I understand PV's thinking somewhat but he still total "Kreis-ed" this game for us.
We played well defensively for 86 minutes but like others have said we do not have the skill to pull that off for 90. Brillant and Chanot did great but you cant expect miracles putting them under pressure for 90 minutes.
I get the loss of Pirlo forced a change in the lineup but you have McNamara who is really closer to a Midfielder than a Winger anyway, you have Mix (another story), and you have Lampard. No reason to start Mikey. None. His job is to close games but Bravo does that marginally better anyway. Why 2 subpar CDMs who can distribute?
I think part of the strategy was to get Bradley and Altidore(?) a yellow so they miss the second leg. Too bad that didnt work out. Thus we got nothing at all from this loss.
Lot of stupid long shots, (RJ) lot of dribbling aimlessly when we should have passed (Harrison, RJ) lot of bad subs/tactics (PV).
I dont get subbing off Villa. 20 minutes to rest on the bench wont make a difference for the second leg. We needed him to the last second to squeeze something, anything, out. He could of linked up with Lamps.
Im scared PV will pull another Kreis and think we lost since Lurch was in goal and not Saunders and then revert back to Saunders for the second leg. Just like Kreis thinking we lost games because Grabavoy only played 75 minutes and not a full 90. God are we regressing.
Mendoza is so fucking goofy. He is like a cartoon character with his exaggerated facial explanations and antics.