I know it's early and there is rust but NYCFC showed the same inability to do anything creative in the final third. How many times are we going to watch crosses loop past the mouth of the goal and end up finding nothing but grass or turf. This team isn't even very good in the air. Tinnerholm's crosses at the end of the game were terrible and the Union filled the box with a bunch of big center backs so I don't know what the point was.
Medina is still a waste of a roster spot and GMS may challenge Medina for the Medina Award.
There were a few nice balls leading a runner into the box but other than that this team still seems predictable or lost in the final third.
Silver lining to Covid is not having to watch a full season of this type of effort.
agree that our creativity in the final 3rd needs work. we have the talent to take a team apart with clever passing and movement in the final 3rd, but for some reason it doesn't happen... we saw it last year with Dome when things started clicking, so what's changed? did they just forget how to play or is Ronnie so insistent on his style that they just do as they're told? Dome preached flexibility, which made our play dynamic and flexible. Once everyone understood the basic patterns for each formation, we were able to build on it with creativity. but the key was we weren't afraid to pass around the draw the opponent out.
under ronnie, i see a lot of direct balls, which is fine now and then, but after philly scored, they were happy to bunker with big center backs vs our two forwards. we don't have a shooting threat from the midfield so and our crosses were not very threatening as you mentioned. i surely hope it is rust and i hope ronnie isn't trying to fix what wasn't broken. i understand every coach wants to put their mark on the team, but at what cost? we dominated the game both on the eye test and the stats. GMS should have finished his three chances. Heber was unlucky and Blake made a strong save. Johnson could have had a stronger hand, but that's just how it is sometimes.
I actually thought Medina was decent. In any event, he didn't stand out as the worst player on the pitch. I also agree with whoever said Ronnie should have subbed more. We have a stacked bench and when we went down a goal, it would have been nice to add some fresh legs to run at Philly's back line. Maxi was totally controlled by that one guy - can't think of his name. Can't remember a single time where maxi held the ball for more than 5 seconds. He was always most effective when he was on the ball constantly, holding it up and being a play maker. Was this difference in play due to his injuries and/or conditioning? or was he forced into that style of play by an up and coming philly d-mid?
I think overall - we played a decent game considering the circumstances. It was a hell of a lot more entertaining than the florida fiasco last night. I think we're just so spoiled by how well we played last year toward the end. We simply cannot accept anything less.
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