I think we will be fine at FB with Cufre and Ilenic. Taty and Callens are still the big holes.
MLS - March 4 - Chicago (Away)
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
I think we will be fine at FB with Cufre and Ilenic. Taty and Callens are still the big holes.
Bossed the first half, lost the plot when Jimmy cramped up, and gave up another set piece goal - maybe someone should have marked Kamara instead of giving him a free header back into the box.
Some real positives: Jimmy is Jimmy. Going to help us boss teams. Sands and Keaton can boss midfields. We’ve got our FBs and we all should be happy to watch Ilenic blossom. GP is still quality, beautiful goal. All bangers. Martins and Chanot steady (although wyd Chanot on that header, body it into the goal).
To work on: Santi will be a huge upgrade on Pelligrini. Alfredo needs to get healthy and staple Haak to the bench. We still need a 9 because Magno roams everywhere.
Should have gotten 3 points, got 1. Underlying play was good although drop off in the second half was concerning. Get that second and kill the game.
NYCFC is always a team that improves as the season goes on (their strategy is based on ball possession and timing which improves with reps unlike kick and run ahem Nashville).
also - now 3 goals given up on set pieces in 2 games (yes second was called for offside today). Need to clean that up or they aren’t going anywhere.
Some real positives: Jimmy is Jimmy. Going to help us boss teams. Sands and Keaton can boss midfields. We’ve got our FBs and we all should be happy to watch Ilenic blossom. GP is still quality, beautiful goal. All bangers. Martins and Chanot steady (although wyd Chanot on that header, body it into the goal).
To work on: Santi will be a huge upgrade on Pelligrini. Alfredo needs to get healthy and staple Haak to the bench. We still need a 9 because Magno roams everywhere.
Should have gotten 3 points, got 1. Underlying play was good although drop off in the second half was concerning. Get that second and kill the game.
NYCFC is always a team that improves as the season goes on (their strategy is based on ball possession and timing which improves with reps unlike kick and run ahem Nashville).
also - now 3 goals given up on set pieces in 2 games (yes second was called for offside today). Need to clean that up or they aren’t going anywhere.
Correct on Taty and Callens (Chanot is declining). 18-yr-old Ilenic showed enough that he'll replace Tinnerholm soon. Santi came off the bench late and he'll be fine as Maxi.
you could see that goal coming for 5 minutes. Constant pressure and we just kept dropping back and absorbing.
A lot more long balls played overtop by us and a couple to Andrade almost came off.
At least we’re trying something else to spark chances.
A lot more long balls played overtop by us and a couple to Andrade almost came off.
At least we’re trying something else to spark chances.
I'm happy for the team to improve on set piece defense, and a pace of even 1 set piece goal conceded peer game is poor (though small sample size and all that) but I don't think this is fair. Our line was disciplined and smart on that play. That 2 Fire players chose to be offside by at least a yard is not a negative for us.
That's the issue isn't it. Lots of people were dumping on Haak last night but he's our third choice DM and if anyone can find a better option for <$90k in a capped league I'm open to replacing him but the real issue is Morales has not played a game since he was hurt in mid-August last summer, and our other DM came back from a loan spell unfit to play 90 minutes and prone to cramps in 40º weather.
And by the way, since, IIRC, I was the only one to say the Sands loan deal was objectively bad for the club when it was announced, let me be again the one to say it worked out as badly as possible, and worse than even I feared. We lost one of our best and most cap friendly players for a bit more than a full season, did not get paid, Rangers knowingly chose to almost never use him at his best position and always at his worst, and he came back unfit. It was a disaster, and it's crazy how almost everyone thought it was objectively wonderful when announced because this always was an obvious possibility. He did bulk up a bit and clearly is stronger, but that's biology and physical maturing, not some magical Scottish League effect. At least they let him use the weight room.
One slight disagreement. It is admittedly a small sample size, but Sands was more decisive and more willing to pass laterally or forward last night than in any game that I recall. Historically, his success with NYCFC has been putting out fires but not progressing the ball. Against Chicago he seemed to push the ball forward more than I recall from 2021. If that trend continues, I would credit playing in Europe for some of that improvement.
As noted, small sample size and observation only, but he (along with Gaby) was my MOTM last night.
Your recollection is off by my recollection. I hated the move as I don't view Rangers as a step up other than the potential to get smoked in euro competition.
I may have tempered my negativity a bit, as others may have as well, but I remember the forum being underwhelmed with the destination, timing, and fact that it was a loan.
Hard to believe that KBert was celebrating the Sands loan when it was announced. Maybe this will be a lesson learned for the club in discussing with whatever player is seeking to ply their trade across the pond?
(In the voice if an old seafaring captain with a pipe)
“Let me tell you the tale of Jimmy the Guy from Rye “Bing Bong“ Sands. A young MLS champion who left home seeking fortune and fame in ol’ Caledonia…”
The only thing I’ll nit pick is I’m sure KJBert was also furious at the idea of a loan deal
Edit: and
VernonJohn beat me by seconds
It was a step up and he failed. You can blame coaches or being played out of position but he failed . He’s one of our better players and he clearly wasn’t there so to now call it not a step up seems like either weird logic or sour grapes . Some really good mls players went to Europe too early and failed as well only to come back and have really great long mls careers or make it in Europe the second time so hopefully he’s come back with a fire under his ass to prove himself all over again .
Any word on Ilenic? He looked a little worse for wear having to take that standing 10 count.
Might be two different incidents, but I thought it was Haak who go fuckin slammed into the ground?
They both got their bell rung but the ring on Illenic had a significantly longer sustain.
He took an elbow right in the eye. I'm sure he has a pretty good shiner.
Yes. I certainly am not a fan of loaning our talent. Fine selling these guys on at market value. Good on Sims for being upfront that part of our recruiting pitch is that we will move you on and not hold you back.
But bad on is for not selling these guys on. Take what the market is giving you. If there wasn’t a market for Sands, tell him that. It feels more and more like we did him more of a favor than we had to. And looking back, considering the ties CFG has with Celtic and Rangers, it almost feels like CFG called in a favor for Sands.
So sell the kids and reinvest.
But bad on is for not selling these guys on. Take what the market is giving you. If there wasn’t a market for Sands, tell him that. It feels more and more like we did him more of a favor than we had to. And looking back, considering the ties CFG has with Celtic and Rangers, it almost feels like CFG called in a favor for Sands.
So sell the kids and reinvest.
had a night to digest.
sands and parks can boss the midfield for sure. especially once they've learned to play with each other again and sands is back to full fitness.
pellegrini had a better game, but definitely didn't show he could run the attack. to me, he seemed more like a 3rd winger than a #10 orchestrating the play. Yes, he served a couple good balls into the box. but more often than not, he was getting caught in possession. Against a better team, i think we'd suffer more than we already did. Looking forward to getting Santi up to speed so we can get him, sands, and parks on the field together.
defensive lapse not marking kamara on the set piece was bad. forgetting to mark a man is not a 1 time occurrence. it seems to happen every set piece for awhile now. Either 1 or 2 guys go totally unmarked or 1 or 2 guys are marked by the wrong guy. I recall in an interview at some point where our set piece defense was talked about. For corners, we have the "best headers" line up along the six while the others watch for runner. For free kicks, we will just set a high line with a very center heavy bunch up, while not really "marking" everyone. There is at least 1 guy taking the free kick. We should have at least 1 guy free. There should never be anyone open. Period. Yet it happens. Who is to blame for this? I don't know if it's coaching or lack of organization. I just think it needs to improve.
Cushing pushed Magno to the wing after bringing on Thiago. WHY? Yes, Thiago is better down the center, but are we trying to make Magno a #9 or aren't we? If Cushing thinks Thiago is better up the middle over Magno then that sounds like a resounding NO to me dawg. So, leave Talles on the wing. Even as a "#9" he is floating to the wings and dropping back deep to get the ball anyway. So, he's not learning any #9-isms or he is not disciplined enough to do it in the game. He plays how he wants and sending him on the wing once you bring on Thiago doesn't help this at all. LEAVE HIM ON THE WING NICK.
I would much prefer to play otoole or jasson as a false 9. They're both quick and shifty with the dribbling and can draw a lot of fouls from the CBs, get them in trouble, get us free kicks, etc.
I really wish Haak would improve. For me, it's more his positioning than anything. Doesn't seem like he knows how to play a proper d-mid and always seems to want to go forward as an 8. He's 3rd string technically with Sands back but I still want him to improve. Surely, he can right?
positives...
Think we played a fairly good first half, but should have taken our opportunity to put the game away.
GP is quality and will have a monster season.
Sands is a huge improvement to our midfield.
Illenic is raw but he's got potential. I'd take him starting over gray at RB any day if we don't get any more RBs in.
We had some nice combinations all over the field and despite having a fairly poor 2nd half overall, we left with a point. Fair result in the end.
Team will get better as new players get used to our style and playing with everyone else. I think we'll be just fine so long as we (1) fix our set piece defense and (2) make up our mind on talles.
sands and parks can boss the midfield for sure. especially once they've learned to play with each other again and sands is back to full fitness.
pellegrini had a better game, but definitely didn't show he could run the attack. to me, he seemed more like a 3rd winger than a #10 orchestrating the play. Yes, he served a couple good balls into the box. but more often than not, he was getting caught in possession. Against a better team, i think we'd suffer more than we already did. Looking forward to getting Santi up to speed so we can get him, sands, and parks on the field together.
defensive lapse not marking kamara on the set piece was bad. forgetting to mark a man is not a 1 time occurrence. it seems to happen every set piece for awhile now. Either 1 or 2 guys go totally unmarked or 1 or 2 guys are marked by the wrong guy. I recall in an interview at some point where our set piece defense was talked about. For corners, we have the "best headers" line up along the six while the others watch for runner. For free kicks, we will just set a high line with a very center heavy bunch up, while not really "marking" everyone. There is at least 1 guy taking the free kick. We should have at least 1 guy free. There should never be anyone open. Period. Yet it happens. Who is to blame for this? I don't know if it's coaching or lack of organization. I just think it needs to improve.
Cushing pushed Magno to the wing after bringing on Thiago. WHY? Yes, Thiago is better down the center, but are we trying to make Magno a #9 or aren't we? If Cushing thinks Thiago is better up the middle over Magno then that sounds like a resounding NO to me dawg. So, leave Talles on the wing. Even as a "#9" he is floating to the wings and dropping back deep to get the ball anyway. So, he's not learning any #9-isms or he is not disciplined enough to do it in the game. He plays how he wants and sending him on the wing once you bring on Thiago doesn't help this at all. LEAVE HIM ON THE WING NICK.
I would much prefer to play otoole or jasson as a false 9. They're both quick and shifty with the dribbling and can draw a lot of fouls from the CBs, get them in trouble, get us free kicks, etc.
I really wish Haak would improve. For me, it's more his positioning than anything. Doesn't seem like he knows how to play a proper d-mid and always seems to want to go forward as an 8. He's 3rd string technically with Sands back but I still want him to improve. Surely, he can right?
positives...
Think we played a fairly good first half, but should have taken our opportunity to put the game away.
GP is quality and will have a monster season.
Sands is a huge improvement to our midfield.
Illenic is raw but he's got potential. I'd take him starting over gray at RB any day if we don't get any more RBs in.
We had some nice combinations all over the field and despite having a fairly poor 2nd half overall, we left with a point. Fair result in the end.
Team will get better as new players get used to our style and playing with everyone else. I think we'll be just fine so long as we (1) fix our set piece defense and (2) make up our mind on talles.
Love it
M
moogoo - shades of Dome demanding a 9. Cushing is giving Talles a chance. And it’s not working.
It's not working. But i don't know if this is Cushing showing the club that it's not or Cushing just thinking he's making the "smart" tactical adjustment. One thing I noticed during the game was the announcers said they talked to Cushing and asked about Talles at the #9 and how people (fans n media) were asking questions as to whether Talles could play the #9. Cushing's response was that he needed time to learn how to play the #9.
I just think if you want the kid to play #9, then make him play the #9 and don't move him to the wing as a "tactical change". That's 2 games (yes small sample size) he's done this change. I don't think it will be the last.
