As much as I love Tito (he is the man), neither he or FdB has figured out how to use his skills in this system. Until that happens, I would start Gressel there and put Tito on the bench. Escobar at RB. It's clear at this point that Miles and LGP are the best two CBs this team has in terms of ability. The problem is Parky is by far the best at reading the game out of all of them. If we're choosing between the three, I would be tempted to sit LGP, which is not something I ever thought I'd say at the beginning of the season. Word out of the team is Parky has been practicing at FB more in practice. It is something he used to do earlier in his career. With Ambrose out, Bello on the mend, and Shea not exactly playing gangbusters, I'd say its possible Parky starts the next game at LB. His pace ain't exactly great, and he might not be able to go 90 minutes there, but he can deliver a smart ball from the back, and you could plan it that Escobar has most of the responsibility to go forward on attack, with Parky staying back most of the time.
He got hurt in Columbus, but Doug Roberson says he is available. The only ones ruled out are Bello, Ambrose, Kratz, and Vasquez.
Guessing he's talking about the recent GA Cup. Last one Atlanta made it in the top competition and went out on pens, I believe. This year Atlanta was in the lower division and was worst in their group...by far. Not that I follow the kids religiously, but I will say I haven't heart of any names recently to be on the watch for in the next year or so. No Carleton or Bello type hype from what I can tell. I do wonder how much results mean when it comes to youth leagues. I forget where I read it, but there was a soccer guy years ago that said one of the problems with the youth setup in this country is too much emphasis is focused on just winning the games, not teaching the kids how to play. For the kids, is it more important to just treat the games like another training session, and the result doesn't matter? Or does there come an age where it doesn't matter what you're asking the kids to do, they should also be winning?
Well that certainly puts 11Bravo's comment into perspective. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I do think the comments you cited on youth development in the States are accurate, well at least they were in the past, but things are changing. Historically, there wasn't much development going on at the local level, the most promising players were groomed by the USSF. Only recently have MLS clubs like Dallas, NY, Salt Lake... and now Atlanta... put vast resources into youth academies. I am pretty excited about what the team is building in Marietta. Hopefully our academy will produce a lot of homegrown talent, after all that was one of the main reasons for bringing FdB onboard.
This team is cursed... and as long as the 5 stripes sport 9 stripes we will not win. Who's idea was it to add 4 stripes to a formula that was working so well?
I imagine it was Adidas. That was their template for this season, so that's what you get. I can't imagine the team would have gone with the '5 stripes' nickname if they planned to change the count next kit.
We built an identity... with the millennials of all people. It is 5 stripes, not 9. But that generation doesn't care and buy this crap kit anyway. They just want a star on their chest, has if they earned it. Star bellied Sneetches. I am going to start calling the squad the Red Stripes. Red Stripes 4 Colorado 1 That's not the score, just the beer count. Four Red Stripes and I'll drink one of the wife's Coor's Lights.
Nice interview with Tata in the AJC... not sure if it is behind the pay wall: https://www.ajc.com/sports/with-ger...5OkMBrOmw_9Z0A0Ck-cs2mTieVDR99gtPy6nU-5sFJYLg
AJC is reporting we are making a trade for Columbus midfielder Justin Meram. The club is looking for cover as many of our offensive players will get international call ups for Copa America this summer and Barco is already on is way to Poland for the U20 WC. https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-united-columbus-trade-justin-meram/mxaD61P7Lvdlv0jqs21ceK/
Just saw that. Won't regularly feature in the Starting XI but should at least prove affable depth. Which makes me wonder how the team is doing with the AU2 efforts?
Is Andrew Carleton on U20 duty too? Seems like this would be a good time to promote him an see what he can do, no? If Justin Meram can find his previous form he should be a good addition. I'll need drop into the Columbus Crew board to see what they are say. Darren Eales was on 92.9 The Game and he wouldn't confirm the trade but was all "nudge, nudge, wink, wink".
The trade is official $100,00k in GAM money and a 2nd round pick in the Super Draft pick. Sounds like we got him for peanuts. Nice addition to cover when the big boys are out for international duty.
I popped into the Columbus board. They aren't to sad to Meram go... we shall see, seems like we got him for chump change so if he is useful at all it will be a good trade and if he finds a renewed life after stints in Orlando and Columbus he could be a bargain basement steal.
More time on the Columbus board.... they also don't think much of castoff Michael Parkhurst. Apparently all that time spent trying to keep a team in town means not seeing what your throw offs are doing. Columbus has a big chip on its shoulder.
I remember saying something of the sorts to them when it was rumored they were folding that I hope it works out for them and got blasted for being on their forum... There are some good Crew fans, but there are a ton of shitty ones. Honestly, wouldn’t care if they did fold too much after that. Besides, even after they got what they wanted, what excuse do they have now for their piss poor attendance?
I like it over there. Say what you will but the board is always active and I find they have a similar sense of humor to mine. They know shit for soccer and are always talking about stadium parking woes. Apparently you don't want to park your car in that neighborhood. Columbus gets 7k and calls it a good night, it will be interesting to see if we get 70k plus on mothers day. That is a lot of soccer moms. The Orlando board on the other hand is dead. I think I have the first post of 2019 there... so I've got that going for me.
I think it must be hard for a small town club like Columbus. Their fans are great, but it is small market.
Question needs to be asked... do we rotate the roster considering the schedule congestion or do we keep with a good thing? And on a side note, why is it that our schedule so congested? Furthermore, do we try to go for the W vs Vancouver or vs Red Bulls... I’m of the mindset to say let’s rotate against Vancouver and stay fresh for NYRB. My XI ————Martinez———— Pereira——Pity——Meram ———Nagbe—Jeff——— Shea——————-—Pogba ———LGP——Miles——— —————Guzan————— Bench: Kann, Parkhurst, Escobar, Villalba, Gressel, Remedi, Williams ...keep Gressel, Villalba, Parkhurst, Remedi, and Escobar fresh. ...time to see if Meram, Pereira, and Pogba can handle the prime time. ...subs would be Williams for Martinez, Gressel for Pity, and Remedi for Nagbe.
FdB left both Nagbe and Parkhurst at home. Gunner posted the PBP thread for Vancouver and we are discussing what kind of rotation to expect there. Come join us.
Also, to answer your question about schedule congestion, our schedule is so cramped because of the long international break this summer for Gold Cup and Copa America. If I recall correctly, MLS decided to mostly honor the international break this summer instead of just playing through like it usually does. So we get a bunch of games all crammed together, a space in June with no games at all, and then a bunch of games crammed together again.