if you think of pomykal as a bradley replacement he waltzes into the usmnt regardless of the end product. maybe he’s miscast as a 10 from years ago. barrios also doesn’t seem particularly on the same page with him. couple times he hesitated on runs that would’ve hit him in stride had he trusted the ball was coming
i think his work rate and intelligence and natural defensive ability make him a fantastic complement to mckennie if adams as a rb is really here to stay which is the wrong subject for this forum. but i think hes more of a hybrid 6/8 then 10, yes
I looked at the heat map, and have no idea how to read it, but I’ll take your word for it. Does that absolve the whole season? I don’t know. It would be an easier explanation, if it looked similar to the box to box midfielder for the whole season. It could point to an issue with the coaching, but it could also be that Pomykal is struggling to find the game where the coach wants him to. We don’t know. It would be good if one of these Dallas journalists could ask Gonzalez about what he wants out of Pomykal from game to game because I think that could tell us a lot.
Basically, it colors the field for everywhere the play touched the ball. The brighter the color, the more touches a player had in that spot or area. Pomykal's looks pretty dull for this last match because he had very few touches. I don't think he had a very good match. But it also has a decent amount of touches in their own half. Most attacking mids stay above the midway point more on their heat maps. I'm not sure how to get a full season heatmap, but you can go through his games -- it's pretty consistent. He tends to play box to box with Dallas this year, leaning more towards the attacking half out of the two. I still agree that he needs to have more end product.
I think there are two different issues addressed here: 1. is Pomykal lacking in endproduct and should/could he be better? and 2. Should Pomykal be dropped because of his lack of production? Regardless of whether or not you are an FCD fan, I find it difficult to make the argument that he should be dropped. It is pretty obvious that FCD is better with him in the team. FCD scores more goals with him in the team. FCD allows fewer goals with him in the team. FCD wins more games with\ him in the team. I do think there is a perfectly valid argument to be made that he could be more productive (I suppose you could make that argument for most players). The real question becomes why? Why is he not as productive as it seems he should be? is it somebody's "fault", or is it something intrinsically linked to his overall role with the team that makes them so much more successfult with him on the field than off. (If his role is changed to increase his goals/assists, will it have an overall negative result by disproportionately reducing the effectiveness of the defense?) Heat maps and heat maps and whether he is playing as a #10 or an #8 or #6 have all entered into the conversation. I have seen the heat maps and agree that they don't really show the positioning of a typical #10 as I understand that position. Also, I decided to take a look at one of his all touches videos and focus on location more than action (chosen at random) . Generally in all touches vids I don't focus on location but this time I did and it was kind of eye opening for me (even though it shouldn't be because I have seen the heat maps too). Vertically, he touched the ball most in the central area of the field approx 30ish yards on either side of midfileld but also had a significant number of touches in the final third, along with 5ish shots which were either blocked or saved. (most of his shots were directly off of his dribbles and not off of a pass from a teammate) Several things stood out. 1. the amount of ground which he covered was amazing. It should be no surprise that he has an influence on the offense and defense of FCD. He is a true two way player. (not really new I don't think) 2. Vertically I think his positioning was pretty good and fits imo with a #8 or a #10. 3. Horizontally, is where I believe some refinement could help. He spends an awful lot of time wide...both offensively and defensively. (several of his touches in the video were the results of tackles/turnovers he made wide in FCD's half of the field) 4. When you put his vertical game together with his horizontal game I think you get a combination LW/#8/#10/RW with defensive responsibilities. My first reaction is that I think he could probably have better goals/assist numbers if he reduced the horizontal movement somewhat from the entire width of the field to something a bit more central. I'm not too familiar with the FCD wing play but it may require that they step up their game for Pomykal to be able to make that adjustment.
I don't think Efrain Alvarez is someone to bemoan about losing until he dedicates himself more on and off the field. Right now he has a similar mentality to Carleton/Adu it seems. Not a fit player, can't close distance very well, wears down, and doesn't do much dirty work; so isn't a factor outside a couple moments of brilliance. I'd be much more dismayed if the US managed to lose Pepi or Araujo by not showing them enough interest along the way ala JoGo.
Interesting that you say that. There was an article somewhere (ESPN?) quoting Ibra that he gave him advice to lose weight at the end of the season last year and he attributes that to his improved form this year. Ibra spoke very highly of his abilities and especially his soccer brain. We'll see how he does going forward.
It was good advice from an accomplished vet. He should continue the effort now and have that dedication in general carry over to on the field also.
He still looks pudgy, but he is very young. Might end up looking a lot different shape wise in the next couple years.
Don’t disagree with your general commentary about production/end product. My hope is that it is a part of his progression. What I mean by that is last year the game looked way too fast for him and he struggled to compete. This year he is clearly massively improved and truly is a serious impact player. As the game continues to slow down and he gets better at picking his spots I hope he will show improvement in final third production. But as you mention it could also be that his current coaching instructions are to circulate ball to wide players for offensive contribution. I’m thinking it’s partly that partly he isn’t clear on when to pick his spots.
Miles Robinson starts for Atlanta. Brandon Vazquez is on the bench. They are on the road against Seattle. Leyva is on the bench for the Sounders. Game starts at 3:55 eastern on ESPN/ESPN Deportes.
I think it would benefit everybody involved if Seattle started rotating Roldan, Svensson, and Leyva. Schmetzer runs Roldan into the ground. He's setting records for being an ironman, on a turf field to boot. I don't know that's entirely a coincidence Roldan played better against tougher competition at the end of the Gold Cup after there were a couple games where he didn't appear. Leyva would get games here and there to add experience. He hasn't looked out of his depth so far.
I think regarding Pomykal everyone is missing how poor forward play is. Badji is one of the worst starting forwards in the league - poor runs, bad at finishing and doesn't scare defender to where he draws extra scrutiny. Ferreira was better earlier in the year but is in a bit of a slump maybe because he hasn't played this many minutes against adults before. The last home game Pomykal was hunting goals but in this one he was more of an orchestrator. Instructions were likely different for being on the road. Also Barrios is in one of his funks. If Ferreira and barrios can get back in form it will greatly affect Paxton's production.
Parks starts for NYCFC who are crossing the Hudson to take on the Red Bulls. Haak is on the bench. The game starts at 6:30 eastern on FS1/Fox Deportes. Did not think Miles Robinson had his best game today, including a future appearance in Raul Ruidaz highlight videos on the first goal.
You make some good points. I think Pomykal should be on the field somewhere. It's a matter of how he helps the team at each position. Some claim he's a #8. He could probably play that position, and much end product wouldn't be expected of him. This whole discussion wouldn't be had to the same extent because there are different expectations from a #10 to a #8, in terms of end-product. If we are to say he's a #10, I think the first thing you have to be looking to is the end product. I think its the first thing you have to be looking to for forwards and wingers, as well. Covering ground, and dribbles in the middle third, and possession recoveries is all well and good, but I don't think its the first thing you look for from a #10. I think his production should be looked at in isolation, and then you add context based on whether he can play elsewhere on the field, the formation, the tactics, his potential. I fundamentally don't believe a well working football team should have a starting #10 with end product stats like Pomykal's. That isn't to say you can't get results or the team might not score more goals than they give up, but I tend to think the biggest indicator of success for a #10 is end product, and that needs to be the first and main thing that you look to. After that, you can add context. Pomykal can probably help on the field as a #8, if he's not bringing end product as a #10. The tactics of Gonzalez might ask less offensive responsibility of the #10. The player is still in his first season as a starter, and doesn't have that many minutes as a professional. All these things add up to me still rating Pomykal's game (along with an assessment of his skillset), but as much as I like his game, he has to produce. I'm not going to make an exception for him in what I believe is the main positional requirement, if he doesn't. At the same time, my main point wasn't to say that I want Pomykal dropped. If he was dropped, I wouldn't like it, but I couldn't say it was without merit, if the coach viewed the positional responsibility similarly to how I do. My main point was to say that I think Pomykal still has things he needs to add to his game in MLS before he should be used in the NT. I think Berhalter plays a style that expects end product out of his #10, and has a much more offense-based approach than Gonzalez does.
I think it effects him to a small extent (maybe its taken a few goals or assists away from him this season), but if you add up the G+A totals, Pomykal is tied for 5th on the team, so its more than the others around him not being good enough. Others are producing more than he is. The reason for that can be debated, but I don't think you can put the majority of that down to the players around him.
Pomykal isn't a good finisher and very good defender. For me he is anything but #10. On another hand we don't have any #10s period, neither we have good strikers that can play in 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 alone. We should play 4-4-2 with Adams as #6, Wes and Pax #8s, where Wes who is always trying risky passes and a better finisher is playing ahead of Pomykal. CP and winger du jour on the flanks. Altidore and a kid du jour upfront.