NYCFC Season Discussion 2024: The Definition of NYCFC is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over and Getting the Same Result

[GratefulDawg]

We've been consistently clueless at picking strikers. Other than David Villa, Taty and for brief moments Héber and Alonzo Martínez, we've picked stinker after stinker.

Jo Inge Berget, Adam Nemec, Stiven Mendoza, Jovan, Bakrar come quickly to mind.

 

[mgarbowski]

This is all speculation from the outside looking in but the Jovan signing stinks of CFG meddling. He doesn't fit the way we play at all, no one picking players with the best interest of NYCFC in mind would have picked Jovan. Lee can't possibly be that clueless. My read is that CFG wanted Jovan in the system and the high-ups in Europe still underestimate the quality of MLS and thought a guy being chased by big clubs in Europe could coast in the MLS on talent regardless of fit and experience.

That's not to say Lee shouldn't own some of the blame. He may not have the final say on some of these big signings but he should be trying to influence the guys sent our way to the best of his ability. This nonsense didn't happen when Claudio was here.

This is reasonable. Claudio had a biographical heft that Lee does not. Plus I like to think he threw down the “you fucked me with Lampard and then saddled me with Pirlo (and then embarrassed me by putting it on a damn movie)” card as much as possible as a reason for never doing what they wanted again. Lee has much less leverage.
As for Jovan, it’s also possible they realized he needed development, but thought the rest of the team would carry him. But the play style part is a mystery. He doesn’t just not fit with us; he shouldn’t mesh with any CFG team.

 

[SoupInNYC]

When NYCFC brass are openly talking at a Deuces' match about Jovan being out of shape and not ready for things here, you know they've made a mistake.

Wait did this Jovan discussion happen? Reported where?

Wanted to follow back up on this

 

[mgarbowski]

Wanted to follow back up on this

I can’t find it here, Reddit, X or HRB. If the Outfield knew you would know.

 

[GratefulDawg]

Wanted to follow back up on this

If this is directed at me, I sat next to Brad Sims and several other NYCFC employees at a Deuces' Open Cup match, and Jovan was specifically mentioned as being unfit when he got here and not ready.

 

[Alex Da Silva]

Jovan played his best game as he came in to be a second forward next to Bakrar... Which is how he played in Serbia, we expected him to be an amazing lone striker who scores in bunches but he should really be paired with another striker, something we almost never do. Kid was set up to fail

 

[mgarbowski]

We're probably making the playoffs.
With 5 games left for all the relevant teams, NYC has a 7-9 point lead on DC, ATL, NSH and MTL just below the playoff line. It roughly means that if NYC gets no more points one of those teams needs to win 3 games in the final 5 to pass us (MTL needs 3 wins and a draw) to push us below them and all of CLT, TOR and PHI currently sitting in spots 7-9 need to climb over us as well. If NYCFC gets just 2-3 more points it gets even harder to knock us out. The Playoff Status site gives us just a 1% chance to miss the playoffs.

But I don't think that will have much effect on whether Cushing or Lee are let go or come back. When they fired Kreis they said it was because they did not make the playoffs, and a lot of people took that literally. I think it meant "we'd rather give no reason but that does not seem to be an option so we will say this because we don't want to say he's just not that competent, nobody likes him, and he comes off as a bit of sociopath in our new movie."

But again, people took it at face value and fair enough, and then when they did not fire Cushing after no playoffs last year, some seem to have taken this to mean the bar for firing the coach is now miss the playoffs twice, unless you seem like a sociopath, then it's still one maybe.

Personally, I don't think there's any rules. They will fire people when they think it is likely to lead to improvement, and maybe give made up reasons. Torrent probably came close to being fired early in 2019 based on 18 points in 19 games and being real whiny before things turned around dramatically. I sometimes wonder whether maybe Deila does not last absent the 2021 playoff run.

I think that barring a late burst and solid showing in the playoffs then CFG will look at 2 straight years of failing to meet expectations and shake up local management. That's my best guess anyway. If not, I think it's because they cannot line up anyone as a replacement they believe will be better. These are not desirable jobs right now. For the coach/manager, the roster does not look especially promising to work with. For a new sporting director, there's little flexibility for the next 1-2 years given contract dates and roster rules. Sure there's always someone who will take a top level job and someone always thinks I can do what the current people cannot, but that does not mean CFG will think those people are the right people. But my guess is if season ends pretty much with the current status quo then somebody goes.

 

[mgarbowski]

Jovan played his best game as he came in to be a second forward next to Bakrar... Which is how he played in Serbia, we expected him to be an amazing lone striker who scores in bunches but he should really be paired with another striker, something we almost never do. Kid was set up to fail

I recently was searching X looking for something else, and inadvertently came across a number of Serbian NT fans discussing Jovan in mostly English. This is exactly their take. They see him as a superb second striker floating in a false 9/winger role in the spaces behind and around a first striker. They are absolutely befuddled, and unhappy, at how we are using him. Even adjusting for how national fans often think coaches abroad treat their stars poorly, they probably have a point.

ETA: this is not inconsistent with the possibility he showed up out of shape or with a poor disposition.

 

[gbservis]

I recently was searching X looking for something else, and inadvertently came across a number of Serbian NT fans discussing Jovan in mostly English. This is exactly their take. They see him as a superb second striker floating in a false 9/winger role in the spaces behind and around a first striker. They are absolutely befuddled, and unhappy, at how we are using him. Even adjusting for how national fans often think coaches abroad treat their stars poorly, they probably have a point.

ETA: this is not inconsistent with the possibility he showed up out of shape or with a poor disposition.

It makes sense with regards to how Jovan plays, I would worry about spacing issues with Santi as a large part of his game is cutting into that false 9/winger space underneath the striker. Assuming we keep a back 4 and the double pivot of Sands and Parks, I don't know how you set up the attack with a true striker, Jovan at CF, and Santi playing in his typical space without giving up all of our width and ending up with a bunch of guys running into each other at the top of the 18.