So Ben is going to leave Sarvas on for the whole game? A like for like sub isn't going to change anything.
2016 Payrolls: #2 NYCFC 21 M #19 DC 5M Until our "parity" league changes, results like today's will continue no matter what Olsen does
Apparently the ghosts of the Yankees can play soccer too. Harkes looks like a first game out of college rookie who is a long way from being a pro, but he's easily the equal of his teammates today. The whole squad will have to contract herpes to make this match any worse
Could not stand up the the Mini-Man City pressure today. Every time we got the ball we gave it up off the pressure. We need more Ashton style 6v6 one touch keep away drills.
Ooof. A home field advantage like the one NYCFC has on its pinball field is always going to make winning there difficult. But the small space reminded us one major thing: We may not have anyone, beyond Acosta, who could be considered "above average" when it comes to touch on the ball. How many starter-level players do we really have for the midfield triangle? Acosta and ... is Jeffrey? Is Sarvas (anymore)? Is Vincent? This is oversimplifying it, but is there that much of a difference between Vincent, Jeffrey and Buscher? I'm going to try to not spend too much more time thinking about this one -- early season, missing our best player, etc. But the check engine light is on -- and looking at other teams in the league, we're not a playoff squad right now.
I saw his good soccer IQ in spurts. The professional game is still a bit fast for him, but you could see his thinking on a lot of passes. He's a keeper, IMO, just not the finished product yet. I think the center midfield three needs to be Vincent, Harkes, and Acosta(when he's healthy). Also, I'd give the Franklin-Birnbaum pairing another game or two but I'm about ready to get Bobby back in(or Opare).
In what world is Vincent MLS starter quality? For a team with so many central midfielders, we sure have a bunch of mediocre ones.
He was fine last year playing underneath Jeffrey and Acosta. Take Acosta out of the mix, and everyone else will suffer.
I'm not sure that Acosta would have made that much difference. Too many bad turnovers, and a Swiss cheese defense. But we've had a Swiss cheese defense for a while now that through some sort of alchemy (and big saves from Bill) has managed for the last couple of years to get us into the playoffs. I doubt we'll ever win at Yankee Stadium. The team has always struggled on these tiny little fields. There's not much on-field leadership. I guess Olsen figures that's why Sarvas is out there. But when he's struggling so much I'm not sure he provides much leadership. This team is a mess. Only 32 games left to figure things out.
I did not watch the game as my MLSLive subscription somehow showed me the score before I started watching. I lost the desire.
Nyarko was the only bright spot for me. Our D was outrun and overrun. Theirs was excellent - unless we made the perfect pass they intercepted.
The major problem is talent evaluation. They do it very poorly, from the first team right on down through the Academy. Coaches get set on guys (like Sarvas on the first team) who simply aren't very good. It's inexplicable.