NYCFC v Montreal - Postmatch

[NYC24]

That just means Shelton needs more time on the pitch to hone those instincts.

I have seen enough of Shelton, and think we should trade and/or send him to a lower league. We cannot have a winger that has never completed a cross, and has neither instinct nor technique. He should be a #9 on a team in a lower league.

 

[Jock]

That just means Shelton needs more time on the pitch to hone those instincts.

Yeah, you could be right. He definitely looked exciting and full of talent, just rarely beat his man. Still i'd sooner have that than Grabavoy charging in there.

 

[FootyLovin]

If Shelton had missed the shots Mix missed people would have screamed again about his horrible finishing. (Oh wait, people are already doing that.) Mix's misses were noteworthy. Of course, so were Villa's. And Shelton's. And everyone except #whitepoku. I think that contributes a lot to the Mix hate. He had a very solid game with strong runs in the box, high work rate, strong D, but his most notable moments were misses. As has been pointed out, another 2 weeks from now I think a lot of players are burying the shots we had last night.

On a completely different note, it hasn't been said yet here, but I would temper some of my enthusiasm from this game. Yes, we left Poku and Lamps out of our starting XI, but Montreal was without Drogba and Piatti. This is a very different team with those two.

I'm excited by what I saw last night, but I think a LOT still has to be proven. And unfortunately, I don't expect us to get a serious test before March.

 

[roxfontaine]

I'm excited by what I saw last night, but I think a LOT still has to be proven. And unfortunately, I don't expect us to get a serious test before March.

Absolutely, however the movement, vision and anticipation last night are all encouraging. PV has had a significant impact on this team and whether that was a "serious" test or not, I'm thoroughly on board for the DIRECTION that this team is heading. Things looked clearly defined on the pitch for the first time and that translated to exciting soccer.

 

[Tony L]

Did Saunders play at all last night? Should we be reading anything into the fact that for our one preseason match against an MLS team, Johansen was the choice?

I don't think Johansen will start for us right now, but I think Viera knows exactly what saunders is and is not, and I bet he's already shared that knowledge with Saunders himself. If Saunders concedes too many goals, Johansen may just get some starts eventually.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

Johannsen allowed us to build out of the back, eliminating the deep turnovers that required acrobatic saves from Saunders. Have you ever seen saunders spray that kind of accurate pass around to the defense? Have you ever seen him come out and play sweeper to let the defense dribble up the field? Johannsen was a revelation and really made saunders look bad.

 

[SoupInNYC]

I think a lot of my thoughts have already been mentioned here, but what the hell, lets get them down.

Love the new formation, and the team seems to be adapting well to it. More gametime in it will do us well prior to 3/6. Liked what I saw out of TT99 last night on the wing. Showed we have someone else that can play LW with Big Apple Jack injured. I also thought there was some great overlapping runs between Taylor and Matarrita. The one question I have is does Taylor have a left foot? I didn't see him use it for any crosses last night, but rather stop, come back a bit and cross with his right.

Shelton showed some flashes and still some poor first touches. He at least shows the confidence this year to take some shots he wouldn't last year. Not sure he is a starter yet, but also not sure who would start over him on the RW assuming PV doesn't want to play Poku or Mullins out there.

Villa looks a lot more comfortable with wingers supporting him and Pirlo looks like he has a lot more space to do what he wants.

Liked what I saw out of Mix last night. Yeah, he missed some shots, but most of those were very acrobatic and would have made some incredible goals. He did goof up in the box when TMac gave him a good feed and was unable to get a shot off, but overall, I still really liked him.

TMac drives me crazy, he has some great plays (that sequence in the box getting the ball to Mix mentioned above), but overall he seems to panic when getting the ball and passing it elsewhere. There were several times last night I thought he killed some good sequences with a poor pass that might not have necessarily been intercepted, but slowed us down and caused us to regroup.

Mikey Lopez, loved his energy and speed out there. Need to see more of him before deciding how much I want to see him play during the regular season, but he's giving me some hope that we wont have to see AJ at all this year.

Mataritta and Brillant were great. No need to expound on this, loved what I saw out of both of them.

White played better than I expected and I wanna see some more of him before deciding whether or not he should be a starter. Yeah, he made some mistakes last night, but defenders do make mistakes over the course of the year, even the really good ones. I thought he showed some strength and speed last night and the ability to make some decent passes. I got a bit worried a few times after he would collect the ball retreating towards our goal wondering what he was going to do next.

Don't understand the Iraola hate either. Thought he was solid. Had some great sequences in the offensive third and some wonderful crosses in. I like RJ as well, but I don't think Iraola sits.

 

[Fantazma]

I bet we could trade him to an MLS team and get something decent. We dont want him be he still has value in the league.

a first round draft pick would suffice but id prefer that international spot for this year.

 

[Ulrich]

I bet we could trade him to an MLS team and get something decent. We dont want him be he still has value in the league.

Like an international spot?

 

[JayH]

For me, the important takeaways from an early pre-season game like this were bigger picture observations, namely: formation, shape, strategy, flow, pressure, confidence, and cohesion. There were some execution and positional blips and blunders which should be expected at this point, but the look of this team under PV already screams both success and excitement. A few weeks into the pre-season and they look like a much more advanced team as compared to any point last season.

 

[Ulrich]

Not trying to beat a dead horse, but after last night, it's apparent that Saunders started last year because he was Kreis' guy and Johansen was a no-name forced on him from the mother-ship; don't believe me, it was the same with Meara, a guy that did very well with RB but couldn't get a sniff with Kreis especially after a single gaffe at Chicago; and yet, a journeyman like Saunders was the go-to starter. Luckily, PV has some history with Johansen and has a bit more confidence in him. The confidence on the ball was night and day and the kid has some absolute acrobatic moves when making saves. It stuck that him being an international because that's the only thing I can see that would be held against him if it turns in to a numbers game for spots.

Don't get me wrong, Saunders is a very capable back-up, but he has a smaller skill set than Johansen and we should be taking advantage of the fact Lurch can pass the ball to teammates and not the ball-boys.

 

[JayH]

A footnote: Matarrita's style, stride, skill-set and interchangeability between wing and back remind me so much of MU's Antonio Valencia (other than left side instead of right side).

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

Don't read HRBs recap unless you think the midfield was reanimated once Jacobson came on.

 

[LostAnvil]

in case you missed it

 

[SoupInNYC]

in case you missed it

Nice. Though the first 14 minutes of that video is them just moving the team crests around, haha.

 

[S1ARK5]

Not trying to beat a dead horse, but after last night, it's apparent that Saunders started last year because he was Kreis' guy and Johansen was a no-name forced on him from the mother-ship; don't believe me, it was the same with Meara, a guy that did very well with RB but couldn't get a sniff with Kreis especially after a single gaffe at Chicago; and yet, a journeyman like Saunders was the go-to starter. Luckily, PV has some history with Johansen and has a bit more confidence in him. The confidence on the ball was night and day and the kid has some absolute acrobatic moves when making saves. It stuck that he's an international because that's the only thing I can see that would be held against him if it turns in to a numbers game for spots.

Don't get me wrong, Saunders is a very capable back-up, but he has a smaller skill set than Johansen and we should be taking advantage of the fact Lurch can pass the ball to teammates and not the ball-boys.

I have stated last year even during Saunders very good play, that he is at best a backup GK in this league. He is a good backup to have. The team likes him, and he can fill in on occasion pretty nicely. However I said we need to get a real # 1 GK. I have liked what I saw from Johannsen and I hope he continues to be our starter.

 

[Ulrich]

Don't read HRBs recap unless you think the midfield was reanimated once Jacobson came on.

Reanimated, as in: watching and chasing?

HRB is the biggest hack-job blog on the interweb..... their audience is so small they have to use Enquirer-style writing and lies to get clicks.

 

[NickA]

Mix isn't a goal scorer or a defensive juggernaut. Not everyone on the pitch needs to be a play maker. You need bridge players to fill gaps. Players and positions have roles. No one in their right mind is going to argue that Mix is an elite midfielder...but he has the characteristics to become a very good box to box midfielder.

 

[Fantazma]

Not trying to beat a dead horse, but after last night, it's apparent that Saunders started last year because he was Kreis' guy and Johansen was a no-name forced on him from the mother-ship; don't believe me, it was the same with Meara, a guy that did very well with RB but couldn't get a sniff with Kreis especially after a single gaffe at Chicago; and yet, a journeyman like Saunders was the go-to starter. Luckily, PV has some history with Johansen and has a bit more confidence in him. The confidence on the ball was night and day and the kid has some absolute acrobatic moves when making saves. It stuck that he's an international because that's the only thing I can see that would be held against him if it turns in to a numbers game for spots.

Don't get me wrong, Saunders is a very capable back-up, but he has a smaller skill set than Johansen and we should be taking advantage of the fact Lurch can pass the ball to teammates and not the ball-boys.

saunders was given a multi year contract...dont know how many years though....if he doesnt produce good performances that will hurt.

 

[gbservis]

I disagree with the idea that Mullins needs to start. The sample size is small but he didn't do that well when he started last year. He's essentially excelling in the same way he did last year, as an impact sub who is very good at scoring goals when he comes on in the second half. Villa won't start every game this season so I'm sure Mullins will get another shot to prove what he can do as a starter but I see no reason to force Villa out wide to get Mullins in the starting line up. If something seems to work why mess with it?