Since day one, it has been tradition to poke fun at the various tactics our coaches have employed. Much of the time, critiques are presented in the most general terms. I'd like to see a thread that gets into the nuts and bolts of our tactical decisions. Formations, playing style, passing style, tempo, set pieces, player roles, substitutions, coaching decisions, etc.
I stumbled across this article, which I think is a good insight into their mentality on many levels: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports...o-pochettino-tactics-jim-curtin-20171122.html Essentially, our 4-2-3-1 system is built in a way to compete with less talent. They state this explicitly. Their logic is that if they were to use this formation and make the playoffs, nobody says a word. Ernie echoes the sentiment when he suggests that a last thing a struggling team would need is a formation change. That having less talent, less experienced players necessitates tactical consistency and simplicity.
The 4-2-3-1 is awful unless you have a good player in the 10 distributing.... The triangle flip at the end of last year seemed to work much better for the players that we have. If we are going out with the current roster as-is today I'd like to see: Sapong Fafa ------ Herbers D. Jones ---------- Bedoya Haris Fabi ----- Marquez ----- Elliott ----- Rosenberry Blake
Neither does whatever else they have. What should have been happening this offseason: Sapong Upgrade Fafa ------ Herbers Upgrade Illsinihio Upgrade Haris ---------- Bedoya Fabi Upgrade ----- Marquez Upgrade ----- Elliott ----- Rosenberry Blake But ya know... this is the Union.
None. It needs to be a lineup that includes players other than those listed above. And, come opening day, it will.
I'm not sure that I'm being positive. I'm just being realistic. 1. The team historically has added players in January and February. 2. There are several open roster spots. 3. There is no reason not to add players. They don't save money by hoarding TAM and GAM. 4. The lack of "leaks" from the Front Office is a combination of a gag order from Earnie and a lack of media covering the team. Let's see what they do this week. I would be surprised if there is no movement this week between the draft and potential player acquisitions.
The TAM went to Blake. International roster spots went to Ayuk, Burke, and Illsinho. what you see is all there is
Time to call it what it is: a 4-5-1 formation. The same one lousy teams use to get draws against better teams.
This is a quote from a Q and A session with Haris Medunjanin posted on the Union Website: Lofty goals being set this year again: Q: Fans are excited to see you back on the pitch for the Union. What's your message to them? A: I am very excited to be back to play for the Union because it was a nice atmosphere at the stadium last year. I want to tell fans to be patient, that we are going to be better than last year and compete for a playoff spot in 2018.
I know Jim likes to pretend "rotation" doesn't exist/doesn't matter... but that option is more out the window than ever this season. Not only will regular season play be ugly, but Open Cup play ain't looking to rosey either. Last year we were mediocre at best across the board, but our subs were mediocre too so it was a bit more like for like... now we are shallower than ever. This team is going to get ran into the ground.