Are the conferences streamed on a delay? There's a really strange jump in there near the end of the 3/25 conference where he's talking about Fred and then suddenly talking about messing up plays in Columbus, with no obvious question in between.
some things from today press conference- 1-hack is def not happy with maidanas play as a whole. feels he makes poor decisions said something like "he needs to get back to what he was before they signed him" also says he is questionable for chicago 2-berry is fully fit, but right now awheels has earned the spot over him 3- no mention of sheanon, but handed out an injury report of cruz, maidana, fred, pfeffer. that leads me to believe sheanon is ready to go 4-said players need to be more ruthless with the ball in scoring areas, but overall pleased they are in good spots on the field
The Wheeler over Barry fan isn't quite that clear in the quotes. Long discussion about competition for the spots. Though the sound goes out partway through that section.
listening again, hack says exactly- "the biggest obstacle to him hitting the field this week is the fact that weve played two good games, and aaron wheeler has played pretty well, so that creates the competition that weve been talking about all year. we literally have 4 central defendes that are playing really well. coming back off injury he has to prove through training that he is the best selection. we havent made that decision yet. austin is back to playing 100%. similair to sheanon, you have guys who havent played games. those guys gotta get back in a game eventually to prove they are truly ready. austins got qualities and we recognized before we traded for him. we are fortunate that we have depth in that spot right now, and aaron wheeler has been a bit of a revelation in that regard." so he did mention sheanon, and he aint gone play either
Is it odd, or is it just me ... or both ... that the team's twitter account doesn't seem to do the pbp on Hack's pressers all that much anymore? We have to rely on the various reporters and media outlets (Zeitlin, Tannenwald, De George) to do so.
Two most interesting points from yesterday's press conference: 1. Wheeler is the #1 at LCB and is expected to start this week against Montreal. 2. The switching that goes on between Maidana and Le Toux is Maidana's preference because he likes to play wide right so he can cut in on his left. And, Hack wants to see less of that. Or, Maidana may start on the right with "whoever" [read: not necessarily Le Toux] on the left.
From the sparse highlight tapes I have seen, Maidana looked real good cutting it into the middle. I thought that was where he was most dangerous against Portland. Plus, it means less of a reliance on crossing it. Unfortunately, Le Toux can't adapt to it.
So, to sum up: 1-Wheeler is officialy the starting LCB... Why did they sign both White and Berry if they cannot beat a striker in the hierarchy for the CB spot??! 2-Maidana is a good player, but he (among others) doesn't fit the system and has to play at a position where he is not totally comfortable. Or, maybe he'll start on the right side, and then again, the team doesn't have anybody to play on the left (except if Hackworth play some of his magic and turn a player into a left winger). I am having a hard time figuring out how this roster can be used to get an efficient and logical starting 11.
Cheese fries ... imagine if the rumors that the team was pursuing Peter Crouch were real, and the Union did sign him?
I saw Pfeff got an assist from the left for the u-20s. He could cut in from the left. I defended inverting wingers earlier, but we need wingbacks who can overlap and cross the ball if both wingers cut in.
Or we could put a thru ball in once in awhile like Hack promised....I'm still trying to figure out the whole target striker for a so called possession team??? I thought target men are used for holding the ball up on long balls?? Is this Hactics??
Im sorry but i find it INCREDIBLY difficult to believe that the 2012 MLS Rookie of the year(as a defender) is getting beat out by a convertered forward. This screams Novak level stubborness with Hackworth.
Well in fairness: Berry played along side world cup veteran Arne Friederich that season, so it's highly possib;le that he looked much better then he actually was. Kinda sorta how playing alongside Carlos Valdes made an aging Califf look 5 years younger, and a converted MF look like a stud at CB immediately? Who were the other ROY candidates in 2012? Let's be honest, Farfan, and Mwanga were up for ROY too in the rookie seasons........... Not to mention, that if Berry is so good, why did Chicago trade for three CB's in the past year? They brought in Soumare, Hurtado, and Ianni. I realize they needed to replace Friedrich, but that's not exactly a ringing endorsement for Berry.
Rookie of the Year Finalists Austin Berry (Chicago Fire) Nick DeLeon (D.C. United) Darren Mattocks (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) Beating Mattocks out is ok. I'd trade Lahoud, Bone, Cruz, Wheeler, Hopp and our first rounder, Rob Vart, a dozen Widener graduates and the Bimbo Bear for Mattocks. As for the Fire and their backline logjam, Yallop wanted specific players and traded for Hurtado and Ianni. Thanks to Nowak (you knew he was at fault,right?), Soumare is on a tough contract to trade so we were able to pry Berry loose for MLS magic beans. Which the Fire needed cause Mike Magee needed to get paid,yo. It was, dare I say it, shrewd business. And then we effed it up with this Wheeler stuff. Berry looked solid before going out (we won a game with him starting FWIW). Hack admitted they rushed him back and he looked it. Now, if he's sitting because our KeystonesportsKops training staff retarded his fitness, it's one thing. If he's sitting because of how bad he looked being rushed back from a performance standpoint, that's almost unpossible compared to Wheeler's in-the-box Bruce Lee imitation. Those two cannot be reconciled. If you forgot that play, I found the clip for it.