Well folks the game is tomorrow. So far we haven't seen much out of the Bulls, but in their defense they did get out of Atlanta with a game in the win column. This week could be a good opportunity to build up momentum. Home opener!
I want us to shut out a bunkering team. 1-0 at a minimum. No goals allowed. We have to learn how to do this if we're ever going to be successful in knockout scenarios.
Well, NYRB moved to 2-0-0 on the basis of own goals of both games. Tim Howard was lights out in this game.
We Colorado'd Colorado! Seriously BWP is gonna have nightmares tonight. He takes those same shots any other night and he's got at least one.
I'm watching the game right now on DVR because i was out most of the day yesterday. I have to say given the wind chill we had yesterday in the NYC metro area it was absolutely ridiculous that those players had to go out and play. My super respect to those fans that showed up at Red Bull Arena.
After having watched the game today some thoughts: The good 1) They have 2 wins in a row 2) When Grella came into the game they seemed to have a little bit more energy 3) They shut out the opposition 4) Won the home opener The bad 1) They continue to play without any ideas or clarity in the attack 2) Aside from BWP individual plays, they seem to have a tremendously difficult time scoring You cant continue to rely every week on the opposing team scoring own goals in order to win games. This team misses Dax tremendously. Dax was not a field general that would arm the attack but he was a spark plug that kept the energy level and work rate of the team on the field high. This team needs someone that will help to generate opportunities. If i were Marsch I would have my strikers and midfielders work on finishing all week long--too many missed shots this game. At the very least get the shots on goal--missing wide so many times is ridiculous.
Davis seems to be playing more defensive minded than we've seen in the past with Felipe given license to push up more. I'd be interested to see a heat map to either confirm or deny this but if my eyes are correct then I would disagree with this line of thinking. IMO a more attack minded Davis with Felipe staying at home would generate a little more offense.
I'm really having a hard time jumping on the Davis hype train, and more and more I'm wishing we would have held on to Dax. Especially if we aren't spending any of that allocation money we got for him... Dax has been really good for Chicago so far. To me, Davis looks like he has all the makings of an "MLS-for-life" box-to-box midfielder who is pretty good at a lot of things and great at none. Defensively he's disciplined and isn't afraid to make a tackle, but he isn't gonna single-handedly break up plays left and right like Dax. Offensively he can keep the ball moving and is one of the few guys willing to shoot from distance, but he hasn't shown any of the creative, weighted, incisive passing needed to make the same impact as a guy like Kljestan. I think most people assumed the same thing you did coming in, that Davis would play a little more advanced than Felipe. But so far they've covered pretty much exact same areas of the field, hovering right around the midfield line on both sides of the ball. Its likely a function of the new formation that already has another player further up field, but I'm still a little surprised at how rarely either of the have gotten to the box. Here are the maps against Colorado, which are similar to the ones against Atlanta:
Thanks @iced1776 Those maps suggest an empty bucket disguised as a 4-2-2-2. Is Marsch trying out an empty bucket/high press/high possession tactic? Can't say I've ever seen it before. Bob Bradley used the empty bucket to a great deal of success but his teams didn't value possession and didn't press high up the field in numbers. Curious...
That's pretty much what it looks like to me too. Felipe and Dax got away with sneaking up field last year cause Kljestan was good about dropping back to cover. I guess the idea is this year there's nobody to drop back if one of the CMs gets caught up field. Also worth noting that despite what I said about Davis lacking defensive chops, he's currently leading the entire league in successful tackles through two games... something I'll definitely watch out for more carefully this week.
His tackling looks good to me (although not that good!) but I think where he gets into trouble is his decision making. Dax did a better job of protecting the ball once he won it. However, Dax also had more experience. We'll see...
Some of the lack of focus is due to the younger/newer players. For example, Etienne showed flashes but he still needs to learn how to control the game. I'm not to worried about that aspect as the season is still young.
I couldn't tell whether I wanted to strangle or applaud Etienne for trying a Rabona cross towards the start of the game.
He had some lovely touches that amounted to nothing. But he is growing year over year, and I think his next step is learning to be an effective player at the MLS level. Etienne is wicked fast, which the possession game tends to strangle. They need to find ways to get him dialed in as a counter option, field stretching. I'll be interested to see how well he meshes with Gulbradson. If this team does go to 4-4-2, they will need players who can push up to the front when needed.