Most of the team played well individually (Zardes being the exception) but on offense the team was slightly out of sync most of the time. Defensively we got the job done. I also like the effort I saw out of a lot of the players. We should beat this team but at least we got a point on the road. One note: I have been one of Gio's biggest critics for his constant over-dribbling and ignoring wide open teammates. So, in fairness, I have to note that against DC he displayed very little -- if any -- of his usual glory-hogging tendencies. Instead he seemed to be consistently looking to find and quickly make the right pass to his teammates in the final third. So bravo Gio! Unfortunately we reaped no rewards this game but in the long run we will be a better team if he keeps this up.
Zardes is just really off his game right now. You can see him trying to figure things out in slow motion out there and just about every single decision he makes turns out to be the wrong one. I can only imagine that Jack Mc. looks like complete shite in training to not be given opportunities at this point in time. I think we should bring Zardes off the bench for a while. Can we loan him to Los Dos?
I don't know about the guys, maybe. But I have. Zardes needs to sit to watch some games and reflect on whether he wants to be the best player he can be, or just continue to be a passenger, collect his paycheck and live the local-kid-turns-pro celebrity lifestyle in South Central. McInerny looked more dangerous in his limited minutes. Give him a few starts and let Zardes reflect on things and maybe watch how forwards need to use movement and anticipation to be dangerous.
Right now, Zardes has anything but a confident attacker's mentality, so yes, try him out at RB. He seems to be defensively responsible.
McInerney has been even worse than Gyasi. Once again he sucked balls as a sub. Gyasi ain't scoring but at least he's making runs. I've never been a fan of McBean. Villarreal seems to be who Curt favors - we could give him a go. Basically my summary after watching this late is what @skydog said. Will take the points and watch progress against the better teams coming up.
Disappointing, as DC seemed very assailable and never likely to score. Still, can't be too mad at that result, I guess. Honestly, I feel asleep during most of the 1st half (little tuckered out after the UCL final) but it felt like a very flat game. I'm looking forward to seeing if the team can keep this form at home, where we should enjoy even more possession. I also hope Zardes can build some confidence playing on his home field; it seems he's lost the trust of his teammates which I imagine is only redoubling his confidence issues. I also don't think we have a better forward option right now, so I'm ride-or-die with him. I'm not sure why we don't get more crosses in, though.
Pretty clear why McInerney was available cheap and has bounced around. MAYBE if we had Bruce managing, he might have been able to resurrect this guy's career. As it is, .... well, I would be happy to be wrong.
I don't think Jack Mac is poor or anything; just not sure his ceiling's as high as folks initially thought. More relevant to us, he can't play Zardes' position even if Zardes isn't playing it particularly well, so he's not the "answer" for Zardes struggling. McBean, at least, can fit the mold and just needs reps, IMO. I'd be more inclined to sit Gyasi (or at least move him) if we had a player like Gordon around.
I’m always a tad skeptical when a player as young a Jack has been on almost half a dozen teams in as many years. Not always a sign of a bad player, Keane bounced around a lot of teams before settling at Tottenham, but not for the same reasons.
Interesting question why he has bounced around. For all the hope and promise attached to Zardes both with Galaxy and National Team, it is interesting that McInerney has a better career goal scoring rate than Zardes. 0.42 per 90 min vs 0.31. Despite his tepid goal scoring, I have until recently been a fan of Zardes' game; he used to look a bit dangerous. But this season, his play has visibly regressed. Perhaps still recovering from the injury, but I say time to give McInerney a start.
I'm not averse to trying to get Gyasi going, but dammit, yank his ass at minute 60 if he's still ineffective.
Maybe true, but unfair comparison. McInernery has always been a forward and Zardes has mostly been a winger.
McInerney offers nothing other than he's a decent finisher. Doesn't hold the ball up, isn't going to create goals for himself or for others. I think he's a good option off the bench if you're pushing for goals towards the end of the game, but I don't think he's going to help the team as much as a misfiring Zardes. I'd rather give McBean or Lassiter a chance to start in place of Zardes. McBean is great at holding the ball up and as long as he can open the field up for Gio and Romain by keeping the defenders a little deeper (which is where Lassister's speed would help), we probably won't notice the lack of Zardes on the field.
I would have liked to have seen Lassiter. I think he has a higher upside than either McBean or Jack Mac and we could use his speed to run at tired defenses. But I think Zardes is still better at being a distraction to the defense which is why he might still be the better choice.
It's a mistery to me that Curt didn't recognize which strenght has McInerney : he's a very good goal scorer. But in the last two games he didn't bring much to the team, McBean and his hold-up play could have been more useful IMO. No offense but I'm tired of this wrong idea. 2013 (rookie year) : mostly used as a forward, he disappointed and ended up on the wing. 2014 : began the year on the wing but after Samuel left (it was still early in the season), he was our striker and had a great year in a great team. 2015 : was slotted to the wing after Gio came. Rough year. 2016 : played only as a striker as far as I can remember. Had a very solid pairing with Gio before his injury. I was looking forward to this pairing for 2017 but Gyasi hasn't been up to the task so far. 2017 : played only as a forward. And for the record I think Gyasi's best position is forward, by far.
Maybe 50/50 forward vs winger. But lots of wingers score plenty of goals if they are among your top offensive players, which Zardes should be. Zardes does not seem to have that focused, offensive mindset. If he doesn't get it soon, he may actually be better off switching to RB, or back up to Allesandrini or Boateng.
Well, being a decent finisher that can get on the end of the multitude of balls that get crossed into the box would not be such a bad thing. Zardes sure isn't doing it at the moment. I thought McInerney looked much more threatening than Zardes on Saturday night. I wouldn't mind giving McBean or Lassiter another chance either, but both of those guys have already had multiple chances and done very little. What's wrong with giving McInerney a chance? He's a proven scorer in MLS. And don't tell me Zardes can hold up the ball. With the way his touch has been looking, he's more of a ball deflector.
You must not be a big fan of Gyasi, because he is not looking like a good forward at all right now. It's like he forgot how to play the position.
Zardes has been awful so far. BUT he plays a role that no one else on our team can (maybe McBean- - but he looked toothless earlier in the year). Some credit has to go to Zardes for opening things up for Gio and Alessandrini, he does occupy defenders. So I think he is the best choice right now, and we know he is capable of so much more. I'd keep starting him and see what happens. Really would have been nice if we re-signed Gordon as a late game sub. He scored for Colorado last weekend.
Awesome. Now we can all relax and the guys can just coast the rest of the season and get ready for the playoffs!