Why are "cheerleaders" necessary at pro events? Why do we need "running Presidents?" Why do we need scoreboards that say "make some noise?" "Murica!!! it's now a beer.
They have them in England (local, not the ITV stuff packaged for international feeds), Mexico... Thx, Jay!
Very true. Tons of calls on free kicks into the box that baffled me. Tackles in midfield got called against us a lot too.
I think we lucked out. and outside of Sam, Acosta, and maybe Boswell, no one looked great. With Nyarko back, I think it's time to sit Nicky in favor of Nyarko at wing and Jeffrey pairing with Marcelo and Acosta in the middle.
oof, is DeLeon that bad? I know he's bad, but is he worse than Jeffrey in the attack? Yikes, maybe he is. It certainly is time for Nicky to stop playing on the wing. We've know that since last year. Would really be great to get an actual CM to displace him fully from the starting lineup, but that's not likely. We certainly need a Center Forward more than we need to upgrade DeLeon.
Last night he was dreadful. Now, when he's in the center of the field, he's better and probably better than Jeffrey but not by too much. Too bad DCU didn't land that Polo kid, imagine a young wing player with speed, aggression and a decent shot. Oh well ..........
It is easy to feel frustrated with this performance. However, it appears that even though we did not dominate possession, we created more corners, crosses, shots, and shots on goal. The stats from the game indicate that we only gave up one shot on goal. I didn't think that the overall performance was bad for a road game. We were definitely more conservative than at home, but created enough chances to score goals. The decisions in the final 1/3 and finishing were the missing ingredient last night, and have been inconsistent all year. I think that vast majority on these boards believed that, without an in form Rolfe and Espindola, we would struggle to find goals this year. We have no consistent finisher. Saborio has not been the answer. Clearly, if we are going to play defend and counter on the road, we need to find a way to be more effective on our corners and other set pieces. We also need more speed up front to take advantage of counterattacks and attacks created off of turnovers (created by our press). When Nyarko is 90 minutes fit, I would like to see Nyarko and Sam on the wings with Kamara up front. Acosta needs to start with Kamara so that they can develop some chemistry. I appreciate Saborio's hold up play, but it is not enough. We need more speed and size up front. I thought that we signed Kamara to be that striker. Maybe he will fail, but we will never know what he is capable of if we don't give him some time on the field with our best playmaker (Acosta). I am not even expecting immediate results. IMHO, he should be given at least 2-3 games on the field with Acosta behind him.
Agreed. I also agree that Sam and Nyarko should be our wings. I think Nicky should not be an automatic starter. I think Jeffrey brings more, even though he is not necessarily a two-way central midfielder.
Makes sense. No one should be an automatic starter on a team that is not wining games. I think that, when healthy, we now have better options than NDL on the wing. Nicky does not play like a natural winger. He rarely stays out wide; therefore, he fails to create width/space. In addition, his crossing ability is not great. I think Sam, Nyarko, Neagle, and even Espindola (Espy has more limited range box-to-box) are better options. In the middle of the park, NDL has been more effective. As a box-to-box player, he works tirelessly. No one on this team works harder to move in to space while off of the ball and "show for the ball". He not only works to offer himself as a passing outlet, his movements also subtly alter the opponent's defensive shape to create space and alternative passing lanes (even if the ball is not passed to him). This off the ball movement, seems greatly under appreciated by most on these boards. I don't think it is over looked by Olsen. I think that Jeffrey is probably a stronger defensive midfield player. He is a better tackler and he is better at defensive positioning. So, for me, they each have strengths and weaknesses.
DeLeon gets into spots to receive passes from players under pressure, a good quality and something I thought Kitchen and Arnaud struggled with. What he doesn't do well is pass and move, he tends to pass and sit and wait. I hate that. Jeffrey draws defenders from Acosta where DeLeon generally doesn't. It's a problem in my eyes. He also can't shoot on target, and there is no excuse for it. He totally lacks confidence around the penalty box, where he invariably pulls up and wastes opportunities. United needs more from that position.
It should start with goal scoring, United is one of the stingiest teams in the league. Can't flip the whole team at once.
Just a random thought, but what if we put DeLeon as the DM in our 4-1-4-1 and move Marcelo up next to Acosta. It keeps DeLeon further away from goal and allows him to roam as a link between the defense and midfield where he seems to excel compared to being around the penalty area. It also allows Marcelo to move closer to the goal and impact the offense much like he did when he played for L.A. years ago. Regardless of what we do, I'm just not feeling it with this group. I don't see any summer signing making enough of an impact to make a late season push. But it's MLS, so who knows?
I like statistics, too. But, the only numbers that count are wins, losses and ties. We are now below the Red Line.
It's a great thing Espindola scored. I believe he can be traded, and his value just bumped. Think of teams that are good, but could use more scoring punch off the bench (RSL Colorado, Vancouver, etc.,). United could get a good player out of it.
Probably not going to happen. If it happens, I doubt DCU gets a "good player" out of it. Maybe a young player, but more likely draft choices. Espy is a DP, so DCU would have to eat part of his salary for this season to make a trade. Don't see what value that trade would have for '16. I would just keep him around.
Obviously, but other than Hamid and maybe Acosta and Birnbaum is there any spot that doesn't need serious improvement? I'm not factoring Nyarko, Sam, Rolfe or Espy in this at all, because they are on the "wrong" side of 30, some have serious injury issues and there is no chance all of them will be here in '18. In fact, I'm guessing only Sam will be here in '17. Espy will be traded or released and Rolfe and Nyarko will retire due to concussions.
I HIGHLY doubt that posters are unappreciative or undervalue the crew being in Columbus. Most here have longed for this to happen again. This was the status quo when it wasn't around the league. Then the team reached unprecedented levels. I thought Dave was trying to set her up a few times and she fumbled through things and didn't provide much. She wasn't used to real human interaction over a completely scripted hits. She did well overall, but she still needs some polishing. She was the member of the crew that suffered a little with the others being present. They're nearly everywhere. A lot of teams and leagues around the world use them. It's not all softball questions about something that is obvious to the viewer. I like the primary univision broadcast crew. She can actually add to the broadcast and keep up with the commentary. They use her more like NBCSN attempted field-side commentary.
I meant I like her better in general. I didn't see her in this broadcast. I watched the Crew broadcast because I was out of town.
As far as eating his salary, what does that even mean in this league where MLS pays that. Keep him under our cap? Yeah, they would have to do that. Colorado, for example has a bevy of potential number 8's. Powers, Hairston, Serna, Cronin, Azira, Pfeiffer, Pappa, all under 30. I wouldn't be surprised if United could pry Powers by trading Espindola and DeLeon, he's not playing as much for them this year.