Pre-match: The artists formerly known as TFC v. D.C. United

How many times have you seen him trip over the ball? How many times have you seen him dribble right into a defender rather than get around the guy or make a pass when available? He's scoring a lot, but with the opportunities he's had, he should be scoring a ton.

 

BTW, Mullins finally had some minutes and made them count. He was fully responsible for Asad's tap in.

 

He and Harkes. Just as I was thinking that they both really needed to do something positive.

 

As many have pointed out, Olsen's substitution decisions didn't work. Acosta wasn't gassed at minute 60, but Asad was. I would have expected Miranda for Asad as the first sub. If it's still 3-1 around minute 75-80. then Moreno for Acosta and Mullins for Mattocks. If it's 3-2 at that point, then Harkes for Stieber, but I would have slid him outside and left Arriola in the middle with Durkin. As you approached stoppage time and DCU was still ahead, then put in Moreno for Acosta and leave Mattocks up top. The problem with pulling Acosta was that no one could keep possession and Asad was gassed after the USOC and Seattle matches. Arriola is box to box, but not a possession keeper and Stieber has demonstrated that he really isn't comfortable in the middle. That leads to endless long ball clearances because there is absolutely no cohesion in the middle of the field and no one who can break a press with either a dribble or incisive pass to relieve pressure. If Acosta goes down, DCU are well and truly ********ed -- tonight just emphasized that point.

 

He's also not going against EPL defenders or goal keepers, so there's some balance there, its not like Man City will be coming in with $40 million for Teal Bunbury or Gyasi Zardes any time soon. If he'd even converted a quarter of his missed chances in addition to his goals he could be on a level competing with Martinez or BWP this year or perhaps other lime lights of the league that are headed to Europe next year. NOT!

And its not a matter of being unhappy with him, so much as KNOWING he should have more. I am not talking about half chances here, I am talking about bona-fide golden opportunities that he's bungling.

 

So you're good with the chances he's not converting at the moment then? I am not, thats the difference here.

 

You are really beginning to make me laugh. Who does the fitness coach work for? How many pre-season friendlies did we play? How many starters did we play in the Open Cup? What high fatigue tactics did we deploy in the Open Cup match? All of these are coaches decisions that have a direct impact on fitness. (Of course there is the question of what sort of stamina improving techniques are being deployed and if Northeast or whatever his name isn't producing, then Ben should fire him -- and should have never hired him in the first place).

From a tactical standpoint Olsen's use of the high press opened up space behind said high pressers that was filled by a TFC player with great skill who was then chased by a deep sitting defender, who then opened up space behind them and the story goes on to the actual goal moment were we see a TFC player racing past a tired DCU defender. If you are an aggressive attacking team (like TFC) your wet dream is to have a defense come at you aggressively and we, shockingly, did it.

You are a broken record like a Ben Olsen post game press conference.

 

Your right North Korea that's Ben's fault. Obamacare that's Ben's fault. Trump he is Ben's fault.


You talk about using the high press and players being tired again, how tired are you in minute 56, 11 minutes after you got your halftime break? No, sorry tired is not why Asad let Osorio go to score goal number 1 in the comeback. Laziness is why Asad did that not because he was tired in minute 56. That is not on Ben. It is not on that idiot Ashton that is on Asad. The fact is that you blaming Ben and his high press shows your lack of tactical understanding. You like a broken clock right twice a day but this is not the time of day when you are right.


You guys all come up with more and more pathetic excuses to get rid of Ben and it is sad. There are legit reasons to get rid of Ben but you guys keep coming up with "he does not make them double knot their shoe laces." type excuses. That is why I continue to fight back all the time. Because all I hear are poor reasons.

 

Did you not read the part of my post about the high press exposing space behind the player? I didn't just blame tired people. I also did not deflect about Trump, Korea, etc.

Please tell me what is supposed to happen behind the open space left when Mattocks, or Asad, or Arriola leave the defensive side of the center circle to chase down a defender on the other side of the center circle?

If your answer is that it gets filled by a defensive midfielder or a defender then who watches the space left open by that defensive midfielder or the defender?

Unless you answer that question, I'm done engaging with your broken record postings.


(Separately, addressing your tiredness complaint about 56th minute)

The early 2nd half goals were a tactical result of the high press. By about minute 65 you see the fitness result of the high press manifest itself when our guys are unable to execute any sort of game plan because of said high pressing. Additionally, the high press we deployed with most of our starters in the US Open Cup game further tired the guys out. If you don't believe in accumulative recovery issues I might as well talk to a door. Even later in the match you see Asad blow an absolute sitter. Do you want to argue that he missed it because he's no good? If we had a better player he bangs that in? We've seen a fit Asad make that shot many times already in DC and Atlanta. Did he suddenly lose his ability in the closing moments of a match?

In truth, I actually like the high press. I think it's a great tool used at the right level, at the right time, for the right opponent. Olsen presses VERY aggressively for VERY LONG periods. He used it less last night in Toronto, but it's a staple of his tactics. He does not have the fitness levels or the roster for it.

 

The "space" you talk about is not tactical space it is space Asad conceded when he let Osorio go. It was not poor tactics that created that space it was lazy play. If you cannot see that well then I must also be talking to a door. You keep talking in circles to defend your excuse of high press. High press is not why Asad watched Osorio. He is a poor defender who makes basic mistakes. You trade that off for the two goals he scored but he is a defensive liability. There is no point go over this with you again since you have it in your head you are right, despite being wrong. The tactic of open space behind a press is valid. However if you watch the replay of the first goal who would concede space tactically 16 yards out from goal. That is not how high press works. The space you are talking about is in midfield not in the box.

The open Cup game you keep talking about was 8 day prior. Did we play high press against Seattle??? If so then yes accumulative effects may occur. However you keep referring to the high press versus NCFC.


Again I will admit Olsen has his flaws and reason to replace him. I get tired of all of you using flawed reasons, like this high press argument.

 

I agree with that, especially the roster part - the drop off between our starters and the bench is pretty big, so you end up waiting too long to make a sub.

 

Your attempt at snark is clouding your argument. Please remove the snark and include your argument.

 

have a nice day.

 

I'll take a different tack on Olsen, which is about accountability. There's an old sports saying - you can't fire the team. While every player must be accountable for his play, the coach is accountable for the outcome of games and the season. The front office is accountable for performance over several seasons.

Lack of talent or individual player screw ups doesn't explain what happened last night. I have never seen a professional team so completely dominated in a half while playing at even strength. Maybe it was our tactics, maybe it was our substitution decisions, but it's unlikely that our players just stopped trying in the second half. And if they did, well that's the coach's responsibility too. Keeping Olsen sends the message to the players that keeping their jobs doesn't really depend on performance and results. Intellectually the players understand that their jobs are at risk if this season tanks, but instead they are probably rationalizing that ownership planned for a bad year when it elected for the mega road trip, and that next season the team will be building on it's current player pool. What this team needs is a new manager who tells the payers that those who play hard and smart will play, and those who don't won't. And a manager who applies tactics that give them the best chance to win.

I was too harsh in my post on Asad yesterday. He's a young guy who let his emotions get the best of him. But I hope the veteran players remind him that the time to preen and taunt is after the game. He seemed blissfully unaware of how likely it was that Toronto would score again absent a DCU full out effort. Live and learn.

 

I am equally perplexed. For a while, I blamed individuals. However, I now think that it is more of a systemic issue. I say this because we change the players, but still see the same issues.

I get that there will be times during a game that a team needs to defend what they have. As others have mentioned, you can't high press for 90 minutes but we are poor at bunkering. Here are some observations.

When this team is defending a lead and sit back with 9 field players in the defensive 1/3:

1) the group seems too passive and reactive. They are often stagnant, and wait for the attacking players to approach. Then, they react to the player. This attitude (along with DCU defensive positioning mentioned later) often leads to attackers having too much space and time to send in pinpoint passes/crosses.

Good defense is active, and not passive. It is about laying traps and pouncing once the opponent falls into your trap. It requires a plan and all 10 field players have to be on the same page.

So, I would prefer to see our defensive players actively step forward and engage attackers (on the defender's terms) as they enter the final 1/3. Then, the defender must have a plan in mind. He should either jockey the player toward his help/support (a nearby teammate, waiting to double team) or force him to the sideline to force either a throw in or turnover. The body position of the defender should be such that if the attacking player tries to go against the direction that he is being jockeyed, the defender will have the better position to either win the ball or body up on the attacker (disrupting any attempt to pass, shoot or cross).

2) defenders in wide positions assume starting positions that are too deep (close to the goal) and too central (sometimes fullbacks are close to the 18 yard box). Again, this leads to attackers having too much time and space to send in crosses or passes from wide positions.

3)players do not seem to understand their roles. Specifically, I do not get the sense that fullbacks and wide midfielders have a well-rehearsed plan for how they will help each other (for example, how or when to double team, understanding where teammates will be to provide support, understand how to deal with overloads in their area of the field).

4) we are too predictable. Trying to high press when you are gassed and defending a lead will only lead to open spaced that can be exploited. However, you can't sit in a low block and bunker for 45 minutes either.

I think they need to throw in some midfield press intermittently to keep the opposition off balance. This would require less energy than a true high press. It carries small risk, as the back line would probably have to push up a bit beyond the 18 in order to keep the midfield and back lines tightly positioned. The upside is that we would engage opponents further up the field (as they reach/pass midfield) and we would defend less in our own box. Downside is that there would be some space behind the back line to be exploited, but this is why it would only be used intermittently.

Just some thoughts. Hope this long post makes some sense.

 

Great stuff in this thread, makes you think. To me, it comes down to composure.
In the second half, TFC stuffed the midfield and pushed waaay forward with their wide players. They were going to lose the possession battle, no doubt about it. What they needed to do was to be strong on the ball when they did get it, and not play hot potato.
A positive example was Mullins holding the ball at midfield and taking the foul. Toronto has to drop back and buys DC another minute of calm and slightly disrupts momentum. That needs to happen about a half dozen more times. Also, draw fouls around their 18, drag it out, and be clinical with those opportunities. Play the sideline game, winning throws by bouncing it off defenders, throw it in tight to the line where the defender has no play.
These little things add up. Frustration can set in, cards become a factor, desperate teams do desperate things you can take advantage of. The fans are on edge. Frustrate the opponent at every opportunity.
What can't happen is bringing on a sub who proceeds to wilt under pressure and turns the ball over with his first three touches (Harkes).
The fact the team can manage to get leads consistently is excellent progress. That part can't regress. Now it's a matter of learning how to manage a lead and win the game. I want to see progress in this area, but I'm willing to concede it takes time, especially with a young group. Doing it on the road makes it doubly difficult.
I believe this crucible will forge a battle hardened team, though it may not happen quickly enough to save them this year.

 

Here’s my hot take. Two teams played who are not good enough to put up a whole match, so one team took the first half and the other team took the second. You can’t win with a half a game played in general so neither team did.

 

You're take is luke warm, I'm expecting better!

 

my take is that we're a bad team, and bad soccer teams will usually play good defense or good offense but not both. We've had our run of good offense and my predication is we'll now score a total of 2 goals or less over the next three matches.
(the good thing about predictions is that if you make them often enough you'll eventually be right)

 

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.

 

Were you laughing Wednesday night?

 

That's an irrelevant question in response to me laughing at your absolutely absurd comment about Asad.