RSL Postmatch

[Midas Mulligan]

I don't see what is idiotic about that post personally. MLS and sports in general is all about coaching continuity. Kreis had his own issues but I don't see how trading one coach for another did much of anything for us. Kreis has a proven track record in MLS and I personally think he was equipped to figure it out. Are they going to stick with PV once we miss the playoffs again? Coaching carousels is a recipe for mediocrity.

Well, I wasn't calling you an idiot in the traditional sense. That's why I used meme jargon.

But mediocrity is an improvement over last year when it comes to us. And Kreis, by most accounts, had lost the lockerroom. At that point, coaching skill hardly matters.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

I"m watching the rebroadcast and... Wtf?

FYP.

 

[Alex Da Silva]

That was a highly entertaining match and if that is an example of how we will play against a very good western conference team , we are going to have no problem making the playoffs.

Is it weird that I think if we were in the western conference we might be doing better? whenever we play the west we seem to have a better go of it than versus our eastern conference opponents. Maybe it's just because we play them less though.

 

[Ulrich]

Is it weird that I think if we were in the western conference we might be doing better? whenever we play the west we seem to have a better go of it than versus our eastern conference opponents. Maybe it's just because we play them less though.

The west plays a more flowing brand of soccer than the east... The east is definitely the more physical / less technical side of the league.

 

[NickA]

I'm beating a dead horse at this point, but I'm just surprised that so many think he played really well when he missed two headers, he stumbled on two opportunities in the box, he was guarding no one and arguably left his man on the second goal, and I can't think of one very good play he made except maybe the cross on one of the times he stumbled in the box. What did he do that was so good yesterday? Not sure what makes you think we play better with him in the lineup - is that supported by the results?

He did a lot more than I've seen Mikey Lopez do this year...so yes to me the team plays better with him in the line up. Iraola has made a difference too but Bravo is solid, so I look to the other side. I don't care about the results the last two games, because if they didn't sub mix out the last game I feel we would've won and if it wasn't for some bad breaks this game we would've won. To me personally, these last two games are the best the midfield has looked since the get go. It's been hard to watch a lot of times otherwise. Maybe we like different types soccer and we obviously have a different eye, so we'll agree to disagree. It happens.

 

[Alex Da Silva]

Oh how great it will be when we get Matta back from the Copa. We can get white off the field and RJ back at RB and be able to attack with both fullbacks options. I think Bravo and Iraola will have to fight for the DM spot each week which will only lead them to improve more. We can hope Mix is just in a funk and if he gets to keep starting he will get back into the form we want him in. When summer rolls around we need to get a Keeper because Johansen will never break saunders out of goal (sorry #startErik). Maybe then we can finally start to look like the playoff team we all want to be.

 

[SoupInNYC]

I'm beating a dead horse at this point, but I'm just surprised that so many think he played really well when he missed two headers, he stumbled on two opportunities in the box, he was guarding no one and arguably left his man on the second goal, and I can't think of one very good play he made except maybe the cross on one of the times he stumbled in the box. What did he do that was so good yesterday? Not sure what makes you think we play better with him in the lineup - is that supported by the results?

He wasn't "stumbling" into the box. The man made great runs to get into dangerous positions.

Yes, he didn't finish his two chances. Yes he should have put them on target. But he had a great match, I don't understand the attempt here to belittle the runs he was making.

 

[Vallos]

 

[Christopher Jee]

I posted that in the pre-match thread. Yup, the team is a specialist in finding new ways to lose. When RSL got the set piece, I called it before it even went in. It was the first good set piece RSL had all game, so OF COURSE it's going in.

This is what makes my blood boil...it's as if certain players decide "you know, I'm going to play a few minutes like I have no soccer brain". No other team consistently has this many brain farts every game and drops points like this. None. And if PV says "well, these are individual mistakes that can be fixed" - well then FIX THEM. Or get players who can concentrate for 90 minutes.

Tonight's goals against were despicable. You can maybe excuse the second (but then again, learn how to defend damn set pieces), but the first where Hernandez got thrown like a wet rag and the own goal were out of pure comedy school. Yura is a good forward, but he is not freaking Drogba. Hernandez's positioning was cover your eyes worthy. There is a reason he was in the expansion draft. Yeah, he made some nice emergency blocks for a few games, but he is not an MLS level defender. And Brilliant has had his share of brain farts as well.

Where were the RSL brain farts, hmmm? Their starting CBs are guys from their academy I think, or guys picked up out of college. And on and on with other teams. Sell Mullins, Poku (unless you are going to play him), trade Saunders for a bag of balls, and get two big guys to convince Frank to "retire" and pick up some competent CBs and perhaps a GK in the window. Saunders is worse than replacement level MLS talent at this point. At least find some people who can stop making crucial, point-dropping mistakes. Enough. Unless drastic changes are made, they will miss the playoffs. It's pretty much done already.

Mix totally lost Burrito on goal #2. There's a very strange moment where he looks over at him and then chooses to run into the mosh pit at the near post :/

EDIT just saw someone called this out above. Read after posting. Sorry.

 

[dark knight]

He wasn't "stumbling" into the box. The man made great runs to get into dangerous positions.

Yes, he didn't finish his two chances. Yes he should have put them on target. But he had a great match, I don't understand the attempt here to belittle the runs he was making.

I'm not belittling the runs, but I didn't see a great match by any stretch. That's like saying Villa had a great match because of all his chances. He took mis-steps twice with chances in the box I'm pretty sure, aside from the missed headers.

 

[Ulrich]

Mix totally lost Burrito on goal #2. There's a very strange moment where he looks over at him and then chooses to run into the mosh pit at the near post :/

EDIT just saw someone called this out above. Read after posting. Sorry.

I mentioned above that when researching the goal, especially frame by frame, the team is playing zonal marking on the set piece. Mix's spot is the top of the box, the other FC players drop to the 6yrd box. mix looked over to see if the numbers worked out and saw that hernandez and AJ were the farthest over to take Burrito and some other guy. If Mix vacates the top of the box, it leaves another RSL player totally unmarked for a pass back (ala last week's sudden death goal to Orlando).

 

[Viewfrom226]

The best part of Jack's goal is the touch before the shot. Just before the shot he plays the ball a little bit longer into space and then accelerates around the corner to get by the defender and create the line to shoot. The shot itself isn't great and needed the deflection. But, when you create shooting angles like that for yourself, you get the opportunity to benefit from deflections.

 

[ManhattanValley]

Still like Mix. Don't care what the haters say... so much better than Lopez. High effort, helps to create chances, and knows what he's doing more than Mikey. Kinda hoping that whatever Mikey's injury is lingers for a bit.

The fact that Mix's fans are reduced to favorably comparing Mix (annual salary: $761,250) with Mikey Lopez (annual salary: $51,500) says it all really. Car dealers don't have to spend time justifying why a Maserati's better than a Honda Civic unless there's something up.

 

[SteveV]

The fact that Mix's fans are reduced to favorably comparing Mix (annual salary: $761,250) with Mikey Lopez (annual salary: $51,500) says it all really. Car dealers don't have to spend time justifying why a Maserati's better than a Honda Civic unless there's something up.

I don't think they're comparable. I only mention Mikey in the same sentence because he's been playing in the midfield for some reason.

 

[BxLio91]

The fact that Mix's fans are reduced to favorably comparing Mix (annual salary: $761,250) with Mikey Lopez (annual salary: $51,500) says it all really. Car dealers don't have to spend time justifying why a Maserati's better than a Honda Civic unless there's something up.

Civics are a better value.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

The west plays a more flowing brand of soccer than the east... The east is definitely the more physical / less technical side of the league.

We're too good for the east!!!!

Fuck it! Cut 'em up!

( FootyLovin )

 

[Christopher Jee]

I don't think that's nitpicking. On a global soccer scale, we're definitely closer to a 2.5. I might have overcorrected for MLS mentality. Mea culpa.

This is a really interesting discussion. A couple of complicating factors that came to mind:

• Timing – we're flattening time to come up with a summary value, but consistently effective teams have both styles in their respective lockers and know when to use the appropriate tool.
• Skill – there's something which doesn't feel quite right about this dichotomy and I think it's because we're conflating the level of attacking intent with a team's ability to keep the ball. There are teams that play very vertically but still boss possession to the same extent that indirect teams do. e.g. Enrique Barca vs Guardiola Barca.

I suppose it doesn't really matter that much, but it bothers me when possession-based teams are unfairly rated as unexciting and sloppy teams get away with being inept because they are "direct".

 

[NYdoesitEZ]

Why do you call him an idiot? He should express his opinion. Patrick Vieria must feel like an idiot. He realizes he wasn't ready for Adult soccer. Unless management feels MLS is like a European youth academy league. Patrick is unqualified look at how the team links play and get caught . Recall how the old Red bulls of a few years ago played.

Whether PV is good or bad is a sperate issue. The original expressed opinion is Kries should have been kept and PV is no good. The first part of hat statement is obviously wrong and the second part is debatable. But what we can tell so far is PV is better than Kries so far

 

[FootyLovin]

Whether PV is good or bad is a sperate issue. The original expressed opinion is Kries should have been kept and PV is no good. The first part of hat statement is obviously wrong and the second part is debatable. But what we can tell so far is PV is better than Kries so far

"Better" is complicated. How would Kreis be coming into this team in year 2 if PV had coached year 1? Hard to tell.

But the rest of your post - 100%.

#mobilepost

 

[21Architect]

Mix was really good..

Mix was really good at everything but scoring relatively easy goals. He HAS to get one of those in the back of the net.