MLS Cup Playoffs - November 2 - Cincinnati (Home)
- Thread starter LionNYC
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lol at the pear clutching comments. Kid is having pure fun not saying anything offensive. Beats going to the 2022 Philly game where the kid sitting next to me was calling maxi a midget while his dad encouraged him.
If this series had been a standard home and home 2 leg series, Santi’s penalty would have sent FCC home 3-2 on aggregate.
Even worse, if it was a 2 leg series with away goals, Santi’s penalty would have changed the result from FCC advancing on away goals to NYCFC advancing outright.
No one from FCC can complain about the 3-leg series.
FCC was such a physical team yesterday, peak “MLS team knows it can hack and get away with it because of incompetent reffing.”
Pair that with Lucho’s theatrics and whining to the ref (was still whining to the ref even after the game was over) and FCC is really quite annoying.
Pair that with Lucho’s theatrics and whining to the ref (was still whining to the ref even after the game was over) and FCC is really quite annoying.
Can't complain too much about ref whining since our guys are very guilty of it as well, which I really don't like. Especially when it's a no call, our guy is on the ground and we are defending a counter attack one man down..
I found it somewhat amusing that earlier in the week the team issued a warning against derogatory language in the stands then posts a clip of some 8 year old kid dropping a couple of F bombs like it was the greatest thing they ever saw.
Martins is out of contract in December 2025 with a team option, so it's possible. I'm not sure Haak being listed as right-footed matters much, though. He seems equally adept with either foot. Or at least it's close enough to not matter.
Unless and until he gets a string of starts, either with the first team or with the Deuce, we won't know what we truly have with Jovan.
I do know this: during one of my infusions, I didn't have much to do, so I watched a lot of clips to try and get a handle on the Super League in general, Red Star in particular, and on Jovan's game. He's more than a poacher. The potential is there. He's just super raw.
In any event, I'm not ready to call bust quite yet. It could easily turn out that way. I just don't think we know enough.
The history of the LB position for the entirety of nycfcs existence is shockingly consistent mediocrity.
*Kevin Otoole has entered the chat.
For a guy who had no business ever being a left back, he's made the position his and is a solid MLS level lwb. Sure, he's got clear defensive deficiencies, which is to be expected since he's a converted attacker. But that kid runs his ass off. With proper guidance, he can learn better 1v1 defending and defensive positioning. Unfortunately, I don't think he's gonna get that guidance since he is the #1 choice left back (and doesn't have a more experienced left back to mentor him) and it doesn't seem like the coaching staff really prioritizes coaching 1v1 defending and defensive positioning (except for set pieces).
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I appreciate Kevin Otoole, he has won that position over and over from players on much higher salaries. He's phenomenal value at that spot. His work rate is amazing. I also can't think of another outside back that covers the amount of ground he does in a game and never gets a sub. (As a side note their aversion to putting in McFalane for 10 minutes at the end of the match when KOT is rightfully gassed is just downright bizarre at this point.) I think we are fine going forward with Otoole locked into the spot based on value and the likelihood that he will continue to improve. That said my point was that he's an average MLS LB, better going forward than defending and that's about the bucket every LB in NYCFC history falls into. I honestly don't think I could rank all the LBs that have played for the club based on performance, they are all pretty much the same.
that's fair.
i think on the whole, it is very, very difficult to find a complete wing back on either side. we got very lucky with anton and gray is improving with his offense, but i still think it's rare to find complete wing backs. if gray improves his attacking even more, he won't be with us for much longer.
i disagree, Gudi was the best one we have had. Plus he was dangerous on set pieces. He was not tinnerholm level, but by no means bad in LB.
I thought about this too after reading
gbservis 's post. But I think that feeling of how "good" Gudi was is influenced by the key plays he made on our way to winning the cup. Several key crosses that ended in important goals and of course the atlanta free kick. No doubt, he was a free kick specialist, which we really don't have right now, so that was a plus. But while we can fondly remember his key plays, we have to also remember and acknowledge how terrible he was on defense. He was slow and got toasted constantly. He didn't have a lot of stamina so he wasn't able to get up and down the wing as much as we would have liked. And while he made some memorable crosses at important times, in general i don't think he's anton level on the left side.If anything, Gudi is probably the most clutch LWB we've ever had.
I thought about this too after reading
If anything, Gudi is probably the most clutch LWB we've ever had.
LWB was not even his natural role. he had to play that here. he was a true LB in a back four formation. because this team wants wing play and had to move to a back three with Wingbacks it forced him in that role, and it eventually exposed his lack of speed. but his positives still outweighed the negatives and at least to me still the best LB this team had.
On the flip side, I think Matarrita is underrated because of his 2 playoff gaffes against Toronto. Mata is clearly the best LB we've had outside of his blunders and it's not close. Sure, you can weight those heavily and downgrade him - that's totally fair - but let's not pretend that his otherwise quality play did not happen.
I don't cite to the ASA Goals Added stat much because it's hard enough getting people to take xG seriously, and I'm not yet sold that it's weightings have been properly fine tuned. But is the only system around that attempts to measure all offensive and defensive contributions both on and off the ball, and sometimes it just tells you what you already know. The ASA database has 12 NYCFC players with 2,000 or more minutes and classified as fullbacks. Tinnerholm sits on top with 0.22 net goals added per game. Mata is next at +0.19, followed by Malte at +0.15.
Mata ranked first in interruptions (Tackles, Interceptions, Blocks, Clearances, Recoveries, Contested Headers), second in Receiving and third in Passing. OTOH his shot quality was epically poor and he consistently underperformed his xG. But there's a reason he was the starting LB for 5 years.
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I tend to agree. He was really good at times and had a high ceiling. But he was prone to two things that kept him from working out - injuries and mistakes. He was out a whole bunch, and that foul against Toronto was just the last and most blatant of the stupid mistakes he'd make a couple times a year.
Matarrita was good in regular season games, but he was awful in playoff games, big games, and Derbies. He would get himself so fired up that he would make mistakes and make stupid decisions. So yes, he probably had the most talent of any LB in our history, but he also was the least dependable in the big games.
