But that is kind of the point, when there is no link-up, everyone plays further back than they normally would. The Fire have had this problem since Blanco, hell, even before that, really. So defensive and penchant for lateral/back-passes means all "forward" players have to drop back. There are calls for him to play a "withdrawn forward," and there are even posters who think that he already is kind of playing that position. That is not really a position as much as it is a necessity, unless you want to be the only person standing on the opponent's side of the pitch constantly, desperately waiting for someone, anyone to get you the god-damned ball.. I know, I've been there. You get the best view of the game.
Even if his substitutions are better than Klopas's, this soccer we are playing is unwatchably dire (what a surprise: just like the Lenhart and Wondo and the rest of the Buck Shaw Firm) Any casual observer of this team since the departure of Grazzini can see what our biggest missing piece is, regardless of what we call our formation. Big Red is not that guy. Alex is not that guy, as much as I defended him last year. Maybe Joya will become that guy, but he's not being utilized in his favored positions. I agree with Khan generally about his roster moves so far. (after our roughly 15% sample size of 4 games) The only thing that makes me more optimistic right now than halfway through CDLC is Joya, Shipp and Pineda.
I still say that Dave Sarachan's last half season was the absolute lowest point in our play. We never looked that disinterested under CdlC. That team completely gave up.
The problem is that he wasn't pressing the attack either with the ball or as a decoy making space for anyone else. It's like he was told to stay out of DC's penalty area. And it's not like Quincy was having to come back to the center circle to get the ball. Per his own words in the half-time interview, Yallop is trying to use Magee more as a support to Quincy than than as a goal scorer. Sadly, that leaves Quincy up top and all alone since nobody, not even Magee, seems to be able to get him the ball. We've needed for years to stop this 4-1-4-1 crap and play a diamond 4-4-2 but that would mean getting a CAM who can actually read plays and pass the ball. But getting good CAMs is hard so I hear that's a bunch of nonsense.
We had one in 2011 and half of 2012, but we somehow just let him go. We could of replaced him with another one in 2013, but like you said that's just nonsense. On top of it he wouldn't of cost Dollar Menu any of his own money, probably would of been a non DP. #HauptmanOut
Which Frank get FIRED first, Frank Y or Frank K? Frank Y (0-6-1) and in 9 the place, Frank K (0-3-4) and in 10 place in the division. Considering how cheap Dollar Menu is and him not caring if we win, lose or tie it will be Frank K.
Saputo is willing to fire people on a salary. He's currently paying three coaches, with two having been fired. Andrew has shown reluctance to fire someone with a lot of time left on a contract. I'm not sure how long Yallop's contract is but we've seen no evidence that Andrew would be willing to make a change if it meant firing someone on a long term contract.
Given his history, it is actually possible because he can promote CJ without paying him any extra dough and then just keep him on until Frank 2.0's contract runs out. That wouldn't cost him a dime and would allow him to foist another scape goat on y'all. I really wish CJ would get the hell out. He deserves better.
That's assuming CJ is dumb enough to take the "promotion" to Head Sacrificial Lamb (Easter theme today).
Frank K is not a good coach. A good soccer player, a good member of the Fire? Yes. A good coach, no. Klopas is getting canned first. Yallop will be fired as well, just not as soon as Klopas. The Fire are screwed and doomed . . . .scroomed. That's why I fired the Fire.
Frank Yallop already has this team overachieving. We'll sign one decent player (Grant Ward?), win enough games to sneak into the playoffs as a 4th or 5th seed, and Andrew will make him his cheapass coach for life.
Last night Yallop was severely out coached. Our substitutions were horrid. Replacing Nyarko with Watson (attacking midfielder for defensive midfielder) Repacing Magee with Pineda (striker for virtually nothing) Not good. Of course, the bench is pretty weak. Reynish Segares Ianni (why did we trade for him???) Pause (he is still on the team?) Watson Pineda Barouch That is very thin bench, with one forward, one attacking midfielder (with 26 minutes of MLS experience in his career), two journeyman defensive midfielders (one with a single assist for his career and the other Pause), and two defenders (Segares and Ianni).
No offense to anyone in particular but "play the kids" probably isn't the best idea if you want to win now. He used to do it for Costa Rica.
This, this, this. It seems that we tend to start the season slow then put or otherwise find ourselves in a position where we cannot relax and "play the kids." Because we are chasing that recently-elusive last playoff position. We used to say that the season starts in the Fall. That isn't true anymore. We can't wait until the summer to start bringing in the big guns and treat july through august as our preseason. That is some serious MLS 1.0 right there.
Given his callout of the lack of desire to win and defensive stupidity, there better be changes in the next game. We have a CB making >$100k on the bench, if he's not capable of coming in for somebody who doesn't want it, why is he still on the roster?