Medina and Taty playing striker in this preseason game is not indicative of anything involving Jon Lewis. Someone had to play striker without Mitrita there. Medina and Taty are going to feature mostly at left wing and Jon at right wing.
Preseason - February 3 - FC Copenhagen
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
I watched it on my iPad and was able to AirPlay it to my Apple TV. Was letterboxed though as it was just screen mirroring. My TV was listed as an AirPlay target though (newish Samsung) and that worked at full res. Honestly not quite sure how that worked but there’s a Facebook app on the TV that I’ve never used before so it might’ve been that. Ended up just watching it on my iPad though as the feed wasn’t really fast enough to look good on the TV.
Are we sure Mitrita is our striker and not a wing as had earlier been reported? If he’s a wing, somebody else has to step in to the role - Taty, Medina, unsigned player, etc.
Yeah, but did you fix yourself a cheesesteak this morning for the match?
No, buddy, I'm sorry. I'm in permanent mourning for Carl's Steaks. At least until I hit Philadelphia, that is.
Almost sure one of Taty or Medina will play striker. Also Mitrita looks to be a 10/winger so our striker has not been bought yet
Wake me when we hire a manager that understands scoring is a key component of winning matches.
Or if MLS starts granting wins based on possession stats. I’m entirely unconvinced there is even the foundation of a possibly-if-we’re-lucky plan to win a game that matters.
Or if MLS starts granting wins based on possession stats. I’m entirely unconvinced there is even the foundation of a possibly-if-we’re-lucky plan to win a game that matters.
If I try to be optimistic, this felt like a very basic exercise for me. The offensive version of getting into a defensive shape and walking it around the field in order to build a habit around staying in shape wherever the ball is. There was absolutely no switching between the lines. The striker rarely dropped deep, and there were rarely runs from the two 8s to pick the ball up off him. Maxi seemed pretty constrained at LW and then as the striker / false 9. It made me realize how much we depend on him to drop deep, receive and distribute vertically.
Defensively, we were wide open. We seem to be pushing the 8s forward to press, even when the defender was facing up the pitch with the ball completely under their control. Seemed like a really bad time to press. Their central midfielders drifted into the space our 8s left, and they were passing straight through our midfield with ease, then ditching it out wide for their oncoming fullbacks. They seemed to get into the box at will. Also, our wingers were very deep in this shape, so when we were able to get the ball forward, the striker was extremely isolated. Often by the time we got the ball out wide and high, the defense was too settled. Again, where a run from the 8 behind the defensive line would give the winger a forward option, nothing came. They more or less stayed at home, which meant we had to send the ball backwards time and time again.
Anyway, it is very early days. I think we have a pretty clear idea of the shape that Dome wants to attack in. I was surprised not to see traditional wingers, given the interview that mgarbowski translated parts of earlier in the off-season. Turning the City v Arsenal game on later in the day, it felt fairly easy to identify the missing link between the way Pep has his City playing and the way Dome has thus far had us mostly struggling to get the ball moving in the final third. There's no vertical off-the-ball movement. This is probably due to a lack of fitness and familiarity. This game was really difficult to watch, but we have time to get it right and I am excited about the direction things are headed in.
Defensively, we were wide open. We seem to be pushing the 8s forward to press, even when the defender was facing up the pitch with the ball completely under their control. Seemed like a really bad time to press. Their central midfielders drifted into the space our 8s left, and they were passing straight through our midfield with ease, then ditching it out wide for their oncoming fullbacks. They seemed to get into the box at will. Also, our wingers were very deep in this shape, so when we were able to get the ball forward, the striker was extremely isolated. Often by the time we got the ball out wide and high, the defense was too settled. Again, where a run from the 8 behind the defensive line would give the winger a forward option, nothing came. They more or less stayed at home, which meant we had to send the ball backwards time and time again.
Anyway, it is very early days. I think we have a pretty clear idea of the shape that Dome wants to attack in. I was surprised not to see traditional wingers, given the interview that mgarbowski translated parts of earlier in the off-season. Turning the City v Arsenal game on later in the day, it felt fairly easy to identify the missing link between the way Pep has his City playing and the way Dome has thus far had us mostly struggling to get the ball moving in the final third. There's no vertical off-the-ball movement. This is probably due to a lack of fitness and familiarity. This game was really difficult to watch, but we have time to get it right and I am excited about the direction things are headed in.
