We looked intimidated tonight, to be honest. And the guys who have been around a little longer looked jumpy. There wasn't a lot of trust and cohesion.
MLS - March 2 - St. Louis (Away)
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
Just gonna throw it out there. Ronny is the only non-CFG groomed manager that we have had. It was a bumpy ride sometimes but it’s the only time this team has played with joy.
I came into this season with the lowest expectations. Still traveled to two away games hoping for something. Nothing. This team is terrible. Time isn’t going to change it. We need a creative 10. And Nick Cushing fired now.
I think we played with joy under dome.. we were free flowing and creative when we wanted to be. We had games when we played scared and kicked too many long balls.. but even then, we looked miles ahead of what we are now.
And before he became Saint Ronny, plenty of people wanted to burn him at the stake. DEILA OUT, they cried. His substitution patterns -- or lack thereof -- were a particular point of contention. Even during our playoff run, plenty of fans and supporters were wondering, "What is he doing?" But once we won the Cup, all was forgiven.
Of course, we were a lot better then, at least in relative terms (meaning the league wasn't as good as it is now). We certainly had a more experienced roster. As an organization, we were contending every year, too. A lot of the joy came from knowing we had a chance.
So, we're not where we want to be, or need to be. I just don't know if we can say too much just two games into the season with a recently rebuilt roster.
Santi looked mad coming off the field tonight. Appeared to be in Cushings face.
But also we were cooking in 2022 when Ronny and Taty were still here. Like Supporters’ Shield and everything. Then it’s just gone to shit.
Right. Which is why I said we were a lot better then, at least in relative terms. Whether we were better in absolute terms remains to be seen. We're so young, and so many guys are so new. We don't even know what we have yet.
I'll say two things about it, for now: First, young teams are notoriously inconsistent. As we progress, if we stay consistently bad, we definitely have a problem.
Second, there are some green shoots in the wasteland. Little things, perhaps, but they matter. One of them happened shortly after Jovan came on and a St. Louis player went down. As everyone was standing around, he started pointing to different spaces on the pitch and our guys were responding.
That's leadership. But more importantly, it shows he's already respected. Something tells me there's a lot going on in training which hasn't translated to the pitch yet.
Of course, it's Nick's job to make sure the good things in practice are carried over to the games, and the bad things on match day are straightened out on the practice pitch. I just think it's far too soon to make a judgment on it. The ink on some of the visas is barely dry.
He was in someone’s face. I didn’t see him in Nick’s. It looked as likely that he was pissed about the incompetence surrounding him as about anything else. Anyone have a screen shot?
Relative to the PV era and now, yes. But there were still spells where we looked regimented to a fault.
Here is the NYCFC shot map for the second half against St. Louis last night.
I would say most of 2018 after his first few games. He changed the system on the fly and the team was lost.
First off, STL play the style we struggle against the most and both goals came off if blind switches that is a risk we take and also led to our best chances of this game. Another coaching thing I noticed which was strange is that both games the way we best attacked in the first half stopped in the 2nd half. In Charlotte it was the combination play up front which led to our best chances, this game it was breaking the line and letting bakrar run past Nielson. I think both can be explained with us going down 1 and the opposition becoming more conservative but we didn't even try? I saw some good ideas from Ojeda which I really hope he doesn't regress to being safe and slow. Subs were also weird this match with wolf and Santi running the press and Julian and Jovan were not able to maintain it. I really want this team to succeed and hell I don't even really care if we lose but we need to create consistent chances and score goals and have fun out there. I need to see two homes games to see the team gel before I become homeless though.
I don't care enough to go back and look at the xG for the #deilaout era. But my recollection is that we were still doing a lot of things right. We just went through a crazy statistically unlikely goal drought. The #cushout era is exemplified by a complete lack of xG and absolutely nothing to point to in terms of player development. I mean, can anyone make any case at all about a player improving under Cushing?
After reflection, people have correctly pointed out poor spells in the past and other calls for manager firings. However, the current run feels different, and not just due to immediacy:
1) Length. It has been a full season of frustration, even with the small run at the end of 2023. No other valley has lasted this long.
2) System. With other managers, notably Patrick and Dome, there was a sense that a new system was in progress. Is there any sense of a system currently, regardless of results?
3) Attachment. I give full credit to my wife for this point. In past downturns, there was still loyalty to certain players, be it stars or young South American forwards. Win or lose, there was belief and fun in watching Taty, or Maxi, or Chanot. Who on the current team engenders that? Santi and Parks and Sands have history, but they have all regressed or been restricted as players. Magno from his seat deep on the bench? Designated player (or former DP) Thiago Martins? The closest we have had is Gaby - and he is long departed.
Sports is entertainment. I have watched my share of good and bad seasons for my teams, but even in bad seasons there have been players (Randy Moss, Denard Robinson, etc.) or moments that were fun. What is fun about this team? The stadium two years out?
Maybe things change over the homestand and the new attackers shine. Current outlook - skeptical.
1) Length. It has been a full season of frustration, even with the small run at the end of 2023. No other valley has lasted this long.
2) System. With other managers, notably Patrick and Dome, there was a sense that a new system was in progress. Is there any sense of a system currently, regardless of results?
3) Attachment. I give full credit to my wife for this point. In past downturns, there was still loyalty to certain players, be it stars or young South American forwards. Win or lose, there was belief and fun in watching Taty, or Maxi, or Chanot. Who on the current team engenders that? Santi and Parks and Sands have history, but they have all regressed or been restricted as players. Magno from his seat deep on the bench? Designated player (or former DP) Thiago Martins? The closest we have had is Gaby - and he is long departed.
Sports is entertainment. I have watched my share of good and bad seasons for my teams, but even in bad seasons there have been players (Randy Moss, Denard Robinson, etc.) or moments that were fun. What is fun about this team? The stadium two years out?
Maybe things change over the homestand and the new attackers shine. Current outlook - skeptical.
Sands did not go out until '83. We had 2 shots to that point in the second half. I thought the team energy picked up a bit and the attack seemed a slightly more focused after he left.
So I shouldn’t regret turning it off around 60 minutes?
