Just curious, is that what you think should happen, or what you think will happen?
Preseason - 2/13 Club Atletico San Luis
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
I think you (and many others) are conflating "What PV needs from these early preseason games" with "What I as a fan want to see". Mixed with a healthy dose of uninformed opinion of how chemistry between players gets developed (spoilers: from what I can tell from us and other teams, it's not from constant reps in exhibition games)
I'll say it again: preseason is not for us
Name the teams that look utter garbage preseason and open well. Bayern was garbage in preseason this year. Started garbage and got better when they fired the manager.
You can’t always say “move along, nothing to see here”. Sometimes, there’s a reason to react.
And the general tone of condescension about fans coming to a message board to react and judge performances is so tired and overplayed by those seeking some sort of weird admiration or acknowledgment of expertise that just doesn’t exist anywhere is something I don’t understand.
We’ve all waited 3-4 months to have something to react to. What we’ve gotten is absolute bollocks. No one cares about results. We care that we don’t see things that seem foundational to individual players and areas of the pitch.
I like game threads with posts in them. Give me something more than preseason platitudes pled by patsies of the underperforming the world over about why we shouldn’t be concerned.
To everyone discussing the merits of what we see from players, good or bad, please keep it up. It’s what makes the board worth visiting.
TBH, a few of us were saying after one of the last preseason games last year that the team clicked way more with Herrera than Pirlo.
He may not be adapting well with the heat of Jax, LA, and Mexico compared to Scandinavia. Even in the winter, those places are a kick in the face compared to north of The Wall.
A couple of seasons ago, my team back home could barely get a shot away in preseason. Fans on the message boards predicted relegation and started questioning the manager. We started the season on fire, battering teams 3 or 4-0 and were top by November (didn't end so well, but that's another story).
We could sit here trawling through preseason results finding endless examples of teams whose bad preseasons did and didn't correlate with bad regular seasons. I doubt we'd convince each other regardless and that's fine.
My beef isn't with those moaning about results, it's about the expectations. Modern-day EPL guff like the Emirates Cup/Audi Cup etc has conditioned a whole new generation of fans to think there's some kind of inherent competitive value to preseason. (I mean, it's on TV and some teams get a trophy at the end, right?) We're all football starved as you say, so why not treat it as an extension of the season itself.
Well that's fine with me to a point, but I'm guessing for the managers themselves, it's more about experimenting in a game environment and getting players match fit. I would much rather see our first choice XI boss it for 90 minutes every week in February, but I also know that Tommy Mac has to play SOMETIME this year, and I'd rather he be match fit when he does.
Most of all, I don't get this idea that preseason games are this race against time to build 'chemistry'. We had players who didn't play at all last preseason who showed plenty of chemistry with their teammates on opening day (and vice versa!). I somehow doubt that Jesus Medina is sitting on the bench fretting "How will I ever get to play with Villa?", and I can't see any manager across the league who feels obliged to roll out their first choice XI every time in preseason.
None of this fits very well with the hyper-competitive/flame the n00bz/#NYisBlue mentality that some people like to bring every time on here. But I think there's room for both.
Anyway, this got way too long, so in summary, Tommy Mac isn't very good, and hey, has anyone asked why Vieira doesn't play that Lewis kid, because he's looked pretty decent?
That is a worthwhile post.
But FYI, these are like 3 way different groups you're conflating here.
I mean, Barca got embarrassed by Madrid in the super copa. Now look at where both teams are...
D
dummyrun
Guest
This is a terrible take.
Barça got destroyed by Madrid in the Supercopa and everybody said it was the end of an era. City was walloped by United in July and lost the last game of its preseason to goddamned Girona. Napoli drew with Bournemouth. PSG didn't win a single game. Have I named enough teams with garbage preseasons yet? No?
Last year the Sounders went winless in the preseason. Toronto lost to the Cal State Fullerton Titans (lol) and got humiliated by Chicago the week before the season kicked off. Things turned out pretty well for those teams, and for us, too, despite our run of three straight preseason losses in mid-February.
Soccer preseasons are for getting players in shape and doing a little tactical tinkering. That's it. They're not predictive of anything, and there are very few useful conclusions to be drawn from them. It's fun to get our first look at new players and to talk about stuff other than budgets and roster rules, but freaking out about our form in February? Give me a break.
Good: Maxi, Tinnerholm, Tajouri, Cavani.
Bad: Wallace, Johnson (kinda).
Questionable: Lewis, Medina.
Not jumping the gun, but I’ll be glad to get past tinkering/fitness/adjusting to the team so to see what Medina actually can do. Lewis had some good moments but looked stranded at times. I’d start him over Wallace and see if he settles in.
That is a terrible take because you fail to account for us turning over half the roster. Use your other handle for this one.
I’m just flaming the n00bz.
I’m like John Snow. I know nothing. I suspect things.
Nah John Snow is more of a unifier. I would say Kingslayer.
Hanging out with Cersei Kingslayer, or hanging out with Brienne Kingslayer.
'cause they're like 2 different people.
It's a question that can't be answered yes or no.
But also completely unimportant.
I blameIt's a question that can't be answered yes or no.
But also completely unimportant.
mgarbowski because now I've got a headache from slapping my forehead, darn it.
