Yup, noticed this too. Maidana was shaking his head and was certainly frustrated when he got to the bench. It could have been frustration over a particular moment of the game but I do think it was probably about being taken out so early. I know I was pretty frustrated about that myself, Maidana had been playing well and was combining well with Nogs and Edu. Not the sub I wanted to see Hack make there.
Bimbo owns Stroehmann, do they not? They still sell that one in Pa, right? I haven't lived there in a while.
The PPL draw factory cycles again. And they say manufacturing is dead in America? This game was atrocious. Might have been even worse than @ Pinkies when you consider that it was played at home against an opponent worse than Pinky. This team gets worse every game. Today was a complete regression to '13 hoofball, except there weren't even two strikers to get on the end of it. Awful all around. Williams played like he didn't give a damn - like he did early last year - and made me regret the nice things I said about him before. At least Gaddis tried to jump for a couple balls today. Can't really take away anything else good except not losing. Hack has lost the locker room by my estimation.
I think Maidana only seems like a 55-60 minute player because that's when Hack keeps taking him out. Maidana's body language while coming off today said he wanted to keep playing. I've been impressed with his defensive effort as well as his hustle off the ball even though those aren't his primary strengths.
Did anyone else see kinnear kick an out of bounds ball and then place it with foot just over the touchline and then complained that there was a ball on the field (that he put there himself!). The best part of that was the ball girl sprinting from the endline and trying to hand the ball to him.
I thought Wheeler played well... one or two bad passes here and there, but its the Union, that could have been every player.
I really want him to do well. I felt like he worked his ass off out there and I think did a lot cleaning up the defensive mistakes. But as a striker...incredibly frustrating.
I'm not too hard on Williams today, the types of mistakes he was making today looked like he was still hurting or just actually sick or something. A lot of things were uncharacteristic. Except the crossing, that's always been bad.
I'm not talking about dogging it, I'm talking about bad turnovers and bad passes. His dogging it is definitely characteristic.
That ball girl was all over the touch line. My vote for BGOTM. Her work rate was fantastic, a few of the U could learn a thing or two. As I sat there ,I kept wondering...what the exact **** do they work on in practice? It can't be shooting. Do they play kickball for a few hours? Is it just slurpees and FIFA14 tourneys? Brazilian steakhouses and twitter? Maybe, just maybe, they could go for some extra training kicking the ball towards the general area of a net. I look up in the beer line to see us outshot at the half 12-1 and the one wasn't on target (Casey header over the bar?). Reminds me of high school, I couldn't score either.
Kinnear rolling the ball onto the touch line and then having the gall to point to it as "being on the pitch" was just scummy. And if I see Williams loop another lazy ass cross into the box from the 18 yard line I'll lose it. Drive to the endline and put in a hard low cross and shit happens!!!
Sometimes early balls whipped into the area lead to great chances--but the timing requires the attackers to be just making their runs into the box. By the time Williams typically hits the 18 when he has the ball, however, the Union attackers have already established their positions inside the area. What this team needs is a quicker approach to the counter attack. Let's see less square passes and more diagonals going forward. Quicker thinking, attack in numbers, attack with pace. That was what lead to Casey's sitter opportunity. Need more of it! A boy can wish, can't he?
Just watched the highlights and noticed two things: 1) Holy shit, Wenger's finish was way more atrocious than I first thought. 2) Boos were loud and at the third straight game. (I was too busy booing to notice at the game)
Well, I might be the only one, but I'm fine with the crosses that Williams provides from the right side. The issue with him is fitness in my opinion. He's only 24 and looks as fat as Casey, he's a professionnal athlete this is just unacceptable. The thing I liked the most from him at his debut was the way he could run all game long on his right side, defend and attack with the same intensity. Yesterday I saw him walk to get back while the right winger was doing the job... At this point, I'd play Le Toux at right back. It's the position he played in the youth system in France, so he can defend, and at least he's in shape and have great stamina.
Clearly you've forgotten the days when LeToux thought he was playing right back and made one of those lazy little passes out of the right corner to nobody that cancelled out the goals he was scoring at the other end. No.
He played 5 balls out of bounds and gave up possession in the first half alone. Three of them with minimal pressure. That kills an attack and more importantly, momentum. He also did it in Wednesday night. At least with Okugo, you had someone who can pass and dribble out of trouble. But Wheeler is not showing the needed composure back there. He may be the most deficient in the league with his passing. By the way, wasn't Horst available in the waiver draft or whatever they call it? He was, and we passes on him. He looked better than Wheeler. I don't understand Hackworth. If we are going to struggle to score and then rely on crossing at the end of a game, why wouldn't you want a fresh 6'4" like Wheeler to come into the game to fill that need? That is San Jose's gameplan with Gordon, Lenhart and Jahn. And it works for them. Instead, he pushes him up late, which exposes us on a counter attack and he isn't effective as a tired forward. Plus then Hoppenot is inserted and we all know he is a threatening header of the ball... This goes back to Hackworth. His talent selection. He has two center backs on the roster that he doesn't use and feels like he can shoe-horn Wheeler in there. The question is why? Why can't he coach/manage either Berry or White to improve their game to play next to Amobi? I am sure they are brimming with confidence watching a converted forward struggle to read the game, step off his man and pass poorly out of the back. That has to suck royally, especially after Wheeler stunk on ice Wednsday night and he got another run out. Couple of other things: -Why does Hack continue his formulaic substitutions? Maidana was playing great and he pulled him. Why? If anything, he is the guy you need to cross at the end of the game. I am glad that Maidana was pissed. -Casey was not himself out there. He may have peaked last year. He doesn't move well other than drifting out to the left. Plus his comments to Dave Zeitlin about Wenger were a little strange. Hackworth needs to coach them to move and create space rather than being so stationary. -Vincent Nogeuira is so good, many average fans don't see it yet. The guy doesn't stop moving. Every attack should be through him. The other thing I am hoping is he is on the phone to some of his buddies in France asking them to come over here to help out. Like maybe a forward and center back. -If we are going to "develop" players, then admit it, and bring in Pfeffer as well (who is doing excellent with the U-20's btw) so we get some depth.
First half: ugh, awful. Extremely lucky not to give at least 2-3 goals. Second Half: much better, but seeing as the first half was so dreadful they could only go up. Maidana should not have been subbed out, that killed our momentum on offense for a good 10 minutes. Edu needs to step up. Very close to the Hackworth out wagon.....
If you really wanna shake your head, take a look at Casey on the breakaway. Hilarious looking finishing attempt