Isn't it also a little weird for someone subbing on to take the armband, unless they are subbing on for whoever has it?
Montreal - Postmatch
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
I think Struna is definitely ahead of RJ defensively. Give him some more time to assimilate with the back line and I have no doubt he'll end up being the clear choice there.
I've said this so many times, but I guess I'll repeat it again. Shelton is just so damn frustrating. One play in particular stands out to me from last night.
Struna plays a long through pass on the sideline. Shelton uses his body magnificently to shield off the fullback, who then falls, and runs onto the ball, creating a great counter opportunity. That part there was just fantastic.
Then he takes the ball and runs forward with it, where Maxi, Jack, and I think one other are providing forward runs for him as options. There's a great passing lane for him to send a through ball to Maxi, but it seemed like Shelton realized that it was there about 1.5 seconds after it closed, and thought, "shit I should pass it", and then passed it straight into the defender.
The last two years, I feel like we've harped a lot on Shelton not using his physical prowess enough. I really think he's starting to do that. But his first touch and decision making are just atrocious.
I heard somewhere (can't remember here or on a podcast), someone asking if we should get rid of Shelton. I don't think so, especially an American on his salary. Though he is a guy that needs to go on loan for a year somewhere and just play a lot. I'm not certain if it will fix those issues he has, but it may, and it would allow us the opportunity to re-evaluate him after a year of him getting consistent playing time. Because I think there are some skills that he can offer this squad.
I guess. But I'm not certain how many times I've seen the everyday captain subbed into a game, so I can't speak much to that scenario.
I remember the play you are talking about, and to me nobody made themselves available for an easy pass until Shelton had run out of room - nobody made a run or opened themselves up for a pass.
Differing interpretations aside, it's not a fair or accurate read of his night to call out that play and not praise him for how well he distributed on other occasions. He put probably 3 balls on a dime to players in the box last night, none of whom could finish. (One of those was Wallace, who, if his name were Shelton, would be roasted today for how many chances he blew.)
ETA: I want to be really clear about something. I don't disagree that he can be a frustrating player or that criticisms of his touch and decision making are wrong. I am just saying that he played well last night. People need to take off their blinders and give him credit when he does well.
There was a pass that Maxi was making himself available. It wasn't necessarily an easy one, but Shelton made the decision to pass it there wayyyy too late.
He did distribute it ok last night. I wouldn't necessarily praise him for it. And I do think Wallace is taking his fair share of lumps here for him lack of finishing. FWIW, I do think Khiry's one shot was well taken, Bush just made a great save.
There were some things that I thought Khiry did do well last night. But his first touch killed so much, and there were several times where he turned it over because he just lost it mid-dribble, without being tackled at all. I like to give credit where its due, but I wouldn't necessarily label Khiry's performance last night as "playing well".
Can't believe how much of this thread is about khiry shelton.
Last night's game was the best NYCFC has looked in a long time. Obviously the finishing was poor and we should have strolled to a 3-0 or 4-0 win, but overall the ball movement and player movement off the ball was really top rate. With Pirlo at the pivot we move the ball more slowly and backwards or laterally more often. Last night our quick passing created defensive breakdowns and opportunities for us over and over. Defensively, Piatti and Dzemaili rarely had any room to operate with the ball and we allowed few opportunities for a decent side to create anything. I see most of the same negatives others are complaining about, but the bottom line is an NYCFC team playing like last night can hold onto the 2nd seed during the regular season and win the MLS Cup.
You guys don't want to hear this, but in MLS, you need guys like Khiry Shelton and RJ Allen to get through the year. Cheap and American is the MO for depth in MLS. Like it or not, but they are as integral to the roster construction as our next DP or TAM signing
shelton should be making minimum wage. not by mls standards though. sweatshop standards.. 2 dollars a day.
Pleasing to be able to say I thought we played very well and if we'd finished a few more chances we would have won that game at a canter. Lots of good performances last night and no one I would really single out as bad, although Khiry was a little slow to react and off the pace at times and did manage to just ping the ball straight out of play a good half dozen times. Wallace didn't have his best game either, but was often in the right place at the right time, which is a good skill of his, his final touch was just lacking a little bit.
Thought that Villa looked great when he came on and Herrera was up to pace too, even Sweaty was solid enough for his few minutes.
And everyone continue your monotonous circle jerk about Tommy Mac - to say he was anonymous or poor last night is bandwagoning at its worst. He was fine, did what he had to do, was involved in lots of plays and made very few mistakes (every player makes mistakes in a game - if you want to hold up a couple of times when he lost the ball or his man, please do the same for Ring, Mata, Maxi, etc etc).
Looking forward to the Chicago game and, if we can get more people fit and start finishing better, we will be in good shape for the playoffs.
Also, add me to the list of people disappointed and confused that we're not seeing more of JLew - last night seemed like a great opportunity for him.
Thought that Villa looked great when he came on and Herrera was up to pace too, even Sweaty was solid enough for his few minutes.
And everyone continue your monotonous circle jerk about Tommy Mac - to say he was anonymous or poor last night is bandwagoning at its worst. He was fine, did what he had to do, was involved in lots of plays and made very few mistakes (every player makes mistakes in a game - if you want to hold up a couple of times when he lost the ball or his man, please do the same for Ring, Mata, Maxi, etc etc).
Looking forward to the Chicago game and, if we can get more people fit and start finishing better, we will be in good shape for the playoffs.
Also, add me to the list of people disappointed and confused that we're not seeing more of JLew - last night seemed like a great opportunity for him.
No MLS academy has a track record of producing attacking players . Any one worth anything will be sold to Europe and we will be left with guys like Shelton and Alex Muyl. They will just cost us less coming out of the academy. Guys like T-Mac, Lopez, RJ are going to be the ones that get left behind once we have an academy going.
I will give T-Mac some credit. As a deeper player, you are taught to channel-contain-delay. I think he did a decent job of that a few times, but if it wasn't for Brillant or Callens playing out of their minds I think T-Mac's containing turns into him getting blown by.
You say all this, accuse the board of bandwagoning, all the while, not providing any proof yourself. Can you point out more than one example he actually did something positive with the ball?
I think that actually speaks well of his performance. Our team, barring injury, certainly has a best XI that doesn't include him, but it's debatable how much he can contribute off the bench. For good or ill he's been one of our preferred options as a sub, logging more minutes than Lewis. There seem to be a consensus for the last few weeks (i.e the much liked invisible man GIF) but that consensus seems to be cracking. Some of us thinks he had a positive game last night, warts and all.
What kind of proof would you like? If you watched the game, you would have seen him distributing well, being in the right place a lot, being involved in attacks, beating his man, and playing good passes.
I'm willing to admit that a couple of times he was slow to close down his man and also on a couple of occasions took more touches than I might like, but it didn't lead to him losing the ball for a clear chance or a goal.
Every player in a game has a couple of moments that blot their performance and if you expect a 100% flawless performance from the fat binman you're going to be disappointed. But basically no one was 100% in that game and players rarely are.
I personally said TMac had his best game in a while. I think the absence of Pirlo and the fact that Montreal applied no pressure at all were key to his being comfortable, but I think he played well. He got involved, showed the usual creativity, and had a good first touch, as always. He kept the ball circulating so that Maxi could conduct the orchestra.
Yeah, Tommy didn't seem to do a whole ton, but also didn't really seem to make many mistakes. He was just kind of there in that game, and most of his touches weren't negative. Really only two plays of his last night stuck out to me:
- He received the ball and was approaching his sweet spot where he would like to go upper 90, but laid a pretty decent through ball instead to Villa inside the box. Ended up having slightly a bit too much pace on it, but really wasn't all that bad
- There was a combo play down the wing between Villa and either Maxi or Harrison, can't quite remember. But Tommy just seemed to be in the way of things and ended up breaking up the play as Villa couldn't get around him
In fact, to say Khiry and TMac had their best games of the season is not contrary to say they were the weakest links on the starting XI. Because we were almost back to full strength. Then again Rodney and his god-awful finishing is becoming a weakest link candidate fast too.
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