So, Roberson and others are coming away from team interviews parroting the aspects of the positives taken away from Saturday's performance, mainly in the increased volume of shots. We all agreed a few weeks ago this had to happen and the team has apparently responded, however I'd be curious to see how Josef's stats look in that regard, especially compared to last year, because it didn't feel like enough of those shots were truly threatening. Put another way, if the team's new strategy involves fewer shots from Martinez in order to get others more opportunities I'd be worried the other players will take those chances from further out, under more coverage, etc. At least, based on how and where those guys have been playing thus far. Barco has been solid and it's a shame he didn't bag at least 1 Saturday. But a lot of those were from distance and the team shouldn't be relying on wondergoals in order to win games. Josef got a lot last year by poaching but that also meant he was meeting the ball in dangerous positions. Atlanta will need more of that to win more games. To do that we need to find a way to get Gressel and others closer to, and in, the opposing box more frequently.
Jesse Gonzalez has a lot of upside and is good shotstopper, but he's still young and raw and has had issues with communicating with and organizing his back line. Brad Guzan is more or less the finished product, even if he doesn't have the raw athleticism to rely on at his stage of his career. Gonzalez had to make some key saves, but he was aided greatly by his coach's strategic decision to clog up the middle with three centerbacks and a more defensive central midfield combo and to funnel AUFC's attack out wide, and by his centerbacks' and central midfielders' ability to execute that gameplan. Meanwhile, Guzan was completely hung out to dry twice by his teammates, and Barrios, Ferreira, and Acosta made them pay.
I'll take it. I didn't really see anybody else from Dallas that dominated their position, though. Barrios was Dallas' best outfield player, but he just made the most of his few opportunities. ElJefe will confirm that I am not a Jesse Gonzalez fan in general. He's got a lot of athleticism and is a great shot-stopper, but his decision-making is sometimes questionable and his control of the defense has generally not been awesome. All that being said, Atlanta put him to work on Saturday and he was up to the task. As to your comment about Brek, I really only recall one bad giveaway on the night. He's not a world-beater, to be sure, but he looked better than Gruezo and Cannon on that side all game. I will concede the point in regards to LGP, though.
My issue with Brek is his positioning, which is a result of his size and lack of speed. He can't cover as much territory and as a result handicaps his runs forward and cheats on space when covering defensively. Dude doesn't suck it's just that he's not prime for a fast paced style. If it was me I'd rather put LGP out wide, Parky in the middle with Miles, and Franco out right. For our back 4, anyway.
I think this might be good... except both LGP and Escobar have caught ball watching to often, which has made Miles look really good cleaning up the slop. Still, we need to do something at the back to fix the mental lapses. I'd sit actually sit LGP, but that isn't going to happen.
With no matchday thread for tomorrow all I can say is we need to go all Liverpool on Huddersfield on Colorado.