No, I say that as I want him to be a leader out there. I never got the sense that he was. Oh, and he has to stop taking shots from 30 meters that end up in Row Z. A few goals and a few assists would be terrific.
Really depends on what you want them to do...they bring different strengths to the pitch Gaston brings a big body, which he uses aggressively and effectively for shoulder to shoulder charges (half as many fouls as Fede), blocks and interceptions...and he's got the ball skills for holding, connecting, and through balls. Although he didn't score, his SOT% (37.9) was better than Fede's (19%)...AND Shaqiri's (25.5%). His CP(completed pass)/90 was top of the XI with 40.5 vs Fede's 38.5 & Shaqiri's 36.5 The thing Fede brings is "pesky hornet pressure"...he lead the league in Tackles+Interceptions with 186. Fede is closer to a traditional 6 and Gaston is closer to a box to box 8...but Gaston is much more of a physical dominator than the majority of 8s in the league...reminds me a bit of an old school stopper that moves forward more than most. Sadly Gaston nor Fede has been a meaningful contributor on offense. Some will blame that on the ;dual' 6 4-2-3-1, but I'd suggest it's the lack of predictable shape and pattern of play from the front 4...but until that happens we can't know if it's "the reason".
Better, more consistent play by the front four is definitely needed. In addition, I believe greater offensive contribution by the fullbacks is mandatory when you play with two defensive-minded midfielders.
I think for us to be good, Gaston has to be better going forward and let Fede be the free safety, garbage man specialist that he is too often they feel duplicative on a team that already has no offensive bite my eye test doesn't match the FBref stats, but it feels like so many of Gaston's passes are backwards and it felt like he killed a lot of counters by being conservative, so maybe I'm mistaken I've always questioned his effort and attitude, but the fact that he restructured his contract down to non-DP status in order to stay is a positive imo
The restructuring did free up a DP slot but not without cost. His current reported salary requires $1,000,000 GAM/TAM per year to reach the max. allowed level for non-DP players (for budget purposes) for next three years.
I’m not sure why this is so controversial for some. And we now see we dumped our one two-way outside back and have replaced him with a defensive minded outside back. While a DP striker might increase our conversation rate, but decrease the number of chances we create. We can squeeze more out of that front four with a DP striker but I fear an even more solid back six lineup holding us back.
Except it's apparent Ezra wants to play with defense first fullbacks after letting the best attacking fullback leave town. Someone. somewhere suggested by midseason Jonathan Dean may be our starting RB. They could be correct.
Gaston’s guaranteed salary for 2022 was $2,360K. The max salary for TAM players is $1,000K over DP salary or $1,651K in 2023. Looks to me like a $700K+/- pay cut for 2023 in exchange for a 2 year contract extension. His salary cap hit for 2023 actually increases by $1,000K. Those simple MLS rules!
And wooden spoons. Snooki would eat him alive and poop out the remains. He better not mess with Snooki... or J-Woww, for that matter. Wasn't she a professional wrestler for a short period of time? Okay, that is about the extent of my "knowledge" of the Jersey Shore. Hey, @skinut, how are you doing these days? You've been out of the picture for a while.
You demonstrated more knowledge of Jersey Shore than I have. I'm sorry. I'm doing better. Had real heart problems this fall/winter and I haven't had the energy to even open a computer. As you can see, I'm doing better now and I've got a host of snark backed up for use in the upcoming season. Thanks for asking.