Jovan looks out of shape and disinterested. I don't think you can pin either of those things on Cushing. The outfield did a great preview piece on Jovan, I recommend reading the whole thing (All He Does Is Score Goals) but the part that stands out to me is:
"The only aspect where Mijatović falls short as a striker is in stretching the defense. He rarely runs in behind the defense, instead opting to react to balls played into the channel rather than making movements to proactively dictate the pass. This deficiency can build stretches where he loses influence on the game, especially when service into his feet is disrupted and his off-ball movement fails to capitalize on or create space. Just a reminder, he’s only 18 freaking years old, so this aspect of his game will likely season with more experience and development."
Jovan doesn't fit our style. He doesn't press and he's not active in his off-ball movement. It would be interesting to know how the decision-makers who decided Jovan was our guy expected Cushing to help make him successful. Did they:
1. Expect Nick to teach Jovan to be more active in his movement, totally change the way he plays and develop him into playing the City way?
2. Expect Nick to change our system to maximize Jovans talents and try to build a system that fits the way Jovan naturally plays?
3. Not think about fit at all and just send him here because CFG wanted Jovan and our roster was the place they chose to put him?
All of those are pretty big asks for a coach. Jovan is an enigma for a number of reasons, I think you could more easily question Nick's development skills by pointing to guys like Ojeda and Fernandez. Both are very talented, both came in with skill sets that directly match our style of play and both nearly a season in still look hesitant and lost at times and struggle to link up and execute the offense.
