Coach Bombay: Haven't you guys been training in the off-season? Lester Averman: You know, I knew we forgot something.
Bad giveaway right at the start of the second half from Swanson, but he seemed to play confidently after that. He's noticeably quick
He is also noticeably small. Glad to see him hold his own. He didn't stand out for the wrong reasons. The sharp interplay needed too make our system work made a couple of appearances yesterday. Much more needed there. No big takeaways.
I disagree I thought Grana played well this weekend. Although he had one bad clearance that was deflected. He sometimes dribbled to much but that's because he is confident and he held the ball pretty well. Klute still looks bad but he played a lil better the second gm. Barson played horrible and then made a good play on his goal but his passing is bad he losses possession to much.
I agree I think Bedell should be cut and we should add a young striker that's on Kei level solid but with a chance to devolp. I do like Schonefeld but he should be the #3 striker. Possibly we can put Meram at striker when Kei is unavailable and I also think the iceman is a better option to back up Higuain. I'm usually hard on Speas and I think he looks a lil better but I would take Steindorsson over him or even put Trapp at Cam possibly
Actually, I was really hoping to see something like this in these two games. Since we haven't made any apparent efforts to get a striker since Kamara, I assumed Berhalter identified a midfielder who was willing & able to move forward and spend the off season trying out the forward role. Maybe Meram or Finlay could show that type of versatility. What sucks is we saw four squads play this weekend. There was no indication of a mid moving into such a forward position. Again, the structure of this team looks very limited to one specific play style and formation. It's kinda interesting to contrast Berhalter with Klinsmann. Maybe Klinsmann experiments too much with players being out of their natural position, but I'm starting to think Berhalter is too unwilling to use his player talent in different ways.
I thought Barson with the ball looked awful as well. I question his ball skills especially now that we seemingly have other options.
I was also a big fan of Grana's confidence on the ball and his ability to retain possession - but he did keep the ball at his feet a lot. Is he the kind of guy that doesn't look for a pass and tries to do it all himself? I also saw Steindorsson in the middle of the field a lot - enough it surprised me. Francis was out wide with Steindorsson almost in the spot you'd expect Pipa. He played very centrally.
Positives: 1st half was dominant in every way except for the finishing. For the 2nd preseason game, I'm not worried. Finlay has no excuse for missing an open shot from the 6, but he's earned some benefit of the doubt. Everyone in the 1st half lineup except for Bedell looked good. Ryden could be a surprise pickup, which is nice considering we need CB depth. Francis, Grana, Higuian, Iceman, & Tchani were very impressive. Negatives: 2nd half was very poor. We weren't over-run as much as the 1st half of Friday's game, but given the competition, you could argue we were worse. Klute was poor again... not as bad as Friday, but that's not saying much. Speas needs an identity - I don't remember him ever having a very bad showing, but I don't remember him having a great showing either. If he's going to be a #10, he needs to create more opportunities & show a little more creativity/quality. Saied played decent, but everyone else was poor.
I made the negative comment about Grana after about 10 minutes of action in the match yesterday. I thought he did much better throughout the half, but I would agree with this statement. As a player, he clearly has technical abilities that will make him a serviceable starting RB in MLS. When he got in trouble, it was usually because he held on to the ball for too long and got dispossessed. He needs to pass faster and not try to do it all.
I suppose those two games told us next to nothing, as expected, but my observations none-the-less: - Agree with everyone about Klute. Yikes. - Grana and Steindorsson are great pickups and seem this system very well. Grana reminds me of Pipa with those quick sharp cuts and bursts which create space. Grana looked quicker though. - Pipa ran like he was feeling better. That is good to see. He of course is no finisher though. Never has been. If he plays with heart and effort he'll continue to be a star. - Kamara - those two games showed almost exactly what I expected. An upgrade due to his ability to push he ball ahead and get a blast on goal and his ability in the air. But otherwise, I don't see cleverness of foot nor an awareness and ability to see or create space. This system may take some adjusting for him, but he seemed to play a more traditional hang out up top and wait for something to come to him. As I said, given the roster, we need him. I suppose I share many sentiments on this forum - given the obvious need here for over a year, was there nothing additional that could be done? Oh, and lest I sound too down on Kamara, he has a spectacular center that should have resulted in an assist very late in the game. - Was Schoenfeld hurt? I thought he would have gotten the nod over Bedell. I'm not going to comment on Adam's performance in the Austin game since he wears the Crew SC yellow and I'm sure is a wonderful person. - Our back line appears to have gotten the needed boost of testosterone and quality. The final four or five need time together, but very nice upgrade IMO. - Swanson didn't play a lot, but he looks like a natural. Very composed, nice distribution or two. Impressive for such a young man. - I know Finley is disappointed in his finishes, but as defender, I would hate to have that guy running all over the place blasting on frame over and over. I think he picks up where he left off last year and I'm hoping takes it up a level. BTW, his many of his chances just barely missed. He's right there. - I get the sense that Will and Tony are going to continue to progress. I think we can expect to get strong play out of the DM position.
I could not agree more, especially the bold part. I've been searching for the right words, and you've found them. Thank you, sailor.
I'd have to check the tape, but I'm almost certain Berhalter mentioned something to this end at the Supporters Summit. I can't remember who he called out, but for some reason I'm thinking Steindorsson. Pretty sure we saw Meram up top at some point last year, too. I don't think he's hesitant to move people around, it just has to be a good fit. Anor played LM, LB, and CAM last year, and Jimenez did the same on the right (apparently he also trained at CM/CDM last week if Twitter reports were accurate).