Again, if anyone were to pin our hopes for this season on Maxi changing his mind and deciding he was unhappy abroad and would return mid season, that further proves that our FO was either punting or drinking.
NYCFC Season Discussion 2023: We Know What We Are, But Not What We May Be
- Thread starter mgarbowski
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No, we thought he was going to stay until he shocked the organization with his original departure. He had one year left on his contract and was expected to be a part of the roster. The surprise to the front office was him leaving.
We thought he had one more year left. He had announced he was coming back, or at least the team roster moves said his option had been picked up for 2023. He was expected back until he decided to go home.
The club knew it was a possibility before that - and in any event it already was done in the winter leaving time to factor in his departure. They probably caved to Santi as a result so they did try to address it to some extent. Either way, this season’s failure had very little to do with Maxi and doesn’t excuse the massive holes left by the FO. If anything once they knew he was leaving they should have been even more cautious about letting other productive offensive players go and also done more to address the obvious lack of offensive weapons. The results speak for themselves.
By the way, if I had the option, I would prefer that you were correct about everything!
Agree. FWIW, I saw on more than one occasion reports that Maxi was thinking of going home. And for no other reason than an FYI, Tinnerholm too. There was talk of him leaving for one of the Moscow teams before he decided to go home.
Of course it could be nothing more than the strap on my tin foil hat cutting off circulation, but I don't buy for a moment the FO was caught unaware by anyone's departure last off season. They merely saw it as an opportunity to rid themselves of older players for more kiddies.
This is the key, I think. And believing Talles Magno could transition to striker wasn't a completely unreasonable view (although I personally didn't share it). Having committed to it, the season hung on it working out. And it didn't.
So yeah, a mistake, but not necessarily a mystifying one, at least at the outset. Sticking with it for so long when it was obvious it wasn't going to pan out is a different matter.
In the history of MLS, there are very few players who arrived in the summer window and made an impact in that season. Generally speaking, those players don't make a major impact until their first full season. So yes, I think when they realized Talles wasn't going to cut it at the 9, they knew this season was going to be a struggle. I think Nick has coached that way too in terms of the way he gave academy players so much playing time in the 2nd half. Leads me to believe that by July, they knew this would be the ending.
I think you're right. It's not a matter of them throwing in the towel, per se, but by mid-summer they had begun looking at next season in earnest. From that perspective, everything they've done makes a lot more sense.
So please correct me if I’m wrong, our ONLY way into the play offs is:
NYC win over CHI
CLT must lose twice to MIA or tie once
NSH must beat RBNJ
That’s a Hail Mary if I’ve ever seen one. I pray once more to the soccer gods. I don’t even care about making the playoffs. Just make sure we finish above Red Bull. Amen.
NYC win over CHI
CLT must lose twice to MIA or tie once
NSH must beat RBNJ
That’s a Hail Mary if I’ve ever seen one. I pray once more to the soccer gods. I don’t even care about making the playoffs. Just make sure we finish above Red Bull. Amen.
From what I can see you’re right that they are cemented into 7th. But they will be in front of a home crowd for one of the last times of the season after 2 weeks off from international duty. Taking 3 weeks could cause some rust going into the playoffs. I think they play a full strength squad to prep for next Saturday
CLT can't win either game vs Miami. If they tie twice, we can top them with a win. If they win either game, we are eliminated.
I’m not saying I’m optimistic but the situation is actually less dire than I thought it would be if we lost to DC.
Well, that is what I meant, perhaps I wasn’t clear. My apologies
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