Nycfc V Toronto Postgame
- Thread starter NYCFC_Dan
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I didn't think Ned had a bad game. It was arguably his best performance to date, even if that isn't saying much. Should have had an assist of Frank buries that great pass from Grabavoy. He looks a little aged, and you can see where he would have been skilled 4-5 years ago -- more finely-tuned and more pace -- but he was ready to make some dangerous runs when he could and was in good position most of the night. Realistically, he shouldn't be starting, but he put in a good effort tonight. We'll see Poku in the lineup, I think, on Saturday.
Watching the match, it looked like they made a meaningful tactical change today which is that they had Jacobson sit deeper. Looking at the positional map on WhoScored, he was the deepest of our midfielders by a not insignificant amount. I don't think that has been the case generally since the introduction of Pirlo, and I think it is a very important change that created the appearance of solidity and why we didn't get opened up half a dozen times. I'm not necessarily arguing whether Jacobson is the right guy for that job, but it is the right tactic for me.
The other thing that I think has been the case consistently is that we are the most solid defensively with the back line we had last night. Allen gets love, Wingert gets hate, but for me the best stretch of games that we had this year in terms of, again, not giving away lots of clear chances, started against Houston May 30th when Facey moved to CB and Wingert to LB. Its less fun than the Angelino/Iraola duo, but the defense is just better in terms of congesting space and not giving up chances.
At this point I think we have more than enough attacking talent to score goals even with a slightly more conservative style, and it is a more satisfying team to watch.
The other thing that I think has been the case consistently is that we are the most solid defensively with the back line we had last night. Allen gets love, Wingert gets hate, but for me the best stretch of games that we had this year in terms of, again, not giving away lots of clear chances, started against Houston May 30th when Facey moved to CB and Wingert to LB. Its less fun than the Angelino/Iraola duo, but the defense is just better in terms of congesting space and not giving up chances.
At this point I think we have more than enough attacking talent to score goals even with a slightly more conservative style, and it is a more satisfying team to watch.
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Wonder how much that has to do with guys not named Pirlo/Lampard feeling pressured into feeding him the ball at every opportunity, whether or not he is open?
Exactly. Not out to offend anyone, but if you think Grabavoy had a great game, then you really don't know much about this game. I'm far from an expert, but even I can see that he's shit. His ball handling is simply awful. First touch? He has no first touch. There was one beauty of a pass from Pirlo that he completely missed on the fly. I laughed. I don't understand how someone at that level can start on an MLS team. Oh wait, I know... Kreis.
Anyway, pumped that we won. Hope this sparks something.
Interesting quote in the Daily News from Pirlo after the match:
I'm wondering if Gio's adductor injury is worse than revealed. I've seen Jozy disappear like that before but not the Ant.
I don't know if it was the comments so much as it was we were watching a team that is starting to find its comfort zone.
When you plop a Lampard/Villa/Pirlo on the pitch with a bunch of kids and expect magic to happen overnight (not saying you expected it but I think many did) it's a recipe for disappointment.
I think we got our first peek at beautiful NYCFC football last night. Imagine that match without the sloppy first touches on gorgeous Pirlo balls (that sounds weird).
Oh my... Quick, someone needs to produce mass quantities of t-shirts: I <3 Pirlo's Gorgeous Balls
Last night we won 2-0. The last time we had a clean sheet at home was the home opener, which we also won 2-0. Both of those games I got into the post match meet and greet.
Coincidence, I think not.
Coincidence, I think not.
Ned was anonymous as was Mix for about the first hour of the match before he started looking slightly interested. Despite those holes on the wings the team put in a great and unexpected performance without Villa. I'll single out AJ as excellent (outside his few terribly struck shots) since he hasn't been mentioned much.
Also a nice bit of irony in Poku getting announced as our August PotM while he's on the bench for the third match in a row...
Also a nice bit of irony in Poku getting announced as our August PotM while he's on the bench for the third match in a row...
Then we need to start working on getting you a meet and greet pass for the rest of the home games.
Following up on your brief summary of Kreis' press conference, did he give any particulars as to why a healthy Tommy Mac was left out of the 18 last night? I know his last two games weren't his best but it just seems odd to me that TMac would go from being a fairly productive starter to not dressing in just a few weeks time.
I had said it about Iraola even before his knock, and understand it now about Angelino (who I still love as a potential star), that at this point in time with the players we have and the cohesion still a work in progress, fullbacks bombing up the wings is not the right look. It was creating too much dangerous transition, often resulting in easy odd-man goals. I think we are better off dropping back AJ further like we did last night, and letting guys like Facey, JH, RJ and, gulp, Wingert play traditional defense. It allows us to grind out and hopefully win the first 50 or 60 minutes, and then run away with it when you can sub in burst players like Khiry, Angelino and Poku. I'm not suggesting that the latter Poku shouldn't start (and certainly not suggesting that Ned should), but simply stating that I get the adjustment in the back.
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