It's a shame we essentially crushed Magno's value with poor roster building and forcing him to striker. To go from being discussed as one of the better players in the league at the end of 22' to what we saw in 2023 is a shame. If a young guy is flourishing at LW why force him to striker and then give yourself no backup striker on the roster that can work if the move doesn't pan out?
Talles Magno [Forward]
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
It's a shame we essentially crushed Magno's value with poor roster building and forcing him to striker. To go from being discussed as one of the better players in the league at the end of 22' to what we saw in 2023 is a shame. If a young guy is flourishing at LW why force him to striker and then give yourself no backup striker on the roster that can work if the move doesn't pan out?
i get it, but im in the minority that even in LW he was not dominant. like sure he played better than a ST role. but still there were many times it was frustrating him taking too long to decide to pass or to take on the defender or trying these skills moves that dont lead to anything. he definitely can't do it alone.
i would cut him slack because of his age, but man there was no progress and he can't be the guy like nycfc was expecting him to be for some reason.
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With the way he plays, I don't think he can ever be the the guy in an offense the way NYCFC tried to use him last year at ST. Magno thrives either in space or linking up with other teammates making clever runs in the box. If we do move on from him and he lands in a higher-tier league in Europe I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a leap by being surrounded with higher quality players.
Then again as you point out his decision-making can be slow at times and he's not exactly fast in the pace department either so those things could hold him back.
His progress from 2021 to 2022 was outstanding. If he had been kept on the same track there is no reason to believe he wouldn't have continued to progress. Maybe that means faster decision making, maybe improved shot selection, maybe increased aggressiveness. But he was taken off his track. I think saying no progress is highly unfair.
thing is i feel now he is very dependent on the players around him. he had maxi taty around him in those years. he cant do it alone and take initiative as many wanted him to. he has to have players around him making runs off the ball or supplying him passes. if there are strikers/ a "10" to work around him then he can probably do good things.
To be fair, one factor in quick decisionmaking is having options to decide on. Easy to make a decision when you have motion from a Taty and an active Maxi presenting themselves. While I wish he would be more decisive in general, if you don't see anything better and you have his talent, the best option can look like holding onto the ball and waiting for a good option (that may never come).
I'm not so fast to give up on him. h'es still pretty young and definitely looked better when nick put him back on the wing. If Bakrar had finished of a couple of chances he created, it might have changed the narrative for both players.
i've said it before and I'll say it again. 2023 was decided on razor-thin margins. A few more goals have us in the playoffs. Five goals could have had us comfortably placed.
