thank god maxi is back. Every new guy that played tonight seemed to be a baller. I think the only one who was vaguely quiet was Risa. But like a CB having a quiet performance is not a bad thing. But watching him and Martin’s ping balls to the wings was really a site to behold as well. This team is so damn close. Just need a Gudi free kick powder keg moment.

 

[moogoo]

Cushing seems like an excellent assistant coach.

As someone else noted, why Pelligrini and Gray? They are both solid squad players, but they are both defense first. This team - for all its struggles - hasn’t had significant defensive issues. They can’t score goals. It is on Cushing when he starts a game with multiple offensive voids.

If either Magno or Ilenic starts, the team gets a result tonight. Cannot convince me otherwise.

(Also, it was an odd deflection for the Gregus goal, but the player closest to him was Pelligrini - our “defensive” wing. How’d that work, Nick?)

pell gave the ball to gregus and then failed to apply pressure after doing so. gray committed the foul before that. both defensive players who fucked us in our defensive half doing what they always do - commit stupid fouls and give the ball away cheaply.

how many times did Risa ping the ball to pelligrini only for him NOT to bring it down and do something with it? i think crooks counted it was like 1 out of 4 or 5 balls. That's not good enough. Even when Gray does get the ball in the offensive half, his first look is backwards and even when he does make an overlapping run, his cross is atrocious. that's not how we should play. Is that on nick or is that on gray? I don't remember him being so cautious before.

 

[Gotham Gator]

No matter what I think we should all overreact.

Whether we should or we shouldn't, we will.

Actually, I don’t think we will overreact, because that’s not possible. That was fucking unacceptable tonight. Cushing needs to go.

Was I the only one who noted how much more effort seemed to come from the new guys once they were subbed on? I don’t think our regular core are lazy, but they are lacking confidence, and that shows in their play.

 

[Shwafta]

Goals for, goals against, penalties called, video reviews, I’m just non-emotive anymore when it comes to this team. We’re just not fun to watch or entertaining.

My biggest gripe was that the stadium clock wasn’t working when the second half started.

I noted to mgarbowski that you were pretty motionless tonight.

 

[ZYanksRule]

That first half was great. So nice to have Maxi back -- he got such a loud ovation before the game and the first time he touched the ball.

We looked a lot more dangerous. Switches of play for the first time all season, guys getting in behind, really felt like our offense was unlocked. But just as its been all season, the minute something bad happens we crumble. We are now 0-8-6 in MLS play when conceding the first goal this season. Completely unable to turn results around. I think that's a result of the young team having not been through the wars. We need some of our veterans to be better in that regard.

We are currently 6 points out of the playoffs with 9 to play. So we're two games out with 9 to play. It's not likely that we make the playoffs, but it's possible. Two games back with 9 to play is not insurmountable.

Feels like these new guys are going to gel and we're going to get after it at some point this season, the question is whether it happens too late to make the playoffs. I do feel pretty confident about next season -- we have a good squad now. All the new guys looked good. I think Risa is going to be a Callens-like central defender for us. He's the goods. Fernandez looked dangerous when we finaly got Tayvon off the field and he was able to get service.

I don't need to see Pellegrini or Gray start anymore games, barring injury. Pellegrini's turnover led right to the goal, and just in general he's not at the level of the rest of the players at his position. And I need to see Mitja start games now. Gray can't be starting anymore. He's a black hole over there.

I know all the noise about Cushing, but I really don't think this season is his fault. Was he a bad coach when we went to the conference final last year? Ultimately, the roster hasn't been good enough this season. We now have a good roster. If Bakrar finishes those two chances in the first half, if Fernandez finishes that sitter in the 2nd half .... we win that game 8 out of 10 times. It's too late in the season to look for moral victories, but I want to see what Cushing's coaching looks like now that he has a better roster. If we don't turn this around at the end of the year, I'll join the Cushing out train. In the meantime, he hasn't had the roster and should be given a chance with this roster.

 

[JayH]

Our front office left us with no room for error. And we errored.

 

[DeGrozz]

Additionally, after the match, he walked off without being there for the players. There has to be a disconnect.

I missed it, but on my drive home today, my wife mentioned Cush quickly exiting the field like he was trying to avoid something.

On a positive note, Risa's distribution out of the back is going to be a game changer if we get the right players on the field with him. Some of those balls he hit today were beauts!

After tonight I'm just going to be thankful we have some games left to go to. No more Kreis math trying to figure out a way to sneak into the last playoff spot. The team is individually talented but has obviously lacked a manager who could put the pieces together. Let's hope Maxi can build a little bit of offensive chemistry over these next 8ish weeks that can blossom under a new manager in 2024.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Our front office left us with no room for error. And we errored.

Exactly. Ultimately, I think whatever happens this season is gravy. These signings were about 2024. If we can save this season, great. If not, we're looking squarely towards next year. As fans I think we need to understand that, because I'm pretty convinced that's where the front office is at the moment. When all those veterans left over the winter, 2023 turned into a retooling year. I'm OK with it as long as things look better next year. Judging by the quality on the pitch tonight, it sure looks like 2024 will be a lot better.

 

[moogoo]

That first half was great. So nice to have Maxi back -- he got such a loud ovation before the game and the first time he touched the ball.

We looked a lot more dangerous. Switches of play for the first time all season, guys getting in behind, really felt like our offense was unlocked. But just as its been all season, the minute something bad happens we crumble. We are now 0-8-6 in MLS play when conceding the first goal this season. Completely unable to turn results around. I think that's a result of the young team having not been through the wars. We need some of our veterans to be better in that regard.

We are currently 6 points out of the playoffs with 9 to play. So we're two games out with 9 to play. It's not likely that we make the playoffs, but it's possible. Two games back with 9 to play is not insurmountable.

Feels like these new guys are going to gel and we're going to get after it at some point this season, the question is whether it happens too late to make the playoffs. I do feel pretty confident about next season -- we have a good squad now. All the new guys looked good. I think Risa is going to be a Callens-like central defender for us. He's the goods. Fernandez looked dangerous when we finaly got Tayvon off the field and he was able to get service.

I don't need to see Pellegrini or Gray start anymore games, barring injury. Pellegrini's turnover led right to the goal, and just in general he's not at the level of the rest of the players at his position. And I need to see Mitja start games now. Gray can't be starting anymore. He's a black hole over there.

I know all the noise about Cushing, but I really don't think this season is his fault. Was he a bad coach when we went to the conference final last year? Ultimately, the roster hasn't been good enough this season. We now have a good roster. If Bakrar finishes those two chances in the first half, if Fernandez finishes that sitter in the 2nd half .... we win that game 8 out of 10 times. It's too late in the season to look for moral victories, but I want to see what Cushing's coaching looks like now that he has a better roster. If we don't turn this around at the end of the year, I'll join the Cushing out train. In the meantime, he hasn't had the roster and should be given a chance with this roster.

with a better roster, cushing picked gray and pellegrini to start. there's your answer.

 

[ZYanksRule]

with a better roster, cushing picked gray and pellegrini to start. there's your answer.

Fernandez just got here I believe, he may not have been ready to go for 90 minutes. I don't know why Gray started, but it was notable how early he made those two changes. But you're absolutely right about that and it's a concern. Cushing seems like a developmental coach, but with how many guys have regressed under him this season, he does deserve criticism. I just want to see what it looks like these last 10 games because he was not given the roster to succeed over the first 24 games.

 

[LionNYC]

I noted to mgarbowski that you were pretty motionless tonight.

It's been like that for the past 14 months.

 

[canchon]

so many times this season the team has generally carried play, created chances (without finishing) and has been beaten defensively on simple mistakes or excellent finishing on the other end.

this narrative repeated over and over gives Cushing the excuse to say “well, we played hard, got the ball into dangerous positions, should have scored more” etc etc. This allows him to slide by with this excuse that “yeah, everything is alright and it will turn around soon.”

coaching creates both the tactics and the mentality to win the important moments that win football matches. This is why the Revs can set a points record by winning a crapload of games one season by one goal. This is why Cincy is running away with the supporters shield by winning games by slim margins. This is why RBNJ knows that they want to keep a zero on their end and wait for that one opportunity to score to create results.

There is a pattern of similar play this year - Cushing is not getting the best out of his team. At times it seems that the team is content holding possession and creating chances, not ending them in the net. They need a reset to bring together talent and mentality to win again.

 

[DeGrozz]

xG on Bakrar's miss was .785 -- is that our biggest miss of the season?

 

[Shwafta]

xG on Bakrar's miss was .785 -- is that our biggest miss of the season?

I don't get how the xG was so big. It really wasn't all that huge.... It was at an awkward angle. If anything the miss later on the "open net" from a tight angle was a bigger miss.

 

[mgarbowski]

Lots of things said about this game I think are just wrong but I don't disagree with ultimate conclusions.

Usually people bemoan the finishing and expect 3 goals when the team took 7-8 average shots and had ~1 xG. Last night the team had 18 shots (3rd best for the season) and 2.62 team xG - a season best per ASA - and scored 0 goals, yet everyone is blaming the coach and right side players who missed 0 shots. Pellegrini had 1.23 xA. And that's not some weird quirky number I stumbled across: I went looking for it because it was obvious when I watched the game that he was directly responsible for almost half the team's should-have-been goals. It's not his fault the shots he set up didn't go in, and if he didn't play there's no guarantee his replacement does better. Yes, Pelle could have closed on Gregus but Sands is our golden boy national team D-Mid and was directly in front of Gregus and did the most to give him space. Sands also was lucky not to be sent off for his tackle on Hlongwane. Pelle also didn't really give Minnesota the ball either. The Loons had the ball and Pellegrini intercepted it and dinged it directly to Gregus in a single touch. It could be better but it could be worse. Finally, the guy who subbed in for Pellegrini arrived in the country less than a week ago. Almost no managers would start him in that situation.

xG aside, this is the best and most active the team has looked in the final third all season with the possible exception of the Dallas and Charlotte games. The offense flowed in ways it rarely has since the first half of 2022. They just weren't clinical, to use a term I generally can't stand, but it applied more last night than it did in almost any game this season when Nick repeatedly used it to explain why we scored 1 goal on 0.8 xG and 7-9 shots. Last night it really was the finishing.

That said, Fernandez should take Pelle's minutes going forward, and probably will. Even though this was as good as the team has looked all season Gotham Gator is right and it continues to lack and eventually that's on the coach. I'm very much settling in to my position that Nick is a good defensive coach but not offense and not HC. Even on defense, he dropped the element that drove a lot of the team's offense under Ronny which was the pressing followed by quick play to attack goal. It's not just Taty. It changed as soon as Nick took over while Taty was still here. I don't know why he changed that but coaches gonna coach their way even when the other way worked. And I have no answer for the Gray/Ilenic mystery. Something something training is my guess but ?? Yet even there, Gray is neither due credit for why the team had 2.62 xG nor to blame for 0 goals. I don't know why he's playing but he had little effect on the game result.

The team still is not built right. When you sub off your CF for a guy who proved he is not a CF over a full season and hasn't hit a shot with power all year, and then he and the beloved PK black hole are the 2 options to take a PK until VAR put them out of their misery, it's still a roster fail. There is no one to compete with Bakrar for minutes and no one to sub in when he's tired or slumping.

/sigh

 

[Gotham Gator]