MLS - July 12 - Charlotte (Away)
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
This is what troubles me, too. I've seen nothing to make me believe either is going to suddenly explode into a star.
I didn't watch the game but from what I've read and the highlights it looks like we controlled most of the match but didn't do anything with the breaks and chances that were provided to us.
That first Charlotte goal absolutely has to go to video review for offside on the initial pass in the attacking phase of play. That's on the VAR Greg Dopka.
That first Charlotte goal absolutely has to go to video review for offside on the initial pass in the attacking phase of play. That's on the VAR Greg Dopka.
No signs that either is about to make a big leap, but more disappointing to me is the lack of incremental development. We are 2 years in with these guys and niether has progressed at all. Not every player can be a breakout star, but they should be showing signs of devolopment by now.
I’d make the case that Fernandez has improved slightly and slowly, but not nearly enough to warrant his price tag. He has produced and actually had some of the most threatening moments in the game last night. Ojeda… for some reason I’ve always rated him higher than Fernandez, but as mgarbowski has pointed out, he’s not producing anything. My hot take is in the long run Ojeda will be a better player than Fernandez, but at that point neither player will be on this squad.
Hard to argue with this. There certainly hasn't been a steady improvement in either player, just flashes here and there. Nothing consistent.
We'll just have to see what Pascal cooks up once he can work Nico in and reorganize our attack. There may be an opportunity to unlock them. Certainly we can't expect them to reach the next level on their own.
i think the reason why most rate ojeda more than fernandez is ojeda seems to try to attack and take on players down to the end line. whereas fernandez just makes wrong decisions all the time. yes he has some goals and assists, but they aren't so plentiful that we forget the many, many more poor decisions on and off the ball.
ojeda in the charlotte game wasn't great. he was not tracking back enough and not joining the attack enough. definitely looked gassed and as a whole, our team is just poor with transitioning to send players into the attack and getting back to defend. it's been an issue for a few years now, in my opinion.
When was the last time this team reliably seemed likely to score a goal when needed? 2022? We were extremely spoiled from 2016/2022 but I’m really tired of this directionless mess of an offense and feeling like I might as well turn the game off if the team goes down a goal
Am I becoming a Fernandez advocate? Maybe.
Fernandez has better NYCFC lifetime G+A per minute numbers than (among others) Medina, Talles, and McNamara. They're not the club's biggest stars but few would say they didn't contribute at some meaningful level.
His 2025 G+A ranks 57th in the league among 288 players with 1200 minutes. Limit it to attackers and he's 50th out of 84. It's not stellar but he's in the mediocre middle third. I don't see how you dismiss contributions at that level in favor of dribbling down the end line but not scoring or assisting.
Per FBref, Ojeda has better per 90 dribbling and take on numbers than Fernandez which is consistent with what you see, but Fernandez outshines in passing (distance, progressive distance, assists and xA). He's also ahead in all major shooting metrics per 90 including xG, shots, shots on target and of course, goals. And yes, I see him get the ball and miss the right pass, or when he fails to make the good run. Yet he somehow makes more progressive passes and assists and goals than Ojeda.
On the other side, Ojeda has better defensive stats.
I think their overall respective values are pretty close to each other. But it's not fair to dismiss Fernandez's results because of poor decisions when he actually generates goals and assists while Ojeda does not. Maybe consistently taking people on at the end line is a bad decision when it consistently does not work.
ETA: I can agree Ojeda might have a higher potential and Fernandez seems not to be improving with his higher playing time. But Fernandez plays better to his current skills than Ojeda does.
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I think Fernandez/Ojeda is somewhat a replay of Thiago/Talles.
Thiago's game never developed much past run fast, kick ball at net. Talles was exquisite Jogo bonito, ginga.
Talles can have a much bigger career than Thiago if he figures it out.
At NYCFC, Thiago had a somewhat higher G+A per minute output than Talles, closer than the Fernandez-Ojeda gap but it's there..
Thiago's game never developed much past run fast, kick ball at net. Talles was exquisite Jogo bonito, ginga.
Talles can have a much bigger career than Thiago if he figures it out.
At NYCFC, Thiago had a somewhat higher G+A per minute output than Talles, closer than the Fernandez-Ojeda gap but it's there..
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I get where you're coming from. For me, the broader issue is that neither player looks like a viable regular starter for a team with serious ambitions, even after two years of development and significant transfer fees.
Specifically with Fernández, I don’t think his goals and assists tell the full story. He consistently kills attacking momentum with poor situational awareness. He’s late on most of his runs, and worse, he often plays a pass out wide and then just backpedals and stands still. It’s like watching an NBA player who can only play iso-ball once they give it up; they disappear until they get the ball back for another 1v1. The problem is, Fernández isn’t even effective in 1v1 situations.
In the second half, Charlotte overloaded Wolf and Martínez, daring us to play through the right side because they knew Ojeda and Fernández wouldn't punish them. The scouting report is out—teams are comfortable marking both with a fullback and living with the results. At that point, Fernández’s G+A doesn’t matter; his lack of awareness is actively hamstringing the entire attack.
I'm a very simple and transactional fan. Help my team win or GTFO. Pretty play is nice, as long as you help my team win. I have zero interest in your career after you leave. If you add near zero G+A as a forward for my team I don't care if you later become a Premier League starter. Which makes my view of Fernandez and Ojeda much easier to understand. it's also very influenced by what we have learned since they arrived and where we are in NYCFC's ongoing history.
Imagine somehow I received an accurate scouting report before each was signed:
F - will contribute at slightly above replacement level to start, look bewildered, and is unlikely to develop much.
O - will contribute at below replacement level to start, show signs of soccer IQ, and possibly (but no guarantee) become very good to great.
I would take Ojeda no doubt. But we're at the point where Ojeda has now contributed at below replacement level for 1.5 seasons. We could sign a USL forward who offers at least as many G+A as he does and probably work harder. I guess he still has the potential to excel, and the USL call-up usually won't have that possibility, but I'm in Year Three of mediocre to bad soccer from NYCFC. IDGAF if you become good a few years from now. I would like to see the other side of 55 points again very soon. Fernandez - right now - can help that more than Ojeda can, even if by very little and even though neither should be playing much.
OTOH if Ojeda turns it on and adds a few G+A each by year end, then God bless him he showed me to be wrong. Until then, he's useless to me.
ETA: Also right now 55 points would project to finishing 6th in the East. Finishing top 4 where MLS Cup winners live will need 60+ points. We're effectively out of contention already.
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