But bad for my fantasy MLS team. :/
Toronto Postmatch
- Thread starter NYCFC_Dan
- Start date
In the first half we looked like a team that believed we could win, made up of second stringers (sorry, Mix, you're my boy, but let's be real) who wanted to impress a legend of the game that happens to manage the team.
I think in the locker room at the half Vieira told the squad to be pragmatic and hold on to their point unless a chance to score fell into their laps. So, hard to argue with a strategy that lands us at the top of our conference table, but I can't help but feel we walked away from a chance to win that match.
Salute to the team, though, for not buckling under the pressure that TOR ratcheted up in the second half.
Very frustrating that Mullins flubbed that total sitter from a beautiful through ball, though.
I did like the pressure tactic in the first half of the first half which had a midfielder burst past the forwards to press the TOR defender in possession. Positive, aggressive, good stuff.
I think in the locker room at the half Vieira told the squad to be pragmatic and hold on to their point unless a chance to score fell into their laps. So, hard to argue with a strategy that lands us at the top of our conference table, but I can't help but feel we walked away from a chance to win that match.
Salute to the team, though, for not buckling under the pressure that TOR ratcheted up in the second half.
Very frustrating that Mullins flubbed that total sitter from a beautiful through ball, though.
I did like the pressure tactic in the first half of the first half which had a midfielder burst past the forwards to press the TOR defender in possession. Positive, aggressive, good stuff.
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Credit where it's due: Bravo is every bit worthy of being deemed one of, if not THE, best DMs in MLS. He was everywhere again tonight.
That Poku goal was gorgeous, but he really shouldn't start. He's got about 30-40 minutes per game in him, and I can't help but think it's best used when everyone else is tiring to amplify his power.
I thought in the first half Mix and Poku combined really well. I have no clue what formation we were running the second half. Ballouchy stopped playing the wing and went into a more central role. This left Poku really isolated on offense.
White got exposed at RB especially with his passing. I thought Martinez was our worse defender. I thought PV made a good call with the two fullback subs he used.
I wasn't really impressed with Mullins. He made that nice run in the first half, but didn't finish, picked up a yellow card and that was about it. When Villa subbed in he was MIA on the left wing. I dont really see Mullins doing well on the LW.
White got exposed at RB especially with his passing. I thought Martinez was our worse defender. I thought PV made a good call with the two fullback subs he used.
I wasn't really impressed with Mullins. He made that nice run in the first half, but didn't finish, picked up a yellow card and that was about it. When Villa subbed in he was MIA on the left wing. I dont really see Mullins doing well on the LW.
We better buy him after this season. I don't think we'll find someone better.
Thoroughly uninspiring match. I'm not pumped, excited, annoyed, thrilled, despondent, or anything much really. I really can't bring myself to say much about it. My best effort is to note that I think this qualifies as our first "I guess that's OK" tie including last year. Every other tie has been a disappointment, either because of a late-game goal-against, or because of who we played, or because it was part of a winless streak, because we really needed a win. So this is a landmark , of sorts in my view.
Our Historic First "Meh, I'll Take It, I Guess."
Our Historic First "Meh, I'll Take It, I Guess."
Here are my thoughts:
- BMO is pretty nice. And, to their credit, it was a legit 30k (or close) tonight. Not one of those matches where a team has sold tickets but half the seats are empty. Crowd was fairly subdued though. All in all, a good place to go to a game. I tweeted to John Patricof during the match asking if we could have a stadium like this and he "liked" the tweet, which made me laugh. One day...
- That game was Poku in a nutshell. I was sitting on our left side for the 1st half, so I had a good view of him, Ballouchy and Martinez. He was, candidly, either completely lost or completely indifferent, or both. But, then he ripped off a great goal. Seriously, though, the other two covered a lot of ground for him. I don't know what to do with him but even though I've always heard and thought he was something of a defensive liability, it was visibly apparent to me tonight in a way it hasn't often been.
- As others have said, I thought Bravo was a monster. Controlled the game on both the ground and in the air. Very, very good. Of course, he picked up another yellow.
- Mix, not good. He looked so slow. Got caught from behind a number of times and dribbled into cul de sacs other times. In fairness, he was one of the few guys starting who played Sunday. No rhythm with Mendoza. I found myself watching Will Johnson on Toronto and thinking that, even ignoring salaries, I'd much rather have him. I'm not sure what the answer is at this point.
- Iraola, also, not good. I'm pretty sure he got physically beat in the air by Giovinco on the play that ended with the Saunders double save. On the other hand, Iraola is a phenomenal time waster at the end of a match. It is comical to watch.
- Mullins was Mullins. He was going at it with Bradley early in the match, which was good. The yellow definitely held him back. He's still a useful player, though I thought it was interesting that he went to LW when Villa came on.
- Brillant can get turned at times on the ground and look a bit awkward but he does the job and his aerial play is really good. He actually aggressively attacks the ball in the air. That is a huge upgrade over last year when we were so small.
- I may have seen this wrong because it was on the opposite side of the field, but it looked like Harrison got called to the bench and then send back to the end-line within Iraola coming on instead. Not sure if that was a midstream change of mind by PV, but my best guess is it was just a miscommunication.
- I love that we got a road point and the only guys from our first 11 who started were Bravo and the CBs (plus Saunders, but that doesn't count).
- An excellent moment in the match was when TFC CB Drew Moor thought the lineman blew an offsides call. At the next stoppage he walked over within ten feet of the sideline and absolutely screamed "Raise your fucking flag". It was funny. Well, he didn't seem to think it was, but I did. So did the little kids sitting near me.
- It pains me a bit that Josh Williams was instrumental in the goal. But, I guess it is karma for Khiry nicking the ball of Jacobson for the first goal against Vancouver.
Anyhow, good times for the team. Could not be more excited for Saturday. See you all there!
- BMO is pretty nice. And, to their credit, it was a legit 30k (or close) tonight. Not one of those matches where a team has sold tickets but half the seats are empty. Crowd was fairly subdued though. All in all, a good place to go to a game. I tweeted to John Patricof during the match asking if we could have a stadium like this and he "liked" the tweet, which made me laugh. One day...
- That game was Poku in a nutshell. I was sitting on our left side for the 1st half, so I had a good view of him, Ballouchy and Martinez. He was, candidly, either completely lost or completely indifferent, or both. But, then he ripped off a great goal. Seriously, though, the other two covered a lot of ground for him. I don't know what to do with him but even though I've always heard and thought he was something of a defensive liability, it was visibly apparent to me tonight in a way it hasn't often been.
- As others have said, I thought Bravo was a monster. Controlled the game on both the ground and in the air. Very, very good. Of course, he picked up another yellow.
- Mix, not good. He looked so slow. Got caught from behind a number of times and dribbled into cul de sacs other times. In fairness, he was one of the few guys starting who played Sunday. No rhythm with Mendoza. I found myself watching Will Johnson on Toronto and thinking that, even ignoring salaries, I'd much rather have him. I'm not sure what the answer is at this point.
- Iraola, also, not good. I'm pretty sure he got physically beat in the air by Giovinco on the play that ended with the Saunders double save. On the other hand, Iraola is a phenomenal time waster at the end of a match. It is comical to watch.
- Mullins was Mullins. He was going at it with Bradley early in the match, which was good. The yellow definitely held him back. He's still a useful player, though I thought it was interesting that he went to LW when Villa came on.
- Brillant can get turned at times on the ground and look a bit awkward but he does the job and his aerial play is really good. He actually aggressively attacks the ball in the air. That is a huge upgrade over last year when we were so small.
- I may have seen this wrong because it was on the opposite side of the field, but it looked like Harrison got called to the bench and then send back to the end-line within Iraola coming on instead. Not sure if that was a midstream change of mind by PV, but my best guess is it was just a miscommunication.
- I love that we got a road point and the only guys from our first 11 who started were Bravo and the CBs (plus Saunders, but that doesn't count).
- An excellent moment in the match was when TFC CB Drew Moor thought the lineman blew an offsides call. At the next stoppage he walked over within ten feet of the sideline and absolutely screamed "Raise your fucking flag". It was funny. Well, he didn't seem to think it was, but I did. So did the little kids sitting near me.
- It pains me a bit that Josh Williams was instrumental in the goal. But, I guess it is karma for Khiry nicking the ball of Jacobson for the first goal against Vancouver.
Anyhow, good times for the team. Could not be more excited for Saturday. See you all there!
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Just got to watch the game. Again posting with no external feedback.
I thought Mix and Bravo were excellent together and both very good individually. I'd like to watch more, but I want to put Poku the trio here as well. I frankly think those 3 and TMac would be just fine as mid/attack combo with a solid striker and a speedster - like tonight. Poku and Mix always seem to connect well.
Mendoza cost us a good opportunity at 22ish minutes in.
Brillant is making Hernandez a smarter defender. Martinez is an adequate LB.
Ballouchy was kind of just out there, but he works hard.
Saunders had a good game for him. He's still not even close to good.
How Beithashour didn't get a yellow for the takedown on Mullins is a joke. Mullins missed a good opportunity, but he was serviceable. I think he'd be better with more time.
Poku - he was Poku. Great shot. Many good touches. He looked to be working hard on defense, too.
You really can't be disappointed. I thought the color guy on Yes was way too hard on our play. We certainly played the better brand of soccer for most of the game.
We're in first. I dig it. You have to go with Mix, Bravo and Pirlo against RBNJ. We need to win. Lopez will be red carded if he plays against a press/counter setup like them. Let's stop jerking around. Play Mix. Don't fuck with me anymore, PV.
And shit, Poku is a 9.5. That's it. That's all. The dude needs a free role. I honestly don't know if the goal count would go down a lot if he started at striker for us. Not calling for it. Just making the point. But if teams are going to give us the ball at home, let's let him float between the lines and scare the hell out of the defenders.
I thought Mix and Bravo were excellent together and both very good individually. I'd like to watch more, but I want to put Poku the trio here as well. I frankly think those 3 and TMac would be just fine as mid/attack combo with a solid striker and a speedster - like tonight. Poku and Mix always seem to connect well.
Mendoza cost us a good opportunity at 22ish minutes in.
Brillant is making Hernandez a smarter defender. Martinez is an adequate LB.
Ballouchy was kind of just out there, but he works hard.
Saunders had a good game for him. He's still not even close to good.
How Beithashour didn't get a yellow for the takedown on Mullins is a joke. Mullins missed a good opportunity, but he was serviceable. I think he'd be better with more time.
Poku - he was Poku. Great shot. Many good touches. He looked to be working hard on defense, too.
You really can't be disappointed. I thought the color guy on Yes was way too hard on our play. We certainly played the better brand of soccer for most of the game.
We're in first. I dig it. You have to go with Mix, Bravo and Pirlo against RBNJ. We need to win. Lopez will be red carded if he plays against a press/counter setup like them. Let's stop jerking around. Play Mix. Don't fuck with me anymore, PV.
And shit, Poku is a 9.5. That's it. That's all. The dude needs a free role. I honestly don't know if the goal count would go down a lot if he started at striker for us. Not calling for it. Just making the point. But if teams are going to give us the ball at home, let's let him float between the lines and scare the hell out of the defenders.
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He sucks. Sorry. #dgafaboutyourtrollhesuckshorribly
I thought he was probably our best player. H
He was the practically the entirety of our ball pressure in the attacking and middle third.
The goal tonight was a result of Poku not tracking back on the Toronto player that received the cross. Poku was simply ball watching. White's mark may have scored the goal, but there never should have been a ball to put in if Poku ran with his man.
I said that a few games ago and got bashed for it because his stats weren't there. I think this game proves he is all I said he was.
Yeah, I give a lot of credit to Mix for that first half - he was quick to close down, tackling well and often his next touch was a layoff to a team mate. Not beautiful exactly, but very effective.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Sq95I6Lk74hJCpWaN-gbvE8dw8z2W-hkHm-2s73xQD0/viewform
Apologies if this survey comes off as patronizing because that is not the intent. Just want to see some where the views are coming from and if I'm just blind to all things Mix.
Apologies if this survey comes off as patronizing because that is not the intent. Just want to see some where the views are coming from and if I'm just blind to all things Mix.
I think he has one game that supports a previously incorrect statement you made becoming more correct.
This was his best and only total match. Before, he's looked lost a lot when he had the ball. If he didn't have a short pass to Pirlo, he panicked. This time, he didn't have his security blanket, so he actually distributed. It probably also helped that he had Mix to pass to instead of Lopez.
I don't see all this down on Mix after TONIGHT. What in the hell do y'all expect? I thought he was easily one of the top 3-4 players in the match.
If anyone really thinks Will Johnson pulls off those flicks and feints and holds off 3 defenders with no support around, then I'd love to see proof. Will Johnson is a punk bitch who ran around a lot and did fuck all. If he were worth a damn, he'd have scored more than one given the looks he had.
And he's Canadian. I don't want their whiskey or their players. Second rate relative to actual quality.
I would just like to know what the bar is for him in the eyes of the critics. I watched the whole game thinking, "this oughta shuttem up". But alas, I apparently got a different feed.
I actually thought mix and bravo were the two best players for us in the 1st. The problem is Mix's positives become his negatives. There's no way he could sustain that work rate for 90m. As much as he flew around in the 1st with his high press and some sweet passes...he disappeared in the 2nd and became a liability...as did most of the team.
It's games like this that remind you why certain people don't play much.
Mullins was garbage.
Martinez is average at best.
White looked too indecisive at times.
What's with the Mehdi love lately.
Poku is a spot starter, sub.
It was good to see Harrison dressed and of course Fat Frank was MIA.
It's games like this that remind you why certain people don't play much.
Mullins was garbage.
Martinez is average at best.
White looked too indecisive at times.
What's with the Mehdi love lately.
Poku is a spot starter, sub.
It was good to see Harrison dressed and of course Fat Frank was MIA.
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